Princess Cruises Greece: Booked My Dream Trip with Points
Princess Cruises Greece, thanks to a Casino Deal
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When my husband and I first got together 21 years ago, I told him I dreamed of traveling to the Greek Isles. Thanks to Princess Cruises, Greece is happening! Recently, I got a casino deal for cruises and noticed a Greek Isles cruise listed. Want to learn how I started getting Casino Deals on Princess Cruises? Check out this post here.
Princess Casino Offers
Booking the Cruise: Cabin, Costs & Credits
While our cabin was technically free thanks to the casino offer, we still paid about $180 per person in taxes and port fees. On top of that, Princess Cruises requires a $200 non-refundable deposit per guest, which is returned as onboard credit once you're on the ship—a nice perk if you plan to spend onboard.
I’m usually a balcony girl, but on my last Princess cruise, I barely used it. So this time, we chose to upgrade our complimentary interior cabin to a premium ocean view, which felt like the perfect middle ground.
In total, my 7-night Greek Isles cruise with Princess came to $1,320, including the taxes, upgrade, and deposit—but with $400 in onboard credit waiting for me. When I priced the same itinerary without the casino deal, it would’ve cost over $4,000. That’s a savings of nearly 70%—proof that these offers are worth chasing.
Want to learn more about my strategy to get free cruises -> Affordable Cruising: Princess Cruises Casino Offers
Flights to Rome Using Points
When I booked the cruise, the trip was over a year away. I started looking for airfare around 10 months before the cruise. My goal was to do this with points. I started doing point.me searches weekly. Award travel inventory is constantly changing.
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I enter my home airport and where I am traveling to, the dates, and select economy or first, and it does all the searches for me. It even tells me how many points I need to move to book and how to do it!
I ended up rebooking my flights a couple of times, thanks to Point.me. At first, we were going to reposition from Nashville to Atlanta to head to Rome. However, I was able to find flights from Nashville to JFK to Rome on American Airlines. So I switched my flights to that. We ended up using 20,000 American Airlines miles each to fly to Rome from Nashville. Our out-of-pocket cost for the flights to Rome $11.20 for both tickets.
Athens Return Flights & Upgrades
For our flights back, I had originally booked to fly to Atlanta with a 13-hour layover in Paris. I ended up finding tickets using flying blue points to fly from Athens to Nashville. These were 85,000 miles for both flights. However, traveling on one ticket from Athens to Nashville was worth the expense to me. I have had way too many flight delays lately. We did have to pay taxes and fees for all these flights. Our total out-of-pocket for the flight back was around $650, including our seat upgrades for more leg room.
Hotel Stays in Rome and Athens
We are flying into Rome a day early. We booked a room at the Sina Bernini Bristol in Rome. We used 65,000 Marriott points for our stay. I have a transfer booked through Viator to pick us up from our hotel and transport us to the cruise port.
Looking for something amazing to do in Rome? Check out Get Your Guide
After our cruise, I have booked two nights in Athens, Greece. We are staying at the Grand Hyatt Athens. I was able to book our first night with my husband's free night certificate and the second night on points.
Final Cost: My Dream Greek Isles Cruise for Just $2,000
All in, we booked my dream trip to Greece for just $2,000 out of pocket. That includes:
Princess Cruises Greek Isles itinerary: $1,320 total—with a generous $400 onboard credit
Flights to Rome and home from Athens: $660 using points and strategic booking
Three hotel nights: completely free thanks to travel rewards
Using points, miles, and casino cruise deals, we turned a bucket-list adventure into a budget-friendly reality. This is exactly why I love travel hacking—it lets us explore the world without breaking the bank.
Let’s Travel Hack Together! Want to learn how I travel hack more trips -> Real Points & Miles Adventures
If you enjoy learning how we travel as a family using points, miles, and smart credit card strategies, I’d love for you to follow along:
