Slot Machine Changes on HAL Ships......

[cruz chic]

Well, I think typing in the codes are quicker than finding a container, scooping up your coins/tokens and reloading them in another machin. :D

I with you on that one. To me this is such a non issue. I love the fact that you don't have to touch the money and I'm having a hard time understanding why people get such a thrill from money coming out of the machine.

[Boytjie]

I with you on that one. To me this is such a non issue. I love the fact that you don't have to touch the money and I'm having a hard time understanding why people get such a thrill from money coming out of the machine.

 

I get a thrill when I see that 7 7 7 :D

[cruz chic]

I get a thrill when I see that 7 7 7 :D

I don't think that has ever happened to me:D.

[Boytjie]

I don't think that has ever happened to me:D.

 

Shouldn't that be a :mad: or :( ?

[ANSalberg]

You're still sharing buttons! :)

 

Don't tell me that- There ARE things I don't want to know!!!!!! :)

[cruz chic]

Shouldn't that be a :mad: or :( ?

You are right about that.

[m steve]

they seem to have removed the 5 way slots and replaced them with stupid new games. The last cruise on Noordam I didn't play once on board. Did in Aruba and won on my type of machine.

[Don_In_AZ]

You can count me out when it comes to the new slots! For me, it's not about the gambling, it's about the atmosphere. And I think not hearing the tink, tink, tink of the coins is a big loss.

My wife and I were both disappointed on our last trip to Vegas when all their slots were the cashless variety. Now you just sit and watch credits go up and down (mostly down)... Slot areas in casinos now resemble video arcades. I figure, since I don't play to get rich anyway, I can go online and play a slot simulation game for free and get the same effect...

 

Don

[sail7seas]

That's just how I feel, Don. Thanks.

 

[djhsolara]

To the earlier poster...when we were on Eurodam that machine that pushes things off the shelf was there...and I believe you needed quarters to do that.

 

Regarding the coinage...I am one that LOVES to hear the coins drop, however this change isn't going to stop me from having fun in the casino. It seems that this is the way that it is going to be in casinos everywhere...you can put in money, but you do not get money out. A casino opened a year or so ago near where we live and there is no winning money coming out of the machines...just tickets. These tickets can be taken to other machines and used just like cash or they can be taken to the booth and cashed out.

 

I truly think the system of using your room card makes it easier to play (which I'm sure is the thought behind it). I would rather do that than have to worry about carrying cash to the casino. They always say it is a cashless society onboard and this just furthers this statement. Remember, too, that just because there aren't coins that doesn't mean that you cannot pull the handle. I always pull the handle...I specifically look for machines that have a handle.

 

I also have no problem with them knowing which machines I use. Honestly, if you think about it, they know anyhow because each machine is on camera in any casino. You are being watched each second you are in any casino...onboard or land. This system is not really any different than the cards that are used on land-based casinos (the player cards or whatever each particular casino calls them)...this is what comps are based off of.

 

These are just my opinions, for what they are worth. While I still wish I could hear the actual coins falling, I'm certainly not going to change having fun in the casino just because they have found a better and cleaner way to do it. :) :)

[wilsonqbc]

We had a lot of fun with the Paddel thing waterfall of Quarters, (Eurodam)

kept playing for a long time. but that was the only machine that paid out with coins, (almost got the roll of bills which was 51 $) The other system wasn't appealing to us, just seemed a tad complicated with the pin #'s and the fact it was onto the room card account kind of just lost our interest in playing. played a couple of Hands of Black Jack, that was it.

We enjoy Casinos, but are not big gamblers, if the machine would of just printed out a winning stub, would have certainly played a bit.

[sapper1]

I with you on that one. To me this is such a non issue. I love the fact that you don't have to touch the money and I'm having a hard time understanding why people get such a thrill from money coming out of the machine.

I don't know either, Lorene, even though I am one of those who loves the sound of the coins dropping. I think it is some subconscious thing that we can't explain. Maybe we need a group therapist to explain it to us. I am sure it is at the root of some addictions.

Fortunately I look at the slots as an occasional hour of entertainment, knowing full well in advance that I will not come out of the casino enriched. With the entertainment aspect gone there is no underlying urge to visit the casino. I guess I should consider myself lucky in that respect.

[Queenk2]

I happen to love a cashless system...no getting your hands dirty! Another lus is, that when a machine is not doing well, you do not have to cash out...you move to another and see if the odds are in your favor.

[scuba diver]

Queenk2,

 

The odds of a payout are programed into the machine. They do not change with a move to a different machine, the pull of the handle or the push of the button which ever you prefer. I have tried to explain this to my wife who rarely wins and to my next door neighbor who always wins, both of whom prefer the jingle jangle of coins.

[Stakeout]

Seeing as I haven't posted my review of Eurodam yet, which will be highly favorable as we had a great time, I hesitate to start with negative posting but this really bothered us, so here goes.......

 

We are not big gamblers but do enjoy playing slots a little while on cruises. We like to roam in, play a little, go have an after dinner drink etc We all form habits and patterns after we cruise enough. :)

 

We went tinto Eurodam's casino only to find the new system which requires you program your room keycard into the machine, pick a pin number and play cashless.

 

I never expect to get very rich or very poor in a casino. I play for fun and entertainment. The fun of a slot machine is to hear the coins and the bells and whistles if you happen to win a bit.

 

There is no jingle of coins and it has turned into simply a system of losing money and leaving. Where's the fun?

 

I'm not the most techno able but I'm not stupid either and I had to have help getting my money transferred onto my card when I wanted to change machines and then figure out how to use that money in the next machine.

 

I don't want to have to bother with programming computers if all I want to do is play a quarter slot machine!

 

In 14 days, we went to the Casino twice and then it was a nuisance I had to return to the cashier's window the last night to have them give me the cash that remained on my card.

 

I thanked the cashier and the floor casino people for saving us money. We certainly would have played more and lost more if we could have had fun doing it.

 

This new system stinks! IMO

 

(AND, who wants them having computer tracking of every bit you spend in the casino, how long you are there, which machines you play, how often you come....... None of their business to have that sort of record.)

 

We were absolutely not the only ones who dislike this system and refused to play.

 

(I was told it is coming or is already on all HAL ships. We're done with slots if that is the case..... not that they'll get poor by us not playing but multiply it by how many of us who may agree.)

 

we heard the same thing about that system from the casino staff on our last Statendam cruise a few weeks ago...haven't experienced it yet ... we too like to play the slots along with the tables.....

 

sure the old way.. coins.. gets to be a pain but that new way entering your cabin card seems to be over the top.. all they had to do was go the way of a cashless ticket like most of the casinos in Atlantic City and other cities have and all would be good.... cash your ticket out.. go cash it in or put it back into another machine so e-z...

 

guess they got sold a bill of goods to go to this system.. typically it was done by Carnival corp( who runs all the casinos on all of their cruiselines) from someone coming up with the idea from behind a desk.. not figuring most people won't like it.. all they saw was the availablity of money in your account... just another hair-brained idea from Carnival /HAL big wigs ...

 

I wonder who took the fall for putting in those teen centers on the upper deck aft that ab-so-lude-lee no one makes use of... that was a bomb.. all they had to do was survey the passengers who frequent HAL.. and they would have saved themselves a lot of money.. their idea of targeting families for most of their cruises is off the wall with the reputation HAL as always had for an older clientele..

 

the next set of so called upgrades on the Statendam--Ryndam--Maasdam and Veendam-- should be interesting... if they come about at all.. I'm figuring they'll cancel the upgrade program since they are losing so much money in their quarterly announcements... if they should happen to go thru with them.... it'll fizzle out just like a lot of the ideas they came up with... including the Java cafe... unless you count all the employees who use it more so than the passengers...

 

talking around.. none of the managers are meeting their goals onboard especially the Beverage and Casino managers..the money makers.. people are cutting back... with most of the Cruise lines trying to nickel and dime people these days...

 

I just said to my better half after we got off the Statendam... maybe HAL ought to think about getting their head together and going back to the way it was 5 years or more ago.. a classy experience... rather than go gimmicky and lose a lot of their targeted passenger base ...

 

time will tell

[Boytjie]

A few years ago slot machines introduced buttons to push instead of pulling a lever; some still wish to pull the lever but I think the vast majority of players accepted the change and might not even be aware that the lever is still there and operational.

 

The addictive thing about slot machines is not the clanging coins, its the thrill of maybe winning something. The clanging coins - and ringing bells, and flashing lights - are just a reminder of the thrill of maybe winning.

 

Would anyone really be entertained just by sititng there listening to coins drop? :confused:

[DCB9]

My wife and I just got off the Zaandam on Monday and like the new system. There was a little initial confusion, but it works quite well. We allocate a certain amount to play with each day and would feed that into a machine, cash out to add it to our cards and then use that money the rest of the evening. The only inconvenience (a necessary one) was having to put in your password every time you did a transaction. Also, now that they track your play, they also have a cash back feature when you get a certain amount of points. Not real generous, but better than nothing. You must remember to cash in what may be left on your card before the casino closes at the end of the cruise or you lose it. The made constant announcements of this the last couple of days in the casino.

 

As far as coins go, we long ago got tired of having to deal with buckets of coins, waiting for coin refills and dirty hands after playing. We welcomed the change over to TITO in Las Vegas. We also found the constant sound of coins falling to be a bit annoying, for us the fun is seeing a winning combination come up.

 

I'm sure the slots are tighter in a shipboard casino and I did manage to lose all of my gambling money, but my wife did quite well, winning one jackpot of $400 and several of around $200. She did however (as the casino hopes you do) put a lot of it back in, but she did come home with money in her pocket.

Dave

[debshomespun]

We play very little on the slots while on a cruise. We like to "play" with the coins. We also love to use the machines where you can still pull the "arm" as opposed to just hitting the button. Doesn't sound like they will be getting any of our gambling if this is the new way!

[Kyana]

Oh well I still have the black jack tables.

[AirGorilla]

I happen to love a cashless system...no getting your hands dirty! Another lus is, that when a machine is not doing well, you do not have to cash out...you move to another and see if the odds are in your favor.

 

In a casino, the odds are NEVER in your favor!!

 

AG

[ViolaSwamp]

A few years ago slot machines introduced buttons to push instead of pulling a lever; some still wish to pull the lever but I think the vast majority of players accepted the change and might not even be aware that the lever is still there and operational.

 

The addictive thing about slot machines is not the clanging coins, its the thrill of maybe winning something. The clanging coins - and ringing bells, and flashing lights - are just a reminder of the thrill of maybe winning.

 

Would anyone really be entertained just by sititng there listening to coins drop? :confused:

 

 

Oh, I am one of those weirdos. I love the sounds of the coins (plink plink plink!!) AND I only use the slot machines that have the lever. I don't like the ones that just have the button to spin the reels.

 

A cashless system, coupled with lever-less machines, loses my business but doesn't break my heart. It's saving me money in the long run. :p

[Boytjie]

Oh, I am one of those weirdos. I love the sounds of the coins (plink plink plink!!) AND I only use the slot machines that have the lever. I don't like the ones that just have the button to spin the reels.

 

A cashless system, coupled with lever-less machines, loses my business but doesn't break my heart. It's saving me money in the long run. :p

 

As the computer says in the movie War Games: "the only way to win is not to play." ;)

 

When I play, its for the thrill of wining - whether it is playing slots, roulette or black jack. :)

[ViolaSwamp]

Oh yeah, I agree, winning is the ultimate goal. ;)

 

But I cognitively know the odds are that I will lose money on slots, no matter how you slice it. So I like to enjoy the process while I'm losing my $. As odd as THAT sounds. Sitting at a coin-less machine, pushing a button, is less pleasing to me.

 

I felt the same way in Vegas. We stayed at Caesar's Palace but didn't gamble there - we went way down the strip ("slummin' it" - ha!) to places that had coins on the occasions we wanted to do slots.

 

I'm just WAY old school, I guess.

 

Truthfully, I'm a cantankerous 78-year old, trapped in the body of a 28-year old woman. :p

 

Now, STAY OFF MY LAWN!!!!!!!

[Patsie47]

Ok, this has probably been answered 100 times but I still don't get it.

 

I am using my room key but it's not going onto my on board account - is this correct?

 

Say I put in $100 the first night and I have $80 credit, can I cash out that first night or do I have to keep it on the card? I like to budget myself with real money not credit and it would be much easier for me.

 

Thanks

Pat

PS...and I really don't want the other half to know how much "activity" I have on the slot machines

[Hlitner]

We think the slots of the future will even be more automated. Here is how I think the future machine will operate. 1. Tell the machine how much you want to lose (it will immedately be debited from your onboard account (+ a 15% gratutity for the casino workers). 2. Tell the machine how fast you want to lose the money (from 1 min to 1 hour). 3. Hit the green button. 4. Watch the wheels spin for your alloted time. 5. Remove your card when the wheels stop and off to your next activity.

 

Hank :)