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Cruise ship casinos on mainstream cruise lines often host tournaments on board featuring various casino games. The list includes slot tournaments, as well as card game tournaments for blackjack and Texas Hold 'em. The games that require a combination of skill and luck are the ones where the odds of winning are in your favor. For example, the overall odds on blackjack favor the casino by only 1%, while the casino has a 25% edge overall when it comes to slot machines. Among the luxury cruise lines, Silversea and Seabourn have casinos on their non-expedition ships; Regent Seven Seas has casinos on all its ships. Smaller luxury ships like those belonging to Ponant, Ritz-Carlton, Scenic and Emerald do not have casinos.
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Last night, I eavesdropped on a conversation where a group of six people was planning their entire next day around time in the ship's casino. Historically, drinks have not been free to cruise ship casino gamblers the way they usually are in land-based casinos. With a few exceptions, cruise casinos are not open while ships are in port. They are generally limited to operating while the ship is in international waters. Since the ship cruises exclusively in Hawaii, it never leaves U.S. waters. Social media posts and casino announcements would indicate that at least a small handful of people win four- and even occasionally five-figure slot machine payouts on a regular basis.
Do ships run casino tournaments?
Most mainstream cruise lines use comped cruises to fill cabins on dates they anticipate having a surplus of vacancies. These extra offers often appear random, but are generally targeted for marketing purposes rather than as rewards for high amounts of play. New players may receive these comps after low levels of play because cruise lines are always interested in attracting new casino players.
Do cruise ship casinos take cash?
But just as in a land-based casino, it's far easier to lose your stake than it is to win that kind of money. Celebrity Cruises does not allow smoking in its ships' casinos, and the relatively small casinos on luxury ships are generally nonsmoking, as well. Cruisers are also often surprised to learn that the casino is closed on some nights during Alaska cruises. Cruises that sail from Victoria, British Columbia, to Seattle on the final night are a good example.
Cruises
The minimum age for gambling in a cruise ship casino is 18 in most cases, but there are exceptions. MSC Cruises has a minimum gambling age of 21 on any cruise with a U.S. port; otherwise, the age is 18. Some cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, raise the minimum age to 21 on Alaska sailings.
Do all cruise ships have casinos?
The exchange of cash at machines and tables is a one-way deal, even when you win. When you finish playing, you may be issued a paper credit slip to take to the cashier's cage for cash, or you may have your winnings loaded directly onto your onboard account on some cruise lines. At the tables, you will take chips to the cashier to exchange back into cash. Besides the fun of playing on board, many cruise lines have players clubs that offer onboard perks and even free cruises.
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Each member cruise line is to post at every gaming table minimum and maximum betting limits for each game, and only adults are allowed to play the slots or the tables. Much like an airline loyalty program, casino points usually accumulate over a year, earning you better perks as you work toward increasingly higher status levels. Annual free or discounted cruises are one of those perks, often beginning with complimentary (aka comped) inside cabins at relatively low status levels. If you're curious, I've compiled answers to the most common questions people ask about cruise ship casinos. You know how you often hear people on a cruise ship planning their day around the entertainment, tours and mealtimes?
Alternatively, you might walk up to a roulette table and lay down $20 and exchange that for chips. Many casinos also let you match casino status from land-based casinos (or even other cruise lines), giving you a leg up. For example, I haven't cruised with Carnival in a while, and I've never played in the line's onboard casinos, but I signed up for the Carnival players club via its Fun Match program. When I registered, I uploaded an offer from a competing cruise line and a players club card from MGM.
The ship goes straight from Canadian waters to U.S. waters without ever reaching international open waters, so the casino closes the night before arrival in Victoria and does not reopen during the cruise. Some cruise lines also issue instant awards for the number of points earned (i.e., money spent) on an individual cruise, regardless of status. That would be like an airline awarding free future flights to passengers who spent the most money on their flights, no matter their loyalty status.
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In addition, drinks are free in the casinos of luxury cruise lines like Silversea, Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas because all onboard drinks are included in the cruise fare. On the big-ship lines, anyone who purchases a drinks package or cruises on a fare that includes drinks will also be drinking "free" in the casino. Some tournaments are invitational, offered to casino loyalty members of a certain level only. These are often held on cruises hosted specifically for players who have reached that level. For instance, Royal Caribbean holds Signature cruises designed to pamper and entertain these top-level players.
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Princess does not allow smoking except at designated slot machines, and Holland America also has designated smoking areas in the casino. For earning loyalty perks like free cruises, slot machines are the best choice. Ports that currently allow the cruise lines to operate their casinos while the ship is in port include Bermuda and Malta, which require cruise lines to apply for a gaming license. Bermuda has allowed casino operations for licensed ships between 9 p.m. It's an ideal situation as Bermuda has no land-based casinos, and many cruise ships overnight in port on Bermuda cruises. Malta, which does have land-based casinos, allows ships that have been approved for licenses to open their casinos between 6 p.m.
River cruise lines do not have casinos on board, even on U.S. rivers where "riverboat" gambling is reserved for casino boats, not river cruise ships. Free drinks in the casino are a perk of casino loyalty on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess, Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Line. Reach the required level, and you'll earn free drinks from the casino bar, usually for a full status year. Carnival, Princess and Virgin Voyages also often throw in free drinks (either in the casino or throughout the ship) for individual comped cruises. Everyone actively gambling in the casino gets free well drinks on Celebrity cruises.
If you like to gamble, cruise ship casinos provide a fun way to spend a sea day or evening on the ship. You can take lessons to learn the games you don't know how to play and even participate in tournaments. Cruise ship casinos accept cash at both slot machines and table games. As an example, you can sit down at a slot machine and feed in a $20 bill, which is then converted into "credits" on the machine's screen.
Points are generally tied to the time played and the amount of money you gamble, including the money you win and recirculate. For example, my husband recently requested money from his onboard account at a blackjack table and was charged a 5% surcharge. The ship we were on was not set up to charge onboard accounts directly from the slot machines (sometimes they are), so I had to go to the cashier for a credit slip to play. I was not charged a surcharge, although if I had asked for cash, I would have been. If you don't travel with cash, you can find ATMs in the casino or at guest services. Those odds mean the cruise lines operating casinos will favor slot machine players over card players, both in terms of the number of games provided and the loyalty perks awarded.
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