Play Sailing

[Manases Blakemore]

Bothplayers set their Tricks Won counter to 0, and set the Round Tracker to 1. Place the Ship Token on the Start token. Next, set up the decks. Remove the 1s and 2s, shuffling them and placing them below the Kraken Deck spot with the Kraken Card on the bottom. Shuffle the other cards and deal each player nine:

From my understanding clubs are given set number of race days and those who qualifies are given set number of daily plays. I have a feeling it will start at the same time each day, until the race competion ends.

How should you play Sea of Thieves? Think about what we've seen so far of the game, what the message has been: play with your friends, take control of a pirate ship and hunt treasure and other players on the high seas. But what if you don't want to play like that? What if you want to play alone? And what if I told you some of the best experiences I've had in the Sea of Thieves closed beta were while playing solo?

I should explain "alone". Sea of Thieves gives you - in addition to grouping with three other people, or one other - the option of sailing alone on a ship designed, really, for two people. It's considered for advanced players but actually it's a great way to learn the game - just don't expect to be able to juggle steering, navigating and adjusting sails while also firing cannon, repairing holes and bailing out the hull.

Being responsible for all aspects of your ship's welfare creates a sense of personal satisfaction, a bit like living on your own. You set the course, steer your way and raise sails and lower anchor. You swim ashore, read maps and solve riddles and find the treasure, swatting interfering skeletons along the way. Then you return the treasure to your boat and sail to an outpost to hand it in. You do all of that all on your own, and you're bathed in the smug warmth of achievement for your efforts.

Solo life on the ocean waves is idyllic. Free from the noise of other people - the microphone chatter, the radial-menu communication banter - you can slow to the rolling rhythm of the game's marvellous sea. Sails flap, rigging creaks and waves gently splosh, as the sea slowly hypnotises you. One moment it's an azure paradise, the next a mountainous stormy rage. It's terrifying and beautiful and stunningly believable, and it is Sea of Thieves' undeniable star asset. Alone, you're free to potter, to take things at your own pace, to go where you will.

But "alone" is also not alone, and I don't want this game to be single-player. The people I'm not grouping with give the world purpose and life. They are the people I want to impress with my skills or the equipment I've saved up to afford, and they also provide Sea of Thieves with its threat.

I really didn't want someone to sail off with my treasure-laden ship - even though they crashed it into their own bigger boat and sunk it - but I love that it happened nonetheless, because it gave me a tale to tell. Nor did I want to be chased half-way across the seas by another small boat, as if we were two boats going for gold in the Olympic Games - but the accidentally brilliant manoeuvre I pulled to sail between a small gap in a big rock to give them the slip made it all worthwhile. These encounters, these people, breathed life into the world.

It has been a similar story in other multiplayer worlds where I've played alone, World of Warcraft particularly. I used to find real comfort in taking myself off to some corner of the world just to see what was there, no real destination or goal in mind. These are some of the most painstakingly realised worlds in gaming - why should only groups of people enjoy them?

I loved the cathartic effect of repetition, be it plonking myself near a monster's spawn to kill them over and over - to see how capable I alone really was - or fishing or picking herbs or whatever. The point was relaxation through a kind of gentle monotony. A break from my world or the busier world of the game around me, but all while part of a bigger whole. And when I was ready, I could reconnect on my own terms.

Which isn't to say I don't enjoy playing Sea of Thieves with other people. I have done and it's a lot of fun. The game even seems to gently nudge me other people's way, be it in wanting someone to guard the ship while the other treasure hunts, or to have a large crew to demolish smaller prey. But the pull of striking out alone will always be there for me, and Sea of Thieves caters to it in a mouthwatering way. The bigger question about Rare's piratical adventure is how much variety there'll be when the full game comes on 20th March? Because if finding and returning treasure is but one of many kinds of adventure I can have alone, I can picture myself bobbing on the waves for a long time to come.

Yes, free play is calculated using your tier points earned the prior sailing. The only way that I know of to get that info is to call the Blue Chip Club at 866-461-7170. There was a time when I could just contact them at BlueCh...@celebrity.com, but they haven't answered any emails I've sent to them in the past 6 months. Be prepared for long hold times if you call, normally about an hour, once I waited for 2 hours.

I figured that tier points might be the answer, however, the host onboard my July sailing provided me both my tier points (slots and table games played) as well as what was termed, "Play Onboard Points". I suspect that measurement used some formula for converting table games points to overall tier points earned.

As for your other observation regarding an apparent downgrade in the BCC program, I hear you regarding the quality of casino loyalty programs. However, I know from personal experience with another cruise line (since the resumption of sailing) that its casino loyalty program seems to provide slightly less generous benefits/perks to its members.

The "Play Onboard Points" that your host was referring to might have been the amount of points that you could convert into casino credit during your present cruise. If you don't use those on that cruise you lose them. Hope that makes sense. ?

Celebrity may have better comps than other cruises (I don't sail with anyone other than Celebrity), but there was a time when they were way better. In July of 2018 they took the following away from us:

Yes the benefits are going away, also the last Celebrity Cruise we were on was December 30, 2019 at the end of the cruise the casino host gave us a rough total of points that we earned and I had a total of over 400,000. still had 6 months to earn more for the new Sapphire Plus tier. Received a few emails offering free cruise with a balcony cabin, I did book one for November.

I too cruised in Dec of 2019 and most recently in July this year. The host onboard Edge confirmed that points earned prior to the restart of cruising in June 2021 were reset to zero however your status was maintained. I was told we keep our same status until the end of 2022.

So it looks like originally they were going to extend the earning period for 6 months, which would have given you time to achieve that last 100K in points. Then because the cruising suspension lasted so long they decided to just start a new 18 month earning period and let everyone keep their prior status. This is probably acceptable to most people, but those who were close to earning the next tier ended up losing out. I'd definitely give them a call like FastandFurious said. Maybe they can do something to help?

There is a YouTube video posted this week by a certain travel agency that ensures that you are comped. It is an interview with the head of Celebrity's Blue Chip Club, and goes over some of the questions in this thread.

Hi all. I earned Amethyst status after my last cruise in July. I am cruising again in January. Is it correct that I am now entitled to S100 free play? How do I access it? Do I call Blue Chip ahead of time or do that onboard? Do I go to Guest Services once on board or do I go to the casino Host or cashier? Thanks!

dleahy4444 - You can check with BCC, but they will likely only be able to tell you how many tier points you earned. Someone might get back to you later to advise as to your ADW (average daily worth, similar to ADT). Understand that is calculated by a non-telephone agent.

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