$4,500 for a free drink?!! No thanks!

[Bakincakes]

This isn't just Carnival cruises.

 

We have friends who love the slots who travel 4-5 times a year mostly on HAL and RCI.

 

They have told us they have been getting "hammered" on their cruises this past year. The slots have been dead and they haven't had any decent payouts on ANY of their cruises.

 

I'm talking about people who probably went through thousands on a 7 day cruise.:eek:they also didn't hear of anyone who had any kind of luck either. they spend hours on sea days in the Casino..and probably would have heard about any big hits.

 

They figure the Casino is a big part of their cruise entertainment. They aren't big drinkers so they don't have big bar bills, but are routinely comped for drinks when they play. (Probably from their past spending records) and have been offered nice cabin discounts because of their Casino spending.

 

Ships don't need to offer great comps..if you love to gamble there is only one place to go when on a ship, especially on sea says. So you are a captive audience.

 

I agree that they should loosen up their slots a bit. No fun to keep feeding the machines and getting no return or having any "hope" of winning anything. That discourages pax and probably keeps them away from the Casino, which is not good for the bottom line.

[scperk]

This isn't just Carnival cruises.

 

We have friends who love the slots who travel 4-5 times a year mostly on HAL and RCI.

 

They have told us they have been getting "hammered" on their cruises this past year. The slots have been dead and they haven't had any decent payouts on ANY of their cruises.

 

I'm talking about people who probably went through thousands on a 7 day cruise.:eek:they also didn't hear of anyone who had any kind of luck either. they spend hours on sea days in the Casino..and probably would have heard about any big hits.

 

They figure the Casino is a big part of their cruise entertainment. They aren't big drinkers so they don't have big bar bills, but are routinely comped for drinks when they play. (Probably from their past spending records) and have been offered nice cabin discounts because of their Casino spending.

 

Ships don't need to offer great comps..if you love to gamble there is only one place to go when on a ship, especially on sea says. So you are a captive audience.

 

I agree that they should loosen up their slots a bit. No fun to keep feeding the machines and getting no return or having any "hope" of winning anything. That discourages pax and probably keeps them away from the Casino, which is not good for the bottom line.

The casinos around me, there are 9 an hours drive away...Have lost a lot of attendance because of the economy and have tightened there slots also..I was just down there thanksgiving day and won at the table games but my wife and 2 friends are slot addicts and they hardly won anything..Its no wonder that less people are going down to Tunica Ms....Dennis

[jason534]

So how does the casino track the money you're spending on the table games?

 

 

You tell the supervisor you want to be rated and they will take your info. They will track your buy ins and bet amounts. You need to tell each sup every time you play to make sure they are tracking your play.

 

Don't know what you have to lose or play to get the drinks, but it doesn't hurt to get rated...we've gotten a couple of gifts over the years from the casino, but did not qualify for the drinks last cruise.

[dontpanik]

I, admittedly, don't usually gamble at sea and most of my previous cruises were on Disney (no casino) but it seems the slots should be a wee bit looser. Going off of the land-based casinos, I personally don't see the "free drinks" as an incentive so much as a way to loosen up your wallet and drop a bit of your inhibitions. As previous posters have mentioned, it's not like you can go elsewhere unless you want to wait for a port with gambling. They should give free drinks as long as you sit and gamble. I think incentives would be future cruise OBC, free passes to the steakhouse, lower deposits on future cruise bookings, etc. I would think it would foster goodwill and bring your customers back happy

 

I love to win(who doesn't), but as long as I'm able to sit and play for awhile and win a little bit as I go along, I'm having fun. When the slots are so tight you're losing hand over fist...why would I continue to gamble there? I could be off base here, but if you have $4500 to spend in gambling, you could easily afford to sail on another line. You'd think Carnival would recognize that and try to reward it's loyal gamblers. IMO the biggest problem with casinos at sea is the lack of regulation. Whose to say what the payouts even need to be? they can make them as tight as they want. I think it's REALLY poor business sense.

[BamaCruiser20]

I know to each his own, and I am BY NO MEANS judging what anyone chooses to do for entertainment....having said that:

 

For $4500 to get 1500 points to get "free" drinks...hmmm...I think I would have much more fun lying in the sun using that $4500 to buy my own drinks. That would come out to about 60 drinks per day....after drinking that much, everything would be more entertaining than sitting inside pushing buttons on a machine. Come to think of it, I sit inside and push buttons on a machine at work....that's the last thing I want to do on a cruise!

 

Hope everyone has better luck in the casino on their next cruises!

[suza12]

As for the Blackjack players on the cruise ships most only gamble while they are on a cruise ship..And most do not know how to play blackjack as in when to hit and when to stay...I just play my basic hands and if I lose a couple of hands because of bad plays by other players I just get up from the table...My Triumph cruise in Sept. I spent less time the last 6 days and bought my own drinks...Dennis

 

And those that are playing to "win it big" should stay away from the Fun 21 tables and play the regular black jack then. For those of us that play for fun and not just to win big and get free drinks will hit when they want and stay when they want and just have a good time. I know exactly how to play, but sometimes, I like to throw caution to the wind and lucky for me it pays off usually. sorry for the player that gets mad and walks away because "i took his cards"...please....that is why it is a game of chance. The casino is for everyone on the ship (both the high rollers and the beginners). My last cruise on the Legend, many times we had the same four people at our fun 21 table all seven nights. two were regulars that would just laugh at some of my plays(including my fiance) and were winning more than me. Although, I had budgeted myself to only $50 per day in the casino and played on that first $50 for the first five nights with my "stupid plays" so, the cards will fall as they may. luck or no luck is all it is. don't always look for someone to blame...its LUCK!!!!