Casino slots

[threebluestars]

A newbie question - if I wanted to play slots, how do I do it? I'm assuming room key instead of cash? Does it just come out of your OBC? Or do you need to set up something special?

 

I don't usually spend a lot, but I'd like to play a little, and all I've found on the HA site is a place to purchase casino chips, which I don't (think) I need for slots.

 

 

[mcrcruiser]

3 minutes ago, threebluestars said:

A newbie question - if I wanted to play slots, how do I do it? I'm assuming room key instead of cash? Does it just come out of your OBC? Or do you need to set up something special?

 

I don't usually spend a lot, but I'd like to play a little, and all I've found on the HA site is a place to purchase casino chips, which I don't (think) I need for slots.

 

 

Yes you will use your room key .

 

 FWIW cruise ship slots are notoriously tight  .Perhaps the first day you have ca chance of wining . I never play slots any where . I have traveled over 30 years on business in Las Vegas  .The only games I would think of plating are Craps & Backarat .The rest are house games  .Thus ,on a cruise ship the Crap table is best game . now if you are wanting to entertain your self for a $ 5 05 $10 play on the slots --go for it & have fun 

[threebluestars]

Yeah, it's just for fun. I usually pop 20 bucks in and that's that lol.

 

I assume it comes out of OBC, then? I'm debating how much to buy pre-cruise, and wasn't sure I had to factor in slots or not.

[School library lady]

I put $20 cash in to start. Machines will take cash. If you win, and I won enough the first night to play the rest of our seven day cruise, you can put the money on your card and then access from your card later. 

[ChinaShrek]

1 hour ago, threebluestars said:

Yeah, it's just for fun. I usually pop 20 bucks in and that's that lol.

 

I assume it comes out of OBC, then? I'm debating how much to buy pre-cruise, and wasn't sure I had to factor in slots or not.

 

You can charge various amounts to your ship account or you can pay cash.  I have spent thousands of dollars on slots and usually charge $100 to the room at a pop.  The amount comes out of OBC

Edited August 25, 2019 by ChinaShrek

[DaveOKC]

You can use cash or charge to your cabin to play.  To remove credits at the end, you have to move them to your "bank" and then cash out at the cashier at some point during your cruise.  These credits DO NOT go to your onboard account or credit card.  You MUST get the cash from the cashier on the final evening, or else you will forefit it.

 

 

[*Miss G*]

• Choose your machine and put your ship card in the slot.
• For the initial setup you will create an account following the prompts on the machine.  If I remember correctly you need to enter your birthdate and choose a 4-digit pin.
• Then you can choose the amount you would like to charge against your account.
• “Cash out” each time you leave a machine. 
• When you put your card in a new machine you will be prompted to transfer money from your “bank” to the machine.  It will ask you for your pin to do so.
• As @DaveOKC mentions you will need to visit the cashier no later than the last night in order to obtain any cash you have remaining in your “bank”.  You cannot send someone else and it has to be in person.

Have a great cruise!

[threebluestars]

Thank you all so much for the help!

 

One last question - (I'm on the Nieuw Amsterdam) - if I wanted to use cash, I assume that I'd put the room card in, then the cash into the machine and it would go in the "bank" to use for casino slots only?

Edited August 25, 2019 by threebluestars

[DaveOKC]

34 minutes ago, threebluestars said:

Thank you all so much for the help!

 

One last question - (I'm on the Nieuw Amsterdam) - if I wanted to use cash, I assume that I'd put the room card in, then the cash into the machine and it would go in the "bank" to use for casino slots only?

Not quite.  The cash goes into the machine game that you are playing.  When you ar done, any remaining cash/credit then goes to your "bank" (you do have to transfer it yourself).

 

Even if you are playing cash, be sure to first setup your account and definately put your cabin card in the machine, as that way you will accumulate "points" which can lead to bonus credits and posiibly generate casino offers for future cruises (they are pretty generous with this).  We are not big gamblers, but still get a 10-15% discount on most of our cruises (I have several relatives who get free cruises!).

[semibeater]

On 8/25/2019 at 11:24 AM, DaveOKC said:

You can use cash or charge to your cabin to play.  To remove credits at the end, you have to move them to your "bank" and then cash out at the cashier at some point during your cruise.  These credits DO NOT go to your onboard account or credit card.  You MUST get the cash from the cashier on the final evening, or else you will forefit it.

 

 

Maybe or maybe not.  My wife  left $70 in the casino account by mistake and Carnival sent us a check for that amount. However, we are frequent "good" customers.

[*Miss G*]

On 8/25/2019 at 12:11 PM, threebluestars said:

Thank you all so much for the help!

 

One last question - (I'm on the Nieuw Amsterdam) - if I wanted to use cash, I assume that I'd put the room card in, then the cash into the machine and it would go in the "bank" to use for casino slots only?

 

Just in case you were concerned that putting a casino charge against your account results in the cash advance rate on your credit card... it doesn’t.  All your credit card sees is one giant (or not) Holland America bill.

[marianoam]

Hi, does this still work? How can I test it without risks?

 

If HAL is banning this practice, I'm worried I could end with OBC wasted if I put a slot charge against (non refundable) OBC, then cash out, but in debarkation day they refuse to compensate OBC with the casino charge and they make me pay for it (for which I would use the cash I obtained from the cashier, but I would end with unused and wasted OBC).

[Billthekid]

We live in Vegas and will not under any circumstance play slots in the ship's casino mainly due to the lack of a regulatory body supervising the casino.  Playing the slots is consider an entertainment expense with an emphasis on expense.  But some entertainment is really enjoyable and potentially an opportunity to really have some fun.  Odds are you will not pay off your mortgage. 

[MISTER 67]

What I have found out down through the years is that HAL slots are not as tight as RCCL and Celebrity, especially RCCL. My wife did quite well one year on the old Noordam hitting for 400 bucks on that cruise and about 4 months later on the Volendam winning 300 bucks. I've also done pretty well on HAL ships.

MSC has the loosest slots on the high seas, have done quite well in 5 cruises with them.

Slots for us are just a fun part of the cruise, if I want to try to win some real money, I head to the Blackjack tables.

Edited November 22, 2019 by MISTER 67

[DaveOKC]

11 minutes ago, Billthekid said:

We live in Vegas and will not under any circumstance play slots in the ship's casino mainly due to the lack of a regulatory body supervising the casino.  Playing the slots is consider an entertainment expense with an emphasis on expense.  But some entertainment is really enjoyable and potentially an opportunity to really have some fun.  Odds are you will not pay off your mortgage.

No doubt that slots on ships are tighter than almost anywhere else and most times it is a losing deal.  I am a math/odds gambler and only play when the casino edge is very low (like 9/6 video poker, full pay BJ, and craps).  In my younger days (many moons ago) I used to be a decent card counter (until multidecks came along).

 

Having said that, I need to report that casino slot playing has been a good deal for us!  First, only my DW plays, so our casino budget is all on her card.  She plays low limit penny slots, so she gets to play longer on her $20 per day limit.  Now, she has won $200-800 on a few cruises, which usually results in a profitable trip.  PLUS - and I know that this is very hard to believe and trust me I cannot believe it myself - we qualify for the Casino Rate with our bookings (normally 10-20% discount on the base fare).  Since we usually spend $300 to $600 per day on our cabin, we get a discount of $30-$60 per day!  

 

I know that this sounds odd, but trust me it is true.  Now sooner or later HAL will address this with us I am sure, but for now, it works for us. 

 

We used to do this in Vegas, go every 2 months, stay at premium properties (Caesars, Planet Hollywood, Paris, etc.) for free (no taxes or fees either) and get lots of free food, drinks and shows, while playing 9/6 Video Poker.  We generally lost very little (under $200 each and sometimes came home ahead).  Of course this only worked since we played "full pay" VP.  Once the casinos tightened up on the payout schedules, increased food prices, and started charging for things like resort fees and parking, we quit going there - the run was over.

 

So, slots are SOMETIMES not as bad as you might think.

[TAD2005]

If you only have HAL provided (non-refundable) OBC, when you put your cabin key-card into the machine and setup your "bank", any funds you load into the machine will be charged to your cabin account and will be paid by whatever credit card you have linked to your cabin.   HAL no longer allows you to use HAL provided OBC in the casino.   

However, if you you load cash into the machine, any winnings will go into your "bank".  But any winnings must be claimed at the casino cage in person.

We never play the slots, but we do play video poker, where the player actually has some control over the outcome.  We have hit $800, $450, and $1200 payouts on video poker on HAL ships.

[BarbinMich]

On 8/24/2019 at 8:16 PM, mcrcruiser said:

. . .

 FWIW cruise ship slots are notoriously tight  .Perhaps the first day you have ca chance of wining . I never play slots any where . . .go for it & have fun 

I got lucky with the slots a few years ago on a TA on the Zuiderdam.  Lot of sea days so lots of time to spend in the casino, esp. since I was doing well <g> and not many others were in there.  Ended up with a net "haul" of almost $100, but hardly makes up for all I've "lost" on our many prior cruises.  I budget for my "hobby" and quit when I reach that limit.

[VTcruisenut]

This topic always amazes me as it is truly  "to each their own"  I put it right up there with the topics of whether or not to buy the drink package.  There are gambler and non-gamblers just as there are drinkers and non-drinkers.  I have a gambling budget every cruise.  DH does not like the casino.  The last time I had $100 for the week, we were on a tight budget, no excursions, no extra's etc for our cruise just a relaxing low budget trip.  I visited the casino and ended up winning enough so that we had excursions in every port, drinks, gifts, photos, you name it.  End of cruise we owed nothing, not even gratuities. When I won I would go down to the desk and apply my winnings to our on-board account.  After that, I got an offer the next year to cruise for $99 plus port and taxes.  My girl friend and I went.  Again, I did well in the casino.  This year I got an offer for a free inside cabin, just pay port fees and taxes.  My DH doesn't want to go, so it will be a girl's trip!  It's not about how much you spend, but the time you spend in the casino and of course, spending some of what you win.  I could spend that $$ on alcohol, or the spa, but that isn't my choice.  to each their own!

[DaveOKC]

7 hours ago, VTcruisenut said:

This topic always amazes me as it is truly  "to each their own"  I put it right up there with the topics of whether or not to buy the drink package.  There are gambler and non-gamblers just as there are drinkers and non-drinkers.  I have a gambling budget every cruise.  DH does not like the casino.  The last time I had $100 for the week, we were on a tight budget, no excursions, no extra's etc for our cruise just a relaxing low budget trip.  I visited the casino and ended up winning enough so that we had excursions in every port, drinks, gifts, photos, you name it.  End of cruise we owed nothing, not even gratuities. When I won I would go down to the desk and apply my winnings to our on-board account.  After that, I got an offer the next year to cruise for $99 plus port and taxes.  My girl friend and I went.  Again, I did well in the casino.  This year I got an offer for a free inside cabin, just pay port fees and taxes.  My DH doesn't want to go, so it will be a girl's trip!  It's not about how much you spend, but the time you spend in the casino and of course, spending some of what you win.  I could spend that $$ on alcohol, or the spa, but that isn't my choice.  to each their own!

Glad you did so well!  As you found out, getting casino offers and discounts is not about how much you won or lost, but rather how much you put though the machine (play as they call it).  It works much the same in Vegas or about any other casino area.  As I mentioned before, we get more back in casino discounts than we lose, and we do not even qualify for the free cruises like you (and many others) are offered.

 

As you said - to each his own!