Latest Casino offer

[triple7tahoe]

Just booked a cruise using the promotion-The one that said "OBC could not be combined with other OBC--- My military OBC shows so I will send my CCL request soon 🙂   Ran into another problem in that by adding this booking at the end of 4 other bookings I need to change EZ air for which I have already paid. Representative at Princess telling me I will have to cancel and rebook all flights. More things to keep me busy while waiting to cruise.

[memoak]

4 hours ago, USCcruisecrazy said:

Interesting!  I think on the next cruise I'll ask a pit boss just for sh!&$ and grins...I'm curious because we usually play aplenty of Craps and I've never received a Casino Cruise offer.  Do they have Players Cards like on-land casinos?  I've never thought to ask. 

Depends on what you call a lot of craps. We play both cards and slots and usually play 2-4 hours a day. We take both 7 day and up to 21 day cruises several times a year and get lots of offers. 

[Razz21]

I just got 2 Princess Casino Cruise Vouchers from Harrahs So Cal.  How does this work? Is it like NCL you get Bev Package, Dining, Internet and Shore Excursions?   Tried to call but I gave up after 1 hour.   

7 hours ago, san diego sue said:

I have started getting emails from Princess Players Club. Are these actually Casino pricing cruise offers?

When I go on, a mock booking, the actual Princess pricing is shown. There is a code given  in my email and says discounted fare on final checkout page.

Before I get to that, asks for a payment , so I stop there and don't go further. I emailed my travel agent and she said when she put in the code, price didn't change.

She is going to call Princess. We aren't heavy gamblers so was surprised to get the emails.

Anyone else starting to get these emails ?

 

[Cuedon]

2 hours ago, Razz21 said:

I just got 2 Princess Casino Cruise Vouchers from Harrahs So Cal.  How does this work? Is it like NCL you get Bev Package, Dining, Internet and Shore Excursions?   Tried to call but I gave up after 1 hour.   

 

The ones I got from the Venetian before were just basic fare... Unless it specifies it comes with Princess Plus, I wouldn't expect it to. Note that you also have to pay 200$ deposit per person, but unlike my experience with NCL, you get that back; it's not a surcharge.

[rmeman2k]

On 2/17/2022 at 9:09 PM, Mike45LC said:

I think Princess will give you the on-board credit only if you upgrade the cabin from the free offer.  My wife insists on a minimum of mini-suite, which the casino has not offered us, so we have to upgrade.  I look at it as a small rebate on the upgrade cost.

I booked a casino offer which included a free balcony room. The offer was standard with $200 deposit plus port fees needed. The cruise ship rep than went on to say that for $500 more per person I could upgrade to a mini-suite. I did the upgrade and paid on the spot. Upon reading my booking confirmation/receipt it reads that I am being charged the full amount for the min-suite. I called the main Princess Cruise number and the representative could see my booking but could see that I received any type of room comp and based on what she saw I owed the full amount minus my deposit. I next called Princess Casino Dept and spoke with the rep that booked my cruise and he informed me that it was typical for the booking confirmation to show the full price and the casino dept would adjust the final bill at a later date. That concerns me deeply! At this point all I have is a verbal agreement that I received a comp room and only owe the upgrade difference. I paid the $500 per person already and have no written receipt that shows the min-suite is paid in full. I even asked the rep if he could send me an email confirmation of our conversation and he said they do not have personal email accounts. Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[Sprocket]

21 minutes ago, rmeman2k said:

I booked a casino offer which included a free balcony room. The offer was standard with $200 deposit plus port fees needed. The cruise ship rep than went on to say that for $500 more per person I could upgrade to a mini-suite. I did the upgrade and paid on the spot. Upon reading my booking confirmation/receipt it reads that I am being charged the full amount for the min-suite. I called the main Princess Cruise number and the representative could see my booking but could see that I received any type of room comp and based on what she saw I owed the full amount minus my deposit. I next called Princess Casino Dept and spoke with the rep that booked my cruise and he informed me that it was typical for the booking confirmation to show the full price and the casino dept would adjust the final bill at a later date. That concerns me deeply! At this point all I have is a verbal agreement that I received a comp room and only owe the upgrade difference. I paid the $500 per person already and have no written receipt that shows the min-suite is paid in full. I even asked the rep if he could send me an email confirmation of our conversation and he said they do not have personal email accounts. Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

Did you get a booking confirmation by email with a PDF which shows what you paid?  The amount due is the casinos portion which they will pay a few weeks out.  You will get a reminder at final payment but you can ignore that it’s for the casino department.

 I’ve upgraded many times to a mini suite with no issues.  

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, rmeman2k said:

I booked a casino offer which included a free balcony room. The offer was standard with $200 deposit plus port fees needed. The cruise ship rep than went on to say that for $500 more per person I could upgrade to a mini-suite. I did the upgrade and paid on the spot. Upon reading my booking confirmation/receipt it reads that I am being charged the full amount for the min-suite. I called the main Princess Cruise number and the representative could see my booking but could see that I received any type of room comp and based on what she saw I owed the full amount minus my deposit. I next called Princess Casino Dept and spoke with the rep that booked my cruise and he informed me that it was typical for the booking confirmation to show the full price and the casino dept would adjust the final bill at a later date. That concerns me deeply! At this point all I have is a verbal agreement that I received a comp room and only owe the upgrade difference. I paid the $500 per person already and have no written receipt that shows the min-suite is paid in full. I even asked the rep if he could send me an email confirmation of our conversation and he said they do not have personal email accounts. Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

That is the normal process. Your booking confirmation will only show what you actually paid until the casino "pays" their share and your booking is updated at a later date.

[pathi]

On 2/17/2022 at 8:24 PM, CineGraphic said:

I’m currently on a free casino cruise, (my first freebie) and I didn’t dare apply for the shareholder’s benefit.

I have gotten my Shareholders, and Military OBC on all my casino cruises. The worst that could happen is they would say no to the extra OBC.

[azbirdmom]

5 hours ago, rmeman2k said:

I booked a casino offer which included a free balcony room. The offer was standard with $200 deposit plus port fees needed. The cruise ship rep than went on to say that for $500 more per person I could upgrade to a mini-suite. I did the upgrade and paid on the spot. Upon reading my booking confirmation/receipt it reads that I am being charged the full amount for the min-suite. I called the main Princess Cruise number and the representative could see my booking but could see that I received any type of room comp and based on what she saw I owed the full amount minus my deposit. I next called Princess Casino Dept and spoke with the rep that booked my cruise and he informed me that it was typical for the booking confirmation to show the full price and the casino dept would adjust the final bill at a later date. That concerns me deeply! At this point all I have is a verbal agreement that I received a comp room and only owe the upgrade difference. I paid the $500 per person already and have no written receipt that shows the min-suite is paid in full. I even asked the rep if he could send me an email confirmation of our conversation and he said they do not have personal email accounts. Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

 

The first line on the invoice is the total amount that Princess is charging for the mini suite.  Since you are paying $500, the difference between the amount shown and what you've paid is what the casino will pay a couple of days before the cruise.  You should have already paid the $500 upgrade fee along with port fees and the $200 deposit.  Unless you decide to add insurance, EZAir or transfers to the booking, you are paid in full and the rest will be paid by the casino.

 

I've included a screenshot of what the invoice looked like right after I booked a cruise that I've just returned from.  If your's looks similar to this and if the Total Amount Received equals what you've paid you should be fine.  And an important tip - only deal with the casino reservations number for any changes or additions to the reservation or you may risk inadvertently cancelling the booking.  Lots of horror stories on CC about this (including mine).

 

[DallasGuy75219]

26 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

And an important tip - only deal with the casino reservations number for any changes or additions to the reservation or you may risk inadvertently cancelling the booking.  Lots of horror stories on CC about this (including mine).

This includes booking EZair online for a reservation under a casino promo.  There's a system issue where this can cause your entire booking to be canceled. 

[Princessfan20]

On 2/18/2022 at 9:29 AM, USCcruisecrazy said:

If you don't mind my asking, how much do you need to average in the casino to warrant a free casino cruise?

 

LOL  Casinos never give away anything FREE.  It is all calculated on the person's past loss rate or potential loss rate.  Casinos always eventually win and MOST people always lose on cruise ships.  I am sure people are willing to show their print outs of exactly how much they play and win which are kept by the cruise lines to prove me wrong.  It is amazing how much money people are willing to throw around in a cruise casino to get a free "inside cabin and $300" in free play which often do not apply to many cruises or destinations.

[srpilo]

58 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

The first line on the invoice is the total amount that Princess is charging for the mini suite.  Since you are paying $500, the difference between the amount shown and what you've paid is what the casino will pay a couple of days before the cruise.  You should have already paid the $500 upgrade fee along with port fees and the $200 deposit.  Unless you decide to add insurance, EZAir or transfers to the booking, you are paid in full and the rest will be paid by the casino.

 

I've included a screenshot of what the invoice looked like right after I booked a cruise that I've just returned from.  If your's looks similar to this and if the Total Amount Received equals what you've paid you should be fine.  And an important tip - only deal with the casino reservations number for any changes or additions to the reservation or you may risk inadvertently cancelling the booking.  Lots of horror stories on CC about this (including mine).

 

 

Just curious...

How soon before your cruise did the casino dept pay the balance on your cruise ?.  Did you receive any notice when they eventually paid the balance ?

 

Again just curious, as the whole inter-Princess payment system between Princess departments seems ripe for customer headaches

[azbirdmom]

4 minutes ago, srpilo said:

 

Just curious...

How soon before your cruise did the casino dept pay the balance on your cruise ?.  Did you receive any notice when they eventually paid the balance ?

 

Again just curious, as the whole inter-Princess payment system between Princess departments seems ripe for customer headaches

 

Our cruise departed on July 17th and the casino had a final payment date of July 10th which was a Sunday.  On July 11th I got a Booking Confirmation showing that the entire amount was paid in full so the casino seemed to pay their portion 6 days prior to our cruise.  Agree with you that this process can create headaches, especially the occasional final payment notices that we periodically received and were advised to ignore.  Sometime in me isn't wired to ignore final payment notices....

[Mike45LC]

7 hours ago, rmeman2k said:

I booked a casino offer which included a free balcony room. The offer was standard with $200 deposit plus port fees needed. The cruise ship rep than went on to say that for $500 more per person I could upgrade to a mini-suite. I did the upgrade and paid on the spot. Upon reading my booking confirmation/receipt it reads that I am being charged the full amount for the min-suite. I called the main Princess Cruise number and the representative could see my booking but could see that I received any type of room comp and based on what she saw I owed the full amount minus my deposit. I next called Princess Casino Dept and spoke with the rep that booked my cruise and he informed me that it was typical for the booking confirmation to show the full price and the casino dept would adjust the final bill at a later date. That concerns me deeply! At this point all I have is a verbal agreement that I received a comp room and only owe the upgrade difference. I paid the $500 per person already and have no written receipt that shows the min-suite is paid in full. I even asked the rep if he could send me an email confirmation of our conversation and he said they do not have personal email accounts. Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

As others have said, this is absolutely the standard practice.  It is not a good practice and it causes a lot of stress and anxiety, but it is normal! 

 

So far (knock on wood), all of our casino cruises have come off without a hitch.  Based on what others have reported, EZAir seems to not function smoothly with the Casino Department, and any changes in your flight arrangements have to be coordinated with both the casino department and EZAir.  Ask on this forum for advice before you make any changes in your air plans.

 

[memoak]

44 minutes ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

LOL  Casinos never give away anything FREE.  It is all calculated on the person's past loss rate or potential loss rate.  Casinos always eventually win and MOST people always lose on cruise ships.  I am sure people are willing to show their print outs of exactly how much they play and win which are kept by the cruise lines to prove me wrong.  It is amazing how much money people are willing to throw around in a cruise casino to get a free "inside cabin and $300" in free play which often do not apply to many cruises or destinations.

It is not the amount lost but the amount played. Even when I walked off $4,000 ahead after a 10 day cruise I continue to get great offers. Do I always win no but win or lose the free cabins free play and Princess Plus are always a good deal

[USCcruisecrazy]

12 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

LOL  Casinos never give away anything FREE.  It is all calculated on the person's past loss rate or potential loss rate.  Casinos always eventually win and MOST people always lose on cruise ships.  I am sure people are willing to show their print outs of exactly how much they play and win which are kept by the cruise lines to prove me wrong.  It is amazing how much money people are willing to throw around in a cruise casino to get a free "inside cabin and $300" in free play which often do not apply to many cruises or destinations.

Yeah, I realize nothing in this world is free...nowadays, not even the air you breathe with the advent of Carbon Emission Taxes.  LOL!  The jest of the question was directed at how does the casino determine who gets the offer for the "Casino Cruise".  But I appreciate your very informative post.  Truth be told, I usually play a little Craps once or twice...not much else.  So not planning on qualifying for a cruise, but just curious to how much others spend to get that "Freebie".

[Princessfan20]

12 hours ago, memoak said:

It is not the amount lost but the amount played. Even when I walked off $4,000 ahead after a 10 day cruise I continue to get great offers. Do I always win no but win or lose the free cabins free play and Princess Plus are always a good deal

 

12 hours ago, memoak said:

It is not the amount lost but the amount played. Even when I walked off $4,000 ahead after a 10 day cruise I continue to get great offers. Do I always win no but win or lose the free cabins free play and Princess Plus are always a good deal

 

I said it is correlated with the passengers POTENTIAL or past loss rate which factors in the amount wagered.  

 

If you are a consistent winner then congratulations but in the last 16 months Nevada casinos have been taking in 1.2 plus BILLION dollars a month in WINNINGS so someone is definitely not doing well.  That is an average loss of over $40 million dollars a day in Nevada alone. 

 

Who really knows what goes on in cruise ship casinos because they are not regulated and report to no state agencies.  It does seem that their payouts are way less than US mainland casinos for what is wagered especially in slots.

Edited August 4, 2022 by Princessfan20

[Princessfan20]

58 minutes ago, USCcruisecrazy said:

Yeah, I realize nothing in this world is free...nowadays, not even the air you breathe with the advent of Carbon Emission Taxes.  LOL!  The jest of the question was directed at how does the casino determine who gets the offer for the "Casino Cruise".  But I appreciate your very informative post.  Truth be told, I usually play a little Craps once or twice...not much else.  So not planning on qualifying for a cruise, but just curious to how much others spend to get that "Freebie".

 

I am certainly not a consistent winner on cruise ships but do receive casino offers. I am not interested in them and find them often hard to use for the cruises we do.  I do not spend a lot of time in the casinos either.

 

I play table games and the Princess Casino hosts and mangers have told me that it is easier for people to rack up points on the slots.  However, on the table games they say they RATE (that is their term) you when you are betting a minimum of $25 a hand which seems to be consistent when I compare offers with other family members who gamble way more than I do and play Craps, Blackjack, Three Card Poker, ie..

[CineGraphic]

32 minutes ago, Princessfan20 said:

I said it is correlated with the passengers POTENTIAL or past loss rate which factors in the amount wagered.  

 

Then there are of course, the little old ladies who get casino offers that have never even stepped foot in the casino before. My guess is they are looking for new players.

 

My free offers don't come very often, but I do normally book with a 35% casino discount, which price-wise is like getting the Plus Package for free.

Edited August 4, 2022 by CineGraphic

[srpilo]

20 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

LOL  Casinos never give away anything FREE.  It is all calculated on the person's past loss rate or potential loss rate.  Casinos always eventually win and MOST people always lose on cruise ships.  I am sure people are willing to show their print outs of exactly how much they play and win which are kept by the cruise lines to prove me wrong.  It is amazing how much money people are willing to throw around in a cruise casino to get a free "inside cabin and $300" in free play which often do not apply to many cruises or destinations.

 

On slots past losses are not directly relatable to rating a casino player. 

 

Time at the machine and the average bet are the gold standard for player ratings.

As a example, at the worst lets say a given slot has a pay back percentage of 90% on every pull, and at the best (high limit play areas in Las Vegas) the pay back is 97%., if you had $10,000 dollars to play and you lost it all in 10 pulls on a machine, in theory in that transaction the casino only won at best (90% return)$1000 and at worst (96% return) $300 , so while you may think you're a high roller by losing $10000, the casino while grateful for your money doesn't consider that a rated session. On the other hand if you over the course of 7 days lose the same $10000 budget by playing 2 hours a day (14 hours of slot play)  you could with all the small and large jackpots, and endless cherry type wins continuously reinserted into the machine in reality over the course of that 7 days have cycled through the machine not only the original $10000, but additionally reinserted and lost all the small and large accumulated wins paid out over the 7 days which could now total $40000 or $50000 worth of play action, play action which can only be accomplished by spending time on the machine. In this scenario you have basically cleansed your $10000 of the 90% return of the machine to $10000 straight profit for the casino .

Yes you've still lost the same $10000, but from the casino point of view in their rating system, you've actually wagered the $50000 cycled through the machine-

 

So losses or even wins are not the driver when it comes to Player ratings, rather the consistent wager amount and time in the seat 

 

 

[Mike45LC]

8 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

I said it is correlated with the passengers POTENTIAL or past loss rate which factors in the amount wagered.  

 

Who really knows what goes on in cruise ship casinos because they are not regulated and report to no state agencies.  It does seem that their payouts are way less than US mainland casinos for what is wagered especially in slots.

1.  You are correct that all casino comps (including discounted and/or free cruises) are based on the theoretical loss, looking at amount wagered, hours of play and house edge.  The house edge is why video poker earns far less in comps than slots.  

 

2.  Slot payouts are a mystery.  Video poker payouts are fully disclosed in the pay tables that each machine displays.  Blackjack is either 6-5 or 3-2 on a natural, 2-1 for "insurance" and everything else is even money -- exactly the same as Las Vegas casinos.  I am ignoring the stupid side bets.  At low minimum BJ tables, that gets messed up by the $6 minimum which doesn't pay right on a natural.  Craps payouts are exactly the same as a Vegas casino (whether the field pays double or triple on a 12 varies from casino to casino in Vegas).  I am not sure of the "buy" and lay bets on board the ship.