If you love cruising with Royal Caribbean, you’ve probably heard people mention NextCruise certificates. These are deposits you make while onboard—or even in the Royal Caribbean app—to lock in perks for a future sailing. When used strategically, they can save you money, give you onboard credit, and even make comped casino cruises nearly free.
In this guide, we’ll cover how to get them, how to use them, and how to maximize their benefits—especially when stacking with Casino Royale offers.
What Is a NextCruise Certificate?
A NextCruise certificate is essentially a deposit you purchase to secure perks on your next sailing. Instead of committing to a specific cruise right away, you’re buying flexibility—and some added rewards.
When you later apply that certificate to a cruise, you’ll receive:
- 🔹Bonus Onboard Credit (OBC)
- 🔹A locked-in deposit that goes toward the price of your cruise (even a comped one)
- 🔹Flexibility in choosing your future sailing
How to Get a NextCruise Certificate
There are three main ways:
🔹Through the Royal Caribbean App – The easiest option. Look for the NextCruise section in the app while onboard. Once purchased, you’ll receive a confirmation email with an open booking number. Think of this as a voucher you can later apply to any sailing.
🔹At the NextCruise Desk Onboard – Every ship has a desk, usually near Guest Services or the Promenade. Here you can:
- 🔹Purchase an open booking.
- 🔹You can also book your next cruise at this desk – if you know where you want to go. Or keep it open to apply to a future Casino comp.
⚠️ Important: Pricing at the desk doesn’t always match what’s online. Sometimes you’ll find better deals with your travel agent or directly on Royal Caribbean’s website—but you can still apply your NextCruise Certificate to those bookings later.
Through Your Travel Agent After You Return Home – Even if you buy the certificate onboard, you don’t have to book directly with Royal Caribbean. Simply provide your open booking number to your travel agent, and they can apply it to your cruise of choice.
👉 Note: In most cases today, NextCruise deposits are nonrefundable, so confirm before you purchase.
How NextCruise Certificates Work With Comped Cruises
This is where the real magic happens. If you’re cruising on a Casino Royale comp offer:
- 🔹You can still buy a NextCruise certificate (say, $200).
- 🔹When you apply it to another comped cruise, that $200 becomes part of your payment toward required costs like port fees and taxes.
- 🔹You also unlock the bonus onboard credit tied to that certificate.
For example, here’s how it worked for us recently:
- While onboard a previous cruise, we purchased a $200 NextCruie Certficiate via the app.
- Later, when we received a Casino comp offer we were interested in, we applied it to that comped sailing that cost $292 total (port charges + a small room upgrade).
- Because the $200 deposit counted toward the balance, we only owed $92 more when booking the new cruise.
- Bottom line: We essentially prepaid $200 and then just added $92—while still getting onboard credit for that next cruise.
That’s stacking perks at its finest.
Benefits of NextCruise Certificates
- 🔹Onboard Credit (OBC): Free spending money for drinks, Wi-Fi, dining packages, and of course – gambling.
- 🔹Stackable With Casino Offers: Turn “free” casino cruises into upgraded experiences with extra OBC. We’ve used the OBC to help cover the cost of Unlimited Dining or Spa treatments.
- 🔹Flexibility: Don’t know your dates? No problem—use the open booking number later.
- 🔹Applies to Any Cruise: Works with both paid and comped sailings.
- 🔹Booking Options: Apply through the app, or at the NextCruise desk while onboard.
Tips to Maximize Your NCC
- 🔹Always check prices – Compare the NextCruise desk quote with your travel agent and Royal Caribbean’s website before applying.
- 🔹Track your open booking number – Save the confirmation email and note it in a travel binder or digital tracker so it doesn’t get lost.
- 🔹Stack strategically – The biggest value comes when pairing NextCruise Certificates with Casino Royale comped cruises.
- 🔹Buy refundable if available – Rare these days, but if you see the option, refundable offers maximum flexibility.
Bottom Line
Royal Caribbean’s NextCruise program is one of the easiest ways to add value to cruises you’re already planning. By combining them with Casino Royale comp offers, you can:
- 🔹Prepay part of your next cruise
- 🔹Unlock bonus onboard credit
- 🔹Reduce your out-of-pocket cost at the time of booking to almost nothing
If you’re sailing soon, don’t skip the NextCruise Certificates —it could be the smartest five minutes you spend all trip.
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