tj2806

What type of offers? Casino hosts can "override" and give people comps directly. This is particularly common for folks who belly up to the casino and get crazy unlucky; say lose $5k in an hour and never show up again. System-wise, such a person's theoretical loss is quite low, but given the situation the host can usually throw them a bone. Sounds like the host just liked you in particular and/or it was a slow casino and they were feeling generous. Winners get comps, but losers get even more comps. The guy who hits a jackpot and walks away is less valuable than the guy who hits a jackpot then gives all of the money back. This is against modern Vegas comp calculations ("win/loss doesn't matter; the only thing that matters is average daily theoretical loss") - cruise ships feel more like 90s Vegas in that regard

Could split the difference and get a liquor bottle if it's a 7+ night sailing, plus your DOU casino offer. Plus you're not waiting around for a bartender to serve you all day this way

You can just throw your hands up and not play the system, that's fine, but some of us are more sophisticated gamblers who diligently track expected losses, actual losses, and effective comp value, and overall come out ahead (+EV) For example, I play Craps, and the level of play I'm comfortable with ($100 average roll for 3 hours per night) will keep me eligible for balconies on any Royal or Carnival cruise I want, and interiors on nicer lines like Virgin. For example, my expected loss for a 5night is $600 and I get comped cruises worth $1400-$1600. But go ahead and just randomly press the slot machine buttons and hope for an offer, I guess. There's also advanced stuff like counting cards on Royal, there is zero heat in that casino for some reason, but understandable if you don't want to get that invested

This is a very dismissive (and honestly lazy) take. The Carnival Players Club has been around for a very long time, and there are plenty of data points out there (e.g. I played BJ at $50/hand for 3 hours a night and got a free ocean view offer) to get an idea of what comps you should get at what level of play. Is anything officially stated? No, but saying "no one knows" isn't really true just because you don't know because you haven't bothered to do the research. Not trying to be rude, but don't spread disinformation

Usually, no. Carnival casino offers are on 2 month "cycles". For example, if offers went out to existing players Jan 1, and you're a new player and got off the boat Feb 10, you likely won't receive any offers until March 1 when the rest of the existing players get refreshed offers as well. There may be some immediate kick-back offers if you played hard enough, though. Offers were last refreshed Nov 1, so I suspect that's roughly when your son started to receive emails from the player's club, since he became a player in September. I would not expect him to get any better offers than what he's getting now. Last thing worth mentioning is that the discount+obc+DOU-in-casino is the weakest casino offer you can get. The next tier up is free interior rooms, which is a massive upgrade in comparison. I would consider playing a bit more (or at a higher level) to receive that offer as, in my opinion, the extra value you get from that offer easily compensates for your additional expected losses in the casino.