How many casino points earn a free cruise?

[Mike45LC]

4 hours ago, Wildcatllamas said:

Here in Colorado we also have state set "house edge". In many instances the payback will differ based on machine denomination. Those that offer multiple denomination play will have payback based on the selected denomination. So many folks don't realize that on most penny machines with multi-line pay it will have a max bet that is the same or close to a dollar machine. Difference is the dollar machine will usually have a higher payback then the penny. Key word is usually. 

The max bet on some “penny machines” is $8.80 per spin!  Lots of quarter machines have a three credit max!

[spunks]

sorry....on to what I was going to post about , which was the OP's question. The simple fact is that not even Captain Stubing can tell you how Princess figures the point system. A person that exclusively plays slots can read his/her point total on the machine. Table points are unknown. I have asked the Host and they tell me they do not know, I have to go to the Casino site. The web address they give only directs to the general Carnival site with no mention of Casinos. I have called the Casino operator( from the 800 number given by the host) and have been told they have no idea and to ask the Host.

 

So, the only points you can find out about are slot machine points.....ok...what do those points mean? All I could ever get was a letter showing the non working Web address and the non useful 800 number.

 

I hope this was helpful.

 

Doug

[NownZen]

47 minutes ago, FrugalVoyager said:

 

 

1) Cruise line industry is really competitive with each year competition growing more and more so customer retention becomes # issue far more than per person average spend.

 

 

The cruise lines care about total revenue which is number of passengers times the average spent per passenger. If a ship is not full, it makes sense to "give away" rooms to people who have shown they will spend money on gambling. Those rooms cost very little on an incremental basis and the gambling revenue is important. For the paying customers, I read at one point that they are looking at onboard spending to be about an additional 50% of the fare paid.

When ships are full or nearly so, I suspect the gambling offers get much less generous. I have never received an offer since I do not gamble on the ships.

[cruzin4us]

Right now cruise lines are still sailing much below capacity and it's in their best interest to offer free cruises to gamblers.     It's a way of generating revenue from us that choose to gamble.   It's not rocket science.   They aren't going to offer cruises to those who don't.

As cruises start to fill up again, I expect the offers to become less frequent.   The logic is simple, give the empty rooms to casino players and we will at least be generating some income that we wouldn't get otherwise.   No sense giving empty rooms to people that don't.

 

Regarding the payouts:   Let's take the Lightening game which has the Grand capped out out 10k.   Land based casinos (Indian casinos as well) have an unlimited cap and the jackpot starts at $10k and grows as the machines are played.   Keno is another one that has horrible odds on the cruise ships.    

 

Even the drink package is designed to make money.  Very rarely do people drink the 6.5 drinks to break even if they purchase the pkg.   Some do a few days, but most don't over a period of time.  Especially if you have one drinker in your room and the other not so much.

 

The last cruise I was on, as I sat playing my $.80-$1.60 on my machine, a gentleman sat down and played $50 a hand on Buffalos.   Yup, 2 that's two spins every $100.   I promise you, the casino made money on him.    Behind me 3 people played $20 on every VP hand for hours.....casino made lots of money on them too.  Of course, why wouldn't they be offered a free room and a bunch of perks?

 

So, @FrugalVoyager, unless you gamble, you shouldn't even venture your opinion on this subject.   It would be like me trying to suit up and pretend to be neurosurgeon. 

 

The only time I came home ahead was when I played 3 card poker and had some really good luck, but that's a rarity.   This cruise was on Celebrity and I never received any casino offers from them.

 

  

 

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, FrugalVoyager said:

This is why cruise line casinos have the most generous payouts in the industry.

Apparently cruise line casinos are so generous that I should be walking off a cruise in the black way more often than I actually do. I must be doing something wrong🤔

 

I'll take a show of hands as to how many people here consistently leave the ship ahead on a comped casino cruise.

[spunks]

2 hours ago, FrugalVoyager said:

1) Cruise line industry is really competitive with each year competition growing more and more so customer retention becomes # issue far more than per person average spend.

cruise lines GUARANTEE customer loyalty by giving big perks to returning cruisers.....and as one rises in the ranks those perks become so addictive that folks just return again and again to the same line.

 

These perks run anywhere from free drinks, to free laundry, to free internet to yes, free staterooms. The cruise lines have plenty of loyal customers. When one reaches lofty level on one line, it is hard to even look at another line.

 

Since cruising restarted last August we have been on 25 or 26 cruises. The ships did start pretty empty, but the last 3 we took have been full. 

 

Anyone that gambles knows....KNOWS that the tightest machines and the worst casino game odds are hands down on cruise ships. To say different means that one has either never been on a cruise ship or casino or more likely both.

[KKB]

Well it's a crapshoot!

DH & I each earned a bit over 2K points. 

Mostly played .05 STP VP--and we played A LOT.

Were each offered $300 free play for future cruise.

Went ahead & booked an open booking as well.

Looking at 2 wk TA or Panama Canal next April.

 

His uncle got $250 free play offered--and he earned 2-3x more than us (not sure what he ended at).

His aunt must have gotten $600+. Truly no idea her points, suspect quite a bit more than ours.

Uncle plays VP & slots, aunt just slots.

 

 

 

[pathi]

Just off Sapphire. I had 2600 points, and got an offer for 600$ free play. My wife had 6200 and got an inside cabin offer with plus pkg and 200$ free play. We also got various snacks, a bottle of Brut champagne, and a steak house dinner. All of this was from casino on board the ship. I expect better offers from princess casinos via email in the next few weeks.

Edited October 4, 2022 by pathi

[cruisequeen4ever]

It’s crazy how all over the place the offers are. 

[c-boy]

On 9/29/2022 at 1:04 PM, KKB said:

Well it's a crapshoot!

DH & I each earned a bit over 2K points. 

Mostly played .05 STP VP--and we played A LOT.

Were each offered $300 free play for future cruise.

Went ahead & booked an open booking as well.

Looking at 2 wk TA or Panama Canal next April.

 

His uncle got $250 free play offered--and he earned 2-3x more than us (not sure what he ended at).

His aunt must have gotten $600+. Truly no idea her points, suspect quite a bit more than ours.

Uncle plays VP & slots, aunt just slots.

 

 

 

auntie's got  it goin' on 

 

[Nelsj099]

I have been loyal to NCL for their Casinos At Sea for years.  I have never paid cruise fair, my first cruise came from a land based casino certificate.  I live in China so when NCL was like we are reopening come on your free cruise I couldn't go.  Now they are like you have no offers.  So when I went to book for next summer I chose princess for a fraction of the cruise fair because now I have to pay... I assume that over 11 days that I will get an offer to come back to a Princess cruise in the future.  

 

I also used to work at a land based casino, I understand the comp system having worked in the payer's club/ cage area.  I get what a casino is looking for.   I get that they are looking for me to pay my cruise fair to the casino plus more.  Leaving my NCL platinum perks has been difficult I keep checking to see if their price has gone down for my dates.  It hasn't.  I guess it does not always pay to be loyal.  

[Lizabu]

I know on my last cruise my husband had 2100 points and he got an offer for an inside room and a little bit of freeplay. His brother had 10000 points and his offer was for a balcony room with princess plus and more free play but I’m not sure how much. Maybe that gives you a general ballpark idea.

[kchobbs]

I have booked a 10 day Princess cruise over Xmas. The rate for a balcony was $2500 CDN per person. I asked if I qualified for a casino rate from my last cruise 3 years ago (14 day cruise), to my surprise I qualified. Rate came down to $1240 CDN pp. for a balcony.

My wife does not gamble and on my previous 14 day cruise I have no idea how many points I acquired but I know for a fact I did not lose more than $300 US over the 14 days. I played penny slots and $6to $10 bets on blackjack. I play basic strategy and although bj only pays 6to5 instead of 3 to 2, the house edge is approx 4 to 5%. The savings on this cruise ( approx.$2500 CDN) are significant for the amount I play.

 

The only problem is that we have teenage kids and they are getting too big to stay in the same room as us. The cost for an inside room across the hall from our balcony is basically the same price as our balcony.$1170 CDN pp. 

If my wife had qualified for the casino rate it would have been approx $770 CDN per person for the inside room for the kids by us each booking a room with one child in each room. ( In name only)

I think if you limit the amount you bet, play smart, you can definitely take advantage of special casino discounts on cruises.

[PacnGoNow]

4 hours ago, kchobbs said:

I have booked a 10 day Princess cruise over Xmas. The rate for a balcony was $2500 CDN per person. I asked if I qualified for a casino rate from my last cruise 3 years ago (14 day cruise), to my surprise I qualified. Rate came down to $1240 CDN pp. for a balcony.

My wife does not gamble and on my previous 14 day cruise I have no idea how many points I acquired but I know for a fact I did not lose more than $300 US over the 14 days. I played penny slots and $6to $10 bets on blackjack. I play basic strategy and although bj only pays 6to5 instead of 3 to 2, the house edge is approx 4 to 5%. The savings on this cruise ( approx.$2500 CDN) are significant for the amount I play.

 

The only problem is that we have teenage kids and they are getting too big to stay in the same room as us. The cost for an inside room across the hall from our balcony is basically the same price as our balcony.$1170 CDN pp. 

If my wife had qualified for the casino rate it would have been approx $770 CDN per person for the inside room for the kids by us each booking a room with one child in each room. ( In name only)

I think if you limit the amount you bet, play smart, you can definitely take advantage of special casino discounts on cruises.

Who did you ask, if you qualified fir a casino rate?

[Lizabu]

6 hours ago, kchobbs said:

I have booked a 10 day Princess cruise over Xmas. The rate for a balcony was $2500 CDN per person. I asked if I qualified for a casino rate from my last cruise 3 years ago (14 day cruise), to my surprise I qualified. Rate came down to $1240 CDN pp. for a balcony.

My wife does not gamble and on my previous 14 day cruise I have no idea how many points I acquired but I know for a fact I did not lose more than $300 US over the 14 days. I played penny slots and $6to $10 bets on blackjack. I play basic strategy and although bj only pays 6to5 instead of 3 to 2, the house edge is approx 4 to 5%. The savings on this cruise ( approx.$2500 CDN) are significant for the amount I play.

 

The only problem is that we have teenage kids and they are getting too big to stay in the same room as us. The cost for an inside room across the hall from our balcony is basically the same price as our balcony.$1170 CDN pp. 

If my wife had qualified for the casino rate it would have been approx $770 CDN per person for the inside room for the kids by us each booking a room with one child in each room. ( In name only)

I think if you limit the amount you bet, play smart, you can definitely take advantage of special casino discounts on cruises.

I agree with this. And another thing to add is that points are earned by coin in. Not necessarily how much you lose. If you are playing for a long period of time and winning and losing your own money back all night it’s very possible for you to not be down at all but still managed to rack up a lot of points. This happened to us in Las Vegas. They let you log into your member account online and see what your coin in was. I knew for sure we were only down $137. But when I read our play report it told me that over the course of our trip our coin in was over $5000. My husband and I have this strategy when we play where we cash out and then only play with our winnings. And when you do that you do a lot less damage to your budget.

[roxievegas]

Our first cruise with Princess was booked through an offer from the local casino.  It was for a free cabin and some casino free play.

We play the slots and we play on a budget.  At the end of every cruise, we receive a letter that gives us a free play for the next cruise, or free cabin and free play - You must book within 45 days and take your cruise within 7 months.  We have yet used these offers, because after we get home, we get emails that give us better offers or flyers mailed to us

We have been on 12 cruises - all casino offers and we have three booked for 2023

Some offers have many cruises to chose from, others are very limited.  Some are casino VIP and others are tournament play (black jack tournament or slot tournament).  Last year we signed up for the black jack tournament and both my husband and I each received $600 free play and the end of the tournament (I have never played black jack before)

 

 

[Shelly97060]

On 11/6/2022 at 11:09 AM, PacnGoNow said:

Who did you ask, if you qualified fir a casino rate?

@PacnGoNow your TA can check this for you. 

[eclue]

7 hours ago, Shelly97060 said:

@PacnGoNow your TA can check this for you. 

Travel agents have nothing to do with the Players club....need to talk to them direct.

[Nightowl11]

Out of my family that usually gambles on the ship, my youngest nephew, was 19 on that cruise, was the only person that received an offer.  It was a small reduction in cruise fair for the 1st 2 people in the room and $100 free play.  Now that he is older, and plays more, hopefully he will get a better offer.  It makes no sense how they calculate it because I know, older family members spent more and got nothing offered.

 

How does it work if you book your next cruise while you are on the ship and get FCC and then when you get home, you get an offer from the casino?  Can the bookings be switched?

[Shelly97060]

6 hours ago, eclue said:

Travel agents have nothing to do with the Players club....need to talk to them direct.

When you book your cruise there is a code TAs can apply to see whether you have a casino discount available on that cruise and apply the discount.  They also can pull up your offers by looking under your captain circle number, 

 

For some of the free cabin offers they may need to contact the Casino reservation agents to get assistance in applying the offer but recently TA access has been expanded to include the ability to book more of the free offers directly.

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by Shelly97060

[memoak]

17 hours ago, eclue said:

Travel agents have nothing to do with the Players club....need to talk to them direct.

CVP’s can book them

[coscab]

I've been searching for an answer to this question without any luck, eems like someone here will have the answer. 

I have never sailed Princess but have a cruise booked on Caribbean Princess, I am not familiar with the little medallion thing, is that what I would use in the casino or do they give you something like a players card?

[jwattle]

33 minutes ago, coscab said:

I've been searching for an answer to this question without any luck, eems like someone here will have the answer. 

I have never sailed Princess but have a cruise booked on Caribbean Princess, I am not familiar with the little medallion thing, is that what I would use in the casino or do they give you something like a players card?

Your medallion is used in the casino. 🙂

[coscab]

1 hour ago, jwattle said:

Your medallion is used in the casino. 🙂

Thank you, do you tap it on slot machines somewhere?  Or does it go in a slot?

[jwattle]

25 minutes ago, coscab said:

Thank you, do you tap it on slot machines somewhere?  Or does it go in a slot?

There's a spot to tap it 🙂