Casino payouts ?

[jetact]

I have searched around and didn't see where anyone has talked about casino payouts. Has anyone won big on any of the NCL cruise ships ?  Does the casinos have high limit slot machines? We enjoy playing the slots after dinner a few nights is all. 

[firstimer2009]

My husband and I have taken two NCL cruises and he hit $1200 the first night of first cruise and I hit $1200 second night of 2nd cruise.  You have to watch the cashiers though. When they were paying me for my win they talked me into some lotto/bingo type game where the numbers were drawn late that night. Don't get talked into that.  

[firstimer2009]

The first cruise we were traveling with friends that expected us to pay for the drinks the rest of the cruise. This was before beverage package. Don't tell anyone either. 

[complawyer]

we were on the jade  out of athens april 8th. the 1st day was a sea day, and my wife won $4000 on  the slot machine. so yes, there are occasionally large payouts. by the way, the sun hadnt even set yet

 

that being said, i wouldnt bet the rent money on it.

 

we frequent las vegas, and i'm always amazed with people who have a "system".  i try and point out that the many hotels along the las vegas strip were built because people thought they had a system.

 

in the end, the house ALWAYS wins!!!!

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

You also might want to check out the Casinos at Sea forum!

[jetact]

40 minutes ago, Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin said:

You also might want to check out the Casinos at Sea forum!

Thank you, I didnt know there was one. 

[cruiserbear55]

3 hours ago, jetact said:

I have searched around and didn't see where anyone has talked about casino payouts. Has anyone won big on any of the NCL cruise ships ?  Does the casinos have high limit slot machines? We enjoy playing the slots after dinner a few nights is all. 

   On the smaller ships (jewel class and below) you'll usually find 4- 8 $5,10,and 25 dollar machines, along with one or two $100 dollar slots, generally tucked away in the back of the casino. On Breakaway class and above, there is a greater variety ( or at least there was, last time I was on the Breakaway, 6 years ago.)

  Have personally had 5 or 6 W2Gs over the years, ranging from $1200-$2000. Biggest win I ever saw was $15,000.00 on a Quick Hit machine. So yes, people do win! Just have to be in the right place at the right time, as the saying goes.

  As an aside to the above, was on the Pearl 4/8-15. The slots were the tightest I have ever encountered anywhere. Gave up playing by the 5th day. Happy Sailing!!

    

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, jetact said:

I have searched around and didn't see where anyone has talked about casino payouts. Has anyone won big on any of the NCL cruise ships ?  Does the casinos have high limit slot machines? We enjoy playing the slots after dinner a few nights is all. 

There are multi denomination slots. Not really "high limit" in Vegas terms. If you play higher denomination slots/video poker, make sure to use your room key or player's card and your next cruise will be free. Remember, on some cruises, 25% of the adult passengers are sailing on a casino comp or discounted cruise (either from NCL Casinos at Sea or land-based casino certificates/discounts). On our cruise last month, then announced a few $20K and a $40K jackpot. (I assume that they were real)

Edited May 28, 2022 by BirdTravels

[jetact]

1 minute ago, BirdTravels said:

There are multi denomination slots. Not really "high limit" in Vegas terms. If you play higher denomination slots/video poker, make sure to use your room key or player's card and your next cruise will be free. Remember, on some cruises, 25% of the adult passengers are sailing on a casino comp or discounted cruise (either from NCL Casinos at Sea or land-based casino certificates/discounts). 

Thats good to know as we never use the players cards. We usually only spend around $1,500 on gambling (that's our number when we gamble on land) so I figure what are we going to get for that. 

[cruiserbear55]

6 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

There are multi denomination slots. Not really "high limit" in Vegas terms. If you play higher denomination slots/video poker, make sure to use your room key or player's card and your next cruise will be free. Remember, on some cruises, 25% of the adult passengers are sailing on a casino comp or discounted cruise (either from NCL Casinos at Sea or land-based casino certificates/discounts). On our cruise last month, then announced a few $20K and a $40K jackpot. 

   So if I put a $100 in a $5 dollar machine and make sure my player's card/ room key is inserted, they'll (NCL) give me a free cruise?  As the song from Grease says- tell me more, tell me more!!

[BirdTravels]

1 minute ago, cruiserbear55 said:

   So if I put a $100 in a $5 dollar machine and make sure my player's card/ room key is inserted, they'll (NCL) give me a free cruise?  As the song from Grease says- tell me more, tell me more!!

CAS is looking for consistent play (an hour or two each night) that they can estimate your theoreticals [losses] on. Just like a land-based casino, your "offers" are based on your play. You would be better off sticking your $100 in a penny machine and playing it every night for an hour. 

[cruiserbear55]

7 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

CAS is looking for consistent play (an hour or two each night) that they can estimate your theoreticals [losses] on. Just like a land-based casino, your "offers" are based on your play. You would be better off sticking your $100 in a penny machine and playing it every night for an hour. 

   So how much do I theoretically have to lose before I'm comped a free cruise?

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, cruiserbear55 said:

   So how much do I theoretically have to lose before I'm comped a free cruise?

1 hour ago, cruiserbear55 said:

   So if I put a $100 in a $5 dollar machine and make sure my player's card/ room key is inserted, they'll (NCL) give me a free cruise?  As the song from Grease says- tell me more, tell me more!!

 

Enjoy yourself at the casino. Use your players card at the tables and on the slots. 

 

Since you are a Pearl player, you have dropped between $2500 and $7500 on cruises. And you booked your room cruise in April through CAS. So, you are playing more than $100 per cruise. So you kinda know what CAS is offering you personally. Yes?

Edited May 28, 2022 by BirdTravels

[pcakes122]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Since you are a Pearl player, you have dropped between $2500 and $7500 on cruises. 

Tier level has nothing to do with how much $$$ you have "dropped" (spent). Tier level is based on points earned which is how much $$$ you have cycled through the machines.  If you are winning, you can earn lots and lots of points without spending hardly any money.

 

Tier level also has NOTHING to do with with theo (which is what comps are based on.) Tier levels ONLY determine onboard PERKS (not free cruises.) Talking about tier levels and comp cruises in the same discussion just confuses people. (And encourages newbies to chase tier points thinking it will result in comp cruises.)

[julig22]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

CAS is looking for consistent play (an hour or two each night) that they can estimate your theoreticals [losses] on. Just like a land-based casino, your "offers" are based on your play. You would be better off sticking your $100 in a penny machine and playing it every night for an hour. 

That's how I'm currently playing - have a number of cruises booked, so it will be interesting to see if anything comes from it.  Not necessarily playing just in hopes of getting a free cruise, more like seeing if I can game the system.  And I use my NCL card for the cash advance so I get points for upgrades.

[cruiserbear55]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Enjoy yourself at the casino. Use your players card at the tables and on the slots. 

 

Since you are a Pearl player, you have dropped between $2500 and $7500 on cruises. And you booked your room cruise in April through CAS. So, you are playing more than $100 per cruise. So you kinda know what CAS is offering you personally. Yes?

   I know what it takes for my wife and I to get comped a balcony or mini-suite. But you made the statement that "if you play higher denomination slots/video poker, make sure to use your room key or player's card and your next cruise will be free". I'm just trying to pick your brain to see if you might know something the rest of us don't.

[cmjars]

The most I have ever won on NCL is $2400 playing penny slots (I'm cheap) that night the lady next to me won $20,000.

I had to fill out some tax forums then they gave me cash. Not sure about the lady who won 20K.

[cruiserbear55]

31 minutes ago, cmjars said:

The most I have ever won on NCL is $2400 playing penny slots (I'm cheap) that night the lady next to me won $20,000.

I had to fill out some tax forums then they gave me cash. Not sure about the lady who won 20K.

   You're not cheap. You can spend a lot more per spin on penny slots than you would on, let's say, 50 cent or dollar machines.

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, pcakes122 said:

Tier level has nothing to do with how much $$$ you have "dropped" (spent). Tier level is based on points earned which is how much $$$ you have cycled through the machines.  If you are winning, you can earn lots and lots of points without spending hardly any money.

 

Tier level also has NOTHING to do with with theo (which is what comps are based on.) Tier levels ONLY determine onboard PERKS (not free cruises.) Talking about tier levels and comp cruises in the same discussion just confuses people. (And encourages newbies to chase tier points thinking it will result in comp cruises.)

Agree with all. Sorry to be confusing. 

 

My use of the word "dropped" was not intended to mean "lost". Just "played"/"wagered" 

 

And yes, tiers have absolutely nothing to do with theoreticals that CAS uses to comp you. 

 

If you look back in the thread, the only reason that I mixed thoreticals with tiers is because the person I was quoting was asking fairly simplistic questions like "if I spend $100, can I get a comp'ed room". Trying to figure out the posters understanding of how a casino works, I discovered that he is actually a Pearl-level casino guest (spending a lot more that $100 per cruise) and getting comp'ed balcony rooms through CAS.  So, he knew the answer before posing a simplistic question. 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, cruiserbear55 said:

   I know what it takes for my wife and I to get comped a balcony or mini-suite. But you made the statement that "if you play higher denomination slots/video poker, make sure to use your room key or player's card and your next cruise will be free". I'm just trying to pick your brain to see if you might know something the rest of us don't.

The OP was looking for some high limit slots to play on the ship. That level of play can quickly get them up to a comp'ed room. And my response was specifically addressing that individual who wanted to play big-bucks slots. Later, the OP said that they have a $1500 limit per cruise, so now I am confused. 

[UKstages]

coming late to the party here... but i'll offer my thoughts on the original thrust of this thread: casino payouts. 

 

payouts (a.k.a. "return") is poor.

 

very poor.

 

you can't tell exactly how poor because there are no published stats on casino hold for cruise ships, unlike most land-based casinos. that being said, it can't be ridiculously awful... because nobody would play. the player has to win sometime, although most are likely to be net losers by the end of the cruise... gambling should be considered entertainment.

 

minimum payback on slots in land-based casinos in most jurisdictions is around 85%. that's what most penny machines are set at. (higher denomination machines generally offer better payback.) that does not mean that you'll only lose $15 if you play $100 through. you could lose a hundred! what it means is that over time - millions of spins - the machine will pay back about 85%. your short term results will vary greatly and you could walk away a big winner. but you'll probably lose.

 

my best guess is that minimum payback for slot machines on cruise ships is probably closer to 75% - 80%. that's just a guess! i've won a lot of money playing on cruise ships... and i've lost a lot of money... sometimes on the same cruise. on my most recent cruise, i won the 7K "grand" jackpot on one of those lightning link machines on a $5 bet, with only $200 invested in the machine. the next night, i was walking by and saw somebody hit the grand jackpot again on the same machine for a little more than 5K, which is what it reset to. so, people do indeed win on cruise ships and the slot machines play the same as they do on land... sort of kind of. the payback is presumably set lower, which means the big winning combinations and the bonus rounds may come less frequently, which ultimately affects the return.

 

table games have onerous or unfavorable rules, particularly for blackjack, which decreases payback for the average player.

 

my best advice: learn to play video poker, which is a game of both luck and skill. apply the correct strategy for the particular game you're playing and your expected return will be much greater than playing slots. you still may lose, but your money will likely last longer and if you hit a big hand, you could walk away a winner.

 

as for free cruises, much of what has been said here is spot on. play even a few hundred dollars in the casino and you will likely be offered something... could be just a discount on your next cruise, but it also could be a "free" cruise (pay port fees and taxes and gratuities and daily service charge).