clcjdn

I'd be interested in the response as well. My issue is similar in that I am sailing on 3/26/17 and the cruise ends after 4/1/17....will they actually split my play, or will it all count towards one year or the other...?

There is only a 3% fee if you go to the cage and have money added to your players account, purchase chips at the cage or purchase chips at the tables. If you download money from your onboard account to your players account at the slot machine, there is no fee.

There is a fee. It is 3% at the slot machines as well. You are likely thinking of Carnival where there is no fee, but if you just download and cash out your account gets locked.

The other new fee that I have been seeing is the almost $100 per person for the "free" UBP tips. So, our usual $600 for 2 has now been creeping up to $800 since we like that option.

I don't know if you physically can do this. I did see some people using their room key instead of their player's card, but when I have brought an old copy of my players card it didn't work. My wife and I usually play together, alternating hands, for at least a portion of the time, makes the session bankroll last longer.

Its a percentage of your average bet, multiplied by your number of hours played. Actual win/loss is irrelevant, as it is "theoretical" loss that matters.

 

I know for CAS that they calculate actual and theo. They give the players the benefit of the larger number when deciding what cabin category to offer for the next "comp" cruise. I also have personal experience with W2Gs coming directly off the top of any "actual" loss calculations they perform.

Not in the times I have traveled to/from there. Seems like you can get to a quicker check in line if they are open, but as for boarding groups, no, nothing special for CAS.

When I looked at my Verizon Wireless rewards earlier this week they had the $500 Carnival gift cards listed for $450 plus points. You can then load these gift cards onto your account through the onboard kiosks, which is what we did last time we were on a Carnival ship. Worked quite well. They used to have other denominations, not sure if they are just sold out, or if they changed to only the $500.

Thanks for the confirmations that I can use the Breakaway and Escape versions I have found!

I have searched and cannot find any recent examples of menu's except some embarkation day in the MDR. Does anyone have a copy of any of the menus for the MDR (Tropicana specifically if possible), the specialty dining rooms (looking for the new Cagneys and La Cucina) or confirmation that they are the same as the Breakaway? Lastly, looking for the breakfast menu at O'Sheehans unless it is the same as the Escape. Thanks if advance! We are seeing some potential new stuff, and are wondering if we will also get it on our upcoming trip!

Just doing some research and trying to decide which excursion Mr Sanchos or Nacho couch. Any input appreciated ..FYI it is myself, my husband, 19,19 , and 14 year old

 

Thanks

We are big fans of Mr. Sanchos.....been there like 3 times, with another planned next month! Julio is a great bartender if you like the swim up bar experience!

It can get alittle confusing juggling all the Comp cruise voucher offers out there..... and why I spend alot of time in This catergory. ;)

 

I've been doing alot of jumping back & forth between NCL & Princess lately,

due to comps. Some are from casinos, and others from Ship casinos.....

 

After sailing on Princess in March, the ship casino gave me Free cruises so'

booked that for Oct. (this was a Princess Cruise voucher IN our Cabin at end of cruise,

Not making us Wait to see IF we qualify for a voucher, like from NCL.)

 

Our next NCL cruise is in 2 weeks, from Harr. LV cruise voucher.

 

Before that, I pick up NCL vouchers from Harr Tahoe tomorrow.

 

And Princess vouchers from Venetian LV in June.:D

 

And YES, you can Call & find out what More you can get. Sweet.

 

Gets alittle confusing at times, but beats the alternative.....Not going. lol

 

 

c

Have you tried calling CAS directly to see what you qualify for? We can sail on pretty much anything NCL offers for $300 x 2 = $600ish. I have qualified inside, ocean, balcony, mini suite, all the way up to full suites.....funny thing....out of pocket about the same each time, but when I get W2G, my next comp goes down....:) We get the Carnival Premier offers still, but haven't been in a while....maybe I should take them up just to stay active....we have just found with CAS/NCL we have a lot more freedom to choose when and where we want to go.

I play mainly video poker, and also have seen that CAS doesn't treat "winners" like land based casinos....usually when you have some of the casino's money they want to get you back to reclaim their money....for CAS, this results in a lower "actual" loss and they offer you less (as in a lower level cabin) for your next cruise. I also think that for VP specifically, they are calculating their "theo" at the exact % with perfect strategy based on math. I also think that less than 5% of the VP playing population can play at 100% perfect strategy. Personally, I play at about 99-99.5% correct based on my VP training app and 16 years of frequent play. In reality, this is depressing the "theo" amounts for the majority of the people, which means they give less away. In the end, I have decided that anytime I get a tax form (the $1200 or more winners) I will just put that money away. We learned this after we hit for 3 tax forms worth $9K in one day on the Jewel, accumulated more points in a single cruise than any other sailing, and were offered less than the previous sailing. The "actual" loss was significantly less since we were playing on their money, and the "theo" loss was only changed slightly balcony to mini suite.

I sail at the end of April and havent gotten any email. Was your email related to your specific cruise, or did it appear to be a more general mailing?

 

Terry

It looked like it was the general, you qualified for the Golden Tier for this year email. I am booked at the end of May, but it made no reference to my upcoming date.

The email I got today said I get $125 in spa credit, so I can confirm that change. It also says $100 Food & Beverage Credit and Premium Drink Card. I am not seeing anything else in the email. Makes me wonder about the convenience fee for charging against my room....I sail at the end of May, so I guess worst case I figure out then.....

I remember that I have seen these slots and the Banana King slots on all the NCL ships I have been on.....haven't tried the Gem yet, but would venture a guess that they will be there. All the other ships have a pretty set inventory of available machines.

I think you will have issues with your primary room if you received a "comped" cabin and he is the main player it is based on. I was speaking with my CAS rep about cancelling a 3rd person in a cabin a few weeks ago, and she said something to that effect, as long as I wasn't cancelling the primary player I was going to be OK. Hope this helps!

My teen boys loved the Getaway teen club specifically and in general all of the NCL ships they have been on. Probably also depends on when you go to see how many kids are on the ship....maybe with Thanksgiving more will be out of school and on the ship.....not sure exactly when you went this year......

Should we play on one card like we do in land casinos? First time cruiser here.:)

Depending on your $ situation, there would be advantages to playing on a single card. If you have enough $ to put the action on 2, then separate, if you are looking to maximize, play together until you get where you want.

I'm going to hit a jackpot on my upcoming cruise starting this Saturday.

I really hope you do! Good luck!

You could call CAS, not sure of the general number, but I think they can look you up.

The amounts seem right to me. I have a person I speak with at CAS regularly, so I don't get "pressure" to do the upgrades, add the excursions, etc. Was this your first time using a casino voucher? It could be that the extra selling was to make sure you were aware of all of your options. Have a great sailing!

I reached Golden on my December Jewel cruise. Yes, they gave me the card right away and I believe it was a bonus $100 on my card that I used for free play. However, spa credit is not available until your next cruise.

Same here when I hit Golden on the Jewel. The new card and the bonus credits, but no spa.

Correctamundo.....

 

I rarely play slots, especially on ships because you have No idea the percentage.

 

I play video poker. Its listed right on the screen. I look for best payschedule wherever I am..........Vegas or ship.

Like this ^^^^^^^^

Thanks again clcldn

No worries! Hope this helps!

I had 7500 points in June (mixed in more slots) and 11,000 points on my last cruise. Video Poker pay tables on the ships are not going to be as good as in land based casinos (no competition for players). I mainly play Double Double Bonus which are 7/5 at the $0.25 level. I believe the $1 level is 8/5, but may have to go all the way to the $2 level to get that. By my rough math, I believe they are taking a 5% house edge on VP (which really stinks for most casual VP players as it takes near perfect play to get to the 95% payback on these lower pay tables). I play at roughly 98-99% perfect strategy (when I continually test on my WinPoker app), so I am at least getting a "fair" return.

As for theo vs actual loss, my rep has told me they take whichever is higher for base-lining your next cruise cabin offer. As for the additional comps while on-board, that is where the host discretion comes into play. I have had good luck with that on all ships except the Epic.