Cas - a bit disappointed

[hpecorari]

Really? Because I heard that you can't double anything but 9, 10, or 11, which is a very lousy restriction. And can you double after split, or is that also not allowed?

 

That has not been true in my experience and my last cruise was last month on the Sun.

 

Harriet

[slotaddict]

I was not getting Huffy, just stating a fact that when I go and donate my money to the slot machines I am not expecting anything in return. How was that huffy? I am not that type of person so please do not mark me as such.

 

I was talking about the bartenders.....

[Askmelanie]

Not only are the comps far inferior to equivalent play at land-based casinos, but the games are considerably worse -- especially the machines.

 

I really suggest you guys just avoid the casino in general, and just enjoy the cruise without gambling. Take a trip to Vegas, Atlantic City, or one of many other US casinos if you really feel the need to gamble.

 

Playing for any significant money on board is just lighting it on fire.

 

Now that it seems the service from hosts/staff and the points system has gone downhill, the situation has gotten even worse.

 

Pretty suicidal for the casino staff to be acting this way, as they have a captive audience of degenerate gamblers playing horrible-odds games, but I guess they don't seem to care. If I were a host there, I would be kissing major ass to every customer.

 

Anyway, don't fool yourself that your comps/perks are worth the terrible odds. They aren't. I know it's tough to stay out of the casino on a boring sea day or quiet evening, but there are so many other things to do instead.

 

This is not an anti-gambling lecture, because as you can see from my screen name, I actually gamble for a living.

 

I will not be playing at all in the casino, aside from the blackjack tournament and maybe poker if it runs.

 

You are correct about the casino staff. I sailed out of NYC on the Gem this past Sept. I had free drinks in the casino and tipped $1 a drink, and still servers were hard to track down. When I went to the host asking for a restaurant comp, I was denied very rudely, even though I had earned almost 2500 points on this cruise.

 

The one texas hold'em table sat empty the entire cruise because there is a 10% rake, no max.

[sjbdtz]

Not only are the comps far inferior to equivalent play at land-based casinos, but the games are considerably worse -- especially the machines.

 

I really suggest you guys just avoid the casino in general, and just enjoy the cruise without gambling. Take a trip to Vegas, Atlantic City, or one of many other US casinos if you really feel the need to gamble.

 

Playing for any significant money on board is just lighting it on fire.

 

Now that it seems the service from hosts/staff and the points system has gone downhill, the situation has gotten even worse.

 

Pretty suicidal for the casino staff to be acting this way, as they have a captive audience of degenerate gamblers playing horrible-odds games, but I guess they don't seem to care. If I were a host there, I would be kissing major ass to every customer.

 

Anyway, don't fool yourself that your comps/perks are worth the terrible odds. They aren't. I know it's tough to stay out of the casino on a boring sea day or quiet evening, but there are so many other things to do instead.

 

This is not an anti-gambling lecture, because as you can see from my screen name, I actually gamble for a living.

 

I will not be playing at all in the casino, aside from the blackjack tournament and maybe poker if it runs.

 

 

Just to confirm...you have NEVER sailed on NCL, correct?

 

 

I have not found the casino staff experience to have gone downhill. And I've had 3 cruises this year, with another coming up in just over a month.

 

3 different ships. Same fun casino experience....except for the little fit I threw at Glenn on the Gem. They somehow weren't tracking all of my play, and they underestimated my losses by 1/2.

 

Go figure.

 

 

 

.

[deladypilot]

We were on the Sun in June and were treated amazingly. I do not gamble at all an my hubby only plays blackjack. I usually just sat and watched him play, but the dealers all knew our names, the bartender and waitress knew our names.

 

One night hubby got a free bottle of wine and another night we went back to our cabin to find a lovely note by one of the dealers. The waitress gave us big hugs and cried when we left.

 

When we left the ship, we felt like we had just left friends behind.

[johnsak123]

I dont really care what the issue is or was, there is no reason to be treated poorly by the NCL staff

Unless, you are rude to them and you deserve it

[slotaddict]

So if you are a CAS guest they no longer send a couple of complimentary items to your room during the week?

 

past two cruises I havent gotten anything.......

[gooch47]

past two cruises I havent gotten anything.......

 

I'm not sure what defines a CAS guest.

 

We get "free" cruises from various Caesar's chain hotels. We always get the free drink card. We got a box of Godiva Chocolate but without a note I'm not really sure why. We we're Gold level at the time.

[cruise4kicks]

I'm not sure what defines a CAS guest.

 

We get "free" cruises from various Caesar's chain hotels. We always get the free drink card. We got a box of Godiva Chocolate but without a note I'm not really sure why. We we're Gold level at the time.

 

The box of chocolates is from the Latitudes program.

[hpecorari]

I'm not sure what defines a CAS guest.

 

We get "free" cruises from various Caesar's chain hotels. We always get the free drink card. We got a box of Godiva Chocolate but without a note I'm not really sure why. We we're Gold level at the time.

 

A CAS guest is either a guest that got a free cruise from a land based Casino or a guest who was given a free cruise directly from CAS, Casino at Seas from the NCL line itself.

 

The chocolates you got in your room was a latitudes perk. I think they consider that the 'welcome gift' perk.

 

Harriet

[slotaddict]

No, OP, I did not take your post personally. I just have a thing about sloppy grammar. Forgive me.

 

 

 

 

Well forgive me if my grammer isnt as perfect as yours.....why dont you find another thread to haunt.....Im just not getting you......

[slotaddict]

I'm not sure what defines a CAS guest.

 

We get "free" cruises from various Caesar's chain hotels. We always get the free drink card. We got a box of Godiva Chocolate but without a note I'm not really sure why. We we're Gold level at the time.

 

 

I usually get my room comped by CAS...drink card....the casino used to send candy..or cookies or both to your room.....if the host was good they would usually send you to dinner...and what comes off your bill at the end is usually at the descretion of the host....I have gotten as much as 375.00 off my bill and as little as 25.00...no way of telling......the practice of swiping your card is recent...I guess they want to keep track of how much their guests drink......

[gooch47]

I usually get my room comped by CAS...drink card....the casino used to send candy..or cookies or both to your room.....if the host was good they would usually send you to dinner...and what comes off your bill at the end is usually at the descretion of the host....I have gotten as much as 375.00 off my bill and as little as 25.00...no way of telling......the practice of swiping your card is recent...I guess they want to keep track of how much their guests drink......

 

We don't gamble all that much on cruise ships so we usually don't catch the eye of a host. We did get $25 off our bill this time though. Nothing else except the drink card.

[vp1]

More than ten years ago I was on a cruise on the SS Norway. The first night I started playing Caribbean Stud poker (clearly not a good game for the bettor, but I was winning and enjoying myself). That night the pit boss asked if I wanted the casino to track my play and, though I didn't think I would play enough to make it worthwhile, I certainly said yes. By the end of the week I was still up a few hundred dollars and I had also been comped quite a few drinks. 12 NCL cruises later and I've never paid for a drink in the casino. Comps used to be MUCH better - VIP service, comped dinners in the specialty restaurants, casino swag (shirts, hats, etc.) even for a relatively low level bettor, but, even under the new system I have NO complaints.

 

My level of play generally merits somewhere around a comped inside cabin - sometimes 20% off, sometimes a comped outside or balcony - very much depends upon the ship and sailing date. I typically play craps and the odds are exactly the same as any land-based casino with the only exception being the odds behind the line are 3x/4x/5x.

 

I completely agree that gambling to simply earn the comps is inane. On the other hand, I'm sailing again in a couple of months and, between the comped cabin and the comped drinks, I believe that I'm "saving" well over $1,000 for a vacation (and drinks) that I would have taken with or without CAS. Even if my losses for the week were $2,000 (and I don't think they've ever been that high), I'd still end up with a great week-long vacation to several foreign countries, good to excellent food, shows, entertainment, etc. for, maybe, a net of $1,000. Not to mention many hours of enjoyment in the casino. If gambling were the goal of my vacation I would certainly go to Vegas or AC, but as a diversion on my cruise - particularly with games that are not too highly skewed in favor of the house (I generally don't play the slots on a ship), my experience over the last decade with CAS has been very positive.

~Bob

[dznymom]

I just made a lengthy response and it failed to post :( The long and short of it is we just returned from a wonderful experience on the Gem and were very, very happy with Glenn and all of the casino staff. I have no complaints about the new program now that I have experienced it. This was probably my 10th CAS cruise, and one of my best in spite of losing :)

[slotaddict]

I have no complaints about the comped rooms...or drink cards....I just think the hosts cant be bothered anymore,,,, im pretty sure ill have a comped room on the getaway....so I look forward to that.....

[kayhil3]

I sailed on the Jewel in August comped by cas. The casino hosts were the best. Made a habit to find us every day and sit and chat with us as well. One of them was going to the Breakaway in December I believe can't wait to see her in March. On every cruise I have found them outgoing never rude and always willing to help.

[Froggitt]

The one texas hold'em table sat empty the entire cruise because there is a 10% rake, no max.

 

I agree 10% is daylight robbery, but there is a $25 max.....at least on Spirit there is.

 

Not enough demand for the first few nights, but from day 3-8, there was upto 7 or 8 playing after 11pm till 3am or so.

 

Dealer called the pit boss to give free drinks to all players when the table opened, but no recognition with drinks or comps at all after that. Casino host was invisible.

 

Maybe a 5% rake for the first hour, or no rake for the first 30 minutes would help entice the punters in.

[WolfRiver]

I cruised with NCL for the first time in March 2013 on the Gem. I loved the casino staff there and got 500$ off my bill and got comped a mini-suite on the Breakaway in October 2013. I did not like the staff that much on that cruise, but lost fairly little, drank A LOT, got over 400$ taken off my bill, etc... I booked last week again on the Breakaway for March 2014 and got comped a Haven Spa Suite... How sweet is this?!

[loopy]

I have a stupid question...how do you get a cruise comped by the casino?

 

NCL comps my mom pretty regularly but she won't quite tell me how she gets them..I don't think she wants me to know what she is spending in the casino...lol. I have joined her on comp cruises and love the free drinks and perks.

 

My bf and I will spend money in the casino..mostly craps for bf and slots/craps for me. Other than having a player's card do you have to do anything else to get on the list for comp cruises?

[WaldosPepper]

I have a stupid question...how do you get a cruise comped by the casino?

 

NCL comps my mom pretty regularly but she won't quite tell me how she gets them..I don't think she wants me to know what she is spending in the casino...lol. I have joined her on comp cruises and love the free drinks and perks.

 

My bf and I will spend money in the casino..mostly craps for bf and slots/craps for me. Other than having a player's card do you have to do anything else to get on the list for comp cruises?

 

Not a stupid question at all.

 

Since you already have a CAS Players card, you can call direct and ask what they might be able to offer you. It's best if you have a ship and sailing date in mind when you call - because the offer will be based upon that exact sailing. They will make you an offer based upon your history of play, and you could receive either a comp, or a discount, or nothing, based upon that.

 

The number is 877-752-9625

 

Good luck! :)

[loopy]

Not a stupid question at all.

 

Since you already have a CAS Players card, you can call direct and ask what they might be able to offer you. It's best if you have a ship and sailing date in mind when you call - because the offer will be based upon that exact sailing. They will make you an offer based upon your history of play, and you could receive either a comp, or a discount, or nothing, based upon that.

 

The number is 877-752-9625

 

Good luck! :)

 

 

Thank you for the answer. I will figure out our next cruise and do that.

 

I know my mom will just receive a card in the mail offering her free cruises too. She has passed on the past few so I believe they quit sending them to her.

[VideoTech]

...... They will make you an offer based upon your history of play, and you could receive either a comp, or a discount, or nothing, based upon that.

 

The number is 877-752-9625

 

Good luck! :)

 

There are a couple of other factors at work in CAS offers, too: How much inventory CAS has to work with on the cruise you ask for, and how easy it will be for NCL to sell out that cruise without giving away cabins through CAS.

 

In other words: For the same level of play, it's harder to get a good comp on a more popular cruise (think Alaska, for instance) then it is on a less popular one (think Western Caribbean).

[WaldosPepper]

There are a couple of other factors at work in CAS offers, too: How much inventory CAS has to work with on the cruise you ask for, and how easy it will be for NCL to sell out that cruise without giving away cabins through CAS.

 

In other words: For the same level of play, it's harder to get a good comp on a more popular cruise (think Alaska, for instance) then it is on a less popular one (think Western Caribbean).

 

Agreed! Absolutely correct.