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Has anyone ever booked a room from the Blue Chip casino offer ?

Shippy

By Shippy,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Shippy Great Review Rare

Shippy

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We just received a letter from the Blue Chip Club with some dates for their cruises.

The offer is for a 'deluxe inside room'.

I want to know if there is any chance to pay the difference to get a balcony room.

I have called the number provided but just get a recording. I have left a message but thought this would be a quicker way to find out.

They stress that this is a limited offer.

Thank You for helping.....

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Shippy Great Review Rare

Shippy

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They let us upgrade for a nominal amount.

We are really small peanuts when it comes to the casino......quarter slot players.

We figure the bigger you play , probably the better the room you get offered.

Makes me wonder what percentage of the cruise will be casino players.

I was really amazed by this one....beginning of August in Alaska. That is prime cruising time there.

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merprincess

merprincess

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We have been on two "blue chip" cruises and had a deluxe veranda cabin on each. We will be doing a transatlantic in October that was not a blue chip cruise, but we were able to apply our blue chip credits to obtain a concierge class stateroom. This wasn't a free cruise, but was still a good deal.

 

We were surprised to get the recent email with new blue chip offers that include a deluxe inside cabin. I wonder if Celebrity is downgrading their blue chip deals. Hopefully they would allow an upgrade to a balcony stateroom for an additional fee because I do like the verandas.

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kitty9

kitty9

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You need to see the casino manager on board the ship and ask them to track your play. If you meet their qualifying standards, they will give you a Blue Chip card on your next cruise. They require a fairly high amount and frequent play to qualify. If you gamble just a few hundred dollars or just pop into the casino for an hour a day, you won't qualify.

 

We've done a number of free cruises via the club, including a two week Panama Canal cruise. But I'll be honest in saying that I thought the latest offer was surprising. Never in our experience did they offer these cruises in an inside cabin. Every other one was in veranda cabins. Yes, I know it's a free cruise, and that's fantastic, but I was surprised that the offers are for inside cabins.

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Shippy Great Review Rare

Shippy

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I too am interested in finding out this information. Hope someone comes forward soon with the answers.

 

Called 'Blue Chip Club'......it is only a page or two back. There is a lot of joining info on it. It is not as hard as you would think to join.

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merprincess

merprincess

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Almost 2 years ago on a Med. cruise, my husband was approached by the casino manager and offered membership in blue chip. We had never heard of it, but it sounded good. On that cruise we were comped for dinner at Tuscan Grille for ourselves and another couple - dinner for four and drinks.

Since then we have been on two blue chip cruises and they worked with us to get a good deal on a non-blue chip cruise we are taking with family members.

When you go on a blue chip cruise, you are invited to a cocktail party the first day and are given gambling money based on credits from your last cruise. It really is very nice. The cruise includes the blue chip member and companion/spouse.

On a recent cruise on the Infinity I wondered how they tracked my husband's gambling (he does slots) because the machines are the old ones not using cards. The casino managers evidentally keep an eye on you and watch your gambling habits.

I hope they will allow an upgrade to a balcony rather than have an inside cabin for future cruises.

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  • 11 months later...
NICKYCAT

NICKYCAT

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I live in Australia, and after my last cruise on Celebrity Solstice, the Casino Manager came up to me with an invitation to join the Blue Chip Club, which was great. I have now just received the offer of a free 12 day cruise to New Zealand on Solstice, in a concierge balcony cabin, for myself and my partner. This is a wonderful offer and I was very excited, and immediately emailed a reply back to say that we want to go. I then rang and spoke to Macy in the States at the Blue Chip Club number. She booked it for me, and said she would contact me in the next day or so with the cabin allocation number. The date of the cruise on the offer was 03/10/14. Then the next day, I received an email to say that this was the American Calendar system, and the real date of the cruise was 10th March, 2014. We have only one cruise booked for this year so far (last year we did 7) and it leaves on 12th March, 2014!! I was devastated by this news, as it is now too late to cancel that cruise...we would lose our money. I asked if we could be offered another date, and she said not usually, but she would speak to the Casino Operations Manager, and get back to me. I haven't heard anything yet, and was wondering if anyone else had experiences having to change the date that the cruise was offered. We were only given one date. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? I will ring Macy again before 10am (Aussie time) when she is about to close up, however, I have always had trouble getting through before and usually the answering machine. I leave messages but they don't call back. I send emails but they don't reply. What do people think about this?

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smtcan

smtcan

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Off topic, but I can sympathize with Nickycat.

 

The first year we were in Canada, my four year old son came from school and very upset said 'you didn't tell me it was my birthday' I said it wasn't, but he said it was because he was the birthday boy. It was 1st June, and his birthday is 6th January.

 

Sheila

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TN Vol Fan

TN Vol Fan

Posted
Posted (edited)
They let us upgrade for a nominal amount.

We are really small peanuts when it comes to the casino......quarter slot players.

We figure the bigger you play , probably the better the room you get offered.

Makes me wonder what percentage of the cruise will be casino players.

I was really amazed by this one....beginning of August in Alaska. That is prime cruising time there.

Hi to Ma Bell- we haven't sailed with you in awhile.

I do believe every member of the Blue Chip club gets different offers due to their play- different sailings, different prices and different cabin categories. This program is constantly changing according to what is available to the Casino Dept. You can take your Blue Chip rebate in either cash or apply it to upgrades.

One constant of the Club is that you need to take at least one X trip a year- not necessarily a junket. Any X cruise will do and you will be recognized as a Blue Chip member on any of their cruises.

The amount of Blue Chip members on any cruise will vary from just a few up to 50 or 60 (remember that is out of thousands on the ship at a time).

Enjoy your membership in the Blue Chip Club.

Edited by TN Vol Fan
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NICKYCAT

NICKYCAT

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Just further to my post about Blue Chip Club cruises for Aussies, I have had a reply back from them to say that this free cruise is only for the date specified, based on pricing, and that it is non-transferable. She did add that they will be offering more frequent sailings based on 2014 sailings. She didn't say we would get one of those, but I guess I will just 'keep my fingers crossed' that we do. It was a wonderful offer, especially considering that the 'discounted online fares' for this cruise in a concierge balcony cabin are just over $3,000 each, which is a great deal more than my contribution to the Casino on that Solstice cruise! A few weeks after that Solstice cruise, I also went on Radiance of the Seas, and showed my 'blue chip member letter' to the Casino Manager there too, and she contacted Solstice directly, and managed to get me a cash rebate of $1,150 which she gave me there. Since it was only a 5-day cruise, it actually paid for that cruise, and gave me some spending money for the casino (I only spent about $300), so I was excited about that, and thought that was a very generous offer, as I nearly got back half of what I had spent on Solstice....however, I guess Solstice record shows more spending, as I actually re-invested my small winnings along the way, as most poker machine players do!!! Celebrity is actually very generous with its offers though, as I have been on several ships and on most I don't get anything for my casino spending...on Carnival I usually get free wine at dinner occasionally, or strawberries to the cabin....on Royal Caribbean (even though they own Celebrity) I got a free keyring once, and on Princess at Christmas I got nothing for my substantial investment....when I enquired he said they are looking into it and may start offering free cruises (mmm, I wonder when that will be!!). I do love to play poker machines on ships, late at night, or between afternoon activities and dinner. I don't gamble here at home, and save it all for cruises, and I don't drink, so this is how I choose to spend my money when cruising. People who criticize this may be the ones who drink constantly from morning till night, and this would also add up to a substantial amount of money on a cruise. Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes 'fun spending' on cruises! I guess this story is similar to the fishermen tales of 'the big one that got away'!!!

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neenee61

neenee61

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Just further to my post about Blue Chip Club cruises for Aussies, I have had a reply back from them to say that this free cruise is only for the date specified, based on pricing, and that it is non-transferable. She did add that they will be offering more frequent sailings based on 2014 sailings. She didn't say we would get one of those, but I guess I will just 'keep my fingers crossed' that we do. It was a wonderful offer, especially considering that the 'discounted online fares' for this cruise in a concierge balcony cabin are just over $3,000 each, which is a great deal more than my contribution to the Casino on that Solstice cruise! A few weeks after that Solstice cruise, I also went on Radiance of the Seas, and showed my 'blue chip member letter' to the Casino Manager there too, and she contacted Solstice directly, and managed to get me a cash rebate of $1,150 which she gave me there. Since it was only a 5-day cruise, it actually paid for that cruise, and gave me some spending money for the casino (I only spent about $300), so I was excited about that, and thought that was a very generous offer, as I nearly got back half of what I had spent on Solstice....however, I guess Solstice record shows more spending, as I actually re-invested my small winnings along the way, as most poker machine players do!!! Celebrity is actually very generous with its offers though, as I have been on several ships and on most I don't get anything for my casino spending...on Carnival I usually get free wine at dinner occasionally, or strawberries to the cabin....on Royal Caribbean (even though they own Celebrity) I got a free keyring once, and on Princess at Christmas I got nothing for my substantial investment....when I enquired he said they are looking into it and may start offering free cruises (mmm, I wonder when that will be!!). I do love to play poker machines on ships, late at night, or between afternoon activities and dinner. I don't gamble here at home, and save it all for cruises, and I don't drink, so this is how I choose to spend my money when cruising. People who criticize this may be the ones who drink constantly from morning till night, and this would also add up to a substantial amount of money on a cruise. Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes 'fun spending' on cruises! I guess this story is similar to the fishermen tales of 'the big one that got away'!!!

 

Hey nickycat.....love your view on cruising to gamble. My exact way of thinking. I usually pick the cruise ship with best casino and favourite being Solstice. I have won mega amounts on a lot of cruises and very happy to sit back and gamble my cruise time away. Others are interested in belly flops, shows etc and as you say 'each to their own'. My mum (81) also loves to gamble on our cruises which we normally do about 4 a year which are always comped. Just got back from Voyager 4 nighter and had $2800 waiting from previous cruise. Will be on Milly next month so looking forward to another surprise. Oh and I must say I have met some fantastic people in the casinos and it is as social as sitting up at a bar having a drink :)

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NICKYCAT

NICKYCAT

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It appears that the points only accumulate on the poker machines, not playing poker. On my Solstice cruise which qualified me for the Blue Chip Club, my partner spent as much as me, but mainly playing poker, and he didn't qualify. I only played poker machines. I don't know if any of the other table games earn points, but apparently not poker.

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LarissaRose

LarissaRose

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It appears that the points only accumulate on the poker machines, not playing poker. On my Solstice cruise which qualified me for the Blue Chip Club, my partner spent as much as me, but mainly playing poker, and he didn't qualify. I only played poker machines. I don't know if any of the other table games earn points, but apparently not poker.

 

Ah. that makes a lot more sense (unfortunately :( )

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TN Vol Fan

TN Vol Fan

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Ah. that makes a lot more sense (unfortunately :( )

Table games do accumulate points but much slower due to the differences in odds. This is the same as land based casinos. I've seen bettors who only played craps in the Blue Chip Club just due to their heavy play, and craps has the best odds in the casino. I'd say the poker players just have to be betting heavier to get the same amount of points as the poker machine players.

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  • 11 months later...

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