Would appreciate some advice re CAS!

[oprahcla]

My husband & I recently took our first cruise with NCL (14 day Jewel out of NY to Miami). I accumulated 435 pts on my card, and my hubby 150 pts on his card. They took approx. $ 400 off our bill. The first day I had accumulated 25 pts & my drinks were free (any drinks and no limits) for the entire cruise.

Now I am thinking about booking another cruise. I do not know what you mean by comp'd rooms. Do you think I would qualify for something? I read many people get 17% off but often if you book a cruise last minute the price would be lower than getting 17% off the list price.

Any advice someone could give me would be greatly appreciated. Does it matter if you take a 7day cruise vs 14 day?? etc.

I loved the casino on the Jewel. I am an elite member with Princess but NCL was great.

Thanks!:)

__________________

[CRUZIN TOM]

Call CAS directly.

For more information or to apply,please contact NCL's Casino Marketing

 

toll-free at 1.877.PLAY.NCL, or 1.877.752.9625.

 

Email us: CasinoInquiries@ncl.com

 

We have booked our 4th cruise with them. We have only received the 17% off. My BH doesn't stay in the casno very long due to all the smoke. CAS will look up your play and will give you the rate for your play in the casino. Should be a good size discount because of yout points earned on your cruise.:)

[terrymtex01]

I am very sure with that amount of points that you will qualify for a comp'ed room. Maybe even all the way up to a Penthouse suite. Whatever you qualify for as far as a comp'ed room, they will allow you to upgrade to any stateroom you want and just pay the difference. You will, no matter what, have to pay taxes and fees (if you take a fully comp'ed stateroom or upgrade, either way).

 

I am surprised that they only credited off $400.00 from your onboard charges, unless that was the only amount of your onboard charges that qualified. They will not credit off money taken from the casino cashier from your onboard account nor will they credit off service charges. Other than that, they will credit off speciality restaurant charges, any onboard purchases ( 2 points for $1.00 purchased), excursions, etc, etc. There was a cruise where we did not have enough charged to our account for them to use all of the points we had earned, so we saved the excess points for our next cruise. You can do that as long as your cruise is within 18 months. This last cruise we just got home from we earned around 440 points total for the both of us but they credited off around $750.00 (I believe).

 

Give CAS a call.. I am very sure you will be glad you did.

[oprahcla]

Thanks Terry for your input. I really appreciate the info. We didnt have any drinks on our account as I qualified the first day for the 25 pts so all we had were purchases from the gift shop which is 2 to 1 pts I guess. While I was there they sent us to (2) of the specialty restaurants, but didn't charge our account. Our total bill at the end of 2 weeks was only $500+ which was basically service charges. We were really pleased. Someone on the cruise commented on my points one day and told me I should contact casinoplayers international NOT CAS but I am really new to this. THere is no casino where I live, but a few times a year we go to Foxwoods which is about a 12 hr drive. Do you suggest I book a stateroom first and then call them to see if they will upgrade?

Thanks again :-)

[weloverunning]

Terry: Keep in mind that Oprahcla was on a 14-day cruise. Therefore, their play was about equal to yours per day average.

 

Well,...Terry, tell us. Did you try Blackjack at all?

[cruise4kicks]

I read many people get 17% off but often if you book a cruise last minute the price would be lower than getting 17% off the list price.

Just a quick clarification: It's 17% off current prices, not list. So you could grab a great last-minute deal and still get 17% off. ;)

[weloverunning]

Never mind Terry about Oprahcla being on a 14-day. I just now saw your post and I see you were on a 15-day cruise;) But anyway...did you play blackjack?

[pex]

My husband & I recently took our first cruise with NCL (14 day Jewel out of NY to Miami). I accumulated 435 pts on my card, and my hubby 150 pts on his card. They took approx. $ 400 off our bill. The first day I had accumulated 25 pts & my drinks were free (any drinks and no limits) for the entire cruise.

 

How much would you need to gamble (or in my case, lose) to earn X points? I can enjoy myself somewhat somewhat in the Casino, but just don't want to throw money down the toilet. If I was getting onboard credit, drinks, or a comped stateroom, it might change the equation.

[Fishbait17]

Thanks Terry for your input. I really appreciate the info. We didnt have any drinks on our account as I qualified the first day for the 25 pts so all we had were purchases from the gift shop which is 2 to 1 pts I guess. While I was there they sent us to (2) of the specialty restaurants, but didn't charge our account. Our total bill at the end of 2 weeks was only $500+ which was basically service charges. We were really pleased. Someone on the cruise commented on my points one day and told me I should contact casinoplayers international NOT CAS but I am really new to this. THere is no casino where I live, but a few times a year we go to Foxwoods which is about a 12 hr drive. Do you suggest I book a stateroom first and then call them to see if they will upgrade?

Thanks again :-)

 

Definitely call CAS first to book the room - they act as your "travel agent" and have control of your booking. Tell them what cruise(s) you have in mind and they will tell you what it will cost you. I would say they would tell you what you qualify for, but that is not always the case - so here is a tip: Always ask about all different cabins (in case you get someone who is a bit vague). They will collect your information on last cruise, name, etc, then they will ask you what cruise you are looking at. Then they will ask what category you are looking for. Here's where it can get strange if you have the vague agent. For example, we will say "We would like a BB", and they will say "We can comp you that". Then we say "How much would it cost to upgrade to an AE?" Answer: "We can comp you that." You see where I'm going with this, so keep upping the category until you can see exactly what you qualify for. Keep in mind that this does not always happen, but there are certain people at the casino desk who are much more vague..

 

Also, there are often differences in comp levels based on the actual cruise you want to take - more popular cruises and Bermuda cruises will usually get you less comp. For example, we were comparing two cruises: One 9 day during a less popular travel time offered us an AD comp, but the 14 day Holiday cruise we decided to take offered only an outside cabin comp. (If you compare dollar for dollar, it was closer but still not equal). But you can use your comp basically on any cruise they offer.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Robin

[Fishbait17]

How much would you need to gamble (or in my case, lose) to earn X points? I can enjoy myself somewhat somewhat in the Casino, but just don't want to throw money down the toilet. If I was getting onboard credit, drinks, or a comped stateroom, it might change the equation.

 

$138 (your $, replayed winnings, or combination) run through a slot machine will get you one point (more cash for points for video poker and a few select slots). 25 points minimum will get you the starting point. Would guess a minimum of 100 points for any comp rooms (and they might be a pay-one, get one free for inside category, depending in the cruise). But chasing comps NEVER pays. If you are going to gamble anyway, they are a nice bonus - but you will lose much much much more than you earn (throw money down the toilet as you say) - unless you have incredible luck.

 

How much you spend out-of-pocket depends completely on how much you win or lose, but my general rule of thumb is about $1000 for 75 points - a very rough estimate but an average of my last few cruises. 75 points will usually get you a 17% discount, free drinks in the casino, and about $100 cash back.

 

Robin

[slotaddict]

So how was the casino on the Jewel?? Did you win anything?? I was very satisfied with the casino on the Pearl.

 

Are there wheel of fortune machines (my personal favorites)

[terrymtex01]

I chickened out and did not play any black jack or video poker.. I stuck with what I knew.. Slots..LOL. We did have fun with them. Had they been the whole cruise like they were the 12 and 13th night, we would have had a blast. We still left the casino losing the same amount as other nights, but played for HOURS on the small amount we played with those nights.

 

OP, as someone else said, you should always call CAS to book your cruise, do not book it first and then call them. I don't know who that other group you mentioned you were told to call is.

[pex]

Okay, thanks Robin. There's a whole world of stuff I know nothing about!

 

$138 (your $, replayed winnings, or combination) run through a slot machine will get you one point (more cash for points for video poker and a few select slots). 25 points minimum will get you the starting point. Would guess a minimum of 100 points for any comp rooms (and they might be a pay-one, get one free for inside category, depending in the cruise). But chasing comps NEVER pays. If you are going to gamble anyway, they are a nice bonus - but you will lose much much much more than you earn (throw money down the toilet as you say) - unless you have incredible luck.

[garycarla]

If you scroll down a page or so for postings in the past week, there is another long message thread about CAS.

 

Oh - since somebody is about to ask, it stands for Casinos at Sea.

 

Free rooms vary, but figure you should earn well over $100 in comps before they even talk to you. Your mileage may vary.

[oprahcla]

Thanks so much for all the info. I phoned this afternoon and a lady is getting back to me tomorrow. She asked me what cruise I was thinking about going on and that was it. I have told her the Jewel on April 11th (repositioning one). I hope they will at least offer something towards a room.

If you were me Robin, what should I ask for? Together my husband and I have approx. 550 pts for the last cruise. What category do you think I might get a discount on?

Also the machines on the Jewel are OLD, but we were told they were in the process of replacing them. I played Wheel of Fortune quite a bit but my fav was Tiki. I did really well on that one. I am the lucky person, so as I would win, I would feed my husbands machines..lol

The casino atmosphere was great. Not to much smoke. Lots of munchies and of course we could drink anything we wanted and as much as we wanted.

The site I mentioned earlier, that the lady in the casino gave me, she told me if you gamble at Harrahs at all, to contact them. Apparently they look at all the casinos you play at, and get the comps for you. They are represented by a lot of casinos.

Since I do not have a Harrahs around me, it would not likely benefit me.

Thanks again!

[oprahcla]

One more question Robin -

Do you know if they allow you to book 2 cabins. For example if I wanted to book a cabin for my husband & I & then for my daughter & her husband, would they offer a discount on their room as well.

Thanks again.

[Fishbait17]

One more question Robin -

Do you know if they allow you to book 2 cabins. For example if I wanted to book a cabin for my husband & I & then for my daughter & her husband, would they offer a discount on their room as well.

Thanks again.

 

First, I wouldn't worry about Harrah's if you don't have at least a Diamond level card with them, I think your CAS history will give you much better discount/comp than they will (Harrah's works on a 5% gold, 10% platinum, 15% diamond, 20% seven stars - discount tier). Even with Diamond level at Harrah's, we do much better thru CAS directly.

 

Seems weird that CAS is calling you back, they have always dealt with me right away on the phone. Maybe computers were down or they were busy or waiting for your play history to come back from the ship.... Anyway, I am pretty sure with your play will qualify for a comped cabin of some type - just ask them to check a bunch of different cabin types and they will give you the costs. We personally only book suites and use the comped value toward the suite - I usually ask about AC to start and go up or down from there depending on what we want to spend and what our comp is. Also, you will/should get a discount on the price of the upgrade - for example, if you qualify for a $1000 cabin, and you upgrade to a $2000 cabin, you won't pay the full $1000 price to upgrade. It's a little strange - sometimes I check several cruises and cabins, and get different "prices" each time I call (even within the same day) - but they are usually pretty close in price - (plus they will honor the lower price if I say "Agent X told me it was $XXX price yesterday). And make sure they know about both you and your husband's play as both will combine for the basis of your discount/comp. Always get the name and extension number of whatever agent you speak with, in case you get an agent you particularly like!

 

Yes, I am pretty sure you can get a second cabin at the standard 17% discount. We do this for our daughters They have their own CAS histories - but I am not sure they would qualify for the discount on their own (maybe 50 points or so per cruise?) For our upcoming cruise, we were only comped an outside cabin (14 day holiday cruise). We first decided to upgrade our cabin to an Owner's Suite with our daughters in a discounted AC suite that connected. Then we made the big move and are now booked in the Garden Villa at about a total 30% discount (after the comp and upgrade).

 

Hope this helps!!

 

Robin

[oprahcla]

Thanks so much Robin. I will let you know how I make out today with them. I am going to call her. The ladies name is Julie and they staff on the ship gave me her name.

Out of curosity, why do you prefer the suites? I have always stayed in a balcony room. Do they offer much more amenities worth the cost of them?

[negn]

Terry ,thanks for the info re comped cruises you gave me while at St John. When we cashed out our points I was surprised to recieve an extra $100 credited as well as a letter to contact CAS to see what catogory I qualified for. I'm assuming this means I will be comped (???). Still never got any satisfaction re the use of the "wrong" card and the deleted points. This is by far the best casino program at sea Princess gave me 2 whole drinks last time !!

[sparks1093]

Does one earn points at the gaming tables too or is it just in the slots? And if the tables earn points do they earn higher points or the same as slots?

[Fishbait17]

Does one earn points at the gaming tables too or is it just in the slots? And if the tables earn points do they earn higher points or the same as slots?

 

Table play earns points, but at a much, much lower rate - as should be because table odds are better than slots odds. Points earned are completely at the discretion of the pit boss.

 

Robin

[Fishbait17]

Thanks so much Robin. I will let you know how I make out today with them. I am going to call her. The ladies name is Julie and they staff on the ship gave me her name.

Out of curosity, why do you prefer the suites? I have always stayed in a balcony room. Do they offer much more amenities worth the cost of them?

 

I just noticed that the Jewel was your first NCL cruise. Sailing in suites on NCL (true suites, not junior suites) is unlike any other mainstream cruiseline. There is a huge difference for me (and I think most people). If I couldn't afford the suite, I suppose I could get by in a lesser cabin, but as long as I can stretch it, I will. Look through this forum for posts about the "suite life" and check out this site. http://www.nclsuitesandvillas.com/

 

Robin

[CruisnGram]

Thanks so much for all the info. I phoned this afternoon and a lady is getting back to me tomorrow. She asked me what cruise I was thinking about going on and that was it. I have told her the Jewel on April 11th (repositioning one). I hope they will at least offer something towards a room.

If you were me Robin, what should I ask for? Together my husband and I have approx. 550 pts for the last cruise. What category do you think I might get a discount on?

 

You really can't ask for anything. They will tell you what they offer IF they are going to offer you a comp cabin. Once they offer that cabin, you can then ask them what it would cost you to upgrade to a better cabin. Or of course, you can just take what they offer you.

 

If you don't qualify for a comp cabin, then they will tell you what you do qualify for (percentage off of booking) and thats when you tell them that you want pricing for a balcony or a suite or whatever.

 

You asked about booking two cabins and I can tell you my experience. I've never qualified for a comp cabin, only the discount. But they do offer me two cabins at the discount. I can book one cabin on two different cruises or 2 cabins on one cruise...they don't care. And, if you book two cabins on one cruise, all of the people staying in those cabins do get the free drink cards. Again, they don't care that you are the qualifying person and book the 2nd cabin for people who aren't qualified. If you book through them, the free drink card applies. I would assume that if they comp you one cabin (for yourself and hubby) that they would allow you to book a 2nd cabin at the discounted rate, but as I said, I have no experience with comped cabins so that may not be fact...just a guess on my part.

 

Good luck!

 

CG

[oprahcla]

I rec'd a call today and they are comp'ing an OV cabin for me. I just have to pay the taxes...which is great! To upgrade to a balcony would cost about $600 more. I might do that, not sure. I didn't spend much time in my cabin...lol I also asked about friends travelling with me, and as long as they give my booking # they will get the 17% discount which is great! I am not sure if they get a drink card.

When I was on the Jewel the last day, one of the casino hosts told me I was now VIP, so I assume that means a comp'd cabin, or does it mean something else. Not sure on that.

I appreciate all your feedback....great to be able to have a site like this for great news and advice! Tks all..

[CruisnGram]

I also asked about friends travelling with me, and as long as they give my booking # they will get the 17% discount which is great! I am not sure if they get a drink card.

 

Yes, they will.

 

When I was on the Jewel the last day, one of the casino hosts told me I was now VIP, so I assume that means a comp'd cabin, or does it mean something else. Not sure on that.

 

No, it just meant that for that trip, they were giving you VIP attention. The dinners, drinks, etc.

 

I appreciate all your feedback....great to be able to have a site like this for great news and advice! Tks all..

 

Congrats on the cabin! Hope you have a great sailing...and win in the casino! :)

 

CG