Ncl Casinos At Sea Free Cruise

Posted : admin On 3/27/2022

Insider Tips

Norwegian Cruise Lineoffers paper straws with its beverages, but they're pretty flimsy and tend to collapse after a few sips or if they sit in your glass for too long. As an alternative you may want to consider reusable straws. This package of four, right, with cleaning brush is $9.99 and available at Target or online by clicking here.
Casino

If you choose a specialty dining venue that has a dress code, e.g., Le Bistro, be aware that the dress code is not enforced the first or last night of the cruise. I learned the 'hard way' when a young couple was seated across from me at Le Bistro the final night of one of my cruises. The couple – wearing swimsuits and flip flops – constantly dangled the footwear on their toes or doffed them totally as they sat on their legs with their bare feet extending into the aisle between our tables. Not a pretty sight!
  1. Saga provides free chauffeur service (door-to-door) for passengers who live within 75 mi (120 km) of cruise departure ports, and also shared chauffeur for up to 250 ml (400 km) homeport distances. Alternatives include coach and rail transportation, or domestic flights (from the UK) which can be fare-included.
  2. Choose from over 2,000 different cruise slots that will fit the needs of any player. From classic reels to video poker Norwegian Cruise Line is sure to have the slot machine for you Cruise Slots on a Casino Cruise Casinos at Sea from Norwegian Cruise.
  3. Get away to your favorite places with 30% off cruises to all destinations, plus all 5 Free at Sea offers included, featuring Free Open Bar, Free Kids, and more for a limited time. And with our Second Guest Flies Free.
  4. Casinos at Sea: Win Big with Free Cruises and Perks From Cruise Ship Play. Casino Royale on Harmony of the Seas (Photo: Cruise Critic) Erica Silverstein. On Norwegian Cruise Line (and sister.
Something else to consider bringing on your cruise are clips to attach your pool/beach towels to your deck chair. While a couple of simple old-fashioned hinged clothespins will work, there are some cute alternatives sold on the ship or available online. These toucan clips are $6.99 on Amazon.

If you're traveling solo and eat at the buffet, you may want to create a small tent card to leave at your table that says something like: 'Please do not clear. Be back shortly.' More than once I've even had a whole plate of food and a full can of beer discarded by an overly enthusiastic NCL employee who was taking his job a little too seriously. Download a template by clicking here.

Norwegian Cruise Line's Free at Sea promotion allows cruisers to book a cruise and choose from a variety of perks, onboard extras and bonuses, depending on the cabin type you choose.


On most ships 37 on the television is the Movie Channel. To get a schedule you'll need to ask at Guest Services. Someone will bring the schedule to your cabin.

If you're prone to losing things, or just want the convenience of having it close at hand at all times, consider placing your key card in a plastic insert that hangs from a lanyard around your neck. You can buy them onboard for $9.99 (or three for $24.99), but they're a lot less expensive if you buy them at a local store before you leave on your cruise.


The casino is open when the ship is at sea.When at sea, slot machines are open 24/7, while table games typically open up around10 a.m. on sea days and about an hour after the ship leaves port on port days.The size of the casino varies by ship, with the newest ships like the Epic and Breakaway having larger casinos.

Be sure to redeem your slot machine voucher(s) before the casino closes on the last day of your cruise. They're void after that.
Slot machine variety is very good, with a mix of classic reel slots, recently released reel and video slots, and video poker.Denominations range from a penny to $25, with several $1/$5/$25/$100 mixed denominations.Video poker payouts range from 92 to 97 percent based on the pay schedules and optimal play.The casino is catering to a captive audience, literally, so slot payouts can’t be the highest available.All machines are ticket-in/ticket-out.


A typical ship casino has one poker table, four to six blackjack tables, one or two roulette tables, one Caribbean Stud table, and one or two craps tables.The less popular table games may be open only during peak times or upon customer request.Table game minimums are typically $5 or $10, with low maximums on roulette ($200), Caribbean stud ($100) and craps ($300).Some blackjack tables have maximums of up to $2,000.According to casino brochures, high maximums can be arranged in advance of the cruise.There is also a tucked-away blackjack pit with two or three tables for semi-private higher minimum action.

As with the slot games, table game rules are not as good as many onshore casinos.Craps tables offer 3X/4X/5X free odds behind the Pass Line.Blackjack pays 6-to-5 most of the tie, but tables with minimums of $25 or more will pay 3-to-2.Resplitting after aces is not allowed, and most tables allow doubling only on 9, 10 or 11.
All casinos operate in U.S. dollars regardless of the ship’s embarkation point, destinations and currency of other on-ship purchases.You can use $5 to $100 bills in the slot machines and at the tables.You can also get up to $3,000 per day in chips or cash charged to your stateroom account.If you presented a credit card for stateroom charges, this will appear on your account as a transaction charge in U.S. dollars, e.g., not a cash advance and not subject to foreign currency transaction fee; however, on ships that depart from the United States there is a three percent service charge for this convenience.

Warning!

Be sure to cash-out your voucher before removing your players card. If not, any remaining balance will revert to your account and you'll have to download it at the next machine you play. To do this, look for the illustration of a stack of green bills, click on that, then enter your day of birth and the last two digits of your birth year.
In addition, be sure that no one else's players card is already in a machine before you insert any cash-out voucher from a previously played machine. If you insert your voucher, then you pull that other person's card, the amount/value of that voucher will be deposited into the other person's account.
Some ships have a cigar bar.Other than that, the casino is the only place on board inside the ship where a person is allowed to smoke.While that may be fine for gamblers, it is not for people passing by or those who are attired for a dress-up meal and want to be able to wear their clothes again during the cruise.For some ships such as the Star or Jade, the casino is tucked away so this is not a big deal.For other ships, such as the Epic, one has to walk through the casino to get to dinner.
The Bliss and Joy have dedicated smoking casinos that are totally enclosed.

Normally, a player has to accrue 1,500 points to get free drinks while playing in the casino (see Players Club below).However, people traveling on a Seven Stars Voyage automatically get a card entitling them to drinks while they're playing in the casino.Free drinks include draft and bottled beer, well drinks, and basic fruity drinks such as pina coladas.Considering that an adult beverage is a minimum of $5 or more, this is a decent benefit.


Insider Tip

Even if you're on the Ultimate Beverage Plan, you cannot get complimentary bottled water or energy drinks. Consequently, use your casino drink benefits to get these for free in the casino.

On sea days, there will be a few casino promotions.

  • Slot Tournaments.Typically $15 or $25 buy-in to play a round and qualify for the finals.Depending on the number of players, the top eight or 30 will qualify for the finals with a top prize of up to $500 and runner-up prizes of T-shirts or the like.Payback is often less than 50 percent overall.
  • Blackjack Tournaments.Typically $25 buy-in to play 10 hands and qualify for the final table to win up to $500 with second and third prize based on the prize pool.Payback is around 65 percent.
  • Texas Hold ’em Tournaments.Typically buyin with $80-$100 for rebuys and add-ons.The house takes a portion of all of the above with a payback of around 65 percent.It is similar to a Turbo tournament on land, with unused blackjack tables being repurposed for the tournament.Some tournaments offer winnings that day, while others are satellites for a larger tournament later in the year. Be sure to ask before you buy in.

The minimum age to gamble at the casino is only 18, regardless of from where the ship embarks.

NCL players club

NCL has its own players club, Casinos At Sea. (Regent Seven Seas and Oceania Cruises now share the same program.) Details can be found on the NCL Players Club page

Ncl Casino Cruises

. NCL does not match status with any land-based casinos.

Insider Tip

Ships with ATMs charge $5.99 per transaction, plus whatever fees your bank may impose.
When you travel for the first time, you start at NCL’s lowest Jade tier.Beyond that, points accrue much the same way they do at Caesars casinos: $5 coin-in slots or $10 video poker is one point.Points accrual for table games is based on play.If you earn 1,000 points you get $10 in free slot play, in $10 increments.When you get to 2,500 points or more, you can redeem the points for comps to defray onboard expenses, or convert them to free play.

Points can be transferred from ship to ship, but you need to verify that you have the same player's club number as with the prior cruise and you may need to have the casino host request a manual transfer.

Check the Casinos At Sea page for details of the amenities you receive at various levels.

At the end of the cruise
There is a two-hour window on the last night of the cruise where you can redeem accrued points for comps or free slot play.If you have more than 10,000 points for the trip, this is worth your time.Although not documented, many players have reported receiving comps beyond the 100 points: $1 ratio listed in the Player’s Club documentation.

Playing after getting that comp applied to your onboard account will not get additional comps; however, points accrued are valid for 18 months before expiring.

  • When NCL offers a promotion for purchasing a cruise, such as its Premium Beverage Package, Specialty Dining Package or onboard credit, you get that, as well as your Seven Stars benefit, when booking your Seven Stars cruise.If you book. then see a better promotion, you can rebook to obtain that promotional benefit up to 90 days before your embarkation date.
  • The best room available to you is not always the most expensive category.Generally speaking, the best you can get on a Seven Stars Voyage is a balcony stateroom.
  • When getting free drinks in the casino, tip the server and bartender at least a dollar!This is proper courtesy and often leads to better quality beverages next time.
  • This is an international trip.If you are carrying more than $10,000, including in checks, you need to report it to U.S. Customs upon boarding the ship in the United States or upon returning to the States.
  • If you plan to take more than one cruise, enroll in NCL’s Latitudes Rewards loyalty program.Benefits accrue as soon as the second cruise, including a Latitudes Rewards free cocktail hour and giveaways.
  • NCL runs a 'CruiseNext' promotion where, if while onboard your cruise, you make a $250 deposit (or more in $250 increments) towards a future cruise, you get an onboard credit for your current cruise. (Purchase two $250 deposit certificates and you essentially get one for free.) That deposit is good for four years on any NCL cruise of more than four days, including a future Seven Stars Voyage or one where you use a cruise certificate provided by your casino. In that case, you can use the $250 credit for prepaying port taxes, service charges, admin fees, etc. Generally, you can use only one certificate per cruise, but NCL has been running a special for months allowing up to two certificates per voyage if you book at least six months out. (Check to see if this promotion is still available.) This is a great deal if you plan to go on another cruise.
  • Cruise Critic is a fantastic source of information about every ship, the layout, shows, dining, etc.
  • If you sail from New Orleans, Harrah’s is a short walk.As a Seven Stars cardholder, you can park your car in the garage for free and walk over from the garage or hotel to the port.
  • No one says you have to gamble while on board.Gambling or not gambling won’t affect your Seven Stars status.NCL will not require you to pay for your stateroom if you avoid the casino.

We’ve cruised with Norwegian three times in the past couple of years, and number four is coming up in September on the new Norwegian Breakaway. The first one of them was a paid ticket, on the Norwegian Gem, and since then we have cruised for free (other than Taxes and Fees), with a number of great perks along the way. I estimate that our comps have come in at over $7000 thus far from these guys, and I am very excited to be cruising from New York again, and hopefully making it to Bermuda this time around.

Norwegian Cruise Lines Latitudes Rewards

Ncl Casinos At Sea Promotions

Latitudes is NCL’s loyalty program, available to all guests and interestingly based upon a combination of cruise duration and revenue dollars. It might be something we see in the future with Airline programs. The good thing with this is that you can quickly rack up good points with them on discounted cruises, but should you be cruising in a higher category of stateroom (suites and above) you earn additional points. In Venice we upgraded from an Inside Cabin to a Penthouse Suite (quite the bump up let me tell you) and earned double Latitudes points for our troubles.

Once you achieve status with NCL their perks are quite attractive, we are currently at the Silver Level, and I think the really good things start from Gold, and get a lot better at Platinum.

Some of the things that don’t seem so obvious but are really quite nice is the ‘Exclusive Gathering with Ships Officers’ which is 30mins-1hr of complimentary drinks and passed canapes whilst you get to sit and chat with the officers about whatever tickles your fancy, we typically have quite a lot to talk about since I spent many years at sea myself during my youth. Also, the cocktail reception (that apparently isn’t happening on the Breakaway, boo!) means that you get two free evenings of drinks and socializing which are both pleasant experiences and a good way to save on your bar tab.

Casinos at Sea: Players Club

Casinos as Sea is the Gambling Loyalty Program of Norwegian Cruise Lines; without a doubt it is the most generous of all the Cruise Ship Gambling Programs. They track both slot and table play, and based upon how much you Play, not how much you win or lose, you gain status with them. I am at their lowest Tier; Lucky! But I have also experienced things beyond that such as unlimited drinks of any kind in the Casino, multiple free dinners at any of the Paid Restaurants such as Cagney’s the Steakhouse. This is because I was a Table Player, they have more of a fluffy rule for Table Players than Slot Players, and tend to give more when you are nice to the staff and are generous with your tips. On one occasion after leaving a particularly generous tip the Manager comped my dinner at Cagney’s two nights running, along with whatever I wanted to drink from the bar.

Stacking the Bonuses and Benefits of Casinos at Sea and Latitudes Rewards

By being a member of both Latitudes and Casinos at Sea you can earn benefits above your tier level – some things that only a Latitudes Platinum would receive, such as Wine in Stateroom, comes as Standard with Casinos at Sea, so as a lowly Latitudes Silver I get the free booze. Also, some things double up, such as the Meet and Greet events, since you get invited as a Latitudes member for one type of event, and as a Casino VIP for others.

Free Cruises on Norwegian Cruise Line

Firstly, Free means $25 per person per day plus taxes, and there is a group tipping charge of $12 per person per day. So you will still be paying something for the ‘free’ cruise, but even with these fees its a fantastic bargain!

I’d love to share with you the level that you get a comped cruise at, but unfortunately it is a secret – I do know that I am currently regarded as their lowest level of player as a Casinos at Sea Lucky Level, and I get comped, but I do really play. So don’t expect that if you just put $5 in a slot machine you will be comped for life.

However, and this is just a guess, I would imagine if you can reach Tier 2 play, the Hot! Level, you should be good for Free cruises. It is worth noting that the type of cabin you get for free will vary based upon your importance to the cruise-line and the popularity of the vessel. That said, you can upgrade at a reasonable price. For example, we cruised on the Norwegian Epic for New Years Eve, and we would only be offered an Inside Stateroom. I upgraded us to an exceptional Balcony Cabin (rear facing) for $600 prior to departure.

For our cruise to Bermuda on the Norwegian Breakaway this year they offered us a Balcony Cabin for free, which I actually paid another $50 to double the size of the Balcony, since there will be lots of Sea Days on this cruise and I wanted to be able to sit outside on a lounge chair.

Also, you will notice that I highlighted the Payment line of $250 by Voucher. This is a great offer that NCL has to retain customers: if you purchase a voucher for $250 onboard your current cruise you can use it as payment against any 6 day or longer cruise in the next 4 years. In doing so they credit your account with $100 for the current cruise. So basically you are getting $100 off the already reduced ‘free’ cruise price. You can use this voucher with Casinos at Sea, or any other form of booking, I believe that includes third parties also, though please double check onboard.

Upgrading Onboard

We did this on the NCL Jade last year, went from an Inside Cabin to a Penthouse Suite. In doing so we earned Suite level perks, which further stacked on top of the Casinos at Sea and Latitudes Silver, basically filling in the blanks – they included: Priority Tender, Concierge, Priority Dining/Shows. So in essence once we were in the Penthouse, even as the lowest level Casinos at Sea, and second lowest Latitudes we had full Top Tier benefits of the Latitudes program! The total cost to upgrade was $1400 onboard, the cruise originally cost $600 so we paid $2000, for an itinerary that had a book price of $6000 and a discounted third party price of $5200. Very pleased indeed.

If you want to upgrade onboard please be nice about it – the typical first night of the cruise is like the Gate at an airline, swamped with people asking for a free upgrade. It isn’t going to happen! Don’t be a PITA about it. Your best bet is to ask to be put on a paid upgrade list, they will contact you on night two of the cruise. They will not typically assign upgrades on night one just in case regular cabin swaps are required due to problems with the paid cabin a person has. Secondarily they don’t know how many no-shows there are until a while after embarkation, so let them figure out all the details and get back to you.