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We just go back from our cruise and still get conflicting information on whether our $$ off casino certificates can be combined with casino VIP rates.  On the ship, the Casino Host said yes along with another guest I spoke with.  On my last call with RCL casino line they said no.

What I have found out is on your last cruise if you get to 1,000 or 1,500 points (depends on ship our Casino Host said), you get the Casino VIP sticker for free drinks in the casino and the 5% convenience fee is waived for cash from Day 1 of the cruise.  IN addition, we received our certificates in our room the next to last night and they based what we had in points so far to "guess" what we would get to after the second night.  If we were higher they would change in the certificate.

Now comes the real test - whether certificates and discounts can be combined!  If not, I will just book with the casino rate from now on since that is more $$ off than the certificates get us.  I will keep everyone posted!

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No, the certificates can no longer be combined with a casino discounted rate which is a damn shame. It used to be the best thing going so they had to ruin it.

If you are lucky enough to get a phone agent who either forgets or is willing to bend the rules for whatever reason, count yourself very lucky. 

I use casino rates and certificates (not together anymore, unfortunately) on every cruise I book and I have been unable to combine for about 2 months now.  You will just have to let the phone agent help you decide which discount is the most valuable. If you book suites you will never be able to beat the casino rate. If you book other category rooms it can be a toss up as to whether the certificate or the casino rate will work to your advantage the best.

the certificates are basically useless to me unless I'm willing to book an inside or ocean view room.  They have also strictly restricted the period of time into the future you can use both certificates and casino rates but the agents seem willing to bend this rule to some extent but not the combo issue to my knowledge 

good luck !

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Thanks for the information.  That is what I had heard before I left.  Really too bad because it was a great deal which is why I am holding off on moving my March 2018 cruise until I know for sure I can't go because we booked that cruise with $800 of certificates and the casino discount.  Oh well.

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So much is unknown.  We they would just make hard fast rules and stick with them.  We have utilized the casino rate for our next 2 cruises since my hubby found out he was eligible on our last cruise. Given this is his first cruise as a CR member, how does he get the drinks and 5% discount? Is there a sticker on his card or does he need to see someone about it?  I know this was covered before, but I can't find it. 

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Yes, he just needs to visit the Casino host/hostess when he first gets onboard (when the casino opens, of course) and the sticker will be placed on the seapass card.  I think there are a few casinos that are still using the "free drink coupons" which are often little slips or paper or laminated slips of paper that the host/hostess will distribute and then they can be redeemed for free drinks but I think that most of the casinos have now gone to the "free drinks sticker" which is so much easier than keeping track of those stupid coupons.

As far as making and sticking to rules, I wouldn't hold my breath.  Even the rules they DO have seem to be subject to significant bending so even if they made them I doubt they would stick to them.

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  • 1 month later...

G'day, we got off Voyager of the Seas 28 OCT 2017, with a cruise voucher each. Because the Comp Cruises are in USA, we booked another cruise with Casino Rates which were much better now than they were, and then they gave us the redemption rate (2x Cruise Certificates) of US$1750 off as well. The 5 Nights Jnr Suite Voyager of the Seas 24 DEC 2018 cost us US$135 total.

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I know I have asked this before, but cant seem to find or remember the answer. What/how do they base it on? It is points earned while in the casino or time spent there or money spent there or some formula of all 3?

Only time I had anyone in our group get anything from the casino she had played for a few hours each day/evening....but wasn't a lot of her own money. But she won lots and then played lots. One night she was given some kinda package, became a Casino VIP person and had some kinda deal offered for her next cruise(she didn't get into all the details with us during the cruise)

 

Anyone with firsthand knowledge/experience? I understand if you blow $50,000 you may get something in return, but for the average person who is playing in there....what is the benchmark of what you are probably going to need to do/spend/time in there to be offered something?

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We were on Anthem January 2017 for 12 days.  I gambled every day, but i would not say for hours. I also only played the tables   I know i did not get up enough points to get anything while i was on the cruise.   About 2 or 3 months ago I received an email that I could get a free cruise on a number of sailings that were happening in October to mid November.  I was not able to use it as I already had a vacation scheduled for that time.  I believe i still would owe port and all taxes if I had gone.   I was surprised I received this out of the blue and I figured it was due to maybe the hurricanes or maybe they were cruises that still had a lot of openings.  I also received an email stating i could use the casino rate and they gave me a code. I've not tried that out yet to see what kind of discount i would receive.  For some reason work seems to get in the way of vacations!   That is my experience so far with the casino.  Did other get that email for the complementary cruises in Oct/Nov????

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10 hours ago, Johnnosbc said:

G'day, we got off Voyager of the Seas 28 OCT 2017, with a cruise voucher each. Because the Comp Cruises are in USA, we booked another cruise with Casino Rates which were much better now than they were, and then they gave us the redemption rate (2x Cruise Certificates) of US$1750 off as well. The 5 Nights Jnr Suite Voyager of the Seas 24 DEC 2018 cost us US$135 total.

Can you give an idea of how much you played?

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2 hours ago, monctonguy said:

I know I have asked this before, but cant seem to find or remember the answer. What/how do they base it on? It is points earned while in the casino or time spent there or money spent there or some formula of all 3?

Only time I had anyone in our group get anything from the casino she had played for a few hours each day/evening....but wasn't a lot of her own money. But she won lots and then played lots. One night she was given some kinda package, became a Casino VIP person and had some kinda deal offered for her next cruise(she didn't get into all the details with us during the cruise)

 

Anyone with firsthand knowledge/experience? I understand if you blow $50,000 you may get something in return, but for the average person who is playing in there....what is the benchmark of what you are probably going to need to do/spend/time in there to be offered something?

I’m thinking a formula of all 3. I wouldn’t be fair for someone to play the penny slots at .15 per spin all day and all night to generate the same types of perks & discounts as the gambler that stumbles in at 8:00pm and leaves at 11pm but is spending more then $100.00 per spin or per hand for a few hours a night. As WAAAYTOO can confirm this casino royale program as a whole is a complete mess. It’s nearly impossible to know where you stand and how or what you have to do to achieve a discount. The point system that’s written on the pamphlet at the Host desk is for the amateurs it’s seriously nonsense and won’t get you anywhere. I wish I had a baseline to compare but I have always spent a lot of time and considerable amounts of money in the casino and have been compensated fairly w/ the discounts and other perks. 

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Well said, Tony.  It is all voodoo and they really do not let anyone know what the truth about "points" is.  That is why I ALWAYS say, the MOST important thing you can do is be noticed...regardless of how much money or how long you are there.  As a rule, we have poorer playback results on the larger ships than we do on the smaller ships even though our playing habits are always the same.  I feel positive that this is b/c there are so many more players on the big ships and they just don't notice or track you as closely as they do in the more intimate casinos.  Being friendly with the management and tipping well will get you noticed.  Sorry if that sounds crass, but I believe it to be the truth.

Another thing that they do NOT advertise well is the fact that so many are eligible for casino rates.  Most people have no idea that they are eligible for a casino rate.  As @bobburd said, unless you get an email or some other kind of offer, you just would have no way of knowing.  My advice to ANYone who EVER plays in the casino - big spenders or otherwise - is ALWAYS call Club Royale FIRST when you are thinking of booking a cruise.  The worst that can happen is they tell you that there are no offers for you.  You MAY be very pleasantly surprised, as we were, the first time we did this, that you are eligible for a very NICE casino discount. 

They have changed the way they calculate casino rates YET AGAIN but quite honestly, I think the "new" way is really the best.  They now allow you to take EVERY discount to which you are entitled (C&A balcony, senior, state, military...whatever it happens to be PLUS whatever the current booking incentive is (BOGO 50% ,etc.)) and THEN they give you a casino discount on top of all of that.

We are sailing on Allure next week (Thanksgiving week).  We received an email offer (sounds like the same one @bobburd got) for a complimentary inside guarantee room (Z GTY) and had Michelle Cunningham, our MEI TA book it for us.  All that we owed were taxes, port fees and grats (total of $415.96).  After a number of weeks we were assigned an inside way up at the front of the ship.  TERRIBLE location and I decided to see what we could do to upgrade.   After a couple of days and MANY emails back and forth (and MUCH time on the phone for Michelle, no doubt), Michelle was able to upgrade us from that awful forward inside room to a D1 hump balcony for $278 !!  This is what the discount looked like:  $226 C&A balcony discount, $944 BOGO50, $251 Senior discount, $2299 casino discount.  So, for a $3998 D1 cabin, we were discounted $3720 for a balance of only $278 (plus the original taxes, port fees and grats, which brought the TOTAL total to $693.96).  I think this was a heck of a deal and the tribute ALL goes to Michelle and the Club Royale agent.  I have no idea how they did it but it was a wonderful deal.

This is even more amazing when you realize that this was basically a $-0- commission sale for Michelle.  What a TA !

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 5:31 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

I see the casino discounts but I don’t see where the certificates have been applied.  The $630 each your “personal” casino discounts. The certificate(s) would be “round” amounts like $500; $750, $1000, etc.

it is a very impressive casino rate.  I will agree with that !

The cruise was one on the back of the cert which was a free Balcony (-$1014 x 2) and then the -$615 x2 is the casino rate discount on our upgrade to a Jr. Suite.

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Hello All,

Curious to know if anyone knows whether we will still qualify for Club Royale VIP perks?? We were enrolled in Club Royale on a cruise in October of 2015 - cruised again March of 2016 - with same VIP sticker that entitled us to free drinks + 5% fee waived. Prior to this we were Plantinum Mlife members, so we automatically got this.

We booked a cruise (for Jan 2018) through the casino department and was wondering if we'll be classified as VIP or if we need to accumulate points to get the free drinks & 5% fee waived again - debating whether we should purchase a drink package since majority of our drinking is done in the casino. TIA

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If you qualified for a Club Royale casino rate then you are still considered a comped Club Royale member.  If you received your casino rate as a function of your MLife status then I don't know whether you are still a CR VIP or not.  You would need to call to find out.  There's really no way of telling with this wacky program.   888-561-2234

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I was told last week (around December 7th 2017) there would be no casino rate for a grand suite or larger.  She said if you book a junior suite, balcony room or inside room they would give you the casino rate for that room.  Has anyone heard that too?  We have always booked the 2 bedroom family suite or larger.  I can't believe they would take away the suites from their casino vip members.  If that is the case what is the advantage of staying with royal Caribbean?  A $500, $1000 or $2000 off full price is not enough to continue to book their high end suites!

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11 hours ago, koikeeper123 said:

I was told last week (around December 7th 2017) there would be no casino rate for a grand suite or larger.  She said if you book a junior suite, balcony room or inside room they would give you the casino rate for that room.  Has anyone heard that too?  We have always booked the 2 bedroom family suite or larger.  I can't believe they would take away the suites from their casino vip members.  If that is the case what is the advantage of staying with royal Caribbean?  A $500, $1000 or $2000 off full price is not enough to continue to book their high end suites!

Fake news. I always book Suites (grand suite and higher) and have always received the CR rate. My next 2 cruises (grand suite Allure) and (crown loft Symphony) we’re booked at the CR rate. 

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I agree with Tony.  Unless this change is VERY recent, you can still book any cabin with a casino rate.  The higher category the cabin, the greater the overall casino rate discount.  The parameters have been tightened...you cannot apply a casino rate more than 1 year in advance and the deposits for full suites are all now non-refundable but you CAN still get a casino rate. You can no longer combine the certificate and a casino rate (except for the rare situation, such as Goofyfanatic and I experienced with an upgrade to an already comped cruise) so you will have to choose one or the other but you can still get a casino rate. 

Also, I have noticed that they are calculating the casino rate differently than they used to.  Now, they will reduce the price of your cruise by all other means available (C&A balcony, senior rate, military rate, BOGO....whatever other discount would apply) before they calculate the casino rate but in the end, it all comes out to the same percentage off as when they used to calculate the casino rate as a single discount.  I'm sure this helps their bottom line by not having the entire discount come from the casino line of business.  While the overall discount is the same as it would have been using only a casino rate, now the casino rate is a smaller percentage of the overall discount.  I know it's a little wonky but the benefit to us is the same.  I am still getting about 44-50% (depending on cabin category and the individual cruise) off the full retail cruise fare between the various discounts they are applying.  In cases where they discount an upgrade (as in Goofyfanatic's example) to a comped cruise, the discount rate is in the 80- 90% range as it was with Goofy's.   My last cruise (Allure Thanksgiving) resulted in a 93% discount off of the full cruise fare in the same situation as Goofy's (discounted upgrade from an already comped cruise) so it is very important to have a TA that is familiar with how Club Royale works AND getting a good CR agent for your TA to work with !  Go see Michelle Cunningham !!

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I am on the phone right now with (Shawntell, or close to that) from casino royale and she just confirmed NO casino rate for grand suite or larger.  There is a non-refundable deposit on those suites and no casino discount.  She did tell me you could apply a certificate (from a cruise you took within a year from issue date).  She told me that the non-refundable rate is better than the casino rate (which looking at the prices on-line and they don't even come close to the prices i got with the casino rate).  It just does not seem right to pay the same price as everyone else that does not support the casino :39_angry:

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How can the the non-refundable rate be better than the casino rate if there IS no casino rate ?  I'm not doubting you....I am just very confused.

If it is true that you can no longer get a casino rate on a suite then Royal Caribbean is probably going to lose my exclusive business.  That is what has kept us with Royal, exclusively.

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I agree with you waaaytooo I would not continue to cruise with Royal Caribbean exclusively too.  That discount is what keep us booking every cruise we take with Royal Caribbean.  In the last week I have been told that by 2 different casino royale employees.  I also agree that the non-refundable rate was not comparable. I am really glad I booked my next 3 cruises before all this took place.  I also tried to book a room for our friends on the same cruise we are taking in February in a suite guarantee and they could only book it for the rate that was listed on-line (royal Caribbean website  and checked the rate on cruise-only website and the price they quoted me were all the same... $1750 per person).  She told me this was because there is no discount on anything bigger than a junior suite but i could get the discount if they wanted to book the junior suite instead of the suite guarantee.  I will be interesting to see where all this leads but i am guessing many people will be upset!

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If Royal runs me off it will be because of 2 things, primarily.

#1 - Non-refundable option ONLY for suites.  I book mostly (but not exclusively) suites and I do not like the fact that I only have non-refundable options now.  I don't buy their lame explanation that suite customers hog up all of their suites and then cancel at the last minute.  Yes, I did (when I still could) book a lot of suites and sometimes cancel but it was NEVER last minute and let's face it - Royal has never had to worry about booking their suites.  They are always the first to go.  With suite prices getting so incredibly ridiculous (particularly for star class suites) I can see that they MAY have some trouble keeping those sold but they still manage to sell them all out, even at the ridiculous price that they are now asking.  So think of something else, Royal.  Your explanation doesn't hold water.

#2 - The casino rate has either gone away or has become so restrictive (cannot book more than 1 year out) that it's virtually useless.  This has been the one thing that kept me around.  If it's gone, I will have no reason to remain exclusive to Royal.  NCL has always had a competitive casino program and it seems to be getting more favorable as Royal's seems to be waning.  To be brutally honest, I don't find the difference in service and overall product to be that much different between any of the big, mass market cruise lines.  I will go wherever I get the best deal.  That has always been Royal but maybe not for much longer. 

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9 hours ago, koikeeper123 said:

I am on the phone right now with (Shawntell, or close to that) from casino royale and she just confirmed NO casino rate for grand suite or larger.  There is a non-refundable deposit on those suites and no casino discount.  She did tell me you could apply a certificate (from a cruise you took within a year from issue date).  She told me that the non-refundable rate is better than the casino rate (which looking at the prices on-line and they don't even come close to the prices i got with the casino rate).  It just does not seem right to pay the same price as everyone else that does not support the casino :39_angry:

Somethings not right here. Did you call the dedicated casino royale phone number? I literally booked (2) cruises on Black Friday while sitting in my stateroom via VOOM WiFi calling. The first cruise is in a grand suite (May) and the second is in a crown loft suite (thanksgiving 2018). I not only received an amazing casino rate but also was able to apply the free cruise certificate that I literally won the night before on the Harmony. I think Shawntell did not necessarily know what’s up. 

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Yes i called casino royale directly but i did not ask when this went into effect.  I called on Dec. 7 and Dec 13 and got the same answer from 2 different people that the casino rate could not be applied to a grand suite or bigger.  I think i will call next week and see if i get the same answer.  I will post what they tell me.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/14/2017 at 6:38 PM, koikeeper123 said:

Yes i called casino royale directly but i did not ask when this went into effect.  I called on Dec. 7 and Dec 13 and got the same answer from 2 different people that the casino rate could not be applied to a grand suite or bigger.  I think i will call next week and see if i get the same answer.  I will post what they tell me.

Weird!! We booked our parents in the sky loft suite and got the casino discount. 

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