Cash question

[jlawrence01]

I am new to the cruise casino scene, preferring to play at many of the on-shore tribal casinos where the blackjack rules tend to be more favorable to the players.

 

I have an offer for a free cruise from Carnival Casino Club as I have have Diamond status with Caesars Rewards.  I generally play only play the tables.  What is the best way to bring your stake on the ship?  I really do not want to bring a significant amount (like $2k) onto the ship.  However, I understand that most cruise lines will charge you 3% if you charge it to your account.

 

Any ideas?

[Globaler]

13 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

I am new to the cruise casino scene, preferring to play at many of the on-shore tribal casinos where the blackjack rules tend to be more favorable to the players.

 

I have an offer for a free cruise from Carnival Casino Club as I have have Diamond status with Caesars Rewards.  I generally play only play the tables.  What is the best way to bring your stake on the ship?  I really do not want to bring a significant amount (like $2k) onto the ship.  However, I understand that most cruise lines will charge you 3% if you charge it to your account.

 

Any ideas?

Use the ATM, especially if you have a debit card like Charles Schwab that reimburses all fees!

[JGmf]

Bring the $2k or whatever you typically would bring to a casino for multi-day stay if that's what you normally do.  The ships are quite safe, so don't fret.  

 

Definitely don't pay the 3 percent fee for the room charge.  Use the ATM with a favorable bank card as @Globaler suggests.  I'm assuming you have one (or two or three) if you are gambler. 

 

Ally and Schwab are both good, reimbursing all or most of the fees.

[dbrown84]

you can also check with your bank/credit union on their wire transfer fees.  If it's reasonable (or free), then you can wire the money to the ship 

[memoak]

I almost always travel on a ship with around that amount of cash. Staterooms have safes that you set the combo to

[jlawrence01]

Thanks for all your help.

 

Actually, while I have an ATM card, I have NOT used it since October 2019.  The ATM cards that I have have $600 and $1000 daily limits which is a lot higher than expected.  Many small local banks reimburse some or all fees 

 

The problem in carrying a lot of cash is that I will be on the road for 45 days of which the cruise starts around day 25.   The ship are safe but getting there is not always.

 

I think that I will use an ATM on this trip.  Or I will buy a couple of extra AARP gift cards to cover any gambling.

 

 

[roxievegas]

We have only gambled on Princess and Celebrity, so don't have knowledge on Carnival

 

On Princess/Celebrity, you can charge amount to your cabin - no fee.  Both my husband and I will take out a few hundred and it is charged to our cabin.  By the end of the cruise we will have several thousand charged to the room, we take our winnings (haha) home in cash.

[skeeter195]

Take out a line of credit with the ship.  Apply, give them a blank check in the beginning of the cruise, take whatever you need from the tables, cash in or put back on credit line each day.  At the end of the cruise if you win you get the cash, if you lose you fill out the check for that amount.  No 3% or whatever they are charging.  It also works great if you need extra cash for excursions or what not.  You can even actually get chips at a table, not place a bet and go cash out if you want.  

 

I always have a gambling budget but add a couple of thousand to it for all of the other cash I may need on or after the cruise.  

[BirdTravels]

On 8/12/2024 at 1:14 AM, jlawrence01 said:

I am new to the cruise casino scene, preferring to play at many of the on-shore tribal casinos where the blackjack rules tend to be more favorable to the players.

 

I have an offer for a free cruise from Carnival Casino Club as I have have Diamond status with Caesars Rewards.  I generally play only play the tables.  What is the best way to bring your stake on the ship?  I really do not want to bring a significant amount (like $2k) onto the ship.  However, I understand that most cruise lines will charge you 3% if you charge it to your account.

 

Any ideas?

 

Carry cash for what you want to gamble for the duration of your cruise. $2K is a small amount. If you want more, there are ATMs, but they have a high service charge. 

[Globaler]

On 8/25/2024 at 12:08 AM, BirdTravels said:

 

Carry cash for what you want to gamble for the duration of your cruise. $2K is a small amount. If you want more, there are ATMs, but they have a high service charge. 

Not if you have a debit card like Charles Schwab which reimburses you for the fees!

[dallasdan]

The ATM on Carnival ships only allow $500 at a time.  Plus the fee is about $6.  Less than the 3% if you take out $500.

[MaksPewPew]

First, $2k is nothing to worry about.  Bring it in cash if you want.

 

There are onboard ATMs.  You can also bring travelers checks with you.

 

I am not sure on Carvnival, but on Princess you can just charge to your room, with no fees. I charged $8k on a recent cruise…. Tons of miles. lol.  

If you want, you can pay it off before cruise ends, or just keep the cash and earn the miles.

 

On princess, you can charge $5k per day, up to $100k I believe for the total cruise, with no fees. 

[jlawrence01]

On 10/5/2024 at 3:53 PM, MaksPewPew said:

First, $2k is nothing to worry about.  Bring it in cash if you want.

 

There are onboard ATMs.  You can also bring travelers checks with you.

 

I am not sure on Carnival, but on Princess you can just charge to your room, with no fees. I charged $8k on a recent cruise…. Tons of miles. lol.  

If you want, you can pay it off before cruise ends, or just keep the cash and earn the miles.

 

On princess, you can charge $5k per day, up to $100k I believe for the total cruise, with no fees. 

 

Last month, I put a couple of large Holland America gift cards on my cruise account thinking that I would make a deposit on a future cruise.  I was wrong as HAL does not allow that and the gift cards are not refundable.

 

Facing the loss of a few hundred dollars, I was able to take the excess, place it in my players account and play some video poker.  I had promised my DW that I would not gamble while we were in Alaska.  I played a few hands, drawing four Kings on my 12th hand allowing me to have a great day.  I then cashed out recovering all the excess credits.

 

I like your approach.

 

[MaksPewPew]

2 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

 

Last month, I put a couple of large Holland America gift cards on my cruise account thinking that I would make a deposit on a future cruise.  I was wrong as HAL does not allow that and the gift cards are not refundable.

 

Facing the loss of a few hundred dollars, I was able to take the excess, place it in my players account and play some video poker.  I had promised my DW that I would not gamble while we were in Alaska.  I played a few hands, drawing four Kings on my 12th hand allowing me to have a great day.  I then cashed out recovering all the excess credits.

 

I like your approach.

 

.Sorry, can you be more specific?  You purchased HAL gift cards which I am assuming at a discount, and applied that towards a cruise…?  They did not let you pay for a cruise with GC?  And they only let you apply it towards on board credit/deposit?

 

One thing I know folks do is buy gift cards, and apply it towards OBC…. Then use casino charges against those OBC deposits.

Edited 15 hours ago by MaksPewPew

[jlawrence01]

6 hours ago, MaksPewPew said:

.Sorry, can you be more specific?  You purchased HAL gift cards which I am assuming at a discount, and applied that towards a cruise…?  They did not let you pay for a cruise with GC?  And they only let you apply it towards on board credit/deposit?

 

One thing I know folks do is buy gift cards, and apply it towards OBC…. Then use casino charges against those OBC deposits.

 

I paid for the entire cruise using AARP gift cards before the cruise began.  No problem.

 

I purchased an additional $300 in gift cards to use to pay gratuities and other incidentals.  At the beginning of the cruise, I applied them to my on-board account after being told that any excess would be refunded to my credit card at the end of the cruise.  This has been my experience on Princess in 2013 and on the Eurodam in January 2024.  However, when I went to guest services on the final day of the cruise, I was told it was non-refundable nor could it be applies on a future cruise deposit.

 

On the last day, I had to use it up so I made a couple of purchases and used up the balance in the casino.  I did not think that it was usable in the casino but I was wrong.  Now I know.