Free Cruise Offer

[TheLargeFamily]

We took our first Carnival Cruise in March on Jubilee. Right after we got off the ship we rebooked for January on Breeze.

 

Yesterday I received a Free Cruise Offer in my email. It's for an interior room and for a limited number of sailings in 2025. Most are 4-5 day cruises but one is a transpacific. Although there are many options, I don't think any of them work logistically. It seems like you pay $200 for the room but get a $200 OBC. You still pay for gratuities. 

 

Is there any rhyme or reason as to why I got this? I gambled at the blackjack table for an hour and doubled my $100. It's not a casino offer. I did spend a bundle onboard... Pixils, Specialty Dining, a few souvenirs, tipping bartenders with the Cheers pkg. I didn't use Carnival's shore excursions at all. 

 

I'm hoping that I'll get another for my homeport someday... but it seems like TX sailings are super popular. 

 

Edited to add... I am seeing 6 day cruises and a 22 day Transpacific... as well as a few other fun options... none that work with my crazy schedule. Oh well. But dang, I hope I can take advantage of these types of deals when I retire. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 9 by TheLargeFamily

[CruzerDeb]

I’ve sailed on Carnival 10x and have never received an offer for a free cruise. Hope you find a way to take advantage of the offer. 

[lubedobedo]

We are still getting free cruise offers since taking our 1st one in 2016. Gambled some, nothing big. We have taken 2 more free balcony w/200dn/200obc since then, now we get free inside/ov. Didn't play much in casino in either of those 2 cruises.

[TheLargeFamily]

17 minutes ago, CruzerDeb said:

I’ve sailed on Carnival 10x and have never received an offer for a free cruise. Hope you find a way to take advantage of the offer. 

Wow. I have heard these deals don't seem to have any rhyme or reason... Case and point. I am currently poised to send my PVP an email... I think I may have found an option...

[StephPS79]

1 hour ago, TheLargeFamily said:

It's not a casino offer.

 

This certainly sounds like a casino offer - why do you think it isn't?  

[CruzerDeb]

How much $$ is enough to spend in the casino to get casino offers? Got a cruise coming up and $$ in my pocket …

[TheLargeFamily]

47 minutes ago, StephPS79 said:

 

This certainly sounds like a casino offer - why do you think it isn't?  

Bc my husband gets casino offers that come from players club. My offer noted my activity in purchasing pixils, spa, dining and shore excursions. Mine doesn't offer DOU. while my husband's casino offers do, with higher OBC (500). 

 

I spent played in the casino for an hour at blackjack. I came out ahead. My husband played and lost $600 over the week at blackjack, playing approximately 1-2 hrs a day. No slots. His offers aren't for free rooms. Only OBC and DOU (in casino only) , and room discounts that aren't much more than early saver. 

Edited May 9 by TheLargeFamily
Spelling

[LatinaInTexas]

There really is no rhyme or reason on who gets offers. My last cruise was last Sept. a comp from my local casino. Got no good offers for the next 3  months.

Took a short trip to Vegas for Xmas and a few weeks later got an offer I liked. It is $100 pp with $200 OBC and drinks in the casino for me and a companion. 

There are over 50 sailings to pick from, some for every month this year and thru March of 2025. The same promo shows up after the old promo expires. Booked 8 night Vista for next year, already had other cruises booked for this year

[TheLargeFamily]

19 minutes ago, LatinaInTexas said:

There really is no rhyme or reason on who gets offers. My last cruise was last Sept. a comp from my local casino. Got no good offers for the next 3  months.

Took a short trip to Vegas for Xmas and a few weeks later got an offer I liked. It is $100 pp with $200 OBC and drinks in the casino for me and a companion. 

There are over 50 sailings to pick from, some for every month this year and thru March of 2025. The same promo shows up after the old promo expires. Booked 8 night Vista for next year, already had other cruises booked for this year

I see that you're in TX. Do you ever get offers for TX? 

[TheLargeFamily]

I booked Firenze. I snagged 2 rooms. One is with my deal and one was with my husband's casino deal. It's more than a year away, but it's always a dopamine hit to book a cruise. 

[80sGal]

Count yourself lucky!  Sounds like you got the best of both worlds by booking both offers on the same trip!  We have yet to get ANY good offers except the early post-Covid Cheers deal and a one-time 100/pp offer that was only good on an Australian sailing even though we have cruised enough to be Platinum.  We are now trying out the other lines to compare since the algorithm doesn't seem to favor us, although so far we actually still prefer Carnival.   Have a great cruise! 

[TheLargeFamily]

1 hour ago, 80sGal said:

Count yourself lucky!  Sounds like you got the best of both worlds by booking both offers on the same trip!  We have yet to get ANY good offers except the early post-Covid Cheers deal and a one-time 100/pp offer that was only good on an Australian sailing even though we have cruised enough to be Platinum.  We are now trying out the other lines to compare since the algorithm doesn't seem to favor us, although so far we actually still prefer Carnival.   Have a great cruise! 

Thank u! We were about to book another line when these offers came. I hope u get lucky too! 

[LatinaInTexas]

4 hours ago, TheLargeFamily said:

I see that you're in TX. Do you ever get offers for TX? 

Yes this batch had a few for Dream both 5 night and 8 night and even for Jubilee. Never had an offer for Breeze.

[Petersonfcu]

7 hours ago, TheLargeFamily said:

My offer noted my activity in purchasing pixils, spa, dining and shore excursions.

The casino folks (Ocean Players Club) couldn't care less about non casino spend.  I have used more than a dozen Carnival casino offers and never seen a reference to spend outside the casino.  So I think you are right, you got an offer that was not a casino offer.  First I have heard of a free room non-casino offer from Carnival.

[IntrepidFromDC]

10 hours ago, TheLargeFamily said:

Bc my husband gets casino offers that come from players club. My offer noted my activity in purchasing pixils, spa, dining and shore excursions. Mine doesn't offer DOU. while my husband's casino offers do, with higher OBC (500). 

 

I spent played in the casino for an hour at blackjack. I came out ahead. My husband played and lost $600 over the week at blackjack, playing approximately 1-2 hrs a day. No slots. His offers aren't for free rooms. Only OBC and DOU (in casino only) , and room discounts that aren't much more than early saver. 

 

$600 that you know of...  😉

[TheLargeFamily]

6 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

 

$600 that you know of...  😉

hahahahaha!

[MRVEGAS711]

Take it and run, don't ask why! I get them now and then. Maybe 3 times in last 20 years.

[eas2225]

Last October we were on the Legend with our three grown kids and their families.  My two sons had the drinks package, bought a few pictures and gave their kids money for the arcade.

My daughter, however, rented a cabana in Grand Turk, had the drinks package, and spent a ton on pictures and arcade for the kids.  Now she is getting email offers for a free room, because of "your activity onboard our ships." 

Seems like offers are not just targeting gamblers.

 

Eileen

[bar1068]

41 minutes ago, eas2225 said:

Last October we were on the Legend with our three grown kids and their families.  My two sons had the drinks package, bought a few pictures and gave their kids money for the arcade.

My daughter, however, rented a cabana in Grand Turk, had the drinks package, and spent a ton on pictures and arcade for the kids.  Now she is getting email offers for a free room, because of "your activity onboard our ships." 

Seems like offers are not just targeting gamblers.

 

Eileen

Curious, how many cruises has your daughter been on? We're sailing with a friend on Venezia later this month, this will be her second Carnival cruise. Since booking, she's received several offers for free cabins and OBC from Carnival, as well as from BJ's who she booked the cruise with. Meanwhile, we've hit the diamond level with Carnival and get..well...nothing. Sounds like we may have to up our onboard spending game.

[TheLargeFamily]

36 minutes ago, bar1068 said:

Curious, how many cruises has your daughter been on? We're sailing with a friend on Venezia later this month, this will be her second Carnival cruise. Since booking, she's received several offers for free cabins and OBC from Carnival, as well as from BJ's who she booked the cruise with. Meanwhile, we've hit the diamond level with Carnival and get..well...nothing. Sounds like we may have to up our onboard spending game.

Maybe make all purchases on board with one persons sign and sail card if u can strategies that. 

[bar1068]

2 hours ago, TheLargeFamily said:

Maybe make all purchases on board with one persons sign and sail card if u can strategies that. 

Yea, I suppose we could do something like that, but I have this stubbornly misguided thought that after over 2 dozen cruises, with an average cruise length of about 9 days, Carnival would throw us a bone once in a while vs someone who hasn’t even cruised with them twice!! I know, completely illogical.

[TheLargeFamily]

1 minute ago, bar1068 said:

Yea, I suppose we could do something like that, but I have this stubbornly misguided thought that after over 2 dozen cruises, with an average cruise length of about 9 days, Carnival would throw us a bone once in a while vs someone who hasn’t even cruised with them twice!! I know, completely illogical.

I agree! Instead it's free laundry. That's crazy to me. 

[KKB]

On 5/9/2024 at 7:48 AM, TheLargeFamily said:

We took our first Carnival Cruise in March on Jubilee. Right after we got off the ship we rebooked for January on Breeze.

 

Yesterday I received a Free Cruise Offer in my email. It's for an interior room and for a limited number of sailings in 2025. Most are 4-5 day cruises but one is a transpacific. Although there are many options, I don't think any of them work logistically. It seems like you pay $200 for the room but get a $200 OBC. You still pay for gratuities. 

 

Is there any rhyme or reason as to why I got this? I gambled at the blackjack table for an hour and doubled my $100. It's not a casino offer. I did spend a bundle onboard... Pixils, Specialty Dining, a few souvenirs, tipping bartenders with the Cheers pkg. I didn't use Carnival's shore excursions at all. 

 

I'm hoping that I'll get another for my homeport someday... but it seems like TX sailings are super popular. 

 

Edited to add... I am seeing 6 day cruises and a 22 day Transpacific... as well as a few other fun options... none that work with my crazy schedule. Oh well. But dang, I hope I can take advantage of these types of deals when I retire. 

 

Carnival is VERY generous w/ free cruises.

We gamble about the same no matter what cruise line we are sailing.

Most offer us nothing.

Princess offers us $150-300OBC each for our next cruise.

Carnival keeps lobbing those free ones out there!!

Even DH, who has sailed Carnival ONCE (last year), still gets them!

I think you can have 3 at a time booked, so take advantage when you can!

(interesting...met a gal on my NZ cruise in Feb. I had been offered a free cruise w/ enough OBC to offset taxes & fees (I had only sailed Carnival once prior). This gal--who is a seasoned Carnival cruiser--was offered something like $750pp with $1500OBC. So similarly OBC to offset the whole price...but why is mine so much cheaper??!! (both inside cabins) And our gambing habits seemed similar...

[BABAZ]

It was definitely a casino offer. The new offers came out last week. We have yet to pay for a cruise. Did 9 in the last two years and have 3 more booked. We only sail Carnival now. Platinum on NCL but we do not miss them one bit.

[eas2225]

On 5/11/2024 at 8:14 AM, bar1068 said:

Curious, how many cruises has your daughter been on? We're sailing with a friend on Venezia later this month, this will be her second Carnival cruise. Since booking, she's received several offers for free cabins and OBC from Carnival, as well as from BJ's who she booked the cruise with. Meanwhile, we've hit the diamond level with Carnival and get..well...nothing. Sounds like we may have to up our onboard spending game.

My daughter had been on three previous Carnival cruises, but it had been 10 years prior to the Legend cruise.