🏝️ 🛳️ Free-ish Resort and Cruise Vacations
Of course, not really free
More Beware Resort Tours from being a Smart Travel Consumer.
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Aside from gifts from family and friends, NO vacations, including resort tours, are truly free. But there are cases where it’s free-adjacent. You just have to know what the catch is.
7 TIPS
Not totally free. Be sure to check the fine print for your awards. Typically they’re complimentary and not 100% free. There may be gratuity, registration, taxes, and resort and port fees.
Winner! Drawings from Vacation Steal and others award free cruise sailings and resort stays. We recommend the Vacation Steal Sweepstakes, which features a drawing every month, multiple vacation winners, and a choice of various cruise and resort rewards.
Our Bad. These are among our favorites. There are times when the resort or cruise can’t fulfill your booking. The property or ship may not be available due to delays, scheduling conflicts, canceled sailings, etc. A large group may have bought out all the rooms or a sailing. Or they may be oversold. You may get a free vacation out of it, much like scoring a free ticket when bumped by an airline.
Here is a personal example. We booked a Grand Opening special at the all-inclusive Dreams Natura Resort & Spa in Cancun. The price was 35% off their regular price during that first shakedown month. A month before the opening they wrote us that they weren’t ready and cancelled the reservation. But they offered an amazing deal. We could book another (and better) resort in their family for that date at the same price we already paid AND they would give us a complimentary reservation at the Natura at a later time when they were open. Sweet!Casino love. Cruise lines and resorts will gift frequent gamblers or high rollers complimentary cabins or rooms. It’s especially nice when food and drinks are included and you can bring a friend. Of course you’ve already paid for them through your gambling losses (on average).
Loyalty programs. Frequent the same hotel chain or cruise line long enough and you’ll eventually score a free resort room or cruise cabin through their rewards program.
Group bookings. Hotels and cruise lines provide a complimentary cabin or room for large enough groups. It’s one of the perks of planning group events, whether it’s a wedding, family get-together, corporate event, or conference or expo. Cruise lines give you a cabin with 8-16 fully booked cabins or rooms with double occupancy. Hotels comp 1 free room for every 10-20 paid room nights.
Marketing promotions. Hotels typically allow up to 4 or even more guests per room. But there are limits at all-inclusive resorts and cruises where you pay by person, not room, since food and beverages are included. MSC Cruises allows children 11 or under to sail free year-round. Other cruise lines provide Free 3rd or 4th Guests or Kids Sail Free promotions for only select sailings or during specific booking windows, including Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Disney Cruise, Holland America Line, Line Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line.
Let us know if you’ve experienced or seen any other free vacays.