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What if I told you I booked three nearly-free cruises in the past year, including trips to the Caribbean and Europe? It may sound far-fetched, but all I had to pay were port taxes and fees for each trip. With a simple process of matching a lesser-known hotel status to a casino loyalty program, you too can snag free cruises! Here's how it works.
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How To Get Started: Wyndham Status
While Wyndham Diamond status may not have the wow factor that some of the other top loyalty programs offer, it does have several unique benefits. Notably, it is the gateway to multiple free cruises through its status match program with Caesars Rewards. And luckily, Wyndham Diamond is one of the easiest hotel statuses to earn!
Two ways to earn Diamond status are:
- Staying 40 qualifying nights at Wyndham properties within a year
- Having a Wyndham Rewards® Earner℠ Business Card card in your wallet
Note: Status matching from other hotel loyalty programs will also get you Wyndham Diamond status but will NOT work as a route to Caesars Diamond, so avoid this method.
Once you have Wyndham Diamond status, a simple online form lets you match your Wyndham status to Caesars Rewards Diamond. That's where the magic is unlocked.
Why Caesars Diamond Status Matters
Cruise lines want to attract gamblers to their casinos, so they are willing to give away discounted and even free cruises to draw in travelers with a history of gambling. Having status with a land-based casino like Caesars tells the cruise lines that you're likely to spend time and money in the ship's casino. In addition to free cruises, companies will often throw in perks incentivizing you to gamble, such as free play (money preloaded to your card) and free drinks in the casino.
There are other routes to Caesars Diamond, too. Of course, the most obvious way is earned through casino spending. For me, the best path to Caesars status was Wyndham Earner Business Card with a smaller $95 annual fee.
Related: Wyndham Earner Business Card full review
First Cruise Match: Carnival
The first match that I submitted was the Carnival Fun Match. An online form requires you to submit proof of your land-based casino status — in this case, Caesar's Diamond. Typically, cruise lines will accept a screenshot of your membership card from the Ceasars Rewards website or mobile app. Within a few days, the Fun Match program will start emailing you offers. Initially, these will be for discounted cruises; with patience, most people eventually get offers for free cruises.
Although my offer was for “up to” a free balcony room, I had trouble finding sailings with balcony rooms available for this offer. My husband and I decided on a porthole room on an eight-day cruise to the Southern Caribbean for this coming May. Although you are not required to gamble on the cruise, the offer included $50 of free play plus free drinks in the casino.
Second Cruise Match: Holland America
After booking the Carnival sailing, I was excited to try my luck at another match. Similar to the Carnival offer, the Holland America Players Club Match Program lets you submit proof of your land-based casino status to get free cruises. A few days after submitting my Caesars card screenshot, I received an email offering me a free cruise in an interior room!
There were several available options, but the time-frame was more limited than with Carnival. In the end, I booked an October 2023 sailing to the Eastern Caribbean, including St. Thomas, Grand Turk, and the Bahamas. I was excited to take my mom along for the journey. We decided to splurge, upgrading to an ocean view room for about $100 per person.
It was a great ship and a wonderful experience! I used the $100 free play and actually came out ahead in the casino. Again, gambling is not required for this offer, but we did enjoy playing the slots and getting our free drinks.
Third Cruise Match: Princess Cruises
Now, I was on a roll. The third cruise line that I matched to was the one I was most excited about: Princess Cruises. Princess also has a status match program called Qualified Player Offers. A simple, online form asking for proof of land-based casino status was all that was required.
This time, I received an email from the “Casino Specialist” asking for any other offers that I had received from other casinos to help determine what I would qualify for. I sent them the two other cruise offers and immediately qualified for an interior room. Interestingly, this offer included routes in Europe!
I found a seven-day Mediterranean cruise from Athens to Barcelona for this summer on the brand-new Sun Princess. Since we wanted to take our children on this cruise, we had to pay a little extra to add them to the reservation.
Fourth Cruise Match: MSC
If you have plans to visit Atlantic City (or live near enough to make a special trip), there is yet another path to a free cruise. First, get a physical copy of your Caesars Diamond card. You can get this at any Caesars property, such as Caesars Atlantic City. Take your card to Hard Rock Casino and match your status to Hard Rock Icon Status. Next, Icon matches to Ocean Prime at the Ocean Casino Resort. One of the benefits of Ocean Prime status is a complimentary cruise for two on MSC. It takes a bit of leg work, but the payoff is a free cruise on MSC!
Bottom Line
One credit card with a $95 annual fee offers top-tier elite status in its loyalty program, and that single status can open the door to amazing value Diamond status with Wyndham Rewards can be an easy path to nearly-free cruises for you and your loved ones. And with simple online status match forms, it takes just a few minutes to obtain status in multiple cruise programs, potentially yielding inexpensive sailings. The end result is a lifetime of memories without a high cost.
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