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Thread: Does anyone else take the 7 Stars cruises?

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  1. #1
    I'm not talking about the upcoming Signature Event cruises. I'm talking about the standard one you get every year.

    I have learned a lot about this and have figured out the best way to get value out of it. You do need to be willing to spend money, as it's not free by any means, but you will save a ton and get a great deal if you enjoy cruising.

    If anyone cares, I'll post my tips.

    I know Alan doesn't take these cruises because he gets seasick on those large ships.
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  2. #2
    I'm not into cruising at all, but I would appreciate the tips and info and I am sure it will help others. So spill the beans, Dan!!

  3. #3
    Why bother? Cruises are nothing but glorified night's out so unsuccessful people can make believe they're "world travelers" on germ-laden ships almost completely serviced by horrific collections of third world slugs. Ever go down below and see where & how these creeps live....and what they're given to eat? If the ship bacteria doesn't do it, this alone is enuf to make your stomach turn. But you'll never see anything about it in the brochures! That's why Harrahs utilizes "fabulous cruises" as hooks for 7-Stars aspirationists.
    Last edited by Rob.Singer; 04-23-2014 at 09:28 PM.

  4. #4
    Originally Posted by Rob.Singer View Post
    Why bother? Cruises are nothing but glorified night's out so unsuccessful people can make believe they're "world travelers" on germ-laden ships almost completely serviced by horrific collections of third world slugs. Ever go down below and see where & how these creeps live....and what they're given to eat? If the ship bacteria doesn't do it, this alone is enuf to make your stomach turn. But you'll never see anything about it in the brochures! That's why Harrahs utilizes "fabulous cruises" as hooks for 7-Stars aspirationists.
    I thought you were giving Alan a hard time a few months ago for not taking the cruise benefit. Now you're giving me a hard time for taking it.

    Which one is it?
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  5. #5
    Poor Rob. He can't decide who or what to attack -- he only knows he has to attack.

  6. #6
    After Alan said he gets seasick, the only thing I could criticize him for this cruise nonsense was for being a total slave to his sacred TR program. Which, BTW, is just too ridiculous a topic, as most here have a love-hate relationship with the place that none of you know how to end (which coincidentally is the same as your relationship with RS--you love to see my big winners, but you hate me for it and for having won so much, so this small crew of gambling losers tries sooo hard to pretend they're just wet dreams). Where would you all be without your fabulous "$100 dining certificates", the "annual this or that's" or the "rope 'em in blind" GGWU that only serves to get you all back to LV for more gambling.

    Here's a concept: stay home, stop losing money every year because no one wants to learn the proper way to play vp or handle casino traps, and you will all be happier campers who suddenly discover that there is more to life than gambling and gambling issues. And just imagine all the moaning, groaning & griping that will instantly disappear. And maybe I will too!
    Last edited by Rob.Singer; 04-24-2014 at 05:07 AM.

  7. #7
    I'm going to ignore Rob in this thread, because I want this to be about Seven Stars cruise tips, not more of his trolling BS that he uses to ruin every thread here.
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  8. #8
    So here are my tips regarding the Seven Stars Annual Criuse.

    First off, understand that it is not FREE. There is no way that you will escape without paying at least $500, and realistically you will end up spending MUCH more than that. If you do not enjoy cruising, then this isn't a good benefit for you, as it will still cost you substantial money and you won't enjoy it.

    So why bother?

    Because if done right, you will get an incredible deal on a cruise that you would never be able to duplicate elsewhere.


    What is the Seven Stars Annual Cruise benefit?

    Caesar's Seven Stars members are entitled to take one "free" (actually heavily discounted) cruise on certain Norwegian itineraries each year. Keep in mind that the "year" is not a calendar year, but actually runs from April 1 to March 31.

    You are only entitled to take cruises which have an onboard casino. This means you CANNOT take the "Pride of America" Hawaii itinerary, as that one never leaves Hawaii and has no casino onboard.

    Why does there have to be a casino? It is important to understand that this is a marketing partnership between Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) and Caesar's. Caesar's is NOT paying for your cruise. In fact, neither your host nor Total Rewards nor anyone else at Caesar's will get involved in booking this cruise. It is completely independent of Caesar's, aside from your Seven Stars status giving you the ability to take this heavily discounted cruise.



    What Do You Get?

    You are entitled to a "balcony stateroom" (usually category BB) on all itineraries EXCEPT the Alaskan ones, where you only get an "ocean view" stateroom. This cruise is for 2 people, though you can go by yourself if you want.

    Your cruise has to be 5-8 days long.

    To understand where these lie in the hierarchy of rooms on cruise ships, here is a general ranking of staterooms on NCL, from best to worst:

    1) Suite. These are the best staterooms on the ship, and come with their own butler and concierge services. These tend to run around $2000-$3000 per person after taxes, though there are also some super-expensive ones that are much more than that.

    2) Mini-Suite. These are MUCH inferior to regular suites, and don't come with the butler/concierge or private areas. They are basically just bigger balcony rooms, but are still on the small side compared to a regular hotel room. Still, they usually run about $1400-$2500 per person after taxes.

    3) Balcony. This is what you usually get as part of your Seven Stars benefit. It's very similar to the inside/oceanview rooms (i.e. very small), but is a little bit bigger, and more importantly, has a balcony. The price widely varies on these, from $800-$1800 per person after taxes, depending upon itinerary and date. They are most expensive on Alaska cruises, which is why you don't get them as a Seven Stars benefit on those itineraries.

    4) Oceanview. These are identical to inside cabins (the lowest category) with one major difference. You have a window to see out the ship, and let in natural light. The size and obstruction of these windows varies. These rooms run you about $500-$1100 per person after taxes.

    5) Inside. This is the cheapest category. The rooms have no windows and in fact are on the "inside" of the ship. They will run you about $350-$950 per person after taxes.

    These cruises are promoted as "free", but they are anything but that. In reality, you are just getting heavily discounted fares. Here is what you can expect to pay:

    - Port charges, fees, and taxes: $175 to $445 per person. There is no way out of these. They vary by itinerary. The most expensive ones ($445 per person) are the Alaskan cruises. The obnoxious thing is that the "fees" portion are actually part of the normal fare -- known as "non-commissioned fees". This was originally invented by the cruise industry in order to screw travel agents out of commission, but now is also used to make people legally pay something for "free" cruises. It is important to understand the difference between the "taxes" and "fees" part, so you can figure what kind of discount you're really getting. More on that later.

    - Airfare. Perhaps you're fortunate enough to be cruising from near where you live, and flights aren't necessary. There are NCL ports in many places, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New Orleans, Houston, and Miami. But if you need to fly (which you probably will), it will cost you airfare for two, and this is not covered at all by Caesar's. However, there is one way around this -- by combining other Caesar's promotions which include airfare. More on that later, too.

    - Tips. $12 per day, per person. They automatically put this on your bill, meaning 7-day cruises will run you $168 in tips for two people. These are general tips for the entire staff, but you are not expected to tip further (though it's allowed). You can remove these tips, but then you will be screwing the already low-paid staff, so I wouldn't suggest that unless the service you received was awful as a whole. Sadly, you cannot "itemize" who gets what part of your $12, meaning you can't penalize a specific department (like your room steward) without penalizing everyone else if you remove tips.

    - Specialty restaurants. Most food on board is free, but the main dining room restaurants simply aren't very good. If you want better food, you need to pay a "cover charge" to various specialty restaurants (french, steakhouse, Italian, sushi, etc), which will run you from $15-$30 per person per meal. You can order specialty restaurant packages in advance, making it a bit cheaper.

    - Shore excursions. The boat will stop at various ports. You don't have to get off, but I think it's pointless to cruise without the shore excursions. You will end up spending money for tours of these places, taxis, or whatever. I would suggest trying to arrange your own excursions instead of booking with the ship, as you will both save money and get a more private/better experience.

    - Drinks. Most drinks cost money on the ship. Basics like water, milk, and juice are free, but everything else (including soft drinks) cost money. As a Seven Stars member, you do get a card allowing you free well/blended drinks at the casino bar only. You are allowed to bring your own drinks on board, though it's a bit of a pain in the ass.

    So as you can see, you will be spending money.



    In the next post, I will give you various money-saving tips for the cruise, including how you can get that coveted balcony room on the Alaska itineraries.
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  9. #9
    Question: is Caesars involved with the onboard casino?

  10. #10
    Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson View Post
    Question: is Caesars involved with the onboard casino?
    No. I think my post right after yours will answer that question.
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  11. #11
    Tips to Save Money & Get Free Upgrades

    The fine print says that you can only get a balcony room, and in the case of Alaska, just an oceanview room.

    What if you want better? You have to pay to upgrade, and it will usually be very steep and almost completely negate your Seven Stars discount.

    There's a way to get upgrades and/or free onboard credit, but it requires some advance planning and some diligence on your part.

    First, you need to become acquainted with the NCL website: http://www.ncl.com

    Explore it, and find the itinerary you want. Again, make sure the itinerary is one offered by your Seven Stars benefit.

    What are you looking for? You will see on the list of prices, there are little colored bars indicating various promotions. You are looking for ones indicating "Free Upgrade" (usually yellow), "On Board Credit" (usually green), or other bars indicating something that sounds good to you. These can also include "Kids Sail Free", "Free Specialty Meals", or others.

    Here is a sample screen:

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    Notice in the above, two of the three bars ("Hot Deals" and "Latitudes Rewards Offers") are actually fairly useless. You are really looking for concrete things like onboard credit (which is also there), which give you something tangible.

    You qualify for any promotion they have running at the time!

    This means, in the above case, you will get the onboard credit, even booking your Seven Stars trip.

    Same goes for other promotions, so in the case of the Alaska cruise (or others where you want an upgrade), you should look really hard for the "Free Upgrades" promotion. Norwegian often runs these during the early parts of the year, but it can be any time.

    If they are offering free upgrades, you can upgrade your lousy Alaskan cruise Oceanview room to Balcony for free. That's a big upgrade. In my opinion, balcony to mini suite isn't anything that great, but you might as well take it if you can get it.

    But what if you don't see anything that looks good? Should you wait? No, you should not. This is because Norwegian allows you to cancel and immediately rebook with no penalty, provided you are more than 75 days away from the cruise date!

    You are also entitled to a full and complete refund if you cancel more than 75 days out. So there's really no penalty you'll suffer from booking now (to make sure the cruise doesn't fill up) and then cancel/rebook if you see a better promo.

    It is also important to understand that Norwegian will black out certain dates from the Seven Stars cruise if the ship starts getting full. Basically, they only want you onboard at this discounted rate if they aren't going to be able to sell the room to someone else at full price. So make sure you get it locked in as early as possible, and then do the cancel/rebook thing if you see better promos come up. This is especially true if you are sailing during high-demand weeks (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years) or popular itineraries (Alaska).

    Here are a few other general money-saving tips:

    1) Avoid booking shore excursions with Norwegian. These will always be heavily marked up, and you will typically be in large, slow groups. These tours are usually very impersonal, you see very little (because the size of the group slows things down), and are very inflexible. Do a little research beforehand and hire your own private tours. These tours are often CHEAPER than the group tours offered by the ship, and yet you will get a private experience and see so much more, plus have a lot more flexibility in what you do. Don't be intimidated by dealing with locals in other areas/countries. Most won't even require you pay up front, and you can pay when you arrive and actually see what you're getting. You can find out more about specific ports by going to the Cruise Critic forums at http://www.cruisecritic.com

    2) Avoid buying drinks. If you like soft drinks, bring your own aboard. That's allowed. If you don't want to, consider their "soft drink package", though it's fairly expensive and probably not worth it. If you want to drink alcohol, you get free well drinks and blended drinks at the casino bar. They will give you a card when you board that entitles you to this. You do NOT have to play at the casino at all to be entitled to these free drinks.

    3) Do not play in the casino, no matter how tempting. The rules and paytables are horrendous. Even Rob Singer would avoid these games. Also, your host at Caesar's will never hear about how much you do or don't play, nor will they care. NCL is completely independent from Caesar's. You are not expected to "earn" this cruise through play. You are not expected to play in order to be able to come back next year. You can play NOTHING and repeatedly take these cruises, year after year. You will not earn tier credits or RCs for Caesar's in the NCL Casino! It is a completely separate system, operated by NCL, and the perks are lousy. You will not be bothered by any hosts onboard unless you actually start playing. Also avoid the poker/blackjack/slot tournaments, as the house takes a staggering 50% or more rake from them!

    4) Do not shop onboard, unless necessary. Everything is heavily marked up.

    5) Do not use the spa, unless you really want to. Everything is heavily marked up.

    6) Do not play in any contests on-board that cost money. Some of these can appear to be fun/tempting, but they are bordering on a scam and barely anyone wins.

    7) Wait until they run a laundry promotion, or just bring enough clothes to where you don't need to do laundry. They charge per item, and it's expensive. Usually twice during the cruise, they will run a promotion to where they will do all the laundry you can stuff into a bag for $25.

    8) If you eat in the specialty restaurants, buy a package beforehand. It will cut down your costs. I like the specialty restaurants, and eat in one every night. I suggest you do the same, unless food quality isn't important to you. They aren't that expensive, and they are WAY better than the main dining room, in both food and service.



    But what if you want to bring more than 2 people on this cruise? What if you have a family and want the kids to come along? What if you want to bring your parents? Will it cost you a fortune in extra fares?

    It won't be cheap, but there are plenty of ways to get the best value out of this. I will describe it in the next post...
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  12. #12
    Ignore this post if you are not cruising with more than two people.

    Cruising With More than Two People

    Your Seven Stars benefit is for one or two people.

    But that's not practical for everyone. Perhaps you want to go on this cruise with other family members or friends, and will have more than two in your party. How does NCL handle that?

    Can you combine other NCL free cruise certificates you received throughout the year to bring additional people? No, you can't, and they will NEVER make an exception to this policy. This will only work if the certificates are in the name of others you want to bring aboard. Basically, the person holding the certificate can only be booked once on the ship, so if you're already booked under your Seven Stars benefit, you can't occupy a second room simultaneously. It's not a like a hotel where you can book an unlimited number of rooms in your name.

    So what do you do?

    Well, first off, do NOT simply add additional people to your room! This is a big mistake most people make, and they are literally flushing money down the toilet by doing so.

    Why?

    It is almost always cheaper to get a second room for these additional people than to add them to your own room.

    You read that right. Buying a second room will cost you LESS money than cramming additional people in your own room. Nobody ever thinks that would be the case, because it is completely opposite from the way hotel rooms work.

    First off, you will get a 10% discount on whatever additional rooms you buy. This is the standard way they handle second rooms purchased through their Casinos At Sea group, which will be handling your Seven Stars reservation. It's not actually a full 10%, because they don't discount the "non-commissioned fees" or "taxes" part of the fare, but it will still typically give you something like a 7% discount when it's all said and done.

    If you have an odd number of people in your party, such as 3, there is a huge benefit you can use that is barely known by anyone. What is that benefit? The odd-numbered person can get their own room without paying any surcharge for having a private room! On cruises, they typically DOUBLE the fare (or something very close to it) for people staying in their own room without a second person. This is because space is at a premium on these ships, so you're really paying primarily for the room, and not everything else. When two people are in a room, if the cost per person is $600, you should really think of it as a $1200 room. Again, this differs from a hotel, where they don't care if there's one or two people in the room. On a cruise, it's a huge difference, and they will charge you very close to the 2-person rate if you're just one person. This is not the case with "casino" bookings. You can buy an additional room for the "odd" person, pay only the normal "per person" rate, though you will NOT get the 10% discount discussed above!

    Keep in mind that you CANNOT do the above more than once per cruise. That is, if you have 4 people, you are not allowed to book two additional rooms and give the 3rd and 4th person their own rooms. This will only work with odd-numbered parties, and only one person can stay by themselves at this discount.

    But what fare will you be paying for these additional rooms?

    Well, aside from the 10% discount and the odd-numbered trick describe above, you will be paying what everyone else pays. However, there is a lot you can do to bring your fare down for the additional passengers.



    Finding the Cheapest Fares for Your Extra Rooms

    Cruises fares vary wildly, even for the exact same ship on the exact same sail date. Like airline tickets, the big difference is when you book. However, unlike airline tickets, the cheapest fares tend to be closest to sail date, and there is a long window when you can cancel and rebook with no penalty!

    First, unless it's less than 75 days to the cruise date, just book the second room. You can get a full refund if you decide you don't want it, or if the price changes (prior to 75 days out) and you want the better deal. You also won't be required to pay in full when you book. You will have to give a deposit of like $125, which again is fully refundable before 75 days out.

    Next, take a look at how much you were charged for "fees and taxes" for your first (Seven Stars benefit) room. You will want to break that down into what is actually the fees, and what is actually the taxes. I'll explain shortly why this is necessary.

    Consult the PDF file they sent you for that first reservation. Find the portion where it shows the Guest Fare, which is near the top:

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    Notice that the above is for 2 guests on a Seven Stars cruise.

    Let's break it down per person, as seen in the second column.

    "Guest Fare" is listed as $175. These are the "fees" (actually the non-commissioned portion of the cruise fare, which you don't get covered.)

    "Government Taxes/Fees" are listed as $99.38. These are the actual taxes and port charges.

    Each person paid a total of $274.38.

    This is important to understand because the fees portion is included in the regular fares on ncl.com, while the taxes are not.

    You will need to use this information when examining NCL.com for better prices after you booked your second room.

    So let's say, in the above case, you booked and were quoted a total of $800 per person (including taxes) for your second room.

    You need to figure out the actual fare at the time of your booking. To do this, do the following:

    1) Take the full amount, and subtract the TOTAL of fees and taxes from your own reservation. In this case, it would be $274.38, so subtracting that from $800 would make $525.62.

    2) That's the portion where you got the discount, so un-discount it by multiplying that amount ($525.62) by 1.1, giving you $578.18.

    3) Now add the "fees" portion (NOT the taxes) back on. It was $175 in this example, so $578.18 + $175 = $753.18.

    So when you booked the second room, the standard going rate was $753.18 per person. This is important to know.

    Now, repeatedly visit the NCL website (I'd say once per week), look up your cruise date, and see if the fare they're currently offering is less than when you booked -- $753.18 in this case. If it is, call back, cancel, and rebook immediately. They will adjust your fare lower.

    If somehow the fare went up (or stayed the same), do nothing. You are locked in at the rate you were quoted until you take action to change it.

    Confused by this? Bad at math? No problem. Just call back every so often and ask if the fare has changed, and they will adjust it for you if it has gone down. But it's always better to know exactly what you have seen and what you're entitled to.

    You can REPEATEDLY do this with no penalty up until 75 days before the cruise.

    Also, as stated in the other post, you will qualify for any promotion that is currently running. The one exception is the odd-numbered room (the one with one person occupying it), as they don't give you additional promotions since you are already getting such big savings. However, the room price can still be adjusted in the same way as described above.

    If it is closer than 75 days, you can still call up and try to ask for a free upgrade or on board credit, if the price has dropped. They may or may not do this for you. It's sometimes better to try this a few times, as each representative varies in what they will do for you. Some will deny they have the power to do that, but it's BS.

    If you really want to gamble, you can simply wait until VERY close to the sail date (1-2 weeks out) and buy a second room then. You will usually get the best rate at this point, but you are also risking the ship selling out, so closely monitor the situation on the website, and even call up and ask how many rooms are still available. You will usually have very little selection as to where the room is located, though. One trick is to add the people to your room, and then remove them when you find a 2nd room price you like. You can get a full refund for people added to your room up until 14 days before the sail date, which differs from the refund policy of the 1st and 2nd people in the room, which is 75 days.



    How do I handle it if I'm cruising with two adults and two minors?

    Cruise ship policies state that one adult (over 18) must be registered in each room. So if you are a family of two adults and two kids, don't panic. Book your Seven Stars room for you and one of the kids. Then book the other room for the other adult and the other kid. You can put the two kids together in the second room, and no one will care. It's a policy they never enforce beyond booking.



    What if you are totally okay with other people in your room and don't want a second room?

    Get the second room anyway.

    First off, as I already stated, it is likely to be cheaper.

    Second, the "additional person" rates don't tend to go down much as it gets closer to cruise time, while the second room rates do. So you'll have a better shot at the price going down and being able to rebook.

    Third, and most importantly, nobody is forcing you to actually use the extra room. Let it sit empty. No one will care. Or use it for additional storage (trust me, you'll need space for storage, as cruise rooms are quite small.) Or use it as a quiet place to nap when everyone else is awake during the day. Even if you absolutely never set foot in that other room, it's worth getting for an equal or lesser price than adding people to your room. It's not like the cruise staff will prevent anyone from spending time in your first room.
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  13. #13
    Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post

    If you have an odd number of people in your party, such as 3, there is a huge benefit you can use that is barely known by anyone. What is that benefit? The odd-numbered person can get their own room without paying any surcharge for having a private room! On cruises, they typically DOUBLE the fare (or something very close to it) for people staying in their own room without a second person. This is because space is at a premium on these ships, so you're really paying primarily for the room, and not everything else. When two people are in a room, if the cost per person is $600, you should really think of it as a $1200 room. Again, this differs from a hotel, where they don't care if there's one or two people in the room. On a cruise, it's a huge difference, and they will charge you very close to the 2-person rate if you're just one person. This is not the case with "casino" bookings. You can buy an additional room for the "odd" person, pay only the normal "per person" rate, though you will NOT get the 10% discount discussed above!
    Hi Dan:

    Sorry to tell you this, but NCL has changed its policy on odd numbered people. Starting last week there is no longer any additional staterooms which can be booked through "casino" bookings. Yesterday the NCL representative read me out the email. If I want a second room for my daughter, I now need to pay the price of a double occupancy room. (NO THANKS) In fact the NCL casino line operator could not even entertain or quote me a second room. I needed to be transferred to a separate operator who did not have any access to the casino line information on my voucher.

    I could, however, use the NCL casino line operator to book another person in my stateroom and I wound up booking (for now) a mini-suite pending the 75 day deadline for the cruise since I wanted enough room to breath as the standard balcony my wife and I are entitled would be pretty crowded.

    Regards, FAB

  14. #14
    Originally Posted by FABismonte View Post
    Hi Dan:

    Sorry to tell you this, but NCL has changed its policy on odd numbered people. Starting last week there is no longer any additional staterooms which can be booked through "casino" bookings. Yesterday the NCL representative read me out the email. If I want a second room for my daughter, I now need to pay the price of a double occupancy room. (NO THANKS) In fact the NCL casino line operator could not even entertain or quote me a second room. I needed to be transferred to a separate operator who did not have any access to the casino line information on my voucher.

    I could, however, use the NCL casino line operator to book another person in my stateroom and I wound up booking (for now) a mini-suite pending the 75 day deadline for the cruise since I wanted enough room to breath as the standard balcony my wife and I are entitled would be pretty crowded.

    Regards, FAB
    This is terrrrrrrrrrrrrrible news. But thanks for alerting me to it.

    To be honest, I've never understood why NCL's Casinos at Sea department gave those perks for the 2nd room. Obviously they were getting very little out of it, because the second room is likely to be inhabited by a non-gambler (or a light gambler). Amazingly, this "third person by themselves" perk was available to any CAS booking, including those cheapo inside cabin vouchers that Caesars and other casinos hand out like candy.

    I had a feeling this might be coming, as they had already taken away another 2nd room perk (10% discount) earlier this year.

    Have you ever been in a mini suite on an NCL cruise?

    I ask this because I think the mini suite is the worst value type of room on the ship. It's basically a balcony room with a little more room, but much more expensive, and without the usual suite perks.

    How much are they charging you to upgrade? I imagine it's a lot.

    When are you taking your cruise?

    You might want to look for "free upgrade" promotions, as you can cancel and rebook your balcony room and get the upgrade for free. That's how I got my upgrade from Oceanview to Balcony on the Alaska cruise I just took.

    In general, upgrading these "free" cruises is a bad idea, as you usually end up paying a lot of money and wipe out most of your 7 Stars discount. In fact, you should see if buying the minisuite outright for 35% off (Seven Stars discount) will work out better than upgrading!

    Is your daughter still going on the cruise? You might want to wait until fairly close to the cruise (14-50 days out) and look if they are "dumping" inside cabins for very cheap. It may end up cheaper to put her in a 2nd room (and pay the single supplement charge) than adding her to your minisuite! Even if she's under 18, you can put your wife in that 2nd room and put your daughter in yours, and then just sleep with your wife, with your daughter in the other room. You can cancel out a third person up to 14 days from sailing at NO CHARGE, so this is always a trick you might want to consider.

    I am pretty much an expert at gaming the NCL system at this point, so tell me your situation and I'll try to give you the best advice.
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  15. #15
    Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post

    I am pretty much an expert at gaming the NCL system at this point, so tell me your situation and I'll try to give you the best advice.
    Hi Dan:

    I have taken two NCL cruises before, both in the Eastern Mediterranean. Both on CET issued vouchers on balcony rooms. The second cruise was with our two kids, a year and a half ago when my son was 17 and my daughter 14. For that second cruise I bought an inner room across the hall from my balcony room under my wife's name and then had the kids stay in that inside room while the wife and I slept in the balcony room.

    Now my son is at college (and not going on the cruise) and my daughter is 16. We are planning on taking the Western Caribbean cruise out of New Orleans on February 15th (NCL Dawn) coming back Feb 22. So it is something like 154 days out. I am told that the 75 day (prior to departure) deadline to cancel is December 2.

    I am ambivalent as to whether I want my daughter to have her own cabin but explored it anyway with NCL.

    I have never stayed in a mini-suite before and while I understand it lacks the amenities of a true suite, it is supposedly 284 sq. feet compared to a balcony suite of 204 sq feet. I think I may be a bit cramp in a regular balcony. But the upgrade from a balcony to a mini-suite is a total of $400. My daughter will cost an additional $430 whether it is a balcony or a mini-suite room. I booked a mini-suite knowing I can cancel without penalty up to December 2 but am willing to reconsider.

    I did not spot any upgrade or discounts on the NCL website. If you have any a suggestions, I will appreciate hearing them.

    Regards, FAB

  16. #16
    I will post the rest of my tips a little bit later, including how to actually book everything. (Do NOT use the website!)

    Still to come:

    - Combining the cruise with other Caesar's trips/promos/benefits

    - How to actually book the cruise

    - How to get a little bit of freeplay on board

    - Evaluating what you're really saving: Is it worth doing?
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  17. #17
    Hi Dan:

    I took 2 cruises through NCL/Ceasars both on the Adriatic for seven days. Once just with my wife, the second time with the wife and our two teenaged kids. The kids had their own interior room. We had a great time. Although I thought I knews the tricks, I am learning so much from your thread. Thanks.

  18. #18
    How To Book the Cruise

    If you're used to your host holding your hand and booking everything for you, I have some bad news for you.

    Unless you're a mega-whale, your host will NOT get involved in the booking process for your cruise. This is because there is no Caesar's play involved with these cruises.

    So how do you book?

    First, you need to wait until April 1st. You cannot book before that, because NCL will not have the information that you qualify for the cruise. The only exception to this is if you're booking a cruise to take place before March 31, and you did not use your Seven Stars cruise for the previous year. Basically, you have from April 1 to March 31 to use this Seven Stars cruise benefit for each year you qualify for Seven Stars. If March 31 passes and you didn't cruise in the past year, you literally missed the boat, but can book one for the current year if you're still a Seven Stars member.

    Before you call NCL, you need to figure out what cruise you're taking. Go to the NCL website http://www.ncl.com and find a cruise you want to take. Remember, it has to be 5-8 days and there has to be an active casino on board. This means no Hawaii cruise. However, you can take cruises to many other locations, including California-Vancouver, Caribbean, Alaska, NYC-Bermuda, NYC-Canada, Europe, and many others.

    Do not worry about the quoted fare on the website, unless you are buying a second room. In fact, it's actually better if the quoted fare is higher, because that means you're saving more money!

    You'll want to select a room before you call. To do this:

    1) Go to the NCL website, and select your itinerary.

    2) Act as if you're going to book. Go through the motions. Don't worry, you will be stopping before any credit card or personal information needs to be entered.

    3) Select Balcony staterooms (except on Alaska cruises), and you will see various types of Balcony rooms offered. Pick the one labeled "Balcony" -- NOT "Family Balcony" or "Mid-Ship Balcony", as you won't qualify for those.

    4) You will have a few other choices in that sub-category. Select the best of those sub-categories -- usually either listed as BB or BC. It will be the most expensive of the balconies offered on the Balcony subcategory.

    5) It may offer you some upgrade. Decline it.

    6) It will show you a list of staterooms and a small map of that floor on the ship. On the left side, you will see a list of available staterooms.

    7) STOP HERE once you select a stateroom. In general, it's best to pick one closer to the middle of the ship.

    If you are on an Alaska cruise, do the same, except select the Oceanview category instead of Balcony. Then pick the Oceanview Picture Window subcategory, and pick the best (OA) of those categories.

    If you have found a "free upgrade" promotion, don't bother selecting a room, as you are not allowed to do so. You will instead skip the above and just call the phone number I will give below, and they will assign you a room when it gets close to cruise time.

    Once you have selected your stateroom, it's time to call and book. You will be calling the Casinos At Sea (CAS) department at Norwegian. They have two offices -- one in Miami, one in Arizona.

    Will Smith once sang the praises of Miami in a hit song about 15 years ago. He must have been onto something, because just like in his song, Miami is the superior office to deal with.

    This is because the Miami office is the home office for NCL, while Arizona is just a satellite office. Miami has all the power. In fact, the Miami CAS office is empowered to do a lot of things and make a lot of exceptions. They are also a lot more knowledgeable about the various idiosyncrasies of the booking process (such as you being able to qualify for all running promotions), while the Arizona office will often deny things like this.

    The Miami office's phone number is (877) 752-9625. They are open from 6:00am-2:30pm Pacific time, Monday through Friday. Not exactly ideal hours if you're on the west coast, but this is definitely the office you want to deal with. Always select option "1" to book a new reservation, even if you already have a reservation, as it will get them to answer the phone faster. I have found the other options sometimes can't get through to anyone.

    The Arizona office is open until 5pm or 6pm Pacific, which makes them easier to reach. However, I would suggest avoiding this office, as they tend to be incompetent and powerless. Only call them if you have general questions or need to verify something on your existing reservation. Their number is (877) 742-9521.

    Once you get through to the Miami office, tell them the exact room you want, and you will probably get it. Again, the only exception is if you're getting a free upgrade to a higher category.

    When you book your Seven Stars cruise, you will be required to pay in full when you book. However, as I already said, you can cancel and get a full refund provided it's 75 or more days away from the cruise date. Closer than that, you will get 75%, then 50%, then 25%, then 0%, depending upon how many days are left when you cancel.

    There is a wide variance among reps in Miami. Some are extremely nice, knowledgeable, and helpful. Others are nasty, arrogant, clueless, and awful. If you get a crappy one, ask for a supervisor, or just hang up and call back. Do not let any of them talk you out of the things I mentioned here, as some are still confused about policies.

    Make sure they send you an e-mail PDF with all the details of your booking, and double-check everything!

    Finally, don't take "no" for an answer -- at least not at first. Do they claim you're booking during a blackout date? Ask for a supervisor and try to give a sob story as to why you really need to travel on that date. Did the price for your second stateroom go down after the 75 day deadline? If they won't give you a free upgrade or some on board credit as compensation, ask for a supervisor and, again, give a sob story about how you could have waited until later to book that 2nd room, but didn't realize the price would have changed so much.

    The Miami office is empowered to do a whole lot, while the Arizona office has to follow regulations to the letter.

    I took my last cruise during the Christmas week, which was blacked out already, but I talked them into letting me still book that date, even though balcony rooms were running $1500/each and still selling like hotcakes.

    Do NOT bother trying to pay to upgrade. It will be a HUGE surcharge, and you will end up paying almost the equivalent of retail price, thus negating your Seven Stars discount. If a balcony room isn't good enough for you, then don't use the Seven Stars cruise benefit.
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  19. #19
    A Little Freeplay

    The casino has terrible odds and should be avoided.

    However, who can turn down a little freeplay? Not me!

    It's actually not freeplay, but it's heavily discounted play, and it's definitely +EV to do this.

    First, go here: http://slotplaycoupons.com/destinati...n+Cruise+Line/

    This is a third-party company offering $50 of slot play for $25. Make sure to pick the right ship (only buy this after you're sure of your reservation).

    It looks a bit shady, but I did this myself in December, and it worked 100% as advertised.

    Basically, you buy this coupon for $25, print out the coupon you get in the e-mail, and bring it on board.

    Once on board, sign up for Norwegian Players Club. You should actually be signed up already without having to do anything, and the cards should be in your stateroom when you check in. If you're not, just go into the casino and sign up. (You'll need to be signed up to get your free drink card, too. But, again, this should be in your stateroom already.)

    Then bring the coupon to the cashier, along with your stateroom key and your ID. They will verify everything, and then put $50 of slot play on your card!

    You can do this for any adult in your party, as well! Since the play is put on the player's club card, they don't care who actually runs the freeplay with the card, though each person signed up will need to go to the cage once to get the freeplay put on.

    Furthermore, you can also buy $20 in slot play for $10. This one is offered directly by Norwegian, and again can be purchased for each adult on the cruise. It has to be bought before the cruise.

    To do so, go to the NCL website, and go to the My NCL seciton. Register to sign in to your cruise info, if you haven't already. Go into Explore and Plan where you can click on All Amenities. There you will find the casino promotion listed under Bon Voyage Gifts. Make sure you buy only the one where you get $20 in slot play for $10 (or something similar where you get more than you pay). You can only buy one of these per adult.

    Using both of these offers, you will get $70 in play for $35. It only needs to be cycled through once to cash out. If you do this for both adults in your party, you will get $140 in play for $70.

    You might want to google "slotplaypromotions.com promotion code", as they occasionally have specials to buy those coupons for an additional 5-10% off.



    Saving on Specialty Dining

    Once booked, you might want to buy specialty restaurant packages to lower the price for those. At the moment, the current special is "Ultimate Dining", where you get all 7 nights at a specialty restaurant of your choice (you go wherever you feel like) for $119 per person. This is a fairly good deal, as most of the specialties charge $20 or $30 per night. You will be committing to go to a specialty every night (or at least paying to do so), so don't pick this if you're not sure you want to do it.

    Do NOT select this for children, as they eat at half price at specialty restaurants anyway if they're 4-12 years old, and get in free if they are under 4.

    To book this, sign into My NCL after you're booked, then click on Explore & Plan, and then click on "1 Dining" on the left side. You can also call (either Miami or Arizona is fine) and ask about it, and have them book it for you. You will have to pay in advance.

    I cannot stress enough how much better the specialty restaurants are than the main dining room. Some are better than others, but you should really do all specialty dining, as it's definitely worth it.
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  20. #20
    Figuring Out What You're Saving -- And If This is Worth Doing

    First off, if you don't like cruising, don't do this. You will be unhappy and end up spending a lot of money.

    This is only for people who like cruising and want to do so at a heavy discount.

    But even if you love cruising, is this really worth it?

    It all depends how much you're saving versus how much you're spending.

    Remember, there are a lot of costs here -- the fees/taxes, the airfare, the tips, the specialty restaurants, the shore excursions, and any miscellaneous charges, such as taxi fare and car rentals.

    If you're only saving a few hundred dollars on the whole thing, is it really worth it? After all, you're being forced to take Norwegian, are restricted to certain itineraries, and forced to a certain room type. If you're spending $3000 and only saving $600, it's probably not worth it.

    So how much are you really saving? It depends on a lot of factors:

    1) How expensive is this itinerary for this room type?

    2) Is it a popular cruise date?

    3) Are you getting an upgrade, such as an oceanview to a balcony on an Alaskan cruise?

    4) Are you saving money in any other way, such as combining this cruise with your annual trip to New Orleans, thereby earning 50,000 RCs and getting your airfare paid?

    You need to add these things up, determine your actual savings, and then compare it to what you are actually expected to spend.


    EXAMPLE OF BIG SAVINGS:

    I took the Christmas cruise from New Orleans to the Caribbean. Balcony staterooms were going for $1600 per person after tax. Flights to New Orleans were about $600 per person. I paid about $275 per person, and got the flight for free. I also got 50,000 RCs, worth $500. This means I saved about $2500 on the cruise, plus $1200 on the flight and earned $500 RCs. That's a staggering $4200 savings. Even with the tips, specialty restaurant costs, and shore excursion costs, this was well worth it! In fact, I took an additional two people (and paid their airfare), and it was still worth it.


    EXAMPLE OF SMALL SAVINGS:

    You take a cruise from Miami to the Caribbean. You pay for airfare. You pay for a hotel the night before the cruise (since there's really no time to fly in the same day.) You pay about $275 per person, but notice that balcony rooms were going for about $700 per person after tax, right before the cruise. You also buy a second room for two others in your family, and spend about $1300 total on that. You ended up only saving about $850 total, yet you spent your own money on airfare for 4, tips for 4, specialty restaurants and excursions for 4, and a hotel room. When you add it all up, you find that you spent about $4000 of your own money, just to save $850. Not worth it!

    This is where the European cruises start to become questionable. If you can get a cheap flight to Europe, great! But don't end up spending so much on airfare that the few hundred you save per person on the cruise becomes mostly inconsequential.

    Unless you are saving at least 33% on your total trip expense, you probably don't want to bother in a case like the above, unless you REALLY like the itinerary you picked.


    This why it is imperative to find those free upgrades or other promotions that will make your cruise for valuable.

    For example, scroll up and look at that screen shot I posted of the Norwegian site. That was for an Alaska itinerary. Look how much more expensive the balcony is than the oceanview! If you get that free balcony upgrade, you will be saving A LOT of money. If you don't, you won't be saving that much.

    If you're cruising during high season, you are also probably going to be saving a lot of money. However, I wouldn't suggest high season because the ports tend to be more crowded and it's harder to find space on private excursions. High season (such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc) tends to only be valuable if it's convenient for your work/school vacation schedules (which is why they cost so much). But if you have a fairly open schedule, don't cruise during high season just so you can feel like you're saving money!

    Regarding bringing additional people, again that cuts into your overall savings. The one exception is if you have an odd number of people, for reasons already stated.

    So how do you figure out what you're saving?

    Simply go to the NCL site at any time, and pretend like you're about to book a new balcony stateroom. On the right side of the screen, the total price will appear (before you have to enter your info or credit card). Subtract what you're actually paying from that price, and that's your savings.

    If you are bringing an odd-numbered person, then you can also add whatever you paid for their fare as additional savings, as usually they would have to pay double for being alone.

    Furthermore, you can also count about 7% savings for the additional room, due to the "10%" discount.

    Finally, you can give yourself credit for a little bit of savings on drinks, provided you plan to use the casino bar to get free drinks.

    But be honest with yourself. If you really aren't saving that much, this probably isn't worth doing, unless you would have booked a similar cruise vacation anyway, even without this Seven Stars benefit.

    What cruises would I suggest if you want the best value?

    I would suggest the Mexico/Belize/Honduras one out of New Orleans (and combining it with the Seven Stars Annual Trip), and I would suggest the Alaska one only if you can get a balcony upgrade (look around February-April for this, but also throughout the year). In each of these cases, you will save over $2500, and sometimes as much as $4200.

    Keep in mind that Caribbean itineraries only take place during the winter/late fall/early spring months, while the Alaska itineraries are only in the late spring/summer.

    If you have any questions about any of this, please post them here or PM me.
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

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