Casino Offers

[CarolinaCruiser20]

We went on our first cruise with Carnival last month. I have always been loyal to NCL, but had a few bad experiences and decided to move on. We had a great time on Carnival. Since getting back, I have some incredible casino offers. I always got free cruises with NCL but never free or fun play, and never free drinks all over the ship. For those with experience with both lines, is Carnival that much better with offers, or is this just a weird time with Covid and all?

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

1 hour ago, CarolinaCruiser20 said:

We went on our first cruise with Carnival last month. I have always been loyal to NCL, but had a few bad experiences and decided to move on. We had a great time on Carnival. Since getting back, I have some incredible casino offers. I always got free cruises with NCL but never free or fun play, and never free drinks all over the ship. For those with experience with both lines, is Carnival that much better with offers, or is this just a weird time with Covid and all?

 

One cruise and you're getting the free drinks everywhere offer?  (they're grooming you, lol)

 

Congrats !

 

Tom

[Iluvmykindle]

Carnival is way better than NCL with their offers.  We used to cruise a lot with NCL.  Now with the offers, it is Carnival for sure.  Balcony, free play in casino, free drinks.  And you may get some OBC back from the fees/port tax you pay.  

 

 

[Elaine5715]

It is an unusual time but they also get marketing lists from land casinos so if you have status with any of them, you are being targeted based on that play.

[IntrepidFromDC]

My daughter's bf is a pit boss who travels not on certain ships, but only Ultra, Elite, etc. cruises.  So, for example, he'll get finished with an Ultra cruise coming back to Baltimore then fly down to Tampa to catch an Elite cruise that departs next day.  He said there are factors used to determine the offer, and sometimes the factors fall within overlapping cycles and stopped there, saying it's hard to explain.  Anyway, what I think it means is one of your factors (who knows... "first" Carnival cruise and they know your history with NCL?) is putting you in the "better offers" category right now.  Best I'm getting right now is free balcony, 7-day, free drinks while gambling, $250 in FunPlay chips.  I have gotten better offers in the past, and I've gotten "not as good" offers.  We're booked on a free 10-day in early September out of Rome with $500 FunPlay and I'm holding out for something at least in-between my current offers and that one.

[Iluvmykindle]

You cannot beat a Carnival offer for a free aft balcony, $1000 in free play, and drinks throughout the ship for fees/port tax and then get $200 obc back from the fees/port tax.  And this is for 3 to 8 night cruises.

 

 

 

[CarolinaCruiser20]

14 minutes ago, Iluvmykindle said:

You cannot beat a Carnival offer for a free aft balcony, $1000 in free play, and drinks throughout the ship for fees/port tax and then get $200 obc back from the fees/port tax.  And this is for 3 to 8 night cruises.

 

 

 

Exactly. We spend a little in the casino, but no more than we would pay for the next cruise, and there is always a next cruise.😆

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

12 minutes ago, CarolinaCruiser20 said:

Exactly. We spend a little in the casino, but no more than we would pay for the next cruise, and there is always a next cruise.😆

Which confounds me a bit - I guess that Carnival just assumes that I will return regardless (probably should not have 5-6 booked already!), and thus does not extend me the drinks everywhere option... and I might win/lose a few times our cruise fare, so they know that there's some potential there!

 

Tom

[Bostwick girl]

This type of thing just really ticks me off! People seem so blasé about they only have free this or that, all the drinks and fun play, free rooms, hardly spend any time in the casino, only been on 1 or 2 Carnival Cruises!

Be thankful you get these things! DH and I have been on 38 cruises with Carnival and the best offers we ever get are the Hot Streak Bonus. The new one today has up to $900 off and up to $200 obc. If you booked a 7 day with that offer, you might get $50 obc, no drinks. Carnival has no regard for loyalty, all they’re after is the first or few timers. Really disheartening.

 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

8 minutes ago, Bostwick girl said:

... Carnival has no regard for loyalty, all they’re after is the first or few timers. Really disheartening.

 

 

That is their bread and butter "new blood" !

[Bostwick girl]

Just now, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

That is their bread and butter "new blood" !

That’s for sure, but it sure is frustrating hearing all the whiners and you don’t get anything to speak of!  My kids and grandkids get those fantastic offers too, but they can’t take advantage of them! I’m ready to go at the drop of a hat, so give me something to tempt me, lol

 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

4 minutes ago, Bostwick girl said:

That’s for sure, but it sure is frustrating hearing all the whiners and you don’t get anything to speak of!  My kids and grandkids get those fantastic offers too, but they can’t take advantage of them! I’m ready to go at the drop of a hat, so give me something to tempt me, lol

 

 

Our youngest (30) gets better offers than I do. CHEERS for cheap (not the RU9 code junk they offer me), but he doesn't drink. Also gets lots of free sailing offers from the casino, but bets a fraction of what I play... and it's MY $ he's playing with... LOL (front some $, if he wins, I get my "investment" back, if he loses, my tough luck)

 

Tom

[kdr69]

49 minutes ago, Bostwick girl said:

This type of thing just really ticks me off! People seem so blasé about they only have free this or that, all the drinks and fun play, free rooms, hardly spend any time in the casino, only been on 1 or 2 Carnival Cruises!

Be thankful you get these things! DH and I have been on 38 cruises with Carnival and the best offers we ever get are the Hot Streak Bonus. The new one today has up to $900 off and up to $200 obc. If you booked a 7 day with that offer, you might get $50 obc, no drinks. Carnival has no regard for loyalty, all they’re after is the first or few timers. Really disheartening.

 

Have you registered with Carnival Players Club?  That sometimes helps.  All of my offers are Casino Offers (although lower rate codes admittedly) other than the standard early booking rates.

[Eli_6]

I honestly think that the offers are heavily dependent on whether (and how many) future cruises you have booked. 

[CarolinaCruiser20]

1 hour ago, Bostwick girl said:

This type of thing just really ticks me off! People seem so blasé about they only have free this or that, all the drinks and fun play, free rooms, hardly spend any time in the casino, only been on 1 or 2 Carnival Cruises!

Be thankful you get these things! DH and I have been on 38 cruises with Carnival and the best offers we ever get are the Hot Streak Bonus. The new one today has up to $900 off and up to $200 obc. If you booked a 7 day with that offer, you might get $50 obc, no drinks. Carnival has no regard for loyalty, all they’re after is the first or few timers. Really disheartening.

 

I am definitely not complaining. I am very happy with what Carnival offers in comparison to other lines.

[Bostwick girl]

8 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

Have you registered with Carnival Players Club?  That sometimes helps.  All of my offers are Casino Offers (although lower rate codes admittedly) other than the standard early booking rates.

Yes, I’ve been with the Players Club for years. Never got anything from them so reregistered recently. I guess as a result of that, I’ve started getting Getaway offers with drinks in casino and $50 fun play, but very few sail from Port Canaveral and I don’t sail out of Jax which is closest to me because I refuse to book a balcony room on Elation or Ecstacy that does not even have a chair.  Maybe one of these days if I live long enough we’ll get something!

 

[MPH711]

Are you playing the tables or slots to get these offers?

[Bostwick girl]

9 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

I honestly think that the offers are heavily dependent on whether (and how many) future cruises you have booked. 

I don’t think that has anything to do with it. We’ve been on 6 cruises since August 2021, the last was April 9. I have 3 currently booked, an 8 day Southern Caribbean in November, a 5 day with John Heald in February 2023 and another 5 day in April 2023 to celebrate our son reaching Platinum. We are in the casino every night, in the mornings and evenings on sea days, so don’t think that’s it either. They just know they have me so don’t need to waste their offers on me!  Maybe I should just quit cruising for awhile.

 

We only play slots, no table games.

 

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by Bostwick girl
Additional

[Eli_6]

1 minute ago, Bostwick girl said:

I don’t think that has anything to do with it. We’ve been on 6 cruises since August 2021, the last was April 9. I have 3 currently booked, an 8 day Southern Caribbean in November, a 5 day with John Heald in February 2023 and another 5 day in April 2023 to celebrate our son reaching Platinum. We are in the casino every night, in the mornings and evenings on sea days, so don’t think that’s it either. They just know they have me so don’t need to waste their offers on me!  Maybe I should just quit cruising for awhile.

 

What I meant was that if you have numerous cruises booked for the future, I don't think they send you offers.  When I had no cruises booked or even only 1-2, I got casino offers.  Right now I have 6 or 7 cruises booked and I don't get any offers.  

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

12 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

I honestly think that the offers are heavily dependent on whether (and how many) future cruises you have booked. 

 

And... I have at least two booked right now that I probably won't even sail on (grabbed some dates with the presidential suite on the Mardi Gras).

 

Tom

[Bostwick girl]

Just no real rhyme or reason.

 

[Eli_6]

I was even getting offers for like 1500 OBC on Australia cruises and some for only like $25.  I actually booked two (for 2024) because they were basically paying me to go on the cruise and figured that would offset the high dollar airfare...And my husband said he would NOT fly 17+ hours in coach so it is really going to be expensive for 4 of us...but I do want to do the South Pacific Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. At any rate, after I booked the cruises, I no longer get the offer even though I have literally been getting that offer for like a year or more.    

Edited May 4, 2022 by Eli_6

[Bostwick girl]

I have those Australia offers as well. I had some really cheap offers recently, I think they were trying to fill up Liberty for the next few months. I put one on hold, was a 4 day balcony, dou for $341 total. I was looking further for another one and that offer was gone for me, but there for DH. After I let it go, the offer came back. So that’s probably why you don’t see that offer anymore, one and done!

 

[Eli_6]

13 minutes ago, Bostwick girl said:

I have those Australia offers as well. I had some really cheap offers recently, I think they were trying to fill up Liberty for the next few months. I put one on hold, was a 4 day balcony, dou for $341 total. I was looking further for another one and that offer was gone for me, but there for DH. After I let it go, the offer came back. So that’s probably why you don’t see that offer anymore, one and done!

 

I booked two cruises with the offer. B2B.  It expired on May 2nd, but the new one is only 750 obc vs the old one was 1500. It is possible that I "used up" that offer, IDK.  I don't know how many cruises they let you book under each offer. 

[EngIceDave]

I'm a degenerate....well not really THAT BAD, but I do have a Caesars Diamond card every year and enjoy gambling. Slots is my game of choice

 

"HI Dave"

 

The algo their system loves is the simple "time x avg wager"

 

If you go in every day it's open and grind out a couple hours, even at say $.50 - $1 a spin average, you'd create a decent ADT - Average Daily Theo (loss). 

 

That's what generates offers and makes one's better or worse than another, even if having the same exact level players card.

 

Land casinos want 4 hours a day of play, actual card in a machine play.

Ships seem ok with about 2 hours a day/evening.

 

Time is the big deal, not size of wagers. If you came into the casino, dropped $1K on roulette and walked away, they don't care other than to say thank you. There's no commitment, so you're not "a player," you're just foolish. They want to see time on the clock, then your average wager after that.

 

Points and all that is good, but that isn't the real way they rate you.

 

That is the simplest way to explain it, but basic rule, time x average wager, that's what they look at.

Edited May 4, 2022 by EngIceDave
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