How much does "free" Blue Chip stateroom actually cost?

[Spikedr]

I took my first Celebrity cruise in May. I just received a "free" blue chip inside stateroom offer. How much will this actually cost?

I figure taxes, port charges, gratuities and drinks are the minimum I would need to pay? Other than drinks, anyone know the minimum out of pocket?

 

[kwokpot]

29 minutes ago, Spikedr said:

I took my first Celebrity cruise in May. I just received a "free" blue chip inside stateroom offer. How much will this actually cost?

I figure taxes, port charges, gratuities and drinks are the minimum I would need to pay? Other than drinks, anyone know the minimum out of pocket?

 

That's it. And just to be clear, it's not a scam or false advertising. You're saving the base fare. Standard well drinks are free in the casino while actively gambling. 

[Blueseas109]

Just curious how many points you had to reach to get this offer? My husband and I both reached 1,000 but have not received any offers. 

[phoenix_dream]

5 minutes ago, Blueseas109 said:

Just curious how many points you had to reach to get this offer? My husband and I both reached 1,000 but have not received any offers. 

The infuriating point is that the answer is zero. Those of us with modest or moderate gambling onboard get nothing. High rollers get freebies (no issue with that, they earned it). Newbies or those who haven’t sailed in several years get the freebies too as they’re trying to entice them to sail and gamble onboard.

[Spikedr]

11 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

The infuriating point is that the answer is zero. Those of us with modest or moderate gambling onboard get nothing. High rollers get freebies (no issue with that, they earned it). Newbies or those who haven’t sailed in several years get the freebies too as they’re trying to entice them to sail and gamble onboard.

I did some modest gambling on the cruise. My level says Pearl, but not sure points. Less than 500 points I think?

[Spikedr]

54 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

That's it. And just to be clear, it's not a scam or false advertising. You're saving the base fare. Standard well drinks are free in the casino while actively gambling. 

Thanks. I have no clue how much ports charges are. Taxes I am guessing are based on the retail cost on the room? Drinks could be a problem if DH goes. Haha. His nickname is top shelf...

[phoenix_dream]

6 minutes ago, Spikedr said:

I did some modest gambling on the cruise. My level says Pearl, but not sure points. Less than 500 points I think?

I guess they still consider you a newbie. No disrespect meant to you btw, I’d take advantage of it too if I ever got the offer.

[def0715]

I would recommend giving Blue Chip Club a call, Phoenix_Dream, and ask them if you qualify for anything. I wasn’t getting emails for a long time and was inadvertently removed from the offer list, but they were always able to look me up when I called and tell me what I qualified for.

 

Also, port charges/fees/taxes are usually fairly minimal, depending on the ports. If you do a mock booking you’ll see the amount displayed. I think it was about $150 on my recent 8-night Equinox sailing from Fort Lauderdale. On my 9-night Beyond sailing from Italy in late May it was less than $100. I don’t think the taxes have anything to do with the room. 

Edited July 21, 2023 by def0715

[kwokpot]

22 minutes ago, Spikedr said:

Thanks. I have no clue how much ports charges are. Taxes I am guessing are based on the retail cost on the room? Drinks could be a problem if DH goes. Haha. His nickname is top shelf...

The port fees and taxes are listed on every cruise booking you do and are the same for everyone regardless whether you're on a casino complementary. To determine the port fees and taxes just do a sample dummy booking of a cruise you're interested in. Go through the booking process . I just did it for you while laying in my hotel bed in Rome. If you look at the screen shot I even included the gratuities, so on a complementary casino cruise you would pay the cabin price of $530.42 which includes port fees, taxes and gratuities. Your savings is $1,724.00.

Edited July 21, 2023 by kwokpot

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, def0715 said:

Also, port charges/fees/taxes are usually fairly minimal, depending on the ports. If you do a mock booking you’ll see the amount displayed. I think it was about $150 on my recent 8-night Equinox sailing from Fort Lauderdale. On my 9-night Beyond sailing from Italy in late May it was less than $100. I don’t think the taxes have anything to do with the room. 

The fees you're quoting are per person, and not the total for a double occupancy cabin. 

[def0715]

That is correct. I tend to travel solo. Those are the total fees for my cabin of one. Apologies for not clarifying that. The point was the port fees/taxes per person are often minimal. (Again, less than $100 per person for a nine-day European sailing on the Beyond in late May, so less than $200 for a cabin with two occupants.)

 

I typically do not prepay my gratuities. (Free cruise or paid cruise, there are gratuities.)

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by def0715

[Spikedr]

Thanks @kwokpot that really helps! Now I need to figure out if I can make the dates work.

[cruisegirlppp]

16 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

The infuriating point is that the answer is zero. Those of us with modest or moderate gambling onboard get nothing. High rollers get freebies (no issue with that, they earned it). Newbies or those who haven’t sailed in several years get the freebies too as they’re trying to entice them to sail and gamble onboard.

This!!

[phoenix_dream]

16 hours ago, def0715 said:

I would recommend giving Blue Chip Club a call, Phoenix_Dream, and ask them if you qualify for anything. I wasn’t getting emails for a long time and was inadvertently removed from the offer list, but they were always able to look me up when I called and tell me what I qualified for.

 

Also, port charges/fees/taxes are usually fairly minimal, depending on the ports. If you do a mock booking you’ll see the amount displayed. I think it was about $150 on my recent 8-night Equinox sailing from Fort Lauderdale. On my 9-night Beyond sailing from Italy in late May it was less than $100. I don’t think the taxes have anything to do with the room. 

Thanks for the suggestion - it doesn't hurt to try.  Although if the vaping test goes fleetwide I may not be doing any more gambling in the casino anyway!  (which may cause them so send me an offer next year LOL).

[NutsAboutGolf]

-Generally a week long Carribean cruise is around $150/person in port fees/taxes

 

-Fees are completely refundable, so if you’re on the fence, book it now and cancel later

 

-You can book just the gamble as solo and up to 72 hours before sailing, can add someone by calling and paying their taxes

 

-

[Fly and Sail]

On 7/21/2023 at 10:00 PM, Spikedr said:

I did some modest gambling on the cruise. My level says Pearl, but not sure points. Less than 500 points I think?

 

Pearl is at least one point. The next highest threshold is Onyx at 2500.

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 7/21/2023 at 3:37 PM, Blueseas109 said:

Just curious how many points you had to reach to get this offer? My husband and I both reached 1,000 but have not received any offers. 

Do you get offers from other cruise lines or land based casinos?  If so, try URComped to swap your offers for something else. We did this with an offer from Carnival. Swapped it for a 6 night cruise on Equinox. We were assigned a deluxe veranda balcony stateroom. Our cost for 2 people was $320 plus grats. we bought a drinks package when it went on sale for half price…so another $700 bucks. 

[chemmo]

If you get a free cruise then are you expected to gamble on board? Do you have to agree to spend $X in the casino?

 

Asking totally out of curiosity. Loads of cruises and I have never even tried a slot machine…perhaps I am missing something…

[Georgia_Peaches]

6 minutes ago, chemmo said:

If you get a free cruise then are you expected to gamble on board? Do you have to agree to spend $X in the casino?

 

Asking totally out of curiosity. Loads of cruises and I have never even tried a slot machine…perhaps I am missing something…

No requirement to gamble or even go to the casino at all!  

[chemmo]

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

No requirement to gamble or even go to the casino at all!  

Gosh, I am tempted to stick $10 in a machine next cruise to get registered as a gambler then phone up and see if I can get a free cruise!

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, chemmo said:

Gosh, I am tempted to stick $10 in a machine next cruise to get registered as a gambler then phone up and see if I can get a free cruise!

You absolutely should!!  And wouldn’t it be a hoot if that $10 hit a jackpot?! 🎰 

[chemmo]

23 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

You absolutely should!!  And wouldn’t it be a hoot if that $10 hit a jackpot?! 🎰 

It would!
 

As someone who has only ever won one raffle in her life despite supporting any fund raising event in our neighbourhood it would be a miracle! I would add the only raffle prize I did win was arranged by my husband and consequently I didn’t accept the prize!

 

I seem to recall some roll calls arranging some sort of fun sea day casino activity…Perhaps I should investigate. At least then someone could show me what to do!

[capsplace]

when you call Blue Chip, do you simply need to have your CC number?

[kwokpot]

12 minutes ago, capsplace said:

when you call Blue Chip, do you simply need to have your CC number?

Correct, your Captain's Club #.

[capsplace]

1 minute ago, kwokpot said:

Correct, your Captain's Club #.

Thanks.  I will call.  We are modest gamblers, always playing a bit of slots, blackjack and roulette on every cruise since 2017.  We remain at Pearl, and have never received any offers from Blue Chip.  My next door neighbor just started cruising on Celebrity this past year, and has received THREE significantly reduced cruise fare offers, including a Trans Atlantic.  We must be missing something, unless the earlier comment about newbies is the answer.