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Birdie And Sue
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Today I got a flyer in the mail that is offering me a "free" cruise (ocean View) and $1,000 AUD in casino "fun play".  I have several cruises to select form, ranging form 9 days to 16 days, all sailing from Sydney or Melbourne.  What cost ate not covered on these 'free" cruises, how much would that costs come to?  The cruises are on the Splendor and Spirit.  What are the advantages/disadvantages of each of these ships?  Lastly what is "fun play"?

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That's great for you! The Fun play is for playing in the casino. You'd be responsible for paying the port fees and taxes, but I don't know what they'd be. I think Carnival has a website for Australia. Not sure you have to pay gratuities, since it's Australia. Perhaps someone else here will know. Happy cruising!

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We've had several free cruises from Carnival and Holland America. All we had to pay were the taxes and port charges. The free cruise offers were for an inside cabin which we took on the first offer. But we don't like inside cabins, so we upgraded on all the other offers to either an ocean view or balcony cabin for nominal charges.

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1 hour ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

No such thing as a free cruise.  If something is too good to be true, it usually is.  Words I live by

 

 

Looks like my total out of pocket cost for a 9-day to 16-day cruise for two will be less than $600, and they give me more than that in free casino play..  That is close enough to free for me.  Thanks!

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23 hours ago, Djptcp said:

We've had several free cruises from Carnival and Holland America. All we had to pay were the taxes and port charges. The free cruise offers were for an inside cabin which we took on the first offer. But we don't like inside cabins, so we upgraded on all the other offers to either an ocean view or balcony cabin for nominal charges.

 

Another advantage of upgrading to a better cabin, at least on Carnival (I am not familiar with Holland America rules), is the cruise days will count towards your VIFP Program totals.  

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On 8/20/2019 at 11:05 PM, Birdie And Sue said:

 

 

Looks like my total out of pocket cost for a 9-day to 16-day cruise for two will be less than $600, and they give me more than that in free casino play..  That is close enough to free for me.  Thanks!

Carnival AU doesn't charge like Carnival US. My offer for a free balcony + $1000 free play + $400 onboard credit resulted in a total charge to my credit card of $400 Australian dollars. Carnival US free offers itemize taxes and port charges, and gratuities are charged to the room account. Carnival AU just has a single line as Cruise: 200.00 per person that covers everything. Note that all dollar amounts are in Australian dollars. Also note that using a credit card in Australian sometimes incurs a processing fee (this is NOT the same as a foreign transaction fee which my credit card doesn't charge). So when the charge appeared on my credit card statement, it came as $287.10 ($143.55 per person x 2 people) and two $14.20 processing fee charges for a total of $315.50 USD.

 

Oh, and check out the points guy website for good strategies on maximizing points for those Asian markets. They have VERY expensive flights (especially $7000-$15000 business/first class tickets) that can be made very reasonable with smart points transfers. I found "cheap" $900 economy tickets, but was able to get first class tickets for this 22 hour trip for $1,100 in points using his suggestions. Using points for hotel and airfare, plus the "free" cruise is making this a very inexpensive 2 week trip from Ohio to Australia. So far just $315.50 out of pocket.

Edited by Davey Wavey
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On 8/21/2019 at 6:29 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Another advantage of upgrading to a better cabin, at least on Carnival (I am not familiar with Holland America rules), is the cruise days will count towards your VIFP Program totals.  

The interior cabin also counts towards the VIFP point total.

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