Ruby Princess 2/18 Questions

[WhiskeyAndCards]

So I've been lurking on these boards for quite some time and now I've finally decided to make my first topic since I have an upcoming cruise in the very near future and I have some unanswered questions. First off I am a gambler so a good amount of time is going to be spent in the casino and when I'm gambling I like to drink. When I sailed with Carnival the past two cruises I earned free drinks in the casino for the duration of the cruise just off the first few hours of play, does Princess offer free drinks in the casino based on play? Also, How likely will Floormen or Pit Bosses oblige my requests to reserve tables or open tables for certain games? Last question about the casino, is it fully non-smoking with the exception of the cigar room? Lastly, the ship is staying overnight in Cabo on 2/20 and I'd like to know if the tenders run all night, can I board the ship at any time? That's it for now, thanks in advance for all the help and we'll see you on the high seas.

 

[-Lew-]

You may receive some replies on this Princess board, but I suggest you also post on the Roll Call for this cruise here...

[seattleslew]

Hi and welcome to CC.  No, drinks are not at all forthcoming.  This is my experience over many, many cruises:  If you absolutely park your butt on a stool at a table game and pretty much stay there for hours every day, you may on Day 3 or 4 be friendly enough with the pit boss that you could suggest that you want a drink;  sometimes the dealer will call him/her over for you. Otherwise, PCL policy doesn't seem to provide drinks.  In fact, servers are relatively rare and will probably need to be paged over to serve you (with that weird kiss sound they make).  I've always thought PCL is really dropping the ball in this area.  2.  I highly doubt the boss will reserve or open a table for you due to staffing considerations (never seen it done). They don't seem to care, IMO.  3. Smoking is a huge issue in the slot area;  not so much in the pit.  The worst part is the smoking at the slots at the entrance --- you'll be met by a huge blue cloud.  Smoke-free nights are advertised in the Patter in small print - mainly formal nights. 4. Not sure about Cabo but I think the tenders have a last run and then begin again in the morning.  Another thing about the casino:  you'll need to present your cruise card every single time, even if you just move one table away.  You'll sit down and say "Room Charge (or CRC for those in the know) $300 (or whatever) and slide your card to them.  Oh, and in our experience, we have NEVER seen a hot craps table on PCL.  I almost never play anymore because of that.   It is very very weird!  But what I do enjoy is all the dealers (not PCL employees) are cross-trained in all games, inc craps.  If you're friendly to them, they are right back to you, but they rarely smile!

 

 

[Colo Cruiser]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Here is a link to the roll call for your cruise. 

It look huge at 27 pages long!

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2431103-february-18-2019~10-day-mexican-riviera/

[WhiskeyAndCards]

6 hours ago, seattleslew said:

Hi and welcome to CC.  No, drinks are not at all forthcoming.  This is my experience over many, many cruises:  If you absolutely park your butt on a stool at a table game and pretty much stay there for hours every day, you may on Day 3 or 4 be friendly enough with the pit boss that you could suggest that you want a drink;  sometimes the dealer will call him/her over for you. Otherwise, PCL policy doesn't seem to provide drinks.  In fact, servers are relatively rare and will probably need to be paged over to serve you (with that weird kiss sound they make).  I've always thought PCL is really dropping the ball in this area.  2.  I highly doubt the boss will reserve or open a table for you due to staffing considerations (never seen it done). They don't seem to care, IMO.  3. Smoking is a huge issue in the slot area;  not so much in the pit.  The worst part is the smoking at the slots at the entrance --- you'll be met by a huge blue cloud.  Smoke-free nights are advertised in the Patter in small print - mainly formal nights. 4. Not sure about Cabo but I think the tenders have a last run and then begin again in the morning.  Another thing about the casino:  you'll need to present your cruise card every single time, even if you just move one table away.  You'll sit down and say "Room Charge (or CRC for those in the know) $300 (or whatever) and slide your card to them.  Oh, and in our experience, we have NEVER seen a hot craps table on PCL.  I almost never play anymore because of that.   It is very very weird!  But what I do enjoy is all the dealers (not PCL employees) are cross-trained in all games, inc craps.  If you're friendly to them, they are right back to you, but they rarely smile!

 

 

Thanks for all the info. If there isn't many other incentives for Princess casino players It'll definitely be a deciding factor for future cruises. I'll let you know how it goes.

[caribill]

3 hours ago, WhiskeyAndCards said:

Thanks for all the info. If there isn't many other incentives for Princess casino players It'll definitely be a deciding factor for future cruises. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Sometimes players will get offers for highly discounted or even free cruises in the future. Sometimes these offers come with some free $$$ to wager.

 

It is difficult to know what causes these offers to get made. Sometimes they go to  people who are frequent players and sometimes mysteriously to someone who only went to the casino one time and did not wager much.

[Mike45LC]

I find the casino host to be pretty generous with offers of free drinks in the casino.  Then, on my last cruise, we were given some kind of card on a lanyard for free drinks in the casino while playing.  

As to reserving tables or opening tables upon request:  No, I don't think that happens.  

 

As to craps, I have seen a few good hands, 20+ rolls.  But they are even less common on board than on land.

 

[WhiskeyAndCards]

On 2/10/2019 at 12:20 AM, caribill said:

 

Sometimes players will get offers for highly discounted or even free cruises in the future. Sometimes these offers come with some free $$$ to wager.

 

It is difficult to know what causes these offers to get made. Sometimes they go to  people who are frequent players and sometimes mysteriously to someone who only went to the casino one time and did not wager much.

I have received generous offers from Carnival and I ignored them mainly because of the food and atmosphere on Carnival, however the latest offer I received for $1500 in FreePlay and discounted room rates is almost too good to pass up.

3 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I find the casino host to be pretty generous with offers of free drinks in the casino.  Then, on my last cruise, we were given some kind of card on a lanyard for free drinks in the casino while playing.  

As to reserving tables or opening tables upon request:  No, I don't think that happens.  

 

As to craps, I have seen a few good hands, 20+ rolls.  But they are even less common on board than on land.

 

Sounds similar to the way Carnival does it. I'll make sure to introduce myself to the casino hosts as soon as I get on.

[reedprincess]

Cabo:  tenders rub all night. They run pretty continuously till about midnight, then they run every half hour till 7am, when they become more frequent again.. We had no problems getting tenders to land late at night or back to the ship early morning.

 

There is smoking allowed in the casino every night except formal night. Mainly at one portion of the slots, and not at the tables themselves - but I've rarely seen it enforced.  YMMV 

Have been comped on drinks many a time. Rarely matters as we have the Beverage package but it's a nice gesture.  Craps, hit or miss. Have had some outstanding cruises and some where it didn't matter who rolled or what - no one wss winning.  That's why you play, every time is different. 

Good luck.

[memoak]

On princess if you play a lot you will get some free drinks but not all the time. You may also get gifts sent to the room (Boxes of candy etc.)  Mostly you get benefits on future cruises.  My wife and I played pretty much every night on a 20 day cruise late last year and we will set sail on a short discounted 4 day cruise with a total of $1,450 in "free play" money between us.  Smoking is  not allowed at table games and 1/2 of the slot are is smoking and 1/2 is non smoking

[bemis12]

On 2/9/2019 at 3:53 PM, seattleslew said:

.  Oh, and in our experience, we have NEVER seen a hot craps table on PCL.  I almost never play anymore because of that.   It is very very weird! 

 

 

Do their dice have more than 6 sides?  That's about the only way to change whether a craps table becomes "hot" or not.

Edited February 11, 2019 by bemis12

[Mike45LC]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

On princess if you play a lot you will get some free drinks but not all the time. You may also get gifts sent to the room (Boxes of candy etc.)  Mostly you get benefits on future cruises.  My wife and I played pretty much every night on a 20 day cruise late last year and we will set sail on a short discounted 4 day cruise with a total of $1,450 in "free play" money between us.  Smoking is  not allowed at table games and 1/2 of the slot are is smoking and 1/2 is non smoking

Memoak, thanks for this, I completely forgot to mention all the gifts from the Casino -- choco-covered strawberries, bottle of champagne, etc.