CAS determining folio credit at the end of the cruise

[goldmom]

I remember reading a thread awhile ago and someone had talked about how the credit to your account at the end of the cruise is calculated, but now I can't find the thread and don't remember what it said.

 

We usually travel on comped CAS cruises and at the end, even if we've only earned say 5,000 point (which would be $50) they usually take much more off our bill at the end of the cruise.

 

Does anyone know or have any ideas on how they decide how much extra to deduct from your bill?

 

Thanks

[VideoTech]

I remember reading a thread awhile ago and someone had talked about how the credit to your account at the end of the cruise is calculated, but now I can't find the thread and don't remember what it said.

 

We usually travel on comped CAS cruises and at the end, even if we've only earned say 5,000 point (which would be $50) they usually take much more off our bill at the end of the cruise.

 

Does anyone know or have any ideas on how they decide how much extra to deduct from your bill?

 

Thanks

 

The minimum number of points to be considered for a folio credit has always been 2500 on cruises we've been on. There is a formula the casino staff uses to calculate your credit, but they also have leeway to depart from the formula in some way or another. No one knows for sure what the formula is, or what determines the leeway and how much leeway they have.

 

All I can say for sure is that we've had cruises that we leave with everything wiped off our bill except for taxes and gratuities, that they cannot comp off. And we've had other cruises where the casino staff obviously only used the strict formula and we still had some charges left on our bill after the credit. So it depends a lot on the person doing the calculation.

 

I will also say that we've noticed that casino staff has been getting more and more strict and applying less and less leeway as the years have gone by. This would seem to be in accordance with corporate CAS deciding to tighten up the process.

[goldmom]

Thanks for the response. That has been my experience as well, which was part of the reason I asked the question. On our last cruise, very little was taken off at the end of our cruise and after we came home I had read something on the boards here where someone talked about one of the things they factor into their decision. Of course now I can't remember what it was, but at the time it made sense.

 

Thanks again for your response.

[bobsfamily]

Have you had charges removed while on a "comped" cruise?

[Nelsj099]

Have you had charges removed while on a "comped" cruise?

 

 

 

Yep.

 

 

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[pcakes122]

Have you had charges removed while on a "comped" cruise?

Always, even when I left several thousand $ "up" (which actually surprised me!)

[goldmom]

Have you had charges removed while on a "comped" cruise?

 

Yes, and generally more than I "earned" as far as points.

[pcakes122]

Yes, and generally more than I "earned" as far as points.

Agree. I wasn't even considering the "earned" points since I use them as free slot play. Those credits have proven to be "lucky"money for me (hit two great separate jackpots after downloading that credit $ to my machine!) and now I'm superstitious about it and always use them up before the end of the cruise. :)

[bobsfamily]

Thanks for all responses, will be on a "free" cruise end of May and will see what happens!

[TonyFred]

Going on my first comped cruise soon. Who do I talk to about getting some charges removed at the end? The Casino manager? Thanks.

[Casino Comp Chick]

Going on my first comped cruise soon. Who do I talk to about getting some charges removed at the end? The Casino manager? Thanks.

If you get at least 2500 points it is automatic. If you have less then that either play on a slot machine or bank them for your next cruise

[VideoTech]

Going on my first comped cruise soon. Who do I talk to about getting some charges removed at the end? The Casino manager? Thanks.

 

They will typically start making announcements about it on the last couple of nights of the cruise. Most of the time you have to go to the casino desk and ask for it to be done, but one cruise they did it for us without us asking.

 

Also there was a time when they changed the redemption night to the night before the last night - we protested this as it meant our play on the last day of the cruise would not count. They ended up changing back to the last night.

[pcakes122]

Also there was a time when they changed the redemption night to the night before the last night - we protested this as it meant our play on the last day of the cruise would not count. They ended up changing back to the last night.

Just to clarify, there are two different types of casino folio comps.

 

One is the type you "earn" (1 point for every $5 in the slots, and as previously posted, if you hit 2500 points you can convert that to $25 folio credit & up, depending on points earned.)

 

The other type folio credit is arbitrarily granted by the casino host/hostess based on your play during the cruise. I usually don't do much shopping and I already get a $400 per cruise credit based on my tier level which covers spa, internet, etc., so the last day the of the cruise the casino host will tap me on the shoulder and remind me to "go shopping" (and whisper an amount which in the past has ranged from $200-$1,000. I can never really figure out how the amount is determined. A casino host shared a formula a few years back, but it doesn't ever seem to reconcile to what I've received, so as with most CAS policies, who knows?) And, if they don't approach you, you can certainly approach them!

[BirdTravels]

Thanks for all responses, will be on a "free" cruise end of May and will see what happens!

Going on my first comped cruise soon. Who do I talk to about getting some charges removed at the end? The Casino manager? Thanks.

 

You need to build a relationship with the casino host (casino manager won't take care of you). It's like building a relationship with your land-based casino host. They have latitude in what they can offer. If you show up on the last night and say "comp some charges", you may get the value of the points you have earned (which is the minimum they are obligated to offer). On some cruises, a large number of passengers (hundreds) are casino guests. And the hosts are not going to comp charges for all of them.

[pcakes122]

You need to build a relationship with the casino host (casino manager won't take care of you). It's like building a relationship with your land-based casino host. They have latitude in what they can offer.

This is very true. The majority of the NCL casino hosts who have wiped my folio charges are folks I have developed a relationship with over the years and across the various ships on which they have been assigned.

[goldmom]

Just to clarify, there are two different types of casino folio comps.

 

One is the type you "earn" (1 point for every $5 in the slots, and as previously posted, if you hit 2500 points you can convert that to $25 folio credit & up, depending on points earned.)

 

The other type folio credit is arbitrarily granted by the casino host/hostess based on your play during the cruise. I usually don't do much shopping and I already get a $400 per cruise credit based on my tier level which covers spa, internet, etc., so the last day the of the cruise the casino host will tap me on the shoulder and remind me to "go shopping" (and whisper an amount which in the past has ranged from $200-$1,000. I can never really figure out how the amount is determined. A casino host shared a formula a few years back, but it doesn't ever seem to reconcile to what I've received, so as with most CAS policies, who knows?) And, if they don't approach you, you can certainly approach them!

 

Just out of curiousity, what was the formula? Even if it didn't really work it would be interesting to hear what they said.

[pcakes122]

Just out of curiousity, what was the formula? Even if it didn't really work it would be interesting to hear what they said.

This is what was explained to me by the casino host in the Gem in early 2016 (I think!):

 

Actual $$ loss x 6% = "Potential" folio comp opportunity. Then from there charges are reviewed for comp - some types of charges are available to be comped 100% (food, beverage, shore excursions, spa) and some are available to be comped 50% (internet, gift shop.) I am not 100% sure I am remembering the category split correctly, but it is split based on category for sure.

 

So, based on that formula, if your total loss was $5K, then $5,000 x 6% = $300 potential folio comp. If your folio charges are $300 and made up of specialty restaurants and shore excursions, all charges would be wiped out. If your $300 was all gift shop, your final comp would be $150. If your $300 was a combination - say $200 spa and $100 gift shop, your folio credit would be $250 (100% of the spa, but only 50% of the gift shop.)

 

That said, my folio credit is frequently higher than this formula - which I think it due to the flexibility and latitude of the casino host(s) - and I have had gift shop charges wiped out 100%. So, as I stated before, who knows? ;)

 

These amounts do NOT include folio credit that comes from points "earned". This "should be" an additional credit on top of that. I say that because, as I mentioned, I ALWAYS use up my points as slot free play during the cruise. One of my friends had said "Don't do that! The hostess told me to SAVE them for end of cruise comps!" I said that I always get comps at the end anyway...so we did an experiment. I spent mine in the slots, she saved hers. Well, say her final folio comp based on the above formula was supposed to be $200 - the host then subtracted her EARNED point value before posting the final credit to her folio! She was like "No wonder they tell you to hold them!! Saves THEM money!" :')

 

PS Further proof that we don't really have a clue.... I walked away $4.6K UP on a recent cruise, and still received a folio comp of $483. The hostess told me it was a thank you for my "excellent play." (I did play more than usual on that cruise - I earned about 23K points on an 11-day.)

Edited March 26, 2018 by pcakes122

[Nelsj099]

I will be spending those earned points in the future

 

 

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[VideoTech]

You need to build a relationship with the casino host (casino manager won't take care of you). It's like building a relationship with your land-based casino host. They have latitude in what they can offer. If you show up on the last night and say "comp some charges", you may get the value of the points you have earned (which is the minimum they are obligated to offer). On some cruises, a large number of passengers (hundreds) are casino guests. And the hosts are not going to comp charges for all of them.

 

Couldn't agree more. We always build that relationship during the cruise, and it's really helpful if you come back to the same ship and some of the same casino staff are there.

[skeeter195]

I have been traveling in comped rooms(balconies-villas) for the past 15 years on NCL. Things have changed some but from what I notice is that the more you lose, the bigger the "I feel sorry for you" comp is in addition to your points comp. The only time that I got a large($2400) comp when I won was when I had to split up my cash winnings between 5 people when leaving the ship:cool:;p, it was a goood week. I have been very fortunate to win 7 of my last 8 cruises and only got a much bigger comp on the one that I lost. I always get a little more even when winning but that is like just rounding up to the next hundred or so.

[pcakes122]

I have been traveling in comped rooms(balconies-villas) for the past 15 years on NCL. Things have changed some but from what I notice is that the more you lose, the bigger the "I feel sorry for you" comp is in addition to your points comp. The only time that I got a large($2400) comp when I won was when I had to split up my cash winnings between 5 people when leaving the ship:cool:;p, it was a goood week. I have been very fortunate to win 7 of my last 8 cruises and only got a much bigger comp on the one that I lost. I always get a little more even when winning but that is like just rounding up to the next hundred or so.

One issue I run into is that since I don't know until the last day what my comp will be, I don't go crazy spending money that I don't really want to spend during the cruise (spa is nice, but I only do that once or twice with my tier level OBC - and the jewelry in the gift shop is either poor quality, overpriced or not really my style.) So, I am usually scrambling in the gift shop on the last day after the host advises me of my comp, and I frequently can't use it all up - I wish they had better choices! I'd love a few thousand $$ comp on Royal - they have Cartier on board! (the highest folio comp I ever got on Royal was $400 - couldn't even get me through the door at Cartier :()

[skeeter195]

The gift shops on NCL used to be great. On the cruise(2004)when I won alot and was comped the $2400 the host also told me to buy some things. I ended up buying 2 of the wall clocks that open and play tunes on the hour. We still have ours in our house and the other one is in my parents. They were around $800 each and they work perfectly to this day. We also got some bottles of Johnie Walker blue and some high end tequilas. I am not sure how much I could have spent but the host covered it all.

[pcakes122]

The gift shops on NCL used to be great. On the cruise(2004)when I won alot and was comped the $2400 the host also told me to buy some things. I ended up buying 2 of the wall clocks that open and play tunes on the hour. We still have ours in our house and the other one is in my parents. They were around $800 each and they work perfectly to this day. We also got some bottles of Johnie Walker blue and some high end tequilas. I am not sure how much I could have spent but the host covered it all.

Those clocks sound great! Liquor is a great idea too - especially as gifts! I usually wind up with alot of perfume and if anybody is looking for Swarovski crystal figurines I have a whole ton of them - new in box LOL

[rbt001]

I've just completed my third "gambling" 7-day cruise with NCL.

 

On the first, I said nothing to the casino staff and I did not use any of my 12,000 points for free play because I didn't know that was an option. All of my incidentals were comped.

 

On my second cruise, I hit a $6,000 jackpot and I used the 11.500 points I earned as free play because another player told me I could. It seemed less was removed for incidentals.

 

This cruise I took last week, I stopped on the last day to ask what happens to the points I don't cash in as free play. She explained that those points have a greater value towards comps than they do as free play. She also stated my loss for the cruise was a factor to determine how much would be comped.

[pcakes122]

On my second cruise, I hit a $6,000 jackpot and I used the 11.500 points I earned as free play because another player told me I could. It seemed less was removed for incidentals.

 

This cruise I took last week, I stopped on the last day to ask what happens to the points I don't cash in as free play. She explained that those points have a greater value towards comps than they do as free play.

I think it makes sense that less was removed for incidentals when you hit a jackpot.

 

As far as points having a greater value toward comps, I think that's what they tried to tell my friend. But we didn't see that pan out in reality. I actually have not tracked my folio comps from cruise to cruise because the amount is not factor for me in terms of my level of play (it's just gravy.) I don't even think if we tracked it we could ever figure it out. For example, with certain hosts I get great comp offers all throughout the cruise (e.g., a "spa day" for me and two (non-player) friends, an actual birthday party for me - including casino employees singing lol - in Le Bistro with a beautiful cake, and other really nice things), but others notsomuch.

 

I am more convinced that it comes down to 50% play, 50% relationship.