tekguy26

This certificate was for a balcony room. The certificate I saw posted that had Oasis was an ocean view. I wonder if that’s why. There are other slight changes as well if you compare them side by side.

39 minutes ago, Friendofbillbob said:

I'm curious, roughly how much do you need to gamble to get a free cruise? I just got off a cruise and spent a couple hours every night playing table games (mostly 3 card poker) and went down about $1200 at the end. I got a $200 future cruise coupon.

That makes sense. They take your win/loss ratio into account. Even if you didn't spend a lot of time at the casino, but you took a beating, they'll consider that and give you a $$$ off a future cruise. Example was my brother on the Oasis, got sick on 3rd day from the outbreak. Wasn't able to return to the casino. When I picked up my certificate I asked the host about my brother. She looked him up and said, she'll give him $200 off a future cruise, but when he calls CR, ask them to check his win/loss ratio and they may be able to give him more. 

Got back from the Oasis norovirus 2019 cruise last week and I"m Signature. I got my cruise certificate for free balcony, but this is the first I'm hearing about getting ANY cruise less than 8 days. Just asked my wife if we wanted to change our March Break trip with the kids snowboarding in Mt Tremblant, Quebec, to a short cruise instead. So now we're going to book 4 night western on Independence.

I spend a bit of time on the slots, but I also play crabs and BlackJack. Obviously every pull can be accounted for very easily on a slot machine and the points awarded accordingly based on the wager. I usually spend $4 - $8 a spin. At a BJ table, I joked to the dealer that she was going too fast, and if she's getting paid by the hand. She says, well they count how many hands she deals. Next time you're there take a look. There are sensors on the Insurance line where the cards are laid out. Once you're seated, your seapass is entered in the system. Each hand is counted as the cards are dealt. The points are determined by your average bet. Usually the pit boss goes around with a clipboard and records your average bet. This is a much better system than land casinos where it's based on time. Some people just sit there and play a few hands, sit around grab a drink chat a bit. If you do that here, you earn nothing. As soon as you skip a bet, you'll see them turn you off on the keypad next to the tray. 

But yes, you can easily see your slot points from the machine, but you need to ask the host to add up your points to see the table points. One more interesting thing I also learned, you can use your slot points towards your onboard account on the last night. I normally just redeem it for more play, but I suppose it's the same.

Just got back from the news making 2019 sailing of Oasis of the Seas. Clearly the illness did not spread to the casino where I ended up spending most of my time due to being at sea. I received my cruise certificate which is slightly different than another one I saw posted earlier. There was a December sailing inn Oasis which isn’t here now.

Here’s an example of why prepaying may end up being s bad idea. We’re currently on Oasis Jan 6 sailing from Port Canaveral, and norovirus broke out. My brother is quarantined in his cabin. I wonder if they would refund unused or partially used credits under those circumstances where you can’t physically be at the casino to use your credits. We did not buy the credits, but was tempted.

21 minutes ago, Robinhill said:

i had some promotional chips given to me in a bucket when i won a raffle and was told they could not be redeemed but i had to.play thru.  When i put $10 of those chips down and won, those chips stayed there and they paid me with $10 of real chips.  Then i put the real chips away and played on the same promo chips again.  Again i won, putting the $10 real chips away and playing off the same promo chips- that time i lost so i pulled out the next $10 worth of promochips and used them.  Its the same as regular play so i.dont know why this concept is so hard to comprehend.  You just cant cash the promochips in but if you gamble heavy or long you are bound to lose a total of those $500 chips over the week and will still have your winnings, no?

I was the OP who raised the questions about this promo. I totally understand it now. But I think the confusion was some of the language in the T&C. When they say you must play through the promo chips, that should mean, once you play your initial investment of $2000+$200, all the money should be redeemable. So even after you play $2200, you still have promo chips left from the wagers you didn't lose.  So to get value from those remaining chips, they need to be wagered AND result in a win.

I dont like this one bit, but I also see people thinking that keeping the promo chip while being paid after a win is a bad thing. Once you break even, those promo chips are risk free bets. So once you've won $2000 back in cash, then every bet with a promo chip is free. I wouldn't want to lay down a $500 bet. But if I'm even, I'd place a $500 promo bet. If I win, its cash in my pocket, if I lose it, no loss to me. I just have a hard time forking over $2000 now and try finding my way out of that hole before my vacation even starts.

8 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I would guess you would have to sell them at a discount to entice people to buy them because of the restrictions on how they can be used.

Good luck trying to sell your magic beans 🙂

Psst, hey. You want to buy these magically promo chips from me? I'll give you $500 for only $400 cash. But you cant redeem them for cash, but you have potential to turn it into millions.

Hmmm, but couldn't I already do that with my same $400, without the risk?

Womp, womp. 

17 minutes ago, Welly9 said:

Ice Bear - i get it, then they dont need to buy the promo then and get the additional bonus...i know I will play thru mine, eventually by the end of my cruise, its a no brainer, 

I understand you're going to play at least $2000, I've done that everytime. But what you're doing is giving the $2000 now. So for you to even be up, you would have to win BACK your initial $2000 first, then another $200 of the bonus. 

If you go in and ONLY win $1500, you're still in the hole for $500. If you didn't buy into this scheme, that $1500 would be entirely yours. If someone in their promotions department has convinced people this is a deal, that person should get a raise or a cut of the sales.

18 minutes ago, Welly9 said:

Its actually very simple folks, if you think you will spend $1K or $2K or the $500 then purchase and get the extra promo chips or slot play. You still get bonused for points, you still get awarded your winnings in real cash or credits or chips...

Simple marketing scheme, and assures a gambler will gamble his minimum, if you want more, get more if not dont...

No need to over analyze...

 

I will be playing with mine in a few days!

🎲

You are forking over $2000 to get $2200 of monopoly money. You need to win $2000 just to break even. This is beyond ridiculous. Why wouldn't you just bring $2000 cash onbaord? Even if you didn't bring cash and just charged to your room account with the 5% waived, you would still be better off, since you're only taking out more money when required. I'm so glad I got clarification on this before I bought into this scam. I was going to buy $4000 between two of us, but that just seems so ridiculous now.

Thanks for everybody onboard that had to "test the waters" before anyone else gets duped.

2 hours ago, nolimits said:

And you have to win your purchase back.

if you have great run  gambling can’t do anything wrong from first bet. Last night settling up 10,000 cash still have 2200 in promo chips there useless but you payed 2000 real money for them 

Theres nothing wrong with that. Since you cant take the promo chips home, you might as well bet table max. You have nothing to lose at that point. You can only win. There's something flawed about this. I thought promo bets are one time wagers only. Once you bet it, shouldn't it be removed? 

12 minutes ago, Wolffie89 said:

It's been confirmed by someone on the cruise ship now that all chips are indeed promo chips non chashable. 

Thanks. Finally some confirmation. So what about payouts? Are you earning real money on each wager? I mean are you getting cashable chips as you win? It's in your interest to play every chip you have since since they cant be cashed out on their own. I assume they take away the promotional bet after every wager. 

Still see it in my cruise planner for Jan 6 Oasis.

Thinking some more about some of the logistics of the wager tracking for this promo. For slots its so simple since every spin can be accounted for. But for table games, someone would literally have to watch you make every wager which wouldn't be feasible since it takes time just to have a supervisor do a check change. Also the only way I could see them keep track is by removing the promotional free play after each wager. If they dont do that, how would they know that every chip was wagered. 

Some here have said that free play chips are only collected when you lose. Assuming you buy $2000 free play, they need you to play through $2200, not lose $2200. By leaving a winning free play wager after it's been played would actually be to your advantage not the casinos.

22 hours ago, slotmomma3 said:

Ok I got a response!!!!  I am posting below.

Dear Roslyn,

 

Thank you for contacting Royal Caribbean’s Club Royale! 

 

We apologize for any confusion. To clarify, the original purchased chips will earn you points when played but not the bonus chips from the promotion. 

 

If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to call and speak with one of our Club Royale agents toll-free at 1-888-561-2234. We are available from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday (EST). You may also reach us at ClubRoyale@rccl.com.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Julie V.

Club Royale Agent | Consumer Outreach

Royal Caribbean International | Azamara Club Cruises

(P) 888.561.2234 | (F) 305.358.9295

 

OK talk about mixed messages. Why is she talking about purchased chips and bonus chips like they're different then? I actually received a response from Julie as well, then I was on the phone with another girl, and she gave me a different explanation. She asked me if was familiar with how free play bets work. I said yes, then she said only the bonus works that way and the rest are on my account which I can draw from. Anyway, maybe I just hear what I want to hear. The promotion just doesn't make sense. So you are LITERALLY starting $2000 in the red before you even get on the ship, then you need to win it back, for a CHANCE to win earn $200, if you never lose a single hand. The amount of time I expect to spend there, I'd go through $2000, but I prefer to do it on my terms and take out the money when I need it.

I'm starting to smell a scam here if the original amount can't be redeemed at anytime.

4 minutes ago, knuckles said:

I just spoke to a very knowledgeable casino club program representative.  He stated that the 'extra free' play will be given exactly as the original purchase is provided in terms of the exact same type of chips.  He is aware that people may purchase only to get the free money and this may be modified in the future if it doesn't go the way they hoped.  I am going on the Brilliance of the seas in 9 days and I purchased $2000 each for myself and my wife.  That is the limit per person per cruise.  We each will also receive a $20 scratch off ticket.  If anything is different than what I was told, I will let everyone know.

 

Hope this helps.

Knuckles

Noice, that's what I wanted to hear. But the T&C's suggest the bonus funds are different

For table play, promotional chips will be issued all at once; promotional chips must be played through and are not redeemable for cash. No contra betting permitted on Roulette or Baccarat. Promotional chips must be used by the SeaPass holder who purchased Offer. Chip denominations are subject to availability. Guest must present SeaPass at table play for Casino recording.

But either way, sounds like the original money is free to cash out at anytime as I had expected. I still have a hard time believing the bonus money would be free like that... but you'll know soon enough. Good luck!

2 minutes ago, Welly9 said:

I agree, but Bonus amounts are the same, $200, I have a call in to confirm, I dont want to be restricted as to what I can play with my $2K. Logic can be chaos...lol

Problem is, i din't think the phone reps really understand how the offer works either. I would just buy the method you want your bonus in. You should be able to get your $2K back and spend it however you want.

Definitely want someone with first hand experience to let us know how it plays out.

1 minute ago, Welly9 said:

Q - I have a cruise next week, and one in March, looking at the Planner, it gives you two options, either Free Play Chips or Slot Play, So Q is, they arent interchangeable?? 

If I purchase the $2K, for the $200, am I able to use my $2K anyway I wish, slot or Chips? I dont care to much about the Promo $, that can be used on either, i dont care, but am I being restricted with the $2K?

Hey looks like you're going to find out soon enough. BUT from what I understand (based on logic and gambling experience), it's only sold that way to determine the type of bonus funds you would receive. Slot play would probably need to be loaded onto the machine you're playing, while the table games probably use some type of tokens or certificates. But you should get your initial purchase should be fully redeemable at anytime. 

4 minutes ago, RC_Cruisers said:

Here is my take on the $2000 purchase of chips.

 

The $2000 in chips will be given to you in normal chips.  You won't have to take it all at once.  When you go to the cashier to withdraw, tell him/her the amount you want and the rest will remain in your account.  So for example you can withdraw $200 in chips which leaves $1800 in your account.  If you so choose you could turn around and cash in these chips without even playing them, but the casino is betting you won't (again my take).

 

You will also be entitled to $200 in 'promotional' chips.  These chips work like the normal chips but cannot be cashed out.  If you win you will win normal chips.  To get the best value only play the promo chips until you have used them all, so if you lose a hand of blackjack keep using the promo chips before using regular chips.

 

The casino is trying to get people on the tables and slots.  Land based casinos use similar methods (free play, match play, etc) to get you into their casinos as well.  The difference being that most land based casinos you have to either drive or fly to, ship casinos are an elevator ride away for each of the 7 days (on average) that you are on the ship......convenience.

 

Again my take but would be surprised if it doesn't work very close to this.

Finally, someone that gets it. We're definitely on the same page. Except. I think you just go to the cage when you arrive and collect your credits in regular chips, and bonus chips at the same time. I don't see why they would be placed in your account to draw from. I know for the slots, the bonus funds would have to be placed on the card and be loaded from the machine you're playing on. Those funds will not have a cash out option until the full $200 has been played through, hopefully with a win. You would probably get a $2000 fully redeemable slot voucher. 

It's just ridiculous for anybody to think you're going to give the casino $2000 to get $2200 of monopoly money. If your initial funds can't be cashed out at anytime, WHO would do this????

24 minutes ago, clean1owner said:

 

The way I'm reading this is that you are purchasing ALL Free Play chips. If that is the case, and it is a typical casino Lucky Buck promotion, it isn't worth a dime. The way most Free Play / Lucky Buck promotions work is like this. You bet your Free Play chip. If you win the hand, they give you a live chip, and take your Free Play chip. You lose the hand, they take the chip. This, my friends, is a lose-lose for the player, and this is why.

 

Let's say I buy the $500.00 package, and get my $525 in Free Play chips. I bet $25 per hand, and win all 21 hands ($525 divided by $25=21) remembering to replace the "won" live chip with a new Free Play chip every hand. At the end of 21 "winning" hands I have $525 sitting in front of me. Just what I started out with!  

 

Let's say I buy in at the table for $525 in LIVE action and win the same 21 hands in a row, at $25 per hand. At the end of the 21 hands I have $1050 sitting in front of me. TWICE the amount for the same work!!!

 

Ummmm, you don't have to be a Rocket Scientist or a Mathematician to figure this one out. 

 

 

 

FreePlay Bonus Offer (“Offer”) applies to purchases made via Cruise Planner no less than three days prior to cruise departure. Offer provides bonus FreePlay in addition to the value of FreePlay purchased, and a scratch-off card. Amount of bonus FreePlay and value of scratch-off card varies by FreePlay value purchased: a $25 FreePlay bonus for purchase of $500 for a total of $525 in FreePlay, with a $5 scratch off card; a $75 FreePlay bonus for purchase of $1,000 for a total of $1075 in FreePlay, with a $10 scratch off card; and a $200 FreePlay bonus for purchase of $2,000 for a total of $2,200 in FreePlay, with a $20 scratch off card. FreePlay issued as promotional chips. Price shown at time of purchase reflects discount and is in USD.

 

There's NO WAY that your prepaid credits do  not have value. I'm taking another look at the fine print, and this is what I see:

Offer provides bonus FreePlay in addition to the value of FreePlay purchased

So from the wording would suggest the better restrictions ONLY apply to the bonus chips. They aren't GIVING you $200 for buying $2000 in chips ahead of sailing. You still have to convert the bonus into real money. If that's the case, then you're no worse off. They aren't going to let you just cash in the $200 bonus. The only way you would get the FULL $200 is if you win every single hand where you wager a bonus chip. So $200 is your BEST case scenario.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get a call back from the promotions department about this on Wednesday. Right now it seems nobody really knows about this offer and giving wrong information on the phone. When the lady told me I could cash out the entire amount without playing, I knew she wasn't in the know. Of  course I also emailed ClubRoyale@rccl.com to get something in writing in case this is some kind of scam. 

39 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Last I checked Royal was in the business to make money. With no requirement to play through the original amount they are guaranteed to lose money. If someone approved letting only the bonus amount to be played and the rest could be cashed out then they should be fired as they just opened the gate for anyone looking for free money to gamble with. 

It isn't free money. I think most gamblers will agree, that your initial purchase can be taken off the table at any time. Its how the bonus funds are handled that's unclear. You still need to win in order to cash it out. I don't see a problem with someone fronting $2000 to get $200 in gambling money. If you lose that $200 in bonus it isn't money out of your pocket so you might dip into the chips you already purchased. I'm waiting for a call back on Wednesday from the department responsible for this promotion.

21 minutes ago, Racer26 said:

I have used the chips that this offer will be giving you before for free play earned from points.  They work like any other chips - if you win, they pay the win with cash chips from the tray, and you keep the promotional chip that won and can wager it again on the next hand.  If you lose, they take the losing promo chips and drop them in the table's cash box.

 

In the past they told me I was only able to use them on even-money bets.  On my last voyage 2 weeks ago, that restriction seems to be gone, and I was allowed to play my promo chips on roulette numbers. YMMV on this.

 

Interestingly, the terms excluding contrabetting call out roulette and baccarat, but do not call out pass/don't pass or buy/laying the same number on craps.

 

My biggest concern is the single denomination rule - I want to buy this offer, but I don't want to play $25-100/play - I just want to prepay for 2200 in $5 chips.  Thats 440 chips, or 4 and a half of those clear plastic chip trays they use.  That's an awkward amount of chips to manage, if they even have enough chips to satisfy my request - what would I do, store them in my cabin safe taking out a couple hundred at a time?  I'm not even sure the cabin safe is large enough to accommodate 4 chip trays.  It would be more sensible if they let me take $100 promo chips for storage purposes and then let me break them down to $5 promo chips at the cash cage each day.

 

This guy gambles people 🙂

I'm working under the assumption of buying $2000 credits for $200 bonus chips. I dont think you can do a call bet with them on craps, because they can't make change for the promo chips (6 and 8 are $6 increments and $1 per $25 if you buy the 4 or 10) and also if I call a line bet and someone throws craps, I would put up my promotional chips of real chips to lose.

That's why I think this is so unclear because doesn't seem that even the casino is familiar with the rules. If anything, they would probably give you your chips in large like 4 purples for $2000 and you just change them at the table as required. Its the bonus chips that seem to be a mystery.

What you said about leaving the promotional bet after paying out isn't consistent with how promo play works. The promo bets are one time play only, win or lose. That's how they expect you to play through the entire bonus amount. If you keep it, then you would essentially be playing wagering more than $200.

6 minutes ago, Wally Alligator said:

Thinking of doing the $500 table play for my 01/05/2019 Symphony sailing just to see how it works on the UTH table.  I am assuming that after each hand won, dealer will exchange all the "bonus" chips remaining on the table for real (cash able) chips.  If so, it will be very easy to churn $500 at the UTH table even if table minimum is $5.  Ante, Odds, & Trips is $15 before cards are dealt.  Figure an average $10 on the Play and it is $25/hand.  $500 pre-buy / $25 / hand = 20 hands which is less than an hour at a full table with a slow dealer.  This assumes that after each hand won, dealer exchanges all the "bonus" chips remaining on the table for real (cash able) chips.

 

Not too concerned about points this cruise as already have Prime for next year and even with 24 nights sailing this program year, I will not come half way to Signature.  Therefore if we do not get casino points for the "bonus" chips played, this is the cruise it would mean the least.

From what I've know about bonus wagers is, you don't actually get the wager back. You only get the winners. So if you place a $25 bonus bet and win, they take away the voucher and you get $25 for the win. If you lose they just take away the voucher. That's why there's a rule about contra betting. In roulette when you win, they take away the bet instead of leaving it in play for the next spin.

Got off the phone with Casino Royale and they're giving such inconsistent information that I asked to have my inquiry sent to the department that handles this offer. I think what everybody wants to know is, can we take the prepaid credits off the table at anytime. I suspect the answer is yes. The girl I spoke to was trying to be helpful, but I told her the language in the T&C was a bit elusive to what the actual bonus was.

From what I could see, it says if you purchase $2000, it would be $2200 worth of credits. Instead I would expect it to say $2000 + $200 bonus credits. They need to be distinct from one another. I'll share when I get a response. Also I just wanted something in writing incase the story changes later.

6 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

What ship are you sailing?

Oasis Jan 6. Will be my third time on this ship. This will just be our second guys trip, no wives or kids. So I'm sure there will be more gambling and drinking than usual 🙂

Well I'm going to find out first hand in January. So I guess this is brand new since nobody had purchased this first hand yet. I'm a gambling man, I'm going all in for $2000 and see where it goes. In the past I've just charged chips to my room because the 5% fee was waived. I've taken out more than $2000 before and just paid it back to my account. Stay tuned...