If you have an American Express card and want to sail Royal Caribbean or Celebrity, there could be free money waiting for you in the offers section of the Amex website.
Amex Cruise Offer Basic Information
There are actually two separate offers, one for Royal Caribbean International and one for Celebrity Cruises. Simply log into your account and scroll down to the "Amex Offers & Benefits" section, filter for travel, add the appropriate offer or offers by clicking "Redeem Now". After that, if you pay for a Royal Caribbean or Celebrity cruise before the expiration date on the site, you'll get some of the money back as a statement credit. The minimum purchase amounts, statement credits (how much you'll get back), and the expiration dates vary by specific card and account, but as you can see above, you could get back as much as $650 between the two promotions.
It's important to note that in both cases, the fine print is confusing about how you can make these bookings, but it seems that whether you book direct, or through a travel agent, you should qualify. The only caveat is with travel agencies that process your payment directly (rather than passing the payment information to the cruise line. You can ask your agent about this, but it's not a common practice among independent agents. On that subject, if you want to potentially save even more, make sure you check out the next section as well.
The Terms/Fine Print
Royal Caribbean Amex Offer
Get a one-time $500 statement credit by using your enrolled Card to spend a minimum of $1,500 in one or more transactions on reservations booked at royalcaribbean.com, by phone at 1-866-562-7625 or by contacting your preferred travel advisor by 12/31/2021. See terms for exclusions.
OFFER TERMS
Enrollment limited. Must first add offer to Card and then use same Card to redeem. Only U.S.-issued American Express® Cards are eligible. Limit 1 enrolled Card per Card Member across all American Express offer channels. Your enrollment of an eligible American Express Card for this offer extends only to that Card. Offer valid on bookings made online at royalcaribbean.com or by calling 1-866-562-7625 or your Travel Professional. Reservations must be booked on US website only. Valid only on purchases made in US dollars. Excludes onboard purchases, e-gift card and physical gift card purchases made online, transfers/transportation to the ship, Royal Caribbean/Universal Resort Joint Vacation, MGM Resort International Joint Vacation and Royal Wedding Packages. Excludes Celebrity Cruise, TUI Cruises and Silversea brands. Please note that hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines do not accept prepaid cards for charges authorized in advance, although prepaid cards may be used to settle the final bill. Check to make sure prepaid cards are accepted before attempting to use your prepaid card to take advantage of offers for these merchants. Offer is non-transferable. Limit of 1 statement credit per Card Member. The enrolled Card account must not be cancelled or past due to receive statement credit. Any benefit earned from this offer is in addition to the rewards (i.e. Membership Rewards or cash back) earned as part of your existing Card benefits, but your ability to earn spend-based rewards for the purchase will be based on the amount after any statement credit or other discount is applied. Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 12/31/2021, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. Note that American Express may not receive information about your qualifying purchase from merchant until all items from your qualifying purchase have been provided/shipped by merchant. Statement credit may be reversed if qualifying purchase is returned/cancelled. If American Express does not receive information that identifies your transaction as qualifying for the offer, you will not receive the statement credit. For example, your transaction will not qualify if it is not made directly with the merchant. In addition, in most cases, you may not receive the statement credit if your transaction is made with an electronic wallet or through a third party or if the merchant uses a mobile or wireless card reader to process it. By adding an offer to a Card, you agree that American Express may send you communications about the offer. ©2021 Royal Caribbean International. Ships’ registry: Bahamas POID: K2S1:0003
Celebrity Cruises Amex Offer
Get a one-time $150 statement credit by using your enrolled Card to spend a minimum of $500+ on Celebrity Cruises cruise reservations online at celebritycruises.com/amex or by phone at 1-844-530-3783 by 3/27/2022. See terms for exclusions.
OFFER TERMS
Enrollment limited. Must first add offer to Card and then use same Card to redeem. Only U.S.-issued American Express® Cards are eligible. Limit 1 enrolled Card per Card Member across all American Express offer channels. Your enrollment of an eligible American Express Card for this offer extends only to that Card. Offer valid only for qualifying reservations booked directly online at celebrity.com/amex, via the US reservation phone line 1-844-530-3783, through the merchant mobile app, or a Travel Professional between 10/18/2021 and 3/27/2022. Eligible transactions must be made in USD. Excludes international transactions, all onboard transactions, corporate sales and corporate sales gift cards, physical gift cards purchased online, e-gift cards, art auctions, Canyon Ranch Spa, and affiliate brands: Royal Caribbean, Silverseas, and Azamara. Excludes the following Specialty Cruises: Music & Themed, LGBTQ+ VACAYA cruises, and Tie the Knot. Please note that hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines do not accept prepaid cards for charges authorized in advance, although prepaid cards may be used to settle the final bill. Check to make sure prepaid cards are accepted before attempting to use your prepaid card to take advantage of offers for these merchants. Offer is non-transferable. Limit of 1 statement credit per Card Member. You may not receive the statement credit if we receive inaccurate information or are otherwise unable to identify your purchase as qualifying for the offer. For example, you may not receive the statement credit if (a) the merchant uses a third-party to sell their products or services; or (b) the merchant uses a third-party to process or submit your transaction to us (e.g., using mobile or wireless card readers); or (c) you choose to make a purchase using a third-party payment account or make a purchase using a mobile or digital wallet. Purchases may fall outside of the offer period in some cases due to a delay in merchants submitting transactions to us or if the purchase date differs from the date you made the transaction (for example, the purchase date for online orders may be the shipping date). Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 3/27/2022, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. Note that American Express may not receive information about your qualifying purchase from merchant until all items/services from your qualifying purchase have been shipped/provided by merchant. Statement credit may be reversed if qualifying purchase is returned/cancelled. If American Express does not receive information that identifies your purchase as qualifying for the offer, you will not receive the statement credit. Limit 1 enrolled Card per American Express Card online account. The enrolled Card account must be active, not past due, canceled, or have a returned payment outstanding to receive the statement credit. Any benefit earned from this offer is in addition to the rewards (i.e. Membership Rewards or cash back) earned as part of your existing Card benefits, but your ability to earn spend-based rewards for the purchase will be based on the amount after any statement credit or other discount is applied. Amex Offers are dynamic and personalized, so the offers you see may change. For questions regarding your Card Account, please call the number on the back of your Card. By adding an offer to a Card, you agree that American Express may send you communications about the offer. POID: K2RA:0001
How to "Double Dip" & Save Even More
As mentioned, in most cases you can qualify for these offers whether you book directly or with a travel agent. Our #1 tip for getting the best possible deal on a cruise is to book with a good travel agent. There are a ton of advantages to booking with a travel agent, and the possible savings is just one of them. If you do book directly though, perhaps because of the confusing wording in the Amex offers, but you want to take advantage of the service and potential savings of booking through a travel agent, there is a way.
Most of the time, if you book a cruise directly with a cruise line, you actually have a few weeks or even a month to transfer that booking to a travel agent of your choice. To do this, just ask your travel agent, they'll complete a simple form, and likely ask you to sign it. Once that done, if the travel agent has additional incentives or promotions to apply, resulting in you receiving onboard credit, or even a lower price, you'll get those advantages. You won't ever end up with a less-valuable offer by transferring your booking. When doesn't this work? Usually, if you book a cruise at the last minute (where you're already inside the final payment date), you're unable to transfer it - but it never hurts to ask!
While many different cardholders and card types have these offers, it seems like some of the best offers may be for those with Amex Platinum cards, and in fact, if you don't have one, the sign-on bonuses and the Royal Caribbean deal could offset the annual fee for a couple of years! You can even get an extra bonus by applying through our affiliate link. Keep your eye out for future offers, too, as they don't always have the same terms, and you may have an opportunity to pay more money toward your upcoming cruise and get another credit. Now, I just need to book another cruise so I can save more money. That's how it works, right?