Cruise lines give free cruises to gamblers.
To be fair, it’s more that cruisers earn free cruises, bonus “free play,” free drinks while they’re playing, meals, and other perks based on their gambling.
Many people joke that you actually pay for those cruises by losing money in the casino, but the perks are real, and some cruise lines are more generous than others.
Based on the value of free-play offers, complimentary drinks, and recurring cruise offers I receive from both lines, I believe Carnival has an edge over Royal Caribbean. The cruise line has now revamped its program to add personalization, giving players in-cruise rewards and other bonuses tailored to their play.
The cruise company had tested Konami’s Synkros system on its Holland America Line. Now, it has installed it on all 29 Carnival Cruise Line ships.
How Carnival’s casino program works
As a frequent cruiser, who in addition to being co-editor-in-chief of The Street, also runs TravelHost’s Come Cruise With Me brand, I cruise almost entirely on casino comps.
Every cruise line has different policies for its casino rewards. On Royal Caribbean, for example, you earn free drinks in the casino for the rest of the year, and all of the next casino year, once you earn 2,500 points through gameplay.
In addition, once you hit that 2,500-point threshold, you become Prime, which earns you a free cruise that’s issued in April when the company’s casino year ends. On top of that, the cruise line sends out free offers based on your play, and players earn “Instant Certificates,” comped cruises based on hitting specific point levels on one cruise.
Carnival Cruise Line has a program that’s both more generous and less opaque. It offers free drinks in the casino while playing after 1,000 points, but that only applies to the cruise you are on. It does not have a tiered system for future cruises.
Instead, Carnival offers a variety of rewards. These can include free play bonuses during your cruise, comped meals, and other freebies while sailing. Once you get home, however, its system of sending cruise offers matches Royal Caribbean’s, in that players receive emailed offers for future cruises.
That’s where I think Carnival has an edge over Royal Caribbean. I get numerous free cruise offers, pretty much any cruise I want, from both companies, but Carnival’s come with more perks.
In August, for example, I’m cruising on a rare adults-only two-week cruise on Carnival Conquest with the cruise line picking me up in a limo, comping my drink package, offering me a bar setup in my cabin, and throwing in a few other perks.
Carnival Corporation
Carnival competes with Royal Caribbean for gamblers
“Carnival already has the most generous casino rewards program, so if this new system improves its in-cruise rewards system, this may put real pressure on Royal Caribbean to revamp its casino program on both its namesake line and Celebrity Cruises,” Dennis Post, co-owner of Postcard Travel Planning, told TheStreet.
Over the past year, Royal Caribbean has slightly downgraded the free play offered at the various levels of earned cruises for its Instant Certificates. The company’s Celebrity Cruises made some major changes to the perks offered at various tier levels for its casino program.
I wrote about those changes on TravelHost’s Come Cruise With Me.
“The company’s namesake cruise line has kept its Casino Royale benefits in place for the past few years, but its sister cruise line, Celebrity Cruises, made major benefit cuts. Celebrity Blue Chip players lost guaranteed freeplay, and Sapphire and higher players no longer receive a free classic drink package,” I wrote in January 2025.
And while Carnival may offer better casino perks, Royal Caribbean Blog’s Matt Hochberg noted that Royal Caribbean has made major improvements to how players can track their casino status.
“Royal Caribbean has started integrating Club Royale into its mobile app, allowing guests to see their casino tier and (eventually) their offers in one place. That might not sound like a big deal, but it’s something casino players have wanted for years,” he wrote on the blog that’s not affiliated with the cruise line. “Historically, Club Royale has felt like a separate ecosystem, with offers sent via email or buried on the website.”
Carnival Cruise Line does not offer casino tiers, and players can track offers via emails and by accessing their online loyalty account.
Carnival adds a new onboard system
Carnival has added Konami’s Synkros SURF, which stands for “Serving Up Rewards and Fun,” to all 29 ships in its fleet. The system changes the on-ship experience for gamblers.
On Carnival ships, cruisers “can now tap into personalized rewards, offers, bonuses and cashless wagering in the onboard casinos,” Konami shared in a press release.
The cruise line previously offered in-cruise rewards, but the new system aims to improve that experience.
“Rewards, offers and bonuses are tailored to the player, reflecting gaming preferences and featuring cruise-specific elements such as seamless cashless folio integration,” the cruise line shared. “…Carnival Corporation also delivers rewarding bonus opportunities, including the chance to take top honors in virtual prize drawings.”
The changes could fix what was previously a system that lacked transparency, according to PostCard Travel Planning co-owner Amy Post.
“Under the previous system, you literally had to visit the casino host and ask if you had earned any perks or bonuses and you never knew exactly where you stood,” she told TheStreet. “If this system provides more clarity, it could lead to increased gambling as cruisers try to earn perks.”
Related: Royal Caribbean’s Mexico loss won’t hurt the cruise line
