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Comparing casino programs among different cruise lines


Daghis
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As I've commented many times before in several threads here, I'm disappointed by Royal Caribbean's Club Royale's offers versus what I can get from NCL's Casinos at Sea. Thinking about this tonight, I thought perhaps it would be interesting to see what other cruise lines offer in comparison. It would be especially beneficial to hear from Cruise Critic members who have taken advantage of offers from different cruise lines and can offer comparisons between them theoretically based on similar levels of play.

 

In my own personal experience, I've sailed with Royal Caribbean's and NCL's programs and, especially with the changes to Club Royale that have come in the past year and a half, I've found that Casinos at Sea has a much more attractive offering for casino guests.

 

As an example, consider this:

  • My last cruise on NCL was on Norwegian Getaway over New Year's this year.
  • My last cruise on Royal Caribbean was on Freedom of the Seas in March 2017.
  • Based on slot points earned, my play on Freedom of the Seas was about double (~7,000 points) what I played on Norwegian Getaway (~4,000 points).

When I contacted each to get a quote for a 7-night, round-trip, Alaskan sailing on their largest ship sailing there over Labor Day weekend in 2018, this is what I learned from NCL:

  • NCL's Casinos at Sea will comp me in a balcony cabin (category BA) on Norwegian Bliss, their newest ship, for a total out of pocket cost of $976.90 for two people which includes the gratuities for the "free" beverage and dining perks. Actual price for this cruise is $4,654.90, representing a comp value of $3,678.
  • NCL's onboard program is tiered, with well defined perks for each tier potentially including onboard credit, drinks while playing in the casino, priority embarkation and disembarkation, waiving of cash advance fees from one's onboard account, and more.

In comparison, here's what I found from Royal Caribbean:

  • Royal Caribbean's Club Royale was unable to provide any casino pricing for this cruise (Explorer of the Seas) whatsoever. I was told that they will only provide promotional offers for cruises within twelve months of your last Royal Caribbean cruises. They expect you to be able to use a discount/free cruise certificate that you received on your last cruise. The maximum value of this certificate is $1,000 (or a free cruise from a limited selection of ~40-50 cruises in a balcony cabin).
     
    This means that assuming you sail enough and don't book too far in advance, you're limited in how much value you can get from the certificate. The representative offered that I could book today to lock in today's price, and then after my next cruise, if I got a certificate, I could then use the certificate on that Alaskan cruise, but it would get repriced at the then-current pricing, likely reducing the value of the certificate.
  • Royal Caribbean's onboard program is only as good as your last cruise. If you've earned enough points to qualify (1,000-1,500 points, depending on prior qualification), you can then get free drinks in the casino and waiving of the cash advance fee. All slot players get onboard credit from slot points at the end of the cruise ($20 per 1,000 points earned).

General commentary: I don't know what Royal Caribbean is thinking. I know I'm not the only one who's looking to other cruise lines for more lucrative offers.

 

I'd like to find out from others here what kinds of deals they get from other cruise lines to get a sense of how the different programs and benefits compare.

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NCL is owned the the Genting Group, a huge multinational corporation which primarily owns resorts and casinos worldwide. It follows that they know what they're doing to entice gamblers on their cruises. IMO, no other cruise line compares.

 

 

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I have been using NCL CAS for 5 cruises and am happy with them. Last summer I got a voucher from a land based casino for a 5 night cruise on Carnival. I accrued over 15,000 points on that 5 night cruise and didn't get a BB offer, Carnivals offers are slim to none and hard to get. NCL you just call them up you pick a date and you are pretty much guaranteed some kind of comp on that cruise, and from my experience I am able to get a mini suite for port charges and taxes, and the administrative fee. I like the atmosphere and experience on NCL. I am always taken good care of on NCL by the hosts. At this point there is no reason for me to look anywhere else for a Casino Cruise.

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I cruised with Carnival for four years starting in 2012. Being retired we sail roughly four times a year. We were comped inside cabins and premier cruises. It was a total blast. Then all of a sudden the offers dried up. I mean we are not getting anything. We haven't changed our style of play at all. As a matter of fact on our last CCL cruise we gambled more at a higher level than usual. We play Blackjack and the first night we got up quite a bit. The remainder of the cruise we played hot and heavy. We used all the tricks, being friendly, talking to the pit critters and tipping like crazy. To make a long story longer we left close to 4K ahead and never received any type of offer.

 

In frustration, after many wonderful CCL cruises, I switched to NCL. Wow, it is night and day. First off with the drink package and the dining package included in the price of the fare you don't have to play the points game to get a comped drink or specialty restaurant.

 

The entertainment and MDR food are light years ahead of CCL.

 

Finally and most importanly I am amazed at the cruise offers I have received. I just call up CAS and tell Anthony the dates and the ships and he works it out. I don't have to wait for an offer and I can basically book as many or as few cruises as I want. Yes I have to pay an upcharge for a balcony or mini suite. I have a nice balcony cabin on The Bliss for two, 7 nights in the Mexican Riviera, with the UDP and gourmet restaurants for $1200.00 including taxes and fees.

 

IMHO there is no rhyme or reason how CCL treats their players. They are the first casino I have heard of that actually takes into account whether you win or lose and not just how long you play at at what bet level.

 

I have spoken at great lengths with other players on CCL and have read on these boards, you would have an easier time craking the Enigma that cracking CCL's comp rating system.

 

On a good note I have a better time on NCL and they do offer some shoe games.

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Last summer I got a voucher from a land based casino for a 5 night cruise on Carnival. I accrued over 15,000 points on that 5 night cruise and didn't get a BB offer, Carnivals offers are slim to none and hard to get.

 

That seems very odd. In my experience on Carnival, earning 5,000 points on a sailing will get you an immediate BB for an interior cabin. The more points you earn, the better the cabin class. 15,000 points should easily have gotten you a balcony cabin BB offer.

 

Now, there are a couple downsides that I've mentioned on this board and the Carnival board before:

  • You only have 2 weeks to book your next cruise, and that cruise must begin within 6 months of the date of your offer
  • The offers tend to say they are valid for much more than what actually shows up in your online account. Like I mentioned in the first bullet, the offer says it's valid for 6 months, but lately I've only seen cruises in the next 2-3 months, and even then they've mostly been shorter 3-5 day cruises that don't interest me.

Also, other than the on-the-spot bouncebacks, you should be getting e-mails and postcards with Premier Cruise offers, "Pack and Play" offers, etc.

 

I would call or e-mail the casino hosts and see what your account actually says. Alternately, you can log into your Carnival.com account and click on the "offers" link to see what's out there. I almost always have a "Casino Offer," and a "Casino Offer - Premier Cruise" out there.

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quote=BTHodgeman;53812042]That seems very odd. In my experience on Carnival, earning 5,000 points on a sailing will get you an immediate BB for an interior cabin. The more points you earn, the better the cabin class. 15,000 points should easily have gotten you a balcony cabin BB offer.

 

Now, there are a couple downsides that I've mentioned on this board and the Carnival board before:

  • You only have 2 weeks to book your next cruise, and that cruise must begin within 6 months of the date of your offer
  • The offers tend to say they are valid for much more than what actually shows up in your online account. Like I mentioned in the first bullet, the offer says it's valid for 6 months, but lately I've only seen cruises in the next 2-3 months, and even then they've mostly been shorter 3-5 day cruises that don't interest me.

Also, other than the on-the-spot bouncebacks, you should be getting e-mails and postcards with Premier Cruise offers, "Pack and Play" offers, etc.

 

I would call or e-mail the casino hosts and see what your account actually says. Alternately, you can log into your Carnival.com account and click on the "offers" link to see what's out there. I almost always have a "Casino Offer," and a "Casino Offer - Premier Cruise" out there.

 

I was very surprised that I didn't get a BB offer. I have looked on website and they have a few short cruises 3 or 4 night where I can get an inside room for free. I usually travel alone and prefer a balcony and for any of those I need to pay something and it turns out that I have to pay double what they list, because I am alone.

There are some cruises where they offer casino cash but they all cost money. On NCL I call CAS and can get any cruise I want and usually get Mini Suite/ balcony. Have been offered Haven Spa Suite but the dates for that one wouldn't work for me. My upcoming cruise on NCL Escape in 10 days I got an Aft Balcony. Don't get me wrong I would cruise more with Carnival if they had better offers.

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Tutontow, when you switched & did your 1st sailing with NCL, did you call & talk to a casino rep, & get an offer, or did you just make a regular booking-regular price?

 

They would only give me 10% off until they saw our play. We normally play $25.00 blackjack with a 1k per day ($500.00 for me, $500.00 for my wife) bankroll. We had an absolute blast on our CCL cruises but I will say when people say NCL is a step up they are correct. The broadway style shows and the live entertainment is fantastic. As I stated above the fact that drinks anywhere on the ship and three gourmet meals were included in the price is a big plus.

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On carnival & royal they are now giving more points & better offers to those that do slots. My husband was only doing poker tables, but now does a mix of slots,poker & craps. The Carnival bb's we've gotten before this year, you could pick any length & any ship. This year, it's gone to 3 months or less out & their selection of mostly 3 &4 niters. But they've had great premier offers the 1st half of 2017. Did 2 carnivals in June, got bb's & was only very lucky to get a 6 niter, & then a 7 niter in Sept. Wont do 3 or 4 any more either.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I wonder why NCL has such a strong offering in this area, and also why other cruise lines' offerings are so weak in comparison.

 

Perhaps it's simply because NCL is third (?) in terms of size and they need to do whatever they can in order to get passengers onboard. Even if that's the case, good for them for having quite a successful casino program.

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After 20 NCL comped cruises, we sent a screenshot of a certificate for free cruise from CET to URCOMPED and recieved free cruise on MSC Divina. We will be sailing soon. No port charges, taxes, or administration fees. Only a $ 400 deposit that turns into OBC and is refundable at the end of the cruise. Free drinks in the casino, we did loyalty status match to their highest level and will receive all the perks associated with that. They comped us an inside cabin, changed that to an OV gty, and then moved us to a large wellness balcony cabin. Even with having to pay for airfare to florida, and hotel room, it is costing us much less than a comped NCL cruise.

Try them, you have nothing to lose.

Safe sailing

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After 20 NCL comped cruises, we sent a screenshot of a certificate for free cruise from CET to URCOMPED and recieved free cruise on MSC Divina. We will be sailing soon. No port charges, taxes, or administration fees. Only a $ 400 deposit that turns into OBC and is refundable at the end of the cruise. Free drinks in the casino, we did loyalty status match to their highest level and will receive all the perks associated with that. They comped us an inside cabin, changed that to an OV gty, and then moved us to a large wellness balcony cabin. Even with having to pay for airfare to florida, and hotel room, it is costing us much less than a comped NCL cruise.

Try them, you have nothing to lose.

Safe sailing

Were you able to choose the ship and sailing date/ Did you have to book right away?

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We sailed on NCL to Alaska in a comped inside cabin, cost us $700 (2 people). We gambled more on that cruise ~3,500-4,500 points and received a comped balcony cabin for a Caribbean cruise that will cost us $522 (2 people). We just called and they look up our gabling activity and tell what we qualify for. I was wondering if RC and Carnival fees were similar?

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Royal Caribbean doesn't have "fees" when making a comped booking. That seems to be an NCL thing (the ~$200/person fee).

 

I'm not sure, but I think I've heard that if you get a fully comped booking on Royal Caribbean, you don't even have to pay the taxes. You are still responsible for gratuities, and I do think they make you pay those up front, but that's about it I believe.

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Royal Caribbean doesn't have "fees" when making a comped booking. That seems to be an NCL thing (the ~$200/person fee).

 

I'm not sure, but I think I've heard that if you get a fully comped booking on Royal Caribbean, you don't even have to pay the taxes. You are still responsible for gratuities, and I do think they make you pay those up front, but that's about it I believe.

 

We just booked fully comped cabins on two different cruises and the only thing we had to pay were the taxes and port fees. They gave us the option to pre-pay gratuities but did not require it, we said we would pay on the ship and they were fine with that. All this was within the last week so hopefully this helps someone looking for how Royal Caribbean is currently handling comped bookings.

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Terrific! Thank you very much for your experience that's far more grounded in reality than my own. (The one time I had a comped cruise with Royal Caribbean, I upgraded to a suite and don't remember how the amount ended up being split.)

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Royal Caribbean doesn't have "fees" when making a comped booking. That seems to be an NCL thing (the ~$200/person fee).

 

I'm not sure, but I think I've heard that if you get a fully comped booking on Royal Caribbean, you don't even have to pay the taxes. You are still responsible for gratuities, and I do think they make you pay those up front, but that's about it I believe.

 

Marc, we just got off a fully comped cruise on Grandeur and we did have to pay taxes, port fees and grats.

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Marc, I feel your frustration. I guess it's hard to accept a revised program where the comps used to be so good and now they are so marginal. That's how we feel about Royal as well. We both received certificates for $500 each [on our very recent Grandeur sailing] and when we went to book our next cruise we were told that

(1) You can no longer combine the casino rate + certificate values

(2) You cannot use your certificates any further "out" than 12 months from the issue date. Now...I hung up on the first representative and called back and was able to get both of our certificates applied to our cruise in October 2018 (slightly over 12 months in the future) without any problem so apparently that rule (#2) is somewhat flexible but they would NOT bend on the combining casino rate and certificates value at all.

 

It's very frustrating when you know what you USED to get and now those comps are significantly reduced.

 

Maybe it's time to give NCL another try. I have sailed with them a number of times and we received a "free" cruise after our very first cruise with them but we haven't tried lately. I just hate having to start all over again with getting rated and all of that. UGH

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Celebrity's Blue Chip Club just changed their system back in April to become more like a land-based casino with different tiered levels. Based on your play with them going back 18 months they determined a rating for you as of April. You remain at that level until June 2018 when they will do another assessment based on your play since the new program started. My husband and I each qualified for Sapphire level based on prior play which is the second highest. It entitled us to all sorts of nice benefits while onboard including: $1000 each in free play, 1 free specialty meal for 2 each, free unlimited internet each, free classic beverage package each, $100 spa credit each, $50 laundry credit each, access to Michael's Club, priority embark and debark, shoreside concierge service, 20% off for friends and family reservations, welcome gift in cabin, fees waived for cash advances, VIP tender tickets, plus the standard ability to turn points earned during the cruise into free play. Since we cruise in suites, often in upper level suites, many of these benefits overlap and aren't always useful to us.

 

Also, at the end of each cruise the Casino Manager will evaluate your play and may make an offer to you for a future cruise. We took a 10 night cruise this past May (casino only open 9 nights of the cruise) and based on our combined play we earned a free 7 night cruise in a Sky Suite. There are no restrictions on which cruise you take but the cruise must depart within one year from the certificate date of issue. You are just responsible for port charges and taxes. There are no admin fees. Now you can upgrade to a different cabin category or to a different cruise length but when you do your offer reverts to a monetary value that gets deducted from the overall cruise price. The Sky Suite value is only $1750 per person based on what a Blue Chip agent told me which was ridiculously low. You can earn certificates for a higher number of nights, I know there was definitely 10 nights that was a reward possibility, not sure if there was above that. Sky Suite is the highest cabin category you can earn though. But maybe that was the limits for Sapphire category which we were in. Perhaps you can earn higher rewards if you are in the top category, Ruby.

 

 

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Celebrity's Blue Chip Club just changed their system back in April to become more like a land-based casino with different tiered levels. Based on your play with them going back 18 months they determined a rating for you as of April. You remain at that level until June 2018 when they will do another assessment based on your play since the new program started. My husband and I each qualified for Sapphire level based on prior play which is the second highest. It entitled us to all sorts of nice benefits while onboard including: $1000 each in free play, 1 free specialty meal for 2 each, free unlimited internet each, free classic beverage package each, $100 spa credit each, $50 laundry credit each, access to Michael's Club, priority embark and debark, shoreside concierge service, 20% off for friends and family reservations, welcome gift in cabin, fees waived for cash advances, VIP tender tickets, plus the standard ability to turn points earned during the cruise into free play. Since we cruise in suites, often in upper level suites, many of these benefits overlap and aren't always useful to us.

 

Also, at the end of each cruise the Casino Manager will evaluate your play and may make an offer to you for a future cruise. We took a 10 night cruise this past May (casino only open 9 nights of the cruise) and based on our combined play we earned a free 7 night cruise in a Sky Suite. There are no restrictions on which cruise you take but the cruise must depart within one year from the certificate date of issue. You are just responsible for port charges and taxes. There are no admin fees. Now you can upgrade to a different cabin category or to a different cruise length but when you do your offer reverts to a monetary value that gets deducted from the overall cruise price. The Sky Suite value is only $1750 per person based on what a Blue Chip agent told me which was ridiculously low. You can earn certificates for a higher number of nights, I know there was definitely 10 nights that was a reward possibility, not sure if there was above that. Sky Suite is the highest cabin category you can earn though. But maybe that was the limits for Sapphire category which we were in. Perhaps you can earn higher rewards if you are in the top category, Ruby.

 

 

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Thanks for the detailed infromation. I will check Celebrity

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Celebrity's Blue Chip Club just changed their system back in April to become more like a land-based casino with different tiered levels. Based on your play with them going back 18 months they determined a rating for you as of April. You remain at that level until June 2018 when they will do another assessment based on your play since the new program started. My husband and I each qualified for Sapphire level based on prior play which is the second highest. It entitled us to all sorts of nice benefits while onboard including: $1000 each in free play, 1 free specialty meal for 2 each, free unlimited internet each, free classic beverage package each, $100 spa credit each, $50 laundry credit each, access to Michael's Club, priority embark and debark, shoreside concierge service, 20% off for friends and family reservations, welcome gift in cabin, fees waived for cash advances, VIP tender tickets, plus the standard ability to turn points earned during the cruise into free play. Since we cruise in suites, often in upper level suites, many of these benefits overlap and aren't always useful to us.

 

 

 

Also, at the end of each cruise the Casino Manager will evaluate your play and may make an offer to you for a future cruise. We took a 10 night cruise this past May (casino only open 9 nights of the cruise) and based on our combined play we earned a free 7 night cruise in a Sky Suite. There are no restrictions on which cruise you take but the cruise must depart within one year from the certificate date of issue. You are just responsible for port charges and taxes. There are no admin fees. Now you can upgrade to a different cabin category or to a different cruise length but when you do your offer reverts to a monetary value that gets deducted from the overall cruise price. The Sky Suite value is only $1750 per person based on what a Blue Chip agent told me which was ridiculously low. You can earn certificates for a higher number of nights, I know there was definitely 10 nights that was a reward possibility, not sure if there was above that. Sky Suite is the highest cabin category you can earn though. But maybe that was the limits for Sapphire category which we were in. Perhaps you can earn higher rewards if you are in the top category, Ruby.

 

 

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Sapphire here and very recent booking was told you can no longer combine a comped cruise and cerftificate. Not even with an upgade to a sky suite. Curious if any recent bookings out there found the same new rule applied? Thanks!

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Sapphire here and very recent booking was told you can no longer combine a comped cruise and cerftificate. Not even with an upgade to a sky suite. Curious if any recent bookings out there found the same new rule applied? Thanks!

 

 

 

Not clear what you mean by this. You earn a certificate from your play onboard. That certificate will give you a free cruise (at least it did for me) with a varying amount of days and cabin categories depending on your play. I'm not sure what your differentiation of comped cruise and certificate are as there is only one way to earn them from Blue Chip under the new program.

 

If you are referring to free cruise offers from land-based casinos then no you cannot combine that with a certificate or incentive from Blue Chip but that was the case even prior to the change to the new system. You will get all of your tier benefits though like the ones I mentioned in my previous post even if you are on a free cruise.

 

 

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