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James Larounis
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Who wouldn’t love a free cruise? Thanks to a status match offer from Carnival Cruise Line, you could receive a free cruise once you do some very simple legwork upfront.
If you upload proof of your casino loyalty program status to Carnival’s website, you may receive an offer for a free cruise in return.
The key is to match to as many casino programs as possible, showing Carnival that you’re a loyal customer and have the potential to gamble, even if you’ve never really gambled before or have no interest in it.
Examples of casino loyalty programs include:
Hot Tip: Learn more about Carnival Cruise Line in our detailed review of its ships, destinations, dining, its VIPF Club, and more!
If you have a particular hotel elite status — whether you stay in hotels often or earn status based upon a credit card — you can “match” that hotel status to another program’s elite tier (see our ultimate guide to hotel loyalty program status matches and challenges for full details).
For example, if you’re a World of Hyatt Globalist, you may be able to match to Ceasars Rewards Diamond status, the highest tier in that program. Then, you may be able to take your newly earned Ceasars Rewards Diamond status and match it to another casino loyalty program. Matching to more than 1 program may get you more than 1 status, and you’re then able to leverage those new status levels by uploading to the Carnival website.
After uploading your proof of status to Carnival’s website, you’ll likely be offered a discount on a future cruise, ranging from $50 to $500, but reports indicate that after a few days you may be sent an offer for a free cruise.
You’ll likely be able to take your free cruise anywhere — from Hawaii to Europe — though you’ll be responsible for unavoidable taxes and fees, which may add up (depending on the cities you visit).
Proceed with caution, however, as you’re not necessarily guaranteed a free cruise. Even after uploading proof of your status levels, it’s possible for Carnival to not match your status.
This is certainly a generous offer, and it doesn’t require a lot of upfront work. Since a free cruise is on the line, and there are few limits as to where that cruise can be, you’ll want to consider earning or matching into a casino loyalty status and then providing that proof to Carnival so that the company can invite you onboard one of its ships for free.
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James (Jamie) started The Forward Cabin blog to educate readers about points, miles, and loyalty programs. He’s spoken at Princeton University and The New York Times Travel Show and has been quoted in dozens of travel publications.
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