CAS Oceania Comps

[pcakes122]

Just got an amazing deal on an Oceania cruise from Casinos at Sea.  I haven't cruises Oceania yet, but NCL's Casinos at Sea program benefits include discounts on Oceania & Regent.  I'm Ruby level with CAS and the deal I just got from Oceania was practically a full comp!

 

Looking forward to trying Oceania although I am well aware that the casino experience will be much different!  However, wanted to share that the cross-over benefit was MUCH more than I expected!

Edited August 21, 2019 by pcakes122

[sassyshar]

Congratulations on the good deal. what type of cabin were you able to score?    I'm only sapphire, so I;m sure I wouldn't be comp'd the same.     Please share what your  casino experience was like.   Happy cruising.   

[Sand and Seas]

Do they have Admin fees, etc?   Did you get your 'regular' type of comped cabin?  

 

After your cruise I hope you can come back and tell us what you think of the cruise and their casino.   

Have a great cruise😎  

[pcakes122]

I'm Ruby at CAS and I was offered $2500 off any Oceania sailing.  Since I am disabled, my only option on the Insignia was an inside cabin (they don't offer accessible cabins in any other categories.)   The cruise is a 7-day Bermuda cruise.  My total cost for two was $498 AND I was given $400 OBC which I was told CAN be used for daily service charges (gratuities.)  

 

Insignia only has 349 passenger cabins - so I'm hoping that the level of service in an interior will still be what I've heard can be expected on Oceania!  Here's some photos of the cabin I booked.  Not the Haven, but not too bad.  I'll survive considering the price! 😁

Edited August 24, 2019 by pcakes122

[pcakes122]

On 8/21/2019 at 10:00 PM, Sand and Seas said:

Do they have Admin fees, etc?

NO admin fees! 😁

[Sand and Seas]

Wow!  Sounds like a great deal!   

The $400 OBC would equal the $400 we get as Ruby on CAS, but I don't think you can use it for the DSC on NCL.    The cabin pictures look wonderful for an Inside.     Hope you have a wonderful cruise😎

[pcakes122]

1 hour ago, Sand and Seas said:

Wow!  Sounds like a great deal!   

The $400 OBC would equal the $400 we get as Ruby on CAS, but I don't think you can use it for the DSC on NCL.    The cabin pictures look wonderful for an Inside.     Hope you have a wonderful cruise😎

Unfortunately, we don't get our CAS OBC on Oceania 😞  The $400 OBC is a regular Oceania customer perk and the CAS rep who booked me made a point of offering the info about gratuities!  The one bummer is that I couldn't use my Amex Platinum $300 bonus in combination with my casino discount (I still don't understand why since the money is coming from Amex and not Oceania - but that's what I was told by the rep.)  Actually, one other bummer - Amex Platinum is currently offering $150 cash back on any Oceania purchase of $500 or more - and I missed it by $2! ☹️  But I'm still not complaining! 😁

[pcakes122]

Also, for anyone interested in booking Oceania or Regent through Casinos at Sea, there is only one rep that handles those offers/bookings.  Her name is I.J. and she is PHENOMENAL!  Below is her direct contact info:

[tompeter]

I hope she doesn't mind you posting that....LOL

[pcakes122]

2 hours ago, tompeter said:

I hope she doesn't mind you posting that....LOL

LOL - why would she mind?  She is the ONLY rep at Casinos at Sea that can book Oceania & Regent casino offers.  (Not sure you know how this works! 😉)

[sassyshar]

Thank you for the information.   Looking forward to hearing about the casino.   The inside cabin appears quite nice and roomy.  Happy cruising.  

[tompeter]

7 hours ago, pcakes122 said:

LOL - why would she mind?  She is the ONLY rep at Casinos at Sea that can book Oceania & Regent casino offers.  (Not sure you know how this works! 😉)

Thanks, I am familiar with how it works. I can just imagine people who "think" they are qualified for every discounted/free deal flooding her with phone calls looking for "their" deal when they may not be remotely qualified.....

[pcakes122]

1 minute ago, tompeter said:

Thanks, I am familiar with how it works. I can just imagine people who "think" they are qualified for every discounted/free deal flooding her with phone calls looking for "their" deal when they may not be remotely qualified.....

Since you are familiar with how it works, you know that ALL Sapphire, Ruby & Elite Casinos at Sea members are eligible for Oceania & Regent promotions.  Obviously different level of discounts/comps based on CAS level, but I.J. is the only rep who can let them know their particular discount.  Even my regular NCL Casinos at Sea rep had no idea how I could book Oceania - I only found I.J. because someone was kind enough to post her direct contact info on Facebook.

 

If your concern is that random folks who are not members of Casino at Sea will call her, I guess I have faith that most folks are not that clueless (especially if they are looking to cruise on Oceania and/or Regent which are traditionally targeted to more mature, established folks.

[tompeter]

Fair enough, thanks.

[Sand and Seas]

I took a peek at their website.  The sample menus looked interesting!   Is it set dining times?   (We are so used to 'freestyle' now!)

Please come back and tell us about their casino.   Hope you have a wonderful time😊

[muggo11]

Thanks. I have found that sharing my win-loss statements from the Venetian and/or another cruiseline can garner discounts or perks from a nee line I want to try. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by muggo11

[edgee]

On 8/25/2019 at 10:21 AM, pcakes122 said:

LOL - why would she mind?  She is the ONLY rep at Casinos at Sea that can book Oceania & Regent casino offers.  (Not sure you know how this works! 😉)

Couple of points re: booking discounted casino cruises on Oceania:

1. If you still have a regular travel agent that books some of your cruises and you are getting a discount rather than a full comp, you can have your travel agent call IJ to book the cruise and get both the casino discount PLUS  any benefits the the TA offers such as on board credit.

 

2. I am a BJ player and, unfortunately on Oceania all four of their R class (smaller ships) generally do not have table minimums higher than $10. As I do not  like playing  these lower level tables which tend to be crowded and have inexperienced players who jump in and out of the game, I no longer cruise on these smaller ships. The BJ games on Oceania's two larger ships, Marina and Riviera are fine. They open a $25 table for me any time I want it. They do have a policy on Oceania of paying any winnings for the cruise to you by check at the end of the cruise. You are not allowed to cash out chips which exceed your level of buy in.

[muggo11]

12 hours ago, edgee said:

They do have a policy on Oceania of paying any winnings for the cruise to you by check at the end of the cruise. You are not allowed to cash out chips which exceed your level of buy in.

Wow, that is a new one. Good to know.  Thanks!  

[pcakes122]

On 9/11/2019 at 1:06 PM, edgee said:

Couple of points re: booking discounted casino cruises on Oceania:

1. If you still have a regular travel agent that books some of your cruises and you are getting a discount rather than a full comp, you can have your travel agent call IJ to book the cruise and get both the casino discount PLUS  any benefits the the TA offers such as on board credit.

I tried to do this when I booked.  I asked IJ if I could transfer the booking to my Amex-affiliated TA (before I made payment) so that I could get my Platinum Amex benefit.  She told me that my CAS cruise was not combinable with any TA benefits?  If you have actually done this, I will call her back because that really bummed me out. 😞   

[edgee]

34 minutes ago, pcakes122 said:

I tried to do this when I booked.  I asked IJ if I could transfer the booking to my Amex-affiliated TA (before I made payment) so that I could get my Platinum Amex benefit.  She told me that my CAS cruise was not combinable with any TA benefits?  If you have actually done this, I will call her back because that really bummed me out. 😞   

My original booking was done in the name of my TA in cooperation with IJ. Particular agency offered cruise credit...I believe 200 bucks plus a bottle of wine which I declined and got another hundred bucks or so in cruise credit. HOWEVER, when my agent tried to apply the AMEX Plat credit it was denied..I have found many times that the Amex platinum credit is not combinable  with discounted fares..casino or not. So if your agency only offers the Amex Platinum credit which is part of an agreement between Amex and Oceania, I doubt if you have a chance to get it based on my experience. If the booking is through an agency which offers additional cruise credit or cash back besides Amex platinum and the initial booking is made by your agent calling IJ you could get some agency benefits, based on my experience. Also, my experience was in February, so it is possible the rules have changed. 

Edited September 13, 2019 by edgee

[pcakes122]

8 hours ago, edgee said:

My original booking was done in the name of my TA in cooperation with IJ. Particular agency offered cruise credit...I believe 200 bucks plus a bottle of wine which I declined and got another hundred bucks or so in cruise credit. HOWEVER, when my agent tried to apply the AMEX Plat credit it was denied..I have found many times that the Amex platinum credit is not combinable  with discounted fares..casino or not. So if your agency only offers the Amex Platinum credit which is part of an agreement between Amex and Oceania, I doubt if you have a chance to get it based on my experience. If the booking is through an agency which offers additional cruise credit or cash back besides Amex platinum and the initial booking is made by your agent calling IJ you could get some agency benefits, based on my experience. Also, my experience was in February, so it is possible the rules have changed. 

Thanks for this info!  I was really just focused on the Amex OBC, but really how greedy can I get LOL  I still can't complain! 😁

[muggo11]

Well, I tried for a discount by sharing my win-loss statements with Oceania but no dice (haha). They said it needed to be based on my play on my first Oceania cruise. MSC gave me a $1000 or 30% when I sent win-loss statements from Venetian and Carnival to them. Worth a try.