Considering Leaving NCL for another line

[riddle]

A big part of my cruise experience is spending time in the casino. I am a long-time NCL exclusive cruiser and have received many comped cruises (less charges that is) from NCL. However, with their new management things have changed dramatically. I am considering switching to another line and would like others' opinions as to how well they like the casinios on other lines like Carnival, RCL, Princell, etc. I am newly retired and expected to spend a good amount of my travelling budget on cruising. Which of these lines give out "free" cruises to frequent casino players? How well are you treated as a casino guest?

 

Thanks for any info. I know I would have to earn my stripes but just want some sort of idea.

[pusywillow]

A big part of my cruise experience is spending time in the casino. I am a long-time NCL exclusive cruiser and have received many comped cruises (less charges that is) from NCL. However, with their new management things have changed dramatically. I am considering switching to another line and would like others' opinions as to how well they like the casinios on other lines like Carnival, RCL, Princell, etc. I am newly retired and expected to spend a good amount of my travelling budget on cruising. Which of these lines give out "free" cruises to frequent casino players? How well are you treated as a casino guest?

 

Thanks for any info. I know I would have to earn my stripes but just want some sort of idea.

 

I have only cruised Princes and Carnival on comped casino deals. IMO Princess is far superior to Carnival.

 

Sue

[CTSandy]

I've cruised several times on NCL CAS comped cruises - received a letter from a travel agent that does gambling junkets offering me a Celebrity cruise. I booked it for the Aug. 28 sailing to Bermuda - looking forward to checking out the casino (smoke free - delighted about that)! It actually worked out to be a couple of hundred bucks cheaper per person than NCL - I usually just pay the port fees/taxes/NCF on NCL for a balcony cabin. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Celebrity was only charging port fees and taxes! I'll try to remember and post when I get back with my impressions of Celebrity.

[Sand and Seas]

I've cruised several times on NCL CAS comped cruises - received a letter from a travel agent that does gambling junkets offering me a Celebrity cruise. I booked it for the Aug. 28 sailing to Bermuda - looking forward to checking out the casino (smoke free - delighted about that)! It actually worked out to be a couple of hundred bucks cheaper per person than NCL - I usually just pay the port fees/taxes/NCF on NCL for a balcony cabin. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Celebrity was only charging port fees and taxes! I'll try to remember and post when I get back with my impressions of Celebrity.

 

Looking forward to your post after your Celebrity cruise. I've been sticking with NCL and CAS for the last several years. Hope you have a great cruise!

[LaCal]

I jumped ship from NCL 3 years ago due to a few probs with correct points being kept and time played etc

 

Been on Carnival now and love the casino comps.....been getting premier casino offers every 3 months that offer a free ocean view cabin and $1,000 cash....plus free drinks and all the little gifts sent to the cabin

 

Been a No Brainer for me and my next cruise was comped Oct 1st on the Vista to Europe

[Casino Player]

A big part of my cruise experience is spending time in the casino. I am a long-time NCL exclusive cruiser and have received many comped cruises (less charges that is) from NCL. However, with their new management things have changed dramatically. I am considering switching to another line and would like others' opinions as to how well they like the casinios on other lines like Carnival, RCL, Princell, etc. I am newly retired and expected to spend a good amount of my travelling budget on cruising. Which of these lines give out "free" cruises to frequent casino players? How well are you treated as a casino guest?

 

Thanks for any info. I know I would have to earn my stripes but just want some sort of idea.

 

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO riddle: Always been treated well by the Carnival Corp. Because of Casino play got cashback when sailing on another Carnival Corp. ship within a certain time span even if it was on a different line. Carnival Corp. owns six cruise lines.

[Harry and Lucille]

After many cruises, we settled in with Princess. Always been treated well by the Casino. This cruise in September is a casino comp. Inside cabin for two. Cruises were limited and a short time to book, but, this one was on our bucket list and timing fit.

 

I received an offer from the casino on our 15 day round trip to Hawaii sailing from San Francisco.

 

I was considered to be a VIP. Hummm. Don't know why. I don't play a lot and am frugal. Received $250 in casino cash, free drinks while playing and an airplane size blanket for traveling. They had special games for us also. Slot tournament, Blackjack and a drawing for prizes with the top winner receiving $600. No entry fee for any.

 

I know everybody says this, but, I did win. Enough to buy dinner for three in the Crown Grill and pay off our onboard account and had tip money left over for our trip home.

 

We will be sailing to Alaska from SF for 10 days. That's ok. Will see what comes next.;)

[Namlsnik]

I would like to try Princess and Celebrity eventually whenever their casino decides to market to us. Received a Crystal Cruises casino offer but it's from an independent casino marketing agent and doubt its authenticity based on feedback from a frequent Crystal cruiser.

 

Tried Carnival once using a land casino offer. Played a tiny fraction of what we did on NCL.

 

Threw away their "interior cabin" bounce back offers because I knew from these boards to expect Premier invitations for casino players.

 

NCL doesn't even compete with perks, do they?

 

I think $1,000 onboard cash is the most Carnival offers.

 

From what I have read on here we could have earned HALF the amount of points and still would've received the Premier invitations. Why play more if your max reward is $1,000 onboard cash per VIFP number.

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Wow, I can understand Why many of you jumping ship to other Lines.

 

The prob for me, its hard turning down the Comp cruises. NCL or otherwise.

Right now, I have more Vouchers than I can book......(before they expire)

 

Only our 2nd Princess casino comp cruise coming up mid-Oct.

So were basically bottom of the food chain with them.....

 

But I'm only a couple cruises from top level (Plat.?) with NCL.

So I plan to finish off with them, albeit alittle slower pace than I

was before I started adding in Princess freebies.....lol

 

The goal is to be Top tier (on 1 or 2 Lines) before retirement in a few years. Hoping this Helps keep our cruising going, with deals & perks, etc.

Every little bit helps.

 

Yes, I will be standing by to hear about Celebrity too.;)

[dznymom]

I've cut way back on my NCL cruises since they started the new system (not so new now, I guess) and not only do I have trouble understanding it, but so do they. I still get my typical 7 night inside comp from them, and I do enjoy the free drinks in the casino. I prefer NCL but I don't feel valued as a casino customer lately.

 

We took one Celebrity cruise (not on a comp), and we had a wonderful time but I didn't like the casino vibe and never got any offers from them. Looks like that will be one and done.

 

It's been a few years since I cruised Carnival, and it seems they have really upped their game as far as casino offers since I moved on. I am tempted to give them another try, but our last cruise was not good so I have shied away from them. I'll keep my eyes open.

 

We had a nice offer from HAL earlier this year, and took a 10 night partial Panama Canal. We could have done it in an outside for $99 plus taxes/fees but we upgraded to a suite for a very nice price. I think there was a small (maybe $100?) amount of free play. It was a fantastic cruise due to the itinerary, but HAL's casinos have been pretty pathetic on the 3 ships I have been on.

 

I will be taking my first Princess cruise next April on a comp from Venetian/Palazzo and I am very much looking forward to it. Hopefully after this one we will be on their radar and will get some decent offers. It was nice to only be charged the tax and port charges. Paying $230 apiece for a 15 night cruise in a mini suite is by far the best deal I have gotten.

 

Does anyone know if the other lines are as flexible about solo cruisers as NCL? I love having no single supplement when i travel with friends instead of DH.

 

Anyway, just my musings.

Edited July 4, 2016 by dznymom

[Sand and Seas]

Do Celebrity and Princess comp video poker players? Or do you mainly pay slots or tables? Just asking since we aren't as popular in Vegas:rolleyes:

[Panda3]

A big part of my cruise experience is spending time in the casino. I am a long-time NCL exclusive cruiser and have received many comped cruises (less charges that is) from NCL. However, with their new management things have changed dramatically. I am considering switching to another line and would like others' opinions as to how well they like the casinios on other lines like Carnival, RCL, Princell, etc. I am newly retired and expected to spend a good amount of my travelling budget on cruising. Which of these lines give out "free" cruises to frequent casino players? How well are you treated as a casino guest?

 

Thanks for any info. I know I would have to earn my stripes but just want some sort of idea.

 

Hi, I just put a posting of my recent experience on RCI on this forum, please read. Frankly I'm underwhelmed with my award for the amount of play I did. They awarded me a free inside cabin on a 3 night cruise when I gambled every night $40 table hands and $5 pull slots for 4-5 hours a night. Oh, and it was only a small list of cruises or $500 a future cruise. I received the exact same offer in May where I used the $500 off on my 7 day cruise. Drinks free while in the casino for me and my hubby.

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Do Celebrity and Princess comp video poker players? Or do you mainly pay slots or tables? Just asking since we aren't as popular in Vegas:rolleyes:

 

 

S&S- I play mostly vp too. Also in Vegas.

Think we run in the same circles. :o

 

On Princess during my first casino comp cruise thru Stations, in March,

I earned 8,000 points in ship casino.

End of the cruise they gave me a voucher Good for Inside cruise for 2.

We are doing this cruise in Oct., which is the last date I could book it.

 

My friend was traveling with me and played in the casino alot too.

But only earned $350 towards a future cruise, instead of a freebie.

 

I found the Princess casino very user friendly. They didn't try to hide

how many points I needed to earn for this or that. A nice change of pace.

 

Can't help you on Celebrity, one of the lines I haven't been on.

[Sand and Seas]

Is Princess like NCL for points? $10 through machines for one point on VP or $5 through machine for one point on slots. I usually play 5000 to 7000 points on an NCL cruise and they have been offering me OceanViews or Insides. (The Inside offers were when I came out ahead for the cruise)

 

I play less $$ on board for a week cruise than I do for a weekend in Las Vegas, but I'm not afraid to play higher if I know they will comp another cruise....just redistributing where my gambling budget goes!

 

Thanks for sharing! Good information to help us plan:D

[vp1]

A big part of my cruise experience is spending time in the casino. I am a long-time NCL exclusive cruiser and have received many comped cruises (less charges that is) from NCL. However, with their new management things have changed dramatically. I am considering switching to another line and would like others' opinions as to how well they like the casinios on other lines like Carnival, RCL, Princell, etc. I am newly retired and expected to spend a good amount of my travelling budget on cruising. Which of these lines give out "free" cruises to frequent casino players? How well are you treated as a casino guest?

 

Thanks for any info. I know I would have to earn my stripes but just want some sort of idea.

Have cruised with NCL more than a dozen times on "comped" cruises. Would concur that the current system is not nearly as good as it was 5 - 10 years ago. As a current "HOT" player, the drink card is currently only good for well drinks or beer (up to $5)- it used to be whatever you'd like. I've recently found the NCL casino hosts to be non-existent even when we were "guests" of the casino - we were on two 14-day cruises in the Med. last summer with NCL and were just about the only casino guests on the ship and the hostesses still were essentially absent - the program used to be MUCH better.

Recently cruised with Carnival. Played craps at about $30 /roll for many hours. Had a "free" drink card within a couple of days - found the casino staff to be equal to any staff on NCL ships. Won a free cruise the last night (can't use it because my employer won't give me that week off….) and also got the bounce back offer the last morning for a free cruise up to 15 days on Carnival. The Carnival "free" cruise is a way better than the NCL "free" cruise - the Carnival cruise costs only a couple of hundred dollars - all of my "free" NCL cruises have cost much more. You may have read on this board that an average bet of $25 for a few hours a day may qualify for the bounce back offer with Carnival - that prompted me to play 3 craps bets at $10 each. On my most recent (8 day) cruise I lost about $1,000 - but had free drinks for the week and am now going on a 9-day cruise for 2 for about $250 (also with free drinks). I'm very good with that. One other, minor, difference between NCL and Carnival is that Carnival casino comped cruises only comps the drink card for the player - not any other guests in the room - BUT the Carnival drink card is good for pretty much anything you order (not limited to $5). We're off on our next cruise in less than a month - will report back on that experience.

~Bob

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Is Princess like NCL for points? $10 through machines for one point on VP or $5 through machine for one point on slots. I usually play 5000 to 7000 points on an NCL cruise and they have been offering me OceanViews or Insides. (The Inside offers were when I came out ahead for the cruise)

 

I play less $$ on board for a week cruise than I do for a weekend in Las Vegas, but I'm not afraid to play higher if I know they will comp another cruise....just redistributing where my gambling budget goes!

 

Thanks for sharing! Good information to help us plan:D

 

S&S- I've only done One Princess comp cruise, and our 2nd one is coming up in Oct. I found the casino easy to figure out & had a Host come by nightly.

Since Princess does not give Drink card (or at least I didn't get one) the Host sent over drinks (and water bottles) nightly. We didn't want for anything.

And that was playing mostly quarter & dollar single line vp or alittle slots.

Very attentive.

 

Like mentioned above, I haven't had that attentiveness on NCL.

Just used my drink card & tipped a dollar per drink, like in regular casinos

and they were happy with that.

NCL ships seemed to have more Up to date games.....UltX etc.

 

I average 5,000 points per NCL cruise, and since I did 3 in the 12 month period

was Gold level on our May Alaska cruise.

I may get another NCL cruise in before end of March or April? But that would keep me Hot instead of Gold.

Oh well, doesn't seem to matter alot.

 

I STILL get Inside NCL offers instead of Balc. Only way I get one is Upgrade.:cool:

Maybe when/If I hit NCL Plat.? I might get better? I dunno.

Edited July 8, 2016 by CalLuvsCrusingToo

[Sand and Seas]

c.

 

I average 5,000 points per NCL cruise, and since I did 3 in the 12 month period was Gold level on our May Alaska cruise. I may get another NCL cruise in before end of March or April? But that would keep me Hot instead of Gold. Oh well, doesn't seem to matter alot.

 

I STILL get Inside NCL offers instead of Balc. Only way I get one is Upgrade.:cool: Maybe when/If I hit NCL Plat.? I might get better? I dunno.

 

I have been Gold level last couple of years and usually get 5000 to 7000 pts per cruise. I have been Platinum with NCL for a few years now so the casino doesn't care about that....I get Inside or Ocean View offers directly from CAS. It appears to be based on whether I lost or won the prior cruise, not points played.

 

Caesars/Harrahs Las Vegas offers me balcony cruises, while the Harrahs in New Orleans offers me inside or once an Ocean View. Now taking more of my gambling $$ directly to NCL's casinos. It's all good;)

[Rummblestrip]

I don't get it.

I have been on 4 cruises with NCL. Been both hot and golden. Diamond with Total Rewards. I got a 10% discount via TR on my first cruise in the Haven. After that, free balcony and Haven penthouses every time. I don't get how people are hot and golden players and are only offered free inside rooms. I have 2 cruises b2b in a Haven Penthouse coming up and a 10 day Ausie cruise in a aft balcony. That is $18-19k of cruises for about $1200 in port taxes and tips. I have never lost that much on a NCL cruise, always been pretty fair pay outs considering what I have heard from other lines. The only time I have not had stellar performance from hosts, pit bosses, or staff was once on the epic, I wrote that off from them just getting back from a season in Europe. Never had to check on play times, ect. With the amazing service from the time I get to the terminal to the time I disembark, I can't think of looking anywhere else to sail.

[VideoTech]

I don't get it.

I have been on 4 cruises with NCL. Been both hot and golden. Diamond with Total Rewards. I got a 10% discount via TR on my first cruise in the Haven. After that, free balcony and Haven penthouses every time. I don't get how people are hot and golden players and are only offered free inside rooms. I have 2 cruises b2b in a Haven Penthouse coming up and a 10 day Ausie cruise in a aft balcony. That is $18-19k of cruises for about $1200 in port taxes and tips. I have never lost that much on a NCL cruise, always been pretty fair pay outs considering what I have heard from other lines. The only time I have not had stellar performance from hosts, pit bosses, or staff was once on the epic, I wrote that off from them just getting back from a season in Europe. Never had to check on play times, ect. With the amazing service from the time I get to the terminal to the time I disembark, I can't think of looking anywhere else to sail.

 

Have to agree with you..I'm kind of surprised at all the negativity about NCL and CAS. Our experience has always been quite the opposite: we've always been treated very well by CAS. Comp cruise offers always at least a balcony cabin, and more often than not a penthouse. We book directly through CAS, never using casino offers...maybe that's part of the issue?

 

On board the ships we've always been treated extremely well. Casino hosts are usually on a first name basis with us by the 2nd night. But we make an effort to get to know them too. Prior to the introduction of the UDP and UBP programs, on every cruise we'd get multiple comped specialty restaurant dinners with a bottle of wine, comped spa treatments, and all manner of goodies delivered to the cabin.

 

(Regarding the UDP/UBP, on our recent Escape cruise the Casino hostess told us that the new programs have really hamstrung the casino operation, because there's now so little they can offer to their players.)

 

At the end of every cruise, we've always been very pleased with the Casino discount applied to our final on board bill.

 

Our experience with other cruise lines has never been that good. On Celebrity, the casino manager never came out from behind his desk. When we went to him directly with questions about the casino program, points earned and how they might be used, either with MLife or future cruises, he was mostly unable to offer any information at all. On RCI, can't remember any attention from the casino hosts at all. And our gambling levels are consistent from line to line.

 

So we're happy with NCL/CAS, and have no reason to look elsewhere.

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Listening to Rumblestrip & Videotech's casino comp experiences.....

 

I think me & Sand&Sail are kinda getting screwed by NCL.:mad:

 

We play 5,000 points per cruise & get Insides.

Whats wrong with this picture?

 

Do we need to talk directly to higher ups at CAS? Cuz I've never been

offered anything better. And I'm a NICE person.:p:o:D

 

I don't get it either.....:cool:

Edited July 10, 2016 by CalLuvsCrusingToo

[Sand and Seas]

Listening to Rumblestrip & Videotech's casino comp experiences.....

 

I think me & Sand&Sail are kinda getting screwed by NCL.:mad:

 

We play 5,000 points per cruise & get Insides.

Whats wrong with this picture?

 

Do we need to talk directly to higher ups at CAS? Cuz I've never been

offered anything better. And I'm a NICE person.:p:o:D

 

I don't get it either.....:cool:

 

I only play video poker and if it's like Vegas, we just don't get the comps that slot players get. And I don't play the same $$ per day on board that I play in Vegas. At CET I'm SevenStar. Not sure why Vegas CET offers me Balcony cruises and New Orleans offers me Ocean view or Inside.

 

I'm not going to leave NCL (at least for now) as we enjoy their cruises. The most I've ever lost on board is $3000 and that got me the Ocean View offer. When I've won, I'm happy enough with an inside offer (which I might not book.) Cruising four or five times a year with NCL at the present. I'm guessing they are looking at my past couple of cruises when they decide on my cabin level. Thanks to all here for sharing their experiences. It is very confusing!

[clcjdn]

I only play video poker and if it's like Vegas, we just don't get the comps that slot players get. And I don't play the same $$ per day on board that I play in Vegas. At CET I'm SevenStar. Not sure why Vegas CET offers me Balcony cruises and New Orleans offers me Ocean view or Inside.

 

I'm not going to leave NCL (at least for now) as we enjoy their cruises. The most I've ever lost on board is $3000 and that got me the Ocean View offer. When I've won, I'm happy enough with an inside offer (which I might not book.) Cruising four or five times a year with NCL at the present. I'm guessing they are looking at my past couple of cruises when they decide on my cabin level. Thanks to all here for sharing their experiences. It is very confusing!

 

I too am primarily a VP player. I think the issue is related to their take % on their VP machines. I am under the belief from my math that they are using the hold percentage based on 100% optimal play. That is about 5% on most of their VP games, and when I have done my own calcs, I have come close to those numbers. I put between 7,000 and 10,000 points on per cruise, if you use the 10,000 point times $10 a point, that is $100,000 in action. With a 5% hold, I would get about a $5,000 theoretical, which was within a few hundred points on my last cruise. On this particular sailing, we had 2 W2Gs for a total of $4600, so our actual showed as plus $1000 for the whole sailing (again accurate within a few hundred dollars). Based on the actual being a win, and the theo being $5k, I was offered a mini suite over spring break on the Jewel. Last year on the Breakaway, I had all of the same amounts except no W2Gs and I lost about $4,500 out of pocket. For that sailing I received a penthouse suite on the Jewel the week after Thanksgiving. I am assuming that a fair amount of the delta is the time of year only since I am on the same ship and itinerary. The remaining change is the fact that they upped the requirements for each room type, which I confirmed with the CAS booking agent. Full disclosure, I have never used a land based certificate, only CAS direct after my first sailing without any comps.

 

Forgot to mention, I started on Carnival and still get Premier offers, but do not use them very often. I still prefer NCL/CAS, especially their variety of VP offered.

Edited July 11, 2016 by clcjdn
Added last sentence.

[Sand and Seas]

I'm wondering now if part of the reason I only get ocean view or insides is the cruises I'm requesting. Because I already had some land-based certificate cruises booked, I've been asking them to check what kind of cabin I would be offered for a cruise a year or so out. Do you think I could get better offers for a cruise within 60 to 90 days? Since we are retired now I'm free to book at anytime.

[skeeter195]

CAS is definately going in the wrong direction. If you win, you will be comped less. I have been very lucky and have had good money management for my past 6 NCL cruises and have won on all of them. I average around 15000 points per cruise and have never been offered higher than a mini-suite. My last offer was an outside. I travel off season mostly. I play BJ and craps mostly with very little $25 slots and VP thrown in. I understand that most of my play has a low house edge, but I am putting around 1 million dollars in play on each cruise to earn those 15000 points. I have 2 more cruises booked and I hope CAS changes some for the better and the bettor. If not they may be my last 2 with NCL.

[clcjdn]

I'm wondering now if part of the reason I only get ocean view or insides is the cruises I'm requesting. Because I already had some land-based certificate cruises booked, I've been asking them to check what kind of cabin I would be offered for a cruise a year or so out. Do you think I could get better offers for a cruise within 60 to 90 days? Since we are retired now I'm free to book at anytime.

 

I haven't tried on short notice since I am still a working stiff....hopefully not for 30 more years though. :) I'm 37....

 

I have been told peak season vs non peak comes into play. My parents went on their first NCL cruise and have been told they qualify for an inside during non peak, but only a discount during peak (I believe summer months and/or school holidays).