Casino Cruise Rewards Programs

There are many people who know the ins and outs of every aspect of going on a cruise, from how to book a dining option through to the best cabins to ask for on a ship. When it comes to the casinos on board, there are those that are well aware of how to take advantage of the rewards programmes that are on offer and which are the best ones to go for, whilst there are others who don’t know much about them but would like to learn more.

Whichever of the two categories you fit into, the reality is that reading through the information that we offer here is a good way to ensure that you get the best out of your cruise and the casino on board.

How Rewards Programs Work

In simple terms, cruise companies want you to book with them every time you fancy boarding a ship and heading out onto the high seas. Whether you’re looking for a local cruise that takes in the likes of the British Isles or you’re the sort of person that likes to go much further afield, the cruise operators want you to book with them every time you have a trip planned. The result of that is that they look for ways to persuade people to keep coming back time and time again, with casino-based rewards programmes one of the strings in that particular bow. In essence, they are looking to almost buy your loyalty through such a programme.

The good news is that you don’t necessarily need to do a huge amount in order to take advantage of just such a reward programme. You sometimes need to sign up, whilst with some cruise companies you are automatically enrolled in their casino loyalty programme as soon as you step into the area and place a bet. The best thing to do is to ask a member of the casino staff if you aren’t sure. From there, your job is just about making sure that you remember to sign in to your account for every bet that you place, which is usually done by tapping your cruise card on an access point or giving it to the croupier if you’re playing table games.

What Are Tier Points & How Do They Work?

Tier Points tend to be awarded based on how much you gamble. Each cruise operator will obviously have its own rules and regulations in place around this, but you will get, say, five points for every £1 you spend on table games and ten points for every £1 spent on slots. From there, you just need to spend your money as you were planning to do anyway, earning Tier Points each time you place a bet. Over time, your Tier Points will accumulate and add together in order to see you qualify for various levels of the company’s reward programme. Again, each company will handle how this works in their own manner.

That is to say, you might get one company that chooses to reset your Tier Points at a specific point in each year, so you have to earn them all over again to qualify for a given level of the programme. Another company might choose to treat it like a lifetime reward system, meaning that you maintain your level as soon as you hit it, provided you spend a certain amount of points within a period of time, such as 12 months. The best way to treat any such loyalty programme is to only spend the money that you were going to spend anyway, but ensure that you are logged in to your account when you do so you can get any given reward.

What You Get for Your Rewards Points

When it comes to what you get for your Tier Points, it is, once again, at the mercy of the cruise company that you’re sailing with. There are a wealth of rewards that are available to punters depending on how many Tier Points they accumulate and how fair up the rewards programme ladder they are able to climb. A good rule of thumb to think about when you’re looking at cruise liners and their rewards programme is that they will mostly be looking for ways to get money off you. You might be offered a discount in the on-board shops, for example, getting as much as 20% back, but in order to do so you will have to spend money buying something.

One of the most common rewards for people is a free cruise in the future, which might be an inside cabin for the lowest level of the rewards programme up to a suite with a balcony for the higher levels. It is fair to say that the aim of the cruise company is to persuade you to try to make it to the higher levels as this is where the best rewards are, but that’s also where you need to spend the most money to get there. The consequence of that is that the best rewards, such as a flexible departure or a welcome lunch as well as priority boarding and a waived convenience fee, are all reserved for the higher levels.

A Closer Look at Cruise Lines

Now that you’ve got a better understanding of what it is that is involved in a casino rewards programme, it is helpful to take a closer look at each of the major cruise liners to see what it is that they tend to offer in order to persuade people to travel with them and spend their money at the on-board casino. Each company will have its own way of approaching the rewards programme, but there will also be some crossover. This is owing to the fact that cruises can have plenty to offer a passenger, but precisely what is available is limited by the real estate of the vessels themselves, as well as what will actually be appealing to customers.

Virgin Voyages Casino

The Virgin Voyages casino rewards programme is called Sea Roller, with the entry-level tier being the Showstopper level. You remain there until you’ve earned 5,000 points, at which point you become a Star, then a Superstar if you hit the 15,000-point mark. Those who get 35,000 points are Idols, then anyone who earns 75,000 points or more is a Legend. You get 12 months to earn your status, then a further 12 months to sail with the status before everything resets on the first of May each year. The actual benefits range from points redemption for free play through to bottles of wine and cabin offers, depending on your status level.

Royal Caribbean Casino

If you’re heading on a Royal Caribbean cruise, then you will want to join the Club Royale rewards programme. The moment you do, you will be part of the Choice level, which moves into Prime when you’ve hit 2,500 points. From there, you will become a Signature member at 25,000 points, then a Masters at 100,000 points and over. The latter is the highest level that you can reach, promising benefits such as priority access to bookings for your dining and welcome lunch in the main dining room, as well as a flexible departure with an à la carte breakfast. Choice members get point redemption towards your onboard expense account, plus other things.

Celebrity Cruises Casino

If your plan is to sign up to the loyalty scheme on your Celebrity Cruises trip, you’ll become part of the Blue Chip Club. As soon as you’ve earned one Tier Point, you become a Pearl member, which moves to Onyx after 500 Tier Points. Get 5,000 and you’ll become an Amethyst member, then it’s Sapphire at 15,000 points and Sapphire Plus with 75,000 points. The highest level is Ruby, which is for those that earn 150,000 points or more. The various perks range from free drinks whilst you’re in the casino and the ability to redeem points for FreePlay through to early access to the terminal and reserved seating in the on-board theatre.

Norwegian Cruise Line: Casinos at Sea

Norwegian Cruise Line as a company has decided to follow a similar naming strategy as Celebrity Cruises when it comes to the loyalty programme, with the entry level being Pearl for those that earn 4,000 points. You can join Sapphire by hitting 15,000 points and Ruby by getting 35,000 points, then it abandons that naming strategy with the highest tier, which is called Elite and needs you to get 100,000 points in an evaluation period. All levels will get exclusive offers and invites as well as be able to redeem points for Free Play, whilst the highest level can get a private transfer from home or the airport, depending on arrival plans.

MSC Cruises Casino

MSC Cruises call their loyalty programme MSC Signature Player Rewards, but the exact nature of it is somewhat more opaque than with other cruise companies. For starters, the exact amount of points you need to earn to climb up through the levels depends on where you’re sailing from. As soon as you start earning points, however, you will begin to accumulate benefits, such as a 10% discount in on-board shops or the ability to receive a free cruise at some point in the future. Obviously, the higher you climb through the levels, the better the offer will be in terms of the nature of the cabin that you will get to sail in for free on the ship.

Cunard Cruise Casinos

The good news is that there is a loyalty programme offered by Cunard, which is called the Cunard World Club. The bad news is that this isn’t a casino loyalty programme, instead being a chance for those who sail with the company on a regular basis to be rewarded for doing so. There are four different levels within this loyalty scheme, starting at Silver and making its way up to Diamond depending on how many voyages you take on Cunard vessels and how many nights you spend on board. The benefits include the likes of a Cunard World Club desk on shore through to a complimentary meal and wine tasting at one of the on-board dining venues.

P&O Cruises Casinos

As with Cunard, P&O doesn’t offer a specific casino loyalty programme, although there are reports on social media of people earning casino points that can be exchanged for credit towards your casino play on a future cruise. Mainly, though, the loyalty programme, called The Peninsular Club, is aimed at rewarding people who sail with P&O on a regular basis. You need to sail for at least 15 nights to join the club, making your way through Pacific Tier, Atlantic Tier, Mediterranean Tier, Caribbean Tier and Baltic Tier to reach Ligurian Tier, depending on how often you have sailed on P&O vessels in your lifetime.