CruiseWithUs64

I didn't know this was an option? Can you elaborate? Final payment is not due yet, am I allowed to book things before then?

If it is a promotional package you have to go through your agent or PCC. If you just want to add a package to your reservation (and pay for it) you can sign in to MyNCL and add it yourself. On MyNCL you can also make restaurant reservation, show reservations etc.

Similar dilemma here, we're booked into a BA (Jade), prices have dropped after FP so now Minisuite MX is only $30pp higher, MA $100pp higher, but I'm wondering about noise from deck 12 above. Bigger cabins and slightly larger balcony tho' ...........

Depends on the location. You have an entire area which is under the card room, library, spa, sauna etc. Those are rather quiet.

Under the pool area, garden cafe etc you have to worry about chair movements in the morning when they set everything up.

may be why they stopped it.

 

They had staff from all over the ship, stewards, waiters even (I believe) behind the scenes staff, it was nice.

I doubt that.

Cruiseline? Ship? Year?

That is not what they are saying. You put in $5, win $$$, and keep playing on their money if you are lucky. It's how many time you spin those reels, not how much you lose. Each $5 spin is giving you one point even though you haven't spent any more of your own money. One cruise I earned 3000 points and came home $500 ahead which I felt was pretty good for the free cruise & drinks we had enjoyed! We usually aren't ahead, but it doesn't cost me thousands of dollars to earn 3000 points or more. The casino of course is hoping you lose, but you can earn 1000s of points and still come out of ahead with luck....but it doesn't usually work that way:rolleyes:

That's how it started out though...we already progressed now.

Here is the beginning...

Unfortunately you are correct. It does make it harder to reach and certainly maintain those higher levels. I think for the vast majority who might cruise once or twice a year and gamble a fair bit, it will be still be difficult to reach and maintain above the Hot level.

 

If I am right in my estimation I would hope that CAS would really up the perks at those higher levels making them worth attaining. We have been told about the 'exciting' changes coming to the program for well over a year now. The only changes I have seen are definitely not in favour of the player. Things like the removal of the Cagney's perk or the wine with dinner.

 

I started this year as Golden and on my first cruise of the new year I made my HOT status for next year. Other than a $150 spa credit I see no extra benefits of reaching Golden again. Those additional 10,000 of points require a minimum of $50,000 in slot play, double that for video poker and I can't imagine what it means for play on the tables.

 

That's a lot of play for a spa credit. :eek:

 

 

Rochelle

You are obviously not understanding how it works. It's the same as it works at all CET properties. $5 through the machine does not mean that is what actually came out of your pocket because the machine is paying out on some spins. The bets, time played is for table games.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Before you categorize me as an idiot here:

Under accumulation of dollars I mean what the machine plays in dollar value.

I.e. if a person puts in $5 and the machine plays $100 in a combination of wins and losses and regardless if the person walks away with any money or nothing at all he gets 500 points. That's basically what you were saying and I call that accumulation of dollars played.

I feel like I keep repeating myself but...1 point per $5 in on a slot does not mean you lost $5. You could have won $1000 and then continued to play all the winnings still accumulating points at 1 per $5. On my last cruise I got 4500 points and came home with $2000 profit.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Even if you use the accumulation of 1 point per $5 plaid it does not add up. My friend went through last year's points he earned per cruise. He usually only takes three nighters and spends an equal amount on each cruise in the casino.

His points are steady between 1400 and 1600 points. Based on your notion that your total points are an accumulation of dollars played he must have played the approx same amount of dollars on every cruise. That is statistically impossible not only on one single machine but considering that he changes machines constantly is less than impossible. :D

I go by what CAS told me: bets, time played.

You obviously misunderstood what I was saying. I was saying that points DO NOT come from loses. It comes from your bets whether win or lose. My example of $5 per 1 point is on a slot machine. You can spin $5 in spins and get one point but you may not have lost that $5. Make sense?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So if my buddy throws in $5 and plays for 4 hours on those 5 bucks he gets 1 point? LOL

As far as the slot and video poker machines are concerned there is no speculation. This is how points are accumulated for the Casinos at Sea program;

 

 

"Getting started is as easy. Just sign up for your complimentary players card onboard at the Casino Players Club and start playing your way to freebies. Use your Players Club card while playing your favorite slot machines and table games. The more you play, the more you get rewarded.

 

TABLE GAMES: Reward Points are based on average bet, session play or hands played and game type.

 

REEL & VIDEO SLOTS: For every $5 coin-in, receive 1 point.

 

VIDEO POKER: For every $10 coin-in, receive 1 point.

 

Redeem your Reward Points for slot and table game play, toward charges off your final bill or save them for your next cruise.*

 

Reward Points can also be transferred from ship to ship. Earned points stay on your account for 18 months if not redeemed.

 

*Rewards Points earned on qualifying slot machines and table games.'

 

 

Here is a link to where this information can be found on the NCL website;

 

Casinos at Sea program on NCL

 

 

 

In order to earn 10,000 points you must play through $50,000. Losses do not factor in to the accumulation of points. It can be your money played through the machine or the casinos money, but that is the amount that needs to be played.

 

Playing tables is a whole other ballgame as many factors come into play.

 

 

Rochelle

OMG really? LMAO. Sure you get a point for each certain dollar amount you put in. But does not mean that the time on the slot machine or at the table is disregarded. LOL

I am not a slot player but on the last cruise my friend who is a slot player accumulated over 1500 points and his losses were not near as much as you want to tell me.

Points do not come from losses they come from the amount bet. For example $5 spent in a slot machine gets one point. But you could have won on that $5 and continued to spin and accumulate more points.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You might be misinformed. I had 15,000 points from 5 cruises and I sure did not lose $75k.

My rep at CAS told me that points on the tables is a mixture between time, bets and losses.

Did you have the UBP?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah. Reread the post. My bad.:D

Unfortunately you are correct. It does make it harder to reach and certainly maintain those higher levels. I think for the vast majority who might cruise once or twice a year and gamble a fair bit, it will be still be difficult to reach and maintain above the Hot level.

 

If I am right in my estimation I would hope that CAS would really up the perks at those higher levels making them worth attaining. We have been told about the 'exciting' changes coming to the program for well over a year now. The only changes I have seen are definitely not in favour of the player. Things like the removal of the Cagney's perk or the wine with dinner.

 

I started this year as Golden and on my first cruise of the new year I made my HOT status for next year. Other than a $150 spa credit I see no extra benefits of reaching Golden again. Those additional 10,000 of points require a minimum of $50,000 in slot play, double that for video poker and I can't imagine what it means for play on the tables.

 

That's a lot of play for a spa credit. :eek:

 

 

Rochelle

How did you come up with that $50,000 number for 10,000 pts?

I earned 2500 points on a 3 Night Sky cruise strictly on tables. I didn't even lose $1500. A friend of mine is strictly a slot player and the losses were around $1000 and earned 1900 points.

There is a lot of speculation here about how points are accumulated. Playing time is a major factor.

Something else that's new is you can't use you CAS drink card for anything other than water if you have the UBP. It's not a huge deal except I hate having to sign for every drink. I'd much rather have them scan the card, bring the drink, I tip them and move on. Every drink is a major production now.

 

I prefer to think of it as a problem with their system, rather than me ordering too many drinks, but it's still annoying :)

Sorry I just came off a cruise and I didn't sign for anything. They still just scan the card.

It's handled better on the older ships. I did 4 Epic cruises last year and barely got any recognition for the 50-60 hours of play on each 7 day cruise. On the Star with similar bets and less time in the casino, I was rated much higher. I think it has to do with the automatic hand counters on Epic and the change in bets not being properly logged.

I think it would be a problem of the pit boss not logging your time properly on the Epic. That probably will always be a problem until you can login on the tables automatically like on the slots.

Last year I had three exact same cruises, spend the same amount of time and losses were almost identical (couple hundred bucks difference). The difference from the highest point total on one of the cruise to the lowest was almost a 1,000 points.

I think it is almost impossible to track changes in bets on the Craps table per say. Unless the pit bosses get the info from the dealers and your changes are obvious (i.e. $10 on the pass line with no odds to $300 on the table) I doubt changes in bets will be noted.

The changes are tough no doubt and despite me losing out on the next level it will be a better program hopefully.

CAS wants to simply streamline the program. The points are derived from playing time and probably losses though I did not see a difference in points between losses and wins. So I think CAS may put more weight into time spend.

I probably could be pissed about the new program as I was just downgraded one level because I was missing 187 points. That's probably like 10 min on the craps table. :D

The problem I saw before with the program was that a lot of people received benefits/comp they should not have gotten. By streamlining it and making it fair for everybody I did lose out but that is OK. I just wish they would have a website like myncl.com where you can track points, playing time etc. rather than calling or sending an email.

I think you will find with a package, WiFi is cheaper than roaming. Just remember to log out when you're done.

Believe me it is not. Plus WiFi on a cruise ship is still highly unreliable.

Having done both the best way to see is floor seating and come early. Floor seating in the back can be obstructed at times (people in front of you).

Banquet/Booth seating I did once to test. Nope no more. While you seat higher up you have a boatload of servers etc running around in front of you.

Floor seating and get there early.

Beginning with the Cirque Dreams on the Epic I think that venue is a design flaw. They would have been better off doing an arena style seating rather than floor seating where the tables are in 90 degree angles to the stage.

I've never been out of the country and used Viber myself, but I've been the recipient of a Viber-call. I'm pretty sure as long as you have Wi-Fi, which the ship has, you don't need to worry about data roaming, since you aren't using data. As I said, I can't verify because I've never used it to MAKE calls, only receive them.

 

And just so I can be as contradictory as I can in one post :p, I have T-Mobile and it works much better for me than Verizon, particularly indoors. :)

WiFi on ships is not free. It's not Starbucks.

AT&T has a program called Passport which is International data/voice roaming. AT&T is more reliable than VZW International package.

If you are looking at texting mostly that is your best bet. I would stay away from other suggestions like FB Messenger, Viber etc as they all need an internet connection and will run higher than AT&T's passport or even VZW Global package. Needless to say those apps do not work most of the time (lack of bandwidth) and are really dependent on where you are on the ship.

Generally, when/if there are problems that actually affect the passengers, it's on the first voyage(s) of a new class, not a new ship. Ovulation, er, Ovation of the Seas is the third in its class.

 

I wouldn't worry about it.

 

:)

Plus it is build at Meyer Werft. That alone guarantees quality.

How many points per cruise are you averaging on-board to get the next cruise directly from CAS?

Time spent in a casino is a big factor. If you already spend time in the CAS and you made sure that they take your key card at the tables or put it into the slot machine you may already be in the system.

The problem is that usually a casino host has to invite you to book through CAS. But I cruised NCL for years and dropped money left and right no host ever approached me. The Getaway had an extremely observant and good host. She gave me a business card for their landbased host at CAS. She actually made the effort while at sea contacting CAS to see if I played before in the casino. She came to me and said "I am surprised nobody made you Golden yet." With that she upgraded me and told me too book with CAS from now on.

You really have to have a caring host who is observant to officially be invited.

Having said that: I heard of people who cruised for years with NCL and spend a lot of time in the casino and just called CAS up. For some it worked and for some it didn't.

I think offers are only being made to VIP status. Not sure though. But even if you have Golden status it definitely works for you.

wrong thread. LOL

To be able to book through CAS you have to be invited by a casino host though I have heard that some have called CAS directly and were able to book.

I never received an offer per say. When I go on an NC:L cruise I just call my CAS rep and ask for prices. If you spend a significant time in the casino you get reduced fare. I do spend a lot of time in the casino and am Golden. I won't make it to VIP status because I don't bet $100/hand.

But despite that CAS is giving me excellent rates. On the 12/5 (Escape) sailing I pay for two people $4000 for an AFT Penthouse Haven Suite. It was almost 50% off. I think an aft balcony would have cost me $1400 for two (regular rate $1500/pp).

On October 29 I go solo on the Escape (10-day transatlantic). I pay $3400 for an Aft Penthouse Haven Suite. CAS has no single supplement. With a CAS booking you usually also get some free dinners (3 for a 7- to 10-Night cruise) plus the casino hosts usually comps you for an additional 2 dinners.

If you are a Platinum cruiser as well you pretty much set with dinner.

Your player's card and drink card (Golden gets Premium drink cards) are in your cabin upon arrival.

The discount is probably calculated by time spent in the casino and in part of how high your bets are. I am not a high better. I don't drop $100/hand but CAS definitely pays off. With two people we easily spend 4k on a 3-nighter.

I still come out in the minus but the discounts make the losses easier to take.

But I have never gotten an offer. I would say that I probably coud sail inside for free. On a recent quote I received the offer for $350 (incl taxes) for an oceanview for two. Since you have to pay taxes anyways I could reckon that this cabin was pretty much free. I didn't take it though. I am a balcony buff and no balconies (even suites) were available.

For what I have found, it seemed casino rates were anywhere from 25 - 40% less than the price on the web site. I have no idea how they calculate the price.

I haven't been on Royal in a while but I would think that they operate very much like NCL's CAS does. With Casino at Sea your discount is mostly based on time spent in the casino. My CAS person knows exactly how much time I spent in the casino. It is amazing how accurately they transmit these numbers.

We cruise for a few reasons:

 

1. For the ports. The ship doesn't really matter as much to me. It's about the destination. The thought of staying at an all inclusive hotel resort for a week would drive me bonkers. But I don't really like water or drunk people...so that probably explains it.

 

2. A compromise between hubby and I. I like the ports and he likes to veg out on the ship only getting off at 1 or 2 stops (he is disabled and cruising makes it easy for him).

 

3. On previous ships we spend a considerable amount of time, and money, in the casino.

 

4. I do attend shows....on the big ships that have good shows (Broadway shows).

 

Everyone vacations differently. And no, I don't want to socialize with people on a cruise (I like to talk with locals when I visit a new place, but don't really want to talk with other cruisers onboard)....a few minutes of idle conversation at dinner is enough. Fortunately, cruise ships allow me to be able to do...while everyone else can do what they like.

 

Again, different strokes for different folks. Also, lots of cruisers are like us....they get a suite and enjoy their room and private balcony.

 

Cruising is good value (generally). Hubby gets the resort feel and I get to visit new places. I much prefer to rent apartments and stay put, but that isn't hubby's idea of fun.

If you like the casino book your NCL cruise through their Casino At Sea. Great deals.

Confused as to why you would check when Clarea who is well respected on this forum as being very knowledgeable of RCCL policies and has stated in Post #2 that "Royal is different than Celebrity, and does not extend loyalty benefits to cabin mates. "

Because people only take answers serious if the answer is what they want to hear/read. Clarea made big mistake. In Clarea's attempt to help she was honest. She should have lied and said "yes. You can."

:D:p