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Cruise casino offers, compared

Nine lines' casino offer programs side by side: how offers are earned, whether the points needed are published, who sails, which cabins, what you still pay, deadlines, combining rules, matches and age. Every entry comes from our line-by-line offer guides, which cite the lines' own pages.

Short answer

The programs split two ways. Princess's Sea You Soon, Norwegian's Points to Paradise and MSC's Dream Points work one sailing at a time, and Princess and Norwegian publish the points each reward takes. Carnival and Holland America send offers by invitation and publish the perks but not the points. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity publish the sailing list for each offer but not how points map to it. Virgin Voyages publishes annual tiers, with a cabin offer from its Star tier up.

Almost every offer covers the cruise fare and little else. Taxes and fees (except on MSC comps, which MSC says include them), daily gratuities, and on some lines a deposit or an admin fee stay with you, and "fare for 1" offers charge a fare for the second guest.

The programs side by side

How each line's casino offers work, from its own pages as summarized in our guides (checked October 21, 2026). "Not published" means the line doesn't give the figure; "reported" means the figure comes from players or comp services, not the line. Each row's sources are linked in the line notes below.

Line	How offers are earned	Points needed published?	Earning rate (slots / video poker)	Who sails on a free fare	Cabins	Booking window and expiry	Combining	Match for new players	Age for offers
Royal Caribbean	Offer codes by email or mail, and Instant Reward Certificates for points earned on a sailing. Prime, Signature and Masters also get one tier cruise a year (program year April to March).	No key from points to codes. The sailing list for each code is published as a PDF.	1 point per $5 / per $15	"Fare for 2 guests," or "fare for 1" with a casino discount rate for guest 2 (not published).	One category per sailing: interior, oceanview, balcony, Junior or Grand Suite. Many rows are marked "GTY," which we read as a guarantee.	Book-by and sail-by dates are on the offer itself. Tier cruise: book and sail by March 31, 2027.	Free-stateroom offers: not combinable. Dollars-off offers combine with in-market offers. Overlapping bookings may be cancelled.	Not covered in our Royal Caribbean guide.	21 on the departure date (Club Royale membership from 18).
Celebrity	Monthly offer lists for Blue Chip Club members, grouped by points level. Celebrity doesn't publish how play is counted toward a level.	Celebrity doesn't publish exactly how points map to a level. The monthly lists are published.	1 point per $5 / per $15	"Fare for 2," or "fare for 1" with a reduced fare for guest 2 (not published).	One stateroom class per sailing; some levels include suites, such as Sky Suite.	Lists are released monthly. Book before the book-by date on your offer, for sailings departing before a second stated date; neither date is on the list. Offers can be withdrawn at any time (booking rules).	Celebrity can cancel a later booking whose dates overlap another casino booking. Stateroom offers can't be combined with any other offer; dollars-off offers can (combining).	No public casino match. The terms mention "any Blue Chip tier match program," but none is published. Club Royale status doesn't carry over (status match).	21 on the departure date (18 to join and play; 21 in Alaska).
Norwegian	Per sailing: Points to Paradise from that cruise's points; Casino Cruise Certificates; CASNext deposit certificates bought with points.	Yes for Points to Paradise (500, 1,000 and 2,000 points) and CASNext (2,500 to 10,000). Not for certificates.	1 point per $5 / per $10	Certificate: the named player and one guest. Points to Paradise free fare: not stated.	Certificate: the category printed on it. Points to Paradise: not stated.	Points to Paradise: book within 90 days, sail within a year. Certificate: dates on it; cancelling within 120 days may forfeit it. CASNext: doesn't expire.	Points to Paradise: not with other casino offers, but works with CASNext. Free at Sea is optional with a complimentary fare.	A land-casino match ("First Cruise On The House") at casinosatsea.com, which didn't load for us.	21
Carnival	Invitations based on your play, counted per sailing. No tiers or program year. Event cruises such as Premier, Ultra and Elite.	No. Benefits are published, points aren't; the figures in circulation are reported.	1 point per $2 / per $5	Set by each offer. Fun Match free deal: the invited guest and a second guest.	Set by each offer and its rate code.	Each offer's own book-by date and timeline.	Not combinable with other offers.	Fun Match: US residents 21 and over; an email in about seven business days only if there's a deal.	18 to join Players Club; 21 for Fun Match and Drinks On Us.
Princess	Per sailing: a Sea You Soon offer from the rated points you earn that voyage, counted until 11:59 p.m. on the second-to-last night.	Yes: four charts by cruise length. Up to 7 days, 500 points brings $200 free play and 3,000 an interior plus $100 free play.	Not published (about $2 a point on slots, reported)	The invited player and one guest. Extra guests pay prevailing fare and deposit.	Interior, balcony, mini-suite or suite. No oceanview level.	Book within 30 days (Princess gives two start dates) and sail within 6 months.	Not with other casino offers or promotions.	Tier Match: US residents 21 and over; offers from Carnival Cruise Line aren't accepted.	18 to play on US-based ships; no separate age for the offer. 21 for Tier Match.
Holland America	Invitations based on your play. No tiers or program year. Event sailings such as VIP, Ultimate Games and Prestige.	No; the figures in circulation are reported.	1 point per $2 / per $5	The invited member and up to one guest. Third to fifth guests pay prevailing rates.	The lowest stateroom available in the offered category, which may have an obstructed view.	Set by each offer. Match deals: within 60 days or the deal's own timeline.	Not with other offers or promotions. Have It All is a separate fare.	Holland America Match through Ocean Players Club: US residents 21 and over.	18 (21 for the Match).
Virgin Voyages	Annual tiers, earned May 1 to April 30. Star and above get an annual cabin offer; another cabin offer can follow points earned on a voyage.	Tier points yes (Star from 5,000, Legend from 75,000). Points for the voyage cabin offer: not published.	1 point per $5 / per $10	The voyage fare for a double-occupancy cabin.	Set by the offer; not published by tier.	No book-by rule published. Redeem only by phone or email. The $200 deposit is non-refundable if you cancel within 30 days.	Not with any other voyage benefits, discounts or promotions. No Sailing Club credit.	No status match, but you can upload another casino's offer for review.	21 for offer recipients.
MSC	Per sailing: points count until the casino closes on the last day, and the next cruise offer comes by email. No program year.	Not online. The Rewards Matrix is posted in the casino. Reported: 10,000 points for an interior (worldwide, up to 10 nights).	Not published; MSC says the same for both (1 point per $3, reported)	Not published.	Reported matrix: interior up to a Yacht Club deluxe suite.	Not published. Offers may limit departure date changes.	Not covered in our MSC guide.	Comp match for a cruise line or land casino offer; reply time not published.	18 to gamble (21 in Alaska).
Margaritaville	From rated play, at the line's discretion. The terms list tier, theo, actual win/loss, travel history and market. Tier year Oct 1 – Sep 30.	Tier thresholds only: Silver 1,000, Gold 7,500, Platinum 15,000 Tier Points. No points-per-offer chart.	Not published.	Silver and up: cruise fare for you and up to 3 guests in one stateroom. Platinum: plus a second cabin for 2 (Sail with Friends).	Not published, except Sail with Friends (up to Oceanview).	Not published. Each offer's own terms set dates and blackouts.	"Unless expressly stated otherwise, promotional offers may not be combined."	Match My Offer: upload another line's or a land casino's offer or status; reply "in a few days" if you qualify. $1,000 free play cap reported.	18 to join and gamble; 21 to drink.

Points aren't comparable across lines: each line sets its own thresholds, so a line that gives more points per dollar can still ask for more play per cabin. What the play behind an offer costs on average is worked through in what a free casino cruise really costs.

What you still pay

The costs a free-fare offer leaves with you, as each line states them. Taxes are per guest. Gratuities are per guest per day, in standard cabins and then suites.

Line	Taxes, fees and port expenses	Daily gratuity	Deposit or fee on the offer	Other costs the line names
Royal Caribbean	$34.00 to $371.18 per person on offer 2610C04; confirmed when you book.	$18.50; $21.00 in suites	$200 per stateroom only after a recent no-show or late cancellation, matched by a refundable $200 onboard credit.	Guest 2's casino rate on "fare for 1" offers, fuel surcharges, upgrades, transfers.
Celebrity	$95 to $494 per person on the 2,000-point list (261005).	$19.50; $20.50 Concierge and AquaClass; $24.50 The Retreat	$200 per stateroom on stateroom offers, only after a no-show or late cancellation in the past 12 months (refunded as onboard credit); an online booking fee "if applicable" (booking rules).	Guest 2's reduced fare on "fare for 1" offers, upgrades, and a card convenience fee for Pearl and Onyx (waived from Amethyst up).
Norwegian	Not published on the casino pages.	$20.00; $25.00 for The Haven and suites	Administration fee of $20 per person per day.	A fuel supplement of up to $10 per person per day if oil closes above $65 a barrel.
Carnival	Set by itinerary. Fun Match deals: fees up to $411 and taxes up to $175.99.	$17.00; $19.00 in suites	Fun Match: $100 per person, non-refundable. Other offers state their own.	Third and later guests at prevailing rates.
Princess	Not published for Sea You Soon. Tier Match: $63.14 to $427.64.	$18.00; $19.00 mini-suites; $20.00 suites	$200 per guest for the first two guests, non-refundable, returned as onboard credit once you board.	Third and fourth guests at prevailing fare and deposit.
Holland America	About $110 to $1,535 per person.	$18.00; $20.00 in suites	$100 per person, non-refundable, returned as onboard credit (up to $200 a stateroom).	Third to fifth guests at prevailing rates, upgrades.
Virgin Voyages	Not published (about $150 to $200 per person, reported).	$22, or $20 prepaid	$200 in the form of casino play, applied to the slot machines on board.	Fuel surcharges, upgrades, voyage protection, transfers.
MSC	Included in casino comps, per MSC; charged on discounted offers.	$17; $23 in Yacht Club (US and Caribbean, booked from May 11, 2026)	"Low," refundable and returned as free play; amount not published ($500 for a full comp, reported).	18% on bar purchases on North America itineraries.
Margaritaville	"May apply" on comped fares; amounts not published.	$22; $25 in suites	None published.	Fuel supplement $15 per person per night on Paradise ($0 Islander, as of Jun 1, 2024); 20% service charge on purchases.

Onboard spending, travel to the port and the play that earns the next offer are extra on every line. Full examples with the arithmetic, and the other lines' gratuities, are in what a free casino cruise really costs.

Who publishes what

If you want to know in advance what your play will bring, some lines tell you more than others. This is about what's written down, not about which program is better value.

Points per reward, publishedPrincess (all nine Sea You Soon levels, for four cruise lengths) and Norwegian (the three Points to Paradise levels and the CASNext certificates). Virgin Voyages publishes its tier thresholds, and the annual cabin offer that comes with Star.
Sailing lists, publishedRoyal Caribbean puts each offer code's sailings online as a PDF, with ship, date, cabin and guests covered. Celebrity publishes its monthly lists by points level. Neither says how many points lead to a given offer.
Perks published, points notCarnival and Holland America list what each invitation brings but not the play it takes. The numbers in circulation for both are reported by players.
Posted on board onlyMSC says its Rewards Matrix is posted in the casino. The figures online come from comp services and are reported.

Where a line doesn't publish a figure, our guides say so rather than estimate one. A line's chart can also change: Princess raised most Sea You Soon thresholds in September 2025.

Line by line

The short version for each line, with links to the sections of its guide that the tables draw on.

Royal Caribbean

Club Royale offers are codes, each with a published list of sailings that mixes "fare for 1" and "fare for 2" rows, so read the row for your sailing rather than the code. Free-stateroom offers don't combine with anything, and the offer goes to a player who is 21 on the departure date. Offer types · Booking rules · Combining · Tier cruise · What you still pay

Celebrity

Blue Chip Club offers arrive as monthly lists by points level. Our offer tools show what each level's sailings are worth on this month's list next to the expected cost of earning it, and which offers tended to still be listed a month later. Celebrity offer tools · How the numbers work · A worked Celebrity example · Celebrity casino offers, explained

Norwegian

Three rewards lead to a cruise: Points to Paradise from one sailing's points, Casino Cruise Certificates and CASNext deposit certificates. Even a free fare carries the $20 per person per day administration fee, and NCL doesn't say whether a Points to Paradise free fare covers a second guest. Points to Paradise · Certificates · CASNext · Combining · What you still pay · Age

Carnival

Players Club invitations follow your play on each sailing, with no tiers and no program year, and each offer is booked with its own rate code. Changing the code can cost you the perks that came with it. Fun Match is the way in for new players. Invitation levels · Rate codes and terms · Fun Match · What you still pay · Age

Princess

Sea You Soon is the most fully published chart of the nine: the points for each offer, by cruise length, for the voyage you're on. The booking window is short, 30 days, and Princess counts it from two different start points, so plan on the earlier one. The chart · Booking window · Who sails · Combining · Tier Match · What you still pay · Age

Holland America

Like Carnival, its sister line, Holland America sends offers by invitation and publishes the event perks but not the points. A free stateroom is the lowest available in its category, and the taxes and fees range it quotes is the widest on this page. Invitation levels · Offer terms · The Match · What you still pay · Combining · Age

Virgin Voyages

Sea Roller Rewards ties its cabin offers to published annual tiers: one cabin offer a year from Star up, plus offers based on a voyage's points. Casino fares don't earn Sailing Club credit, and Deep Blue Extras perks don't apply on them. Tiers · Program year · Offer terms · Other casinos' offers · What you still pay · Age

MSC

MSC says its casino comps include taxes and fees, while discounted offers carry them, and it earns at the same rate on video poker as on slots. Its thresholds aren't online; the matrix in circulation is reported. Earning Dream Points · Free cruise offers · Comp match · What you still pay · Age

Margaritaville

The Casino Players Club publishes tier thresholds and perks but no earning rate or offer lists, and says cruise offers are at its discretion even from Silver up. Platinum adds a second cabin for two. How offers are decided · Who sails · Match My Offer · What you still pay · Age

How the matches work across lines, and where independent hosts and travel agents fit in: matches, casino hosts and travel agents. Tiers and earning rates side by side: compare casino programs.

Comparing offers you hold

Two offers with the same cabin can cost you very different amounts. Put them on the same footing before you choose.

Count guest 2A "fare for 1" offer, on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity, still charges a fare for the second guest. A free fare on Princess, Holland America or a Norwegian certificate covers you and one guest.
Add up what you payTaxes for everyone in the cabin, gratuities by the night, and any admin fee. Norwegian's $20 per person per day fee alone is $280 for two on a 7-night cruise.
Check how deposits come backPrincess and Holland America return theirs as onboard credit, Virgin as slot play and MSC as free play. Carnival's Fun Match deposit is non-refundable.
Note the clockPrincess gives 30 days to book and Norwegian's Points to Paradise 90. Royal Caribbean puts a book-by date on each offer, and Carnival's deals carry their own.
Don't stack bookingsRoyal Caribbean and Celebrity can cancel a casino booking whose dates overlap another one.
Price the playThe cheapest offer to sail can be the most expensive to earn. See what a free casino cruise really costs and the economics of casino cruises.

A casino offer is only worth having if you'd take that cruise anyway. Playing to earn the next one usually costs more than it returns, so set a budget before you board.

Sources

Everything on this page is taken from our offer guides, which cite each line's own pages; follow the line notes above for the full source lists. These are the official pages behind the figures in the tables. Figures marked reported come from the third-party sources listed last.

Royal Caribbean: Casino Royale promotional offers terms (CasinoRoyale250910) (accessed Oct 21, 2026, for our Royal Caribbean guide)
Royal Caribbean: Casino offer 2610C04 sailing list (PDF) (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Royal Caribbean: Club Royale rewards program and benefits table (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Royal Caribbean: Onboard service gratuities FAQ (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Celebrity Cruises: Casino promotional offers terms (BlueChipClub250917) (accessed Oct 21, 2026, for our Celebrity offers guide)
Celebrity Cruises: Casino offer 261005 sailing list (PDF, October 2026) (accessed Oct 21, 2026, for our true-cost guide)
Celebrity Cruises: Gratuity FAQ (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Margaritaville at Sea: Casino Players Club benefits grid and terms (accessed Oct 21, 2026, for our Margaritaville offers guide)
Margaritaville at Sea: Schedule of onboard charges (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Norwegian Cruise Line: Casino terms and conditions (accessed Oct 21, 2026, for our Norwegian guide)
Norwegian Cruise Line: Points to Paradise (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Norwegian Cruise Line: Casino Cruise Certificate and FAQ (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Norwegian Cruise Line: CASNext (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Norwegian Cruise Line: What is the onboard service charge? (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Carnival: Carnival Players Club (accessed Oct 21, 2026, for our Carnival guide)
Carnival: Casino and Carnival Players Club FAQ (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Carnival: Fun Match terms (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Carnival: Gratuity for Team Members (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Princess Cruises: Sea You Soon (with the four chart images) (accessed Oct 21, 2026, for our Princess guide)
Princess Cruises: Sea You Soon offer terms (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Princess Cruises: Tier Match program and terms (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Princess Cruises: Crew Appreciation and Service Charge Policy (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Princess Cruises: Age requirements (updated Aug 8, 2025; accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Holland America: Casino offer terms and conditions (accessed Oct 21, 2026, for our Holland America guide)
Holland America: Onboard Casino and Players Club FAQ (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Ocean Players Club: Holland America Match and terms (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Holland America: Crew Appreciation and service charges (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Virgin Voyages: Casino and Sea Rollers Rewards terms (terms updated Sep 10, 2026; accessed Oct 21, 2026, for our Virgin Voyages guide)
Virgin Voyages: Sea Rollers benefits grid (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Virgin Voyages blog: Our cruise ship casino (updated Jun 24, 2025; accessed Oct 21, 2026)
Virgin Voyages: VoyageFair Choices and service gratuity FAQ (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
MSC Cruises USA: Casino (accessed Oct 21, 2026, for our MSC guide)
MSC Cruises: Casino comp match (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
MSC Cruises USA: Hotel Service Charges (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
MSC Cruises USA: FAQs (accessed Oct 21, 2026)
MSC Cruises: Guest Conduct Policy (last updated Jun 3, 2026)
URComped: MSC Cruises and the Dream Point reward matrix (accessed Oct 21, 2026; reported)
URComped: MSC Cruises' casino program, FAQs interview (Feb 24, 2025; reported)
CamJon Travel: Virgin Voyages Sea Rollers casino program (accessed Oct 21, 2026; reported)

Last checked October 21, 2026

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