InitialD

I don't play table games and I don't spend too much on the slots. I got $125 in funplay/OBC and I also put in another $10 and I played every day in the casino for at least an hour or more a day for the whole week before I spent the last of it on the last day so that's a lot of playing. 

We've been out of Charleston on the Fantasy-class ship but will be going on the Sunshine later this year. I wonder how parking will be impacted with a larger ship docking there. 

After doing 10 Carnival cruises we did a 7 night on NCL and I don't think we will do another on NCL. It was good but it wasn't any better than Carnival, at a higher price too. I'm surprised you don't have to swipe a credit card to use the elevators on NCL tbh.

"I'm also curious what the odds are for the casino promotions, i.e. how often do they draw names vs. how many premiers (and guests) are on the ship."

I've seen it vary widely from a few dozen to around a hundred. I've been on two premiere and between my cabin mate and me we won 3 drawings on the two cruises but we made sure we were there for every casino drawing, not just the premiere ones but the hotseat contests etc.

I've done 10 Carnival but my last cruise was NCL. I wasn't a big fan of NCL - it was fine but I didn't enjoy it any more than Carnival. The kids enjoy the kids program on both Carnival and NCL.

The Dream is a more comparable shim to much of the NCL fleet as it is larger and newer. I've been on the smaller Fantasy class ships like the Elation most than any other kind but coming from NCL you might not like it as much. Some people find some of the decorations on Carnival ships to be a bit more garish but it doesn't bother me.

I didn't think the food was any better on NCL. It was fine but it didn't really stand out. We didn't do any specialty restaurants that you have to pay for though.

Neither cruise line has much of a dress code any more - I saw more people in shorts and t-shirts in the dining rooms on NCL than anywhere else.

If you go to either Our Lucaya or Taino beach you can get a taxi van right at the port. They will be lined up and a supervisor will direct you to one. Both places are easy to get a taxi back. It’s not as cheap as some places but not outrageous. Both have bathrooms I believe. It’s been a couple years since we went to Taino and the restaurant there was damaged in a hurricane but I think reopened- chech before you go. 

1 hour ago, Davey Wavey said:

I'll add one more. When they are really busy and drinks are taking 20 minutes to come, just order another each time they bring one.

Yeah I would ask how long they would be on shift until break or whatnot and just ask that each time they come around they would bring my preferred drink. Then I would know when they would be going on break so if I wanted any more I would have to ask someone else at that point.

I've got my 3rd premier coming up this fall. A few thoughts:

Look at you Premiere schedule and make sure you are there for every drawing. Past 2 premiere cruises me and my cabin mate have won 3 drawings between us.

Don't skip the premiere kick off party the first night. They bring around free drinks and the free hors d’oeuvres. are good.

If you want to get free drinks quickly, hit up the casino earlier. I like to get bloody mary and mimisas in the morning on sea days. Just after dinner is a good time or during dining times it isn't quite as crowded. Around 8 to midnight or later the casino is packed so expect to wait for drinks. If you want beer, for example, consider ordering Fosters because it's 25 ounces and will last a little longer. I tip well so I've had good luck with waitstaff remembering me by name and would even ask my cabin mate where I am when I'm not in the casino. That said, they do have a lot of people to wait on but I've never gone more than 20 minutes between drinks even during the busiest times. 

If you like table games and want to make your money last play at a relatively crowed table so you play fewer hands per hour. 

I have to take frequent breaks from the casino. I'm not a smoker so I need fresh air.

You can always buy Cheers if you want to drink outside the casino. I've done several DOU casino cruises and I've never said "I wish I would have bought Cheers." That said, I did buy one drink during the first sea day brunch, and I used my past guest free drink voucher the last dinner of of the cruise. I would also stop by the casino and play 10 minutes and get a drink to take to meals.

If you get free drinks in the casino, I myself would be hard to spend more on drinks outside the casino to "break even" vs the cost of Cheers. Plus I budgeted to get a couple drinks while off ship too. But also only one day on a 7 day cruise did I hit 15 drinks while using DUO.

In freeport we've done a couple different beaches. We did a shuttle to Port Lucaya/Our Lucaya. It's a good choice if you want somewhere with shopping nearby. Also we did a taxi to Taino beach which was nice. There's a restaurant there with bathrooms what whatnot.

It's a premiere cruise so they want to open the casino at 4PM instead of 9PM.

3 days and 120 days.

First cruise was in 2005 and the one on Saturday will be number 10. 

Next week I'm doing a Premiere cruise with a DOU card. I only have it because I'm going with someone who is a bit more of a "high roller" and I don't spend that much time in the casino.

I know sometimes it can take longer to get a drink in the casino. So my question is, what drinks should I order to get the most "bang" for my buck? That way I only need to order a couple. For example, if I want a beer I can order a fosters because it comes in a larger can. Any other ideas?

Back in the day it used to be based on number of cruises, so people would do a 3 day/4 day back to back to get Platinum quicker. 

One thing I learned was that Bermuda allows cruise ships docked overnight to open casinos from 9PM to 5AM. Any other ports do this? I don't think Carnival does overnight stays in Nassau any more.

I was wondering about this. My last cruise was in January and my mom got a few hundred in casino cash as a premier perk. It was just cash they handed to her. I won a raffle for a few hundred and that too was just cash. Now I've heard about "fun play" money or something that they are giving on some cruises, has this replaced casino cash?

So you can only play with it but then any winnings you can cash out as cash is my understanding?

For me the familiarity is a good thing. I've been on enough Conquest and Fantasy class ships I already know where everything is, I know what activities I like and don't like, I can maximize my time and spend more of it just relaxing. The platinum and premiere cruise perks are just a nice bonus.

That said, I'm not against other cruise lines but have never been on one. We're doing NCL next year because it's a family reunion cruise so that'll be interesting. 

EDIT: Also, next week we're doing a premier cruise to Bermuda and I imagine that will have the most Platinum/Diamond cruisers of any cruise we're been on yet. We'll see.

The Premiere cruise sail away party (when applicable)

MDR dinner (I've never missed one yet)

Seaday brunch. Steak and eggs.

It depends. I decided not to get Cheers since I had the DOU casino card. I found it to more than meet my need for drinks. Plus I had brought on the allowed bottle of wine. Only one other time did I buy a drink outside the casino. 

I found it was a lot easier to get drinks during the day in the casino. Wasn't very busy at all. Late at night it gets very busy so it could take half an hour to get your drink, so I would order a Fosters as it was the largest beer you could order. 

I looked up the site and it looks like it attracts a crowd in the hundreds, maybe a couple thousand at most so I wouldn't think so.

3 bucks is a fair price for me to not have to try to lug water in a suitcare or carry on.

This is great news as our cruise will be there the 5th - 7th of November. Thank you.

One time the winds were too bad and we couldn't dock in Mahogany Bay so we docked in the other cruise port a couple miles away in Coxen Hole.