jobey

7 minutes ago, dreadpirate3 said:

 

Similar to the beans served with the Huevos Rancheros our last cruise. They were beans. Completely uncooked pinto beans. I did ask to speak with someone from the kitchen, since they shouldn't serve rock hard beans in case someone breaks a tooth.

Raw beans are edible, but not very tasty. You must be describing *dried* beans, which could be harmful if eaten. 

So you are suggesting that people go through these multiple transactions and turning in buckets of tokens to save $1.50 in fees?

 

 

 

At the risk of sounding "judge-y", if folks are concerned about $1.50 or even $3.00 then I don't think the casino is the right/best entertainment for them.

First of all, $50 is only 200 tokens, which would not fill one of their plastic bucket, much less multiples.

Secondly, using tokens to get cash from your onboard account without fees can be used for anything. Tips, food and drink in the ports, souvenirs, whatever. It doesn’t have to be spent in the casino.

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I don't think there's any way they would let anyone cash out 100s of dollars in OBC in this way. There are not that many of those coin pusher games, so they are easy to monitor. And as you said, they are gambling machines designed to take your money, so no one is amassing hundreds of dollars in tokens "legitimately" (i.e. by winning them). All they have to do is look up your shipboard account and they can see that you got all of your tokens right out of the money changer.

I'm not sure if you could use OBC this way, but you could use a credit card and get whatever perks your card issuer offers. If you cash in $hundreds, yes, you will probably get noticed. But doing $50 or even $100 would probably work.

And who checks your ID when you cash out the tokens? That's right, *nobody*.

This is just a way to avoid a few $ in fees. Maybe you don't gamble and want $50 in cash to spend in the port. Buy some tokens and cash them in. Save the ATM fees.

If you stick your room key in a slot machine and pull money/charge your room for it, there is a 3% fee. Like sticking you atm card in the change machine will incur a $5.99 fee to pull money.

Um, yeah. No argument there. :rolleyes:

Couldn't you also just bring cash?

You could, and I do, but some people don't carry cash for whatever reason.

Some cruisers might think it's worth the effort to cart buckets of tokens to the cashier to save that 3% fee. If you don't, then this post is not for you.

Sorry, but I don't know what you mean by getting tokens from the "coin pusher." Please clarify that for me.

A coin pusher is a gambling machine that is filled with coins (generally quarters) with a constantly moving mechanism at the back. The game is played by inserting a coin into the slot so that it lands on the open surface in front of the pusher. The pusher then pushes the coin towards the front where it makes contact with other coins. Those coins are then (hopefully) pushed forward and off the edge where they fall into a bin where the player can collect them.

NCL uses tokens instead of quarters, but they can be exchanged for 25 cents per token at the cashier. They also put other prizes on top of the tokens, like $1/$5/$10/$20 bills.

On the NCL version there is usually a card reader on the machine for you to use your ship's card. Each swipe of the card will dispense 20 tokens into the bin and charge $5 to your onboard account.

You sure? Adding it to a slot machine gets the same 3% fee.

Yes, I'm sure. :rolleyes:

I know, if you’re *really* frugal you would avoid the casino, but anyway...

Getting cash for the casino by charging it to your onboard account results in a 3 % fee, right? But getting $5 in tokens from the coin pusher is fee-free!

So, get your $5/$10/$15/$20 in tokens and then take them to the cashier’s cage and exchange them for cash! No fee! I would keep a few tokens out of the bucket each time so it’s not an even amount and not do it too often or they might catch on and start watching you.

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International waters or about 12 miles from shore.

“International” waters has nothing to do with it. It’s a state issue, just like the on-board casino. Florida, for instance, has jurisdiction for three nautical miles from shore on the Atlantic side and nine on the Gulf coast.

United States waters extend 200 nautical miles from its shore, unless that reaches another country’s jurisdiction. As there is no Federal sales tax (yet), that has no effect on the price of your favorite cocktail.

So the answer about whether and how much sales tax is charged on your beverage depends on the location of your embarkation port. It’s minimal anyway, so I say “drink up”.

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Was there an option in Cagneys or Le Bistro to add Lobster tail? I saw a menu for Teppanyaki recently that had a $10 upcharge over the UDP for Lobster.

I didn’t notice any option for lobster tail.

Are these used to purchase a cruise or for on-board purchases?

The only restriction I found is that they cannot be used to settle your onboard account. I would call Celebrity before purchasing to be sure.

https://www.cardcash.com/buy-gift-cards/discount-celebrity-cruises-cards/

I cruise on NCL, but I buy other cards from these guys so I get their emails.

They say these are brand new so there should be no worries about a previous owner redeeming them. The deal expires tomorrow (1/2/18) at 2pm EST, so hurry!

There are no Pepsi drinkers. Only Coke drinkers without a choice.

Bull. I'm a life-long Pepsi drinker and haven't tasted Coca-Cola in over 30 years.

All of the other major mainstream US based cruise lines have Coke products. RCI, Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, HAL.

Which is why I prefer NCL.

Some of my favorites

Appetizer: Chilled Colossal Shrimp Trio (Cagney's)

Entree: Filet Mignon (La Cucina, believe it or not)

Dessert: Warm Chocolate Lava Cake (MDR)

Cocktail: Wasabi Cocktail (Wasabi, of course) - I think I had three, but I can't remember. :confused: