Casino offer.

[sassy~one]

Hello, I received my first casino offer.  I pay a small amount of money, I get a little 'casino cash' and drink's in the casino.  This is my first offer.  Does HAL have a 'get together' or send little treats to my cabin?  I have not sailed HAL in a bit, so this was quite a surprise.  Thank you so much. 

[Lady Arwen]

We did this a few years ago and there was no get together, other than the usual Cruise Critic roll call for that sailing.  We did not receive any little treats, either.  Perhaps things have changed since then.

[sassy~one]

8 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

We did this a few years ago and there was no get together, other than the usual Cruise Critic roll call for that sailing.  We did not receive any little treats, either.  Perhaps things have changed since then.

Thank you.  

[AV8rix]

37 minutes ago, sassy~one said:

Hello, I received my first casino offer.  I pay a small amount of money, I get a little 'casino cash' and drink's in the casino.  This is my first offer.  Does HAL have a 'get together' or send little treats to my cabin?  I have not sailed HAL in a bit, so this was quite a surprise.  Thank you so much. 

No get-together for casino players but in the past the casino host has sent chocolate-dipped strawberries to my stateroom.

[Balliett]

Do take your paperwork with you.  The ship may have no record of what you are due at the casino.  Show your email etc to the casino cashier.

[sassy~one]

8 hours ago, Balliett said:

Do take your paperwork with you.  The ship may have no record of what you are due at the casino.  Show your email etc to the casino cashier.

This may be a problem, I did not get an email.  But my HAL PVP told me to make sure when I get to the casino to ask for my 'little cruise cash"  Also ask for the 'drinks in the casino info'  I just got lucky looking around at the prices.  I had offers that I had no idea I had.  Balliett can you share with me how I might be able to fix this? Thanks.

[rucrazy]

I have often wondered the difference between an actual casino offer (which I never receive(d)) and the Casino discount which I almost always receive when booking?

[msmayor]

My husband and I get the casino 'offers' via email fairly often.  We are not high-rollers but do enjoy the casino on the ship and spend time there every day of a cruise, and get to know the host and dealers throughout the trip.  

 

Since getting our first offer a couple of years ago, we qualify for a casino discount on every cruise we have taken since.  It's usually a decent break - at least $300 or more off the fare, and we've always been able to take advantage of any other perks currently offered at the time of reservation.  I think the best deal we ended up with was the Zuiderdam partial Panama Canal.  We started in a Signature Suite and included was the beverage package, all gratuities and an evening in the Pinnacle Grill.  After taking an offered upsell to a Neptune we got 10 nights in a suite right across from the Neptune Lounge for just over $4k.  

[DaveOKC]

11 minutes ago, rucrazy said:

I have often wondered the difference between an actual casino offer (which I never receive(d)) and the Casino discount which I almost always receive when booking?

A casino OFFER is generally a free or heavily discounted cruise, but often it is only for guarantee cabins in a specific category.  You normally can pay more to move up to a higher category, but again most times you cannot pick your cabin (some people seem to have been able to get around this with their TA or PCC, while others have not).  Also, you generally do not qualify for any perks/deals that the cruiseline is offering, other than what is on your OFFER email/letter.

 

A casino DISCOUNT is sinply a reduction of your base fare (usually 5-30%).  While not as nice as a free cruise (or heavily discounted one), a discount allows you to pick your cabin AND you qualify for any promotions/deals/perks currently being offered.

 

Obvioulsy, pluses and minuses for each one, but both are good deals IMO.

[rucrazy]

58 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

Obviously, pluses and minuses for each one, but both are good deals IMO.

Thanks for clearing that up!

[cabinluvn]

We booked a “free” casino offer to sail last June...HA!  Got another one last month. My husband isn’t interested in going in November.s So my sister(who is a 3 star, I am a 4 star) is going with me. Quite the task for my PCC to get the offer in my name instead of my husband’s name. Otherwise, he was the one that had to sail. Anyway, the free was for an inside cabin. My sister said she would only go if we upgraded to a balcony, since it is a caribbean cruise. Apparently, there are only 4 balcony upgrades for the casino upgrade, so we may get the lowest category balcony, or an upgrade from that as a guarantee. The whole cruise, with the upgrade, HAL insurance and port taxes(which are not free on the “free” cruise) came to $900/pp for the 7 day cruise. Included is a free pinnacle dinner, casino cash and free drinks while gambling. We both used FF miles for the airfare from the midwest. We are both in our 70s and this is the first sister trip. 

[CafeBruno]

I got the mailer for a free inside cabin, plus casino cash and free drinks in the casino. I am considering upgrading to a Neptune - the upgrade cost would be $1600 per person, of which $400 total is returned to us as OBC. I think I am going to do it, as this will likely be the cheapest Neptune I will come across.

[DaveOKC]

7 hours ago, CafeBruno said:

I got the mailer for a free inside cabin, plus casino cash and free drinks in the casino. I am considering upgrading to a Neptune - the upgrade cost would be $1600 per person, of which $400 total is returned to us as OBC. I think I am going to do it, as this will likely be the cheapest Neptune I will come across.

Go for it!  I like to upgrade these free cabin offers to Neptunes as 1) the price is very reasonable for the type of cabin and 2) you are less likely to be assigned an inferior location (since you can only book guarantees in most cases).

[atexsix]

We laugh because this discount shows up on every reservation we have, and we're hardly ever in the casino.  Maybe once or twice per cruise while waiting for an event to start the one button bandits will get 20 bucks out of me, I even won it back once.  

 

P.S. I wonder if this is HAL's subtle way of getting people to go in there and lose their money.

Edited May 23, 2021 by atexsix

[cabinluvn]

14 hours ago, CafeBruno said:

I got the mailer for a free inside cabin, plus casino cash and free drinks in the casino. I am considering upgrading to a Neptune - the upgrade cost would be $1600 per person, of which $400 total is returned to us as OBC. I think I am going to do it, as this will likely be the cheapest Neptune I will come across.

Thanks for reminding me...yes...$200/pp of that fare will be returned as OBC. So the $900/pp for the total package, is really $700/pp. The base fare for the balcony was $600, minus the $200, makes the fare $400/pp for the 7 day cruise. Not free, but darn close

[fkfad]

A VIP casino offer does, in fact, have additional perks -- priority embarkation, a casino concierge, Casino Cash, welcome aboard party, drinks while playing, treats sent to your cabin, and a final goodbye party, along with free entries in the blackjack tournament and slot tournament.  We have taken advantage of these offers several times...

[cabinluvn]

My free cruise casino offer did not include any of these things except casino cash and free drinks while playing. There must be a certain amount you had to gamble to get the additional perks. We always get the casino rate on our cruises that we book and pay for

[Laminator]

2 hours ago, fkfad said:

A VIP casino offer does, in fact, have additional perks -- priority embarkation, a casino concierge, Casino Cash, welcome aboard party, drinks while playing, treats sent to your cabin, and a final goodbye party, along with free entries in the blackjack tournament and slot tournament.  We have taken advantage of these offers several times...

That is a different type of casino offer than what this poster is referring to. I receive both types of offers, 

[NCTribeFan]

I have multiple casino offers right now and they're all different.  I just booked the free inside cabin.  Was debating on whether to add that to the front of my 12-night NA cruise in December or to go with the 10-night Eurodam in November over my b'day.  I decided that I'd take the extra 3 nights.  I mean, really.  $20/night?  Hard to beat that price!

 

I'm perfectly happy in an inside.  I really like them.  I'm not so happy about it being a guarantee.  Hopefully I won't be in the worst cabin on the ship.  I'm not going to pay to upgrade.  Defeats the purpose of getting a free cruise!

 

FTR, I had B2B freebies booked for this past January on NA (@$200/ea).  At that time, it was NOT a gty cabin and I had the same inside booked for both legs.  Oh well.

 

I've only sailed HAL 3 times but Carnival >30 and get much better casino offers from HAL.  Go figure.  And, yes, whenever I'm pricing a sailing, once I log in my price drops about 30%.  As a solo, that makes a difference as to whether it fits in my budget.

 

Carnival does have "premier" casino offers.  Those include those perks mentioned above - priority boarding, sail-away party, special games and drawings in the casino, DOU, gifts in the cabin, casino cash (and it's often actual cash).

[Mary229]

After reading all of these posts I had a stern talk with the husband 😁 telling him he better use his card in the casino next cruise.  It is a Transatlantic so I imagine that should do the trick.   (Why not my card? I don't gamble, sorry, I don't find it interesting)

[ericfromri]

On 5/22/2021 at 8:56 AM, sassy~one said:

This may be a problem, I did not get an email.  But my HAL PVP told me to make sure when I get to the casino to ask for my 'little cruise cash"  Also ask for the 'drinks in the casino info'  I just got lucky looking around at the prices.  I had offers that I had no idea I had.  Balliett can you share with me how I might be able to fix this? Thanks.

one thing for sure, alcohol and gambling are bad mixers.  $5.00 worth of booze and a  free unsold cabin can easily equal $20,000 in profits for the cruise line.

Edited May 27, 2021 by ericfromri

[DaveOKC]

5 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

After reading all of these posts I had a stern talk with the husband 😁 telling him he better use his card in the casino next cruise.  It is a Transatlantic so I imagine that should do the trick.   (Why not my card? I don't gamble, sorry, I don't find it interesting)

He DEFINATELY should use his card/cabin key.  And when you check prices in the future, use his Mariner account in case he qualifies for the casino discount (5-30%).

[Laminator]

46 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

After reading all of these posts I had a stern talk with the husband 😁 telling him he better use his card in the casino next cruise.  It is a Transatlantic so I imagine that should do the trick.   (Why not my card? I don't gamble, sorry, I don't find it interesting)

If he plays the slot machines he has to use his card. It's the only way to get the money out. 

[DaveOKC]

2 minutes ago, Laminator said:

If he plays the slot machines he has to use his card. It's the only way to get the money out. 

They let you take money OUT??  I thought it was just to take all your money!

[Laminator]

Just now, DaveOKC said:

They let you take money OUT??  I thought it was just to take all your money!

LOL....

Here is a tip that may help you get better discounts. I don't need to do this as my wife also gambles enough on the ship. Ask for a second players card from the casino cage. They can tie that players card into your account. Have your significant other use that card. It's a little bit of a pain as you can only pull any money out on your actual room key but it makes your play look better and hence you should receive better discounts.