DOU while playing in the casino

[herdcruiser]

My wife and I just returned from our 7 night stay on the Carnival Celebration where we booked a casino rate that had the DOU while playing in the casino and $200 OBC. I wanted to give a tip on the DOU in the casino for those that are not aware. It took me till day 2 to find this out and it may be something that has changed or just the preference of the casino bar staff. It is stated the DOU would only apply if you were actively playing in the casino. So you had to wait on bar staff to come around and give them your order. Well the first day I played for an hour on the slots and no one came around. The second day after playing for 30 minutes I decided to go up to the casino bar and I asked for a drink. She took the order and she came back with the drink and as I signed it I noticed $0.00 charge. I asked her about coming up to the bar to ask and she said we have no problem with you coming up and asking. She said we're aware there's not enough bar staff to handle everyone so come up anytime instead of waiting while you're playing. So for the rest of the cruise most of the time I just went to the casino bar instead of waiting on bar staff. Heck I even stopped in there on my way to somewhere else and was always able to snag a drink.

 

 

[mz-s]

YMMV on this - I have had it explained to me by Casino and bar crew several times over the years that I need to be seated at a table or slot if I want my drinks covered under DOU and we're not supposed to order from the bar if we want it covered under DOU.

 

I'm glad they took care of you but don't be shocked if on your next cruise things are different.

[StephPS79]

9 minutes ago, mz-s said:

YMMV on this - I have had it explained to me by Casino and bar crew several times over the years that I need to be seated at a table or slot if I want my drinks covered under DOU and we're not supposed to order from the bar if we want it covered under DOU.

 

I'm glad they took care of you but don't be shocked if on your next cruise things are different.

Agreed, I would put a big disclaimer YMMV.

[csm5986142]

Once again, I find this totally inconsistent among their ships.  I was on Celebration in January and I agree they were severely understaffed in casino servers (as several of their ships are right now) so I'm glad they are making concessions. 

But as already mentioned, many of the ships are very strict with those rules - I don't drink much alcohol, but I tried to get a water bottle at the bar and was told I had to be at a machine or table, (even though I'd been playing for at least an hour prior to going up to the bar). 

 

[knagl]

On the Spirit in December that was definitely not the case -- servers had to ring in the drinks on their computer, the bartenders could not.

[hapytobehr]

If you tip well you will get servers to come back to you all the time.

 

We were on the Celebration for NYE cruise and never had a problem getting a drink, although we were playing at the tables.

[havanadaydreaming]

we were on spirit end of year and had no problem with drinks most of the time. but once or twice DOU was an issue usually afternoons. 

[hurricane0226]

I have had it both ways, once on the Pride, they were understaffed, and was able to walk up

to the bar and get a drink anytime I was in the Casino, and another time on the Magic,

I had to be sitting on a Machine, or table game.

[Guest BasicSailor]

DOU or IOU, what's the difference😇😉

[Guest BasicSailor]

5 hours ago, hapytobehr said:

If you tip well you will get servers to come back to you all the time.

I afraid to ask what you tipped. 😁

[Colorado Beach Bum]

The key is to find a server that doesn’t take and deliver a ton of drinks at one time.  The best ones take just two or three, run and grab them and bring them right back.  I seek those and tip them well and they will keep coming back. 

[mz-s]

I do agree, $1 per drink is my standard (whether it's alcohol or just a soda or water), and what often happens is the bar waiters seek me out and ask if I'm ready for another before I am even half done.

 

I just keep a cache of $1's in my shirt pocket and peel one off for each receipt I sign. Easy peasy.

[EngIceDave]

8 hours ago, mz-s said:

YMMV on this - I have had it explained to me by Casino and bar crew several times over the years that I need to be seated at a table or slot if I want my drinks covered under DOU and we're not supposed to order from the bar if we want it covered under DOU.

 

I'm glad they took care of you but don't be shocked if on your next cruise things are different.

 

While "Your mileage may vary" on this one, makes sense to me that post-cooties and with low staffing to quietly allow people to do this. If they publicly announced it, many people would try to ignore the casino entirely and get just free drinks and walk away.

 

Just ask at the bar, that's the lesson.

May work, may not, but give it a shot.

[hapytobehr]

On 3/10/2023 at 8:20 PM, BasicSailor said:

I afraid to ask what you tipped. 😁

You can ask, i may not tell 😆 but on a serious note, my husband usually gives the servers a $5 chip.  (for the 2 of us) He always has a server that comes to him for the rest of the cruise.  Rarely do we have to wait for a drink.   

 

 

 

 

[Mymomsgirl]

I hope they are changing their stance on this because drink service has been poor in the casino on my last three cruises and although I have DOUA and go up to the bar for my drinks anyway, I've witnessed several people with drinks on us in the casino attempting to get drinks at the bar and been turned away and told they must be seated at a table or slot machine and actively playing in order to qualify.  I agree that there is not enough staff and hopefully they will offer this going forward on all ships, but I doubt it!

[JoeMo]

On 3/10/2023 at 7:20 PM, BasicSailor said:

I afraid to ask what you tipped. 😁

I bring along a stack of $2 bills, never without a drink. I'm not sure if it's the amount or novelty of the bill.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

9 hours ago, Mymomsgirl said:

I agree that there is not enough staff and hopefully they will offer this going forward on all ships, but I doubt it!

Only one of our 7 cruises since restart did I feel the casino bar servers were under staffed.  And the one wasn’t so much understaffed, but just not good servers.  You can always find one or two servers who will serve you quickly and efficiently just by being nice to them.  Ok, maybe the extra tip helps too. 😀

[rcrabb1513]

I wish posters would define acronyms on first use.  Our first cruise on Carnival is next week and I have no clue what DOU is!

[kwokpot]

1 minute ago, rcrabb1513 said:

I wish posters would define acronyms on first use.  Our first cruise on Carnival is next week and I have no clue what DOU is!

Drinks On Us 

[LPut714]

We just got off a back to back on Mardi Gras-I had drinks all over the ship for two weeks so could go to any bar. DH had DOU in the casino the first week and all over the second week. We thought the service while playing at the machines was great as I had read it was very slow. We tipped cash with drinks so servers did return to us. Sometimes walking up to the bar in the casino you had a little wait as the bartenders were servicing waiters, bar customers and walk ups. 

[mz-s]

22 hours ago, JoeMo said:

I bring along a stack of $2 bills, never without a drink. I'm not sure if it's the amount or novelty of the bill.

careful some know it alls here will tell you the crew have no choice but to burn those $2 bills because somehow the people at the grocery store have never seen them before. 

[JoeMo]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

careful some know it alls here will tell you the crew have no choice but to burn those $2 bills because somehow the people at the grocery store have never seen them before. 

They don't ACT like they're burning them. The wait staff actually keeps coming back for more, about every 10-15 minutes. (I don't drink that fast). The Wal-Mart in Galveston took a couple and didn't blink. I do understand some people will disparage the idea because it wasn't theirs.

[Elaine5715]

12 hours ago, mz-s said:

careful some know it alls here will tell you the crew have no choice but to burn those $2 bills because somehow the people at the grocery store have never seen them before. 

 

9 hours ago, JoeMo said:

They don't ACT like they're burning them. The wait staff actually keeps coming back for more, about every 10-15 minutes. (I don't drink that fast). The Wal-Mart in Galveston took a couple and didn't blink. I do understand some people will disparage the idea because it wasn't theirs.

It is everyone's idea.  Crew can't spend them in non US ports other than the Duty Free Store (where they don't shop) or US ports.