Free Drinks in the Casino - gone?

[bonz15]

Was just on the Dawn 7/27-my brother was in the casino every night playing the tables and they only offered him a free drink once even when he asked. And he spent lots of time and money there and had the card.

He was disappointed.

Bonnie

[crusinmama22]

Coll101:

 

I am new to NCL, and will be on our first cruise on the Dawn in Feb.

 

Don't understand what you mean " Book your reservations through the casino"

 

Please explain -- I enjoy free drinks!

 

Thanks

[buzzor]

Coll101:

 

I am new to NCL, and will be on our first cruise on the Dawn in Feb.

 

Don't understand what you mean " Book your reservations through the casino"

 

Please explain -- I enjoy free drinks!

 

Thanks

If you are a member of NCL's Casino at Sea (CAS) program and you have been "rated" by the NCL CAS staff, and you book through the CAS desk at NCL, you may receive a discount and perks depending on your rating.

 

Follow the link for info:

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=CasinosAtSea

[Toyz711]

Coll101:

 

I am new to NCL, and will be on our first cruise on the Dawn in Feb.

 

Don't understand what you mean " Book your reservations through the casino"

 

Please explain -- I enjoy free drinks!

 

Thanks

 

for people who qualify, you can book the cabin through casino-at-sea. they work as your TA. if you have a history of casino action, usually on a NCL ship, it could be anything from a small discount to a comped room.

the thing is, isn't not for everyone...you need to be a rated player.

for a short time, they did offer the discount to more people....they quit that when too many people were calling into their small office.

they expect you to play a LOT to pay for these offers.

[foosfos]

:) Just to let you know we just got off the pearl and I had free drinks anytime I was in the casino. I was given a card for the free drinks. We signed up through the ncl casino office through our travel agent. I think its ran by Casino at Seas but not sure. And was given also 17% off our cruise. Just for myself and $75.00 shipboard credit so make sure you shop around before buying your cruise.

[jkss000]

I was reading through and found it interesting, on the ncl casino page it states-

"Launch Party
Approximately one hour after sail away, the casino opens and the party begins. We offer complimentary drinks and a chance to win a free gift."

Seems as though there is at least some advertised fact to free drinks, with no mention of any card etc?

[BellaBaci4]

Just off the Dawn, June 7th. They almost laughed when I showed them the casino at sea card for the free drink. (why did I bother to save that card???) I have never heard of a casino that doesn't buy drinks for players.
While playing at the Poker table, the casino bought the first round of drinks for the table nightly. I am not sure whose call this was.
Bella

[johnql]

[quote name='BellaBaci4']I have never heard of a casino that doesn't buy drinks for players.
While playing at the Poker table, the casino bought the first round of drinks for the table nightly. I am not sure whose call this was.
Bella[/quote]
With land-based casinos, you are absolutely correct. Always free drinks for players. However, with casinos on cruise ships, this is not general policy at all. There will be times when a pit boss will generously grant a free round of drinks. Or a pit boss will reward a particularly avid player. But drinks in a ship's casino are just not routine.

[Venus4NU]

[quote name='terrymtex01']If you are not a guest of CAS, you will have to sign up for the players card after you board the ship. Our experience is you will not get the "free drinks VIP" card unless you are actually a guest of CAS. I am not for sure how much is expected to play to be a guest of CAS on another cruise, but I could tell you to expect it to be probably two to three times what the cruise would actually cost you. Two times at a minimum. When we first started cruising with NCL, we had heard the rumors that CAS would give you discounts to book the cruise even before you ever sail with NCL. So we called them. They told us that was not true. I know since then it is true, but at the time it wasn't. We also asked them if they comp'ed future cruises after you "proved" yourself to them. The guy we spoke to then said yes, and what we do is if we comp you a cruise we will tell you we expect you to play in the casino for x number of hours for x number of days. Again, for our second and their cruise with NCL they did not give us that information, just told us to continue our amount of play that we had from the previous cruise. When you are comp'ed a cruise by NCL it is solely based on your last cruise and how much you played in the casino. We have asked CAS many times when they have comp'ed us a cruise what they expected us to play for the comp'ed cruise. Every time, several times each, they have told us that if they comp us the cruise.. it is our cruise and a thank you for our play in the casino. They have told us if we do not continue our normal play, that we just wont be comp'ed the next cruise.

Hope that helps with info some.[/quote]

This isn't always true. For my first cruise with NCL. I used my Diamond card through Harrah's to get a discount. I had never said with NCL yet I had a players card with the free drink card attached to it waiting for me in the cabin (November 2007). I booked my second cruise with NCL for November 2008. I didn't accumilate enough points to quality for the CAS discount so I used my Diamond status with Harrah's likewise. Again, waiting in my room was a players card and free drink card. I have my third cruise booked with NCL - this time through CAS for Nov 2009. I wonder if I will have a free drink card waiting for me or not. It is no big deal for us as none of the people in our party drink alchohol but it is nice to get an occasional diet cola for free while playing the slots or tables.

[karynfree]

If you book your crusie thru the Casino - you will get a card for free drinks while you gamble

[julescruisin]

On my April cruise on the Dawn which I booked through casinos at sea, I received free drinks with my card, it had a little taggy thing that hangs off and the waiters and waitresses know that I am a huge loser:eek: LOL Is this still the case we are going on the Aug. 9th cruise to Bermuda on the Dawn and I need my Diet Pepsi with lemon to keep me gambling:p and losing:(

[sjbdtz]

[quote name='jackass2000']I was reading through and found it interesting, on the ncl casino page it states-

"Launch Party
Approximately one hour after sail away, the casino opens and the party begins. We offer complimentary drinks and a chance to win a free gift."

Seems as though there is at least some advertised fact to free drinks, with no mention of any card etc?[/quote]

This thread is a year old!

[suzyed]

No free drinks on the Star last week. :(

Last year on the Star, they had free drinks in the casino from like 8-10pm each night.

[terrymtex01]

[quote name='Venus4NU']This isn't always true. For my first cruise with NCL. I used my Diamond card through Harrah's to get a discount. I had never said with NCL yet I had a players card with the free drink card attached to it waiting for me in the cabin (November 2007). I booked my second cruise with NCL for November 2008. I didn't accumilate enough points to quality for the CAS discount so I used my Diamond status with Harrah's likewise. Again, waiting in my room was a players card and free drink card. I have my third cruise booked with NCL - this time through CAS for Nov 2009. I wonder if I will have a free drink card waiting for me or not. It is no big deal for us as none of the people in our party drink alchohol but it is nice to get an occasional diet cola for free while playing the slots or tables.[/quote]

I agree that having the diet coke/diet pepsi or my bottled water for free is a nice perk, and I can see how people who drink alcohol think of it as a great perk too. You have to remember that my posting was a year ago and I am not for sure back then what involvement Harrah's had with NCL at that time. But you are correct that booking through Harrah's is the same as booking through NCL as far as the free drinks perk.. 8-)

[JohnIreland]

The free drinks thing was a short trial last may/june. It got abused (sit a penny slots to get a drink then walk off) so was dropped.

[LOWTYD]

[quote name='sjbdtz']This thread is a year old![/quote]

Someome must have used GaryCarla's advice and did a search!:eek::)

[JoshPSU]

So about how much do you need to spend to get rated at the casino to qualify for the future discounted cruise? How much money does it take to earn 25 of those casino points (sea bucks)?

[goldmom]

Ah, it's a bit of a mystery as to how much you need to gamble to reach the "magic" number to qualify for a discount. We've all done a bit of speculation but according to the woman I spoke with a CAS it depends on many factors. Which itinerary, how much time you are in the Casino, how much you put through the machines and the denomination of the machine you play. It also depends on which ship you want to book as to what they can offer you. She told me that different itineraries may have different offers. Also (my opinion) it may also depend on how well a ship is selling. It used to be much easier to get a discount or comped cabin and it seems that CAS has tightened up their rules somewhat. Even so, they still have the best offers of any Casino on a ship.

As far as the points onboard. The basic formula is (I believe) approximately $137 put through a machine will equal one point. It sounds like a lot, but it goes pretty fast and is also using what you put back in from "wins" not just the actual cash you put in the machine.

The best advise I can offer is use the card, gamble what you feel comfortable with, and then call CAS before you book your next cruise and see what they can offer you.

Good luck and have fun!

[jkss000]

[quote name='sjbdtz']This thread is a year old![/QUOTE]

Yup, the thread is, but like I mentioned in my post, that quote is from the NCL website, not this thread. According to [url]http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=CasinoAZ[/url]

comp drinks are offered at the launch party, one hour after sail away

[AnDeNo.UK]

[quote name='Toyz711']
[I][COLOR=Red][B]t[/B][/COLOR][B][COLOR=Red]his perk is one that just showed up in the last couple of months[/COLOR].[/B][/I]..it looks like it was a "test" market more then a "perk".
they can't take away something i never had...and we spend a LOT of time in the casino, especially the last cruise. only got a comped drink 3 or 4 times for the whole week.[/quote]

Free drinks in the casino on the Jewel in April '08. ;) Wish it was still the same for our next trip on her. :)

[kayhil3]

[quote name='Coll101']I called the casino department to verify this & I was told the following:

There are NOT free drinks just for signing up for the casino players card,however, if you have booked your reservation through the casino, then you will still receive your free drink card while playing in the casino.

Like for us, we always book through the casino & always have our players cards & free drink cards in our staterooms when we arrive.

Hope this helps:)[/QUOTE]
This is our first cruise and we did book through the casino(free from my casino)When do we get the cards, before we sail or when we get to the ship?

[kayhil3]

FYI Harrahs is not the only one to have an agreemant with NCL. I received my free NCL cruise from Resorts.

[garycarla]

In the past, lots of casinos had relationships with NCL Casinos. Not sure if so many do NOW.

As to when you get your card? When you board, it should be in your cabin. If not, go to the casino desk. You will not get anything in advance.