I guess I'm not much of a gambler

[4merlurker]

I've been reading lots of posts lately about casino offers but I just don't understand how "spending" (:rolleyes:) oodles of money in the casino in hopes of getting a cheap cruise offer is such a great deal. Why not just save the extra money you plan on "spending" in the casino and buy a cruise? :confused: It would probably be cheaper in the long run...no?

 

Like I said, I'm not much of a gambler.:o

[Cruizinman]

Your correct ;).

[Vitamin_Sea]

I've been reading lots of posts lately about casino offers but I just don't understand how "spending" (:rolleyes:) oodles of money in the casino in hopes of getting a cheap cruise offer is such a great deal. Why not just save the extra money you plan on "spending" in the casino and buy a cruise? :confused: It would probably be cheaper in the long run...no?

 

Like I said, I'm not much of a gambler.:o

 

I have seen posts from people who have gotten free cruises from the players club and many have said they dont spend huge amounts of money.

 

Are they being truthful?

 

So,I dont know what to think:confused:

 

Gotta figure CCL is expecting payment for the cruise in the casino. Nothing is free.

Edited December 20, 2013 by limoguy1

[RCH1234]

I've been reading lots of posts lately about casino offers but I just don't understand how "spending" (:rolleyes:) oodles of money in the casino in hopes of getting a cheap cruise offer is such a great deal. Why not just save the extra money you plan on "spending" in the casino and buy a cruise? :confused: It would probably be cheaper in the long run...no?

 

Like I said, I'm not much of a gambler.:o

 

I don't spend "oodles" of money in hopes of getting a cheap cruise offer, nor do I think it's such a great deal. I spend money in the casino because I enjoy gambling on vacation. The offers are just a nice perk for the next cruise.

[clcjdn]

I agree with RCH. I figure I would gamble anyway (either on a cruise or somewhere on land), so the benefit for us is getting to go to places other than Vegas or the local casinos cheaper or for the same price. I start out each trip with a budget and stick to it for the most part. If I can win enough along the way, I get pretty good comps. A lot of that directly relates to the games I play.

[cruizinisthebest]

The vast majority of the time, I walk right past the casino. So I know I won't get any free cruise offers. Though I spend plenty of money in other places onboard. Apparently that doesn't rank.

[Love my butler]

The answer lies in a gamblers compulsion to gamble. With some people it's a sickness that they have a difficult time controlling. So basically they have to gamble and just hope to get some comps to feel better about all the money they have lost.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

They don't offer free cruises if they don't think they will get more than their money back. And they do.

[MIZZ_K]

I don't spend oodles of money in the casino, typically I bring enough for $50 a day in the casino, I've gotten casino offers and one offer for a free cabin but all the sailings were in June and I couldn't take advantage of the offer, I've read where people have spent a few thousand and have never gotten any offers.

[michelle1836]

im not a gambler either. is the free cruise just an inside cabin for a 3 day cruise or is it more than that?

[mlrm]

Is spending "oodles" of money ok if you're buying shore excursions? Or how about shopping on the ship and in ports? One could argue the same point. Save that money and buy another cruise. To me the casino is spending money to have fun. Sometimes you win, most times you lose. In the end I'm still having fun.

[Vanessa L]

I've been reading lots of posts lately about casino offers but I just don't understand how "spending" (:rolleyes:) oodles of money in the casino in hopes of getting a cheap cruise offer is such a great deal. Why not just save the extra money you plan on "spending" in the casino and buy a cruise? :confused: It would probably be cheaper in the long run...no?

 

Like I said, I'm not much of a gambler.:o

 

I think the same thing when I read those posts about people getting "free" cruises, some in the "Presidential Suites". I say about that, I suspect they spent enough in the casino that they just could have bought the Presidential Suite cruise outright, but to each his own. I don't gamble but if I had enough money just lying around that I could gamble my way into a free cruise in a mega suite, I cannot say I wouldn't do it.

[winddawn]

I've been reading lots of posts lately about casino offers but I just don't understand how "spending" (:rolleyes:) oodles of money in the casino in hopes of getting a cheap cruise offer is such a great deal. Why not just save the extra money you plan on "spending" in the casino and buy a cruise? :confused: It would probably be cheaper in the long run...no?

 

Like I said, I'm not much of a gambler.:o

 

I think if other people spending money in the casino concerns you, you should choose a Disney cruise instead of Carnival since Disney doesn't have casinos. :rolleyes:

[hattack]

"no dog in this fight"...I allocate $10 to spend on roulette for the entire cruise...since we pass the casino on the way to dinner I usually pick the evening that she is running late in getting dressed in the cabin to make my annual visit..one year I won $36 on my last spin...celebrated by cashing out and put it back in my cruise fund so the following cruise I can spend $36

 

My observation is that on the full charter Jazz cruises, the casinos are empty for the entire week

[Vanessa L]

I think if other people spending money in the casino concerns you, you should choose a Disney cruise instead of Carnival since Disney doesn't have casinos. :rolleyes:

 

Yes, please run to Disney because having an opinion if you sail Carnival is right out. Please, wind, get real. I'm fairly sure that you have an opinion on something that would cause someone to "get defensive" if they knew you had. Using your logic, I'm assuming you would "run away" from whatever issue was causing you to have that opinion so you would not have to "face it" anymore. Sorry, I'm not buying it.

[4merlurker]

I think if other people spending money in the casino concerns you, you should choose a Disney cruise instead of Carnival since Disney doesn't have casinos. :rolleyes:

 

Really? Is that what YOU think? Thanks for contributing. :rolleyes:

 

mlrm - Is spending "oodles" of money ok if you're buying shore excursions? Or how about shopping on the ship and in ports? One could argue the same point. Save that money and buy another cruise. To me the casino is spending money to have fun. Sometimes you win, most times you lose. In the end I'm still having fun.

 

Spending ooodles of money is fine (I'm actually pretty good at it ;). i get that spending in the casino is entertaining. I was refering to the people who think they are really coming out ahead with a "free" cruise. :rolleyes:

[mlrm]

Really? Is that what YOU think? Thanks for contributing. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

Spending ooodles of money is fine (I'm actually pretty good at it ;). i get that spending in the casino is entertaining. I was refering to the people who think they are really coming out ahead with a "free" cruise. :rolleyes:

 

 

I see your point. I was offered a free cruise earlier this year, but could not make the dates work. We didn't take it. We did however purchase another cruise that sailed 3 months later. We had more fun in the casino, however that's all it is to us. We don't expect any free offers, however the "Drinks on Us Card" they give us when we get on the ship is nice ;)

[Chmie]

Wife & I gamble as a form of entertainment and budget to lose x amount every cruise. If we happen to be lucky and not lose that amount then we will likely blow the "savings" elsewhere during the cruise. We don't appear to gamble enough to warrant a free cruise offer nor do we gamble solely for these types of comps. :)

[Sparky2]

We got a reduced Casino rate last year on our cruise. However, since my SO started banking his winnings (like I always do) so he had money to bring home with him, the offers have stopped.

[ch27088]

I enjoy the casinos and will book a cruise a year out, and save my spending money so I can play. Hubby and I are not big gamblers, but we play enough. We do the casinos in our town and just like it. I'm not looking for Carnival to give us something for spending our money in the casinos, but if they did, fine with me.

[Georgiagolfer]

Not sure what some would consider as "oodles" of money. I budget $200 per day for the casino. To me it is entertainment, especially with the decline in shows. Always earn the drinks on us card each cruise (1000 point on 5 night cruises, 1500 points on 7 night cruises).

 

Have never received an offer for a free room, any category. Did get a Premier Cruise offer for $250 cash on a choice of 5 ships/dates, but declined to use as the dates didn't work for us.

 

IMO, CCL is offering these to randomly selected individuals to entice them to cruise, and they recoup some of the costs thru the casino and/or other onboard spending. I do not feel it is strictly based on what an individual spends in the casino.

[RCH1234]

Not sure what some would consider as "oodles" of money. I budget $200 per day for the casino. To me it is entertainment, especially with the decline in shows. Always earn the drinks on us card each cruise (1000 point on 5 night cruises, 1500 points on 7 night cruises).

 

Have never received an offer for a free room, any category. Did get a Premier Cruise offer for $250 cash on a choice of 5 ships/dates, but declined to use as the dates didn't work for us.

 

IMO, CCL is offering these to randomly selected individuals to entice them to cruise, and they recoup some of the costs thru the casino and/or other onboard spending. I do not feel it is strictly based on what an individual spends in the casino.

 

You're correct, they are definitely selecting them randomly and it has nothing to do with how much you play or spend in the casino. The people that are receving the free rooms are just lucky individuals getting an early Christmas gift. lol

[clcjdn]

I agree with GeorgiaGolfer and RCH. I was "lucky" when I got my "free" cruise. As for the casino sailings and the Premier casino sailings (usually 7 or so sailings with extra casino perks), I believe those offers are based on level of play. They must have some algorithm that considers points, wins/losses, etc to calculate what level of offer you get. The offer in this case is the cash portion, as the sailings are universal to all qualifying levels. Some people get $250, some get $450, all the way up to $750 or $1000 I suspect. I am used to getting comps for room/food/beverage in Vegas. When I started cruising, I didn't expect to get anything similar. However, I have come to believe we are experiencing a "sweet spot" where Carnival, and IMO at least NCL, are trying to up their casino game. I don't expect this level of comps/offers to continue in perpetuity, but if I can take advantage of an offer I will continue to do so. I like working on my days at sea account with Carnival at least giving discounts along the way.

[terryinal]

I've been reading lots of posts lately about casino offers but I just don't understand how "spending" (:rolleyes:) oodles of money in the casino in hopes of getting a cheap cruise offer is such a great deal. Why not just save the extra money you plan on "spending" in the casino and buy a cruise? :confused: It would probably be cheaper in the long run...no?

 

Like I said, I'm not much of a gambler.:o

 

This is what I do. I don't play on the ship. I'm a crap player and might have 25 - 40 dollars a roll and they want me to buy my drinks. I will go to a land casino and get room and drinks and food free for just betting a small bets. But if you have to gamble go for it

[bumorgan]

I limit myself to $4k a year in the land based casinos. Besides the entertainment value they comp my hotel room ( usually 11 nites a year), meals, & shows. This year I received 2 free cruises on NCL from those casinos. I think this is a great value.:D

 

Dan