I guess I'm not much of a gambler

[pe4all]

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:

I agree. It is really no one's business where people spend their money. I have seen some people's bar bills over $1,000 - I even saw one at $1,400 for a one week cruise. Some drink, some gamble, some purchase hundreds of dollars in pictures - to each their own.

We don't expect any free offers, however the "Drinks on Us Card" they give us when we get on the ship is nice ;)

Agree 100%. Now I just have to learn to drink!:D

[love to read]

First of all I never begrudge anyone who gets a discount for anything just because I did not do what they did to be eligible. My wife and I live in South New Jersey so we are very close to Atlantic City and another 4 casinos within an hour drive. We enjoy going to the casino and know how to budget what we spend.

As with all previous cruises we will budget so much to be spent in the casino and if because of our play we are given perks then I am a happy camper.

We have not cruied with Carnival in 3 years and on our last Carnival cruise on the Victory out of San Juan we were fortunate enough to win enough money to pay for our airfare, overnight stay prior to cruise, one night stay at Old San Juan Sheraton after the cruise, and the cost of cruise with money leftover to put in the bank. Another passenger won a new BMW on this same cruise. By the way we are not big time gamblers, I play mostly the penny machines, I some times play .25 machines. My wife plays .01 and .25. The woman who won the car was playing .05 machines.

Edited December 20, 2013 by love to read

[love to read]

I agree. It is really no one's business where people spend their money. I have seen some people's bar bills over $1,000 - I even saw one at $1,400 for a one week cruise. Some drink, some gamble, some purchase hundreds of dollars in pictures - to each their own.

 

Agree 100%. Now I just have to learn to drink!:D

 

 

Here here. I like the way you think

[happybooker1]

... on my last cruise. She gambled every night -- slots -- and from what she said several hundred a night. Before she left the ship she had ALREADY received a free cruise from Carnival and tried to book right then back on the Magic that we just got off of, but they told her something about having to call the 800# first & set it up.

[love to read]

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

 

 

The cruise I just booked is for 7 days. The Pride out of Baltimore eastern Caribbean. The initial offer was for an inside cabin at $100 for two people with a $100 onboard credit. We are also responsible for all taxes and fees. Forgot to say this offer also included a 2 cabin upgrade. We booked a balcony room for two people for 7 days for $240.00 + taxes and fees which was very minimal. Oh yes, we also received $100 for onboard credit.

[dadroy]

Your "points" in the casino are not all spent. You are rated on how much you bet not how much you lose. For example, I buy in for $500 and play for 4 hours on the first night. I am betting $50 per hand, 25 hands per hour. When I leave, I have lost $250 and turn in the chips for cash.

 

The next night I go in and buy chips and resume playing. I play for 4 hours and at the end of the night I have won $250. I am now even and have not spent anything on gambling. Yes, this is me, so I spent $200 on beer, but that does not count!:D

 

A the end of my 7 day cruise I may broke even so have not spent anything but will have accumulated points toward something. Maybe on night four I get a drink card and maybe on night 6 a specialty restaurant dinner. I may get a letter in 2 months for a free cruise. I never spent anything but have been rewarded.

 

I think of it the same as the loyalty programs. If I ever get to Diamond, it will not have cost me a dime. I paid for the cruise, the vacation, the fun, NOT the loyalty program.

[MelV]

I don't know what their method of choosing who gets a free cruise or reduced rate is. On our last cruise I played about $100 all week and actually won $180. My husband played all week and lost his $100. As a result he received a "casino rate" offer which was quite a savings. However, I did not receive such an offer. Neither of us spent much money in the casino at all.

[ccruisequeen]

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.

 

I wish I had that. At the most I have $200 for the entire cruise ($50 a day at the most) I lose more than I win.

 

Edited December 31, 2013 by ccruisequeen

[golfadj]

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

 

Have heard of them offering balconies on 7 day cruise. However they certainly expect to get their money back.

[glentally]

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.

 

Vanessa, you should have stopped after the first sentence. We got it!

[tphitman]

I spend "oodles" in the casino. The most I have received is a 30% off my next cruise rate. It is my opinion they don't offer me a free cruise to get me back on the ship because they know I will already be there, spending.

 

 

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[PittsburghGirlee]

I use my Carnival MasterCard and charge all gambling to my sail n sign to get double the points...at the end of the cruise, I cash out my bank and am usually only a few hundred in the hole .... Which is a WIN on an 8 day ...

[Jimmy Geegitz]

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 guess you could look at it this way. People spend money on excursions and don't get anything for that. (except for the enjoyment of the excursion of course). But if you look at gambling as an excursion expense it is actually better because they give you free or discounted cruise offers.

[Luvtoeat]

Last year we received the free cabin offer and got an extended balcony on the Legend for $191.00. My wife plays the penny slots and spends very little money. These free cabin offers seem to go out randomly and it's just luck as to who gets them.

[RWolver672]

We take "X" amount for gambling. I have to admit that on our last cruise, I used the limit just trying to get the Drinks on Us card. After I finally got it, I realized that it would have cost me a lot less just to buy the drinks. :o

[richfret]

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

 

You are absolutely right. A good way to prove that is to buy one of those computer games like Roulette, for instance. Then try every combination you can think of. Try playing with different amounts of money. In the end, you will be a loser. Once in a very great while, you will get back what you put in but keep on playing and then that's gone. You can't win IN THE LONG RUN. So I wouldn't rely on getting a cruise that way.

 

I always have to laugh when the weekly post comes up asking who won at the Casino. Then you will get all kinds of stories of fabulous winnings. You seldom get the question, "How much did you put in to get that amount". But what the heck? If it makes you happy (and poor), go for it! Who knows? You might win a cruise!

[okgirl]

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 don't think anyone who gambles is stupid enough to think that they are ever coming out ahead in the long run. Even with my multiple jackpot winnings (and I've walked off the ship with a zero S&S balance and $1000+ more than a few times) I'm still and will always be in the hole overall.

 

But as others have said, it's an entertainment/vacation expense.

 

I save a lot more than I spend in other areas of my cruise.

 

I book inside cabins, I see no value in booking an OV or BL when I'm almost never in my cabin other than to shower, dress or sleep.

 

I don't pay to go on excursions anymore. I've been everywhere multiple times and I would rather walk around and explore on my own.

 

I don't pay to eat in specialty restaurants, though I often receive a comp meal from the Casino :p

 

I don't purchase trinkets, t-shirts or souvenir's in port or onboard.

 

I'm sure that even with my $75 a day gambling allowance, I'm spending far less for my week on the ship than most other guests are.

[Davey Wavey]

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?

 

Chasing after rewards is a losing proposition in most cases. My grocery store has buy 10 for $10 get 11th free offers all the time for stuff like bags of pretzels or boxes of cereal. Because people will chase after rewards even when it makes no sense. People will use rewards credit cards with higher interest rates just to get rewards and not pay off the balance each month, instead of at least using a lower interest card that would cost less interest than the "rewards" they receive. Gambling just for comps would follow that same losing pattern.

 

But your wording seems to imply that people gamble just for comps. I guess there are people who do, but I gamble for fun while cruising. We have a casino in town and slot machine venues that I have never visited. I have only gambled on a cruise ship. I don't track points or play at certain levels with hopes of comps. I do what is fun until it isn't fun anymore. I did download a free casino video game to try...it wasn't fun like real money. I am fortunate to have received a discounted cruise and a free cabin for the fun I had. I don't feel any different about my casino comps than I do about the "rewards" points I get from the loyalty card I use at the gas station or frequent flyer miles. It's all something I would have done anyway, and anything I get back is nice.

[katiel53]

Like some others, we enjoy spending our cruise money for gambling. We have a budget and stick to it. We don't do excursions nor do we spend a lot of money on drinks.

 

We haven't ever been offered a free cruise but we did receive some casino offers this year. It's a form of enjoyment for us as is going to shows, drinking, excursions etc. for others. I couldn't imagine suggesting that anyone not do the above so they could use the money for another cruise. What people do with their money is their business. I realize the OP is not telling us what to do, but this is in answer to the question.

[Theresa522]

Hi everyone, I also received a free cabin for my casino play. My last Carnival cruise was in 2010 and I did not gamble a lot at all. I had a $50 a day limit and I actually came out ahead. I think this was Carnivals way to get me to book another cruise. :) It was a deal I just couldn't pass up but I think I was just lucky to get chosen. My cousin was on the same cruise and gambled just as much but did not get a free cabin.

[mayabean]

I never really gambled on my first 5 cruises- probably 50 dollars the whole cruise between 2 of us and it was gone in minutes lol.....this last cruise we set a 60 dollar limit each for the week (we only play slots) as a source of entertainment as people already commented-the excursions, shows ect were not as entertaining anymore due to cruising more. I put in my first 40 and played all week with that......got to 1500pts on the last night only so I got one free drink on my drink card lol. My husband put in 100 in total as he didnt have as much luck, but got to 1300 pts the last night......so we never spent any more than 140 and played all week an hour or so a day. I now get mail for discounted casino rooms- and although not free we saved 1000 off our next 3 cruises AND 75 dollars casino money waiting at the cage per cruise.....so its odd how they choose as we really aren't gamblers. And although I had more points than he, he has 50 dollars at the cage and me only 25.....

[cruzn buckeye]

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.

Same here... we just got the Hollywood Casino here and Blackjack tables start at 25/hand

[Tutontow]

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

 

Let me preface by saying I am a gambler and I love playing Blackjack. Having said that your logic could also apply to me when I pay $1000.00 to go on an 8 hour offshore charter. If I did the math my grouper probably costs close to $200.00 a pound.

 

You see it is all about the entertainment. Quite frankly I have never been to a show on a cruise ship. It is just not my thing. Laying out in the sun, not my thing. I can do that 10 months out of the year next to my own backyard pool. I like to gamble. I budget for it and have never played hoping for comps. If they come my way great, if not I would have gambled anyway.

 

Back to your original statement. My last cruise three weeks ago was a Premier Cruise on The Legend. My wife and I gambled everytime the casino was open. The players club gave us 1K in cash. I lost that and $600.00 of my own money. We had 60 drinks we never had to pay for. We must have had at least 40 hours of entertainment in the casino. We had two bottles of wine, one bottle of champagne and a steakhouse meal courtesy of the players club. To top it all off I just booked a "free cruise" they gave me the last day. If I had to pay for that same cruise it would have cost us $2000.00. Did I mention I get a drinks on us card upfront on that cruise.

 

I don't gamble for comps but that sounds like a pretty good deal for me.

[patrice1]

DH & I budget $20/per person/per day for our cruises. We consider the slots as part of our entertainment. Our rule is: If we win more than $100, we cash out; if not, we keep playing till the $20 is gone. We usually come out ahead, but that's mostly because DH is lucky.:roll eyes:

 

Works for us, ymmv.

[patrice1]

DH & I budget $20/per person/per day for our cruises. We consider the slots as part of our entertainment. Our rule is: If we win more than $100, we cash out; if not, we keep playing till the $20 is gone. We usually come out ahead, but that's mostly because DH is lucky.

 

Works for us, ymmv.