Royal Intel Insight

Did free play drop in September 2026?

Release 2609C is a mix-shift month for free play. Per-tier free play is unchanged from the prior month on every shared tier that carried free play in both releases. The cross-tier average moved because the sailing mix shifted toward tiers with higher fixed free-play amounts, not because any tier was raised or cut. That matters for how you read the month. The weighted free-play average is 1,258.6 per sailing this month versus 1,237.7 per sailing last month, but that is a composition effect. The underlying tier values are flat. The ladder is straightforward: - 1,500 points: $100 FreePlay - 2,000 points: $150 FreePlay - 3,000 points: $250 FreePlay - 4,000 points: $400 FreePlay - 6,500 points: $500 FreePlay - 9,000 points: $750 FreePlay - 15,000 points: $1,000 FreePlay - 25,000 points: $1,500 FreePlay - 40,000 points: $2,500 FreePlay - 70,000 points: $5,000 FreePlay The lower tiers below 1,500 points do not carry free play in the comparison set, so they do not factor into the month-over-month free-play read. Because the per-tier amounts did not move, the useful question is where the month spent more of its weight. This release has a larger share of sailings in the middle and upper tiers than the prior month, which is enough to push the weighted average up even though the offer table itself is unchanged. That is also why the release feels stronger at the top end than the average suggests. The 25,000-point tier still anchors the best-value sailing in the book, and the 40,000 and 70,000 tiers continue to carry the largest free-play figures. Those tiers are not new, but they are more visible this month because the sailing mix leans a little more toward them. If you are tracking free play for booking decisions, the key takeaway is stability. There is no evidence of a broad cut or a broad raise. The month is better described as a reweighting of the same ladder. For readers comparing tiers, the breakpoints still matter more than the average. The jump from 15,000 to 25,000 points is still the cleanest step-up in both cabin quality and free play, and the 40,000 and 70,000 tiers remain the only places where the premium suite inventory is paired with material casino credit.