The Royal Caribbean Group has announced a change to the rules surrounding free cruises granted to casino players, with a deposit now required for all bookings for guests who’ve previously no-showed.
Guests on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises sailings are often invited to enjoy free cruises, if they spend enough money in the casino onboard during past cruises.
It makes sense for the cruise line, because they will often make more money from those guests when they return and play more in the casinos.
However, there have been some issues with guests no-showing their cruise, meaning that there are empty beds on the cruise ships that could otherwise have been filled.
As a result, those guests have been contacted and told that, in future, they must pay a $200 deposit to secure their free cruises.
It only applies to guests who’ve no-showed or who have cancelled within two days of a sailing date, but it will apply to all future bookings from 5th September 2024 onwards for those guests.
If the guests do board the ship, the $200 deposit will be converted into onboard credit for them to enjoy. If they cancel with at least seven days’ notice, it’ll be refunded. But, if the guests cancel at short notice or no-show the cruise, the deposit is forfeited.
While it may be controversial for those impacted guests, on the outside the move makes sense, as it’s not fair on the cruise lines to award free places to guests who then no-show a room that could otherwise have been sold.
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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
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