Royal Intel Insight

Did free play drop in July 2026?

Free play is unchanged at the tier level across the shared book. The month-over-month movement is not a cut or a raise in any individual shared tier. The current free-play ladder is: - 1500 points: $50 free play per sailing - 2000 points: $100 free play per sailing - 3000 points: $150 free play per sailing - 4000 points: $300 free play per sailing - 6500 points: $500 free play per sailing - 9000 points: $750 free play per sailing - 15000 points: $1,000 free play per sailing - 25000 points: $1,500 free play per sailing - 40000 points: $2,500 free play per sailing The lower tiers below 1500 points still do not show free play in the release data, so there is no comparison to make there. The weighted average free play across the release moved from $797.3 per sailing last month to $787.4 per sailing this month, a decline of $9.9 per sailing, weighted across tiers. That is a mix shift, not a tier change. The reason is simple: the book shifted toward tiers that carry lower free play on a per-sailing basis, even though the shared tier amounts themselves did not change. In other words, the average moved because the distribution moved. The release added more sailings at 4000, 1500, and 1200 points, while 6500, 9000, and the top tiers all came in lighter than last month. The biggest tier-level volume gains were: - 1500 points: +71 sailings - 1200 points: +111 sailings - 4000 points: +42 sailings The biggest shared-tier volume declines were: - 6500 points: -68 sailings - 9000 points: -62 sailings - 3000 points: -53 sailings - 40000 points: -38 sailings That mix matters because the higher free-play tiers are concentrated above 6500 points. When the book leans a little more into the middle tiers, the weighted average comes down even if the ladder itself is unchanged. If you are comparing releases, do not read this month as a free-play reduction. The per-tier amounts are flat. The only meaningful change is where the sailing count sits inside the ladder. The first two-guest tier remains 800 points, and the first balcony two-guest tier moves to 1200 points. Those breakpoint changes affect cabin access, not free play. For free play specifically, the ladder is stable; the mix is what moved.