Carnival players club

[geovet]

My son got a email from carnival players club for the first time offering discounts obc and drinks in the casino. His last cruise in September he played roulette a d Han about 750 points,

Will he likely continue to get these offers or the better ones for almost free cruise.

 

Thanks

 

[hard_eight]

Ahhh the good ol' what does it take to get offers in the casino.

 

Good luck! There's gonna be tons of experts and pontification!

 

Packing for my "Free" cruise now!🤣

Edited November 17, 2023 by hard_eight

[tj2806]

Usually, no.

 

Carnival casino offers are on 2 month "cycles". For example, if offers went out to existing players Jan 1, and you're a new player and got off the boat Feb 10, you likely won't receive any offers until March 1 when the rest of the existing players get refreshed offers as well. There may be some immediate kick-back offers if you played hard enough, though.

 

Offers were last refreshed Nov 1, so I suspect that's roughly when your son started to receive emails from the player's club, since he became a player in September. I would not expect him to get any better offers than what he's getting now.

 

Last thing worth mentioning is that the discount+obc+DOU-in-casino is the weakest casino offer you can get. The next tier up is free interior rooms, which is a massive upgrade in comparison. I would consider playing a bit more (or at a higher level) to receive that offer as, in my opinion, the extra value you get from that offer easily compensates for your additional expected losses in the casino.

 

[icft]

What hard_eight said. No one knows.

 

(checked in last night for our free Journeys cruise)

[tj2806]

28 minutes ago, icft said:

What hard_eight said. No one knows.

 

(checked in last night for our free Journeys cruise)

 

This is a very dismissive (and honestly lazy) take. The Carnival Players Club has been around for a very long time, and there are plenty of data points out there (e.g. I played BJ at $50/hand for 3 hours a night and got a free ocean view offer) to get an idea of what comps you should get at what level of play.

 

Is anything officially stated? No, but saying "no one knows" isn't really true just because you don't know because you haven't bothered to do the research.

 

Not trying to be rude, but don't spread disinformation

[icft]

1 hour ago, hard_eight said:

           *                  *                    *

Good luck! There's gonna be tons of experts and pontification!

 

         *                   *                    *

 

40 minutes ago, tj2806 said:

 

This is a very dismissive (and honestly lazy) take. The Carnival Players Club has been around for a very long time, and there are plenty of data points out there (e.g. I played BJ at $50/hand for 3 hours a night and got a free ocean view offer) to get an idea of what comps you should get at what level of play.

 

Is anything officially stated? No, but saying "no one knows" isn't really true just because you don't know because you haven't bothered to do the research.

 

Not trying to be rude, but don't spread disinformation

What hard_eight said.

[ashkir]

I spent $100 in the casino once. I got a $100 inside cabin offer on a 30 day journey cruise. No offers since then. 

[mz-s]

4 hours ago, tj2806 said:

 

This is a very dismissive (and honestly lazy) take. The Carnival Players Club has been around for a very long time, and there are plenty of data points out there (e.g. I played BJ at $50/hand for 3 hours a night and got a free ocean view offer) to get an idea of what comps you should get at what level of play.

 

Is anything officially stated? No, but saying "no one knows" isn't really true just because you don't know because you haven't bothered to do the research.

 

Not trying to be rude, but don't spread disinformation

 

Data points are just data points - they're meaningless especially since they're impossible to verify. Carnival does not publish their comp schedule.

 

I would never advise somebody to play in the casino on Carnival purely to get comps.

[Elaine5715]

7 hours ago, tj2806 said:

 

This is a very dismissive (and honestly lazy) take. The Carnival Players Club has been around for a very long time, and there are plenty of data points out there (e.g. I played BJ at $50/hand for 3 hours a night and got a free ocean view offer) to get an idea of what comps you should get at what level of play.

 

Is anything officially stated? No, but saying "no one knows" isn't really true just because you don't know because you haven't bothered to do the research.

 

Not trying to be rude, but don't spread disinformation

Offers are always based on marketing demographics.  They know what the ideal gambler who sails Carnival looks like but people want/need to justify spending a "just a little more" because they think that will get them offers.  Only comps are based on points. While slot points are objective, table points are not.

  It is stated what they look for and how they gather information in the privacy statements.  What is never disclosed is how they weigh data points.  For example, cash account players are likely of little interest but someone with a high limit business credit card probably with get more lucrative offers quickly.  

[tj2806]

3 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Data points are just data points - they're meaningless especially since they're impossible to verify. Carnival does not publish their comp schedule.

 

I would never advise somebody to play in the casino on Carnival purely to get comps.

You can just throw your hands up and not play the system, that's fine, but some of us are more sophisticated gamblers who diligently track expected losses, actual losses, and effective comp value, and overall come out ahead (+EV)

 

For example, I play Craps, and the level of play I'm comfortable with ($100 average roll for 3 hours per night) will keep me eligible for balconies on any Royal or Carnival cruise I want, and interiors on nicer lines like Virgin. 

For example, my expected loss for a 5night is $600 and I get comped cruises worth $1400-$1600. But go ahead and just randomly press the slot machine buttons and hope for an offer, I guess.

 

There's also advanced stuff like counting cards on Royal, there is zero heat in that casino for some reason, but understandable if you don't want to get that invested 

[kangforpres]

I've been on 1 carnival cruise (4 stars on HAL) they had seen my gambling habits on HAL since they are in the same corporation and offered me a free 22 day transpacific in a Balcany room. So I took them up on the offer. 

 

Now I'm booked for a 30 day transpacific in April 2024. original offer was for a free OV, but I upgraded to a Premium Balcony for $1500 for a 30 day cruize that makes stops in Japan. I pretty good deal I reckon.

 

I dropped about $4k on my first 22 day cruise on Carnival, the alogrithim for casino cruise offers is mysterious on all the major lines. If you see a great offer and it fits your schedule take it. I'm retired so I can practice what I preach.

 

Good Luck, stick to your budget and enjoy the cruise

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

[KKB]

On 11/17/2023 at 11:59 AM, geovet said:

My son got a email from carnival players club for the first time offering discounts obc and drinks in the casino. His last cruise in September he played roulette a d Han about 750 points,

Will he likely continue to get these offers or the better ones for almost free cruise.

 

Thanks

I can't tell you for sure what Carnival will do.

But let me share our experience.

We sent our Caesars Diamond cards to Carnival via an ad I saw on FB.

Immediately got a huge list of cruises we could book free--3-14 days Caribbean, MX, AK, Hawaii, Europe.

SO we booked the longest cruise that fit in our schedule--14 days to Hawaii January 2023.

Only cost us port taxes & fees.

Now this cruise was selling for $3500 for an interior w/ no perks. HOLY COW PRICEY.

We did gamble...we play .05-.25 video poker mostly. 

I dunno, we got 2K in points each? (over 14 days)

 

We get CONSTANT emails from Carnival. A few free or $100/person.

Haven't been back yet; have 2 to Aust/NZ booked for Feb.

Just got another email this week--booked 10 day Venezia for $100pp (including $200 credit, plus drinks while gambling) plus port taxes & fees.

 

I dunno--they keep coming for us!

[LAKingsFan]

From how I understand the comp system in general, the amount you spend or lose is irrelevant. As mentioned, slots are easy to rate with coin in.

 

From my understanding, we are rated at tables on our average bet. Each game has its own theoretical loss % and number of hands or games per hour and that number is extrapolated over our time played and we are turned into a number based on that. 

 

If you sit down with $1000, play $200 a hand over 20 minutes and lose it all and don't return, you have very little value to a casino. 

 

A $25 a hand player that spends 24 hours playing over a week and ultimately loses $1000 is a more valuable player than the $200 bettor.

[bafinegan]

12 minutes ago, LAKingsFan said:

From how I understand the comp system in general, the amount you spend or lose is irrelevant. As mentioned, slots are easy to rate with coin in.

 

From my understanding, we are rated at tables on our average bet. Each game has its own theoretical loss % and number of hands or games per hour and that number is extrapolated over our time played and we are turned into a number based on that. 

 

If you sit down with $1000, play $200 a hand over 20 minutes and lose it all and don't return, you have very little value to a casino. 

 

A $25 a hand player that spends 24 hours playing over a week and ultimately loses $1000 is a more valuable player than the $200 bettor.

I have gotten offers directly from the casino host because ( and he told me this) "I have seen you here every night".  I consistently play table minimums....

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, KKB said:

I can't tell you for sure what Carnival will do.

But let me share our experience.

We sent our Caesars Diamond cards to Carnival via an ad I saw on FB.

Immediately got a huge list of cruises we could book free--3-14 days Caribbean, MX, AK, Hawaii, Europe.

SO we booked the longest cruise that fit in our schedule--14 days to Hawaii January 2023.

Only cost us port taxes & fees.

Now this cruise was selling for $3500 for an interior w/ no perks. HOLY COW PRICEY.

We did gamble...we play .05-.25 video poker mostly. 

I dunno, we got 2K in points each? (over 14 days)

 

We get CONSTANT emails from Carnival. A few free or $100/person.

Haven't been back yet; have 2 to Aust/NZ booked for Feb.

Just got another email this week--booked 10 day Venezia for $100pp (including $200 credit, plus drinks while gambling) plus port taxes & fees.

 

I dunno--they keep coming for us!

You are getting the offers because you check off many boxes for the casino marketing. They know what it takes to get to each level at Caesars/MGM etc.  What points you earned onboard was irrelevant. 

[Bronx12]

2 hours ago, LAKingsFan said:

From how I understand the comp system in general, the amount you spend or lose is irrelevant. As mentioned, slots are easy to rate with coin in.

 

From my understanding, we are rated at tables on our average bet. Each game has its own theoretical loss % and number of hands or games per hour and that number is extrapolated over our time played and we are turned into a number based on that. 

 

If you sit down with $1000, play $200 a hand over 20 minutes and lose it all and don't return, you have very little value to a casino. 

 

A $25 a hand player that spends 24 hours playing over a week and ultimately loses $1000 is a more valuable player than the $200 bettor.

Do you care to elaborate? A loss is a loss, am I missing something? $1000 is $1000 

[KKB]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

You are getting the offers because you check off many boxes for the casino marketing. They know what it takes to get to each level at Caesars/MGM etc.  What points you earned onboard was irrelevant. 

They have to be sadly disappointed. We gamble FAR less on a cruise—game selection much more limited, more activities to draw us

[LAKingsFan]

1 hour ago, Bronx12 said:

Do you care to elaborate? A loss is a loss, am I missing something? $1000 is $1000 

Yeah, I get what you're saying and I don't disagree. 

 

So do people that win not get or deserve comps? I don't know that tracking losses is an exact science. 

 

I'm not certain about anything and I don't know that anyone without first hand knowledge of the workings within can be. 

 

The way I mentioned above is the only way I have ever heard as an explanation that makes sense to me.

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

They have to be sadly disappointed. We gamble FAR less on a cruise—game selection much more limited, more activities to draw us

Doesn't matter.  High status shows history and habits.  

[tj2806]

5 hours ago, bafinegan said:

I have gotten offers directly from the casino host because ( and he told me this) "I have seen you here every night".  I consistently play table minimums....

 

What type of offers? Casino hosts can "override" and give people comps directly. This is particularly common for folks who belly up to the casino and get crazy unlucky; say lose $5k in an hour and never show up again. System-wise, such a person's theoretical loss is quite low, but given the situation the host can usually throw them a bone. Sounds like the host just liked you in particular and/or it was a slow casino and they were feeling generous.

1 hour ago, LAKingsFan said:

Yeah, I get what you're saying and I don't disagree. 

 

So do people that win not get or deserve comps? I don't know that tracking losses is an exact science. 

 

I'm not certain about anything and I don't know that anyone without first hand knowledge of the workings within can be. 

 

The way I mentioned above is the only way I have ever heard as an explanation that makes sense to me.

 

Winners get comps, but losers get even more comps. The guy who hits a jackpot and walks away is less valuable than the guy who hits a jackpot then gives all of the money back.

 

This is against modern Vegas comp calculations ("win/loss doesn't matter; the only thing that matters is average daily theoretical loss") - cruise ships feel more like 90s Vegas in that regard

[LAKingsFan]

Correct because the hit and run winner has less hands played or coin through than the person that wins money and cycles it back through

[bafinegan]

 

7 hours ago, tj2806 said:

 

What type of offers? Casino hosts can "override" and give people comps directly. This is particularly common for folks who belly up to the casino and get crazy unlucky; say lose $5k in an hour and never show up again. System-wise, such a person's theoretical loss is quite low, but given the situation the host can usually throw them a bone. Sounds like the host just liked you in particular and/or it was a slow casino and they were feeling generous.

 

Winners get comps, but losers get even more comps. The guy who hits a jackpot and walks away is less valuable than the guy who hits a jackpot then gives all of the money back.

 

This is against modern Vegas comp calculations ("win/loss doesn't matter; the only thing that matters is average daily theoretical loss") - cruise ships feel more like 90s Vegas in that regard

I have gotten several bounce back offers for free balcony from Carnival (similar to those offered several weeks later online).  ALso MSC outright gave me a voucher for (up to) 7 night cruise in a balcony cabin on the last day of the cruise. They have a different system there.  You go up to the casino host who looks you up in their system.  The offer voucher is printed and given to you right there.

[rodndonna]

As another thread on here has mentioned - there is also some coupling with other Carnival lines like HAL.

 

We haven't sailed with Carnival in many years, but have sailed a few HAL cruises since pandemic now. We were lucky with some freebie's on HAL when occupancy was still ramping back up which are no more, but we do get good discounts with HAL. We are also on a Carninal daily freebie list offer (which seems to change through the day). Those offers are all very near term and not really doable for us - but I do like window shopping them daily for "what could have been" 😉

 

 

[joe/jack]

I received an email from Players Club

last week regarding next weeks cruise.

There was like 8 questions regarding when I gamble and how much I expected to spend in the casino. 
This happened last spring as well and when I put my card in the slot machine on the 1st night there was a 250$ free slot play. I hope this happens again.

🤞

[surfone]

4 minutes ago, joe/jack said:

I received an email from Players Club

last week regarding next weeks cruise.

There was like 8 questions regarding when I gamble and how much I expected to spend in the casino. 
This happened last spring as well and when I put my card in the slot machine on the 1st night there was a 250$ free slot play. I hope this happens again.

🤞

That's interesting,  which ship will you be sailing on next week?