In CAS You Don't Know About Casinos At Sea

NCL's parent company is shared by Harrah's/Caesar's so there is some connection as far as casino comps.  My first NCL cruise was comped based on my "land" casino play but the subsequent comps were based on my NCL play (I think....casino rating systems are guarded more closely than a national secret!)  In any event, if you are lucky enough to be a Casinos At Sea (CAS) invited guest you will be entitled to some immediate benefits and can earn more during your trip although it is obvious that the perks vary from ship to ship.  For example:
In NY there is a dedicated line for CAS check-in and then a separate waiting area to board where an NCL rep will escort you onto the ship; in Miami CAS also has a dedicated line for speedy check in, but you will sit with the rest of the hordes in the general boarding area.
On both the Sky and the Gem, we received a small gift and cute note delivered to the cabin every night of the cruise; on Sun we received cookies the first night and then nothing again until hand-made candies on the 10th night.  Not a major deal, but I missed the international cheese plate.  I mentioned it to the Casino Host Glenn (who I had much more face time with than previous Casino Hosts), but he didn't really have an answer for me.  He did, however, treat us to a dinner at the Steakhouse with a bottle of wine.
One thing that hasn't changed, thank God, is the free drink card that is automatically waiting for you when you arrive (anyone can get one after earning 1500 points which is equivalent to running $15,000 through on a video poker machine).  I don't drink much usually but now I realize that I probably had 25 rum and cokes, maybe 10 plain cokes and Mike had a few beers and glasses of wine so it is definitely one of the best benefits.... oh, not better than the benefit of the comped cruise...but a very good benefit all in all!!

People say that the machines on ships are very tight -- I didn't find that to be the case at all.  Primarily I play video poker and the pay tables were marginal at best so the machines don't have to be tight; you are already giving up your percentages with the reduced pays on full houses and flushes.  Of course, I played anyway!  Approximately 50,000 hands of double double bonus poker and I hit one royal flush ($1000), 2 hands of 4 Aces with a low kicker ($500), Numerous hands of 4 Aces without kicker or 4 Low Cards with kicker ($200) and more four of a kinds at 250-400 coins than I can count!  Of course I came home with no money but I had fun playing and I would not have been able to play for so long, for so many days if not for the machines paying.  I did play some slots sporadically, and they were also pretty good about doling out bonus rounds with frequency.  I would give this Sun Club Casino a thumbs up!

One thing I DON'T give a thumbs up to is the Slot Tournament.  Twelve players compete on each of 6 days to be the high point earner of that day.  Those 6 then compete the final day for one grand prize winner.  72 players at $30 a pop puts over $2000 into the prize fund.... the winner is paid $500.  Sure, I get that the casino is supposed to be making money but the odds on this event are so low that I warn everyone to stay away and instead invest your $30 in a slot machine or something!  There is also a Black Jack tournament offered -- I didn't see the rules/process/payout but I'm guessing it's as badly skewed as the slot tournament and you would probably be better off spending your entry fee at the black jack table itself.