It worked! So much winning!! Casino deals

[arkaine23]

Got back from a 7-day cruise 5 days ago.  Gambled using some of our 2020 rebooking OBC & my wife's sail n sign.  She did $50 on slots, and I did $150 on roulette outside bets which I spread out over 3 play periods on different days for up to an hour.  We bought 3 drinks, tipped the dealer each time I played, and paid the 3% service fee for using sail n sign for chips.   It was pretty fun.  We walked away with $215 cash winnings from 200 OBC (and $4.50 service fees) spent.  Coulda done better if I had quit when ahead, and if we skipped trying the slots.

 

The real win, and our actual goal?   Wife just got $25 PP Interior with DOU offer email.  Checking our local port/ships and the deals are good through the end of the year with balcony upgrades obtainable for $125-590 PP depending on cruise week and duration.

Edited September 9, 2021 by arkaine23

[lubedobedo]

Yeah, I got that deal too and I have only been on 1 Carnival cruise in 2016! 

[Bostwick girl]

That’s the way Carnival operates. They give all the great deals to those who seldom cruise. Us poor Platinum and Diamonds don’t get those great offers. My super Hot Streak offer gave me reduced fare and $25 obc on our February 4 day with our Grandson and his wife. My fare was $930 and he got $700 obc, plus a balcony room and drinks on us for both for just under $600! 
 

[Sailin_Pirate]

2 hours ago, Bostwick girl said:

That’s the way Carnival operates. They give all the great deals to those who seldom cruise. Us poor Platinum and Diamonds don’t get those great offers. My super Hot Streak offer gave me reduced fare and $25 obc on our February 4 day with our Grandson and his wife. My fare was $930 and he got $700 obc, plus a balcony room and drinks on us for both for just under $600! 
 

That is how most businesses operate when dealing with customers.

 

They already get/will get your money they want new customers hooked in just like land based casinos and drug dealers.

[arkaine23]

If it matters we're both Gold and typically do a 7 or 8 day cruise once/year.  We're hoping to start doing a 2nd cruise each year.  This was an intentional attempt to get Players Club deals on our part.  Like, I walked into the casino with a bunch of rebooking OBC as was like, now let's build up a record of some time and money transacted in here on under your name, DW, and do our best to not actually lose the money.

Edited September 10, 2021 by arkaine23

[live.love.cruise]

20 hours ago, arkaine23 said:

Got back from a 7-day cruise 5 days ago.  Gambled using some of our 2020 rebooking OBC & my wife's sail n sign.  She did $50 on slots, and I did $150 on roulette outside bets which I spread out over 3 play periods on different days for up to an hour.  We bought 3 drinks, tipped the dealer each time I played, and paid the 3% service fee for using sail n sign for chips.   It was pretty fun.  We walked away with $215 cash winnings from 200 OBC (and $4.50 service fees) spent.  Coulda done better if I had quit when ahead, and if we skipped trying the slots.

 

The real win, and our actual goal?   Wife just got $25 PP Interior with DOU offer email.  Checking our local port/ships and the deals are good through the end of the year with balcony upgrades obtainable for $125-590 PP depending on cruise week and duration.

Thanks for the info! I’m not a gambler but I love to cruise and have been trying to earn these casino deals. I’ll give this a try on my next cruise (which I booked using my mom’s casino deal lol).

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

5 hours ago, Bostwick girl said:

That’s the way Carnival operates. They give all the great deals to those who seldom cruise. Us poor Platinum and Diamonds don’t get those great offers. My super Hot Streak offer gave me reduced fare and $25 obc on our February 4 day with our Grandson and his wife. My fare was $930 and he got $700 obc, plus a balcony room and drinks on us for both for just under $600! 
 

If that is true. We should ALL get the deals. We all have seldom cruised.

[ninjacat123]

I played the outside of the roulette table as well.  I was told by a pit boss that I wouldn't see any casino points for playing the tables even though I played for at least an hour  for 3 evenings.  I guess I need to play slots.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I no longer get many of the great deals. My son (29) just received the $25 inside cabin offer, and has another w/$500 freeplay and drinks while playing. They're grasping at straws (not a winning bet for them if they get him to book). They also offer him the (I think it's RU2) code for booking w/CHEERS at a great deal. They offer me the RU9 (a joke!).

 

Having said that, they must be having a hard time with their Australian bookings, as we are both getting multiple offers each month: casino rates, DOU (while playing), and $1,000 OBC.

 

No thanks - I'm not going half way around the world for OBC that won't even cover flights!

 

Tom

[IntrepidFromDC]

29 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

I no longer get many of the great deals. My son (29) just received the $25 inside cabin offer, and has another w/$500 freeplay and drinks while playing. They're grasping at straws (not a winning bet for them if they get him to book). They also offer him the (I think it's RU2) code for booking w/CHEERS at a great deal. They offer me the RU9 (a joke!).

 

Having said that, they must be having a hard time with their Australian bookings, as we are both getting multiple offers each month: casino rates, DOU (while playing), and $1,000 OBC.

 

No thanks - I'm not going half way around the world for OBC that won't even cover flights!

 

Tom

I've been getting the Australian cruise offers for over a year it seems.  Once it was $1,500OBC AUD.  Now it's $1,000.  Agree with Tom I'm not flying all the way to Australia for that.  If I'm flying half way around the world I'm going to places on my bucket list like Great Wall of China, Thailand, etc.

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

I played the outside of the roulette table as well.  I was told by a pit boss that I wouldn't see any casino points for playing the tables even though I played for at least an hour  for 3 evenings.  I guess I need to play slots.

That is not enough play even for slots to get good offers

[Elaine5715]

6 hours ago, Bostwick girl said:

That’s the way Carnival operates. They give all the great deals to those who seldom cruise. Us poor Platinum and Diamonds don’t get those great offers. My super Hot Streak offer gave me reduced fare and $25 obc on our February 4 day with our Grandson and his wife. My fare was $930 and he got $700 obc, plus a balcony room and drinks on us for both for just under $600! 
 

I do get great offers and am Plat

[JaniceB]

22 hours ago, arkaine23 said:

Got back from a 7-day cruise 5 days ago.  Gambled using some of our 2020 rebooking OBC & my wife's sail n sign.  She did $50 on slots, and I did $150 on roulette outside bets which I spread out over 3 play periods on different days for up to an hour.  We bought 3 drinks, tipped the dealer each time I played, and paid the 3% service fee for using sail n sign for chips.   It was pretty fun.  We walked away with $215 cash winnings from 200 OBC (and $4.50 service fees) spent.  Coulda done better if I had quit when ahead, and if we skipped trying the slots.

 

The real win, and our actual goal?   Wife just got $25 PP Interior with DOU offer email.  Checking our local port/ships and the deals are good through the end of the year with balcony upgrades obtainable for $125-590 PP depending on cruise week and duration.

So if you use sail and sign to buy chips with onboard credit you have to pay a service fee?  I guess no service fee on slots when you put card in machine.  Can you play slots, cash out and get money to buy chips?

[arkaine23]

18 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

So if you use sail and sign to buy chips with onboard credit you have to pay a service fee?  I guess no service fee on slots when you put card in machine.  Can you play slots, cash out and get money to buy chips?

I would think so.  Any cash you hand over is dropped into the table and you get chips for it, no fee.  There was a young guy that dropped several $100's on mostly inside bets and played for a few mins with me, while I chugged along a bit ahead and mostly breaking even on my outside betting scheme for much longer. 

 

I haven't seen red+even or black+odd on roulette tables before.  These pay out 3:1 (~22%) or 1:1 on a 0 (~3%), so they cut into the house advantage some.  Playing one and also the opposite color bet worked pretty well for me.  Was up from $150 to over $400 for a little bit, but play long enough and you'll lose it all.

When you use cash at tables games you can tell them your folio number/register who you are by sail n sign if you want to.  I assume this goes towards building your DOU credit/threshold.

 

FYI my wife's luck on the slots was 50 OBC = $14.86 cash.  Of course with any games of chance, actual or digitally-approximated, YMMV.

 

We had tried slots on a cruise several years ago, but only like $10.  Of course we never got a casino deal from that.  There is some sort of threshold involved and it certainly seems to be greater than $10.

Edited September 10, 2021 by arkaine23

[Encore37]

Congrats!  I can't believe the deals they're giving out.  I spend maximum 1 hour each day gambling on cruises and am receiving comped offers, which I never received until this past month.  I know I definitely haven't come close to losing what a comped cabin would cost!

[ninjacat123]

19 hours ago, Encore37 said:

Congrats!  I can't believe the deals they're giving out.  I spend maximum 1 hour each day gambling on cruises and am receiving comped offers, which I never received until this past month.  I know I definitely haven't come close to losing what a comped cabin would cost!

That's what I was playing as well, an hour per day for three days. I'm glad you got the comped offers!

[mondello]

22 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

I've been getting the Australian cruise offers for over a year it seems.  Once it was $1,500OBC AUD.  Now it's $1,000.  Agree with Tom I'm not flying all the way to Australia for that.  If I'm flying half way around the world I'm going to places on my bucket list like Great Wall of China, Thailand, etc.

The Great Barrier Reef is a bucket list item for some guests.

[sc4125]

22 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

I do get great offers and am Plat

Thankfully I am also Plat and get very good deals.  I was on the 8/28 Mardi Gras cruise which was an Ultra - free interior and $1000 free play which is more free play than I usually get.  But, let's just say that was a really expensive free cabin lol.  I usually manage to stay somewhat within my budget - not so much this time.  I think it was because it had been so long.  Don't know what excuse I'll have over the next 6 cruises I have booked.

 

For those who always say "they aren't giving you anything - you will more than pay for it in the casino" I always played alot in the casino back when I was paying full fare so for me they are great deals.

 

[highcorral25]

I have been on several Carnival cruises but have not gambled.  I most likely will on my upcoming November cruise (Freedom) using the $600 OBC to see if I get a casino offer.  I have some newbie questions about the mechanics.

 

I will most likely play craps and roulette only.

 

If you use your Sail & Sign card to buy chips, what do you do with the chips when you are finished gambling?  Do you cash them in and the credit goes back to your Sail & Sign card?

 

 

[dallasdan]

You cash the chips at the casino cage and they give you cash.  Nothing goes back to your Sail and Sign card.  

[arkaine23]

7 hours ago, highcorral25 said:

I have been on several Carnival cruises but have not gambled.  I most likely will on my upcoming November cruise (Freedom) using the $600 OBC to see if I get a casino offer.  I have some newbie questions about the mechanics.

 

I will most likely play craps and roulette only.

 

If you use your Sail & Sign card to buy chips, what do you do with the chips when you are finished gambling?  Do you cash them in and the credit goes back to your Sail & Sign card?

 

 

You cash them in at the "cage"/casino cashier desk.  Its chips -> cash in your hand.    If you wanted to you could take that cash to guest services and deposit it onto your sail n sign.  I did this with some winnings bc I had scoped out and decided to buy a pair of Diamond Earrings for my wife at the ship's Effy shop.

 

Can't help you with craps.  I'm still digesting those rules.  Has a lower house edge than roulette, so might be a good idea to research further.

 

For roulette:

 

There are 38 numbers on the wheel.  2 of them (0/00) are green.  This is the house's edge unless you choose to place bets on them, which equates to just short of 6% chance (1/17) for the house to win.  The other 1-36 are 18 black and 18 red numbers.  They are arranged in a 3x12 grid on the table.  

 

Outside bets are simple and have a high chance of winning.  There is a higher minimum wager on these (probably $5). 

• This is betting on red or black, odd or even, or low (1-18) or high (19-36).  These 6 bet types pay out 1:1.  Bet $5, win your original bet and $5 more. 
• There are also dozens and columns which are each a different cross section of 12 of the 36 numbers.   These pay our 2 to 1.  Bet $5, win your original bet +$10.

 

Carnival has an unusual outside bet for red+even and black+odd.  These amount to 8 of the 38 numbers, so around 20% chance of winning.  They pay out 3 to 1, so bet $5 win your original bet +$15.  They also carry a special rule of paying out 1 to 1 on a 0 (but still lose on 00), so they cut the house edge somewhat.

 

Inside bets have lower chances to win and a lower minimum wager ($1). 

• You can bet on a single number called Straight Up and get a 35:1 payout.
• 2 numbers is called a Split (put chip on the line between 2 adjacent numbers, 17:1 payout)
• a Row is like a Split where you bet on 0 and 00
• 3 numbers (a Street, place chip on the outside edge of a row of 3 horizontal numbers, 11:1 payout
• 4 numbers (a Corner, place chip in square intersection of 4 adjacent numbers 8:1 payout)
• 5 numbers (Top Line or Basket, this is a special bet of 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3, 6:1 payout (this is the bet with the worst odds)
• 6 numbers (a Double Street, placed like a Street, but bridging 2 rows of 3 numbers, 5:1 payout) 

 

Best advice:

 

Set a limit, don't chase your losses!

Walk away when you're ahead.  Put some of the money aside, then come back later with a fixed amount.

No strat is going make you beat the house in the long run.

Whatever trends are displayed for the last 100 rolls mean nothing.  The odds are always exactly the same regardless of past performance.

 

https://www.onlineroulette.ca/guides/three-two.php

I like the 3/2 strategy.  You place a 3 unit bet on a color and a 2 unit bet on a specific column.  There are 2 columns (#2 and #3) that have uneven color distributions of 4 red/8 black or 8 red/4 black.  So the idea is to bet red (18 numbers are red), and also the column that has 8 black/4 red in it.  This means you have odds on 26 out of 38 numbers on the wheel (nearly 70% of the wheel results in a win).  4 of the numbers overlap so you could win both wagers if the spin lands on one of those numbers.

 

The 3/2 split of what you bet is such that.... let's say we're using $1 chips, $5 is the min bet for outside bets, so you're doing $9 on a color and $6 on a column to maintain that 3:2 ratio.  You bet $15 each spin.   If the color bet wins, you get $18 (2:1 on $9).  If the column bet wins, you get $18 (3:1 on $4).  Both of these are higher than your total bet for the round of $15.  You can get lucky about 1/10 of the time with an overlapping win and win $36.  Or you can lose your $15 in bets around 30% of the time. 

 

I was trying to do something similar with Carnival's special Red+Even and Black+Odd outside bet options.  Haven't fully worked it out yet.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by arkaine23

[popeyesChickenSandwich]

Does Carnival ever give over $1,000 free play with casino offers?

[Moviela]

Sometimes $1,500 for Elite Cruises.

 

[highcorral25]

21 hours ago, dallasdan said:

You cash the chips at the casino cage and they give you cash.  Nothing goes back to your Sail and Sign card.  

So if I have $600 OBC I could

- Buy $600 worth of chips using my Sail & Sign card

- Gamble, lose, win, do nothing, and cash in the chips for cash

- Post-cruise the $600 OBC would cover the $600 cost of the chips.

- I have effectively turned OBC into cash.

 

Is this correct?

 

[arkaine23]

Kind of.  The transaction of purchasing chips is immediate.   You'd buy your chips with your sail n sign account at a table game.  This draws from OBC first, before any real money you've deposited into or any credit funding you've tied to your account.  This would cost you a (3%) $18 fee for $600 worth.    So do like $580 and leave ~20 OBC on there to cover the $17.40 fee.  You do not have to do this as a single transaction if you don't want to.  

 

I think the pit boss would have something to say if you go to a table and draw a bunch of chips and then don't play at that table.  So do nothing is not really an option.  But you can do small/easy bets and play for a good amount of time without wining or losing a whole lot.

 

I recommend treating your chips as 3 distinct groups-  one is the Bankroll you play with, one is an untouchable Reserve, and the last is your Winnings which you will redistribute into the other two every time you've spent your Bankroll.  To set an initial Bankroll, decide how much you are willing to lose.  For example, out of 580 I might do 180 Bankroll and 400 Untouchable Reserve.  I'd split Winnings to Bankroll and Reserve at a roughly even pace.  

 

When done with the game, tell the dealer you want to cash out.  They will switch your "play chips" (basic multi-colored plastic) for "cash chips" (black/red $ values, probably RFID).  You should tip the dealer a little too for entertaining you and for helping you with your credit-laundering scheme.   You can pocket the "cash chips" and play a different game, come back and play later, or exchange them for cash at the cage/cashier.

 

Find a free demo/simulator of the game you want to play.  DO NOT TRY to real money gamble online- that's a cesspit of shadiness.   Study the rules of your game(s) of choice and start practicing on free demos.

Edited September 15, 2021 by arkaine23