Casino Royal

[Fyruf]

My wife and I like to gamble on our cruises. We don't spend a lot of money but play every day. On Royal you have a average play of 50 which is high for vacationers. On Carnival it is the total amount you gamble and once you reach that amount the perks kick in. We have been on two Liberty cruises this year and have two more this Feb and not once have they even bought a drink for either one of us. On Carnival in Nov they gave me a cruise and we are taking it the end of March. Again we are not big gamblers just consisted.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Ambiverol]

That's cool

[Daghis]

Yes, you need a sufficiently high level of average play at the tables for them to track you. At slots, however, they simply look at the total number of points you've earned. If you earn 2,000 points during your cruise (whether it's on day 1 or day 7), you qualify to join Club Royale and start getting the perks like free drinks.

[warbar]

Do you pay taxes on jackpots over $1200.00 like in the US?

[sellwingri]

We were on a short, 5 day cruise on Carnival in June. There were 2 sea days so I had the opportunity to play a lot of 3 card poker. On the last day, I was given 3 comped drinks. It's not Vegas but I've never gotten any on RCI. We'll see what happens on my upcoming RCI cruise in 14 days, no that I'm counting.

 

That was probably the only benefit we received from Carnival. We'll stick with RCI without a doubt.

[cruisnseas]

Royal doesn't report winnings to the IRS and won't send out 1099 forms (at least this was true as of the 2012 tax year).

[warbar]

Royal doesn't report winnings to the IRS and won't send out 1099 forms (at least this was true as of the 2012 tax year).

 

Thank you. What about going back through customs? Can you request your money in a check or have it wired to your account, or put back on a cc?

[LovesCruising]

Royal doesn't report winnings to the IRS and won't send out 1099 forms (at least this was true as of the 2012 tax year).

 

That is correct

 

Thank you. What about going back through customs? Can you request your money in a check or have it wired to your account, or put back on a cc?

 

Don't you have to declare over 10K? in cash?

[warbar]

That is what I would like to avoid.

[cruisnseas]

You do have to declare over 10k in cash to customs. If I remember correctly if you wire cash to the ship for the casino you can have up to that amount wired back. You may be able to wire it back even if you don't wire it to the ship. Bes to call Club Royale (888-561-2234 or clubroyale@rccl.com) and ask for the details.

 

There have been some reports of people trying to get away with not declaring their cash and getting "random" custom inspections and being caught. Its important to know that they don't report you to customs either - this is all up to you to do. But I highly recommend you do so if you have that cash on hand.

[clean1owner]

Do you pay taxes on jackpots over $1200.00 like in the US?

 

No. You are in international waters when the casino is open, so nothing is reported. It is your responsibility to declare your winnings.

[clean1owner]

My wife and I like to gamble on our cruises. We don't spend a lot of money but play every day. On Royal you have a average play of 50 which is high for vacationers. On Carnival it is the total amount you gamble and once you reach that amount the perks kick in. We have been on two Liberty cruises this year and have two more this Feb and not once have they even bought a drink for either one of us. On Carnival in Nov they gave me a cruise and we are taking it the end of March. Again we are not big gamblers just consisted.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

 

Since Royal sails with a much higher booking rate than Carnival, Carnival is obviously trying to entice people with more perks, to cover an otherwise inferior product.

[LovesCruising]

Never left the ship with 10K nor have I ever won close to that amount!:)

[warbar]

Does RCCL have $25 or $50 slots? Or higher?

[Shippy]

we are usually just quarter slot players but do spend a lot of time in casino. We always play max coin in. We have been members of Club Royale for years.

Aside from free drinks in the casino, they usually send a bottle of wine to our room & give us a free pay restaurant night.

the absolute best perk is the discount off your next cruise. a few weeks after you get home, they contact you with the amount off your next cruise. my husband and I both have separate accounts so we get 2 discounts. When we decide on another cruise, we just give them the booking number and they apply it as cash so there is no problem with combining other discounts.

It is reciprocal with Celebrity so you can use the discount credit with them also.

Just put you room key in the slot machine. the minimum amount you use does not matter. It works just like a land casino....based on total points earned over the cruise. I might not go to the casino one day but play more time the next.

They also send you emails with specific cruise dates, greatly discounted. Celebrity send free cruise offers.

Both clubs are more generous then a land casino.

[Ambiverol]

Thank you. What about going back through customs? Can you request your money in a check or have it wired to your account, or put back on a cc?

 

 

No, Royal will not issue a check, I've tried. It would be nice if they did.

 

Also:

 

If you took $ out on the room account, you can pay it back at guest services, and keep doing this over and over. Your roommate will be able to see all of these charges (on the tv), as well as your stateroom attendant on the last night (bill under door), etc. I think they max out casino sea pass charges at appx. 2k/day, but can raise it a little. If you want more, you can take the same card you used for your ship account (or any card) over to the cashier and get as much as you'd like! Funny rule. So, if you took out 10k over the course of the cruise on your seapass, and paid 10k back to guest services, there would be no charge. You can not give them more than your total sea pass bill (gambling+regular stuff).

 

If you took money from the casino cashier on your CC directly, you can not just pay that off onboard.

 

If you are a member of club royale, there is no fee for withdrawing cash in the casino. (Just upped to 5% from 3%).

 

If you win 1200+ on a slot, they do not take taxes or issue a W2-G (some other lines do, not Royal)

 

If you win a ton of $ on the first or second night and try to cash in, I've seen the cage run out of $. They may have more somewhere, but they'll cash out what they have on hand and ask you to get the rest in a day or 2. If you pushed the issue, they'd probably figure something out. If you find yourself in this predicament, I guarantee you will not be concerned about this.

 

If you enter the US with over 10K, it's on you to declare or not. It's an IRS form that gets filled out through customs, and maybe adds 15 minutes. Only once have I been asked any questions (MIA) after declaring the money. They were sticklers and were routinely pulling people out of line if they felt their watches/jewelry/etc looked too new. It was no big deal though.

 

Like other charges, these will not appear on your CC account until a few days after your cruise completion. Also, any $ taken in the casino is treated (on both ends) as a purchase, not a cash advance.

 

I have no idea about wiring, checks, or casino credit lines at sea.

 

Someone mentioned international waters being the reason a W2-G is not issued (I believe they said 1099). Anyway, that's not the reason (although it seems like it would be). Some lines (NCL) operate like land based casinos and comply with US tax rules, some (RCI) don't, regardless of the ships position.

 

Anything in excess of the above situations will be given to you as cash only. Even if it's a ton.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Ambiverol

[warbar]

Thank you.

[cherylroslyn]

No. You are in international waters when the casino is open, so nothing is reported. It is your responsibility to declare your winnings.

Your info is not correct as it relates to NCL and Carnival.

 

It is correct as it relates to RCCL. I see you do sail NCL, so I figured I'd point that our for you.

 

I have won jackpots on all three so I am speaking from experience....