Casino Rate - What is it and what are the pros and cons if you qualify?

[suzyed]

On 4/20/2020 at 5:33 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Did you have to do some significant gambling on your previous cruise in order to get the email offers? My guess is these discounted offers are probably associated with cruises usually 7 days or less in an inside or window cabin. In other words, you probably wouldn't see Princess offer Casino Rate discounts on mini-suites on 14+ day cruises.

Don't think that is true.  I have friends who get the casino rate every so often, the last was on a 32 day cruise in an oceanview cabin. 

 

Edited April 25, 2020 by suzyed

[frankdp]

11 hours ago, gerig said:

Waas your offer for a mini suite, balcony or oceanview?

The offer was for an ocean view.

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, suzyed said:

Don't think that is true.  I have friends who get the casino rate every so often, the last was on a 32 day cruise in an oceanview cabin. 

 

I agree. From the many posts on this thread, the cruise length and costs are all negotiable if you like to gamble when you're on a cruise.

[gerig]

20 minutes ago, frankdp said:

The offer was for an ocean view.

Wow you got a great deal.  I reserved the Caribbean Princess for January and as I said I am waiting for a call back for the upgrade.  I had to pay port charges and taxes plus $100 per person which is applied as a credit so my invoice was $500.  Just thinking I bet the $200 I paid will hopefully go toward an upgrade.  I hope I can get a minisuite for $200.

 

[WonderMan3]

My husband and I haven't been on a Princess cruise since 2011 but receive offers semi- regularly from the casino department. They range from % off to free inside, oceanview or balcony with varying included perks and free play. They are always on a specific sailing or an array of specific dates. (We got one free mini-suite offer back in February after the Diamond Princess debacle). We finally booked one that came a few months ago as they've been getting better over the past year for whatever reason. The offer was a free balcony cabin with the drinks, wifi and grats included plus VIP casino events (TBD once we get onboard - the casino reservations dept. said they never know the specifics of what the onboard VIP elements are as they vary from cruise to cruise). I don't think there was free play included and I've lost the flyer so can't verify. We chose a 10 night Caribbean December sailing on Sky Princess (there was an array of specific cruises to choose from in various regions) and upgraded to an Owner's Suite. Managed to snag one of the corner aft suites with the massive balcony on Dolphin Deck. Cost us $4510 total including $310 in taxes and fees; $200 of it comes back to us as onboard credit. Could've gotten it much cheaper in a mini-suite but there were none available in Club Class and we wanted to experience that as it was not offered when we cruised with Princess last time. We are used to Suite Class on Celebrity for the past 7 years so liked the layout of this cabin. Will miss the butler though.

[Annmarie58]

So how can you book airfare if they aren't  fully booking?

[frankdp]

2 hours ago, gerig said:

Wow you got a great deal.  I reserved the Caribbean Princess for January and as I said I am waiting for a call back for the upgrade.  I had to pay port charges and taxes plus $100 per person which is applied as a credit so my invoice was $500.  Just thinking I bet the $200 I paid will hopefully go toward an upgrade.  I hope I can get a minisuite for $200.

 

Full disclosure, I had 600 FCC from a cruise on Caribbean Princess this past Feb.  The cruise was shortened 1 day due to norovirus.

[c-boy]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I agree. From the many posts on this thread, the cruise length and costs are all negotiable if you like to gamble when you're on a cruise.

ya I'm perplexed at the number of offerings. In the past a quest (s) would to have a history of visiting the casino to get an offer. The times they are a changin'. 

[flyboy88]

On April 23, 2020 I received the offer of complimentary Oceanview Room + $500 Casino Cash + Princess Plus (gratuities, drink package, wifi).  
 

I called the Casino department on April 24th as soon as they opened at 10EST; I got through within 10 minutes.  The agent knew of the promotion, however said it has “yet to be pushed down” and that there  usually is a delay between when the offers are emailed and bookable in the system. Knowing the promotion was going to be popular I asked if there was able to put a note on my file I had called first thing or if they could do a call back. Neither was an option, and I was advised to just try back every hour. 
 

I called again about an hour later, and was on hold for 3.5hours. When I got to the agent, the offer was in the system (for the most part) and the whole process took about 30 minutes.  He had said their phone lines are busy, but I was still in the ‘first bunch to call in’ so any of the applicable voyages are available to book. 
 

I chose the March 13th, 2021 Western Caribbean on the Enchanted Princess. Our offer was for an Oceanview, he had to put me on hold to confirm with another department if it could be honoured. Apparently on the Royal ships that do offer Oceanviews (Sky and Emerald only has 4 Oceanview cabins each and they are considered ‘Premium’) they are exceptions to comp’ed offers and only insides are offered.  When he came back, he advised me I was lucky as this offer had no fine print excluding the premium Oceanview category that exists on some Royal class ships. 
 

We proceeded with the booking, and when he went to assign me a cabin he was unable to. The only Oceanview cabin available was an accessible cabin that they cannot assign (which makes sense). My options were; accept an Inside room, pay for an upgrade to a balcony, or select a different sailing with Oceanview availability.

We lucked out, as there was a few ‘obstructed Balcony (BW)’ cabin available to upgrade into for only $35USD each. If we wanted an unobstructed balcony the upgrade fee would have been $200USD each. The benefit of the cabin we selected it that is has a larger balcony, and isn’t really obstructed, looking straight out it’s clear view. The obstruction is the lifeboats if you look to the back of the ship, but that doesn’t bother us as we sit and look straight out. 
 

All the perks were added and visible on my personalizer, including the $100USD OBC/ each from the $100 deposit we had to put down.  

The Casino cash isn’t appearing yet, but the agent advised that the system was glitching and not automatically applying that to the bookings. The agents were compiling a list as they make bookings to ensure the casino cash is added within a few days.  

Also, there shows a balance owning that reflects the full amount for the cost of the cruise minus what I paid.  The agent said to disregard that amount as the Casino department settles that amount on their end also within a couple days. 
 

I’m grateful for this valuable offer and giving myself something positive to look forward to amid all currently happening in the world.  Previously to this offer I was only offered up to 35% off my cruise and casino cash, so an offer like this was appreciated.  
 

[suekel]

2 hours ago, Annmarie58 said:

So how can you book airfare if they aren't  fully booking?

I haven't been able to so I sent them an email yesterday.  No response yet

[triple7tahoe]

Just for a distraction-Has anybody tried to book more than one cruise using this promotion? I see B2B on the Caribbean Princess and wonder if I could get both and save on airfare?  BTW I sent an email, as suggested, last night and have not heard from Princess as of Saturday afternoon. I wonder if there will be any of the "limited" number cabins available when I do hear?

[flyboy88]

24 minutes ago, triple7tahoe said:

Just for a distraction-Has anybody tried to book more than one cruise using this promotion?

I was actually thought about this today.  Nothing in the fine print states either way. When you hear back about your B2B I’d be really interested to know the answer. 
I would consider doing something similar. 

[senior lady]

I called at 8am Pacific time this morning and only had to wait 45 min.   We didn't upgrade, as I could get a sideways inside on the Royal to Mexico in January /21.   I can handle a inside for 7 days.

Total cost was $173 cad pp with all the perks...... hard to not book!!!  Couldn't book Eziar yet as there aren't any planes flying from Vancouver to US yet.  So that will have to wait.

[Alabaster Cruiser]

My husband and I both received the offer.  Does anyone know if we would both get the freeplay.  We do both get play on Carnival but not sure about Princess.  Thanks

[Cuedon]

8 hours ago, c-boy said:

ya I'm perplexed at the number of offerings. In the past a quest (s) would to have a history of visiting the casino to get an offer. The times they are a changin'. 

 

I think it's because people are using inconsistent terms for the offers, relative to traditional casino terminology... even the Princess casino staff don't use standard land-based casino terms consistently which further adds to confusion.

[triple7tahoe]

I received an email this afternoon thanking me for responding to them using their suggested email system. Today's email thanks me for doing so and tells me that my email will be answered in the order it was received. It also tells me that there is no need to resend the email as they are working as fast as possible.  Really beginning to wonder if I should call before all cabins are spoken for ?

[WonderMan3]

36 minutes ago, Alabaster Cruiser said:

My husband and I both received the offer.  Does anyone know if we would both get the freeplay.  We do both get play on Carnival but not sure about Princess.  Thanks

 

I'm pretty sure it will only be one amount of free play as you are booking through one of your offers, not both. I asked about combining offers when I booked mine. I had received a free oceanview and my husband had received a free balcony and I wanted to see if we could combine them to get a higher category cabin (MSC does this). I was told no that you can't do that, so we just booked the free balcony offer.

[suzyed]

Can anyone tell me how many "points" You need to get a casino deals.  I only play slots but I had what seemed like a lot of points last time on the Coral.
Thanks.

[Cuedon]

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

Can anyone tell me how many "points" You need to get a casino deals.  I only play slots but I had what seemed like a lot of points last time on the Coral.
Thanks.

 

It really depends-- casino event voyages will see hugely different numbers, and will have correspondingly worse offers for the competition.

 

For bouncebacks, it's largely up to the discretion of the host; with similar losses and action, I've been offered 15-day minisuites on some ships, and "thank you for playing, now go away" letters on others.

 

For onboard comps via table play, playing greens is enough to get drinks, blacks have a good chance of getting dinners and spas, and if you start playing purple, they don't question anything you want. Machines vary even more, but people I've spoken to report getting attention in the low thousands of points. Much like everywhere else, slots will net you more attention than VP, even though the paytables are often worse than the worst RTP that slot manufacturers offer. (The highest number of points I saw was upwards of a million-- guy was pounding a 25$/spin WoF unit for hours, for days.)

 

I have no idea what gets casino rate offers, other than everybody I know that gets them clock in either <1k points or play predominantly red, so "low".

 

Mailed offers go through a different department and look at a longer history and historical play.

[attilamom1217]

On 4/20/2020 at 5:33 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Did you have to do some significant gambling on your previous cruise in order to get the email offers? My guess is these discounted offers are probably associated with cruises usually 7 days or less in an inside or window cabin. In other words, you probably wouldn't see Princess offer Casino Rate discounts on mini-suites on 14+ day cruises.

When you gamble in the casino on a ship, you are rated based on your bet and how long you are sitting at the table; or using your sign and sail card in the slot machines.  The offers are for $s off and or casino free play on a future cruise.    You get the money off when you book through the cruise line's casino office.  There is a promotion number listed on the offer.  Doesn't matter what type of room you book.  However, free rooms go to the those who spend a lot of money in the casino and are usually insides - although you can pay the difference.  However, I have met people who get free balconies or suites - but these people gamble thousands of dollars at each sitting.

[kands6191]

I just got the latest offer of a free cruise.  I had a choice of 7 different cruises in an inside cabin with the drink package, prepaid gratuities, wifi package, and $250 casino credit.  I haven't cruised with Princess since 2011.  When I did I played a very moderate amount of slots and table games.  I always bet the minimum on table games - less than $15 a bet.  For slots I may have played $1 per spin or less.  We did go to the casino every night.  I don't know how much I lost but I do know that my limit was always less than $100 a day.  

 

I think this latest offer may just be a result of the extraordinary time we are in.  I have heard others comment that people who gamble and cruise a lot may not receive these great offers because they know they are going to come back and spend money.  They offer them to people like me to gain new or additional passengers.  I don't know the logic of it but I'm glad to take advantage of the offer.

[triple7tahoe]

18 hours ago, flyboy88 said:

I was actually thought about this today.  Nothing in the fine print states either way. When you hear back about your B2B I’d be really interested to know the answer. 
I would consider doing something similar. 

Just got an answer--No at the present time but will be in our record if things change.  We booked a balcony for an added $140 each. The only down side I see is that the $100 deposit is non refundable- Is will be returned  as OBC.

[Cuedon]

4 minutes ago, triple7tahoe said:

Just got an answer--No at the present time but will be in our record if things change.  We booked a balcony for an added $140 each. The only down side I see is that the $100 deposit is non refundable- Is will be returned  as OBC.

 

It gets applied to your balance as a credit; most of it will get eaten up by the DSC anyways. And if the voyage is short enough (or you opt to remove the DSC), you can just go to the casino, put 100$ on your room charge (no fee) and cash it out.

 

It's really only a problem if you intend to modify the booking... the general staff is very hit or miss about that, but their equivalent of Retentions was smooth about a passenger name change.

 

[triple7tahoe]

By DSC, I am assuming you mean the gratuities ?? Ours are paid as part of the promotion. I am not worried about is as OBC as we like to eat in one of the specialty restaurants 🙂