Among the entertainment options on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, you’ll find one of the Casino Royale onboard casinos, which feature a wide selection of slot machines, video poker, and table games.
The most obvious reason cruisers visit the casino on their vacation is to try to win some of Royal Caribbean’s money. But another reason – and typically a more attainable one – is to earn perks, including complimentary cruises.
Related: Want free cruises? Don’t do this in Royal Caribbean casinos
Through the Club Royale loyalty program, there are several ways you can earn a free cruise. For example, you can earn an instant cruise certificate based on how many tier credits you earn on your trip.
One casino tier credit is equal to $5 in slot machine play. So, if you play a slot machine for $5 per spin and hit the button 1,000 times, you’ll earn 1,000 tier credits, regardless of how much money you win or lose on those spins.
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You can get an instant free cruise with fewer than 1,000 tier credits in some cases, and there are “complimentary cruise fare for one” offers, essentially buy-one-get-one certificates, available at levels as low as 400 tier credits in many cases.
There are also targeted casino offers. If you’ve gambled on a Royal Caribbean cruise, you can check ClubRoyaleOffers.com to view yours. They also generally arrive by mail and email and feature a selection of complimentary cruise options based on your average play level.
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Annual free cruises can be valuable
The problem with the first two ways to earn free cruises (for many people) is that they are based on how much you play on one cruise. But there is a third option.
The Club Royale loyalty program also provides an annual free cruise, formally known as the Annual Cruise Tier Benefit, that is awarded to cruisers who attain one of the program’s elite status levels:
- Prime: Earn 2,500 tier credits in a year (Royal Caribbean’s casino year runs from April 1 through March 31 of the following year)
- Signature: Earn 25,000 tier credits in a year
- Masters: Earn 100,000 tier credits in a year
Members who reach the Prime level get a free cruise in an interior cabin, while Signature and Masters-level members receive a balcony and grand suite cruise, respectively.
There are two features that make the annual free cruise a more valuable benefit than the other ways of earning free cruises.
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First, the annual free cruise can be on almost any sailing. There are usually some exclusions – for example, the 2024 versions excluded Icon of the Seas, which was only a couple months old when the certificates were issued. But it isn’t confined to a specific list of ships and sailing dates.
Second, the annual free cruise benefit is based on a full year of play, which makes it more attainable. For example, if you take five 3-night cruises in a year and earn 500 tier credits on each one, you wouldn’t earn a fully comped cruise on any of your individual sailings. But you would reach Prime status and get a free interior room to use on a sailing of your choice.
Royal Caribbean shares details about this year’s annual cruise benefit
Royal Caribbean recently posted some important information about the 2025-2026 Annual Cruise Tier Benefit.
First, the cruise line clarified that if you’re on a sailing that extends through April 1 (when the earning year ends), any tier credits you earn by 5:59AM ship’s time on April 1, 2025, will count towards the 2024-2025 year for purposes of earning status.
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Second, Club Royale provided a timetable for when cruisers can expect to see their 2025-2026 Annual Cruise Tier Benefit, which can be used for a sailing through March 31, 2026. They will be issued from April 22-25, with higher-status cruisers getting theirs first. Here’s the full schedule for the rollout:
- Masters level members will see theirs on April 22 in the morning.
- Signature level members will get theirs in the afternoon of April 22.
- Prime members will get their Annual Cruise Tier Benefit between April 23 and April 25, with those members with the highest tier credits within the Prime level receiving theirs first.
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As mentioned, the Annual Cruise Tier Benefit can be an especially valuable perk for frequent cruisers who don’t gamble heavily on any one sailing. Infrequent cruisers and those who tend to reach a higher tier level on a single cruise tend to get the most value from instant certificates and targeted offers. But the annual cruise certificate is a highly flexible benefit to have in your account.
