Being Casino rated

[sjfrany]

Does anyone know how you become rated? We have friends that would like to book a cruise with us at the same rate we have. The savings is like $200.00 each person. The cruise is in Nov.2016 so we have time to try and figure this out. Thank you for any help you can give.

[shredie]

Does anyone know how you become rated? We have friends that would like to book a cruise with us at the same rate we have. The savings is like $200.00 each person. The cruise is in Nov.2016 so we have time to try and figure this out. Thank you for any help you can give.

 

It's not something you can apply for. Either they bless you with the rate or they don't. The only thing we know for sure is that you must have gambled at one time or another in a Princess casino. If it were easy to qualify, don't you think everyone would do it? :rolleyes:

[Working 2 Cruise]

Agreed... it's something you have to be selected for. Are your friends first-time Princess cruisers? If so, no way, no how... Even if they are frequent Princess cruisers, this is not offered to everyone.

[satxdiver]

We are elite with Princess and have never been offered this discount. Maybe I should visit the casino sometime as I have never stayed there but just passed on through. On our last cruise which happened to be with CCL (20 of us), one of the men was given a discount on a next cruise by casino staff. He would not tell us how much he had lost but I gather $500 would not cover it. You may need to visit the casino and leave some $$$ to get the offer!

[custompcsys]

I use the casino each and every cruise but I am not a high roller by any means...mostly slots, the occasional blackjack table, and slot tournaments. I have gotten the letter offering the casino cruise rate so somehow I managed to get rated. It doesn't take spending a ton of money apparently but posters are right, its not something you can ask for.

Edited September 19, 2015 by custompcsys

[thistledoo]

Out of interest, has anyone living outside of the US been offered a casino rate? Any Aussies?

[Buddy604]

Out of interest, has anyone living outside of the US been offered a casino rate? Any Aussies?

 

I'm a Canadian and what is quite funny is apparently I get rated but I never get a letter - it just shows up on the travel agent's system when displaying the rates for a cruise. It was the same thing with the Casino VIP cruise. Last year I booked the Vancouver-Hawaii round trip on the Grand, showed up on board and here were these Casino VIP badges for me and my friend (who doesn't gamble) and turned out is was a Casino VIP cruise with all the trimmings.

 

I do usually get the "book your next cruise in 30 days and get XXX in casino cash" letter that they send out on the last full day onboard. The last time I didn't make the 30 day deadline, but when I went to book, they offered us $500 per person off of the current cruise fare. It seems like it's all based on the number of point you accumulate on board, though I think they're getting more proactive with it since I was spending just as much or more some years back and getting bupkes from them.

[carqueen1]

Just simply play in the casino. I'm leaving in 21 days on a free cruise that was given to me by the casino host. (1 week, 2 people, no charge except port fees).

[Eppe4]

Does anyone know how you become rated? We have friends that would like to book a cruise with us at the same rate we have. The savings is like $200.00 each person. The cruise is in Nov.2016 so we have time to try and figure this out. Thank you for any help you can give.

 

You get rated in a casino at sea the same way you get rated at a casino on land. No other way, you play, you qualify for some benefits.

[cormike1]

My husband and I got the casino offer for our upcoming cruise on the crown. We both gamble but I spend more than my husband but not a whole lot. I didn't get a letter. I found out we got it when I called about a price drop and when the Princess rep checked to see, she came back and told me yes for the price drop and "by the way, you qualify for a Casino credit". Our friend who is traveling with us usually plays $20.00 in the slots and he did not qualify lol. He was all peeved that we got it and he didn't lol.

[themerle]

Just simply play in the casino. I'm leaving in 21 days on a free cruise that was given to me by the casino host. (1 week, 2 people, no charge except port fees).

 

We cruise on Princess, HAL, and Carnival. We do play in the casinos but we don't lose or win a lot of money. We have received casino offers from all three cruise lines. Some are free cruises except taxes, port charges, and tips. Others are discount prices with casino cash. We received an offer from HAL in the last couple of weeks that was very good. It didn't work for us because my passport is being renewed and not sure it would get back in time. I was sick! It offered several itineraries and number of days. It was for inside cabins but you could upgrade for as little as $49 per person. We wanted to take the 16 night cruise from San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal but they sold out the cabins before we could get our travel plans completed. We have done casino cruises on Princess and Carnival.

[RocketMan275]

You get rated in a casino at sea the same way you get rated at a casino on land. No other way, you play, you qualify for some benefits.

 

There was a show, might have been on Discovery, where they showed the various perks one could get in Vegas. The show focused on 'whales', persons who gambled insane amounts and were awarded huge perks - free airfare, free suites, limo service to/from airport, free meals, etc. They also interviewed a number of 'whales'. One recounted that he'd refused a round of golf at a very upscale, almost impossible to book, course. He said he did a quick calculation and he'd have to spend another six hours in the casino betting several thousand per hour to maintain his perks. You don't bet enough, your perks go down. Bet more, your perks go up.

 

Evidently, being rated implies that the casino has calculated how much you will bet. Knowing the odds on the games you play, they've also calculated how much you will, on average, lose. They don't offer you perks exceeding what they expect to win from you. Not even close.

[Eppe4]

There was a show, might have been on Discovery, where they showed the various perks one could get in Vegas. The show focused on 'whales', persons who gambled insane amounts and were awarded huge perks - free airfare, free suites, limo service to/from airport, free meals, etc. They also interviewed a number of 'whales'. One recounted that he'd refused a round of golf at a very upscale, almost impossible to book, course. He said he did a quick calculation and he'd have to spend another six hours in the casino betting several thousand per hour to maintain his perks. You don't bet enough, your perks go down. Bet more, your perks go up.

 

Evidently, being rated implies that the casino has calculated how much you will bet. Knowing the odds on the games you play, they've also calculated how much you will, on average, lose. They don't offer you perks exceeding what they expect to win from you. Not even close.

 

We saw the show and it's accurate. However, we put a value on the comped suites, the limo's, shows and gourmet meals. History shows that the casino's always win, but there are times when the player wins as well. No one should ever gamble with money they can't afford to loose, to us it's in our entertainment budget. It's one of the reasons we love to cruise and love sea days!

[RocketMan275]

We saw the show and it's accurate. However, we put a value on the comped suites, the limo's, shows and gourmet meals. History shows that the casino's always win, but there are times when the player wins as well. No one should ever gamble with money they can't afford to loose, to us it's in our entertainment budget. It's one of the reasons we love to cruise and love sea days!

 

Even though I have little interest in casino gambling, that was a fascinating show and I appreciate your validating the contents. Personally, I'd rather play a game like poker.

[jc7292]

I have sailed on Princess 2 previous times. I am usually in the casino every night for a few hours. My first cruise the casino host was very nice. Got chocolate strawberries sent to room and 1 night free drinks in the casino. The second cruise I basically got nothing. In May I booked a 15 day Panama Canal Cruise for Feb. 2016. I was told I had no casino offers at the time I booked. A few days later a offer came out that I was eligible for but was not notified about it. When I found out about it I called and was told sorry is only for new cruise bookings and the rooms for that offer were all sold out. I asked for a supervisor and was given someone in customer relations. She told me that if you have a cruise booked at the time the offer is available that you won't get notification of the offer. She claims that is to prevent people from canceling and rebooking. When I talked to my princess rep she claimed she had never heard such a thing. Is there anyone out there that has heard this?

 

 

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[Working 2 Cruise]

The casino discount is capacity-controlled, which means that once a certain number of people have booked a certain cruise, it's no longer available. This also applies to categories. It's gone for many of the 2016 cruises.

 

Also, in order to find out which ones you are eligible for, you need to check the website yourself. Had you done so, you would have found the much lower fares.

 

Yes, this is normal.

Edited September 21, 2015 by Working 2 Cruise

[qqwer123]

We are Canadian and funny story, We have been on 5 cruises with Princess. Our last cruise I went in one slot tournament for 20 or 25 dollars. That was the extent of the gambling. My husband did not. He got the casino offer in the email for the discount. We laughed. I think I will probably go in a slot tournament on the next cruise because this discount saved us big time on our next two cruises, especially when you combine it with another Princess special.

[dianef]

Did you mean that you got the casino discount for entering the tournament or that your husband got the offer and did not gamble?It would be worth it to spend $20 in the casino and get a casino offer.

[shredie]

Did you mean that you got the casino discount for entering the tournament or that your husband got the offer and did not gamble?It would be worth it to spend $20 in the casino and get a casino offer.

 

 

The thing is, this a total mystery to those of us who have it. Some people have gambled a lot and some not very much. I wouldn't call myself a high roller. Then we hear from people who gamble all the time and don't have the discount. I can't hurt to try with $20, but there's no way of knowing if you'll get rated or not.

[Cruisencatlady]

I gambled for the first time last March on Princess. I actually won $500 which was a nice surprise. A few months later I was sent notification of a casino discount "on certain cruises". Since then, I've booked two cruises with approximately 30% below posted prices due to the casino discount. My TA just checks for me when I try to book a cruise.

[SlyOldLady]

I got the credit on an upcoming cruise. A few weeks after I paid it of I got credit for no reason. Called them up about something unrelated and asked about the credit, yup, casino credit...too funny because I've only used the casino to pull money out of my portfolio.

[Cruise Raider]

We usually gamble every day while on a cruise, but would not consider ourselves high rollers. Losing $500 over the course of a week is not considered high roller activity. However, we did receive the casino offer discount and have used it on 3 cruises. Funny thing, friends went with us last year and it was their first cruise. They spent a little time in the casino with us and they also got the offer....and used it on a cruise just last week.

Other friends of ours are kind of high rollers - in my book. They definitely gamble way more than we do and didn't get the offer. That really makes me feel really lucky to have gotten it.

[KruzPrincess]

I know there's no easy answer on this, but I'm going to ask anyway. How does someone tell on the website if they have the discount? I think it was sometime last year I got a casino offer letter in the mail, but I couldn't take advantage of the cruises they were offering. I probably already had something booked and it just didn't work out with other stuff that was going on. Since then, I haven't received any other offer by mail. When I go into the website I never see a discount listed. Maybe incorrectly, I'm assuming the offer is for specific cruises?? So, is it just hit or miss if you see them? This is so confusing to me. I don't gamble a lot, but I do go to the casino a bit on every cruise. Any advice??

[shredie]

Call Princess and ask to speak to the Captain's Circle rep and ask. It's not on every cruise, so you would have to do a mock booking to see if it is.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Do mock bookings on several cruises. Make sure you know what the original fare is. By the time you get to the dining option, you should see a nice reduction in fare from the original. Yes, it takes some work...