NCL Escape casino review

[asubaru]

There seems to be quite a few Christina, Christine, Kristine, and similar names floating around in the ships' casinos!

 

 

 

 

If it was the same casino host from the Getaway in August and November of last year, she was not good in my opinion. In fact almost all of the guests that i spoke to around me also commented on the poor casino host service and I won several jackpots on both of those cruises and not once did she come over to introduce herself or any member of the team. Every other ship I have been on, people were amazing. As I said, not sure if it is the same person or not.

[asubaru]

I was recently on the Escape and saw:

 

Baccarat, Pai Gow, Ultimate Holdem, Let It Ride, 3 Card Poker, Craps and Blackjack. Not all games were offered at all times; it will vary due to staff and players.

 

I saw nothing under $10 minimum, except Ultimate Holdem, BUT I wasn't in casino during the day.

 

As far as VP, I can speak for the DDB variation game and the paytables are lousy. This is what I generally saw:

 

25 cent 7/5/4

 

$1 8/5/4

 

$2 8/5/4

 

$5 9/5/4

 

There's many negative comments about all ships, but it doesn't mean they will ruin a vacation. There's so much good/positive about the Escape and I think the casino is a definite highlight; especially the wonderful atmosphere and employees.

 

 

 

 

QUOTE=eldrima;48990932]T minus 8 days until I'll be sailing on the Escape and I plan to spend some time in the casino. I've yet to see a decent review that goes into much detail of the Escape casino so I plan to fill that gap with this thread to pay back all the information I've gathered from all the other Escape reviews and threads I've read.

 

Despite some of the initial negative reviews I've read, I'm really excited about this trip and expect it to be one of my favorite cruises. I truly believe everyday experiences are determined more by the the lens you use to perceive them through than by any other influence.

 

This won't be a live review (how can anyone follow Doug's act) but more of a post-cruise thread about the casino. I prefer to play Blackjack, Pai Gow, Baccarat, some craps and Video Poker. I suspect the Pai Gow and Baccarat might not be offered but who knows...haven't seen a thread to confirm that. If you have any questions about the casino, pay tables, minimum bets, etc, post them here and I'll get them answered for you when I update the thread on my return.

[darn88]

And if you're in the Haven and Adrian is the concierge....yes, they're brother & sister.

 

 

.

 

Just a FYI...I was on the Escape the week of 1/9 in the Haven and Adrian was on vacation. David Contreras (sp) is now the Concierge. He was wonderful. Do not remember when Adrian was supposed to return.

[KorrunaKanuck]

I've been to Vegas casinos & various Canadian Casinos numerous times and been on a number of cruises but never gambled on the cruises. As a result, these might seem like dumb questions, but here goes anyway.

 

1. Can you convert cash for chips at the tables or is it charged to your On Board account?

2. When playing slots, again, cash or your card?

3. Are chips and slot credits cashed in for cash or applied to your account?

 

Thanks

[specialthing1]

on her first sailing from South hampton to Miami slots would take cash or you could charge to your on board account from the machine to your card as far as I know all payouts were in cash or cashable tickets just like land based. found the casino to be large fun and not tight as some with payouts enjoyed the management crew altho waiters were not as out going as usual it was also a first cruise for many and a new ship for everone spent a lot of time there and plam tp again on 2/13 cruise didn't play the tables but dealers seemed friendly Good Luck and Smooth Seas to All

[eldrima]

Back from an amazing cruise on the Escape! The Escape casino was the largest I've been in on a cruise ship. There was one gaming pit with about 8 table games across from the Skyline bar (non smoking area) and two more pits on opposite sides of the atrium. One had about 8 table games plus the high limit room with 3 tables and the other had about 8 more plus 1 roulette, 2 craps tables, and 1 poker table. These 2 pits near the atrium allowed smoking.

 

As mentioned in an earlier post, they had Blackjack, Ultimate Texas Holdem, 3 Card Poker, Let it Ride, Roulette, Craps, and Pai Gow. During peak hours (9 – 11 pm), at least one table of each was staffed. I played mostly BJ and some Craps, Baccarat, and video poker.

 

The BJ tables were plentiful and started at $6 minimum and went up to $100 minimum (high limit room). Every table under a $50 minimum dealt from an automatic shuffler. The $6 tables paid 6 to 5 for a BJ and I’m pretty sure everything $15+ paid 3 to 2. There were 3 $50 tables (1 in non-smoking and 2 in smoking area) that hand shuffled and dealt from a 8 deck shoe. The 3 $100 tables in the high limit room (usually only 1 or two open) hand shuffled and dealt from a 6 deck shoe. For all tables below $50, dealer would hit a soft 17 and for all table $50+, dealer would stick.

 

Pai Gow and Baccarat had $25 minimums. I played mostly BJ but did play some Baccarat which was in the mini Bac configuration with the dealer handling the cards. Their required shuffling protocol made for a really long break (probably 10 minutes) between shoes. They also required commissions to be paid after every win on the banker hand…I ended up just keeping my change up front and letting the dealer take the commission without asking. They did not use the new shoe card reading technology that allows it to automatically track the previous hands and they did not have a board where the dealer enters the previous hands…you had to keep track of it yourself on cards.

 

As many have said, VP pay tables pretty much suck. VP ended up being a bankroll drain for me but I did play a fair amount of it to insure I earned enough points for future CAS room offers. I played JoB exclusively and did notice the pay tables improved at $1 play. I also like playing 100 line VP machines but this boat didn’t have any…just 10 line machines.

 

Craps tables were at a $10 minimum every time I stopped by one with 5x, 4x, and 3x odds. I didn’t bother looking at Roulette, Let it Ride, 3 card, or the poker table. I did play a little Ultimate Texas Holdem and that had a $5 minimum.

 

Tournaments: The first full day of the cruise, they had a Texas Holdem tournament with a $100 buy-in. With at least $2000 in entries, they guaranteed a seat in the December NCL $200,000 holdem tournament and a free cabin. With entries above $2K, winner would get the cruise plus the extra entries (minus the house rake for the tournament which I think might be 25%). The tournament was held in the non smoking pit and dealt at the table game tables. I believe there were a max of 6 players per table and were 4 tables. Re-buys were allowed for the 1st hour and players were allowed to top off at the break (2x the starting amount of chips which was $2000). I busted out pretty early so can’t tell you how the tournament went or how much the final prize ended up being.

 

They also had slot tournaments (didn’t look into this one) and a BJ tournament. I entered the final session of the BJ tournament on the last sea day which is ideal strategy in my opinion. At that point, you know what benchmark you have to beat in order to make it to the final table and can wager accordingly. The BJ tournament is a $20 entry and then the winner takes all (minus the house rake). My final wager was enough to insure a seat at the final table with a win (all but one other contestant had busted out) and I was big stack. Dealer was showing a 5 and I was dealt a 16, held, dealer’s hole card was a 10 and he drew a 6 :( . Needless to say, I didn’t stick around to see what happened with the final table.

 

I found all the dealers and pit staff to be extremely friendly and hospitable. It was nice having the CAS drink cards and being able to get bottled water (they brought 1L bottles of Aquifina), Red Bull, and cappuccinos where were not covered by the UBP.

 

BJ and VP were overall drains to my bank roll and Craps and Baccarat helped limit the overall loss. I plan on calling in Wednesday to CAS to see how many points I earned on this trip and what kind of cabin they will offer for some future sailings. My overall loss was well below the comped cruise fare from the CAS promo that I used for booking and I was credited $190 at the end of the cruise from the points earned. Yeah I would have preferred to come out a winner but got a lot of entertainment value in the casino which was more than made up for by the CAS comps.

[Obx_1974]

What time of day did you usually stop by the craps tables?

 

 

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[eldrima]

What time of day did you usually stop by the craps tables?

 

I played craps a total of 3 times: twice in the evening after 11 pm and once in the morning when they had just opened the table (about 9 am the day we arrived in Nassau). The first evening was quite productive as well as the morning session. The last night on the boat not so much. I opened up the table that morning and had it to myself for about 30 minutes so I got to do a good bit of rolling. I'd consider myself a craps novice but not a noob...the table staff was very helpful and patient every time. I regret not playing it more throughout the trip instead of so much time at BJ. $10 minimum every time.

[Ctrinh225]

Thank you Eldrima. So you did say they had mini bac and paigow? Was it open every night or do you have to request it to open? Thanks for any info.

 

 

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[eldrima]

Thank you Eldrima. So you did say they had mini bac and paigow? Was it open every night or do you have to request it to open? Thanks for any info.

 

It was open every night during the busier hours even if nobody was playing. I sat down at mini Bac and nobody else was playing but they were mid shoe. After playing a few shoes and doing pretty well, I left the table around 1 am (only one that played that stretch). Within 20 minutes I noticed they had closed the table.

 

The pit bosses were very friendly and I overhead them ask another player if he wanted them to open a specific table for him. I'm sure they would accomodate you if one want open and you wanted to play.

[eldrima]

On another note, a dealer mentioned the last night that someone had hit a straight flush on Let it Ride and had some decent wagers out...said it paid out $22K. I stopped by the table and asked the dealer (who I'd gotten to know from BJ) and the pit boss said it was $21k and they mentioned he had tipped out $2k. That was the biggest score I heard of on the trip.

 

No royals for me in VP but I did get dealt a straight flush when playing $0.25 10 line VP which helped balance out the VP play.

[riddle]

I vote to move some vP machines to a non smoking section (besides the bar which is too loud).

 

I had lots of communication from the host.

 

My question is (and it's a dumb one I am sure). When a host asks you if there is anything she can do for you what is she referring to? With UDP and Platinum Perks and CAS perks I had no need for more specialty dining.

[VideoTech]

......

As many have said, VP pay tables pretty much suck. VP ended up being a bankroll drain for me but I did play a fair amount of it to insure I earned enough points for future CAS room offers. I played JoB exclusively and did notice the pay tables improved at $1 play. I also like playing 100 line VP machines but this boat didn’t have any…just 10 line machines.

....

 

Thanks for the extensive report! I'm sure you're aware of this, but for those that may not be: If you're looking just to maximize your point production for future CAS comps, VP is not the game to play. You only earn points at half the rate you do on Slots. Table games also suffer because your play is evaluated by the pit boss, not tracked by a computer. Unfortunately, Slots are the only games on which you can be assured that every $ you put in will be tracked accurately for the most CAS point production.

 

It is true that in most casinos, the pay tables on VP improve at higher $ play. However, I've begun to notice that isn't true on most ships (and some land) casinos. I've seen plenty of machines where the pay table for JOB at $5 was the same awful table as at 25 cents.

[eldrima]

Thanks for the extensive report! I'm sure you're aware of this, but for those that may not be: If you're looking just to maximize your point production for future CAS comps, VP is not the game to play. You only earn points at half the rate you do on Slots. Table games also suffer because your play is evaluated by the pit boss, not tracked by a computer. Unfortunately, Slots are the only games on which you can be assured that every $ you put in will be tracked accurately for the most CAS point production.

 

It is true that in most casinos, the pay tables on VP improve at higher $ play. However, I've begun to notice that isn't true on most ships (and some land) casinos. I've seen plenty of machines where the pay table for JOB at $5 was the same awful table as at 25 cents.

 

Thanks for pointing this out. I did notice on the single line JoB game that the pay table did improve from $0.50 to $1.00 and so most of my single line play was at the $1 level. Based on the outcome of my VP play, I would have probably earned more points off of slot play but have never found them interesting enough to hold my attention.

 

As for tracking on the tables, the Escape does have a tracking system that is better than most land based casinos. The dealer swipes all players cards or room keys for each person at the table and then assigns them to their corresponding seat number in the system. On many occasions, I play 2 hands of BJ at a time and they note that on their input devise...if you stop playing 2 hands, they pause the play for that seat on the device. I also believe the betting circles have sensors that track how many hands per hour you are playing so you are getting more points in an hour if you are the only player at the table. I'm pretty certain they don't have RFID embedded in all the chips so they are not able to accurately track how much each bet is however they would occasionally update it in their system when a betting level had increased for more than a few hands. In the end, I would agree that you will earn more points per dollar played for slots than any other game in the casino but I do feel like they are making a concerted effort to accurately track table play and not leaving it up to the discretion of the pit boss.

[eldrima]

This was my first CAS visit of the current points year (ending at the end of March) so my points on my card pretty well reflected my play for this visit. I did transfer over less than 1000 points from a cruise from January 2014 which showed up on my card the 2nd day and always left me guessing how much I had actually accrued.

 

Somewhere about the 5th day I had well over 5000 points and stopped by the players club to pick up my Hot players card. My wife and I played some more that evening, I left her to play Ultimate Texas Holdem (she isn't much of a gambler) so that I could pick up the kids, then headed back to the cabin with them. The next morning, I was first to wake so headed upstairs when they were first starting to setup tables for open, stuck my card in a machine, and I had over an 11K point balance. It left me wondering what she had been up to the night before. I stopped by the players club desk when the opened and asked them how many points I'd accrued on the trip and they told me it was just over 6K. Still not sure what that was all about but for a moment thought I had a shot of going from Lucky to Golden on that trip.

[Casino Comp Chick]

This was my first CAS visit of the current points year (ending at the end of March) so my points on my card pretty well reflected my play for this visit. I did transfer over less than 1000 points from a cruise from January 2014 which showed up on my card the 2nd day and always left me guessing how much I had actually accrued.

 

Somewhere about the 5th day I had well over 5000 points and stopped by the players club to pick up my Hot players card. My wife and I played some more that evening, I left her to play Ultimate Texas Holdem (she isn't much of a gambler) so that I could pick up the kids, then headed back to the cabin with them. The next morning, I was first to wake so headed upstairs when they were first starting to setup tables for open, stuck my card in a machine, and I had over an 11K point balance. It left me wondering what she had been up to the night before. I stopped by the players club desk when the opened and asked them how many points I'd accrued on the trip and they told me it was just over 6K. Still not sure what that was all about but for a moment thought I had a shot of going from Lucky to Golden on that trip.

 

You acquire 50,000 bonus points when you tier up from Lucky to hot, They are REWARD points and do not count into your Tier points. The $50.00 is money used towards slot play or room charges

Edited February 23, 2016 by iimmie

[eldrima]

You acquire 50,000 bonus points when you tier up from Lucky to hot, They are REWARD points and do not count into your Tier points. The $50.00 is money used towards slot play or room charges

 

That makes complete sense...thanks for the info!

[bam1957]

I played extensively on a cruise in May to Bermuda. Will those points be included in any play on my cruise in March? Where do I go to see how many points I have accrued so far?

[eldrima]

I played extensively on a cruise in May to Bermuda. Will those points be included in any play on my cruise in March? Where do I go to see how many points I have accrued so far?

 

I'm pretty sure CAS' tier calendar resets at the end of March so your tier points from May will combine with the tier points you earn next month to determine if you level up. Whatever level you finish up at March 31st will be the level you will start out at in the following evaluation period (with tier credits resetting to 0).

 

The players club usually applies your rewards points towards a credit to your onboard account around midnight of the last night of the cruise. If they didn't do this on your May cruise, check with the players club staff when you cruise next and they can transfer them over so they can be applied to your credit on your next cruise.

 

I noticed the balance on my card go to 0 around midnight the last night. I earned about another 1000 points between then and 2am when I finished my play. There were still several players club staff members trying to settle up everyone's account so I stopped by the desk. They said they couldn't do anything with the additional points I had earned and I needed to have them transferred over during my next cruise.

[SuiteTraveler]

Does CAS offer free cruises like Carnival's Player Club does? What points do I need in slot play - I know it is usually non-specific, but is it around 5,000 or 6,000 or what?

[eldrima]

Does CAS offer free cruises like Carnival's Player Club does? What points do I need in slot play - I know it is usually non-specific, but is it around 5,000 or 6,000 or what?

 

They comp cabins with 2 person occupancy based on your previous cruise tier points earned or actual loss...the type of cabin is based on the level of play/loss. You pay the taxes/port fees/etc. If you want to add additional guests or upgrade to a larger room, you can pay the difference. If CAS were to comp you an oceanview or higher state room right now, you could take advantage of their pick two promo and get the Ultimate Beverage and 4 restaurant Specialty Dining promo included.

 

From what I've heard, you need about 2700 or 2800 tier points in a 7 day trip to qualify for a inside state room which translates into about $13,500 in slot play ($5/point for slots) to qualify.

[Tibby-Twoshoes]

T minus 8 days until I'll be sailing on the Escape and I plan to spend some time in the casino. I've yet to see a decent review that goes into much detail of the Escape casino so I plan to fill that gap with this thread to pay back all the information I've gathered from all the other Escape reviews and threads I've read.

 

Despite some of the initial negative reviews I've read, I'm really excited about this trip and expect it to be one of my favorite cruises. I truly believe everyday experiences are determined more by the the lens you use to perceive them through than by any other influence.

 

This won't be a live review (how can anyone follow Doug's act) but more of a post-cruise thread about the casino. I prefer to play Blackjack, Pai Gow, Baccarat, some craps and Video Poker. I suspect the Pai Gow and Baccarat might not be offered but who knows...haven't seen a thread to confirm that. If you have any questions about the casino, pay tables, minimum bets, etc, post them here and I'll get them answered for you when I update the thread on my return.

 

So when do you set sail, interested in information as well....

 

Actually going on the Dawn shortly, had read somewhere that they honored Vegas cards and had some type of perks for it, trying find it since it was only a certain card which I believe I have but all new at this so I could be mistaken.

[eldrima]

So when do you set sail, interested in information as well....

 

Actually going on the Dawn shortly, had read somewhere that they honored Vegas cards and had some type of perks for it, trying find it since it was only a certain card which I believe I have but all new at this so I could be mistaken.

 

I returned from my trip this past Saturday. Not sure if they have any reciprocal benefits with any LV casinos regarding status. I've read on these forums that they have a marketing relationship with HET/Caesar's where patrons of those casinos have received vouchers for NCL cruises but I don't think they receive any special status perks while cruising.

 

You can read about the Casinos at Sea (CAS) program on NCL's site along with the tier benefits for the player's club:

https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/casino-cruise

One thing to note, you have to be at a certain status at the start of your cruise to receive that status' benefits while on your trip. Ex: I went from Lucky to Hot status while on the trip but didn't receive stateroom goodies or complimentary dinner for two on this past trip. If I take another NCL cruise between now and March 31, 2017, I will receive those benefits because I will be Hot status as of the start of the cruise.

[Sand and Seas]

I returned from my trip this past Saturday. Not sure if they have any reciprocal benefits with any LV casinos regarding status. I've read on these forums that they have a marketing relationship with HET/Caesar's where patrons of those casinos have received vouchers for NCL cruises but I don't think they receive any special status perks while cruising.

 

 

When we sail on a CET cruise voucher we get the 'free drinks' while playing in the casino. It's attached to our players card that is waiting in our cabin. Others have to earn 1500 points during the cruise before they get free drinks, or have cruised enough that year to board as 'Hot' or higher status with CAS. With all the promos now, if we have the UBP from NCL, we can still use that 'free drinks' card to get bottled water or Red Bulls in the casino. (These aren't covered by the UBP)

[Ctrinh225]

I just got off the Escape. Just a heads up for those who gamble. Make a printout from the players club of your points. There was a 4500 point difference from the ship to CAS. They say I needed proof to add those points to my tier.

 

 

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