NCL Bliss Casino - cash only?

[Fridaynightlights]

Can you charge casino spending (slot machine) to your cruise card or is it cash only?

Edited March 16, 2022 by Fridaynightlights

[BirdTravels]

20 minutes ago, Fridaynightlights said:

Can you charge casino spending (slot machine) to your cruise card or is it cash only?

 

You can charge your cruise card for casino play. There is a 3% service charge unless you are a top tier player in the Casinos at Sea program. 

 

Consider $500 from the ATM will incur a $5.99 ATM fee. The service fee for a room charge is 3% * $500 = $15. 

 

Some folks will say that they get cash back on all of their charges from their banks to offset the service charge. Great, but be aware that you'll get that extra charge every time you transfer cash from your room account. 

[Fridaynightlights]

Cash it will be. 

Thanks BirdTravels

[Colorado Beach Bum]

Isn’t the fee only for table games?  Slot charges do not incur any service fee.  

[julig22]

21 minutes ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Slot charges do not incur any service fee.  

They most certainly do.  It's ,3%.

[NYFirstTimeCruiser]

All my bookings have been through CAS and by no means a big player.

When you play, you earn points equivalent to cash.  On the last night of your cruise,

stop by the CAS desk and ask if you have enough points to cover the 3% service fee.

For most if not all, all the fees are covered on my trips.  Even if it's not enough, but close enough, they'll

remove the fees.  Hope this helps.

[Nola26]

Sometimes the 3% is a better choice than the ATM fee. If you only want to pull $100 then the $3 is less than the $5.99 ATM fee plus any fees your bank may charge for the ATM transaction. I typically bring cash to use in the casino. However, onboard I don't always have cash or my ATM card with me. I always have my room key and that can be used at a slot machine to pull cash from my onboard account. So if we are out and want to play a little I can pull $20 pay $0.60 and have some fun. If over the course of the week if I pull $100 this way it's worth the $3 for the flexibility while on vacation.

 

Whatever you do consider these fees as part of your gaming budget and stay in your lane! 

 

[julig22]

9 hours ago, Nola26 said:

Sometimes the 3% is a better choice than the ATM fee. If you only want to pull $100 then the $3 is less than the $5.99 ATM fee plus any fees your bank may charge for the ATM transaction. I typically bring cash to use in the casino. However, onboard I don't always have cash or my ATM card with me. I always have my room key and that can be used at a slot machine to pull cash from my onboard account. So if we are out and want to play a little I can pull $20 pay $0.60 and have some fun. If over the course of the week if I pull $100 this way it's worth the $3 for the flexibility while on vacation.

 

Whatever you do consider these fees as part of your gaming budget and stay in your lane! 

 

I charge my casino money to my NCL card so would get the 3% back in points, so it's no cost in that respect. But I can use my points to upgrade my cabin on a future cruise so even better.  Charges are to NCL, so a travel charge for any cards that give travel points and/or higher rebates for travel.

[phillygwm]

4 hours ago, julig22 said:

I charge my casino money to my NCL card so would get the 3% back in points, so it's no cost in that respect. But I can use my points to upgrade my cabin on a future cruise so even better.  Charges are to NCL, so a travel charge for any cards that give travel points and/or higher rebates for travel.

This is important to consider.  My Chase Sapphire Reserve gives me 3% back on travel, which an NCL charge counts as.  So it's a wash, except you can redeem those points for travel through Chase and they're 1.5x multiplied.

 

The other option, if you gamble at a higher level, is to establish a line of credit.  That's $5K minimum, though you don't have to ADVANCE $5K.  Just nice to have.  And perhaps I'm imagining things, but I find I got more attention after I established my line than before.  There were only 2-3 others on my cruise with a line, so they knew us (or at least me!)

[cruzingthebriny]

On 3/20/2022 at 2:57 PM, phillygwm said:

This is important to consider.  My Chase Sapphire Reserve gives me 3% back on travel, which an NCL charge counts as.  So it's a wash, except you can redeem those points for travel through Chase and they're 1.5x multiplied.

 

The other option, if you gamble at a higher level, is to establish a line of credit.  That's $5K minimum, though you don't have to ADVANCE $5K.  Just nice to have.  And perhaps I'm imagining things, but I find I got more attention after I established my line than before.  There were only 2-3 others on my cruise with a line, so they knew us (or at least me!)

 

On 3/20/2022 at 2:57 PM, phillygwm said:

This is important to consider.  My Chase Sapphire Reserve gives me 3% back on travel, which an NCL charge counts as.  So it's a wash, except you can redeem those points for travel through Chase and they're 1.5x multiplied.

 

The other option, if you gamble at a higher level, is to establish a line of credit.  That's $5K minimum, though you don't have to ADVANCE $5K.  Just nice to have.  And perhaps I'm imagining things, but I find I got more attention after I established my line than before.  There were only 2-3 others on my cruise with a line, so they knew us (or at least me!)

So if I was in the casino and needed more  money to play, I could charge it to my cabin and my travel credit card or Discover etc. that I have on my account would cover it?  

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, cruzingthebriny said:

 

So if I was in the casino and needed more  money to play, I could charge it to my cabin and my travel credit card or Discover etc. that I have on my account would cover it?  

Anything you charge to your cabin incurs a 3% service charge. It is not a cash advance, just a charge from the cruise ship (like a very expensive bag of chips). 

 

Only you know what your credit cards give you back. 

 

The exception is that if you are a upper tier player and get the service charge waived. 

[MtnGolf4]

So after reading this post, I'm guessing there are 3 options at the Casino. 

1. Bring Cash

2. Use ATM on the Ship (5.99 charge)

3. Charge to room (3% Charge)

Correct ?

[Russiamomm]

11 minutes ago, MtnGolf4 said:

So after reading this post, I'm guessing there are 3 options at the Casino. 

1. Bring Cash

2. Use ATM on the Ship (5.99 charge)

3. Charge to room (3% Charge)

Correct ?

Correct.

[davencl]

38 minutes ago, MtnGolf4 said:

So after reading this post, I'm guessing there are 3 options at the Casino. 

1. Bring Cash

2. Use ATM on the Ship (5.99 charge)

3. Charge to room (3% Charge)

Correct ?

FWIW my CC company USAA refunds ATM fees.

[Russiamomm]

1 hour ago, davencl said:

FWIW my CC company USAA refunds ATM fees.

Yup.  My bank refunds the ATM fees too.  So regardless of how I do it - ATM or the 3% to the NCL credit card, it doesn’t cost anything to get cash.

Edited November 4, 2023 by Russiamomm