We generally enjoyed the Harrahs sponsored 7 star Signature Event cruise. We were also able to combine it with my 7 Star yearly trip/retreat, flying into JFK NYC and out of Philadelphia Pa with a trip to Philadelphia/Chester PA at the end of trip, with Harrahs paying for the airfare.
The advance information on the cruise was a bit confusing, with the actual confirmation showing up in the mail only a week or two before the cruise. Harrahs intended to give us a trio of 3 specialty meals onboard, but NCL was unable to do this as such and they ended up crediting us with $130 for each invitee and guest, which actually could be used for any onboard purchase, which caused confusion once onboard. Other nice freebies were $200 cabin credit, payment of all port taxes and fees and tips so cruise was really free, one night in NYC before cruise, and Unlimited Beverage package on NCL giving us free booze and soft drinks at any bar, not just the casino. NCL had some sort of extra promotion too, giving us a bottle of wine, Italian dinner, and strawberries. The casino and Harrahs also sent gifts to the cabin. So overall the trip was a far better deal than the normal Signature Events. Unfortunate that the cruidr sold out quickly and couldn't send all 7 stars who wanted to go. I guesstimate at least 200 cabins were filled on the aug. cruise. There was also the reception at the hotel which was a disaster as far as I was concerned, and should have been held in a much bigger ballroom. A very good breakfast was provided the next morning without any problems.
I had expected a normal Harrahs type reception where all of us who are on the VPfree and Harrahs Yahoo groups could meet, and I brought labels to wear. But the huge mess of a reception made this impossible. So sorry I didn't get to meet some of you. The good news was that I already knew several list members by sight, including Coachvee and lovely wife Hedy, Siona of the ACVPP list who is my best friend, and a few others. They in turn knew others by sight, so we're able to introduce me to some. A few people recognized me and we got to talking many times during the cruise. It was just great to cruise with so many friends and acquaintances.
One highlight of the cruise was Coachvee's 70th Birthday, which Hedy had arranged in Cagney's restaurant, with banners and a big cake, and a lot of VP people and friends, lots of fun. Another highlight was dinner most nights with Siona, her roommate, and our friend Wendell. Nice. We all got bottles of wine from Harrahs or NCL over the trip and brought them to the table. I also enjoyed going to Trivia where several people I knew kept showing up including Coachvee and Hedy, Annesez, Barbara, Wendell, Siona, and others. I am terrible at trivia though, so don't think I helped my teams, sorry. Also loved that Break the Floor show and Slam Allen Blues.
I just wish we had set up some sort of general meeting onboard, since the reception turned out to be so weird we couldn't meet there. Maybe we should have a Vpfree cruise in the future (we'll be on the Dec. 1 NCL cruise out of New Orleans to Caribbean with Wendell if anyone wants to use their certificates to join us....).
I've already discussed most of the cruise itself in the other posts (by the way the one on gambling was not posted on Cruise Critic...only the one so-labeled was posted there. And sorry about the typos, my computer died while I was on trip and Im typing on my iPad which is not the easiest to do).
The strange thing was that I rarely saw the Harrahs hosts during the cruise. They really could have set up a desk in the casino to answer questions. I see I did miss mentioning the casino had snacks a lot of the time, and they were very good. I've seen midnight snacks on other ships, but not ones that popped up during the day too. Another oddity, if you had credits in the machine and took your players card out, the credits disappeared and had to be downloaded which was confusing if not shocking.
Boarding the ship was fast and easy. Getting off was fast too, but the Manhattan terminal doesn't have a lot of room for bus and limo pickups. Those waiting for the Harrahs arranged buses to airport after cruise faced some confusion and wait for their bus. I was surprised that Harrahs Philadelphia sent a free limo to pick me and 3 friends up to drive from NYC to Philadelphia where Harrahs had booked me into a hotel. Some people went on to Atlantic City for their 7 star trip and also went by limo. Fortunately I had given them my cell phone number and the limo driver arrived right on time. He had to go into and out of pickup area and around to find a slip to drive into, but we met up quite promptly. Our comfortable trip to Philadelphia was marred though by massive traffic that lasted on the NJ turnpike for over 2 hours, so it took us over 4 hrs to get to the hotel instead of 2+.
Harrahs put me up in the Spring Hill Marriott, near the airport and the casino. It was a very nice hotel, with a one room suite, good free breakfast, Internet, and so on. Also quiet. It had a free shuttle to the casino as well, about 5 minutes away.
We quickly went to the casino, which I was surprised to find was also a racetrack, and strangely designed with restaurants on the second floor and casino on third. The host I had dealt with was not there, so I went to the TR desk to arrange for my 7 star trip $500 to be used for food or gift shop. They sent me to a host where confusion immediately occurred, since this host didn't seem to understand what a 7 star trip was or gets or something. Apparently in Chester/Phila. If you are a 7* there you can get your $500 as two days of free play there and not take the airfare elsewhere if you want. And the host thought that was what I was doing, but I was only there for one day, so he wanted to give me $250. I kept explaining, and finally he called another host, and they straightened the thing out. We met up with two other people I knew who lived nearby and were Diamond members, and ate at the Cove, their top restaurant (I think they have a buffet and a grill as well). I used the $500 comps for the 6 of us to eat and had $190 left. The host came and gave me another comp for that for the gift shop. The procedure to use the $500 was basically find the host, which resulted in two delays, since he was at a meeting. The whole thing was awkward because Chester is not used to having 7* people come there for their annual trip.
The casino was small, but bigger than Grand Biloxi, and had a decent mix of machines. A lot of slots I see elsewhere that are penny machines or even 2 cent were 5 cent, which seemed odd. VP paytables the usual Harrahs poor from what I saw. I had kept aside $4k to play in Chester, and first tried VP and lost fast. Switched to Wizard of oz Ruby Slippers penny machine, a type I've been playing a lot at Palms lately with decent results. I was confused by the 5 versus 1 cent difference. The machines were not a progressive here, and max bet was $6.25 versus the $4 I was used to, so I didn't play max. Normal payouts seemed lower than in Vegas, but jackpots larger, and I hit 2 W2Gs around $1200. I then tried the Wizard machines on the other side, a different type from Ruby Slippers. Here max bet was a surprising $12 versus similar machines at the Palms at $4.80. Again I didn't play max, but probably was at $6 average bet due to the unfamiliar nickel basis. The machine sucked all my winnings and money away.
I gave up and went to high roller room where I saw $5 Pinball I used to like. It sucked $ too. Next to it was a Mississippi Gambler bonus slot -- I used to play them years ago. I played for several hours and hit two more w2gs, but was still down for my Chester visit. It was nearly midnight and I was pooped. Saw a Ultimate X, which I've been dabbling in recently at Palms with surprisingly good results. Pay table only 8/5 DDB versus Palms 9/6 DDB, but whatever it was was better than on the cruise (as were the Chester slots), so I plunked through close to $1000 when things got better, and in 10 minutes playing Triple Play DDB, hit $8000 with one line of 3s with kicker at 10x multiplier. That Ultimate x can suck money, but when it hits it hits!
Bingo, I won back all $ lost in Chester and on cruise. Played a little more, and headed back to hotel EVEN FOR TRIP. To me it was a win, especially with sucky cruise gambling. I might even consider it a real win, since I got Harrahs comp points and $200 comps on cruise for play. That was lucky, sigh of relief.
I noticed a number of people getting jackpots in Chester, and a host told me high roller room had been hot for 2 weeks. Place was quite packed, and you might have to wait for a machine you liked. Even high roller room had gamblers at midnight on a Sunday. Chester wasn't bad, but I wouldn't go out of my way to take another 7 star trip there without a major reason. I'd go to Atlantic City next time for that area of country (and am in Nov.). (we used to live in Philadelphia suburbs and usually visit some friends there once a year)
Quick shuttle from hotel took us to airport and home. After cruise and gambling and time change I was pooped. My cats were happy to see us after 9 days.
The best part of trip was seeing Siona and her roommate (a mutual friend) and spending some time with Hedy and Coachvee, Wendell, Annesez, and others, and having all the nice people on the cruise. I would go on the Breakaway again, but prepared with warmer clothes and knowing of scooter problems. But without the people it wouldn't be as much fun.
Heading out on another cruise, to Alaska on NCL Pearl, in less than two weeks. This one from a Certificate, so cost is $450 per person plus gratuities, and airfare. No Ultimate Beverage Pass or specialty dinners, this time. And I'm feeling a bit cruised out at this point. But scenery probably makes this the best NCL route.
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