My experience with earning the MSC Casino Dept 30% discount

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 6/6/2022 at 4:03 PM, psmarkle said:

Here ya' go!

 

MSC Cruises Casino <msccasino@msccruisesusa.com>

I realize this thread was made a while ago but I just got my 30% off voucher from our Meraviglia sailing and like you said, it very much feels like a golden ticket!  Just wanted to clarify that you were in fact, able to use this voucher on a YC suite.  I was thinking they might restrict it to certain categories.  If YC is included, it seems like a no brainer.

[psmarkle]

YC all the way! For us, a group of 4 on most cruises, it works out to around $3K off the cruise. You can also stack your Voyager's Club 5% discount with it! Instead, of $9,600'ish for a YC1 cabin, we paid right at $6,500 for a group of 4. Then, with the big box travel agency we use, they give a 10% back of the cruise fare as obc, so that more than covers our gratuities and DW's casino $$!

 

Boarding in a couple of hours!!

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, psmarkle said:

YC all the way! For us, a group of 4 on most cruises, it works out to around $3K off the cruise. You can also stack your Voyager's Club 5% discount with it! Instead, of $9,600'ish for a YC1 cabin, we paid right at $6,500 for a group of 4. Then, with the big box travel agency we use, they give a 10% back of the cruise fare as obc, so that more than covers our gratuities and DW's casino $$!

 

Boarding in a couple of hours!!

Wow, wow, wow!  This is great!  Thanks for taking the time to respond and have a wonderful cruise!

[no1talks]

3 hours ago, psmarkle said:

"Then, with the big box..."

@psmarkle, if it isn't an imposition, may I post my e-mail for you to clue me in on that big box? Extra OBC would be great. Thank you, in advance.

[Beamafar]

On 11/19/2022 at 3:50 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

I realize this thread was made a while ago but I just got my 30% off voucher from our Meraviglia sailing and like you said, it very much feels like a golden ticket!  Just wanted to clarify that you were in fact, able to use this voucher on a YC suite.  I was thinking they might restrict it to certain categories.  If YC is included, it seems like a no brainer.

I used a 30% discount voucher for a 28 night YC sailing.   Also used another for a 23 night YC cruise.   Saved $$$$ on those sailings as a result. 😁

[Georgia_Peaches]

7 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

I used a 30% discount voucher for a 28 night YC sailing.   Also used another for a 23 night YC cruise.   Saved $$$$ on those sailings as a result. 😁

I love a good deal!  I was just looking at MSC Explora and was wondering if it would apply to that line...but a quick bit of research says probably not since they are a separate fleet under the MSC umbrella.

Edited November 20, 2022 by Georgia_Peaches

[Beamafar]

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I love a good deal!  I was just looking at MSC Explora and was wondering if it would apply to that line...

Will be interesting to see. 👍

[Stockjock]

So has anyone actual come out ahead gambling on these ships?  I work for a big Wall Street firm, so you'd think I'd be a gambler, but I don't like casino odds in general, and I think that cruise ship casino odds are even worse than Las Vegas.

[ciabelle]

On 11/22/2022 at 1:28 PM, Stockjock said:

So has anyone actual come out ahead gambling on these ships?  I work for a big Wall Street firm, so you'd think I'd be a gambler, but I don't like casino odds in general, and I think that cruise ship casino odds are even worse than Las Vegas.

*All* casinos have a house advantage, and yes cruise ship casinos have worse odds than Vegas for the most part. I doubt anyone here is realistically expecting to consistently make more than they spend within the realm of the casino itself -- The house always wins. 

However, the rewards program offers can and do make it worthwhile for people who enjoy cruising and gambling to do both in many cases. If you lose $2000 in the casino but save $3000 off your cruise fare, you still ultimately come out ahead in the end.  

If you don't enjoy gambling and/or cruising then this wouldn't be a recommended activity.

[ulster-cruiser]

It looks as though the good days are over! I have read on another forum that they are changing the points system and 1200 points will no longer cut it. The vouchers will also not be allowed to be used on YC cabins apparently 😞! 
I hope this isn’t true, I am not on board until March so won’t be able to confirm until then.

 

[def0715]

When I called to use my 30 percent off coupon on a cruise (“Price” is listed at $130.80 traveling solo - it’s a short one) I was told the cruise fare portion of that, to, which the discount would be applied, is only like $70 - and that the rest of the $130.80 is port charges, taxes/fees/something. Initial page clearly says “Gov. fees, taxes and port charges $108.38 pp.” Called several times and was told 30 percent off applies only to a portion of the “Price.” In my mind I figured I’d receive 30 percent off $130.80. Has anyone else experienced this? They basically were saying all the taxes, port charges and fees are what are spelled out plus a hefty portion of the cruise “Price,” which I think makes these fees/port charges/taxes much higher than other cruise lines. The $39 discount I thought I would receive is substantially lower. I see lots of people using these for YC discounts and wonder if they’re receiving 30 percent off the full “Price” on the website or 30 percent off the “Price” minus whatever else MSC says goes into the “Price.” I used a MyVegas reward of 30 percent off previously and seemed to truly get 30 percent off the “Price.” Not sure if I’m making sense. New to MSC and just felt a bit misled by this 30 percent casino discount. I like to do the math on things and see all numbers clearly spelled out. Yes, it’s still a discount, but it’s not the discount I thought it would be. 

Edited December 9, 2022 by def0715

[ulster-cruiser]

On 10/23/2022 at 7:05 PM, dktbird03 said:

We never knew until this year that it made sense to enroll in the casino point system but after trying it out in April, my husband secured a free night certificate in April 2022 for an inside cabin for two up to a 10 night cruise, which was valid for 12 months. This was our first experience with the MSC Casino benefits and I was a bit skeptical when I contacted the MSC Casino reservation team. We only cruise in the Yacht Club and have an 11-year old child so need to cruise during peak season. I expected the voucher to be worthless but was positively surprised when I was offered a 7-night Caribbean cruise on the new ship Seascape during Easter 2023 in a Yacht Club Deluxe cabin for all three of us for $3000 - more than $4000 savings vs. the listing price at the time. It was a no brainer to confirm!

We have since cruised twice and enrolled in the casino program - the second time we did not make the points so no free cruise or certificate but a bottle of perfume and premium chocolates nonetheless. The third time we secured a 30% voucher valid for 9 months which we have yet to use - plus a bottle of perfume. 

We also received two e-mail offers (April and July) of a free balcony cabin cruise for two in the Mediterranean (we live in Europe) with the only condition of spending $400 onboard. Sadly we could not take advantage but are very impressed with the offers. Considering that a bit of casino fun is part of the cruise experience, it is really incredible what it can lead to. MSC certainly seems to be very generous in what benefits are offered.

Yes I have always been told that port fees, taxes etc are not included in the 30% discount when getting a quote 

[smokeykat]

This will be our first time on MSC Meraviglia might be a silly question but how do you enroll in the Casino program? Is there a casino host desk in the casino that we need to register with?

Or do they just seek you out from your onboard play?

[Bead Pirate]

Some targets to consider...

 

10K in points seems to be the target for free YC (have hit this several times). 12K will get you YC and additional perks.

 

Not sure why, but I must admit that MSC slots seem to pay the max jackpots on every cruise (very little carry over to following cruise) as compared to other lines I travel and play with.

[psmarkle]

On 11/20/2022 at 12:44 PM, no1talks said:

@psmarkle, if it isn't an imposition, may I post my e-mail for you to clue me in on that big box? Extra OBC would be great. Thank you, in advance.

It rhymes with cruises-n-"smores".com 😉

[psmarkle]

On 11/22/2022 at 4:28 PM, Stockjock said:

So has anyone actual come out ahead gambling on these ships?  I work for a big Wall Street firm, so you'd think I'd be a gambler, but I don't like casino odds in general, and I think that cruise ship casino odds are even worse than Las Vegas.

Have come out ahead on all 3 of our cruises...not by much (I only take $1K for gambling), but still walked off with some of their $$ and the 30% certificate.

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, psmarkle said:

Have come out ahead on all 3 of our cruises...not by much (I only take $1K for gambling), but still walked off with some of their $$ and the 30% certificate.

I broke even on my last cruise on Mera but got the 30% off voucher (which I've applied to a cruise in August, 2023) so I view this as coming out ahead. 😁

[BeeeJay]

On 5/29/2022 at 5:45 PM, psmarkle said:

Disclaimer: this post is only based on my personal observations from earning the 30% Casino discount on my past 2 MSC cruises; it's not official MSC guidance or whatever!

 

OK, we've sailed the MSC Seaside twice and had a third cruise booked until...well, covid-agedden which disrupted everyone's lives, sadly. And we just sailed the Seashore in April, and booking the Meraviglia in Nov using the 30% discount from the Casino. We're not big fish players to earn a free cruise, although I have sat at the tables with those who have earned them (or maybe "pre-paid" for the "free" cruise with their playing! 😬).

 

The big question up front:  I bring $1,500 cash onboard with me as our casino budget...and have yet to even come close to using it all.  DW and DSIL play the penny slots on roughly $200 for the week each. They play together all night after the shows until the casino kicks them out at 4:30/5:00am! As they come back to the room, I'm usually getting up to have coffee in the YC Topsail Lounge and then wait outside the fitness center doors eagerly waiting for them to open at 6am...yes, I am one of THOSE people! I have issues, I know....

 

So, back to the lucrative Casino 30% discount. Prior to discovering the cost and service advantages of MSC's Yacht Club, we were big NCL Haven sailors, using casino free inside room offers to pay the difference to upgrade to the Haven.  I say this, because I stumbled across MSC YC while comparing cruise prices, and our first Seaside YC cruise was around $3,000 cheaper than the comparable NCL sailing...say what?! 😲 And this was before we had earned a 30% discount.

 

So, we have our usual cruise routine of dinner, catch the show(s), then DW and DSIL "go to work" on the penny slots in the Casino while Dad (Me) and DD hang out, head to comedy shows/white dance parties/etc, then I drop her off at the cabin around 11/11:30 (she's 16, btw, so no child services calls, please!). She then orders YC room service pizza which is different than regular room service pizza...yum-o! and watches a movie before dozing off. I'll get to the Casino around midnight and check in on DW and DSIL to see if I need to take out a home equity loan yet, then head over to the 3-card poker table to buy in.  I play 3-card poker as MSC ships do not have my preferred game of choice, Craps. Craps is a predominately American market game and MSC is an Italian-based cruise line catering more to Europeans. So I learned 3-card poker, instead.  My first buy-in is $500. Just slide the cash and your room card over to the dealer and they then log you in and start tracking your play.  With slots, you put your room card in the machine and it automatically starts tracking DW and DSIL's play.

 

My average bet is $10 on the Ante and $15 on the Play spot. There is also the "pairs plus" bet that would be an additional $10, but I learned a good lesson from the Pit Boss this last cruise about not playing that bet. On our first MSC Seaside cruise, a Casino hostess found my DW and DSIL on the second night of playing and had them fill out a casino rewards registration. MY DW later told me that she filled out mine as well since the Hostess had it readily available.

 

Then, on the last night of the cruise, our Butler placed the 30% "Willie Wonka Golden Tickets" on all 3 of our beds! They are actually letters in envelopes, but you get the idea of the excitement we felt when we saw them! This is consistent with our last 2 cruises on MSC, on about the second night, the Hostess comes finds you based on where you're logged in, has you fill out the registration, and assuming you play every night like we do, then the magical envelopes show up on the last night on your pillow so you fall asleep dreaming of 30% future cruises! One key caveat, the discount is only valid from 9 months from the month you sailed, so it forces you into 2 cruises'ish a year if you're chasing this offer...oh darn, throw me in that brier patch! Oh yeah, the Casino Dept also sends you a box of Venchi chocolates to your room for free, sweet!

 

So, MSC awards X# of points based on your time and level of play. The key number is to hit 1,200 points in their system to trigger the 30% threshold. I cannot tell you how many bets DW and DSIL make per hour, but they are playing penny slots. For this past April's cruise, I played from 11pm-1/1:30am betting $25 on the Ante and $25 Play bets, no Pairs Plus this cruise as I l studied my statistics. The Pit Boss and I chatted about that. In his broken English he said betting Pairs Plus made it about 70 to 30% in the house's favor, but just betting the Ante and Play bets made it almost 50/50. Smart playing he said! Based on my stated play, I hit my 1,200 points on my fourth night. Finished the cruise $100 ahead AND got the coveted 30% discount letter that is worth $2-3K when booking 4 people in the YC!

 

Also, I have found MSC's Casino Reps to be SOOOOOO much better and knowledgeable that their regular customer service reps. No long hold times, but they're only avail M-F, 9-6pm EST at 1-844-MSC-PLAY.

 

Again, this is just my experience, but glad to answer any questions y'all may have.  Out of 43 cruises so far, I have found MSC's Casino Dept to be the best. I'm glad to answer any questions...fire away!

 

 

Agree with that analysis 100%, Pairs Plus is prob 10%-12% house advantage on MSC, not as bad as 30%, but the variance is high too.  That said sometimes 3 card poker DOES pay for Yacht Club if you stop in Vegas on the way to Miami. 😉

 

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by BeeeJay