Cruise Junkies: Earn Free Royal Caribbean Cruise Discounts
Facts:
Nobody would ever accuse me of being a Facebook junkie.
I’m certainly not a Candy Crush (or any other FB game) sort of guy.
And yet, I’ve been playing a game called myVegas on Facebook for a while now. You can read my earlier review of it here.
I’ll admit I don’t play the game as much as others do, mostly because those sorts of things don’t suit me. But, then they released a bunch of Royal Caribbean prizes to entice me. And, they’re pretty darn good. Take a look:
Even though a number of rewards show as sold out in the pictures, I’ve seen most of them pop up with limited quantities on a daily basis. A $300 onboard credit or a 50% discount on a cruise has real value for me (and should for you if you’re a cruise fan).
You might not know it if you follow along here, but I’m actually a fan of cruises. We cruised a bunch before our son was born. It was pretty much exclusively on Royal Caribbean, which has decent food and amenities and does a good job catering to kids at a reasonable price point. Now that he’s a bit older we intend to get back to cruising at least occasionally.
You can dedicate a few minutes a day to earn chips and there are special events to earn my “points” to cash out for rewards. There’s an optimal strategy, just like collecting miles and points! And, we even have a team on Milepoint to help you gather chips more quickly. You can earn points for Vegas comps at MGM properties (and now some of the Station casinos as well).
For me personally, something like a 50% discount on a cruise has a lot more value than a free room in Vegas. There hasn’t been a good way to earn big discounts on cruises that I’m aware of. It’s more a game of hunting for great prices. Considering that a 7-day cruise can set you back a couple thousand dollars easily, there’s some real value if you’re willing to pull the virtual slot machine handle.
I’m jealous that fellow blogger MJ on Travel will be heading out on Royal Caribbean’s new Quantum of the Seas soon and can’t wait to hear about his trip. Maybe I’ll use my 50% discount for that!
ETA: The discount rewards require redemption within 30 days. Doesn’t mean you need to cruise within 30 days, but you will need to put a deposit down in that timeframe. Full T&C pasted in the comments.
Any idea on whether the fine print for the cruises makes it less compelling? I wasn’t as interested in Vegas but having moved to South Florida, cruises are now interesting.
Ncsam, I have the fine print. I’ll publish later this afternoon.
Thanks!
In addition to the T&C, it’s important to note that most of the rewards for discounts require you to redeem within 30 days. I meant to add this to the post. You can book a cruise more than 30 days out , but you have to redeem the reward and put a deposit on a cruise within 30 days. Full T&C:
This reward is limited to one per myVEGAS player. Only one myVEGAS account associated with each natural person will be valid for myVEGAS reward. Additional myVEGAS accounts associated with any natural person will not be valid for rewards. Loyalty points or rewards purchased on these additional accounts are not eligible for use or redemption.
Reward is applicable to new individual bookings only and is subject to verification; not applicable to group. Discount is in US dollars and has no cash value. Reward applicable on sailings through 2015 only. Discount cannot be combined with another discount on the same reservation. Reward is not combinable with any other promotion or offer. Reward based on availability at the time of booking. Any changes made to the booking may alter eligibility for the reward. Royal Caribbean International will deduct the applicable offer value from final payment upon verification or reward. Misrepresentation of reward will void any applicable discounts and refare booking to prevailing rate. Discount applies on a per stateroom basis, double occupancy. Singles paying 200% are entitled to full face value. We reserve the right to disallow any credit for inappropriately duplicate submissions or those that are inconsistent with the terms and conditions of the discount. Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions at any time without prior notice.
Awesome. Thanks for sharing!
Found your info. interesting. But info. I am receiving is a bit confusing. My travel agent called RCI and was told that we could use out points on our up coming cruise in May. I called to be sure that I had a date to turn in points. I was told that yes my loyalty points could be used but not if the cruise we are taking was a deal; we got a BOGO! Also the man I spoke to said it is worded “new booking” so people do not try to use it for pass cruises. I was told that I could use it for the casino and a bottle of wine. Casino is pretty clear but when I asked him about how to do the wine he had no clue and Club Royal was so busy. I emailed RCI and have not received an answer.
It sounds like they’re saying you can’t stack the MyVegas discount along with another discount offer. That doesn’t sound terribly surprising, but I’m not sure how far that goes. For example, as a loyalty member, am I allowed my nominal discount on certain room types? I’ll be interested to hear what they tell you, but I imagine that these are still valuable enough if you were cruising with RCI anyway. May not be enough to cause you to take a cruise out of the blue.