tetleytea

Then what do you say about the other gambler who said there is such a thing as advantage players, but that they don't really play on the cruise lines? Or the other gambler who said you don't play for comps (which I thought was you)? I believe the exact reason given was that the cruises use infinite shoes.

I'll take it. What is your strategy? (or you can you post it publically?) By "a lot of work," I assume you don't really view it as "work", but entertainment. If you found a way to come out ahead and have fun doing it, then that's what it is all about.

Curious: what if we booked an Oceanview (which you can only apply one CruiseNext to), but then got our bid accepted on a balcony? Can we then apply our second CruiseNext on that one?

I just sailed the Bliss July 23rd sailing. I can understand why one would say the itinerary was bad. Let me share how I view it (which is different): - I specifically chose the Bliss because it hit both Sitka and Icy Strait ports, and spent a fair amount of time at them both. That was my first time to Sitka, and my DW's first time to Icy Strait. The short time in Ketchikan and Juneau was not that bad, because we had already been there. - We knew what we were signing up for when we booked a Seattle sailing. This is not a Vancouver one-way. Of course times are going to be shorter. - I worked around the early return shuttle bus departure by arranging with a tour guide who would agree to drop us off at Ward Cove. It worked out--we barely had time even to shop in the warehouse before it was all aboard time. - The short time in Victoria stunk. The other Seattle sailings are not much better, though. Gosh the weather was good there. - I felt like the Observation Lounge was your rainy-day Sky Deck. I didn't really like it in good weather. I actually booked my specialty restaurants (via Free At Sea) so that we could sit outside during the scenic sailing. I didn't like the Bliss' lack of public aft-viewing areas, except when they opened up Deck 8 on one occasion. (edit: come to think of it, Deck 8 wasn't even aft. That was fore deck).

Sure seems right in line with what the OP wanted to know to me.

i have a moral objection to seriously misrepresenting the math on CC. And yes, i see your marketing email giving you a comp. PLEASE tell me you aren't suggesting that I ever implied the comps are not real. Because if you are, then I have to call into question whether you received that email, or composed it and sent it to your clients.

Probably. You'd really have to know your geography to know that was what you were looking at, though.

Obviously I read it, or I would not have bolded it. Law of averages. Do you understand law of averages? Or if you have some way of beating those averages, that is what I asked for about 3 pages ago. To which the answer I got was, "Don't worry about the math." My offer to listen to anyone more experienced than I at consistently beating the house remains in place. At this point I will settle just for someone who has consistently lost less than they got in comps. The answer to that I got was, "Don't worry about the comps. You don't play for comps. You play for entertainment." You guys are all over the place.

Googled. Done. The Casino Comps System Explained – How to Make It Work For You (gamblingsites.org) From the site: "For example, if you’re playing slot machines and betting $1 every time you spin the reels, you’re putting $1 into action every time you spin. If you make 600 spins per hour, then you’ve put $600/hour into action. Based on the odds behind the game and the payout odds, casinos can estimate the long-term expected losses based on your hourly action. They can then calculate a percentage of that to return to you in the form of comps." So, from a Googled site (as you suggested), the comps are some percentage of your average gambling losses. Which your site says is 30%. Therefore you are paying 3X the market price for that "free" cruise. You lose an average of $2000 for that $600 inside cabin. $1400 in "entertainment." Do note that the casino thrives on obfuscating the math.

What the house wins, in general they comp 30% back (according to your source). That has to do with wins and losses.

I understand.

Actually, no you didn't. As I explained earlier, you only linked to a self-described "industry standard", and not what NCL's comp tiering system is. Youtr own link even admits that in the end, the casino decides it--yet you won't tell us what it is. Furthermore your own link says that "in general, casinos comp back 30%". What do you expect that to mean? They comp back 30% of the house's gambling winnings (i.e. your gambling losses). Which means you are basically paying 3 times the market value for that "free" cruise. Did you read your own link?

The purpose of the CC forums is to give and take advice for how to cruise well. And that includes not getting taken advantage of in the casinos, not gaining too much weight eating desserts in the MDR and the buffet, not acquiring a physical addiction to alcohol just because you bought a Free At Sea package, and not falling for any number of highly manipulative marketing tactics the mainstream cruise lines throw your way. They are bad, and they remain bad regardless of what path you (or anyone) chooses to take. It would be disingenuous ever to say the opposite.

M&M's melt in your mouth, not in your hand. Or your slot machine. I heard that on TV. And the TV would never lie, either.

Even the land casinos offer free drinks while you're gambling, but of course there is no motive or conspiracy behind that at all.

Right. Which goes back to what I asked earlier: why not just have the slots dispense M&M's? There is also my second question: how do the comps work? No, not the "industry standard": what are the NCL cruise ships comp tiers? Do they just return a % of your gambling losses back (just like the IRS takes a 30% cut of your winnings)? If comps were a function of how long you played, then penny slots would be perfect. I doubt it is, though.

You think it's stupid to insinuate that drug pushers don't try to get you hooked, to try and make money? Any less than casinos try to get you hooked on gambling, to make money? Quite the opposite: it would be incredibly naive to think otherwise. And I don't like the idea of trying to push that kind of naivete on the CC boards.

Actually, I conserved my minutes so much that I didn't even burn all 150. But the 139 minutes I did use, I needed it. I used that to check emails, check in with independent shore excursions. Google maps of the ports, make disembarkation plans. I think the biggest hoax is the art auction. Or no...the "every person who attends the auction gets a free work of art". How much you bet I could produce better, more suitable art for me by downloading some Google clip art and sending it to my local pharmacy to print on some fancy photo paper?

Non-players not knowing how it works is like non-crack users not knowing how crack works. The drug pushers give out comps, too, and as a matter of fact it IS a big conspiracy.

If people insist on gambling, as long as they do it with their eyes wide open (and I don't see how that is possible when the casino doesn't tell you the comp tier thresholds or the payouts), then I say thank you, gamblers, for helping make my own cruise fare cheaper and underwriting the cost of the cruise. And helping my 100 shares of Norwegian stock.

First off, you're contradicting what other gamblers here are saying. so it sounds like you guys need to all align with each other first. But second, the problem with comparing this "entertainment" with bungee cording is, I know exactly how much riding a ride costs. Because guess why: they TELL me. It's not that difficult. I don't care about the "randomness" aspect of it--there is still the law of averages. I know that, you know that, everybody knows that. What % of what you put in does the casino pay back out? What are the tier levels for comps? How much "entertainment" time am I going to get for $300, on average? Because if I blow all $300 on one blackjack hand--ooh, that was fun while it lasted. I could have ridden 15 rides on the top-deck speedway for that. There's the problem: the casino holds that information close to their chest. You know that, you know they're out to make money, you don't know how much--and yet you sink your money into it. You're on a freakin' cruise--it's not like there is a shortage of entertainment.

If any gamblers truly have any experience in consistently beating the house, I am certainly willing to defer and am all ears. "Ignore the math" is a piece of advice I'm having a hard time with, since that would include subtracting your previous balance from your current balance in order to calculate your winnings. That's math.

We had kids on our cruise who liked to press all the buttons on all the elevators, and thought that was funny. They would stop at every floor. Security following your kids around is not necessarily a bad thing. Personally, I think I would like it.

We did both Totem Bight and Saxman Village on the same port visit, just taking the public bus.

I've never had my car broken into in Galveston so hard to compare, but I would imagine your hotel would be closer to the sea wall. Clearly the better parking would be the cruise parking. And probably the more secure as well--thieves would have to be more determined to go out that way. Whereas you will always be sharing the beach with a few bozos.