Casino Comps

[PigsCanFly]

14 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Do free cruises count towards Pinnacle?

multipost

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by PigsCanFly

[PigsCanFly]

14 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Do free cruises count towards Pinnacle?

Yet another multipost

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by PigsCanFly

[NRWPA]

15 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Do free cruises count towards Pinnacle?

Absolutely. I just turned Pinnacle with all cruises comped...sort of - I, of course, pay via my gambling in the casino

[Sunshine3601]

58 minutes ago, tvo7 said:

Do you think 25 dollars a hand , 3 to 4 hours a day on craps or baccarat,  will get me to some free cruises?

I should think so.   Nowadays I only play slots with occasional blackjack if in the mood and find a table/people I like.   From what I hear most say you earn points quicker on slots since they are calculated by the computer instead of the dealer or the pit boss.    There is a formula they use to calculate those playing table games.    Hopefully someone else will chime with the info for you.

[Sunshine3601]

I wonder how they are going to handle casino members that are doing the full world cruise on Serenade.   If they give them the standard offers that are posted on clubroyale site majority of them won't be able to use them since they are on the WC for 9 months. 

But I guess they won't care since they are on a WC for 9 months.   

[tvo7]

I just realized something too. Cruise lines are getting more and more expensive.  

I was looking at spring break harmony of the seas and it is 1500 a person.  Yikes.

 

Maybe playing to lose a max of 500 and getting free cruise might be worth it.

[PhillyFan33579]

18 minutes ago, tvo7 said:

I just realized something too. Cruise lines are getting more and more expensive.  

I was looking at spring break harmony of the seas and it is 1500 a person.  Yikes.

 

Maybe playing to lose a max of 500 and getting free cruise might be worth it.

When playing slots, you earn 1 point for every $5 bet. To earn a decent cruise offer during a cruise you need 2000 points. You start earning a free offer at 1200 and 1500 points, but they are usually for interior cabins on a limited number of cruises (and usually on older ships). So during a cruise you have to wager $10,000 on slot machines to earn a decent cruise offer. 
 

While earning points playing slots is straight forward, I still don’t understand how they award points playing tables. For example, there were numerous 4 day cruises I went on where I played blackjack 5-6 hours a day, every day, betting $25 a hand. For these cruises I was earning 500 to 1000 points per cruise (I still don’t understand why the range varies from cruise to cruise), which these days wouldn’t get you any free cruise offer. Based on this, I decided to stick to playing slots because I know the rules and my current point total is always displayed in whatever slot machine I am playing. 

[PhillyFan33579]

48 minutes ago, schooner_Drinker said:

Not quite accurate 

you DO NOT need to wager $10,000 per cruise to get decent offers 

 

If what you said was true every PRIME member who plays slots would have had to have wagered  form their own money 

$12,500.00

 

I bet you everyone on here who is PRIME did not take $12,500 with them on the cruise to just become PRIME

 

Anyone can find a machine that has great play through value and had only spent an initial $100 or less 

I see people playing the same TITO voucher all week , adding to it or losing on it , but sat at the same machine all week

Last week a nice gentleman who I sat beside was on 3900 points after 4 days 

His ticket was only $1040 and he said he only came on the cruise with $500

But played everyday the casino was open

 

I understand the math and this is where those that don’t get it, just don’t get it 

 

it’s not how much you put in it’s how much you play though 

 

Nancy

I assumed you understood gambling when I said you need to wager $10,000. Anyone who gambles knows the ideal situation is for the majority of the money you bet to be house money. For example, I just got off a 4 day cruise on Liberty on Friday. On Monday night I deposited $500 in a WOF slot machine. I never put another penny of my money in any slot machine. I gambled on my initial $500 the remainder of the cruise until I hit 2000 points exactly early Thursday night. I cashed out a voucher for $165, so I ended up losing $335. Later Thursday night I gambled the $200 free play and the promo points I earned and ended up walking away with another $120, reducing my total loss on the cruise to $215.  So on this cruise I wagered exactly $10,000 on my initial $500 deposit and lost a total of $215. I will take that “loss” on every cruise. 

Edited December 3, 2023 by PhillyFan33579

[Babblespeak]

2 minutes ago, schooner_Drinker said:

Yes totally understand 

That’s why I replied, been to a few casino rodeos on Royal in the past 22 years 😉

 

The wager to get 2000 points from $10k is a hypothetical that you are going to lose 100% of the time.

 

For the ones that don’t understand play through think all PRIME members actually need to spend $12,500.00 to get a free cruise 

 

I’m highlighting you do not need to wager $10,000 to get a free cruise 

by definition wager is to put up a bet of $10,000 not play through $10,000 there is a major difference 😎

 

Nancy 

 

Yep.  Exactly this.  It’s coin in.  On a lousy 85% payout (Vegas tends to be in the low 90s - I’m sure cruise casinos are a less) with an initial $2000 stake you will make prime because you’ll keep recycling your money (coin in).  Better luck, much less.  My wife got it on Allure a while back off of the first $100 she put in.  Just kept having small hits and cycling that money.  If it gets you an instant cruise offer that can save you $2000, you’ll also get an annual certificate worth maybe $2000 more.  Plus other offers and free drinks.    

[molly361]

Is it one point for every $5 on the video poker machines?

[PhillyFan33579]

4 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Is it one point for every $5 on the video poker machines?

No, 1 point per $10. 

[Tree_skier]

44 minutes ago, schooner_Drinker said:

Yes totally understand 

That’s why I replied, been to a few casino rodeos on Royal in the past 22 years 😉

 

The wager to get 2000 points from $10k is a hypothetical that you are going to lose 100% of the time.

 

For the ones that don’t understand play through think all PRIME members actually need to spend $12,500.00 to get a free cruise 

 

I’m highlighting you do not need to wager $10,000 to get a free cruise 

by definition wager is to put up a bet of $10,000 not play through $10,000 there is a major difference 😎

 

Nancy 

 

I must just be very unlucky!  I'd burn through $100 in under half an hour.  I liked that dancing drums game.  It hit a minor prize on it one time for a few hundred the first time I ever sat down in front of it.  Ever since I just burn through cash.  

[tvo7]

I get the summary now.  100 dollars a hand can get me something but it might not get me anything.  That is the gamble right there also.  

 

I was hoping to put a max of 500 or 1000 loss.  Play 50 to 100 dollars a hand and drag out the the time between between hands like my old comp counting days.  Cannot imagine sitting there for 4 hours doing comp counting and then at the end, the casino host says I only earn free drinks. 

[Twinbooty]

Apologies for going a little off topic but i feel this group can answer my question the quickest.  Ive only ever done European cruises and when in Europe they close the on board casinos whilst in port.

Is this the same in USA and the Caribbean as im thinking of pulling the trigger and doing one this summer.

Also, we really love Bar Top VP when in Vegas and we therefore love the Norwegian set up.  Brownie points if you can suggest other ships with the best bar top machines.  

Thanks in advance.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Twinbooty said:

Is this the same in USA and the Caribbean as im thinking of pulling the trigger and doing one this summer?

Yea, the casino closes in most ports most of the time. 

[leisuretraveler223]

On 12/2/2023 at 12:13 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

Here is a snipping of current comp offers my DH has from the casino.   If I was retired and able to cruise all the time and take advantage of all of these offers it would be well over $20K in free cabins and we spend nowhere near that amount in the casino when we cruise a couple times a year.    Plus we get free cocktails (premium liquors) and 30% off internet.     If a casino comp offer is for an interior it costs very little to upgrade to a OV balcony.    

 

 

We receive new offers almost every Monday.   Most of the recent offers are for 3 to 5 night cruises out of FL but there are some 7 to 9 night sailings up thru December 2024 that were on the Black Friday offer.   

I am also casino prime member and I receive similar offers and have turned a lot of the offers into b2b's.  

 

We have both been casino prime members for several years with Club Royale and based on just the "comped" cabins and the cocktails alone we are way ahead.

 

In total this year alone I put in about $1250 into the casino to retain my Prime status and Yes, I'm ahead by approx. $450 per my spreadsheet.    My DH is ahead on his gambling as well.   Plus we have fun in the casino!

 

Not every cruise we take is a comped cruise.    The casino does offer "casino rates" which is usually cheaper than pricing seen on royalcaribbean.com site

 

I guess this is all BS.  

 

It's not all BS. But stop kidding yourself. Royal is not losing money on comp cruises for gamblers. Might you get lucky and come out ahead for a period of time? Sure!  That's what lures everyone to gambling. This is no different than a casino in Vegas. If you think that gamblers are "beating the house" on a regular or consistent basis, you're just plain wrong.

[Wanna Be Retired]

I'm new to the Casino so I am making a ton of mistakes.  My husband plays on his card and I play on mine and I think we should just play on one card.  He has over 600 points and I have 799.  We also have spent very little of our own money.  We put in $20 and when we win over we cash out, put the winnings in our pocket and put the $20 back in the machine.  We keep our casino money separate, and we have more than we started out with but I don't know what I am doing so I haven't tried to do anything else other than what we are doing.  We stay on low bets and just spin the slots.  We do have a really good time though.

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, leisuretraveler223 said:

 

It's not all BS. But stop kidding yourself. Royal is not losing money on comp cruises for gamblers. Might you get lucky and come out ahead for a period of time? Sure!  That's what lures everyone to gambling. This is no different than a casino in Vegas. If you think that gamblers are "beating the house" on a regular or consistent basis, you're just plain wrong.

Never did I say that gamblers were beating the house on a regular basis.    

 

One of my comments that was the whole point of my post was   "We have both been casino prime members for several years with Club Royale and based on just the "comped" cabins and the cocktails alone we are way ahead."   

Which is Fact

Edited December 17, 2023 by Sunshine3601

[sadiwest]

Here's how I see it. If I'm being honest I should steer clear of the casino.  That being said, I lost about half of what our "comped" cruise would cost me. 

 

Would I choose and inside cabin on a 5 night to Bermuda?  No. Never do insides and we've been to Bermuda a lot. That heing said, I hit 2000 points and I'm gonna use them to make our booked/paid 9 night a 14 night b2b.  That we have never done. And without our dd.

 

So I may rarely come out ahead in any casino, but this one time feels like a win to me, so I'll take it. 

[sadiwest]

On 12/3/2023 at 11:37 AM, schooner_Drinker said:

We also like $907.73 Major last week 

Love it when you hit below $1199.00 🤩

 

Nancy 

 

Literally never saw anyone hit a Major.  Not even playing free slots on my phone.

It's nice to know it actually happens (however rare).

[PhillyFan33579]

On 12/3/2023 at 3:24 PM, Biker19 said:

Yea, the casino closes in most ports most of the time. 

  
You probably know this, but the casino stays open in Coco Cay and Labadee. 

[rolloman]

21 hours ago, leisuretraveler223 said:

 

It's not all BS. But stop kidding yourself. Royal is not losing money on comp cruises for gamblers. Might you get lucky and come out ahead for a period of time? Sure!  That's what lures everyone to gambling. This is no different than a casino in Vegas. If you think that gamblers are "beating the house" on a regular or consistent basis, you're just plain wrong.

The mistake you are making is you are equating Cruise comps to land based Vegas Comps. There is a lot more involved with a cruise comp versus land based. The cruise line needs to sail at capacity. They also need to fill their ships at certain levels in the months prior to sailing. For sake of discussion, let's say the ship needs to be filled 75% before sail at the 6 month mark. The closer to capacity the ship reaches this goal, the more they can charge for the remainder of the rooms left. Giving away a comped cruise allows them to meet their capacity level targets. Once onboard, of course the ship hopes you lose your shirt in the casino, however, they are also aware you most likely will leave tips for the crew, buy an excursion, eat at a specialty restaurant etc. All these examples make the comp provided to you a win for the cruise line versus the cabin sailing empty.  Your claim everyone is a liar who gambles on a cruise is basically an ignorant statement. Under the current casino program, there are plenty of disciplined gamblers who can make cruising more affordable with a comped cruise versus paying outright for it. It is simple math. Several have already given you examples. Personally, I go on a comped cruise with $500.00 to spend.  Mathematically, if I lose it all, I still am ahead. Last year, I went on 4 Carnival cruises and my yearly win loss statement from them showed I was up $26.00 for the year. Factor in the cost of those cruises with free drinks...I am good with it.

[TYMAN]

16 hours ago, sadiwest said:

Literally never saw anyone hit a Major.  Not even playing free slots on my phone.

It's nice to know it actually happens (however rare).

Hit the Major on the Wonder this past October. This is with a $1.76 bet. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by TYMAN

[Babblespeak]

5 minutes ago, TYMAN said:

Hit the Major on the Wonder this past October. This is with a $1.76 bet. 

Nice!  My wife hit a major for about $900 on the Symphony in September 2022. It definitely happens.  Someone also popped a $7500 jackpot on our Adventure sailing last week. They announced it over the intercom. 

[ace1zoe2]

19 hours ago, sadiwest said:

Literally never saw anyone hit a Major.  Not even playing free slots on my phone.

It's nice to know it actually happens (however rare).

Hubby hit a major last week on Voyager. $987 plus a couple of bonuses so he got around $1050. That was second time on this machine to hit a major. The other time was back in March.