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Cruise Casino Comps - what to expect....


casinocompman

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Was looking for experience from people who have been comped on cruise ships.

 

I play Blackjack from time to time, and instead of going to Vegas or somewhere else, why not go on a cruise?

 

So if I average about 300 per hand, and give them say 2 hours a day, what can I expect in comps? Will they pick up a cabin? Suite? Just drinks? Nothing at all?

 

What is the best cruise line to get the most comps?

 

Thanks is advance from a newbie cruiser.

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Norweigan's "Casino at Seas" program is generally regarded as having the best comps. Avg bet is clearly sufficient, hours may be a little low. I would call and ask about their expectations (you'll probably also want to discuss adjusting table maximums, which they will do if you make arrangements in advance...but I don't know the requirements). Also, I've never heard of them comping an initial cruise without prior play, but they will definately give you comps against your on board account (I'd guess several hundred) based on your play.

 

After your first cruise I would expect a comped room in advance and comps against room charges based on play.

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Thanks Bchristie and Jeffffs.

 

In thinking of the hours available to gamble, it just seems that on a cruise it would be less than at a land based casino - with ports, dinners, shows etc - it just seems the available gambling time window is small - and that is why I said 2 hours......

 

Going to take your advice and call next week to the different casinos at sea programs.

 

Anyone else with prior experience?

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First let me ask this, if you are that kind of gambler "will you marry me?" haha.

OK now that that is out of the way I will tell you my experiences. For the last 2 years I hardly go to land based casinos and only cruise. When I was playing on land at Harrahs properties I was Seven Star, so if you are familiar with that you know that i am a pretty "heavy" gambler.

 

In 2007 we went on the RCL's Liberty of the Seas. I play mostly slots. On the second night I was approached by the casino manager and invited to join Club Royale which is their player club by invitation only. We were given cards to drink free in the casino for the rest of the trip. They have special tournament cruises for their members (slots and blackjack) throughout the year. The cruise is complimentary(just port charges and taxes) and they give you a cashback from your last cruise.

On NCL, our first cruise was a complimentary from Harrahs(they have a partnership of some kind). We had free drinks in the casino throughout and at the end of the cruise depending on your play they take money off your final bill.

 

So basicly you have to sail first on most lines.

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First let me ask this, if you are that kind of gambler "will you marry me?" haha.

OK now that that is out of the way I will tell you my experiences. For the last 2 years I hardly go to land based casinos and only cruise. When I was playing on land at Harrahs properties I was Seven Star, so if you are familiar with that you know that i am a pretty "heavy" gambler.

 

In 2007 we went on the RCL's Liberty of the Seas. I play mostly slots. On the second night I was approached by the casino manager and invited to join Club Royale which is their player club by invitation only. We were given cards to drink free in the casino for the rest of the trip. They have special tournament cruises for their members (slots and blackjack) throughout the year. The cruise is complimentary(just port charges and taxes) and they give you a cashback from your last cruise.

On NCL, our first cruise was a complimentary from Harrahs(they have a partnership of some kind). We had free drinks in the casino throughout and at the end of the cruise depending on your play they take money off your final bill.

 

So basicly you have to sail first on most lines.

 

I would love to marry you, but my wife might get mad. :)

 

I actually called around today and got the same story you and other give. Royal Caribbean basically works on a rebate system, having to do with a percentage of your "theo" or theoretical loss. Pretty standard except that you get nothing on your first cruise, and then a cash rebate of your play for the previous cruise only on your next cruise. They also run certain cruises for certain people at certain times - but you have to be an established player.

 

NCL seemed more open to taking references from land based casinos, and they also seemed more likely to comp - I dont know that for sure - but it sounded that way on the phone.

 

Anyway, I am sure I will try this out - and thanks everyone for the responses in this thread!!

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Forgot to add....

 

Bring a bankroll of say 25K.

 

Thanks

 

just a side comment, you might run into issues carrying that type of cash through customs, and I don't know what the limit is on your sail and sign card per day, you might want to phone ahead for a line of credit.

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just a side comment, you might run into issues carrying that type of cash through customs, and I don't know what the limit is on your sail and sign card per day, you might want to phone ahead for a line of credit.

 

Yeah I used to fly to Freeport out of FLL quite a bit and the most you could (legally) leave the country with then was $3000. That was about 20 years ago--prolly higher now.

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Yeah I used to fly to Freeport out of FLL quite a bit and the most you could (legally) leave the country with then was $3000. That was about 20 years ago--prolly higher now.

 

i think anything over 10k needs to be declared, and heading to the caribbean or south america is going to put the drug dealer label all over you carrying that much cash.

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Dont expect much from Carnival.I spend around $5000 per cruise sometimes more sometimes less and they are really bad .Most I have gotten is drinks.I wrote them a nice letter last month to tell them how bad there system is(never got an answer either)

 

 

Mike

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Just off NCL Dawn which was a comped cruise from last years play. Also got $400 off final bill and free cocktails while gambling. This time , gambling about the same, got $35 off the bill! Had heard they had changed the comps but that was ridiculous! Don't think there will be a free cruise from this one.so they will not have my complete loyalty

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We are taking our 4th comped NCL cruise in January. We signed up for the casino at sea card. They have the cards like land casinos that you put in the machines or give to your dealer. The points translate to $ off your account at the end of the trip. Im not sure of the ratio of points to dollars-sorry!

 

When booking through the casino at sea you get free drinks in the casino. This can REALLY save a lot of money! Regarding the comped rooms. You are comped a better stateroom depending on your play. We didnt play as much as normal last year so we were comped an inside cabin this year and upgraded to balcony. The best weve had was being comped an outside cabin and just upgrading to balcony. The Casino director comped us 2 dinners for 2 including wine at a restaurant of our choice-of course we went to Cagneys! Edited to say this was in addition to the money off our onboard account.

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I received comp rooms at the Venetian and the Palazzo in Las Vegas for 2 years after my Carnival cruise. That's about the level of comps I have received from a cruise ship. I guess Carnival has an agreement with The Venetian to share info.

It's called Club Grazie and 'was' a partnership between them and Carnival. Just came back from Vegas and used my points I obtained on Carnival....which was great, but was informed by the supervisor 'the partnership has ended'...From what I understand Carnival only wants to focus on their own CPC program...that's cool!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Most table games had relatively low betting limits -- which was just as well, since many of the people at the cruise ship casino tables had relatively low gaming skills.Good thing, online casinos give great promotions. They even are very generous in terms of bonuses!

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  • 1 month later...
We are taking our 4th comped NCL cruise in January. We signed up for the casino at sea card. They have the cards like land casinos that you put in the machines or give to your dealer. The points translate to $ off your account at the end of the trip. Im not sure of the ratio of points to dollars-sorry!

 

When booking through the casino at sea you get free drinks in the casino. This can REALLY save a lot of money! Regarding the comped rooms. You are comped a better stateroom depending on your play. We didnt play as much as normal last year so we were comped an inside cabin this year and upgraded to balcony. The best weve had was being comped an outside cabin and just upgrading to balcony. The Casino director comped us 2 dinners for 2 including wine at a restaurant of our choice-of course we went to Cagneys! Edited to say this was in addition to the money off our onboard account.

 

We were booked thru CAS and rec'd two comped balcony rates off of one and about 10 percent for the second party of two. We booked BOT) Garden Villas so NCL still made a ton of $ off us our family. On this trip we gambled average of $10 per hand on video poker nd the "kids" played blackjack,

Poker, etc to the tune of $25 to $200 per hand. This is average o 5-6 hours per DAY!

 

Upon our return, when we called to inquired about discount towards next cruise, we were quoted around 17 per cent.....and two free balcony cabins for two of us......

 

Needless to say, we are looking elsewhere for net cruise. After $40k for tow Villas AND spending over $30-$40 k in the casino, we think that we can do better. Or we will just continue free suites, limos, gourmet restaurants, etc.at the Wynn....

 

Sort of disappointed as NO ONE was playing at the rate/level of our family of 11 !!!!!!!

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I am only a $100 a day player but perhaps the Casino Host on the Fantasy took a liking to me as I played all day on the $100. and I did put up with a alot of training new dealers.

She kept me in free drinks for most of the cruise, at least 2 a day and even comped a ball cap the last night which turned out to be very lucky at the craps table.

But otherwise do not expect too much from Carnival in the way of comps

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  • 1 month later...

We are taking our 6th and 7th "comped" NCL cruises in July and December of this year. On each cruise, we have been comped anywhere from balcony to penthouse cabins, which we have then paid to upgrade when we wanted more luxurious accomodations.

 

We also receive restaurant and spa comps while at sea, and always a certain discount off the final charges for the cruise, all based on level of play.

 

It is worth noting that NCL is now partly owned by Harrah's. We are Diamond level players with Harrah's, and do all our NCL comp bookings through our Harrah's Regional Manager and the NCL Casino Marketing group. While the Harrah's Diamond level does not translate to any certain level in NCL's program, it does reflect in the level of comps because they can be reasonably certain of our level of play on each cruise.

 

Of course, the level of comps for each cruise is based on two things: Your level of play on the previous cruises, and the popularity (destination and time of year) of the cruise you are trying to get comped. You will generally recieve better comps for less popular destinations, older ships, and off-season cruising. Stands to reason: These are the ships they need to work harder to fill.

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Dont expect much from Carnival.I spend around $5000 per cruise sometimes more sometimes less and they are really bad .Most I have gotten is drinks.I wrote them a nice letter last month to tell them how bad there system is(never got an answer either)

 

 

Mike

Next time you go email the Carnival Players club and have them look at your play on the last cruise. You should at least qualify for a Bon Voyage package sent to your state room. Still not much but better than nothing.

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Dont expect much from Carnival.I spend around $5000 per cruise sometimes more sometimes less and they are really bad .Most I have gotten is drinks.I wrote them a nice letter last month to tell them how bad there system is(never got an answer either)

 

 

Mike

 

I am sure if you contacted the Ocean Players Club before your next cruise you will also be entitled to casino cash plus the bon voyage package. Also spending that kind of money you will qualify for the free drink card in Casino on your next cruise. I don't spend near what you spend in the casino and I contacted them 3 weeks ago about my upcoming 4/03/2011 and I qualify for casino cash.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just sailed HAL and Celebrity within the past two months and gambled on both ships. Who do I contact, and where do I find the contact information (email address, tele #'s) to inquire about comps for my next booked cruises this year? Also how do I find out about getting a win/loss form?

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My girlfriend and I like to gamble alot, and I didnt even know that you could book using your Harrahs card. We booked and paid in full aleardy for an Ncl cruise next month. I called NCL today and they said they couldnt do anything for me. I was actually just looking to get the drink card for the 2 of us. They told me to sign up for their casino card and hit 100 points and then they would give us a drink card. I was hoping they would atleast bidge a little considering we paid already!

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I just sailed HAL and Celebrity within the past two months and gambled on both ships. Who do I contact, and where do I find the contact information (email address, tele #'s) to inquire about comps for my next booked cruises this year? Also how do I find out about getting a win/loss form?

 

Don't know about HAL or Celebrity, but NCL has a separate marketing department called "Casinos At Sea." They deal with comps and win/loss statements. I'm sure HAL and Celebrity must have the similar operations.

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My girlfriend and I like to gamble alot, and I didnt even know that you could book using your Harrahs card. We booked and paid in full aleardy for an Ncl cruise next month. I called NCL today and they said they couldnt do anything for me. I was actually just looking to get the drink card for the 2 of us. They told me to sign up for their casino card and hit 100 points and then they would give us a drink card. I was hoping they would atleast bidge a little considering we paid already!

 

You can do two things:

 

First, if you have a regular Harrah's marketing rep that you deal with, you can go through that person, and have them contact NCL Casinos at Sea on your behalf.

 

Second, you can call the regular NCL lines, and ask to be transferred to the Casinos At Sea department. The regular NCL booking people cannot do anything for you when it comes to casino comps.

 

I would think that between your Harrah's rep and the CAS department, you could get this all straightened out.

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  • 4 weeks later...
I just sailed HAL and Celebrity within the past two months and gambled on both ships. Who do I contact, and where do I find the contact information (email address, tele #'s) to inquire about comps for my next booked cruises this year? Also how do I find out about getting a win/loss form?

 

I can give you a little bit of help with Celebrity ...

 

First of all are you a member of their Blur Chip Club ??

 

Second - I hope they were tracking your play.

 

Third - call Celebrity's Casino Development Executive - Vanessa Bobadilla @ 305-539-4506. To confirm who you are you'll probably need your player's number.

 

This should point you in the right direction to answer your questions.

Good luck.

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