Carnival Casino bookings... What is the final cruise price you pay including losses... ?

[Wennfred]

Bare minimum, I pay the taxes & port charges of let’s say $140. Plus gratuities & wifi and get my $100.00 to $250.00 on board credit and play on their $25 free play and I might drop and extra $50.00 and I’m done. Inside cabin is on the house and this is usually a Bingo or Casino deal. 

[StephPS79]

I think it's also important to consider, there are a lot of offers that can be booked up to 3 times.  So one cruise with a lot lost could potentially lead to 3 more "free cruises."  While yes, you are expected to play on subsequent cruises to keep the offers coming, even if you don't you still got 3 more "free cruises."

[aborgman]

16 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

OK I see. Gratuities aren't called service charges on Carnival. You can use your OBC to pay for gratuities.

 

More accurately - the service charge is (incorrectly) called a gratuity by Carnival.

 

 

[john91498]

16 hours ago, May1cruiser said:

Lately, the $100 Balcony with DOU everywhere has cost us about $3k-$4k for a 7 day cruise for us combined. Has been as bad as $6k for 7 days. 

 

I do not recall coming out ahead in $ since restart. 

 

About the same for us. The "free" cabin usually costs us between $4k - $7k.

[Riles34]

I booked a 5 day cruise on the Venezia this past August under the casino deal $100 / $100 OBC inside room. Taxes and port fees were $152 so a total of $252 on the CC. Spent the $100 OBC on a slot machine the first day and won a little bit ($115). Next morning hit a $800 jackpot and spent $380 of that on the drink package. Gambled the rest of the money away over the next 4 days with the understanding that it will go back to Carnival. Total out of pocket was was just the cruise fare, $252. You could add my winnings that I played back into the machine if you'd like, about $500 after the Cheers! purchase.

 

I think part of the casino deals are based off jackpot winnings. I bring $400 cash to gamble away each cruise and have won a couple jackpots on penny slots and get the lower end casino deals. Ended the cruise with 1700 casino points on my card. I just bet minimums as it passes the time with some entertainment. If I didn't hit the JP on the first sea day I would have been out my $400 cash and the $252.

 

One lady next to me gambled her savings away.....husband was at home and she wasn't looking forward to that convo!

[mz-s]

1 hour ago, aborgman said:

 

More accurately - the service charge is (incorrectly) called a gratuity by Carnival.

 

 

 

Why would it be incorrect to call it a gratuity?

[aborgman]

10 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Why would it be incorrect to call it a gratuity?

 

Gratuities are:

 

1) discretionary/non-compulsory

2) Paid directly to the person providing the service

 

Under California law - 100% of a gratuity HAS to go to service employees. Service charges can be distributed (and skimmed) by management.

 

 

[mz-s]

2 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

Gratuities are:

 

1) discretionary/non-compulsory

2) Paid directly to the person providing the service

 

Under California law - 100% of a gratuity HAS to go to service employees. Service charges can be distributed (and skimmed) by management.

 

 

 

What makes you say Carnival's gratuities do not meet that definition?

 

https://www.carnival.com/help?topicid=1123

[aborgman]

4 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

What makes you say Carnival's gratuities do not meet that definition?

 

https://www.carnival.com/help?topicid=1123

 

 

What makes me say Carnival's "gratuities" don't go directly to the employee?  The fact that you pay the "gratuities" to Carnival and then Carnival hands them out to the employees means that by definition it is NOT a "direct payment".

 

Direct payment is when someone pays another person or company without using any intermediary.

 

If the customer hands money directly to the employee - it's a gratuity. If the customer hands money to the business owner, then the business owner distributes it to employees (even if he distributes 100% of it) - it is not a gratuity.

 

 

[mz-s]

1 minute ago, aborgman said:

 

 

What makes me say Carnival's "gratuities" don't go directly to the employee?  The fact that you pay the "gratuities" to Carnival and then Carnival hands them out to the employees means that by definition it is NOT a "direct payment".

 

Direct payment is when someone pays another person or company without using any intermediary.

 

If the customer hands money directly to the employee - it's a gratuity. If the customer hands money to the business owner, then the business owner distributes it to employees (even if he distributes 100% of it) - it is not a gratuity.

 

 

 

So the tip you leave at Chili's is a service charge too then I guess, because you add the tip to your bill and it goes to Chili's then to the server.

[aborgman]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

So the tip you leave at Chili's is a service charge too then I guess, because you add the tip to your bill and it goes to Chili's then to the server.

 

Usually - that actually isn't the case.

 

The POS system has a separate account for tips (or multiple) and is paid out directly to the account holder (tip pool or individual servers) from the POS system provider. 

 

The restaurant never has control of the money before being funneled into receiving checks.

 

In California - the entire tip belongs to the server, and even if the restaurant has to pay a credit card surcharge... they are not allowed to deduct any of that from the tip and have to pay the entire amount to the server.

 

[mz-s]

45 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

Usually - that actually isn't the case.

 

The POS system has a separate account for tips (or multiple) and is paid out directly to the account holder (tip pool or individual servers) from the POS system provider. 

 

The restaurant never has control of the money before being funneled into receiving checks.

 

In California - the entire tip belongs to the server, and even if the restaurant has to pay a credit card surcharge... they are not allowed to deduct any of that from the tip and have to pay the entire amount to the server.

 

 

And what evidence do you have that Carnival's system is any different than Chili's?

[lubedobedo]

Very 1st Carnival cruise Dream,2016, $2500 3 people spa balcony. Played a little in casino, won $600 on wheel of fortune and was given a t-shirt and asked to come back later to pick an envelope =+$50.00. It was our 1st Carnival cruise so we were not on any casino deal. Not sure why they had him to do the envelope?

 

2nd cruise free balcony.. 2022 Dream $100pp/$100obc/$200freeplay. Lost probably $500 then starting playing $.60 together with husband just for fun. Hit Grand plus bonus for $11626.00 second to last day. Came home with almost all of that after tips. Also had free drinks everywhere on ship. Probably only had 5/6 drinks whole cruise. Not big drinkers.

 

3rd cruse Dream 2023 free balcony, $100pp/$200obc/$200fp husband sick last 3 days, lost $500.

 

Next cruise free inside, $100pp/$200obc/$200fp Jubilee Fall 2024. have free balcony, free inside also but none of them are for out of Galveston, so inside it is. We are not big gamblers. Finally going on another ship besides Dream!

[BlerkOne]

4 hours ago, aborgman said:

 

In California - the entire tip belongs to the server, and even if the restaurant has to pay a credit card surcharge... they are not allowed to deduct any of that from the tip and have to pay the entire amount to the server.

 

In California, are tips generally based on a percentage of the check or on a per service basis? Does California law limit you to only one server? What happens when multiple people serve you? Do the servers also clean your house?

[aborgman]

27 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

In California, are tips generally based on a percentage of the check or on a per service basis? Does California law limit you to only one server? What happens when multiple people serve you? Do the servers also clean your house?

 

What tips are based on is irrelevant.

 

California law does not limit the number of servers, nor disallow tip pooling - it merely prohibits management from touching tip money.

 

When multiple people serve you, what happens is whatever the restaurant employees (not management) have agreed to have happen.

[aborgman]

4 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

And what evidence do you have that Carnival's system is any different than Chili's?

 

Carnivals own statements that they distribute the tips.

[BlerkOne]

55 minutes ago, aborgman said:

 

What tips are based on is irrelevant.

 

California law does not limit the number of servers, nor disallow tip pooling - it merely prohibits management from touching tip money.

 

When multiple people serve you, what happens is whatever the restaurant employees (not management) have agreed to have happen.

One could argue California law is irrelevant since California is not a cruise line.

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, aborgman said:

 

Carnivals own statements that they distribute the tips.

Unlike other cruise lines, Carnival's transparency with tips is to be commended 

[Riles34]

Are we really fighting over Service vs Gratuity? Who cares!! All I had to read was the word California....SMH. Read the topic and stay with it.

[Calnev1]

On 10/16/2023 at 8:33 AM, StephPS79 said:

I think it's also important to consider, there are a lot of offers that can be booked up to 3 times.  So one cruise with a lot lost could potentially lead to 3 more "free cruises."  While yes, you are expected to play on subsequent cruises to keep the offers coming, even if you don't you still got 3 more "free cruises."

Or more than three times.  My wife and I currently have five future "free" cruises booked, four balcony cruises and one oceanview.    Unfortunately for Carnival, I won't be spending nearly as much in the casino as in the past because Carnival has significantly altered the casino game that I like.  

[john91498]

I wonder if the person talking about california tipping laws knows it wouldn't apply to carnival since they not a US based company?

[VentureMan_2000]

On 10/16/2023 at 10:29 AM, aborgman said:

 

Gratuities are:

 

1) discretionary/non-compulsory

2) Paid directly to the person providing the service

 

Under California law - 100% of a gratuity HAS to go to service employees. Service charges can be distributed (and skimmed) by management.

I mostly take exception to your position that Carnival or any other cruise line screws their employees on gratuities because "they distribute them".

 

 

First... Ships do not operate under California law.

 

[aborgman]

On 10/16/2023 at 10:55 PM, BlerkOne said:

Unlike other cruise lines, Carnival's transparency with tips is to be commended 

 

Carnival is definitely the most transparent of a completely opaque bunch when it comes to distribution of "gratuities".

 

 

[aborgman]

19 hours ago, john91498 said:

I wonder if the person talking about california tipping laws knows it wouldn't apply to carnival since they not a US based company?

 

Of course California tipping laws do not apply to Carnival - I was just noting one legal implementation of the dictionary definition of gratuities. A dictionary definition (that applies everywhere) that Carnival's "gratuities" don't meet.

 

They are legal. Carnival is 100% within their legal rights to collect them. Carnival is breaking no laws in calling them gratuities... just like they'd be completely within their legal rights to call the color blue "red", but it doesn't actually make blue become red.

[BlerkOne]

In general, gratuity is just a fancy word for tips.

 

Dictionary

Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more

gra·tu·i·ty

/ɡrəˈto͞oədē/

noun

noun: gratuity; plural noun: gratuities

1. a tip given to a waiter, taxicab driver, etc.