Royal Caribbean Cruise Casino - SAVE YOUR MONEY

A few observations from my recent cruise on RCL with my family over February school vacation.

Ship:
The cruise was great for families. Our ship had Ice Skating, Mini-Golf, Basketball, Rock Climbing, a nice Theater, good bars and just about everything to keep us busy at sea. Our room was surprisingly comfortable with a small balcony.

Since this is a gaming site, here goes my observations.

SAVE YOUR MONEY. Rules were essentially horrific.
BJ, Single Deck, 6-5, dealt only two hands. Other table used 8 decks or continuous shuffling machines. I found a $25 hand shuffled 8 deck game. H17, DAS, No Surrender. Not bad, but I bought in for $1,000 and they watched the table like a hawk.
Craps, Single odds, 9-1, 7-1 for H6&8, H4&10, respectively. Field paid 2-1 on 2&12. Last night had double odds.
VP, here it was crazy. JoB paid 6/5.....
Poker, 1/2 NL, 10% rake, also NL. There was one pushed pot with about $150 in it, and the house took $15, and the two players chopped, each losing.
Craps, 0 & 00.
Slots. Didn't see any winners.
Bingo. No cumulative, now a $500 top jackpot for $40 buy in (I let my kids play).

Had to pay for drinks in a casino. Who knew????

Cruise was great, but the casino was pretty bad. When we docked in the Bahamas, a bunch of us headed over to Atlantis which was a great time. Real VP odds. Real BJ (I even saw a $500 minimum table on the floor that was packed). Craps had a $15 minimum. No Poker that I found. A nice treat after being stuck with the boat's casino.

In the companies defence...

On the ship you'd be able to find a $5 min Bj table, even at night, the dealers would have had better PR than Atlantis staff, and despite the ship rules, Royal are still better than other cruise lines, (thinking Norweigan with almost all BJ games now paying 6:5 on BJ)

For better rules on Craps, sister company Celebrity cruises offer 3/4/5 odds every night, and almost always have a $5 min game.

For better rules on blackjack our sister company Azamara cruises offer late surrender, but the casinos are tiny, 5 tables and 5 dealers - not everyones cup of tea.


As for the drinks, the only major cruise line to try free drinks, changed the policy after 3 weeks in january, as every guest on the ship was hitting the casino bar. the casino margins are not good enough to support that level of hit.

the Texas hold'em, the rake is high (10% to $10 cap on most ships) but the game is soft enough that its beatable with even solid play. Also we don't rake without a flop (unlike Norweigan who rake every hand).

We do pick up drinks for big betting players, think $50+, and even offer a VIP program with cash rebates, free cruises and other perks based on your level of play.

On the cruise line its a casino attatched to a hotel, not the other way around. It's an important distinction.

I wrote a little about the casino on the Norwegian Star in my May 3, 2007 newsletter. The Star did have free drinks, but cocktail service was very slow, requiring paperwork for every single drink. Regarding the caliber of the other players at poker, most were very soft, but there were two or three strong players camped out at the table the entire cruise to fleece them. It is a valid point that it isn't fair to compare a casino on a cruise ship to a land casino. I'm sure it is much more expensive to support a small casino on a ship per player than a large one on land.

I have cruised and played Craps on Celebrity, RC, and Carnival.
It was quite some time ago, but I am pretty sure Celebrity only offered 2x odds at that time. However, as noted, the casino manager was the box on the craps table, and most nights I was the only player. He would buy me a beer or two during the evening, and most every night I was offered a high end cordial if I was there when they closed the tables.
RC was single odds. The place 6/8 is the same on all of the boats, and the same in all casinos, so just stayed mostly on the 6/8, with occasional forays into the 5/9. Paying the 4/10 vig upfront I find to be stomach wrenching, so I just won't play those numbers, unless the dice insist on rolling nothing but 4s and 10s. :-) No free drinks were ever offered on RC.
I had a few others playing craps with me on RC, but most of the time it was myself and my daughter who was learning the game. BTW, not every young lady new to craps is a lucky shooter :-(
Carnival was the same, 2x odds. I had more people join me in the evenings on Carnival, but there were a few hours of solo play. Carnival gave me a beer each night, and on the last day they gave me a tee shirt and hat too.

Regarding the hardways, I think the payout is the same as Vegas. The ships say 9-1, but you get to keep your original bet, whereas Vegas will say 10 for 1. They pay you 10, but take your original bet, thus the net result is exactly the same. The 2x 12 makes the field a high HA, so not much reason to play it.
Overall, I have found if I can play easy, PL bet and 6/8, the game is not that much different than most land based casinos. Truth be told, I was surprised to see the craps table the last time. I was sure it would be gone. There are so few of us who play the game on a cruise, and it takes a minimum of 2 staff to run the table, if they are willing to run with no box........
Every cruise I have managed to get up a significant amount, but have yet to get off the stinking boat still up. I think the next cruise I will play heavy the first night, and then get off at first port and fly back home, thus ensuring I get to keep my winnings. Either that, or mail all my cash and credit cards back home at the first port.

Norwegian used to have decent blackjack games, 3:2, 6 decks, S17, $5 min. They had $5 9/6 JOB, too. At one point, they even had Spanish 21. But its all gone now. Oh well, who's going on a cruise to gamble anyway?

FYI, on the major cruise lines, every single guest over 21 gets automatic casino credit. No credit check or wiring of money ahead of time required. You can request "markers" at the tables by giving your ship card to the dealer. The amount is added to your onboard account tab which is usually secured at the beginning of the cruise with a credit card or a cash deposit, and settled at the end of your cruise.

My first real gambling was on Celebrity Cruises, and then RC. It was the only place to gamble legally for an 18-20 year old. It was the 90s, Caribbean Stud had just become very popular, so those tables were hot. Blackjack was still decent rules (S17, 6:5 hadn't been invented). I think it was the first place I saw Double Exposure as well. I did notice that when I started betting Green Chips only, I got some attention from the bosses, to the point that someone came out of the cage and dealt to me by the second night. Maybe it was because of my apparent closeness with the young British dealer. Thinking back to the first trip, she and I probably broke some rules regarding the relationship between crew and passengers, but I'd rather not get into non-gambling exploits! I have so many great memories and stories from the trips. One that my friend enjoys: There was this very attractive young woman at one end of the BJ table, and a crusty old fool at the other end, and I sat down in the middle. I'd seen her before and was happy she was in the casino. We started playing, and after every poor decision she would make, crusty fool would yell "WRONG!" Eventually she was flustered enough to leave. I glared at him, as if to say, "Idiot, she may be wrong but she was AT OUR TABLE and STUNNING!" I waited about two minutes before cashing out and trying to find her, and for the rest of the trip I never saw her again. To this day, my friend and I will say "WRONG!" where appropriate. BTW, he's still my best friend and he does not gamble one penny ever.

Interestingly, the rules for boarding ships was much more relaxed then. My buddy and I were freshmen in college, 18 years old, and we drove to Florida to board the ship. I didn't have a passport or birth certificate for some reason, and they let me on anyway. Someone said "Just don't do anything bad because you will not be able to use the services of the American Embassy or Consulate when you are on the trip." Now, I believe you must be at least 21 to get on a ship without a guardian, and that guardian must be over 25. (With an exception for married couples, maybe?) And they ABSOLUTELY will NOT let you on without a passport. My last cruise, there was a couple that was protesting as they were being led away from the line, unable to board.

Could it be that with more gambling options more widely available just about anywhere, cruises don't attract serious gamblers anymore? If so, then naturally they'd skew the rules the better to fleece casual gamblers who don't know any better.

Also cruise lines seem to have gone family-friendly in a big way. Gambling is a family-unfriendly activity. At the very least it would be a low priority.

Quote: Nareed

Could it be that with more gambling options more widely available just about anywhere, cruises don't attract serious gamblers anymore? If so, then naturally they'd skew the rules the better to fleece casual gamblers who don't know any better.

I've been on three one-week cruises, and have never seen anybody betting serious money. The average bet was about $25.

Quote: Wizard

I've been on three one-week cruises, and have never seen anybody betting serious money. The average bet was about $25.

:) I play $5 BJ when I can find it.

I seem to recall decades ago there were gambling cruises to nowhere. A cruise to nowhere is one where the ship just sails around, never going too far from it home port, and the passengers enjoy the ship's amenities. They're usually short (two/three days). A gambling cruise would sail just far enough to reach international waters and then open up the casino.

Such cruises would have been attractive to serious gamblers living in coastal areas (say the gulf coast of Texas, Florida, much of the Eastern coast), as a cheaper option to a trip to Vegas or AC.

I heard of them. I don't know if they ever existed.

Nareed,
Myrtle Beach , South Carolina still has those Casino boats. They sail twice a day on weekends I believe. I 'think' they have to sail 3 miles out to effectively be in International waters, and then they can legally have gambling operations. I think the sailings last for 4 hours or so.

Quote: RaleighCraps

Nareed,
Myrtle Beach , South Carolina still has those Casino boats. They sail twice a day on weekends I believe. I 'think' they have to sail 3 miles out to effectively be in International waters, and then they can legally have gambling operations. I think the sailings last for 4 hours or so.

I've always wondered why they don't have such cruises off the coast of the major California cities. Also, why can they have them on Alaska cruises when you're obviously in Alaska waters.

From cruisecheap.com:

Is the casino open during an Alaska cruise?

Gambling is not legal in the state of Alaska. However, the cruise lines will open the casino during the period when you are sailing in the international waters around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. At all other times, the casino will be closed.

Casinos at sea and opening hours:

If there is no other appropriate legisalation, and many states don't have any, then you have to be in internatinal waters to be able to operate. usually (but not always) 3-5 miles of shore. The FL gambling boats were good examples, they had to sail to international water and could not open till that point, closing again before returning to shore.

Some states/countries make exceptions, for example in Alsaka, where the cruise ship casinos are allowed to open as long as there is a preventative method in place to stop casual visitors (eg if the ship is sailing with all access doors shut).

The USVI allow cruise ships to actually open the casinos while in port, but only after 6:00pm, Aruba the casinos can open at 7:00pm, in Nassua the casinos can open, but only if the ship is staying in the island for 18 hours plus, and again only after 7:00pm. Philadelphia allowed ships sailing from Philly to open the casinos (but only after they sailed), usually 4:30 pm onwards as a way to try an encourage more cruises ships to call, with limited sucess. They even tried to liscence this, in 1999, with limited sucess. The panama canal, the cruise ship casinos in the old days had to be closed, but now they will be open for the complete transit, and yes people will gamble.

LIkewise, Casinos are not allowed on ships that make port in Hawai'i

Hay Raleigh

I live less than an 1hr and half from myrtle beach. I have never been on the casino boat. What are the odds like. I didn't think they were very good and thats why i never played on their boats. I don't know this for sure but I have heard this from second hand information.

Quote: boomdog

Hay Raleigh

I live less than an 1hr and half from myrtle beach. I have never been on the casino boat. What are the odds like. I didn't think they were very good and thats why i never played on their boats. I don't know this for sure but I have heard this from second hand information.

The one I looked at was Diamond Girl, I believe. I never took a trip on her. We were in Myrtle killing time one day and were all set to go, but we missed the sail time by 20 minutes or so. I would guess the odds are not good.

Quote: slyther

LIkewise, Casinos are not allowed on ships that make port in Hawai'i

Sorry Slyther, not quite true.

If the ship sails only in Hawaii or just in the USA with out any international stops, then the use of gaming equiptment is prohibited, and the ship will not have them, eg Pride of America, an NCL ship which cruises ONLY in Hawaii.

However if you call outside the USA, eg Ensenada in Mexico, on a Cruise that went LA (OR San Diego) to Hawaii and back then the ship will have an onboard casino, eg the Celebrity Summit does this run (as do other lines)

that said may lines that call on Ensenada on the Hawaii transits many times don't even let the guests get off in Mexico, as it's just a quick stop (We call it a technical call in the trade) and as soon as the ship has been cleared by local authorities then its straight off again.

Does anyone know what kind of limits I would find on my upcoming RC cruise? Craps, BJ, Bacc?

Quote: ruascott

Does anyone know what kind of limits I would find on my upcoming RC cruise? Craps, BJ, Bacc?

Last RC cruise I was on last year was 2x Odds and 2x on field 2 and 12. I can't recall if the vig was paid up front or not on the 4/10 buy. No hop bets. Funny I can't remember the minimum. I think it was $5, but it could have been $10. I got to know the casino manager and he would always open the table for me when I went in. I played alone quite a bit.

Quote: RaleighCraps

Last RC cruise I was on last year was 2x Odds and 2x on field 2 and 12. I can't recall if the vig was paid up front or not on the 4/10 buy. No hop bets. Funny I can't remember the minimum. I think it was $5, but it could have been $10. I got to know the casino manager and he would always open the table for me when I went in. I played alone quite a bit.

Man, I hope there will be a least a few other players, I hate playing craps alone. I think most people are too intimidated by craps, thinking that its a complicated game due to the fast action, stange language, and wild arrary of bets. Most that I've introduced are shocked how easy it is and are loving it in no time.

Recently got back from my Royal Caribbean cruise. We were on Freedom of the Seas sailing out of Port Canaveral. The cruise was great, the ship was very nice, I'd highly recommend it.

Regarding the casino, I found the games pretty consistent with what was discussed here. I didn't play a ton because there was just so much other stuff to do (that and I had a very bad start at the craps table the first night).

Craps was 1x odds when I played. It was always $5 min. There was only 1 table and it was only open in the evenings. The few times we played there were only a few other players - and several times I walked through the casino I saw that it was literally empty. The last night though I went down and it was jam packed and I couldn't get a spot so I left. Every time I played the table was ICE COLD, therefore my sessions didn't last all that long.

I actually spent more time playing cards. BJ was H17, DAS, no surrender...it was either 6 or 8 deck shoe, not sure which. It was always offered at $6 (i hadn't seen $6 before, but it makes sense for 3-2 BJ payouts). I played a fair amount of this, and pretty much broke even. $10 and $25 tables were also available at times, though they weren't very popular (its true there aren't many - if any - big gamblers on ships). The gambling age was 18, so you had a lot of youngsters playing for what was likely their first time - though they were often better than the older players. I witnessed some very poor playing - but it doesn't bother me and I got a kick out of the dealer's expressions (staying on 14 v. a King, etc..)

I also played some $5 Three-Card and $5 Ultimate Texas Hold'em (fun game). Didn't win or lose much on either. Just for kicks I went by and checked paytables on a few VP machines, and found 6/4 JOB...I kid you not. Needless to say, I didn't play any of those. They also had one poker table that was right out with the other table games. It was the digital screen tables, no real cards/dealers, so I didn't play any. They had a lot of tourneys advertised in the daily newsletters, and there was always at least a few players at the table (and they were full in the evening).

As someone said, you don't go on a cruise to gamble, so I only spent probably a total of 4-5 hours over a 7 day cruise in the casino. The cold craps table helped keep the time to a minimum, and our large bar bill was also crimping my gaming budget :-)

A very good time was had, and I'd certainly recommend this ship to anyone.

This year I had the chance to go on a Carnival Cruise, which I'll contrast here versus RCL.

First of all, RCL had a much better ship, activities, food. Carnival had a better casino atmosphere and desserts. For gaming, this is what I found (I realize that gambling isn't the highest priority on a cruise, but since there was gaming, I thought it should be discussed since this is a gambling board):

Blackjack - Only 3 letters are needed. CSM. Every table was CSM. No fun.
Video Poker - JOB paid 6/5.
Craps - 2x odds, Field 2/2, Hardways 9/7.
3CP - 1/3/6/30/40 (no jackpot).
SuperFun21 was not CSM, but I don't know how to play/count it.
Roulette - 0/00.
Slots - Interesting, in that someone in our party hit for $6,200 and they indicated that they would get a W2. In the past, her jackpots at sea never required a SS#.
Poker - Machine Only. Cash Games 15% rake to $6. Ouch. Tournaments, $150 entry, paid ONE place at $750. Soft table, but BIG rake. At least no need to tip the electronic dealer after winning a pot. All cashless.
Slot Club gave out bottles of wine, strawberries and chocolate, drinks and other gifts. This is something I never saw on RCL.
They had live music every night which I thought was a nice touch to the old Vegas lounge act days. I liked it.

OK, that was my RCL/Carnival compairson. I would never choose a ship based on the casino, but I do like to gamble, and appreciate playable games. Carnival's exclusive use of CSM for BJ and W2's for slot wins would steer me away in the future.

The only similarities between a cruise ship casino and a land based casino is that the gambler should have a gaming budget which he is willing to lose. With no "competition", the ship casino can offer games that are less favorable than what you might see on land. If you expect more than that, you probably shouldn't enter the casino. Even with some dreadful VP pay tables, I did hit 2 royal flush progressives two days apart on the RCI Mariner of the Seas, so it is possible to win while at sea.

I hadn't noticed this thread before.

As luck would have it, the wife and I, as well as my brother, his wife, my mother, and an aunt and uncle, and maybe some additional people I'm not even aware of, are taking a cruise this September. And it's a Royal Caribbean cruise. With the exception of a couple gambling one-day cruises, this will be the first cruise for me and my wife. I may make a cruise report - both about the casino, and the cruise in general.

Quote: ruascott

I actually spent more time playing cards. BJ was H17, DAS, no surrender...it was either 6 or 8 deck shoe, not sure which. It was always offered at $6 (i hadn't seen $6 before, but it makes sense for 3-2 BJ payouts).

Actually, $6 does NOT make sense. It sounds like they do not have pink chips. The extra dealer actions to pay $6 bets slows the game down. The number of BJs is not high enough to make it worthwhile to bump the minimum to $6. What happens if a player bets $15?

Seems to me that, one way or another, they're gonna have to pay odd BJs, so why the $6 minimum?

If I play BJ, I might just always bet odd amounts, to piss them off....

Quote: DJTeddyBear

If I play BJ, I might just always bet odd amounts, to piss them off....

Please do it. It really ticks off the dealer if you bet $7, then $9, then $7 again, then $8, and so on. Its very comical, and they'll hate your guts.

Quote: Wizard

I've always wondered why they don't have such cruises off the coast of the major California cities. Also, why can they have them on Alaska cruises when you're obviously in Alaska waters.

Its a 12 mile territorial limit in most places and you can not transit US territorial waters during the cruise, only entry and exit.

California used to have offshore gambling boats, very large ones permanently in International Waters with Water Taxi service from the Long Beach area. There are unverified reports that a US Senator from Nevada had an interest in the offshore gambling ship off Santa Monica. It of course became a political controversy and I think those who owned slot machines in Pasadena didn't own the gambling ships, so it probably became a battle between which politicians were getting the most in bribe money. Of course in those days, everything in Los Angeles revolved around bribes.

The Big M Casino Boat in Florida is for Moss Marine which also owns one of the South Carolina gambling boats.

I believe also that for some sort of reason a cruise has to dock outside of the US at least once. Which is how the Alaska cruises always spend a short period in Victoria or other small towns on Vancouver Island. Major part of the local economy is American tourists spending 6 hours downtown Victoria and on guided tours... and the ships loading up on water, ice and other consumables.

Some stop in Vancouver as well. Amusingly the overflow dock in Vancouver pretty much backs into the original skid row (now the Lower East side) which is junkie central. The main cruise ship dock is in one of the prettiest parts of the city. I pity those who end up in the crappy part of Vancouver (and it's really crappy, I've been in some shitty areas of London, but nothing quite as extensively run down and poor and depressing as East Hastings around witching hour.

Quote: thecesspit

Amusingly the overflow dock in Vancouver pretty much backs into the original skid row (now the Lower East side) which is junkie central. The main cruise ship dock is in one of the prettiest parts of the city. I pity those who end up in the crappy part of Vancouver (and it's really crappy, I've been in some shitty areas of London, but nothing quite as extensively run down and poor and depressing as East Hastings around witching hour.

maybe we shouldnt have been so surprised at the behavior after the hockey final

One of the players in my poker league just took a cruise on RC out of Bayone NJ.

He said there was one poker table, with a live dealer, open at night only.

It was $1/$2 no limit, but the rake was 10% with a . . . $25 max!

Quote: thecesspit

I believe also that for some sort of reason a cruise has to dock outside of the US at least once. Which is how the Alaska cruises always spend a short period in Victoria or other small towns on Vancouver Island. Major part of the local economy is American tourists spending 6 hours downtown Victoria and on guided tours... and the ships loading up on water, ice and other consumables.

Some stop in Vancouver as well. Amusingly the overflow dock in Vancouver pretty much backs into the original skid row (now the Lower East side) which is junkie central. The main cruise ship dock is in one of the prettiest parts of the city. I pity those who end up in the crappy part of Vancouver (and it's really crappy, I've been in some shitty areas of London, but nothing quite as extensively run down and poor and depressing as East Hastings around witching hour.

Our Alaskan cruise did not dock anywhere other than Alaskan ports on the way from Seward to Vancouver. The casino was not open when the ship was in any port and opened an hour after leaving.

Quote: cardshark

Norwegian used to have decent blackjack games, 3:2, 6 decks, S17, $5 min. They had $5 9/6 JOB, too. At one point, they even had Spanish 21. But its all gone now. Oh well, who's going on a cruise to gamble anyway?

FYI, on the major cruise lines, every single guest over 21 gets automatic casino credit. No credit check or wiring of money ahead of time required. You can request "markers" at the tables by giving your ship card to the dealer. The amount is added to your onboard account tab which is usually secured at the beginning of the cruise with a credit card or a cash deposit, and settled at the end of your cruise.

Royal Caribbean has a $3,000 limit per day @ 3%.

Quote: VegasVic14

Our Alaskan cruise did not dock anywhere other than Alaskan ports on the way from Seward to Vancouver. The casino was not open when the ship was in any port and opened an hour after leaving.

An International port of call is required by some 100 year old law, I forget the name of that law. The Seward to Vancouver trip, well Vancouver is the Int'l port of call.

Quote: VegasVic14

Royal Caribbean has a $3,000 limit per day @ 3%.

I've taken RCC before, and taken the charge against my room, and there has never been an additional fee.
I have usually been the only craps player to show up every day, and only a couple times have there ever been more than 2 players on the table.
The last RCC cruise I was on, they wouldn't even bother to open the craps table, until they saw me come into the casino. The manager would come over and tell me he would have a crew for me in a couple of minutes. They gave me a tee shirt and a hat at the end of the cruise.
I am doing a cruise first of Nov on RCC Oasis, but this one is a comp'd balcony arranged by my junket operator. I'm assuming there will not be any advance fee charges this time around too. Unfortunately, the main reason I took this cruise was the stop in Saint Martin, which just got blasted by hurricane Gonzalo. While the island mostly seemed to weather the storm (pun), there is quite a bit of damage in some areas. It is enough I am afraid they will send us to a different port. :-(
I also saw a thread that says more storms are brewing up, so we might have a completely different sailing anyway.

You could theoretically and indirectly knock up to 2% off the house edge by creative planning on a Royal Caribbean (MLife) cruise. If you take an MLife cruise with Platinum or higher, you get no fee on your Casino Cash on your SeaPass card. So you can do all of your gambling on your room account, and then pay for your cruise/room with your AMEX or VISA that gets you 2% cash back with no limit (there are several of these available, though most of them have a yearly fee).

Chances are you wouldn't be playing at the casino enough to really get close to a 2% house edge anyway (since cruise casinos usually don't have bacc, you'd be limited to hard counting on single deck or max odds Craps, but most cruise casinos have terrible Odds), and you could only do this once a year, but it's a neat concept.