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RCCL Casino VIP


AndreH

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Hi

 

On my last cruise I became a casino vip and the host gave me some papers with some info and a phone number I was suppose to call to get the best price on my next cruise. Im now about to book a new cruise but I cant seem to find the papers with the phone number too call.

 

Are anyone able to help out with the phone number for casino vips?

 

André

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AndreH I can't answer your question but was hoping you could give some insight as to how you got to be in Casino Royale. My husband is curious how one gets an invite. He's there so much I feel like he should be in. lol  any info would be appreciated.

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Hi janza

 

As far as I could understand it depends on how much you play, either slots or table games. You earn "points" for everything you play.

 

When I got invited I was on a 9 day cruise and got invited on the 7 or 8 day. I play stricktly table games, and mostly blackjack. I played every night for 3-5 hours and played 2-4 hands every round, so you can say I played a few thousen hands hehe..

 

Dont remember how many "points" you need to get invited but Im guessing its alot.

 

Hope this helps alittle :)

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AndreH, welcome to the club !

 

There are several Club Royale phone numbers but I usually use 1-888-561-2234.  Alternate numbers are 866-578-3667 and 866-519-7225 but I rarely have to use anything but the first number.  I think they all go to the same call center anyway.

 

You will find that the CR rates run about 42 - 46% off full retail price (and, to be fair,  nobody pays full retail)....so you will be getting ~15% more off above whatever prevailing promo rates RCCL is usually running.  It varies depending upon what promo they are running but you will generally make out best with the CR rates.  In all my years of being a CR member, I have only had 1 occasion when the CR rate was NOT the lowest rate and that was last year when they first started running EXTREMELY good C&A rates on Empress.  Of course, in the end, the Empress mess was a complete fiasco so I cannot say that I have ever had a better rate than the CR rate on a cruise that I actually ended up taking !

 

Did you receive any Future Cruise Credit (FCC) certificates ?  If so, then there is even better news !  The FCC and CR rates are combinable, which means that you will get the ~45% discount on the cost of the cruise PLUS the value of whatever FCC you got.  That will bring your discount up to 55 - 60% off full retail, depending upon the cabin type you book.

 

We NEVER book the "free" cruises that they push with the FCC's.  Frankly, they are a bunch of crap itineraries that they cannot otherwise fill and they are generally only 60 - 90 days from the date of the cruise where we got the coupons, so  it's usually far too soon to cruise again (for us, anyway).  We find the cash value of the FCC to be far more valuable to apply to a cruise that we have already booked.  On the other hand, they ARE "free" (you will still pay taxes and port fees and the upcharge for any upgrade that you may want).  In the end, we find it more useful to use the FCC's on something we have already booked.  The value of the FCC comes right off the cost of the cruise, so it's a giant discount AND the FCCs are stackable....which means that if you BOTH get an FCC, you can use them together on one cruise.  On the Freedom that we just completed in early July, both Dan and I got FCC's so we took them both and put them towards a cruise that we are taking in Feb on Harmony.  Along with the 44% CR discount that we had already gotten when we booked this cruise, we took another 10%+ off with the 2 FCCs and ended up with a slightly more than 60% discount in the end.  We are very happy !!

 

Being a CR VIP is fairly difficult to do these days, so congratulations.  They are giving out the FCC's like candy but just b/c you get an FCC does not mean that they will give you the CR rate on a cruise.  You HAVE to be a VIP member to get that big discount.  So while anyone can join CR, to be an invited VIP member is very exclusive.

 

To answer your question, janza, you just have to throw big money around !  I don't mean to be flippant about it, but you really do have to make yourself known to the casino host and casino manager.  They are the ones that make a decision about who is invited to join and who isn't....and the ship you are on and the casino management DOES make a difference.  On some ships, the management just doesn't come around much and you have a hard time getting their attention.  The Freedom happens to have an excellent (and attentive) casino Manager (Carlos Sanchez).  He really keeps an eye open for the "big spenders" and knows who his big cash players are.

 

I will admit that Dan and I got into the Club waaaay back when it was somewhat easier.  We simply went up to the Casino Host(ess) and told her that we wanted to be "rated" and asked how many points we needed to make it. At the time, it was 2100 so we played the old video blackjack machines (they don't even have those anymore) until we got to 2100 and then we went to see her again.  She signed us both up and that was that.  Nowadays you really have to wager a lot more money than you did back then.  It has to do with your theoretical throughput which I fully admit I do not understand.  I think it's easier for slots players than it is for table players b/c with slots players, the tracking is much more quantified.  With table play you have to be making between $50 - $100/hand for an extended period of time (and on multiple days/nights) to be noticed.

 

There are 2 other bennies of being CR VIP.  One is that you basically drink for free while you are in the casino but I will warn you - whatever you drink is subtracted from the value of your FCC (if you get one).  That's why my FCC is always bigger than Dan's even though he wagers WAAAAY more money than I do.  He drinks his profits away and I do not !  I drink cokes and water and I don't think they subtract anything for those.  Dan's scotches are much more expensive.  So...just be aware of that.  The other perk is that when you are CR VIP, you do not pay the 5% (was 3% when I first got in the program !) convenience fee for taking cash against your seapass card.  This is the most important perk, for us.  We no longer have to carry a big wad of money onto the ship.  Now we just play with THEIR money and it costs us nothing.  Of course, if you lose, then you have to make it back up but we try not to do that !

 

So I personally think the RCCL Club Royale Program is awesome.  To be completely honest, it's the main reason that we continue to cruise with RCCL.  We just can't afford to go anywhere else !  I guess we could if we were willing to go back to regular balcony rooms, but we now cruise in full suites for what we used to pay for balconies and well....we just don't want to do that anymore !

 

Good luck !  Hopefully we will see you in the casino some time !

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@WAAAYTOOO I am really confused about the FCC's. I am pretty new to the CR VIP thing and I don't know that I've been handed one of these certificates. Are you referencing the mailers that I receive every other week saying "complimentary stateroom & casino cash, free drinks in casino for X ship on X date"? If so, how do I take this and apply to anything? Mine does not seem to be specific to my player number but rather a generic invite. Is this something that host hands you on the ship? So confused. You are such a great source of CR knowledge and I thank you in advance for any advice.

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I am a club royale VIP member too.. and now with the new program after my Oasis cruise I earned a FCC for $500 off and I just took a short 3 night enchantment cruise and earned another $500 FCC.. Which combined with my casino rates got me another free cruise on Enchantment expect for taxes and fees.. I personally love Club Royale!!

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Hey, Tony

 

No, the mailers that you receive are general industry promos and are not personal awards to you, specifically. They have no intrensic value. Now...if you called Club Royale they would quote you a casino rate on one of those cruises (since you are CR VIP) but the rest of the promo hype would not apply. In the case of those general promos, it's one or the other - either casino rate or promo discounts. They are not combinable to the best of my knowledge. To be honest I'm not as familiar with the general promos as I am with the FCCs. Marc, can you add anything here ? You have more experience with the general promos than I do, I think.

 

The FCC are actual certificates that the casino host awards you while you're on the ship. Judging from the amount of play that you have described in the past, I'm very surprised that haven't received one before. Their wide use is still fairly recent so maybe you just haven't had the opportunity to cruise since they've been doling them out so freely. They range in value from $500 into the thousands (from what I understand. I have ever received one greater than $1000).

 

They are "free" cruise vouchers (as Steph described above) in which case you just choose from the list of cruises that they provide to you (it's actually printed on the voucher), pay the taxes and port fees, gratuities (and whatever other upgrade fees might apply) and go on your cruise. OR you can take the cash value that is listed on the voucher and either apply it to a new cruise you want to book or, like me, apply it as a payment towards a cruise you already have booked. In one very specific case they let us convert our $1000 voucher into OBC for a future cruise but they were very clear that they this OBC conversion was a one-time thing that would not be repeated so I won't look for that to happen again.

 

The way that it was explained to me by the Host on Freedom is that there are 2 kinds of Club Royale members now. Anyone can join Club Royale. You no longer have to be invited...BUT only the VIP members will receive the casino rates, free drinks and waiver of convenience fee. The non-VIP members will get the email and snail mail offers but not the "expanded" perks. Then there are levels within the program, based on play, that vary. I don't really think they've got it all worked out yet but I do know that they no longer assign new CR members (at least, non-VIP) a CR account number. Everything will eventually be tracked with you C&A number.

 

Andre, did they give you a Club Royale account number ? I'd be interested to know if new VIP members are still getting numbers. From what I understand they have quit giving out CR numbers....not sure if that's true or not.

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Andre, did they give you a Club Royale account number ? I'd be interested to know if new VIP members are still getting numbers. From what I understand they have quit giving out CR numbers....not sure if that's true or not.

Just as an FYI, the last couple of times that I called Club Royale, they did ask for my Club Royale membership number. Despite it being linked to the Crown & Anchor number, and perhaps them doing away with the CR numbers for new members, they do still seem to reference them for existing members.
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Andre, did they give you a Club Royale account number ? I'd be interested to know if new VIP members are still getting numbers. From what I understand they have quit giving out CR numbers....not sure if that's true or not.

 

They gave me my number when I called in, so Im guessing they still uses numbers.

 

Thanks for the phone number, new cruise is booked and saved me around 10% plus the FCC cash from last trip.

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On another note how much is the minimum spend on the blackjack and on the roulette ? Also does anybody know on blackjack can you play extra things like perfect pairs and poker hand ? Or is it just purely the hand you are playing ? Sorry for the random questions ! 

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On another note how much is the minimum spend on the blackjack and on the roulette ? Also does anybody know on blackjack can you play extra things like perfect pairs and poker hand ? Or is it just purely the hand you are playing ? Sorry for the random questions ! 

Usually minimums are $5 per hand.  I might have seen $10 here and there, but I always find it less than the local casinos by me.

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Robbo, Matt is correct.  They usually have a $5 minimum at every game.  On sea days, they will have a special $3 minimum usually until 2:00 or some specified time.  I can't remember what that time is.  Depending upon the ship and the size of the casino, they will have a number of different blackjack games including the perfect pair and "add to 20" side bet, etc.  They also have the 3 card poker where you can use the dealer's cards, too.  Lots of options.  They will also usually have at least 1 "high" minimum BJ table - $50 or $100 minimum.  Needless to say, you will never find me there !...but you will often find Dan there.'

 

That's how you get "noticed:" quickly, BTW.  Play a number of hours at that table gets you noticed quickly !

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@ WAAAYTOOO Thanks for the info! I have yet to get one of these certificates but I will make it my mission in life to get one on our next cruise.

@arebee- I feel pretty good about dumping $$ in the RC casinos. At least the club treats you right with free drinks and food comps as well as these great deals on cruises (often suites). I don't even bother gambling in land based casinos anymore, I would rather bet the ranch for a loft suite on the harmony!

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Robbo, Matt is correct.  They usually have a $5 minimum at every game.  On sea days, they will have a special $3 minimum usually until 2:00 or some specified time.  I can't remember what that time is.  Depending upon the ship and the size of the casino, they will have a number of different blackjack games including the perfect pair and "add to 20" side bet, etc.  They also have the 3 card poker where you can use the dealer's cards, too.  Lots of options.  They will also usually have at least 1 "high" minimum BJ table - $50 or $100 minimum.  Needless to say, you will never find me there !...but you will often find Dan there.'

 

That's how you get "noticed:" quickly, BTW.  Play a number of hours at that table gets you noticed quickly !

 

Waytoo - what are your best Roulette tips? As someone who is fairly new to cruising and enjoys the casino, how can I use this to my advantage?

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Waytoo - what are your best Roulette tips? As someone who is fairly new to cruising and enjoys the casino, how can I use this to my advantage?

You asked about the one thing that I really do NOT play n the casino. I wish I could help but roulette is a big mystery to me. Some people seem to make money at roulette but it seems so random to me. I steer clear.

 

Sorry. No help

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You asked about the one thing that I really do NOT play n the casino. I wish I could help but roulette is a big mystery to me. Some people seem to make money at roulette but it seems so random to me. I steer clear.

 

Sorry. No help

 

So then I'll broaden my question - what are your best casino tips? What's your game, why do you enjoy it, etc?

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You asked about the one thing that I really do NOT play n the casino. I wish I could help but roulette is a big mystery to me. Some people seem to make money at roulette but it seems so random to me. I steer clear.

 

Sorry. No help

I was really expecting something along the lines of, "I could tell you, but then I'd need to push you overboard." ;)

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So then I'll broaden my question - what are your best casino tips? What's your game, why do you enjoy it, etc?

 

Blackjack is the only game in a casino where you can even out the odds and accually make money based on good decisions rader then pure luck.

My tip would be to read up abit on how to make good decisions when playing blackjack, then you might win some money :)

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Waytoo - what are your best Roulette tips? As someone who is fairly new to cruising and enjoys the casino, how can I use this to my advantage?

Klaconqueso, I can share one that my wife uses.  It works sometimes but the odds are in your favor.  She plays the 3 places at the bottom of the table (under each row) or the 3 on the side of the table (1st 12, 2nd 12, 3rd 12).

She plays 2 of the three at a time. They only pay 2 to 1 but you stand a better chance of winning. I think they require a $5 minimum but I don't remember so best to ask.  Say you play $5 on two of them and hit, they take one and give you two.  So you come out ahead. 

We never expect to pay for a cruise that way but with $100 you can sit there for a few hours (if you're lucky) or be gone in 5 minutes (like me).

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It works sometimes but the odds are in your favor.

I don't think I've ever heard this statement about any game in the casino. :)

 

Actually, that's not true. You can actually get a "positive expectation" (I think that's the expression) for single-deck blackjack when counting cards and under liberal house rules.

 

The only things related to strategy that I know about Roulette are:

  • Play at a table that only has a single 0, if it should exist (pretty much guaranteed not to be found on a mainstream cruise ship sailing from the US).
  • The 5-number bet at the top of the table (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) pays slightly lower than it should because 5 doesn't divide evenly into 36.
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What I mean by odds in your favor is there are only 3 places to bet and you pick two.  Yes you will always loose one of your bets but you stand a better chance of winning than if you only bet on one at a time.  Its worked for her and like I said, we don't expect to pay for the cruise but we can sit at the table for an hour or two and not loose too much.

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What I mean by odds in your favor is there are only 3 places to bet and you pick two.  Yes you will always loose one of your bets but you stand a better chance of winning than if you only bet on one at a time.  Its worked for her and like I said, we don't expect to pay for the cruise but we can sit at the table for an hour or two and not loose too much.

 

Hmm. So if I'm just at the table playing small bets for a couple hours in the evening, Casino probably isn't going to care about me much, right?

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Hmm. So if I'm just at the table playing small bets for a couple hours in the evening, Casino probably isn't going to care about me much, right?

I don't know since I never thought of asking to be a VIP member, we don't gamble a lot, usually once or twice during a 7 day cruise, so it would take generations for us to get invited...

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Prob not. There are guidelines and criteria to meet in order to gain entry to the club Royale. I personally play a healthy mix of slots, roulette & blackjack. I personally think that as WAAAYTOOO described it was the amount of money I was willing to change to chips at the roulette table that got the initial attention. I will bring 1000-2000 to the table and bet roughly $100-150 per spin (putting a giant stack on the number 17) and can sometimes win a large amount of $$. As the beers keep coming my bets get significantly higher and it either goes really well or really not so well. In any case, it's fun!!!

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As for gambling tips....the best tip I can give is NOT to gamble....unless you are doing it for entertainment, like me.  The reason I am such a horrible risk to myself is that I don't really care whether I win or lose.  I just like to play !  Of course, I would RATHER win, but I don't really worry about it when I lose b/c it's all entertainment for me.  If I were playing to try and win money, I would definitely have to concede utter failure.  The only place where I consistently WIN money is at the no limit Texas Hold 'Em poker table....and live poker is not considered a "rated" game on any cruise line (you don't get any "points" while playing poker).  Probably not in the land-based casinos either.  Truly, I do not understand why...b/c poker is the ONE game where the house can ONLY win.  It's impossible for them to lose money at poker.  Whatever.  They all do it that way so there has to be a reason.

 

I normally play 3 card poker or Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, (which is a dealer poker game) when I am not playing live poker.  You only have to beat the dealer (UTH).  How hard can it be ?   LOL  I KNOW that the house odds are very high with these games.  I just enjoying them.

 

I completely SUCK at Blackjack.  I have memorized the tables.  I know when to double down, when to split, when to take a card and when to stay...but I still cannot manage to win.  It's just me.  I have come to the conclusion that BJ is just not my game.  Dan wins.  I always lose.

 

I never EVER EVER EVER play the slots.  Well....every now and then I will play video poker before the tables open but I find the electronic games to be so boring.  I am CERTAIN to lose on slots.  I have learned my lesson there.  STAY AWAY !

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I am not sure this is true but I have been told by the Casino Hosts, Managers, etc. that if you play a progressive slot machine you must play the maximum bet. If the machine has 50 cents, $1, $2.50, and $5.00 you have to bet the $5.00 to win the progressive jackpot. I was stupid enough in Las Vegas, a couple of months ago, to play a Quick Hit Progressive Slot Machine, my favorite, and the maximum bet was $3.00 and I was betting $1.50. I wasn't paying attention because I know to bet the maximum, I hit 9 Quick Hits, lit up my machine, bells and whistles, etc. I won $2,514, if I had bet maximum I would have won over $6,000. I was happy with the win but angry with myself for not betting the maximum. You need to watch and make sure what machines you are playing. There are several that are not Progressive, Jumpin' Jalapenos, many others.

 

I am like WAAAY TOOO, I gamble because it is fun and I enjoy sitting at a machine, not to win, but for entertainment. I love talking to the people who sit at the machine next to me, some don't talk back.  Unfortunately, my entertainment can be very, very expensive.

 

Candie

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I am not sure this is true but I have been told by the Casino Hosts, Managers, etc. that if you play a progressive slot machine you must play the maximum bet. If the machine has 50 cents, $1, $2.50, and $5.00 you have to bet the $5.00 to win the progressive jackpot. I was stupid enough in Las Vegas, a couple of months ago, to play a Quick Hit Progressive Slot Machine, my favorite, and the maximum bet was $3.00 and I was betting $1.50. I wasn't paying attention because I know to bet the maximum, I hit 9 Quick Hits, lit up my machine, bells and whistles, etc. I won $2,514, if I had bet maximum I would have won over $6,000. I was happy with the win but angry with myself for not betting the maximum. You need to watch and make sure what machines you are playing. There are several that are not Progressive, Jumpin' Jalapenos, many others.

 

I am like WAAAY TOOO, I gamble because it is fun and I enjoy sitting at a machine, not to win, but for entertainment. I love talking to the people who sit at the machine next to me, some don't talk back.  Unfortunately, my entertainment can be very, very expensive.

 

Candie

Here's the question, though.  Had you been betting $3 instead of $1.50, would you have played as long to actually win?  I occasionally play slots, but only play the ones where the winnings are proportional to the bet (e.g., 25 = $500, 50 = $1000, 75 = $1500).  Of course, the last time I went to Vegas for a conference, I put aside $100 to gamble, but got board after the first $20 and didn't play the rest of the trip. 

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DocLC,

 

As I said I play just for fun and entertainment so I don't figure out which machine is ready to hit, etc. I had only played the machine for about 10 minutes. In one day I won $5,000, best day I have ever had. Went back about a month later and gave them about $700 of my winnings back. I am one of those players that hits the spin button, sits there after it spins and looks at the screen to see why I won 10 cents or $10, or why I didn't win, what didn't line up correctly. So I probably only spin about 3 to 4 times a minute or less. When I win any money I let it just add to my balance, in other words, I don't hit the buttons so it adds immediately. To me there is gratification in listening to the machine add $100 to my account. On YouTube I have watched several videos where people actually keep tabs on several machines to see if the Progressive has been won, when they think it will be won, and when to play it so they might win it. Several YouTubers keep journals as to when the machine hit, what amount it hit at, so they can calculate when they think it will hit again. That is way to much work, I want to have fun, not make a business out of gambling.

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DocLC,

 

As I said I play just for fun and entertainment so I don't figure out which machine is ready to hit, etc. I had only played the machine for about 10 minutes. In one day I won $5,000, best day I have ever had. Went back about a month later and gave them about $700 of my winnings back. I am one of those players that hits the spin button, sits there after it spins and looks at the screen to see why I won 10 cents or $10, or why I didn't win, what didn't line up correctly. So I probably only spin about 3 to 4 times a minute or less. When I win any money I let it just add to my balance, in other words, I don't hit the buttons so it adds immediately. To me there is gratification in listening to the machine add $100 to my account. On YouTube I have watched several videos where people actually keep tabs on several machines to see if the Progressive has been won, when they think it will be won, and when to play it so they might win it. Several YouTubers keep journals as to when the machine hit, what amount it hit at, so they can calculate when they think it will hit again. That is way to much work, I want to have fun, not make a business out of gambling.

I was just trying to rationalize the loss between the two jackpots to try to soften the blow.

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