May 7, 2026
Casino Cruise Comps

Many people are aware that if you gamble in the casino onboard a cruise you can earn future complimentary cruises based on your action. For example, the current offers on Princess Cruises are:

Points          Stateroom       Credits         Package
150,000         Suite           $3,000          Princess Plus
112,500         Mini-Suite      $2,500          Princess Plus
75,000          Mini-Suite      $2,000          Princess Plus
52,500          Balcony         $1,500          Casino Hospitality
37,500          Balcony         $500            Casino Hospitality
15,000          Interior        $400            -
12,000          Interior        $100            -

Points are determined by your rated action on tables or slots. On the slot machines it's easy to determine that $2 of coin-in through the machine will earn you 1 point. So to earn a future comped interior stateroom cruise, you will need to play $2 x 12,000 = $24,000 coin-in on slots. Most machines are probably set around 85% Return To Player (RTP), meaning that for every $1 you gamble, over the long run, you will receive only $0.85 back and the casino profits $0.15. If you gamble the bare minimum to qualify on a random slot machine, your expected loss is $24,000 x 0.15 = $3,600. Not much of a great deal anymore is it? But the casino is "generous" and will also give you $100 in future free play. This would then need to be played at least once, so $100 free play becomes $85 cash, and your net expected loss would be just $3,515. Of course you can get lucky and win, but the casino expects to make a minimum of $3,515 from your gambling activity. Please do not do this!

Fortunately, not all slot machines are made the same, especially the newer ones. Some have progressives which keep growing until hit and can grow quite large. Some others accumulate until a valuable feature or wild spins are hit. The key is that they must average 85% RTP (or whatever it is set to pay) over the lifetime of the machine. On certain games, not every spin is an independent event, like independent rolls on a roulette wheel. Keep your eyes open to these opportunities, and you might find a cheap way to accumulate coin-in or possibly even find a positive expected value game.

For the table games players, there are many ways to beat games like blackjack, but the casino will limit you to the point of even trespassing you from the whole cruiseline for winning. Since you cannot remain anonymous while playing on cruises, I don't recommend counting cards onboard if you have that skill, no matter how good you think you are.

Remember, using your brain in a casino isn't illegal, just frowned upon! :P

phi1618