Posted on: July 2, 2024, 10:55h.
Last updated on: July 2, 2024, 11:05h.
A lucky cruise passenger aboard an Azamara ship received an unforgettable room upgrade after winning a bingo game at sea.
A video went viral on TikTok this week under the profile “Mr. Talcott.” The man in the clip — Michael Rivera — tells viewers he won a room upgrade playing “blackout bingo” aboard the Azamara Quest vessel.
Rivera said in the 1:17-long video that he and his husband, Garett Talcott, were given a complimentary upgrade for winning bingo. Blackout bingo requires players to complete an entire bingo card. In this instance, Rivera was the first player to black out all 25 spaces on his bingo card.
We just won bingo and got upgraded to the biggest room on the entire ship,” Rivera said in the social media post.
The suite comes with a dining area, storage cabinets, a full bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and walk-in shower, a king bed, desk, two televisions, closet space, butler service, and a 233-square-foot private veranda.
Rivera is an elementary school teacher who is spending part of his summer holiday at sea with his husband. The couple will now spend it most luxuriously.
Rivera and Talcott, per their social media channels, including Instagram, appear to be regular cruisers. The couple also took an Azamara cruise over the Christmas holiday break last year.
Pays to Play
Rivera and Talcott are on a 20-day journey at sea. They will reside in their Club World Owner’s Suite the entire time. According to the Azamara website, such a guestroom for a 20-day voyage can cost as much as $50K for two cruisers.
Azamara is an upscale cruise line founded in 2007 by Royal Caribbean to diversify its fleet and operations. Royal Caribbean sold Azamara and its four ships to New York private equity firm Sycamore Partners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of Azamara’s four vessels — Journey, Quest, Pursuit, and Onward — are registered in Malta.
Bingo is played most days at sea on an Azamara cruise, with the cruise offering an array of prizes. Rivera told Newsweek that they paid $450 for nine bingo cards each. They said only about 30 people were playing, so they bet big on winning the suite upgrade.
For several years, Azamara has also run a Summer Bingo promotion for travel agents. The game tasks travel agents to book several cruises for clients for a chance at winning a free cruise for two.
Unlike most leading cruise lines, Azamara doesn’t offer casino gambling. The ships instead offer a card room where games like bridge can be played casually.
Cruise Industry Banner Year
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said in April that 2023 was the industry’s best year ever in terms of passenger volume. The trade association said 31.7 million people took a cruise, a 7% increase from 2019 and a new annual high.
2024 is expected to be the year when the global cruise industry exceeds more than 300 ships in operation. Between this year through 2028, CLIA members are expected to set sail on 35 new vessels.
A CLIA survey of 2023 cruise passengers found that nearly three in four cruise travelers said a travel advisor convinced them to embark on a cruise.
