3% fee in casinos - read & contribute if you JUST got back from a cruise

[wineandbeach]

August 10 - Adventure. They charged 3%. They will lose money in the end. People will gamble hundreds but don't like to be nickle and dimed. Once they charged us once, we never did it again. If we didn't have cash on us, we didn't gamble.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Im interested in hearing about very recent Explorer cruises and those who took $$$ out to gamble. (not those guessing or repeating what friends told them, lol) We were on her 06/28/08 and we were not charged 3% in the casino when we took out $$$- we were just asked what we were using it for. Fact is, we were gambling! lol

 

We will be on her again in December for a 12 night.The 3% is truly not a huge issue but it is good to be prepared.

 

The Casino is a third party vendor...??? Is anyone certain of that info? (I know the art auctions are and some other stuff but the casino....? Fact or...?)

 

(cant say I blame the cruiseline. about a year or so ago I was flawed at the thread all about how to make money/obc on your cruise by taking money out of the casino. one poster bragged that he took 1K out every day, walked off with 10K CASH and went straight to his bank) NOT GOOD TO BRAG ABOUT HUH? lol I will never ever forget that thread! :eek:

[cruisinfanatic]

I can see them charging the 3% if it actually comes from your credit card via your seapass, but not if it's taken from your on board credit.

[megnsamsgracie]

we just got back from the 8/16 Liberty and I was charged the 3%. I took it out on my CC as I needed more cash for stuff onshore! I was charged $103. Still cheaper than the ATM though! And the 1cent penny slot with the whale... I won $166 in it :) Walked away about $100 up

[Traveler723]

It would seem to me that 3% of every bit of money you take is more expensive than a one-time fee from an ATM. With an ATM you pay a predetermined fee for any amount of money. Wouldn't that make more sense?

[6MonthsHere6MonthsThere]

The casinos are run by a third-party vendor. Not, RCCL. So, the vendor, obviously, has decided not to eat the 3% charge anymore.

 

 

 

The casino is NOT run by THIRD PARTY VENDOR'S, they were but have been run by RCCL for a few years now.

[Barbiegator]

I saw a woman on liberty last week turn down the cash when she was told about the service charge.I didn't think the workers were very nice to her but I didn't blame her for saying forget it!!!

[Groucho]

Hi Folks!

 

Below is the RCI response 0n August 15 to my Email question about the 3% charge. RCI may have just changed their policy but as of 8/15, there was no charge for casino transactions using the sea pass card.

 

An FYI, RCI does not use an outside vendor to operate their casinos; the staff in the casinos is RCI employees.

 

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay in our response.

 

Guests may purchase chips or slot tokens with a Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, Discover or Diners Club credit card from the casino cashier. The maximum amount depends on the cardholder’s credit limitations. A 3% charge is added to those using a credit card. There is no charge for the SeaPass account.

 

Mr. Hoffman, thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International.

 

Sincerely,

 

Christopher Fitzgerald

Customer Service Representative

[PH8]

yes to the 3% on the Aug 15th Sovereign.........

 

First time we stayed outta the casino.............not cuz of the fee........just didnt feel like losing any money..:)

[SissasMomE]

Carol, I think we all saw this coming due to some folks who just flat out abused the privilege :mad: :mad: :mad:

 

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I doubt it has anything to do with folks who "abused" the "privilege". It's just another way to make money. Shouldn't come as a surprise ...

[Bakincakes]

I doubt it has anything to do with folks who "abused" the "privilege". It's just another way to make money. Shouldn't come as a surprise ...

 

I do think you are wrong.

 

The money at the casino is for gambling. Many pax were using it for anything but.

 

RCI is not a bank and should not be treated as such.

[SissasMomE]

I do think you are wrong.

 

The money at the casino is for gambling. Many pax were using it for anything but.

 

RCI is not a bank and should not be treated as such.

 

I suppose the economy and having another way to make money has absolutely nothing at all to do with it. :rolleyes: Frankly, they should've been charging all along. You can't walk into a casino and take a cash advance without being charged for it. Why should you be able to on a cruise ship? RCI is not a bank and should not be treated as such. Bring it with you before you board.

[SissasMomE]

I agree about the fee.

 

If the whiners really want someone to blame they can thank those posters that just couldn't resist posting about their $2000 a day withdrawls and how many double RCI points they were making from the deal.:rolleyes:

 

If you want to get technical, it's fraud. I do agree though. It was foolish to come here and "brag" about it.

[aloha of the seas]

Lets say I sign out $300 and they charge my SeaPass acct $309. I go to the tables and have a good night and win $400 more than I started with. I don't want to walk around with $700 so I ask that it be applied to my SeaPass account. Will I incur an additional $21 charge even though I am putting money back in? Are they charging for doing business? Have they stopped being a service company where the customer comes first? This reminds me of major corporations that have cost centers that each one has to turn a profit instead of the whole corporation. In the past it did not matter if one area lost money because it was servicing the whole. Now all areas have to turn a profit and we a re the ones who suffer.

 

PS: Generally I gamble one night a cruise just for the fun of it.

[southerncomfort]

First experience with the 3% was on our TA in April on Celebrity Constellation. Geuss the answer to that is to bring enough actual cash, or better yet, free traverlers checques from your bank. No charge for cashing these in. I think what happened is the moneywise pax figured out they could get cash in the casino and not have to pay ATM charges even if they weren't going to use it for gambling. I know I've done that before.

[silentbob007]

Lets say I sign out $300 and they charge my SeaPass acct $309. I go to the tables and have a good night and win $400 more than I started with. I don't want to walk around with $700 so I ask that it be applied to my SeaPass account. Will I incur an additional $21 charge even though I am putting money back in? Are they charging for doing business? Have they stopped being a service company where the customer comes first? This reminds me of major corporations that have cost centers that each one has to turn a profit instead of the whole corporation. In the past it did not matter if one area lost money because it was servicing the whole. Now all areas have to turn a profit and we are the ones who suffer.

 

There isn't a fee to pay your account down with cash. The 3% is only to recoup actual costs charged by credit cards. Since, by paying with cash, you are actually saving them money, they won't penalize you for it.

[6MonthsHere6MonthsThere]

You know I tend to agree with you............we have been on 16 cruises and have never gotten cash at the casino window.........we take plenty of cash.....even for a 14 day cruise........leave it in the safe and only take out what we plan to use (or can afford to lose) in one day.

 

ADJUST people.........this is no big deal. It's called going to the bank at home......it's called planning.........it can be done.......this is really no big deal.

 

 

 

I think it is everyperson to their own!!, I have taken cash from the casino(for gambling only) and have enjoyed not paying a fee, but the fee won't stop me from drawing cash from the window, I would rather that than carry several thousand $$$$ in CASH as you suggest, yes there is a safe in the stateroom but you have to get their first carrying the cash!!!

[pmshirl]

Just off the Mariner. The 3% was taken right from the cash that was given. I personally did not get any cash in the casino, a woman in front of me wanted $200.00 cash and was given $194.00 in cash! I asked at the cage and was told it is FLEET WIDE.

 

Another item that started Fleet Wide is: only ice tea (for a cold free drink) is now being served at dinner time in the dining room! No more lemonade or fruit punch at dinner time! You pay through the bar service for fruit punch if you order it.:confused:

[zephyr17]

... You can't walk into a casino and take a cash advance without being charged for it. Why should you be able to on a cruise ship? RCI is not a bank and should not be treated as such. Bring it with you before you board.

 

I am sorry, but that is simply wrong in my experience. I have had "Casino Credit" accounts at 3 major casinos in Las Vegas. They DO NOT make any charges for markers. The markers themselves are checks that can be sent through your checking account. And you'd better either redeem the marker by the time you leave or have enough in your checking to cover it -- because they are going to send that marker through in 5 days. Personally, I take markers for convienence and always refeem the marker with either winnings or a real check before I leave.

 

I have never heard of casino cages offering credit card cash advances, at least in Las Vegas.

 

You can take a cash advance or withdraw money at the rip-off ATM machines that are in the casino, and the fees on those are exorbitant. Only suckers (or the desperate -- see "sucker") use them. Although if you want to use an ATM, you generally have to get off the Strip to find a regular bank-operated one that has no or "normal" fees.

 

Finally, if you actually NEED a credit card cash advance to gamble (as opposed to it being the only way to access cash you really have, but have limited access to because you are on a cruise ship), you have a bigger problem than paying 3%.

[cruisinMike]

Just off the Mariner. The 3% was taken right from the cash that was given. I personally did not get any cash in the casino, a woman in front of me wanted $200.00 cash and was given $194.00 in cash! I asked at the cage and was told it is FLEET WIDE.

 

Another item that started Fleet Wide is: only ice tea (for a cold free drink) is now being served at dinner time in the dining room! No more lemonade or fruit punch at dinner time! You pay through the bar service for fruit punch if you order it.:confused:

 

Interesting that they are doing it the way you said, take it off the top. In fact then the 3% becomes a little more then 3% in your example....it is almost 0.1% more.

 

If anyone is wondering about the math use these examples:

 

Example 1: You go to the booth and ask for $200. They give you a seapass charge of $206 and you receive $200. The charge is calculated by 6 dollars divided by $200 (then multiply by 100) which comes to 3%.

 

Example 2: You go to the booth and ask for $200. They give you a seapass charge of $200 but you only receive $194 (as was stated in the above quote). The actual charge is then figured by $6 dollars divided by $194 (then multiply by 100) to give you a percent charge of 3.09278 or just about 3.1%.

[isujim]

I think it is everyperson to their own!!, I have taken cash from the casino(for gambling only) and have enjoyed not paying a fee, but the fee won't stop me from drawing cash from the window, I would rather that than carry several thousand $$$$ in CASH as you suggest, yes there is a safe in the stateroom but you have to get their first carrying the cash!!!

 

Who said I take several Thousand dollars:eek: :eek: I'm not that big a gambler and besides it is entertainment.......at least to us. Never had a problem getting there with cash either. They will still cash Travellers Checks without a fee.

 

You know people have choices with RC in a lot of things........it may require one more stop at the Purser's Office........or one can not play as much at the Casino if a 3% fee is that big a deal.

 

I find it amazing that if people are that concerned about carrying a lot of cash then go to the casino, pay your 3% on $200 and pay an extra $6.....pretty cheap insurance if you are concerned about carrying cash.

 

To be honest, I'm surprised at all the commotion over a 3% surcharge which you can totally avoid, or it costs you very little.........unless of course you want $1,500 a day for 10 days.

[6MonthsHere6MonthsThere]

Who said I take several Thousand dollars:eek: :eek:

 

I'm not that big a gambler and besides it is entertainment.......at least to us. Never had a problem getting there with cash either. They will still cash Travellers Checks without a fee.

 

You know people have choices with RC in a lot of things........it may require one more stop at the Purser's Office........or one can not play as much at the Casino if a 3% fee is that big a deal.

 

I find it amazing that if people are that concerned about carrying a lot of cash then go to the casino, pay your 3% on $200 and pay an extra $6.....pretty cheap insurance if you are concerned about carrying cash.

To be honest, I'm surprised at all the commotion over a 3% surcharge which you can totally avoid, or it costs you very little.........unless of course you want $1,500 a day for 10 days.

 

Don't think anybody said you take thousands of $$$$ onboard, you said you take cash and it was ME that said I did not want to take thousands $$$$ onboard in cash.

 

Agree, it is entertainment, sometimes cheap, sometimes expensive;) :eek:

 

Totally agree it is cheap insurance, hence why I stated that is what I would be doing and as I did say "Everyone to their own".

[isujim]

Don't think anybody said you take thousands of $$$$ onboard, you said you take cash and it was ME that said I did not want to take thousands $$$$ onboard in cash.

 

Agree, it is entertainment, sometimes cheap, sometimes expensive;) :eek:

 

Totally agree it is cheap insurance, hence why I stated that is what I would be doing and as I did say "Everyone to their own".

 

We are probably closer on this than apart...........agree more than not.......I just think it is what it is......and now that we all know what it is, we can plan in advance.

 

I'm just surprised this 3% is causing so much Sunday afternoon concern LOL!! Maybe I'm just too old a rooster to get too upset over this. Appreciate your posts.!!:)

[FL_Cruiser64]

There will always be greedy people and I do hope that some day they will realize what they are doing to others, but somehow, I doubt it. Thanks for letting me rant.

 

 

They won't. They live in the "me" world. Just like the booze smugglers think they will never affect anybody, just like the soda card sharers don't think further than tomorrow, just like those who took out cash and thought they beat the system - they will always say "what me? At fault? No way!"

 

RCI done it to themselves though by

a) becoming mass market and inviting the budget, cheapos and me cruisers

b) they had no system in place to combat that type of behavior

 

They are now forced into 'reacting'.

[Cruise-Nut]

Carol, I think we all saw this coming due to some folks who just flat out abused the privilege :mad: :mad: :mad:

 

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That is exactly right and I think they should do it. The people that have abused it have ruined it for the rest of us. I am glad RCCL is charging the 3% instead of passing the charge down to all of us.