Casino players promo

[blizzardboy]

Going on my first Holland Cruise. I'm a Princess regular and have a question. Does Holland charge for using your card to get cash at the tables or on the machines? Thanks for the info. Alice

 

I'm a Blackjack player, so I know there's a 3% fee to charge cash to your ship account. I think I've heard there's no charge for slots, but call HAL's Club 21, 1-888-672-2582 for answer.

[cruzincurt]

I believe Ocean Players Club serves all of Carnival Corp so its not unlikely all of the subsidiary lines have your records.

 

My wife also likes to join me at the craps table and seems to know only one phrase: "press it!"

 

My wife will play but doesn't like craps as it's too slow for her. She would rather score the "big" win at Let it Ride or video poker, and sometimes she does.

 

Last HAL cruise it was hard to scare up craps players, I hate to play alone. I'm surprised as I expected more of us seniors to be into craps. On another cruiseline, the pit boss told me they were taking out the craps table since that ship was re-positioning to Australia. Apparently they don't play craps downunder?

[cabinluvn]

There is no charge to put money on your card at the slot machines. You just follow the steps and add much money you want to charge to your account. We always play a little when we cruise. We have booked three separate cruises and have gotten $300-$600pp off on our cruise fares. The TA told us it was casino credit. We certainly have not lost that much money on the slots

 

 

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Edited March 12, 2016 by cabinluvn

[JPH814]

$100 for the entire cruise? We play $100 or more most cruises per DAY and are just small change gamblers. I'd think you would have to gamble closer to $1000 or more per DAY to be considered.

 

 

In my experience, not true

 

We were recently on a twelve day HAL cruise. I gambled 8 of those evenings. (I only play craps and the tables were only open from 8:45 pm to midnight. I averaged about an hour a night. I never bought in for more than $300. ( irrelevant to the calculation: sometimes I won and sometimes I lost. Net for the cruise I was down about $300).

 

I just booked a 7 day cruise for Feb of 207. I was told I received a casino player's discount of $736 off a cabin fare of $4698 (for two - and no, my wife does not gamble at all).

[lynn2002]

Hi, I play black jack at the casino for about 2 or 3 hours each night, not betting much money though. Last October I was invited to book a "free" cruise and only pay the taxes, fees and port charges which come to around UK£100 per person. I could not take up the offer as I was having medical treatment.

 

I was not aware that I was seen as a serious casino player. Where on your Mariner page do you see whether they have you noted as a casino player? I could not see it on my Mariner page but they must have got my information from somewhere to send me an invite to book a "free" cruise.

[cruzincurt]

Seems to me at there is a need to fill the cruise ships, especially the inside and window cabins. After 20 years of cruising and playing in the casinos, only during the past year have we started to get casino promotions from Carnival, HAL and NCL. Now that I'm retired, we can make use of them as our schedule is clear.:D

[kevingastreich]

Not to mention free alcohol while playing.

 

Do you really get free alcohol drinks while playing in the casino? :)

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Do you really get free alcohol drinks while playing in the casino? :)

 

Well, at least you're not paying additional for drinks... ;)

 

Tom

[SLOTheta]

There is no charge to put money on your card at the slot machines. You just follow the steps and add much money you want to charge to your account. We always play a little when we cruise. We have booked three separate cruises and have gotten $300-$600pp off on our cruise fares. The TA told us it was casino credit. We certainly have not lost that much money on the slots

 

 

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If you charge money on your card for use on the machine, after you are done with the slots and still have money, can you use the money for table games? I like to bounce around and play different things when the mojo is off.

 

 

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[cabinluvn]

Makes you wonder how they decide. We lose very little in the casino, but run the winning dollars through. I think we lost $300 between the two of us on an 11 day cruise spending a couple hours here and there every day in the casino. There is no place to see it in your profile. It must just pop up as a promo when you book through an agent. And the money charged to our room counted towards our mariner points

 

 

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[Tom-n-Cheryl]

... And the money charged to our room counted towards our mariner points

 

 

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I was told that's not the case, but would be pleased if it did!

 

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[doublebzz]

I was told that's not the case, but would be pleased if it did!

 

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You are correct - casino cash advances are not credited for Mariner status.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

You are correct - casino cash advances are not credited for Mariner status.

 

It's $300/day which is the threshold for the extra credit, correct?

 

Does that amount need to be met every day or will an average over the course of the cruise suffice?

 

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[doublebzz]

It's $300/day which is the threshold for the extra credit, correct?

 

Does that amount need to be met every day or will an average over the course of the cruise suffice?

 

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All onboard charges including tips excluding casino cash is added and the composite at the end of the cruise determines the bonus mariner points. Generally, I have found any amount over $300 is rounded up. So, if your cash account at the end of the cruise is $1,050, for instance; you would credited for 4 bonus days.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

All onboard charges including tips excluding casino cash is added and the composite at the end of the cruise determines the bonus mariner points. Generally, I have found any amount over $300 is rounded up. So, if your cash account at the end of the cruise is $1,050, for instance; you would credited for 4 bonus days.

 

Thanks :)

 

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[blizzardboy]

Do you really get free alcohol drinks while playing in the casino? :)

 

Not everybody gets drinks like some land-based casinos. If the pit boss recognizes you as a regular player who bets more than the minimum, they often pick up your drinks. I never take it for granted and always thank them.

[doublebzz]

Not everybody gets drinks like some land-based casinos. If the pit boss recognizes you as a regular player who bets more than the minimum, they often pick up your drinks. I never take it for granted and always thank them.

 

Quite correct. Sometimes you have to coax them.

[cabinluvn]

When I add up the mariner points from our last cruise, they must have either done a tremendous round up or counted the casino charges! We have never been offered free drinks while gambling and I have not even seen anyone asking if you wanted a drink!

 

 

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[Tom-n-Cheryl]

When I add up the mariner points from our last cruise, they must have either done a tremendous round up or counted the casino charges! We have never been offered free drinks while gambling and I have not even seen anyone asking if you wanted a drink!

 

 

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Interesting (points and drinks).

 

I'd imagine with specialty dining each night, and the bottles of wine/champagne we enjoy, we can likely approach the minimum needed for the extra point even without the casino factored in. If it only relied on the casino I could probably get all the necessary points (for our 11 night cruise) on the first night... :eek:

 

I've contacted the fellow I work with at Carnival (Players Club) inquiring about any benefits which may go across company lines, but have not yet heard back. I can tell you though, if I'm playing blackjack and betting black chips, I'd basically expect free drinks. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt the first hour or two, but after that if they can't see that covering my drinks is not a good "investment", then they're either idiots or have their hands tied by corporate. :rolleyes:

 

Can any of you tell me what kind of table limits they have for blackjack on HAL? On Carnival, there's usually one table with a $25 min and a $2,500 max (used to be $500). Here on Celebrity (we're on our last day of our Equinox cruise), they have a $25, $50, and $100 minimum table. I've been at the $25 table with VERY few other players. 90% of the time I'm playing solo. The higher limit tables have not even opened. The staff acknowledged that this is a slow cruise. I have to say it's the slowest I've seen on Celebrity.

 

EDIT - one other thing... at the $25+ level tables (assuming they have them!), are they dealt from a shoe or a CSM? On Carnival, it's from a CSM. On Celebrity it's a shoe game.

 

Tom

Edited March 13, 2016 by Tom-n-Cheryl

[doublebzz]

Interesting (points and drinks).

 

I can tell you though, if I'm playing blackjack and betting black chips, I'd basically expect free drinks. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt the first hour or two, but after that if they can't see that covering my drinks is not a good "investment", then they're either idiots or have their hands tied by corporate. :rolleyes:

 

 

Tom

 

Any casino that doesn't give $25 players free drinks are idiots and certainly don't know how to manage a casino.

 

On a HAL cruise a couple of years ago I forgot my ball cap for the sun. While I'm not a $25 player, I do budget $200-$300 a night which can add up to a couple of thousand in losses with a bad streak. When I asked for a complementary ball cap, valued at maybe $2, they balked. I literally had to demand the cap as a price for my playing. It still is the most expensive ball cap I own.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

... It still is the most expensive ball cap I own.

 

lol :D

 

Tom

[JPH814]

When I add up the mariner points from our last cruise, they must have either done a tremendous round up or counted the casino charges! We have never been offered free drinks while gambling and I have not even seen anyone asking if you wanted a drink!

 

 

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On my zuiderdam trip in january they started offering me free drinks the third night - once they got to know me. I rarely drink booze while gambling, but I do like having bottles of water.

 

I also wonder how tracking play on a cruise ship differs from tracking play in a casino. I do not imagine pit bosses on a ship are as experienced as those in a land-based casino. And I wonder if on ship there is a lot more of discretion. Maybe players that the pit boss likes or players that tip more get rated a little higher. My experience is that cruise players do not tip dealers very much if at all.

[cruzincurt]

We were just on the Veendam. They removed the craps table and replaced it with a Baccarat table. The baccarat table was never open.

 

The first two days, they took our card with cash-in, but afterwards they claimed they knew who we were and didn't take our cards. I did notice they recorded color-up when leaving a table. I did quite well at 3 card poker once I started playing pairs plus only.

Edited March 28, 2016 by cruzincurt

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

We were just on the Veendam. They removed the craps table and replaced it with a Baccarat table. The baccarat table was never open.

...

 

Perhaps they're trying to broaden their horizons with the Asian market, where I know that Baccarat is a much more popular game.

 

Tom

[blizzardboy]

Interesting (points and drinks).

 

I'd imagine with specialty dining each night, and the bottles of wine/champagne we enjoy, we can likely approach the minimum needed for the extra point even without the casino factored in. If it only relied on the casino I could probably get all the necessary points (for our 11 night cruise) on the first night... :eek:

 

I've contacted the fellow I work with at Carnival (Players Club) inquiring about any benefits which may go across company lines, but have not yet heard back. I can tell you though, if I'm playing blackjack and betting black chips, I'd basically expect free drinks. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt the first hour or two, but after that if they can't see that covering my drinks is not a good "investment", then they're either idiots or have their hands tied by corporate. :rolleyes:

 

Can any of you tell me what kind of table limits they have for blackjack on HAL? On Carnival, there's usually one table with a $25 min and a $2,500 max (used to be $500). Here on Celebrity (we're on our last day of our Equinox cruise), they have a $25, $50, and $100 minimum table. I've been at the $25 table with VERY few other players. 90% of the time I'm playing solo. The higher limit tables have not even opened. The staff acknowledged that this is a slow cruise. I have to say it's the slowest I've seen on Celebrity.

 

EDIT - one other thing... at the $25+ level tables (assuming they have them!), are they dealt from a shoe or a CSM? On Carnival, it's from a CSM. On Celebrity it's a shoe game.

 

Tom

 

All HAL Blackjack tables are dealt from a shoe to my knowledge. If you're a rated player with any of the lines in the Carnival Corp family, that rating travels with you, but not to other corporations, i.e NCL. I'd make sure your VIP rep contacts the ship.