Does MSC charge a fee for casino machine charges on my room key?

[KKB]

I know I can charge on most lines w/ no fee.

Thx

[oceans.calling]

We never had any fee. 

[noshoobie]

No fee. And believe me it's dangerous! lol

[dbrown84]

No fee

[oceans.calling]

When we have obc, we download it then cash it in. Prefer to use it for tips. 

[MonsterJoe]

Many of us it as a no-fee ATM for cash.

Edited July 23 by MonsterJoe

[KKB]

11 hours ago, MonsterJoe said:

Many of us it as a no-fee ATM for cash.

EXACTLY. Have gotten so use to traveling with little cash, 

Plus I get credit card points if I do put any on, so double bonus.

[marktwothousand]

I am getting OBC on my upcoming cruise. On my last MSC, they gave everyone $200 for late ports which was able to be used at the casino. Does anyone know if the following can be converted into casino credit on MSC which is convertible into cash? I am getting all three of these types:

- MSC OBC as part of fare at time of purchase

- MSC corporate OBC due to a discount after booking

- OBC purchased by travel agency for the passenger

[DaKahuna]

8 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

I am getting OBC on my upcoming cruise. On my last MSC, they gave everyone $200 for late ports which was able to be used at the casino. Does anyone know if the following can be converted into casino credit on MSC which is convertible into cash? I am getting all three of these types:

- MSC OBC as part of fare at time of purchase

- MSC corporate OBC due to a discount after booking

- OBC purchased by travel agency for the passenger

 

I used my keycar in the slot machines and bubble roulette machine to do a room charge, which went against OBC, and did not incur a fee.  I was in the YC so not sure if that makes a difference like it does when sailing in a suite on other cruise lines. 

 

[marktwothousand]

On 7/24/2024 at 8:22 PM, DaKahuna said:

 

I used my keycar in the slot machines and bubble roulette machine to do a room charge, which went against OBC, and did not incur a fee.  I was in the YC so not sure if that makes a difference like it does when sailing in a suite on other cruise lines. 

 

Amazing! My sense is that all OBC on MSC cruises can be used at the casino, they just don’t advertise it.

 

I’ll be getting around $600 USD in OBC, so it’s really tempting to spend it😈

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, marktwothousand said:

Amazing! My sense is that all OBC on MSC cruises can be used at the casino, they just don’t advertise it.

 

 All of the OBC that we had we used and a bit more.  

 

 Most of came as a result of me playing bubble roulette in the casino.  I'd charge it to the room, play, win a little and then cash out.  

 

1 hour ago, marktwothousand said:

I’ll be getting around $600 USD in OBC, so it’s really tempting to spend it😈

 

 You may want to check with the source of your OBC to see what happens if it is not used. I have heard of cases where some TA OBC would not be refunded back to your credit card at the end, similar to how non-refundable OBC is handled.  I always make sure we use all of our OBC one way or another. 

 

[marktwothousand]

1 minute ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 All of the OBC that we had we used and a bit more.  

 

 Most of came as a result of me playing bubble roulette in the casino.  I'd charge it to the room, play, win a little and then cash out.  

 

 

 You may want to check with the source of your OBC to see what happens if it is not used. I have heard of cases where some TA OBC would not be refunded back to your credit card at the end, similar to how non-refundable OBC is handled.  I always make sure we use all of our OBC one way or another. 

 

I love OBC! It makes me wonder if it will make me spend more on ships in the future when I DON’T get OBC. @DaKahuna Are you the type of person that would spend money on a cruise or do you avoid as much spending as possible?

 

when I don’t have OBC, I generally don’t spend anything (and I usually cancel my DSC hotel charge)

[gtaylor]

21 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

I love OBC! It makes me wonder if it will make me spend more on ships in the future when I DON’T get OBC. @DaKahuna Are you the type of person that would spend money on a cruise or do you avoid as much spending as possible?

 

when I don’t have OBC, I generally don’t spend anything (and I usually cancel my DSC hotel charge)

Why would you 'usually' cancel the DSC?

[marktwothousand]

5 minutes ago, gtaylor said:

Why would you 'usually' cancel the DSC?

I don’t believe DSC goes directly to the people. I believe it is just for a company’s bottom line and if companies need more revenue, they should just build in DSC to the price.

 

i am a solo traveller so I am already giving the cruise line extra money getting charged DOUBLE for a room. 

[DaKahuna]

11 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

Are you the type of person that would spend money on a cruise or do you avoid as much spending as possible?

 

 Our spending is pretty much driven by demand. If we see something we want to buy we buy it, if we want to go to a specialty restaurant we go, etc.. The only impact that OBC has is on how much I am willing to spend in the casino.  The more OBC, the more time in the casino.  However, my goal in the casino is usually to turn the OBC into cash to use for tips. 

 

10 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

I don’t believe DSC goes directly to the people. I believe it is just for a company’s bottom line and if companies need more revenue,

 

Does it bother you that your "believe" is incorrect and that by removing DSC's you are in fact affecting what does go directly to the people who are providing you direct or indirect service on the ship?  I have no idea where you got the idea that the DSC did not go to the employees but I have been told on multiple cruise lines, including MSC, by employees that they do in fact receive those monies. 

 

Would you mind sharing where you got the impression that the employees did not receive the DSC funds?

 

[marktwothousand]

10 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Would you mind sharing where you got the impression that the employees did not receive the DSC funds?

 

I can’t source it right now, but at some point there were stories or exposés from inside the cruise line industry about staff members who’ve come forward to say that the DSCs make absolutely no difference in their pay.

 

not sure if the stories are really old now, or if google and mainstream media are just blocking them in my search, but I’ve never paid DSC on any cruise line and have had it cancelled without hassle every time, including with MSC, who, in fact, were the most polite about it and made it the easiest. I like the idea of getting cash tips right to bartenders, stewards and servers. 
 

with NCL or others, they usually tell you to come on the second last day to reverse DSC (again, no hassle) and you get a reverse credit for it. But with MSC, they charged one day, reversed it and cancelled it for the duration of the cruise. 
 

you may feel differently if you share your fare with someone, but I get single occupancy and I pay more than enough to the cruise line revenues that way. We’re not talking 3 digit numbers of difference here… we’re talking four. 
 

if I do find the sources, I will be sure to post them here. 

[marktwothousand]

here’s a source: 

 

[frank808]

Is MSC charging for two passengers now for solo travellers? I know when we first started cruising MSC in 2018, MSC was one of the only cruise lines not charging solo cruisers double fares. I have not kept up as there is my wifee and I.

[marktwothousand]

10 minutes ago, frank808 said:

Is MSC charging for two passengers now for solo travellers? I know when we first started cruising MSC in 2018, MSC was one of the only cruise lines not charging solo cruisers double fares. I have not kept up as there is my wifee and I.

Not double but it’s still a lot more than if it were double occupancy. @frank808 are you a drummer, by chance?

Edited July 27 by marktwothousand

[MonsterJoe]

23 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

Not double but it’s still a lot more than if it were double occupancy. @frank808 are you a drummer, by chance?

are you an audio engineer by chance?

Edited July 28 by MonsterJoe

[frank808]

On 7/26/2024 at 5:05 PM, marktwothousand said:

Not double but it’s still a lot more than if it were double occupancy. @frank808 are you a drummer, by chance?

If solo cruiser is more than double, I would book for two cruisers and just have a no show for the second person.  That way you do not pay more than a price for two.

 

No I am not a drummer.  Though I did play in a band when I was younger.

[DaKahuna]

On 7/26/2024 at 9:11 PM, marktwothousand said:

I can’t source it right now, but at some point there were stories or exposés from inside the cruise line industry about staff members who’ve come forward to say that the DSCs make absolutely no difference in their pay.

 

 In a perfect world this would be correct. Their base pay should not be impacted but they certainly should receive, in addition to the base pay, any DSC's paid for that purpose. 

 

 We've never really paid that much attention to it.  We pay it and then we tip cash to those who we feel went over and above.  The thought of removing DSC's has never entered our minds, even in the case of absentee Butler's on two different cruise lines.  We left the DSC's but certainly did not provide additional tips as they did nothing deserving of additional recognition, either in the post cruise survey or in the form of and additional cash tip. 

 

 

 

[psmarkle]

On 7/23/2024 at 9:11 AM, KKB said:

EXACTLY. Have gotten so use to traveling with little cash, 

Plus I get credit card points if I do put any on, so double bonus.

Yup! I charge my casino play to my card that gives 3X points (3%) for travel charges, then 1.5 points when you redeem for travel thru their travel portal = 4.5% returned back in travel points for gambling $$ charged for free! Better than bringing cash on MSC!!

 

FWIW, was down until the last night of the cruise when I went on a heater rolling the dice at the newly installed craps table (installed back in Dec 2023), rolling for an hour (I asked the dealer after I was done). Made up my losses, my DW's slot machine losses, and almost 4 digits to the good. So, I walked off the cruise with MSC's $ + all those "free" travel points...THANKS MSC 😁

[KKB]

10 minutes ago, psmarkle said:

Yup! I charge my casino play to my card that gives 3X points (3%) for travel charges, then 1.5 points when you redeem for travel thru their travel portal = 4.5% returned back in travel points for gambling $$ charged for free! Better than bringing cash on MSC!!

 

FWIW, was down until the last night of the cruise when I went on a heater rolling the dice at the newly installed craps table (installed back in Dec 2023), rolling for an hour (I asked the dealer after I was done). Made up my losses, my DW's slot machine losses, and almost 4 digits to the good. So, I walked off the cruise with MSC's $ + all those "free" travel points...THANKS MSC 😁

Feb 2023 1st MSC cruise, Divina for 5+7 days. I didn't love the cruise BUT I hit TWO royal flushes (both on Deuces, same suit, same machine--bizarre) & 4-As, so a VERY profitable cruise! 

 

 

[frank808]

So on MSC there is no service charge what so ever to pull money from your on board account that will be charged back to the credit card on file? And it will code as travel services not cash advance? Might have to use credit card now instead of cash to settle accounts.