Casino

[Slyfox16]

Does MSC have a designated casino program or match your tier from other cruise lines?

[voyagerL]

Hey Slyfox, there's no matching of Casino Status from other lines and the MSC Casino Programme isn't enduring, it essentially works on a per cruise basis. Players accrue points by playing and certain thresholds trigger rewards. The whole scheme has recently changed but I think you now need around 4500 points for a free 7 night interior cabin cruise. Accruing more points beyond this will increase the range of destinations and the type of cabin you receive complimentarily. 

 

There's a useful video on the scheme here: Breaking! MSC Casino completely changes casino comps! Good news and bad news.... - Bing video

 

Whilst you don't accrue a status which you retain for subsequent cruises per se, I have since received over 4 free cruises spontaneously owing to previous points accrual so they're definitely keeping tabs back in 'MSC Casino HQ' 😄!    

[def0715]

Have you received those spontaneous cruise offers via email? Mail? I have never received anything from MSC with the exception of emails directly related to a booking I’ve made. (I appear to be signed up for emails.) Friends get emails about deals. I do not. FWIW, I received a free cruise certificate on my last sailing. Here’s  the chart that was in the casino on Meraviglia earlier this month. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by def0715

[def0715]

It’s 5,000 points for a “free” 2- to 5-night interior. I’ve been told you pay a $400 deposit (or maybe it’s called something else) and receive $400 in OBC. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by def0715

[cherylnj]

1 hour ago, def0715 said:

Have you received those spontaneous cruise offers via email? Mail? I have never received anything from MSC with the exception of emails directly related to a booking I’ve made. (I appear to be signed up for emails.) Friends get emails about deals. I do not. FWIW, I received a free cruise certificate on my last sailing. Here’s  the chart that was in the casino on Meraviglia earlier this month. 

They seem to send out email offers every quarter. I just received one last week. 

[CarolnLarry]

13 hours ago, def0715 said:

Have you received those spontaneous cruise offers via email? Mail? I have never received anything from MSC with the exception of emails directly related to a booking I’ve made. (I appear to be signed up for emails.) Friends get emails about deals. I do not. FWIW, I received a free cruise certificate on my last sailing. Here’s  the chart that was in the casino on Meraviglia earlier this month. 

I found this interesting as on my last BTB in Jan the casino tried to give me a free cruise but said it didn't apply to the YC.  Guess I didn't rate high enough so I told them to keep their free trip.  They couldn't believe that I turned down a free cruise.  YC only for me.

[def0715]

It costs almost $3,000 to upgrade from the free interior to YC. (I think it costs much more to upgrade in that case than to book YC outright.)  According to the chart you can get a free YC interior for 30,000 points in the casino. Wish I had the budget to do YC only. 🙂

[LadySpoilt]

I know they say (as of I think January) that the 30% off voucher does not apply when booking a YC room, but does that apply to vouchers received prior to January?  Still have a couple from last fall I would like to use before they expire.

[Beamafar]

22 minutes ago, LadySpoilt said:

I know they say (as of I think January) that the 30% off voucher does not apply when booking a YC room, but does that apply to vouchers received prior to January?  Still have a couple from last fall I would like to use before they expire.

That’s disappointing to hear.  We used one on a 28 night sailing in YC once (and, while on that cruise, we received a 50% future cruise discount voucher as a result of missing a couple of POCs which we used for a 23 night YC cruise 😁). 

[LadySpoilt]

8 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

That’s disappointing to hear.  We used one on a 28 night sailing in YC once (and, while on that cruise, we received a 50% future cruise discount voucher as a result of missing a couple of POCs which we used for a 23 night YC cruise 😁). 

I could be wrong.  I thought when they changed rules for casino that this was stated.  Maybe it only applied to upgrades from the free cruise vouchers

[def0715]

When I was talking to a casino employee about the points/certificate she mentioned that if I chose the discount it isn’t good on YC. Don’t know when they changed the rules but if you got your certificate(s) several months ago, before the change, I’d reach out to the casino department directly and ask if they can honor the discount. Doesn’t hurt to ask. In my limited experience it’s better to email than call.
 

msccasino@msccruisesusa.com

 

[def0715]

The first rep I spoke with about using my free interior certificate and paying to upgrade to YC really, really, really gave me the wrong price. Before I booked he realized his error. I reached out to MSC about it. They apologized and sent me the actual upgrade prices (below). The initial rep was telling me it was $540 to go to a YC balcony. I repeated the information aloud several times, incredulous, to make sure I understood him. (I had a YC booking on hold and when he said it would be $540 I was going to use my certificate and pay the money. But then the $540 became almost $3,000.) 

 

 

[tweakes]

Casino is not worth playing in in MSC anymore. Odds are so bad, they reset jackpots regularly without people winning. I get free cruises on every line I sail on, but now I get so little from MSC. The 30% vouchers were nice and worth gambling for (but really too easy to get). I'm Diamond but will find other cruise options now. 😞

[Slyfox16]

Thanks for all the feedback. What kind of blackjack do they offer on the ships and do they use continuous shuffle machines?

[Georgia_Peaches]

23 hours ago, LadySpoilt said:

I know they say (as of I think January) that the 30% off voucher does not apply when booking a YC room, but does that apply to vouchers received prior to January?  Still have a couple from last fall I would like to use before they expire.

We received a 30% off voucher back in November. I immediately parlayed that into an 7 nighter in the YC.  It was before they changed the rule. I think if you USE the voucher before Jan 1 then it’s no problem. Not sure about grandfathering based on when the voucher was received. But you could always take 30% off the highest Aurea category and then upgrade to YC afterwards. I haven’t priced this strategy… just thinking out loud. 

[LadySpoilt]

Finally got resolution after several emails and calls.  Early last week was told yes (via email) we could use it and upgrade to YC.  Yesterday morning was told no we could not as the rules had changed in January and it was not permitted. She said we could escalate it via email to a manager.  Sent email and surprisingly received answer late afternoon...no we could not use for YC with the same "rules change" argument.  Called again and complained  (perhaps since we could/did supply original email saying that we could) finally they relented and said ok we will let you use it.  Shall try to actually do it this morning and see what happens as MSC has a history of saying one thing (or letting you book one thing) and then coming back and saying "no you can't do that" and cancelling the already deposit paid cruise.