Purchasing casino credit on the Personalizer....

[time4sun]

The cruise personalizer keeps saying to "try again later" to purchase casino credit, however, we've been trying for 2 days....anyone else had this issue? We are able to purchase other items, so it seems it's only this link? We like to use this option for "slot cash" so that we don't need to bring a lot of cash!

[Steelers36]

Call Princess and ask a reservation rep if there is an issue with the feature. They can also take an order for these and charge your CC over the phone.

[leck57]

I tried to do this for a cruise on the Royal in July and got the same message. Good to see princess has addressed it!

I gave up and just took some cash and loaded it on to my card the first visit to the Casino. Like the OP, I had no problems booking other things via the Personaliser.

[diane.in.ny]

You don't have to take cash for the casino. You can charge it to your cabin. It goes on your On Board account, it is very easy to do, and, on Princess, there are no fees.

[rbt001]

The cruise personalizer keeps saying to "try again later" to purchase casino credit, however, we've been trying for 2 days....anyone else had this issue? We are able to purchase other items, so it seems it's only this link? We like to use this option for "slot cash" so that we don't need to bring a lot of cash!

 

The ability to purchase casino credit online or with a rep is not available close to embarkation. I can't remember if it's two weeks or two months.

 

Furthermore, if they are purchased, they appear as a credit on your room account, consumed as a guest makes a casino charge.

 

No longer are vouchers delivered to guest rooms, as they used to be, to then be paid out in cash in the casino. This started almost two years ago and was being phased in across the fleet.

 

Part of this was to make it more difficult to use the casino as a free ATM; it does cost the line money to process credit card transactions. And based upon postings on CC, it seemed that some pax felt it was their entitlement.

[time4sun]

How much can you take out each day for no fee?? We are elite and received a small casino credit if that makes any difference? Thanks for all of the input!!

[Steelers36]

I thought it was $1500, but special arrangements can be made on one-off basis.

[srpilo]

It's always advertised in the Patter's .....

 

Upto $3000.00 per day can be drawn on your onboard account for Casino play

 

Yikes !! But true :)

Srpilo

[sandyoftheseas]

The ability to purchase casino credit online or with a rep is not available close to embarkation. I can't remember if it's two weeks or two months.

 

Furthermore, if they are purchased, they appear as a credit on your room account, consumed as a guest makes a casino charge.

 

No longer are vouchers delivered to guest rooms, as they used to be, to then be paid out in cash in the casino. This started almost two years ago and was being phased in across the fleet.

 

Part of this was to make it more difficult to use the casino as a free ATM; it does cost the line money to process credit card transactions. And based upon postings on CC, it seemed that some pax felt it was their entitlement.

 

rbt001,

I've noticed several posts from you on various casino related threads stating that the vouchers have been replaced by credit on your account. Just curious about the source of your information. I've seen these claims by different CC members multiple times over the past 2-3 years but my personal experience has been that every time I've sailed, it was always the vouchers that were redeemed for cash. With that said, I will acknowledge that my most recent cruise was back in February so it is entirely possible that things have changes exactly as you say since then. I just always assumed that some ships did it one way and others did it another. Do you have insider info from Princess that this policy has changed across all ships?

 

I was also wondering how any left over credit is refunded. Were you lucky enough to have any credit left at the end of the cruise? If so, how did they return the unused funds?

 

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

[Working 2 Cruise]

rbt001,

I've noticed several posts from you on various casino related threads stating that the vouchers have been replaced by credit on your account. Just curious about the source of your information. I've seen these claims by different CC members multiple times over the past 2-3 years but my personal experience has been that every time I've sailed, it was always the vouchers that were redeemed for cash. With that said, I will acknowledge that my most recent cruise was back in February so it is entirely possible that things have changes exactly as you say since then. I just always assumed that some ships did it one way and others did it another. Do you have insider info from Princess that this policy has changed across all ships?

 

I was also wondering how any left over credit is refunded. Were you lucky enough to have any credit left at the end of the cruise? If so, how did they return the unused funds?

 

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

you just cash out a the casino cage. Very simple.

[Shadow9612]

I'm new to this concept with Princess. On Celebrity, if you want to withdraw money in the casino to use for chips at the tables, there's a percentage surcharge (I think 5%) .

 

What is the reason somebody would pre-purchase Casino credits in advance of a cruise on the cruise personalizer, if you can just charge them to your shipboard account while you're on the cruise?

[Working 2 Cruise]

I'm new to this concept with Princess. On Celebrity, if you want to withdraw money in the casino to use for chips at the tables, there's a percentage surcharge (I think 5%) .v

 

What is the reason somebody would pre-purchase Casino credits in advance of a cruise on the cruise personalizer, if you can just charge them to your shipboard account while you're on the cruise?

 

I never could understand it either.... It is so much easier to just charge your onboard account, play a few hands and cash out!

[rbt001]

rbt001,

I've noticed several posts from you on various casino related threads stating that the vouchers have been replaced by credit on your account. Just curious about the source of your information. ... I just always assumed that some ships did it one way and others did it another. Do you have insider info from Princess that this policy has changed across all ships?

 

I was also wondering how any left over credit is refunded. Were you lucky enough to have any credit left at the end of the cruise? If so, how did they return the unused funds?

 

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

The on board limit from casino room charges is $3,000 per day with a $21,000 maximum per cruise.

 

Those are hard limits on board, meaning the casino manager cannot raise them with an exception. However they can be raised landside with prior approval.

 

So to supplement my funds for play, I used to purchase gift vouchers with a Princess agent over the phone, usually just a day or two before the cruise. Until one day I couldn't and the superviser who was called told me there was a two week or two month prior "cut-off" that was a hard limit (my term meaning that NOT EVEN JAN could alter.) So during the time this conversation was taking place, waiting for the supervisor, etc. I had called my contact who is an executive in the casino area with CCL. He's the person that handles my arrangements rather than just the staff at the casino number that's published and people call for casino offers. I got his voicemail and hung up, but when he saw that I called, he called me right back which was about when the supervisor was telling me that noone can make an exception.

 

My contact said that even he would have to escalate the last minute request upwards for approval, if I wanted. But he suggested an alternative: He increased my daily limit the first day of the cruise to accommodate me, allowing me to charge to the room that one day $3,000 plus the amount that I would have purchased as gift vouchers. That worked for me and I was all set.

 

Next cruise I purchased in advance of the deadline.

 

I believe it was my April 2016 cruise on Coral or my November 2016 cruise on Caribbean that the credits were on my account with a "memo voucher" in my room stating this.

 

The issue, as I stated previously is that the $3K/day, $21K/voyage limits can't be exceeded when the gifts are room credits.

 

So the source of my information is both personal experience and conversations with the individuals mentioned. Note that I also usually speak with the casino managers on each ship.

[leck57]

I never could understand it either.... It is so much easier to just charge your onboard account, play a few hands and cash out!

 

The reason I do it is to keep my onboard account down. I'd rather pay for as much of my holiday before I leave rather than return to a large credit card bill.

Just personal preference I guess.

[sandyoftheseas]

I believe it was my April 2016 cruise on Coral or my November 2016 cruise on Caribbean that the credits were on my account with a "memo voucher" in my room stating this.

 

So the source of my information is both personal experience and conversations with the individuals mentioned. Note that I also usually speak with the casino managers on each ship.

 

rbt001,

Thanks for the detailed information. It's great to hear about the experiences of others. However, that is also what sometimes causes confusion. In April 2016 or November 2016 you started receiving the credit on your account rather than as vouchers in your room. But, in February 2017, I was on the Caribbean Princess (same ship as your November 2016 sailing) and I had vouchers. I just wish Princess would simply implement a policy, communicate it to their customers, and stick with it across the fleet. Then, there would be no confusion. I guess I'll just have to purchase the credits like I normally do and see how it is handled once onboard in January.

 

P.S. Can you confirm the comment from Working 2 Cruise that you were able to cash out any leftover casino credit on your room account out at the casino cage at the end of the cruise? I really hope I don't have to wait for a check via snailmail after I get home.

 

Thanks again. I am learning a lot here.

[rbt001]

rbt001,

Thanks for the detailed information. It's great to hear about the experiences of others. However, that is also what sometimes causes confusion. In April 2016 or November 2016 you started receiving the credit on your account rather than as vouchers in your room. But, in February 2017, I was on the Caribbean Princess (same ship as your November 2016 sailing) and I had vouchers. I just wish Princess would simply implement a policy, communicate it to their customers, and stick with it across the fleet. Then, there would be no confusion. I guess I'll just have to purchase the credits like I normally do and see how it is handled once onboard in January.

 

P.S. Can you confirm the comment from Working 2 Cruise that you were able to cash out any leftover casino credit on your room account out at the casino cage at the end of the cruise? I really hope I don't have to wait for a check via snailmail after I get home.

 

Thanks again. I am learning a lot here.

 

Every guest can have TWO accounts:

 

1. Their room account, secured by a credit card, which accepts charges for beverages, excursions, auto-grat's, etc., etc., and casino room charges.

 

2. Their "casino bank" which is the result of cashing out a balance in a slot machine. Unlike most landside casinos that cash out paper vouchers with a barcode that can be inserted for play in a slot machine or cashed out for cash, ship casinos do NOT print vouchers and instead deposit the amount you "cash out" of the machine into a virtual casino bank accessed by inserting your room card and entering your PIN that you establish.

 

Machines take cash in but do not spit out cash or paper tickets. Machines also permit you to add money by charging to your room account.

 

Any value in your virtual casino bank is seperate from the room account. REPEATEDLY during the final day of the cruise announcements are made to visit the casino cage cashier to redeem your virtual casino bank for cash; it will NOT automatically transfer to your room account.

 

Princess is one of the few lines that does NOT charge a fee (3% to 5%) to charge to the room account. That convenience fee is typically charged given that the room account will be paid using a credit card, and credit cards charge merchants like Princess a fee (perhaps as low as 1% or as high as 3.5%) of the value of every charge. Additionally, Princess pays a per item fee for credit card authorizations, per item fee for every credit card processed, surcharges for certain business credit cards, etc. etc. etc.

 

Sadly, some guests who, if they were honest with themselves, have no intention of gambling as much as they charge in the casino, instead charge to their room with the primary intention of obtaining cash, rather than using ATM machines conveniently found on board.

 

It does cost Princess money when this is done, and natually it eats into their profits. Many who do this feel that it is perfectly acceptable. They argue that since they can go through the steps, then it must be okay.

 

REMEMBER those people, the next time:

 

-you sign your check in a specialty restaurant for $29 rather than $25;

-you are told it will be $10 for an extra entree;

-you notice another cutback in room amenities;

-you realize they shaved 15 minutes off the hours of the Captains Circle Party and cut passed food;

-you find a hamburger rather than a steak on the MDR menu;

 

Thank those crafty people who find it too expensive to pay $4.00 (or so) to get cash from the ATM.

 

Princess does what it can to block offenders and cut them off.

Changing casino gifts vouchers to room credits is another method to block offenders.

 

And to answer your question about the credits left unused on a room account, I believe that those credits can be offset by ANY charge to the account, rather than being limited to casino room charges.

 

They are REFUNDABLE OBC's, meaning that if at the bottom line they remain as a credit, then refund procedures apply. Pretty sure it means that SMALL amounts ($10 or less??) are paid out in cash while larger amounts are sent from landside as a check or perhaps a credit back to the original credit card.

 

Personally, I wish Princess would go back to charging a convenience fee. I and other "gamblers" KNOW that Princess will REFUND those fees to us at the end of the cruise given our play.

 

That's what NCL does. Gamble enough and fees are automatically waived. Since I was new to NCL, I was assessed the fee for every room charge. But the last evening of the cruise, my play was reviewed and without asking, all the fees (and more) was credited back to my room account. I liken it to Las Vegas, where based upon play, charges were comped from my account.

[diane.in.ny]

I know for a fact Princess will lock your card from getting money charged to your room account if you do not play.

 

I play regularly. One night I got money charged to my OBC and immediately Cashed Out, and then played by adding smaller amounts into the machines.

 

Next time I tried to get money charged to OBC my card was locked. Had to go to the cage to get it unlocked. Not a problem since I gamble regularly. I just wasn't thinking when I did that particular transfer.

[StratocasterMaster]

I was hoping to have separate casino credit accounts. One for me. One for my wife. This way we can each budget what we spend. It is unclear how to do this, and thought I would check here for any tips.

 

Sailing on Star Princess in Alaska Sep 2018.

[diane.in.ny]

I was hoping to have separate casino credit accounts. One for me. One for my wife. This way we can each budget what we spend. It is unclear how to do this, and thought I would check here for any tips.

 

Sailing on Star Princess in Alaska Sep 2018.

 

All casino charges go to your onboard account. There are separate printouts for you and your wife. Also listed will be other shipboard charges like hotel charge. Can simply add up the casino charges to know if staying in budget.

 

Or bring and only play with your budget in cash.

[JF - retired RRT]

I was hoping to have separate casino credit accounts. One for me. One for my wife. This way we can each budget what we spend. It is unclear how to do this, and thought I would check here for any tips.

 

Sailing on Star Princess in Alaska Sep 2018.

If you want to keep them totally separate...my guess is that you would each need to put a different credit card on your accounts. That way they are separate.

[Sue Do-Over]

I asked one of the casino hosts (Princess) about service charges on casino advances. She said they gave up the service fee to get more people playing. People would play through their cash on hand, and rather than get an advance on their room account, they'd get up and leave.

The 'loss' of 3% was well worth the THOUSANDS more they rake in from players.

 

Similarly, the stinky-drinky cards keep players at the table, lubed up, and playing more recklessly -- all leading to more revenue for the casino relative to the cost of the drinks.