Tell Me About NCL "Casinos At Sea"?

[aubreyc1988]

3 minutes ago, cruiserbear55 said:

    Had the same experience on the Pearl in April. The slots were the tightest I have ever enc

I'm going on RCI for the first time in about 4-5 years and I am curious to see what their program offers me after that cruise. I probably lost...4-5k on my last 2 NCL cruises, just total dumpster fires, and when I called to see about future cruise comp, they said "20% off"...like seriously a slap in the face. 

 

I love NCL, but if RCI gives me free cruises for the same amount of my play, I will probably not play in the NCL casino very much when onboard an NCL ship. 

[cruiserbear55]

1 minute ago, cruiserbear55 said:

    Had the same experience on the Pearl in April. The slots were the tightest I have ever enc

Sorry, trying to type on an I-Pad and it’s not very user friendly, compared to my (broken) laptop. Suffice it to say the slots were the tightest I have ever encountered, and actually stayed out of the casino the last two days/ nights. 

[BamaCruiser39]

 

14 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I'm going on RCI for the first time in about 4-5 years and I am curious to see what their program offers me after that cruise. I probably lost...4-5k on my last 2 NCL cruises, just total dumpster fires, and when I called to see about future cruise comp, they said "20% off"...like seriously a slap in the face. 

 

I love NCL, but if RCI gives me free cruises for the same amount of my play, I will probably not play in the NCL casino very much when onboard an NCL ship. 

Same experience as Aubrey here regarding laughable NCL comp offers.

 

 

I'm typically a table games player so I can't speak to the slot payouts or anything like that. That being said, I've always had great experiences with NCL table games/dealers/casino staff/etc.

 

I wasn't a huge fan of my first RCL trip (I have my first Carnival in October and second Celebrity booked for 2023), but one major plus of RCL's "Club Royale" is that they are extremely transparent in terms of points earning, benefits, and comp offers. They have a separate webpage dedicated entirely to casino offers where you can see all available comp offers and discounts after you input your information. They are also extremely consistent about sending comp offers via email and hard mail: something NCL never does.

 

Unfortunately, NCL's comps are hot garbage right now compared to other lines so for now I'm cruising with everyone else when I save a thousand+ per trip before even boarding for comparable cabins/ships/itineraries 

Edited July 20, 2022 by BamaCruiser39

[aubreyc1988]

11 minutes ago, BamaCruiser39 said:

 

Same experience as Aubrey here regarding laughable NCL comp offers.

 

 

I'm typically a table games player so I can't speak to the slot payouts or anything like that. That being said, I've always had great experiences with NCL table games/dealers/casino staff/etc.

 

I wasn't a huge fan of my first RCL trip (I have my first Carnival in October and second Celebrity booked for 2023), but one major plus of RCL's "Club Royale" is that they are extremely transparent in terms of points earning, benefits, and comp offers. They have a separate webpage dedicated entirely to casino offers where you can see all available comp offers and discounts after you input your information. They are also extremely consistent about sending comp offers via email and hard mail: something NCL never does.

 

Unfortunately, NCL's comps are hot garbage right now compared to other lines so for now I'm cruising with everyone else when I save a thousand+ per trip before even boarding for comparable cabins/ships/itineraries 

 

My fare for two people on Liberty OTS is 811.00 Inside Cabin in Sept. (of course no perks included in that like NCL), I added Royals's beverage package + 3 meal dining plan for an additional 1300 total for two people. So around 2k all in.  Of course I am paying *dearly* for the drink package, but I haven't sailed RCI in a while and supposedly they have a whole new drink menu so I really wanted to try a lot of different drinks...otherwise I probably wouldn't have paid for it and done it ala carte. 

 

A similar itinerary on NCL Sky (NCL doesn't sail out of Galveston so hard to find something comparable) is the same price with all the perks so a slightly better deal. Sailaway rate with no perks was 1,400, 600.00 MORE than RCI pricing! The skip is older than the Liberty and it really was *the only itinerary* NCL had going to the Caribbean in Sept...in addition to the Casino not comping me, I will wait until the spring to sail NCL. 

 

the casino rep has called me since I asked and all of a sudden can give me an extra 10% off but too late, already booked the liberty. Just SUCH a weird casino system on NCL...just sad because I *really* enjoy sailing with NCL. 

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

On 10/31/2021 at 10:52 AM, BirdTravels said:

Your 2019 tier status is continued through March 2023. So, you will get your $400 OBC, WiFi, wine, treats, and Black (Ultra) Drink Card good for just about any drink the bar can make. 

 

The Jade status is "old news" and was the CAS policy prior to restart. At restart, they were going to extend your 2019 tier status through March 2022 and make everyone requal this year. Since then, in September/August, they updated their policy to extend tier status through March 2023 (you need to requal April 22-March 23 for the April 2023-March 2024 period). All that being said, none of this has ever been written down. Unlike every other travel/entertainment industry company (air, hotel, car rental, land-based casino, other cruise lines), NCL has chosen not to publish their tier extension polices. 

Oh, wow!  I wish I had read your post prior to Nov 2021!  We were on Regent's and tried to get our points from our last NCL cruise transferred, but were told they had expired!  And of course, cruises had been shut down for most of that time!  I will check again in August, as I'll be back on NCL.

[phillygwm]

4 hours ago, BamaCruiser39 said:

Same experience as Aubrey here regarding laughable NCL comp offers.

Wow.  My experiences have been varied.  I got a comp for a free 10 day cruise (Balcony) upcoming in October and the offer included a freebie for another (Inside) room.  My friends upgraded but still, not a bad deal for them and I was happy with what I got for myself.  But that was booked in December.

 

For various reasons (1 point from Sapphire and AA flight credits for a previously cancelled trip about to expire) I'm doing a weekend booze cruise out of Miami, which I booked a couple weeks ago.  For that, because of the length, I didn't qualify for anything based on NCL CAS, but I did get a "free" inside cabin based on Harrah's play.  When I asked about upgrading to a balcony, it would have cost more than I spent for my entire 10 day Canada/NE cruise, so I passed, though I bid on an upgrade.  So it seems like something has changed.

 

[Russiamomm]

I do think NCL is getting stingier with their comps.  I was on back to backs in April for a total of 11 nights.  I know I played more on that trip than the previous October’s B2B where I earned a comped inside.  But my CAS guy said I didn’t earn a comp, but he could give me 20% off another booking.  I passed.  A few weeks later I got a “scratch off” in the mail from CAS where I “hit the jackpot” and won a free 4-10 night cruise, so I booked the Canada cruise in September with it and upgraded to a balcony.  
 

All that being said, I used that scratch off to sign up with another site and have now booked comped cabins in November on RCCL and Virgin.  It includes some perks, like free drinks in the casino.  I haven’t been on RCCL for decades and have never been on Virgin.  We’re looking forward to trying them out.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Russiamomm

[bookgirl1384]

We have been on 2 NCL and 2 RCCL cruises. For our RCCL cruises, we gambled $500-1000 each cruise, and have been offered MANY free cruises. We had two different comped cruises booked but the pandemic shut those down. For NCL, we played about the same but they haven't offered any comps. We will see after our cruise next week!

[603NHCruiser]

On 7/20/2022 at 12:16 PM, aubreyc1988 said:

I'm going on RCI for the first time in about 4-5 years and I am curious to see what their program offers me after that cruise. I probably lost...4-5k on my last 2 NCL cruises, just total dumpster fires, and when I called to see about future cruise comp, they said "20% off"...like seriously a slap in the face. 

 

I love NCL, but if RCI gives me free cruises for the same amount of my play, I will probably not play in the NCL casino very much when onboard an NCL ship. 

You will likely get MUCH better comps with RCCL if your losses are similar to your last cruises. Let's hope they aren't 😜 I used a comp through the MyVegas games to sail RCCL for the first time last November. I had less than 3-4k it playthrough with about 1k overall loss and they send me at least one offer email a week for free interior rooms. Its specific sailings likely due to low occ. but the dates are about 5-6 months out so it gives you an OK amount of time to plan something. Departures are generally Florida heavy, but recently I have seen a few Galveston, LA, NYC/NJ and even Boston departures. besides the comps. I also get $100 off any sailing emails through the casino, but so far I have been able to make one of the comp dates work so i have never asked if I could get more than that.

[aubreyc1988]

47 minutes ago, 603NHCruiser said:

You will likely get MUCH better comps with RCCL if your losses are similar to your last cruises. Let's hope they aren't 😜 I used a comp through the MyVegas games to sail RCCL for the first time last November. I had less than 3-4k it playthrough with about 1k overall loss and they send me at least one offer email a week for free interior rooms. Its specific sailings likely due to low occ. but the dates are about 5-6 months out so it gives you an OK amount of time to plan something. Departures are generally Florida heavy, but recently I have seen a few Galveston, LA, NYC/NJ and even Boston departures. besides the comps. I also get $100 off any sailing emails through the casino, but so far I have been able to make one of the comp dates work so i have never asked if I could get more than that.

I hope I get much better comps too...I am making a solid casino effort on the Liberty in Sept so I will report back on how the comp offers differ from NCL. 

[Cruising Lynne]

8 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I hope I get much better comps too...I am making a solid casino effort on the Liberty in Sept so I will report back on how the comp offers differ from NCL. 

Please report back on how the comps differ. I do not spend enough on board to qualify for a cruise, but I get them from my land based casino by spending less money than you did in the NCL casino. Maybe you can find a land casino that rewards you with a cruise?  I get them from Twin River Casino in Rhode Island which recently became a Bally's casino. When they became Bally's I received a voucher for a Princess cruise, but I could not use it at the time. I was worried this meant I would not still receive the voucher for an NCL cruise. I really like Freestyle dining, the drink package, and general vibe on NCL. I was relieved when I did get my voucher for NCL  There is an administrative fee, but it is still a good deal. 

[aubreyc1988]

3 hours ago, Cruising Lynne said:

Please report back on how the comps differ. I do not spend enough on board to qualify for a cruise, but I get them from my land based casino by spending less money than you did in the NCL casino. Maybe you can find a land casino that rewards you with a cruise?  I get them from Twin River Casino in Rhode Island which recently became a Bally's casino. When they became Bally's I received a voucher for a Princess cruise, but I could not use it at the time. I was worried this meant I would not still receive the voucher for an NCL cruise. I really like Freestyle dining, the drink package, and general vibe on NCL. I was relieved when I did get my voucher for NCL  There is an administrative fee, but it is still a good deal. 

I live in Dallas area, so I normally go to Choctaw Durant or Winstar in OK. I have never gotten a mailer from them but I've also never spent thousands there in a single visit so maybe that is why.  I do go to Vegas a couple of times a year, but I prefer to stay at MGM properties over Caesars so can't comment on what CET gives in terms of NCL mailers.

 

I don't mind the admin fee, as it does give you free drinks in the casino, but I think the threshold for earning a free cruise on NCL is too high.  Whenever I go to Vegas, I usually look at what my room WOULD have cost if I'd not been comped and I times that by 2 and that is my daily budget for that specific property. I've always received comps afterward so I am surprised this doesn't seem to be the case with cruising. 

 

I too like the vibe of NCL better. It has been a few years since I have been on Royal and whenever I last sailed on Royal, I wasn't a degenerate gambler like I am now 😉 If Royal gives me decent comp offers, it will be hard to ignore them and sail with NCL where I have to pay my way, but we shall see. 

[phillygwm]

On 7/20/2022 at 12:16 PM, aubreyc1988 said:

I'm going on RCI for the first time in about 4-5 years and I am curious to see what their program offers me after that cruise. I probably lost...4-5k on my last 2 NCL cruises, just total dumpster fires, and when I called to see about future cruise comp, they said "20% off"...like seriously a slap in the face. 

Wow...it was always explained to me by CAS staff that you're rated on two criteria:  Actual loss and "imputed loss", that is, how long you're sitting at a machine/table multiplied by your average bet. 

 

My problem, prior to the Bliss, was that I really couldn't stand playing in the smoky casino for long lengths of time.  When I won, perhaps I got an inside cabin but I could upgrade it but more importantly, as a solo, my supplement was always waived.

 

Since I'm almost Sapphire, I'd really hate to start over elsewhere if NCL is getting tight with room comps but if that's what it comes to.....

[midgetcoach]

Alaska cruise 07/11/2022 My wife and I have cruised 7 times this year (2022) alone with more booked. This was by far a great cruise and the ship and crew were great. But stay away from the casino if you are a slots player. All our past cruises including this one have been comped for our play. We have played on multiple ships from all the major cruise lines. The casino on the Jewel is average size for this class of ship and the staff and dealers were great. However the slots payed nothing. By our third session it was evident they were not paying at all. Over the course of the cruise we did not see or talk with anyone who had any extended play or won any sessions at all. The slot machines are set so low that you just dump money into them. By the third day we reduced our buy-in by sixty percent and by the end of the week we quit playing altogether. THIS IS THE WORST PAYING CASINO WE HAVE EVER PLAYED ON A CRUISE SHIP !!!

[midgetcoach]

On 7/23/2022 at 8:03 AM, phillygwm said:

I probably lost...4-5k on my last 2 NCL cruises, just total dumpster fires, and when I called to see about future cruise comp, they said "20% off"...like seriously a slap in the face. 

Yes you are right. For that amount of play you should be getting a free balcony with other extras.

Remember its the slots that give you the most comp. Its the slots that pay comp points.

[aubreyc1988]

39 minutes ago, midgetcoach said:

Yes you are right. For that amount of play you should be getting a free balcony with other extras.

Remember its the slots that give you the most comp. Its the slots that pay comp points.

yep I solely play slots. Just cannot understand how all I got offered a few weeks ago was 20% off, laughable. 

[JGmf]

1 hour ago, midgetcoach said:

I probably lost...4-5k on my last 2 NCL cruises, just total dumpster fires, and when I called to see about future cruise comp, they said "20% off"...like seriously a slap in the face. 

 

Similar story.  Same losses here (and then some) with days and hours at the machines and tables at two cruises 4 months apart.  I had fun, but best comp available was inside cabin.  Better than nothing, but nonetheless disappointing to gamblers used to getting WAYYY better comps from land-based casinos. 

 

Of course, NCL fills rooms and drives revenue to the company based on their complicated algorithms, which seemingly don't need to better entice gamblers.  Too bad. 

 

I'm looking forward to aubreyc1988's reporting back on RCL. 

[phillygwm]

On 7/23/2022 at 1:18 AM, aubreyc1988 said:

I've always received comps afterward so I am surprised this doesn't seem to be the case with cruising. 

 

I was always an MGM person and could easily get a room at any of their Vegas properties.  Then I went to a local Harrah's casino -- once -- and wound up with a host who gave me Diamond status.  Now I know it must seem that I'm a high roller but that isn't really the case so I can't understand how I got that.  I think that day I lost $1000-1500.  I've never had more than second level status anywhere because I'm not going every weekend.    So now I'm getting emails from all the Caesars properties.

 

For NCL, not all cruises are created equal.  I remember having a tough time getting anything for my Med cruise 5-6 years ago.  But I got a Club Balcony for Mex Riviera last year.  Obviously, greater demand in 2016 versus 2021 accounts for most of that.  Perhaps with everyone coming out of their bunkers, there are more "paying" customers and thus fewer comps are available?  Just a guess...but I'd think that would impact all cruise lines similarly.

[BirdTravels]

On 7/20/2022 at 12:16 PM, aubreyc1988 said:

I'm going on RCI for the first time in about 4-5 years and I am curious to see what their program offers me after that cruise. I probably lost...4-5k on my last 2 NCL cruises, just total dumpster fires, and when I called to see about future cruise comp, they said "20% off"...like seriously a slap in the face. I love NCL, but if RCI gives me free cruises for the same amount of my play, I will probably not play in the NCL casino very much when onboard an NCL ship. 

RCI seems to be kinda random. Some lower tier Prime members (2500 points = $12.5K in slot play) get a lot of offers. Some only a few.  

 

Once you sail, you can track your offers at https://www.clubroyaleoffers.com/. Offers have a very short booking period. 

 

Until you get up in higher RCI tiers, they kinda restrict you to their offers versus NCL which just compute your theoreticals and apply to cruises you select (e.g., more discounts on a cheapy caribbean cruise than a high-priced alaska cruise).  

[aubreyc1988]

1 hour ago, JGmf said:

 

Similar story.  Same losses here (and then some) with days and hours at the machines and tables at two cruises 4 months apart.  I had fun, but best comp available was inside cabin.  Better than nothing, but nonetheless disappointing to gamblers used to getting WAYYY better comps from land-based casinos. 

 

Of course, NCL fills rooms and drives revenue to the company based on their complicated algorithms, which seemingly don't need to better entice gamblers.  Too bad. 

 

I'm looking forward to aubreyc1988's reporting back on RCL. 

 

From what I have read on various sources on the internet, RCI is more point based vs theo based. 

 

So my plan is, on Day 1 and 2 I am going to stalk the casino for some low volatility, point churning slots. Play those primarily, even if I don't win, gotta get some points...and once I get to 2,500, I'll switch to my usual volatile fav games like Buffalo (lol) and let my husband play tables. 

[aubreyc1988]

3 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

RCI seems to be kinda random. Some lower tier Prime members (2500 points = $12.5K in slot play) get a lot of offers. Some only a few.  

 

Once you sail, you can track your offers at https://www.clubroyaleoffers.com/. Offers have a very short booking period. 

 

Until you get up in higher RCI tiers, they kinda restrict you to their offers versus NCL which just compute your theoreticals and apply to cruises you select (e.g., more discounts on a cheapy caribbean cruise than a high-priced alaska cruise).  

 

I'm also hoping to get some october last minute offers...my best friend wants to do a last minute girls cruise and I've convinced her to wait until I go on Liberty OTS on Sept 4th to see if I can get a comped one. 

[BirdTravels]

5 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

 

I'm also hoping to get some october last minute offers...my best friend wants to do a last minute girls cruise and I've convinced her to wait until I go on Liberty OTS on Sept 4th to see if I can get a comped one. 

Based on play, there are guaranteed comped room certificates (you can look at the points requirements at the host desk) you get on the cruise. For casual players, it is an inside room on specific sailings that can be upgraded. Normally, the offers that come in the mail are better (ocean view, balcony, junior suite). 

[GMCOLT]

I cruised 10 day on Gem this spring. Played both tables and slots every day but one. The most I have spent (Have played CAS since 2012). Always got comps previously.

Like many here, offered 20% on a cruise. Supposedly mailed me free offees that I never received.

Cruised nearly every year with NCL since 1997. Taking a break for a while.

[BamaCruiser39]

1 hour ago, GMCOLT said:

I cruised 10 day on Gem this spring. Played both tables and slots every day but one. The most I have spent (Have played CAS since 2012). Always got comps previously.

Like many here, offered 20% on a cruise. Supposedly mailed me free offees that I never received.

Cruised nearly every year with NCL since 1997. Taking a break for a while.

Sounds about right for CAS and seems to be an increasingly common theme.

 

Hate that they drove you away from NCL too.

[Sand and Seas]

6 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

yep I solely play slots. Just cannot understand how all I got offered a few weeks ago was 20% off, laughable. 

Did you try calling to talk with another CAS agent?

I had a 'rookie' agent a few months ago that said they could give me an Ocean View.  I called back that afternoon and was offered a Club Balcony.    

 

I hate to hear that they are just offering you a 20%.....just doesn't seem right😒