From Zero To Prime Part 1!

[@ashleylongstreet4755]

I took your previous advice on my last cruise and budgeted for $100/day so $700 total. I was on oasis playing mostly dancing drums at $.76-88 cent bets and managed to get 1200 points. I guess I got lucky with the machines returning. I used my instant certificate to book a cruise on freedom in March and after watching this I’m less hopeful I’ll have the same outcome lol but I am gonna try!

[@Fantiniastic]

Oh boy! That's a great result Ashley 🎉 I'm hoping for similar luck, heading on Explorer on Friday to try and earn 1600 points in 7 nights! I'll be sure to make a video documenting what happens!

[@_Shamie]

Really loving this type of video. I did noticed that you played a lot of high volitity machines this time around. I usually go for machines with around $500 or less jackpot. I also look for machines that allow me to make 10 -30 cent bets when I'm over my budget. This allows me to stay in the casino longer and increase play time without losing money but also having fun.

[@Fantiniastic]

Hi! Thanks so much for watching, in glad you enjoyed! I have my Explorer cruise coming up in just over a week, and I'll try to do more of this. You are way more disciplined than me, I have to 'practice what I preach' a bit more :). I just really enjoy some of those higher volatility games, but for someone very mindful of their budget, this is excellent advice!

[@greggentry7934]

I think it is great that you show what you spent each day, and how many points you earned from that spend. Also, totaling at the end was helpful. In theory, if you hit the 2,500 points on the next cruise, you will get the certificate for a free cruise, by obtaining so many points on one cruise, as well as your annual benefit. So that would be a guaranteed 2 cruises. Keep these up... love watching and learning.

[@Fantiniastic]

Thanks Greg, I'm so glad you're getting something out of this!

[@darrellkarnopp3606]

Great video! Love the data you provided. I started watching your videos a few days ago after I got off my Royal Caribbean cruise in Galveston. My wife earned a bunch of free cruise options (10 pages front and back) after earning 2400 points playing video poker. I earned about 750 playing a mix of video poker and BJ and found out I too got a couple pages of free cruise offers on Club Royale. Now I’m hooked on how this all works and appreciate your videos. Now I’m trying to figure out how to best combine our free cruise offers in the future to get one balcony room without having to pay any up charges. We just booked a five night cruise with a balcony room and paid just under $500 for the taxes and gratuities with combining her free ocean view and my $300 credit towards a cruise. But I think if I would’ve combined one of my free room offers for an interior room with one of her ocean view, free room offers I think we could’ve gotten the balcony room for a little less. Good luck and keep posting more great videos!

[@Fantiniastic]

That's awesome Darrell thanks for watching!

[@jonathonbaker-guntang4163]

Went on an eight night Harmony and just gambled not planning to get anything, Royal gave me a choice of four nights through email couple weeks later. Chose Navigator out of LA and thrilled 🎉. Earned 900 points on that last cruise BTW.

[@Fantiniastic]

That's so awesome!

[@boo3406]

Love your videos, keep making more. Need videos on slot games you play on all the cruises. Saw the one you did earlier but need more games.

[@Fantiniastic]

@@boo3406 Thank you so much for watching!!

[@laraebradford44]

I’ve stayed in a Promenade View Interior and loved it. Great for people watching.

[@Fantiniastic]

Yes!!!

[@Marshdom3]

Hey that was me who suggested the room tour, so thank you very much for doing it! 😁 I am planning on doing a similar thing as you on my next cruise and have a couple questions. 1) what are the typical minimum and maximum bets for the roulette tables? I know they can change, but If you can give me a ballpark figure that would be very helpful. 2) How busy does the casino get, and usually what time is it the busiest? Would somebody have to wait to find a table game or slot machine during the busiest hours? 3) with that much time spent gambling, do you feel like you’re missing out on shows, entertainment, and other activities onboard the ship? I want to hit the 1200 pts on my upcoming 7 night cruise but I feel like I won’t have time to enjoy anything else.

[@Fantiniastic]

Hey! To answer your questions, 1) unfortunately I don't really know the table minimums, but I think it's $5 - no idea about max. 2) how busy the casino gets depends on a bunch of factors like what ship, itinerary, how full the ship is, etc. It does tend to get pretty packed in the later evening till late night, and on sea days. Slots are easier as they are open much later and open earlier as they don't require dealers. 3) I spent about 4 hours at the casino a day, so if you spend your time strategically you won't miss any other fun activities you want to do.

[@Marshdom3]

Can you tell me if any of the cruise ships have the Casino Wizard Table Games machine? For reference, if you google the name, you’ll see what the machine looks like. Thanks again

[@Fantiniastic]

@@Marshdom3 hey! I have not seen these in any ships I've been on.

[@Marshdom3]

One other question, when you book your free cruise, does the cruise line pick the room for you or can you pick your own room?

[@Fantiniastic]

@@Marshdom3 it depends on the offer. Some are guarantee offers and they promise either a room in the category, or a higher one.

[@brianmcelroy9916]

I'm a bit late to the party, but thought your video was really insightful. I loved that you shared those daily statistics - included the # of hours spent in the casino. There are a few youtubers that are craps players and they'll provide some details about their cruise performances, both good and bad. But you are the first slot player I've seen document this. Thanks for sharing. Fingers crossed that Lady Luck treats you better on future sailings.

[@Fantiniastic]

Hey Brian, thanks so much for watching and the kind words!

[@angelaau5016]

Loved how you explained THEO. I usually play video poker because it's low risk and a slow burn. I'll try your slot strategy especially when I'm drunk and can't use my brain! 😅

[@Fantiniastic]

You have it figured out, Angela! Video poker has the best return to player in the casino usually, as long as you make the right decisions :)

[@Jim-is2zd]

Here’s my experience of playing for comps on oasis of the seas recently. My goal was 1500 pts which gets you a five page list of cruises to choose from as well as $100 free money. It ended up costing me $2000 to reach my “free cruise” goal. The cruises I have looked into are under $1000 pp anyways so in my case this experience was far from free. I had full intentions of sticking to blackjack but was informed by the host that if playing $10 a hand that I would only receive 10 pts per one hour of play so I stuck to slots which pays 1 point for every $5. It didn’t take me long to get to 1500 pts and quit once I reached my goal.

[@Fantiniastic]

Hey Jim! Thanks for sharing your experience. Yeah I don't really recommend using table games to generate points as it really depends on the dealer and its not efficient, especially if you're unlucky. The good news is, you're well on your way to Prime for 2025 and you'll also get a bunch of email offers of additional free cruises from that play!

[@Jim-is2zd]

A question for you. Once you hit prime do you keep that status or do you have to keep up a certain level of play. We’ve booked our comped Mediterranean cruise for later this summer and will be shooting for prime.

[@Fantiniastic]

Hey Jim! You keep your prime status through the rest of the year you earn it plus the next. Points reset at the end of March annually.

[@alicewilliams7129]

Loving it! Can't wait for part 2! Would love to hear your take on decreasing comps because of ships sailing fully booked lately. Will your "free cruise" strategy change because of this?

[@Fantiniastic]

Thanks, Alice!! I was worried about that as well but I currently have 4 offers in my queue and I hadn't cruised on Royal yet in 23 so they seem to be going strong!

[@The_CruiseDude]

Hey, enjoyed the video! I just got back from my first Royal Cruise after only sailing Carnival for many years. I played with a few hundred dollars and sadly only got about 300 points over the cruise. Any insights if I may receive any kind of offers from it?

[@Fantiniastic]

Hey! Thanks so much for watching! How long was your cruise?

[@The_CruiseDude]

It was 8 nights. I personally went to the casino 4 days and about $100 each day I went.@@Fantiniastic

[@dv7283]

hmmm so it resets every march 31. then what if I do 20 days of cruising back to back in Feb-Mar... will my effort be wasted comes March 31?

[@Fantiniastic]

@@dv7283 hey! Good question! Nope, you'd be earning prime for the following year, plus whatever left in the current year!

[@aretheybiting2251]

Once you achieve a certain status/level, is it good for a lifetime, or does it "reset" each and every year (which would be a deterrent, no?)?.

[@Fantiniastic]

Hey there! It resets yearly. It's not really a deterrent because the benefits greatly outweigh the cost of gaining status as long as you're responsible. I do a cost/ benefit analysis in part two of this video. Thanks for watching!

[@Jim-is2zd]

Go Jets!

[@RoyalCaribbeanCruiseChronicles]

I just made signature in one cruise lol.

[@Fantiniastic]

Haha oh my! Congrats!!!

[@boo3406]

how do you calculate RTP when you are playing slots daily

[@Fantiniastic]

@@boo3406 Hi! Good question! The calculation is points earned x 5 ($5 per point) and then divide your losses by that number. That number is percentage lost of total money cycled through the machine. Subtract 100 and the % is what was returned during your sessions

[@careajean]

So if you do win money at the casino at sea, how do they tax you?

[@careajean]

And which games do you like to play?

[@Fantiniastic]

Hi! Thanks for watching :) it works like a land based casino, and big wins of $1200 or more are a hand pay and you need to fill out an irs form if you're an American resident. If you do that, you need to ask for a win/ loss statement at the end of the year so that you can offset some of those winnings with losses you had througout the year if any.

[@Fantiniastic]

​@@careajean I like all the dancing drums variants, including the reel style so 88 fortunes, 88 blessings etc. I like the Buffalo games and games with animations that show something filling up (pots, pigs, money sacs, etc.)

[@careajean]

@@Fantiniastic Thanks for responding. We are going on a 2 week cruise with 7 sea days so I'm gonna try to hit Prime. Never really gambled before so we will see how it goes.

[@Fantiniastic]

@@careajean ooooh fun! Just be careful, if you're not disciplined the money can go quick. Some of my other videos might interest you but I'd say above all, set a budget and stick to it.

[@gimmieboy]

Im lost ..you say you get one free crusie but others say they get tons of cruise offers. Whats the difference in that one free cruise and the offers that are free...but you oay taxes and fees.

[@Fantiniastic]

@@gimmieboy haha! That's a loaded question! There are 3 main types of offers - your tier award cruise for reaching a new casino level, instant certificates for earning certain levels of points on an individual sailing, and email offers, which you earn through THEO, or expected losses while playing. You pay Port fees and taxes on all of them. My videos go into depth on all of these :)

[@gimmieboy]

@@Fantiniastic ty I'm watching more now. Thank you for the great videos

[@Fantiniastic]

@@gimmieboy Awesome! Thank you so much for watching & good luck!!!

[@vincentheywood1209]

What happened to you spending $100 a day

[@Fantiniastic]

That is a very good question! I definitely broke several of my own rules on this cruise and lacked the discipline that I usually have. I think it might have been because I was making the video and I wanted to hit my goal, but it was a lesson for me for sure!

[@soulvids]

Useful video. Thanks for sharing. Is your friends group on Facebook?

[@Fantiniastic]

Hi! Thanks for watching :). It's just a messenger group of friends that cruise together