SLOTheta

My slot budget for each cruise is $300.00, which I usually lose. Not a big gambler for sure. We've been blessed with the casino rate for our last 4 HAL cruises. Our discount casino rate is usually about 30-35% (Canadian). We just booked Koningsdam for 2019 and we saved $1600.00 total for both of us. For us, the casino rate is fantastic!

Wow. For a $300 investment on your last cruise, saving $1600 sounds like a great deal on your next cruise. It sounds like you splurged on a nice room, but saved a little $$. I hope to score some nice deals in the future, too!

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No berating here, simply lively debate. Want to join in?;)

I don’t think there’s much of a debate. You either like to gamble or you don’t. You obviously don’t. That’s fine. For the rest of us, who quite enjoy our casino time, it’s how we like to spend our extra money. If we get perks such as rooms or dinners, fabulous. Even without the perks, I would still gamble as much as I do. Non-gamblers don’t get it. Spend your money how you wish, I spend $500 on a pair of shoes. Others would never dream of it. I saved $700 on my cruise due to my gambling, I say, yay! Another pair of Jimmy Choos for me. I’ve seen people spend thousands on a Neptune suite, that’s not worth it to me. But, a nice Prada purse, worth more to me than a suite.

We each like to spend our money how we wish. I just wanted to let the gamblers out there know, you could get a nice discount. Win or lose.

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You dont have to lose money to get casino deals,We actually won just over 800 dollars an d received a great discount on our next cruise.

Nice!!! I’m hoping our next cruise gambling series will be as successful!! What do you usually play?

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Up until now we have been able to use onboard credit for slot machines. Someone commented recently that their account was charged separately and the onboard credit was not used. Has anyone else had this problem recently?

I haven’t been on a cruise since our first cruise 2 years ago. But, my PCC told me yesterday that I could not use the OBC I received with my future cruise credit OBC in the casino. I won’t know until I try, but we spent our last OBC on drinks [emoji51] and brought cash to the casino.

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No, they will not match other's offers. Generally speaking, the prices are the same, but some large TAs do offer better perks. I think that they are able to do this because they purchase large blocks of cabins on many cruises and get a volume discount from HAL. I think you can also get a discount if you take a block of cabins (do not know how many).

The big box store told me that they can always match HAL’s prices and that they can’t lower the published price. But, they add generous onboard credits to off set the price. If you book a minimum of 8 cabins, you get the 17th person free, which that money can be used to lower the price of everyone’s cruises. Our group did this for my friend’s wedding cruise. We had 48 people booked which gave us 3 people “free” The wedding couple took those 3 free bookings and gave us all a wedding couple credit to drive down the cost of our booking.

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They're hoping that you lose, which is in the house's favor

I would agree, most casinos stack the odds so you are not likely to win. If you play games with low house odds, the casino still has the advantage, but not as much of one. I like to play all the table games, but if there’s a good vibe at the black jack tables or poker, or play those. In poker, the casino only gets a rake.

Like what?

I’ve received: countless dinners at some of the best restaurants in Vegas and Lake Tahoe, ski passes, concert tickets, home electronics, hundreds of hotel nights, purses, thousands of drinks and now a discount off my cruise. The last offer I received from a casino was a $100,000 poker tournament entry and hotel stay for the weekend. I made it to the final round, I was paid out and had 2 days of fun. I gambled outside the tournament and won a nice sum. Yes, I’ve left a casino a loser many times, but I enjoyed my self. I always take out a specific sum of money to play with, I never take out more. I expect to lose it all, but that rarely happens. I usually come out even, or maybe a few hundred up or down. I’ve never sustained big losses. I see it as buying a $200 ticket to watch Cirque Du Soleil (which I’ve also received discounted tickets to from gambling).

Hello... I'm sure you know that those 'perks' are not 'free'. You paid for them with your gambling losses. The casinos are happy to toss you a 'free' room or meal based on how much you've lost in their casino.They're in business to make a profit, not to lose money on your perks.

 

 

 

Hint: The cards are never with you. and the 'odds' are not with you anywhere, whether in Vegas or on a ship.

Most gamblers understand that perks aren’t free. I enjoy gambling, even if they didn’t give me all the perks, I would still do it. The perks are a nice bonus after you’ve spent a weekend gambling and enjoying yourself. Some people like to spend thousands on cruises, I like to spend thousands gambling. If I get a free trip out of it, some shows and dinners, I’m a happy camper.

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We did not get this rate until about our 20th cruise, even though we gambled on each one. Based on our experience, I think you have to earn at least 1000 credits (which are based on "coin in") and likely more on the cruise before you get their attention. I even emailed the company that runs the casino a couple of years ago and they responded that our play was not enough to qualify. Last Dec we were on a cruise with alot of sea days, so we finally got over the 1000 mark - maybe that helped, I do not know for certain, but we did just start getting the casino rate.

 

 

 

My theory is that slots earn these points the quickest (like they do in Vegas) as the casino wants you to play them due to the high "hold" percentage for them. Also, play the machines that have smaller jackpots, as they tend to have more smaller 'wins" which keeps you earning a bit of cash to keep playing on. In Vegas, video poker is a great way to do this, as there are many small wins and you thus end up with more "coin in". However on the cruise ships, video poker odds are much lower than in Vegas and your cash goes much quicker.

Thanks for the tips. I’m a table player, black jack, craps and roulette. We had a large group sailing and there were about 15 of us who enjoyed gambling together each night. When I gamble, I take out a certain amount I’m willing to lose. I see it as my entertainment fund - instead of spending money on extra dinners or spa visits (we a dinner each of the specially restaurants once), I’d rather use my fun money to gamble with my friends. I wonder if it was my husband’s slot playing which accumulated the points quickly. He gambled about a $100 a night, would typically come back to the room pretty close to even. At the end of 11 nights, he said he lost less than $100, but was consistently running through at least $100 each night through the machine. I’m not a big slot person since I gamble for the social aspects of gambling - hanging out with my friends and meeting new people.

We are going on our cruise with 3 other couples who enjoy a little casino time next summer, we will be racking up a few more points!

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I know of a couple of people who get the "gamblers email" offering some sweet deals on select cruises, but you REALLY have to jump on them fast, as they sell out quickly. Some of these offers are for FREE Inside cabins with Neptunes being around $1000 pp, even for 14 day cruises. Generally speaking, these deals are for cruises less than 3-4 months out (or less).

 

While this deal almost seems too good to be true, based on the numerous reports on this board, it does seem to be a good deal, so "get it while you can!".

I’ve never received an email or a letter advertising a casino rate. I only knew to ask about it because of this board. I wonder if you have to be flagged to get these emails and letters. Maybe I’m not gambling enough!

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I gambled every night, never expecting to win. I gamble to have fun, not to make money. At the end of 12 days, I lost maybe $200 to $300 dollars. I loose $200 in Vegas in a few hours. So, for 11 nights of fun gambling with my friends, losing $200 was a steal.

I don’t recall for much the lotto package was, but it was maybe $10 or $15 above the price of a drink. Since the package included a free drink and a deck of cards, paying an extra $10 or $15 was worth it to me. I included this figure in my $250 a day gambling.

So, I spent a total of $200 to $300 to gain 11 nights of fun and $726 savings. I met really nice people chatting at the tables and played for hours each night.

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Hi there -

After weeks of trying to figure out what to do, I booked our group cruise today with a HAL PCC. We didn’t get the OBC offered by our big box membership store. But, for now, it’s worth it to me to deal with HAL directly.

I wanted to let all the gamblers know that it may be worth your while to continue to gamble while cruising. I’ve only taken one cruise on HAL, a 12 Day Mediterranean cruise on the Eurodam. I gambled every night and had various levels of success. On average, I gambled roughly $250 a day. I was up a lot, then down quite a bit. It has been awhile, but I believe ended up losing a few hundred dollars at the end of the trip. I also participated in promotions in the casino that included buying a package that gave me lotto tickets, a free drink and a deck of cards. I also won a dinner for 2 at Canaletto.

When we were first quoted our cruise, it was $5958. After our PCC applied the casino discount, it was $5232. A savings of $726.

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Why not just ask HAL about what is involved with transferring a group booking to a TA? I certainly wouldn't uncritically accept your TA's warning, as their conflict of interest is obvious.

Isn’t the same conflict of interest lie with the HAL PCC since they would get the booking credit if we stay with them? I understand PCC’s get credit for setting the bookings up, and then another credit (for bonuses) if the travelers actually take the cruise.

I did ask the HAL PCC, she said their typically aren’t problems with transferring groups. But, she usually deals with individual transfers out and not group transfers.

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Who does business by fax? I email my TA and call her.

 

 

 

Roz

The biggest club membership big box store will only take booking information by fax. We can communicate via email, but any changes in bookings, the TA wants a faxed form

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Hello,

I read through all the various threads back to 2014 on transferring your booking from HAL to a TA of your choice. The consensus was there isn’t a problem. I’ve been working with a big box membership TA to set up my group. But, they only want to deal with me and forms all sent via fax. I really don’t want to gather up all my groups questions and be the person as the go between. I also don’t have easy access to a fax machine and bring the messenger is a bit of a pain. I would prefer to set up my group with HAL, and if I like the service and pricing I’ll stay. But, I would like the option to take my group to some other agent if I’m not getting the service I need, or if the incentives are that much more substantial with an outside agency. The big box store said individual bookings can easily be transferred, but he warned against a group transfer and HAL may not let me, or that if I do transfer, I may not get the incentives that the big box store gives in OBC. Which seems strange to me.

Besides an individual booking transfer, has anyone transferred a group booking from HAL to an outside travel agency? Did you lose any benefits of the group or OBC?

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tks 4 the review...still thing about getting the Signature Pkg

We consider ourselves people who like to indulge in evening drinks. Most nights, we would have a drink before dinner, 2 with dinner, and 3 more while dancing or gambling. We opted to hit the happy hours and also brought our own wine on the ship and paid the courage for a case of very nice California wine. The SBP includes 15 drinks a day, we really couldn’t justify spending over $100 a day on drinks alone. We took full advantage of the early and late night happy hour. At the end of the trip, we paid about $500 in drinks/corkage for our 12 day cruise for 2 drinkers. The SBP is roughly $100 a day for 2. We saved roughly $600 by bringing our own wine and utilizing Happy Hours. We still bought drinks outside of happy hour, but tried to catch the early and late night HH to maximize our money. We also don’t drink caffeine, so supplementing drinks with specialty coffees or sodas wasn’t appealing. We picked up bottled waters in the various port for $1 a bottle.

To make the SBP ($49.95/pp/PD)worth the $, you’d have to drink more than 7 alcoholic drinks a day at $8 each (sodas and water are cheaper), to make the SBP worth the money. If you get it for free, great. But, it doesn’t seem worth it to me.

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The view will be about the same for anything mid-ship on 6 to 8. You might get a little overhead noise on 8. I would try for one of the cabins with the larger balconies: 6100, 6115, 6128, 6143, 7109, 7116.

Thank you! It looks like I’m out of luck when it comes to the better Verandahs with larger balconies midship. They are all snapped up.

This is what’s left:

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Hello,

I’m looking to book a midship veranda on the Koningsdam on one of the uppers decks (6-10). My husband values views the most, is there a deck (or specific room) that people prefer for that best views that isn’t impacted by a ton of noise or people? Noise bothers me the most.

From searching on the board, it’s seems people like V6128 and V6142. But, I haven’t found much on the other verandah decks 7-10.

Thanks!

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The upgrades sound nice, and are very tempting, but you have no control over them. You used two words that jumped out at me:

possible, and hope (twice). Will you be happy if the upgrades don't come through ? Will your friends be happy in their Obstructed Veranda View for 12 days ? A 12 day Med cruise is a large investment in time and money when you add in flights, hotels, time away from home.

 

So for me, as a group coordinator, I would take the room upgrades out of the equation when assessing value. The reason is that I want to know exactly what my group is getting, and knowing that helps me keep my guests happy and satisfied with their investment. I can assure the group that they will get "This and that for this cruise fare."

 

Aim for what would make you and everyone else happy for 12 days, and make people feel that they got their money's worth.

Remember that "Price is what you pay, value is what you get."

Thank you! I definitely intend to tell my group to pick the room they want and not expect an upgrade. Most of us really have no idea which room they want. I’ve posted a few options here, but have had little response. Since the GAP points program and the Family Reunion package are essentially the same “perks” that we would be interested in, besides the possible room upgrades, we are most likely going to book with the Family Reunion package since we have nothing to lose and everything to gain with an upgrade. If we get good upgrades, fab, if not, oh wells. We didn’t lose out on an perks.

I’m still navigating the PCC vs big box store agent. That’s been an interesting process!

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It depends on the perceived value of what you'll be getting.

 

Example: Which would better suit members in your group:

$50 soda card + $50 beverage card + PG lunch (Family Reunion Package)

-or-

a dinner in the PG + a dinner in the Tamarind (6 GAP points total in HAL's small group Connections program)

 

The PG lunch is worth $10 per person. Added to the cards, that's $110.

The PG dinner is worth $35, and the Tamarind dinner is $25. So that's $60; a $50 difference.

It sounds like the package would be better, BUT how many in the group will use a $50 soda card ?

Will there be a few children in the group ? Soda cards are good for them.

But some adults may not use them, so that's $50 with no value.

 

Would everyone in your group use the PG and Tamarind dinners ? The adults would

because it's an exceptional dining experience.

 

It's about what would be of value to your group.

Some groups would prefer the package, others would use the GAP points for the dinners.

Thanks, Boatdrill. I appreciate your response.

The biggest difference that I can tell between the GAP points and the packages is the room upgrade possibility. For example, our cruise is awarded 4 GAP points.

With 4 GAP points we could get one Pinnacle Dinner ($35) and one bottle of Bon Voyage bubbly ($30) = $60 value per person

With the Family Reunion package, you essentially get the same $60 value (yes, you don’t get to pick your perks, but I would basically pick this list anyhow) and you get an opportunity to have your guests upgraded within the category they picked and the organizer would get an upgrade to the next category (based on availability). For example, as the organizer, I would book the verandah, and hope to get upgraded to a Vista. My guests would pick a VH (obstructed) and hope for a V.

It seems like a lot to give up a possible room-category upgrade to pick your perks meager perks.

Maybe I’m missing something?

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Hello! I just booked a group of my own family and friends (36 of us, thus far) on a 2019 sailing. The system was tricky to learn, but I think I understand most of the ins and outs. I agree, it was difficult getting consistent answers on the telephone. If would like to correspond via email, let me know, and we can try to figure out how to get in touch. Cheers!

That would be lovely. Since we aren’t allowed email addresses here, my contact info can be found at http://www.nancybui.com

I would appreciate any help you could provide.

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We are looking at sailing on the Koningsdam in March, 2018. In the past, we have selected guarantee cabins and have been very fortunate with upgrades and final cabin assignments. However, this year, we are looking at some of the Verandas -- more specifically with what looks like large balconies and selecting our own cabin rather than a guarantee.

 

Would like opinions of what you think would be a good choice. Cabin VH4044 or VH 4043. Cabin V5096 or V5113, V5141, Cabin V6128 or V6143.

 

We sailed on the Nieu Amsterdam a few years ago and our guarantee ended up in one of the cabins with a balcony that they classified as obstructed because the life boat was to the side of it, but this was a fantastic cabin for us. The balcony was deep enough for two loungers and then two chairs and a table toward the front. We just loved the cabin, so thought that the above looked like they might have the deep balconies.

 

Also, wanted your thinking on the VH 4044 or VH 4043 since these rooms are wider -- but the balconies look large, but not necessarily deep.

 

Was hoping some of you had stayed in one of these or had more experience with deck plans to determine size.

 

In advance, thanks so much for your help!

 

This will be celebrating our 45th anniversary.

What did you end up picking? Happy anniversary!

I didn’t want to start a new thread, so I searched through this one for the best tips for cabins.

Out of the ones listed in this thread, the following rooms are still available for our 2019 Ancient Empire Cruise (July) - they all are roughly the same price per person ($3059).

Does anyone have any additional commentary, additional verandah suggestions or recent experiences? I’m looking to block off 6 verandah rooms on the same deck.

V6128

V5113

V6142

Not available: 5048, 4154, 4043, 4044

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Yes the dividers can be opened, just ask your cabin steward and he will unlock them for you. We have 11 balcony cabins on the Koningsdam next March and are looking forward to spending time on the balconies all opened up!! Enjoy your cruise!!

Hi there! I’m looking to book a block of rooms for our cruise next summer in the Koningsdam. Did you book as a group? Which deck are your cabins on? All my friends are first time cruisers and I’m trying to help pick a block of rooms on the same floor. Thanks in advance!

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Perhaps an experienced travel agent could help you? The good ones frequently know more than the HAL reps.

We used a travel agent for our last group. She retired and didn’t have a referral for us. I contacted a big box store and have been working with the agent who responded to my group booking request. We used to have a travel agency in town, but they closed up last year. The agent we are using seems nice enough, he just doesn’t have first hand knowledge of group bookings. He booked plenty, just hasn’t been in one himself.

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Sorry I can't help you from personal experience, but several years ago I inquired about a group booking and was directed to a specific department within HAL. A quick search found this:

 

and

 

This was part of a blog entry that can be found at Group Bookings

Yes, thanks. The blog was helpful before I called HAL and they connected me with their group specialists. The only difference they could tell me is that the packages needed 8 or more cabins, the GAP program would be applied for 5 or more. So, if I didn’t think I could get 8 in our group, we would only be eligible for 4 GAP points for our cruise (each cruise is given a play GAP point amount). Which is essentially a dinner and a bottle of bubbly.

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Aww. So sorry. I hope someone comes along to answer your questions. Good luck!

Thanks! I might have to search for another Board since I’m not having much luck on this one. I would have thought more people had experience with HAL group bookings. Bummer!

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When we were on the Eurodam, the casino stayed open until there was only a handful of people left. For our summer cruise, this was typically 2am. Our group shut down the casino every night we were on the ship [emoji51]

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