$4,500 for a free drink?!! No thanks!

[thunderbaycruiser]

But you were saying you thought 1500 was ridiculous for the drink card.......it has always been $10.00 for 1,000 points.....so 1500 seems pretty right on for a free drink card. They are geared towards the true gambler they can't set it any lower. I normally end up with over 3,000 points on the last nite of a 7 day cruise. I think most gamblers do keep track of their points. I'm ok with the 1500 points for free drink card.

 

Seriously. So happy for you that you are ok with the 1500 points for a free drink card, that you know it just can't be set lower, and that you are so good at gambling on board you end up with over 3,000 points. Bravo.

 

1500 points is ridiculous when the machines are so tight there's no hope of getting 1500 without spending a huge amount of money. Its starting to appear that others are finding the casinos super tight on Carnival lately. They have always seemed tighter than some land based casinos, but NEVER, in all my cruises with Carnival, have they been this tight! Tight to the point of being no fun. Tight to the point of feeling ripped off.

[thunderbaycruiser]

i was on the freedom at the same time as you, and i agree. my money was sucked up very fast, and no enjoyment. i actually plan on loosing, but i'd like it to take a while, for entertainment!

 

Yes, this is exactly how we feel. Likely, in the end, the gambling budget may be lost... But there's this exciting chance that maybe, just maybe there could be a big win. And along the way, small wins, small losses.... in the end, more losses than wins.... but entertaining and fun. There was no fun or joy in Freedom's casino. Money went super fast each and every time we tried again. It was so completely different from every other Carnival cruise we have taken. The more people I hear are having this experience lately, the less likely this seems to be just bad luck.

[lappy22]

Seriously. So happy for you that you are ok with the 1500 points for a free drink card, that you know it just can't be set lower, and that you are so good at gambling on board you end up with over 3,000 points. Bravo.

 

1500 points is ridiculous when the machines are so tight there's no hope of getting 1500 without spending a huge amount of money. Its starting to appear that others are finding the casinos super tight on Carnival lately. They have always seemed tighter than some land based casinos, but NEVER, in all my cruises with Carnival, have they been this tight! Tight to the point of being no fun. Tight to the point of feeling ripped off.

 

I think 1500 points is pretty fair. It's called gambling for a reason. I've won big in Vegas, at my local Indian casino, and also on Carnival. And guess what I have also lost in Vegas, at my local Indian casino, and also on Carnival.

[donaldsc]

Just back from the Carnival Freedom! Had a great cruise, inspite of the Casino.

 

Now, my friend and I could have just been spectacularly unlucky this cruise, but neither one of us has EVER gone through money so fast as we did on this last cruise. It was so completely NOT fun, many days on our 8 day cruise we completely avoided the casino. On our 6 previous cruises, we were in the casino for hours each day (I should mention we play slots, not tables).

 

Also on our previous cruises, we were offered some free drinks and recognized by name by the casino host within a couple of days. With the new "1500 points and drinks are on us", this was completely non-existent. And when I once tried my luck at dollar Wheel of Fortune ($3 a spin), I clued into the fact that I earned a single point for every $3 of play.

 

$4,500 for free drinks to start? The joke's on us! Sure maybe this is possible if you are winning some, credits are up and down, and you do not actually spend $4,500. However, after spending close to $2,000 between the two of us in the casino, I was the only one to even break 1000 points - I got $10 for that. Again, this is do-able if you win a little while you play. Did not happen on any day this cruise.

 

Worst casino experience in our life - and we have frequented A LOT of casinos. Including the casinos on our 6 previous cruises with Carnival.

 

*end rant* :rolleyes:

 

Nobody forced you to throw money into the machines. Why didn't you stop?

 

DON

[Almost Packed]

I love to gamble. dh & i travel many times to Vegas a year to play. we play tables and he's more in to the slots than I am, but I'll play those some too.

 

I personally have never seen tighter machines than those on a cruise ship.

Our first cruise on the Conquest, I spent ALOT of time in the casino.

 

The second cruise, we spent less time. My last cruise, I barely went there at all.

 

We decided for the money we lost in that casino on the ship would have given us a decent little bankroll for Vegas instead. So, until we hear of people winning something once in a while...we will not be visiting the casinos.

 

I'm like the OP. I don't expect to win big...i do know there's a chance. That's what i'm paying for...the chance. DH & I both look at the casino as a form of entertainment...with a small chance of winning something. However, usually when i'm spending that kind of money, at least I have free cocktails to enjoy the loss lol.

 

Next cruise....I doubt we see the casino unless we have a tournament.

 

If they'd loosen the slots some, perhaps we would return.

[okgirl]

I did want to make this observation though and I'm going to test my theory when I'm on the Magic in a few months......

 

I use to play only 3 coin quarter machines........that would give me 36 spins with .50 left over........At the end of 36 spins I would play 1/2 of the credits that I had won back, plus 1/2 of any that I was winning during my replay and bank the rest.......when I got to $60 in my players bank I would go play 20 spins on a 3 coin $1 machine on what I considered "their" money. I would kind of do the same thing with playing back 1/2 the credits that I had won then walk away with the remains.

 

Using this method and taking only my usual $1000 per week to play with I almost always accumulated 4700+ points.........

 

The last few cruises, I've started playing mostly .01 and .02 machines...the max bet is actually more (thus I'm running through money faster) and the payouts don't seem as large or frequent, and I'm just not racking up the points like a used to..........frequently I'm only getting into the 3500 point range........

 

I think I'll go back to my old method if for no other reason than to have my seed money last longer.......we'll see how that works........

[thunderbaycruiser]

Nobody forced you to throw money into the machines. Why didn't you stop?

 

DON

 

We did stop. Multiple times. Our budget would be $100 each per visit. Yes, we did return and try again (on a different day, or perhaps in the evening after trying in the morning on a sea day). Why did we go back? We thought we had just had bad luck and would try again. I mean, I have gambled a lot. There are times you do not win. But I've never experienced this in a land based casino or in a Carnival casino EVERY SINGLE TIME for a whole WEEK!

 

Bottom line - Freedom's casino was not fun. We stayed away more than ever before. And as other's are mentioning here, it was not just us! (not to mention we heard plenty of grumbing on board).

[thunderbaycruiser]

I did want to make this observation though and I'm going to test my theory when I'm on the Magic in a few months......

 

I use to play only 3 coin quarter machines........that would give me 36 spins with .50 left over........At the end of 36 spins I would play 1/2 of the credits that I had won back, plus 1/2 of any that I was winning during my replay and bank the rest.......when I got to $60 in my players bank I would go play 20 spins on a 3 coin $1 machine on what I considered "their" money. I would kind of do the same thing with playing back 1/2 the credits that I had won then walk away with the remains.

 

Using this method and taking only my usual $1000 per week to play with I almost always accumulated 4700+ points.........

 

The last few cruises, I've started playing mostly .01 and .02 machines...the max bet is actually more (thus I'm running through money faster) and the payouts don't seem as large or frequent, and I'm just not racking up the points like a used to..........frequently I'm only getting into the 3500 point range........

 

I think I'll go back to my old method if for no other reason than to have my seed money last longer.......we'll see how that works........

 

 

I look forward to hearing how it goes! :)

[thunderbaycruiser]

I think 1500 points is pretty fair. It's called gambling for a reason. I've won big in Vegas, at my local Indian casino, and also on Carnival. And guess what I have also lost in Vegas, at my local Indian casino, and also on Carnival.

 

It would be fair if the slots had the same odds they have always had on Carnival. And I know cruise ship slots have a rep for being tight. But I have never experienced them like this. I have never not had fun in a Carnival casino. This time, it was NOT fun.

[ryanpatricksmom]

We had an experience similar to yours on our last Pride sailing. If the machines are that tight again, we'll be finding something else to do with our time....one and done! It's the first and only time (in many cruises) that I really felt as if the money was flying out of our wallets without an opportunity to win. I never saw any decent payouts anywhere around me either...and we were in the casino quite a bit. We both had free drinks by day 3, but it was not worth it.

[golfadj]

Wow sounds like the most expensive free drinks I have ever heard of.

[lappy22]

It would be fair if the slots had the same odds they have always had on Carnival. And I know cruise ship slots have a rep for being tight. But I have never experienced them like this. I have never not had fun in a Carnival casino. This time, it was NOT fun.

 

I agree that it is not fun when you are on a bad streak like you had. Same thing happened to us in Vegas in July. Never got anything going and it didn't matter which casino we were in. Last month I almost had a repeat result but went on a pretty nice run the last 4 hours we were there and broke even for the trip. So miserable losing streaks happen in places like Vegas as well.

[lappy22]

Wow sounds like the most expensive free drinks I have ever heard of.

 

Rule of thumb is do not play for comps.

[ryanpatricksmom]

Rule of thumb is do not play for comps.

 

 

This past cruise was our "biggest loser" by far experience. We were both losing...as well as everyone around us. I would say that we were each behind about $600 when we reached 1,500 points. I would bet that we lived the worst case scenario, so I'm thinking that's the high end of what most people will actually have to spend to accumulate the points required. So yep, if you aren't prepared to lose that much by mid-week, don't even try.

[golfadj]

Rule of thumb is do not play for comps.

 

Good advise but it seems like quite a few people do just that.

[thunderbaycruiser]

This past cruise was our "biggest loser" by far experience. We were both losing...as well as everyone around us. I would say that we were each behind about $600 when we reached 1,500 points. I would bet that we lived the worst case scenario, so I'm thinking that's the high end of what most people will actually have to spend to accumulate the points required. So yep, if you aren't prepared to lose that much by mid-week, don't even try.

 

That's pretty bad, but not the worst case scenario. We were both down $1,000 by the end of the cruise and only one of us broke 1,000 points. On the last night. And by only a few points.

[thunderbaycruiser]

Rule of thumb is do not play for comps.

 

True. And I never have played "for comps." Comps is never really something to be proud of... often means you've spent more than you should! I guess the new program and super tight machines just resulted in a completely different customer experience for us in Freedom's casino. I was never playing for free drinks before - but it was always a nice perk. Made the experience in the ship casino even more fun. This time, the casino experience was anything but fun - and with no winning and a new, clearly defined points balance to acheive free drinks - that nice perk just seemed completely out of reach.

[ryanpatricksmom]

Until we got our free drink cards we were losing more than usual because of crappy luck (or ridiculously tight machines, take your pick), but we weren't spending at an abnormal rate. Under normal circumstances, after a couple of losing days, the casino would have lost its appeal. It was after we received our free drink cards when things went awry. It's genius, I tell you. ;) Makes you wonder why they don't give the free drinks for 300 points.

 

And yikes on the $1,000 for 1,000 points. Now I don't feel so bad. :D

[terryinal]

I just had one of them weekends in Miss. last week. Wasn't fun at all. On the ship I might spent 20 dollars on slots,but will play the crap tables. I think drinks should be free if playing.

[GaNavy]

True. And I never have played "for comps." Comps is never really something to be proud of... often means you've spent more than you should! I guess the new program and super tight machines just resulted in a completely different customer experience for us in Freedom's casino. I was never playing for free drinks before - but it was always a nice perk. Made the experience in the ship casino even more fun. This time, the casino experience was anything but fun - and with no winning and a new, clearly defined points balance to acheive free drinks - that nice perk just seemed completely out of reach.

 

I might suggest that if you've done OK on other cruises but got hammered on this one, you did indeed just have that run of bad luck that now and then goes along with the idea of "gambling".... and that there was nothing "extra" tight about the machines you were playing and nothing unusual about Freedom's casino (from which I've come home winners twice).

 

Would you consider learning how to play a table game like blackjack or craps? If you do, the odds are always better than at a slot although the fluctuations in your bankroll can be a lot bigger. But you have to really *learn* how to play these games - most of the blackjack players in cruise ship casinos are pretty bad and they lose accordingly.

 

In the alternative, you could just pay for your drinks.....

 

Happy cruising!

[thunderbaycruiser]

I might suggest that if you've done OK on other cruises but got hammered on this one, you did indeed just have that run of bad luck that now and then goes along with the idea of "gambling".... and that there was nothing "extra" tight about the machines you were playing and nothing unusual about Freedom's casino (from which I've come home winners twice).

 

Would you consider learning how to play a table game like blackjack or craps? If you do, the odds are always better than at a slot although the fluctuations in your bankroll can be a lot bigger. But you have to really *learn* how to play these games - most of the blackjack players in cruise ship casinos are pretty bad and they lose accordingly.

 

In the alternative, you could just pay for your drinks.....

 

Happy cruising!

 

I've never had much interest in table games. I have heard odds are better like you say. Guess its kinda like those who always play table games that have no interest in slots. They just have not had that draw for me.

 

Also, I would agree with your suggestion about luck and machines not being extra tight except for the number of people reporting the same thing. Where once they could get half an hour of fun from $20 (with the exciting slight chance of a big win), they now find they burn through a $20 easily in under 10 minutes. I can accept us having a string of bad luck... but other similar experiences to me add up to something having changed in the past couple of years (was 2 1/2 years since our last cruise). I know I could be wrong. But its how this feels.

[golfadj]

Until we got our free drink cards we were losing more than usual because of crappy luck (or ridiculously tight machines, take your pick), but we weren't spending at an abnormal rate. Under normal circumstances, after a couple of losing days, the casino would have lost its appeal. It was after we received our free drink cards when things went awry. It's genius, I tell you. ;) Makes you wonder why they don't give the free drinks for 300 points.

 

And yikes on the $1,000 for 1,000 points. Now I don't feel so bad. :D

 

Considering what they make on the average players the drinks are not exactly free. If I was running the casaino anyone sitting at most of the tables for more than 30 minutes would get as many drinks as they wanted.

[suza12]

So how does the casino track the money you're spending on the table games?

 

 

You have to present your sail and sign card to the casino host each time you visit the casino at the table games. They track the "time spent" at the tables. This doesn't necessarily mean "free drinks" but that isn't the reason I go to the casino anyway (I don't drink). After being rated on one cruise, you then call the players club when you book your next cruise and there may be freebies for you on the next.

[donaldsc]

We did stop. Multiple times. Our budget would be $100 each per visit. Yes, we did return and try again (on a different day, or perhaps in the evening after trying in the morning on a sea day). Why did we go back? We thought we had just had bad luck and would try again. I mean, I have gambled a lot. There are times you do not win. But I've never experienced this in a land based casino or in a Carnival casino EVERY SINGLE TIME for a whole WEEK!

 

Bottom line - Freedom's casino was not fun. We stayed away more than ever before. And as other's are mentioning here, it was not just us! (not to mention we heard plenty of grumbing on board).

 

I guess that your attitude toward gambling is different from mine. My gambling budget is $1 for the entire trip. I loose that quickly and then don't have to go into the casino again.

 

Then again, I live in Las Vegas were I also have the same $1 limit for the few times that I go into casinos.

 

BTW - it used to be 25c but since most machines no longer take coins, I have been forced to up my gambling budget.

 

DON

 

DON

[scperk]

I might suggest that if you've done OK on other cruises but got hammered on this one, you did indeed just have that run of bad luck that now and then goes along with the idea of "gambling".... and that there was nothing "extra" tight about the machines you were playing and nothing unusual about Freedom's casino (from which I've come home winners twice).

 

Would you consider learning how to play a table game like blackjack or craps? If you do, the odds are always better than at a slot although the fluctuations in your bankroll can be a lot bigger. But you have to really *learn* how to play these games - most of the blackjack players in cruise ship casinos are pretty bad and they lose accordingly.

 

In the alternative, you could just pay for your drinks.....

 

Happy cruising!

As for the Blackjack players on the cruise ships most only gamble while they are on a cruise ship..And most do not know how to play blackjack as in when to hit and when to stay...I just play my basic hands and if I lose a couple of hands because of bad plays by other players I just get up from the table...My Triumph cruise in Sept. I spent less time the last 6 days and bought my own drinks...Dennis