Princess Casino Promotion Question

[hickorydickorydoc]

I have been offered a cruise which has a very nice cost reduction for the basic cruise cost. It would be booked as a "casino promotion". I am wondering how it works and if there is a catch that should make me leery.

 

Is it tied to some sort of OBC? Can anyone offer me advice?

 

HDD

[chrysalis]

This might help....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2294171&highlight=casino+promotion+fare

[smslms]

When we cruise my wife spends a lot of time in the casino as she likes to gamble. A couple of years ago when our TA booked a cruise we found that the fare was quite a bit lower than advertised. When we questioned our TA we were told we had received the casino rate.

 

Sometime later my wife received an email from Princess advising her that when booking the next cruise she should, whether direct or through our TA, reference the casino rate. Since then we have booked several cruises at anywhere from a 25-35% discount.

 

There are no catches or anything sketchy about the offer. As I recall there are a few restrictions relating to the length of the cruise. Can't recall exactly but I think the cruise must be less than 20 days or so. Also we found that, once you book, if a better deal comes along you are not likely going to get it, promos, perks etc. Usually the original price is good enough that we don't care and we generally get whatever perks are available in any event.

 

If I were you I wouldn't be concerned, just be happy that you received this benefit. My understanding is that this is a random process. We have friends who spend virtually the entire cruise in the casino and yet have never heard of this.

 

For myself, when my wife is gambling, I spend time in Vines. Unfortunately I am still waiting for a discount on wine

[MsCalabash]

We have received the casino rate offers by mail and email. Have used the offer on 3 different cruises; each time it has saved $300 or more per person. (We book interior cabins.)

 

As stated on the other thread, we call Princess to get this rate. It doesn't show up automatically. We haven't used a TA so I have no experience booking that way.

 

Please note that the booking rate is the only "special" associated with the offers we have received. We don't receive casino credits, drinks, etc. when onboard. Not complaining -- we are mostly minimum bet players. I donate to the slots occasionally.

 

But to answer your question, in my experience the casino rate offers are legit, and have resulted in some great savings for us. Savings which we donate right back to the casino as soon as possible. :o

 

The only catch might be, don't expect extra casino perks once you get onboard, unless they are clearly stated in your offer.

[cruiser113]

In the past we have sailed on 2 VIP casino

promotions cruises, where we received OK rates on room but extra activities were included , group picture ,cocktail hour and drawing with free drinks while in casino .

 

New thing now is more the reduced rate to get you on the ship.

 

We have sailed many times with this reduced rate. On our Jan 2016 cruise we had this rate, several nights, hostess paid for my drink and one night received choc covered strawberries in room from casino.

 

Also on the second to last day received letter ......that if we were to book a cruise within a month of that sailing and cruised by August 2016 (limited to Caribbean, costal, Mexico , Alaska , Hawaii and panama canal ) we would receive $$$ in cash from casino. So............

 

after much discussion we booked a cruise sailing this month with an incredible rate for a balcony room (7 days) with ship board credit of $300 per room from special offer with Princes and with Military / share holder benefit/ and FCD ended up with $600 OBC not including the casino monies

 

enjoy your offer

[srpilo]

Overall the casino rates offers have seemed to be much less prevalent now than 2015 when they were widespread and widely reported here CC

 

My guess they have reverted back to more targeted offers to actual casino players rather then using the rate to simply fill the ships like in 2015 when by doing so could discount quietly and didn't have to cut the publicly advertised prices

Srpilo

[Shelly97060]

I have been offered a cruise which has a very nice cost reduction for the basic cruise cost. It would be booked as a "casino promotion". I am wondering how it works and if there is a catch that should make me leery.

 

Is it tied to some sort of OBC? Can anyone offer me advice?

 

HDD

 

The casino promotions from Princess are legit, you get the discounted fare and there is no obligation to step foot in the casino on the trip you book.

 

Before they changed the website you use to be able to see the pricing and know of the casino promotion applied - but they changed that- now you have to check with your TA or Princess.

 

It's a good deal. Enjoy your savings!

[hickorydickorydoc]

Thank you all for good advice. We booked the Casino deal and saved a nice piece of change.

 

HDD