Well another year of gambling and cruising is complete. We didn’t have a very good return on our gambling investments for 2025 but it was still worth it!
First and foremost, how much did we lose? (You can get this from the annual win/loss statement provided by the casino and available on their website)
Reva lost: $2,223.17
I Lost: $2,162
That is offset some by our on-board credit from RCL: $375
We play to maintain Prime status and get the complimentary one-week cruise (any ship, anywhere…with a few restrictions). That requires 2,500 points each. Which requires each of us to run $12,500 through the slot machines during the year.
That was an 82.5% return (not including the OBC). You may recall that our target is a 90% return.
In 2024, we lost a total of $3,552.72. In 2025, we lost $4,385.89 or $1,033 more.
During the year we took 9 complementary cruises with RCL and a free casino cruise on a Carnival ship. Now, a complementary cruise isn’t totally free. You always will have taxes and fees along with tips. Also, RCL changed their program and now most complementary cruises are for only one person with 50% discount for the second passenger. Upgrades are also extra.
The total cost of the complementary cruises for two with upgrades (not including tips which I pay during the cruise) was $4,097.14. Including the amount that we lost in the casino the total investment was $8,107.31. This equates to $901 per cruise! Most of the cabins were balconies but we did have a few Oceanview and one inside cabin. The casino cruises totaled 49 days on ships or $83 per day, per person.
Also, with our Prime status in the casino, we drink free at the casino bar which is not included in the expenses. This wasn’t as good as it was in the previous years but still a solid return on investment.
Overall, this still remains a good approach to offset cruise prices as long as you are willing to take the risk, enjoy gambling and know when to stop! You can check my previous blogs for program specifics and results from previous years.
