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Comparing casino programs among different cruise lines


Daghis
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Not clear what you mean by this. You earn a certificate from your play onboard. That certificate will give you a free cruise (at least it did for me) with a varying amount of days and cabin categories depending on your play. I'm not sure what your differentiation of comped cruise and certificate are as there is only one way to earn them from Blue Chip under the new program.

 

If you are referring to free cruise offers from land-based casinos then no you cannot combine that with a certificate or incentive from Blue Chip but that was the case even prior to the change to the new system. You will get all of your tier benefits though like the ones I mentioned in my previous post even if you are on a free cruise.

 

 

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Were you able to apply the certificate to an upgraded room? Free balcony room, upgrade to a Aqua and apply the certificate (free balcony or $1000 off cruise) of $1000 to the upgrade room?

 

I'm confused :) If you always qualify for a free balcony room, it seems the certificate is not worth anything. Is that right? Maybe I'm missing something? :)

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Were you able to apply the certificate to an upgraded room? Free balcony room, upgrade to a Aqua and apply the certificate (free balcony or $1000 off cruise) of $1000 to the upgrade room?

 

 

 

I'm confused :) If you always qualify for a free balcony room, it seems the certificate is not worth anything. Is that right? Maybe I'm missing something? :)

 

 

 

I'm still not sure I'm understanding what you are asking.

 

If you earn a certificate at the completion of a cruise it will indicate a cabin category and number of nights for you to travel free. Those will always vary depending on your play from that cruise, you don't automatically get a particular category based on your tier level, it all is based on your play per cruise. (Now I'm not sure if your tier limits you to a maximum number of nights or a maximum category but I don't think it does) If you choose a cruise to use that certificate on that matches the number of nights and the cabin category (equal to or less) then your cruise is free save for port charges and taxes (was $85pp on the free cruise we booked). If you choose to deviate from your certificate parameters and want to take a longer cruise or higher cabin category then the certificate reverts to a monetary value. Our Sky Suite for 7 nights had a $1750pp value. That amount will be deducted from the cost of your cruise and you pay the balance. So if we had chosen a 10 night cruise we would've had $1750pp to put towards the trip cost regardless of the category we booked, or if we booked a 7 nighter and wanted a Celebrity Suite we would've had $1750pp to put towards the suite. Hope that was clear enough. [emoji846]

 

 

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I was just informed by Royal Caribbean that the Grand Suite and above no longer can get the casino rate due to the non refundable deposits. They said they are trying to work something out. If they don't I will no longer be sailing with them. NCL always used to comp a penthouse suite when we sailed with them. I will just have to pay full price for the first cruise bc we haven't sailed with them in about 3 years.

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I was just informed by Royal Caribbean that the Grand Suite and above no longer can get the casino rate due to the non refundable deposits. They said they are trying to work something out. If they don't I will no longer be sailing with them. NCL always used to comp a penthouse suite when we sailed with them. I will just have to pay full price for the first cruise bc we haven't sailed with them in about 3 years.

 

I would still phone still give CAS a phone call, I'm sure your old play is still in the system. They may give you a little discount or comp you an inside cabin and you can then pay the difference for an upgrade. At least it will be some savings.

 

Or you knows, if they really want you back maybe the offer will even be better!

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I would still phone still give CAS a phone call, I'm sure your old play is still in the system. They may give you a little discount or comp you an inside cabin and you can then pay the difference for an upgrade. At least it will be some savings.

 

Or you knows, if they really want you back maybe the offer will even be better!

 

Not a bad idea, I have nothing to lose by trying!!

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I would still phone still give CAS a phone call, I'm sure your old play is still in the system. They may give you a little discount or comp you an inside cabin and you can then pay the difference for an upgrade. At least it will be some savings.

 

Or you knows, if they really want you back maybe the offer will even be better!

 

Thanks again for the suggestion! I called them and you were right. They comped me a balcony and I paid for the upgrade. They said if my play is like what it was before, there would be no problem comping the suite in the future!!

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Thanks again for the suggestion! I called them and you were right. They comped me a balcony and I paid for the upgrade. They said if my play is like what it was before, there would be no problem comping the suite in the future!!

 

 

 

Sweet!

 

Have an awesome cruise (and win some cash in the casino)![emoji857][emoji568]

 

 

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re: Combining a comp and a certificate. Here is my take.

 

There is only one reason you get a comp, offer, marketing mailer, certificate, etc. They do not do this based on your past play directly. It is not a thank you. It is not something you win, even though they make it look like it.

 

They do look at past play, and come up with a number they think you will drop/donate on the next cruise. They then will book a cabin with the hope you will spend that and maybe more to cover the cost of the cabin.

 

On some cruises, a player may be offered an inside cabin. The very same player might get offered a balcony if they pick a different week. All depends on available cabins for each cruise.

 

With all this said, it does make it very difficult to compare different cruiselines.

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re: Combining a comp and a certificate. Here is my take.

 

 

 

There is only one reason you get a comp, offer, marketing mailer, certificate, etc. They do not do this based on your past play directly. It is not a thank you. It is not something you win, even though they make it look like it.

 

 

 

They do look at past play, and come up with a number they think you will drop/donate on the next cruise. They then will book a cabin with the hope you will spend that and maybe more to cover the cost of the cabin.

 

 

 

On some cruises, a player may be offered an inside cabin. The very same player might get offered a balcony if they pick a different week. All depends on available cabins for each cruise.

 

 

 

With all this said, it does make it very difficult to compare different cruiselines.

 

 

 

I know that's how NCL used to work so you never knew what you'd get as it depended on demand on each individual departure which can fluctuate all the time. Celebrity's new Blue Chip program is a bit more straightforward. You earn your certificate based on your play and get a certain number of nights and cabin category which can be used on any cruise. Only restriction is if the category is sold out.

 

 

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NCL's fee did drop from the $200 about a year ago. They now charge $20 per day, so $140 for a 7 day cruise.

 

We have booked an NCL cruise for two for a net $290. We also got the choice of promos NCL was offering at booking.

 

If you book balcony or above 6 months or more out, you can use two Cruise Next certificates. These are a $500 down payment that cost us $250 out of pocket. Admin Fee of 140 each, plus port fees of 130 each are a total of $540. Applying two Cruise Next (minus 500) brings the cost to $290 or 145 per person for the week.

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We have booked an NCL cruise for two for a net $290. We also got the choice of promos NCL was offering at booking.

 

 

 

If you book balcony or above 6 months or more out, you can use two Cruise Next certificates. These are a $500 down payment that cost us $250 out of pocket. Admin Fee of 140 each, plus port fees of 130 each are a total of $540. Applying two Cruise Next (minus 500) brings the cost to $290 or 145 per person for the week.

 

 

 

You can only use the two cruise next if you're comped balcony or above

 

 

 

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I was just informed by Royal Caribbean that the Grand Suite and above no longer can get the casino rate due to the non refundable deposits. They said they are trying to work something out. If they don't I will no longer be sailing with them. NCL always used to comp a penthouse suite when we sailed with them. I will just have to pay full price for the first cruise bc we haven't sailed with them in about 3 years.

 

An update for everyone. They have fixed their issues with the casino rates and suites. I was just able to upgrade my Grand Suite in April on Freedom to an owners suite for under $400.00 total. I am going to try NCL again in March 019 just to check things out, considering the deal they gave me and we haven't sailed with them in years.

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After 20 NCL comped cruises, we sent a screenshot of a certificate for free cruise from CET to URCOMPED and recieved free cruise on MSC Divina. We will be sailing soon. No port charges, taxes, or administration fees. Only a $ 400 deposit that turns into OBC and is refundable at the end of the cruise. Free drinks in the casino, we did loyalty status match to their highest level and will receive all the perks associated with that. They comped us an inside cabin, changed that to an OV gty, and then moved us to a large wellness balcony cabin. Even with having to pay for airfare to florida, and hotel room, it is costing us much less than a comped NCL cruise.

Try them, you have nothing to lose.

Safe sailing

 

MSC also offers a 30% discount on a future cruise when you accrue 1200 credits. Not a bad deal for those who don't play a lot. Only drawback to MSC there are no Craps tables on any of their ships so far. That might change shortly with Seaside.

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I am also extremely annoyed with royal caribbeans program. I called last night, didn't like my answers and called again tonight and once again got different answers....

 

We sail 3 to 4 times a year. Always get a comp certificate. Issue is I am 32. Limited pto time. So new policy is, must book within 30 days, must sail within a year (got an exception tonight for 16 months). Can not be combined with casino rates, however can be combined with crown and anchor rates....woo....also one of my biggest issues is their change to their drink packqge.

 

In the pqast, hubby buys the drink package and I get free drinks in the casino which is where we spend most of our time anyway. Now, we both use buy it, no exceptions for Casino Royale guests. So, my benefit is now void.

 

We took the exception and booked for 2019, however we will not be playing a whole lot, gonna save it for a land based m life casino. So disappointed in the chamges. Plus I get "ranked" each of my 3 to 4 cruises a year exactly the same as someone that cruises once a year. It's a theoretically worse cause theoretically I spend 3 to 4 times as much!

 

After 2019 gonna try something new other than cruising RCI....frustrated.

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I am also extremely annoyed with royal caribbeans program. I called last night, didn't like my answers and called again tonight and once again got different answers....

 

We sail 3 to 4 times a year. Always get a comp certificate. Issue is I am 32. Limited pto time. So new policy is, must book within 30 days, must sail within a year (got an exception tonight for 16 months). Can not be combined with casino rates, however can be combined with crown and anchor rates....woo....also one of my biggest issues is their change to their drink packqge.

 

In the pqast, hubby buys the drink package and I get free drinks in the casino which is where we spend most of our time anyway. Now, we both use buy it, no exceptions for Casino Royale guests. So, my benefit is now void.

 

We took the exception and booked for 2019, however we will not be playing a whole lot, gonna save it for a land based m life casino. So disappointed in the chamges. Plus I get "ranked" each of my 3 to 4 cruises a year exactly the same as someone that cruises once a year. It's a theoretically worse cause theoretically I spend 3 to 4 times as much!

 

After 2019 gonna try something new other than cruising RCI....frustrated.

 

 

 

Have you tried NCL? We were at the lowest casino level and comped an inside room and when we arrived in the room we had a free drink card waiting for us even though we didn’t qualify for that. After that cruise we called CAS and asked what we could get for an April sailing. They comped us a balcony room this time, no need to book within one month, and you can just call whenever and see what they will do for you.

 

 

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Another major issue with RCL program is that it takes the same amount of points to earn a free cruise no matter the length of the cruise you are on. So for an inside comp room you must earn 2400 points whether you are on a 3 night cruise or a 14 night cruise. It is much easier to earn the points on the longer cruise. They need to come up with some type of average day play. Also their free cruise certificates are only for a specific list of cruises which seem to always be within the next 4 months unless you want to use the cash value.

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With an NCL comped room, both you and your husband will get the 'free drinks in casino' card each time you board. My husband doesn't really play much, but still gets the card. Of course with the UBP promo, we sometimes choose that so we can drink anything we want anywhere on the ship. Then, we use the casino drink card to get bottled water that we can carry off the ship in ports.

NCL has so many promos running which you also get with your comped room. If you watch, you can catch some pretty good ones.

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As to Celebrity Cruises Blue Chip 2018 sailings, here are the tournament or gift sailings. The level of discount or "free" room category depends on your play and level with the club tiers.They have not released any tournament offers for the second half of 2018 that I know of. Call Blue Chip if you are a member and see what your offers that you may qualify for from the list.

 

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As I've commented many times before in several threads here, I'm disappointed by Royal Caribbean's Club Royale's offers versus what I can get from NCL's Casinos at Sea. Thinking about this tonight, I thought perhaps it would be interesting to see what other cruise lines offer in comparison. It would be especially beneficial to hear from Cruise Critic members who have taken advantage of offers from different cruise lines and can offer comparisons between them theoretically based on similar levels of play.

 

In my own personal experience, I've sailed with Royal Caribbean's and NCL's programs and, especially with the changes to Club Royale that have come in the past year and a half, I've found that Casinos at Sea has a much more attractive offering for casino guests.

 

As an example, consider this:

  • My last cruise on NCL was on Norwegian Getaway over New Year's this year.
  • My last cruise on Royal Caribbean was on Freedom of the Seas in March 2017.
  • Based on slot points earned, my play on Freedom of the Seas was about double (~7,000 points) what I played on Norwegian Getaway (~4,000 points).

When I contacted each to get a quote for a 7-night, round-trip, Alaskan sailing on their largest ship sailing there over Labor Day weekend in 2018, this is what I learned from NCL:

  • NCL's Casinos at Sea will comp me in a balcony cabin (category BA) on Norwegian Bliss, their newest ship, for a total out of pocket cost of $976.90 for two people which includes the gratuities for the "free" beverage and dining perks. Actual price for this cruise is $4,654.90, representing a comp value of $3,678.
  • NCL's onboard program is tiered, with well defined perks for each tier potentially including onboard credit, drinks while playing in the casino, priority embarkation and disembarkation, waiving of cash advance fees from one's onboard account, and more.

In comparison, here's what I found from Royal Caribbean:

  • Royal Caribbean's Club Royale was unable to provide any casino pricing for this cruise (Explorer of the Seas) whatsoever. I was told that they will only provide promotional offers for cruises within twelve months of your last Royal Caribbean cruises. They expect you to be able to use a discount/free cruise certificate that you received on your last cruise. The maximum value of this certificate is $1,000 (or a free cruise from a limited selection of ~40-50 cruises in a balcony cabin).
     
    This means that assuming you sail enough and don't book too far in advance, you're limited in how much value you can get from the certificate. The representative offered that I could book today to lock in today's price, and then after my next cruise, if I got a certificate, I could then use the certificate on that Alaskan cruise, but it would get repriced at the then-current pricing, likely reducing the value of the certificate.
  • Royal Caribbean's onboard program is only as good as your last cruise. If you've earned enough points to qualify (1,000-1,500 points, depending on prior qualification), you can then get free drinks in the casino and waiving of the cash advance fee. All slot players get onboard credit from slot points at the end of the cruise ($20 per 1,000 points earned).

General commentary: I don't know what Royal Caribbean is thinking. I know I'm not the only one who's looking to other cruise lines for more lucrative offers.

 

I'd like to find out from others here what kinds of deals they get from other cruise lines to get a sense of how the different programs and benefits compare.

 

Hi, thanks for this post, Marc. I'm new to Casino Royale and hoping someone with more experience could answer a few questions. Background: I received cert in stateroom for $400 two days after reaching 2,500 points. Asked why I didn't receive free cruise certificate. Told to come back later that evening, which I did and received certificate for free cruise or $500 off any sailing within a year. Called Casino Royale, their records only show the original $400 certificate and would not offer anything beyond that for an upgrade or for a different sailing.

 

Questions:

1. Is it normal to receive a certificate with 1/3 of the "free" cruise selections having already sailed?

 

2. If the reward is $100 in cruise credit for every 400 points, shouldn't it be $600 for 2,400 points?

 

3. There are 2 ports within driving distance to my home. Is it customary that neither port would be included in free offerings, requiring me to travel over 1,100 miles in order to take "free" cruise?

 

4. Does anyone have a copy of the Cruise Compass showing the offer for a free cruise at 2,400 points that they can post in this thread?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Absolutely loved the Anthem, but have to say, feeling deceived by Casino Royale and the lack of explanation about the program when asking about it on the first night of the sailing. While I appreciate there is a rewards program, I think it's important to be transparent and disclose the conditions, particularly when asked upfront.

 

Barbara

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Wow Barbara that seems complicated. I love being able to call NCL and ask what I qualify for. Usually a balcony room on any cruise. So far we did inside room for Alaska and balcony is booked for Caribbean. We hardly gambled on the first cruise so that’s why we got the inside room on Alaska. They also threw in drink cards for both of us even though we aren’t at that level. It was nice and painless.

 

 

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