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NCL Casinos At Sea Blackjack Points Question


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For those of you who play mostly, or only blackjack on NCL, I'm wondering how many points you earned on your trip, and what your average wager / amount of hours played were? Has anyone been able to earn Ruby or Elite status betting black chips ($100 wager) on blackjack for say 4 hours per day on a 7 day cruise?

 

They make it pretty clear what it takes to earn status when playing slots, but not so much with tables.

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I think Ruby or Elite are impossible unless you bet $500+, Sapphire could be reachable.

I play the green chip tables ($50 min) and always bet on two spots. My betting spread is $50-500 on each, probably average bet of $150-200 per hand, total of 20-30 hours per cruise.

Only on one of the 7 day cruises I took did I manage to reach Pearl status (5.000 points)!

While they are clear on points earning for slots, for table games they always claim "it depends"...

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I keep a detailed log of my play. I have averaged(last 7 cruises) 11,786 points per cruise(the last one I only earned 1237 points) playing about 80% BJ, 15% craps and 5% other table games and slots. At BJ I put in on average 2.3 hours per day(usually 1 day of at least 10 hours) of play with an ave bet of $331 per hand. Points and tiers are nice but what it comes down to as far as future comped cruises is losses. I won on the 6 cruises(twice 5 figures plus) and was offered mini-suites and balconies and one oceanview??? The last one I earned just 1237 points but lost 13k and was offered a full suite.

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I think Ruby or Elite are impossible unless you bet $500+, Sapphire could be reachable.

I play the green chip tables ($50 min) and always bet on two spots. My betting spread is $50-500 on each, probably average bet of $150-200 per hand, total of 20-30 hours per cruise.

Only on one of the 7 day cruises I took did I manage to reach Pearl status (5.000 points)!

While they are clear on points earning for slots, for table games they always claim "it depends"...

 

That's a bummer to hear. I would've thought ~$500 bets with decent hours would be enough to reach at least Ruby. It seems like they're really looking for players who cruise very frequently. For someone who only cruises once a year on average, it seems like it'd be hard to even get status, yet less benefit from it. It'd be nice if NCL would adapt the 18 month play periods. I think 12 months is more suitable for land based casinos.

 

 

With your estimate of $150-200/hand @ 20-30 hours per cruise, what kind of return offers do you receive from NCL?

 

I keep a detailed log of my play. I have averaged(last 7 cruises) 11,786 points per cruise(the last one I only earned 1237 points) playing about 80% BJ, 15% craps and 5% other table games and slots. At BJ I put in on average 2.3 hours per day(usually 1 day of at least 10 hours) of play with an ave bet of $331 per hand. Points and tiers are nice but what it comes down to as far as future comped cruises is losses. I won on the 6 cruises(twice 5 figures plus) and was offered mini-suites and balconies and one oceanview??? The last one I earned just 1237 points but lost 13k and was offered a full suite.

 

Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you.

 

What do you think the reason was for only earning 1237 points on your last cruise? Did you play less, or perhaps a pit boss forgot to submit a slip for your big 10-hour session? I had this happen to me recently and had to see the same pit boss the day after to get it manually corrected.

 

Have you noticed a difference in the return offers you receive depending on the duration of your prior cruise, or the season of the future cruise offer?

 

Have you received comp'd cruise offers outside of the standard bounce-back offer? i.e. you did not book the initial free cruise offer, but then received another free cruise offer in the mail at a later date?

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That's a bummer to hear. I would've thought ~$500 bets with decent hours would be enough to reach at least Ruby. It seems like they're really looking for players who cruise very frequently. For someone who only cruises once a year on average, it seems like it'd be hard to even get status, yet less benefit from it. It'd be nice if NCL would adapt the 18 month play periods. I think 12 months is more suitable for land based casinos.

 

 

 

 

 

With your estimate of $150-200/hand @ 20-30 hours per cruise, what kind of return offers do you receive from NCL?

 

 

 

My last 4 cruises I was offered comped inside or OV which I always upgraded to Haven. On one of those cruises (14 days) I also got a discounted price for the upgrade for a total savings of 50%...

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The 1237 points I earned were correct. This cruise I did not have any long sessions like most of my previous cruises. I only logged 3.5 hours total for BJ. I got hit really hard with the deck and went through my bankroll pretty fast. One hand I had $800 each on 2 spots, the dealer had a 5, I got 7-3 on the first and doubled and got a 9, on the second I got 6-6 and split getting another 6 then a 4 on the 1st six, doubled and got a 4, the second 6 I got an ace and doubled and got an ace, the third six I got a 9 and stayed. So I am now $4800 deep in the hand. The turns over a 6 to go with the 5 then a 4, then an ace, then the killer 4 for 20 wiping out all of my bets.

 

Like I said previously losses either actual or theoretical are what count when it comes to future cruise comps. When I won on my 6 prior cruises I put in the time and the big average bets(putting a million plus in play) and got offered oceanview thru mini suites. But when I lost on this cruise I was offered a full suite right away. NCL really has this backwards as far as the real casino industry goes.

 

The good thing about NCL though is that you never have to wait for an offer from them. Just call and tell them what you want as far as your next cruise and they will let you know what you qualify for(the cheaper the cruise the better the offer will be).

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One hand I had $800 each on 2 spots

 

turns over a 6 to go with the 5 then a 4, then an ace, then the killer 4 for 20 wiping out all of my bets.

 

Wow. That is an insanely unfortunate way to go out early in the cruise. Though, it would have (and should have) been a great win to start with had the cards gone with the odds.

 

When you're betting on two spots, do you confirm with the pit boss or dealer that they are tracking your play on both hands for bet averaging? It seems like if you do everything right on NCL, there's the potential to recoup almost your entire theoretical loss in comps (when including the value of future cruise offers).

 

I've heard that NCL has new technology on their newer ships called BRAVO Pit. The abbreviated description of this technology is:

 

BRAVO is a complete table game management and player tracking system designed for more efficient player ratings and pit management utilizing electronic data collection. BRAVO Pit allows for easy input and tracking of all ratings and management functions. Players are rated electronically and given credit for play immediately.
I'm wondering, have you noticed this on your sailings, and can two separate people play at the same table, at the same time, with the same players card - for the purpose of boosting comps on one card?
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On the older ships, pre away class it is old school with the floor watching and inputting data. On the newer ships there is the electronic rating system(could be Bravo). The dealers still have to input you into the system and update when you change betting styles(2 hands, amount of bets). There will always be some sort of manual input which could lead to human error.

 

Two people can play off of one card as long as the card person is actually placing the bets down and collecting the chips. Just have 2 separate piles and just bet how the other person wants you to. On the Breakaway I had a crazy rich guy playing alongside me and he was getting killed(playing 100-400 per hand and down about 7k) and I was doing well. He asked I would play his spot for him. I agreed and he handed me 20k in chips. The stakes were $50-3000. I ran his 20K up to 33 in a shoe and a half, he was happy and left giving me 6 purples. I cooled of some but was till winning so between my wins and his toke I did well that night. I never seen again in the casino all week and the floor told me that he never played again during the week. I hope he took his profit and ran.

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