New Casino Prime Member - Questions

[soremekun]

Do any of y'all think you're ahead (received more $ value than $ lost) or are just doing it for fun?

[lovelife]

On 12/6/2019 at 3:31 PM, RFerrington said:

These certificates cannot be combined. The only casino certificates that can be combined are couples’ certificates earned on the same cruise.

 

DH and I have earned certificates on two different sailings and have been able to combine them for a  cruise disount. A new cruise had to be booked within 30 days of issuance of each of course or used toward a recently booked one.

[RFerrington]

Yes.  I mentioned that exception above. It is the only way to combine any casino certificates 

[lovelife]

On 12/7/2019 at 9:51 PM, RFerrington said:

The only casino certificates that can be combined are couples’ certificates earned on the same cruise.

 

Yes.  I mentioned that exception above. It is the only way to combine any casino certificates

 

 

 

Oops, I thought you said the couple's  certificates had to be earned on the same cruise. I was just saying mine was earned on one cruise and DH's was earned on a different cruise and combined for a discount.

[RFerrington]

3 hours ago, lovelife said:

 

Oops, I thought you said the couple's  certificates had to be earned on the same cruise. I was just saying mine was earned on one cruise and DH's was earned on a different cruise and combined for a discount.

I WAS saying that they have to be earned on the same cruise, so I apologize for misunderstanding what you said !  If you were able to redeem certs from different cruises then, congratulations.  I don’t think that is typical.  

[lovelife]

19 hours ago, RFerrington said:

I WAS saying that they have to be earned on the same cruise, so I apologize for misunderstanding what you said !  If you were able to redeem certs from different cruises then, congratulations.  I don’t think that is typical.  

 

I'll let you know if we can do it again as we each have one to use in the next couple weeks that we just earned from separate cruises.

[Joelster123]

So the Instand Rewards Certificates are the ones that you earn based on how much you spend on a particular cruise? And have to be used within 30 days or whatever? Mine has only just recently appeared but I haven't sailed on RCL since January.

[dodgestang]

On 12/6/2019 at 4:19 PM, tekguy26 said:

In theory that works, but you are accumulating points much slower at tables than she would be at slots. Table games are earning you points on your average wager based on 10 minute increments, where as slots are measured on each pull.

 

I don't gamble because I want to earn status/points....I gamble because I get enjoyment out of it.  Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.  I apparently made Prime on my first cruise with Royal in August 2018

 

My wife on the other hand does not like to gamble but she's about putting money through to get her discounts than combine with mine we we make a single night out of it.....she takes $500-700 and we put it into one machine and see what happens.

[SRF]

On 1/15/2019 at 11:46 PM, tekguy26 said:

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 the Vegas method allows you to see the pit boss coming, and bump up your bet for a few hands. 😄

 

On Grandeur, they use the keypad to show ever bet change.  They probably should just get RFID chips and put sensors in the table.  😄

 

[Drunken Crab]

Hello All-

 

Just wanted to add to the thread on my experiences with Club Royale.  We cruised on the Harmony last January and I got to Prime about half way through the cruise.  I noticed they put a "Prime" sticker on my card.  The final night I sawpeople lining up at the casino host desk getting some sort of certificate.  My wife and I lined up and received our free cruise certificates.  Mine for a balcony and hers an inside cabin.

 

From then, we started getting emails and snail mail offers.  We saved all the mailings and went through them picking out a few ships/dates that would work for us.  Luckily, we live in Florida and I'm self-employed so we are flexible on our sailing dates.   With all our offers and preferred cruises laid out, we called Club Royale.  A lot of the offers weren't available, maybe booked up already, and we landed on a 5 night Mariner cruise.  I forget what my class stateroom offer was but we were able to upgrade one class to an Owner's Suite combining with my wife's interior offer.  This is something I learned on CC (thank you!) and the agent wasn't aware of and had to check with his superior before booking it.  On this trip, my wife made prime as well. 

 

Once again, we gathered all our mailings, which seems to come weekly at this point, and spreadsheet the cruises we were interested in.  This time we landed on the Oasis in a balcony cabin that we upgraded to for about $350.

 

In our mind, we gamble for our next cruise, which has worked out pretty well for us.  Club Royale is clunky to deal with and in my experience it is best to call and talk to an agent.  Even offers you get in the mail today will be sold out if you call today.  Have the cruises you have offers on or want to cruise on and see what's available in terms off stateroom offers or money off cruises.  I think they can search offers by ship based on your Crown number but I'm not 100% sure about that.

 

Good luck, hoped I helped a little!!

[lovelife]

On 12/8/2019 at 10:26 AM, RFerrington said:

I WAS saying that they have to be earned on the same cruise, so I apologize for misunderstanding what you said !  If you were able to redeem certs from different cruises then, congratulations.  I don’t think that is typical.  

 

On 12/8/2019 at 11:19 AM, lovelife said:

 

I'll let you know if we can do it again as we each have one to use in the next couple weeks that we just earned from separate cruises.

 

As promised - I just combined our two certificates for dollars off an upcoming cruise.  Mine was earned on Explorer one week and DH's was earned on Oasis the following week.  They didn't hesitate to combine them.

[nivek82]

Adding to the new questions as I couldn't find the answer.  On my last cruise I became prime on the last night and got a sticker, etc.  Now the host said I would be prime the rest of this year and all of next but will I get the "free" cruise this year and next or do I have to wait until April 1st to book the free cruise.  I also took a picture of the points because I'm worried that the last night points won't be counted for some reason.  I "upgraded" the $off cert to the free cruise cert but none of those dates work for me so I'll just use it as a $off but I'm planning some cruises soon and wasn't sure if I got a free cruise before April 1st for getting to prime this year or if that's for "next" year.  

[gaylemh]

52 minutes ago, nivek82 said:

Adding to the new questions as I couldn't find the answer.  On my last cruise I became prime on the last night and got a sticker, etc.  Now the host said I would be prime the rest of this year and all of next but will I get the "free" cruise this year and next or do I have to wait until April 1st to book the free cruise.  I also took a picture of the points because I'm worried that the last night points won't be counted for some reason.  I "upgraded" the $off cert to the free cruise cert but none of those dates work for me so I'll just use it as a $off but I'm planning some cruises soon and wasn't sure if I got a free cruise before April 1st for getting to prime this year or if that's for "next" year.  

If you just got Prime, your free cruise will be after April 2020. 

[later]

Can you use the certificates on an existing cruise and if so will they reprice the cruise?  We have 20 cruises presently booked so I don’t want to add another for the next 12 months.

[gaylemh]

1 minute ago, later said:

Can you use the certificates on an existing cruise and if so will they reprice the cruise?  We have 20 cruises presently booked so I don’t want to add another for the next 12 months.

Yes the cruise will be repriced, and you will lose any promotional OBC that's no longer being offered. 

[later]

Just now, gaylemh said:

Yes the cruise will be repriced, and you will lose any promotional OBC that's no longer being offered. 

So essentially the certificates earned are worthless unless you book a new cruise.

[Retired LEO]

19 minutes ago, later said:

So essentially the certificates earned are worthless unless you book a new cruise.

Exactly

[RFerrington]

20 minutes ago, later said:

So essentially the certificates earned are worthless unless you book a new cruise.

Most of the time, booking a new cruise provides the best value for the certificate but SOMEtimes the price on your cruise will actually have dropped and you will make out.  Obviously, those situations are rare, but they do happen.  If you have 20 booked I would check all of them to see if the price might be lower than when you booked it.  Also, realize that the certificates can be upgraded fairly cheaply.  They are an EXCELLENT way to try a high end suite for a very good price.

[later]

So no incentive to play for me from now until 4/1.  We are both prime as of December and have several cruises before 4/1.  Won’t make the next level so I will not play and save myself around $7K.

[later]

2 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Most of the time, booking a new cruise provides the best value for the certificate but SOMEtimes the price on your cruise will actually have dropped and you will make out.  Obviously, those situations are rare, but they do happen.  If you have 20 booked I would check all of them to see if the price might be lower than when you booked it.  Also, realize that the certificates can be upgraded fairly cheaply.  They are an EXCELLENT way to try a high end suite for a very good price.

All my cruises are In suites and booked at least 1.5 years in advance so they are all up over $1K.

Edited December 28, 2019 by later

[gaylemh]

54 minutes ago, later said:

So essentially the certificates earned are worthless unless you book a new cruise.

I've had some where the price didn't go up or actually went down a little.  I book all my cruises when they are first released, so most of mine have gone up.  If I get a free balcony certificate, I sometimes luck out and it's on a cruise I already have booked in a balcony.  Most of the time I just use the $1000 off.  There have been cases where the $1000 off turns out to be only a couple hundred off because of price increases, but still better than letting the certificate go to waste.

[Crism]

1 hour ago, later said:

So no incentive to play for me from now until 4/1.  We are both prime as of December and have several cruises before 4/1.  Won’t make the next level so I will not play and save myself around $7K.

 

I'm in the same spot. I'll enjoy some free drinks in the casino that I can't get for the nightly Diamond benefit, but other than that, I won't be playing. Consider it saving up for Prime 2021-2022.

 

Does anyone know exactly when you can book the prime cruise? I keep getting told the "first 2 weeks of April" but I have specific cruises I'm looking for. Should I call the minute they open on April 1 or are they not loaded in for a few days?

[gaylemh]

22 minutes ago, Crism said:

 

I'm in the same spot. I'll enjoy some free drinks in the casino that I can't get for the nightly Diamond benefit, but other than that, I won't be playing. Consider it saving up for Prime 2021-2022.

 

Does anyone know exactly when you can book the prime cruise? I keep getting told the "first 2 weeks of April" but I have specific cruises I'm looking for. Should I call the minute they open on April 1 or are they not loaded in for a few days?

The free Prime cruise probably won't be listed in your offers until mid April.  I think it was the 3rd week of April this past year.

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, Crism said:

 

I'm in the same spot. I'll enjoy some free drinks in the casino that I can't get for the nightly Diamond benefit, but other than that, I won't be playing. Consider it saving up for Prime 2021-2022.

 

Does anyone know exactly when you can book the prime cruise? I keep getting told the "first 2 weeks of April" but I have specific cruises I'm looking for. Should I call the minute they open on April 1 or are they not loaded in for a few days?

You can go ahead and book the cruise now then early april call casino desk to convert to your free cruise.  This can be done as long as the cruise final payment is not due prior to april 2020.

 

[normannna]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

You can go ahead and book the cruise now then early april call casino desk to convert to your free cruise.  This can be done as long as the cruise final payment is not due prior to april 2020.

 

 

How does this work if you paid a deposit which is sometimes fairly high?  Do you get a refund?

Edited December 28, 2019 by normannna
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