Cruise Casinos

Some cruise casinos cheat, as they have no overseeing authority. I've posted about this before on other forums.

I counted down about 20 8 deck shoes on a cruise. All but one ended with a positive count. One thing I noted is they never spread new decks on the tables. They simply lock up the shoes in a cainet with cards in them, and take them back out when the casino reopens.

Ran into this thread by accident while browsing thru older threads for a different reason, never mind all that.
The question was 'conditions on cruise casinos if I remember.
Been on 5 cruises in the last 2 years, wasn't my idea, the wife wanted to go cruising, 4 on Carnival, 1 on Royal Caribbean. I gave up casino gambling many years ago, took up mountain climbing as an alternative (better odds). But now I was back, stuck on a boat w/family (actually had a good time even if you remove the casino part).

Carnival: nice boats/crew/stateroom attendants/food. Bad coffee. BJ was 6 and 10 and 25 min tables, weird side bets, 10 table was 1000 max, hit soft 17, split to 4 hands, double after split, no surrender. 4 trips, 4 ships, always continuous shuffle machines, which at the time I thought I liked ( not a card counter). Trip 3 was half comped, trip 4 (Alaska 7 day) was fully comped by their 'Players Club' which I still believe is an almost good outfit. Ask for Maurice by phone.

Royal Caribbean: same start except good coffee. Only remember 10 and 25 min tables. Miserable max. 10 min/300 max, 25 min /500 max. Both the worst I have ever encountered anywhere anytime. I'm a progressive bet player, will not sail with RCI again. Was in a fully comped Jr Suite (really nice) and wish the casino circumstances were different on board. I was on a bad streak for the first 3 nights, won a little back on the 4th that I played. If the min/max limits had been more normal I actually would have lost more so I cannot complain too much. But I know the limits my strategy needs, know the house theoretically should not fear me, and know I will not sail again on Royal Caribbean. Sad, everything else was great!.

Two Feathers

Quote: 21forme

Some cruise casinos cheat, as they have no overseeing authority. I've posted about this before on other forums.

I counted down about 20 8 deck shoes on a cruise. All but one ended with a positive count. One thing I noted is they never spread new decks on the tables. They simply lock up the shoes in a cainet with cards in them, and take them back out when the casino reopens.

Which ship was this? Just like land casinos, most large cruise ships these days are owned by mega-corporations who have little incentive to cheat players. (Offering decent rules/playing conditions is a different story.) If it was some tiny European ferry operation, though, I could see it happening.

Source: worked on cruise ships for 7 years, not as a dealer, but was and still am good friends with many of the dealers/managers I met onboard. They work MUCH harder than in any land-based casino.

I was on the Norwegian Sun last May. I seem to recall the craps odds being 3-4-5, but they could have been a straight 5x. I don't quite remember. The blackjack was mostly terrible unless you're at the $10 and up tables. Be careful - it was not obvious which tables were 6:5. I didn't notice until I got paid $6 on a $5 BJ. I promptly left the table and went to craps.

Funny this thread should crop back up as I just booked a cabin on the Carnival Sensation.

Quote: TwoFeathersATL

Carnival: nice boats/crew/stateroom attendants/food. Bad coffee. BJ was 6 and 10 and 25 min tables, weird side bets, 10 table was 1000 max, hit soft 17, split to 4 hands, double after split, no surrender. 4 trips, 4 ships, always continuous shuffle machines, which at the time I thought I liked ( not a card counter). Trip 3 was half comped, trip 4 (Alaska 7 day) was fully comped by their 'Players Club' which I still believe is an almost good outfit. Ask for Maurice by phone.

Thanks for the BJ report. Did you happen to notice the odds/minimums at the craps table or any VP paytables?

Quote: OneAngryDwarf

Source: worked on cruise ships for 7 years, not as a dealer, but was and still am good friends with many of the dealers/managers I met onboard. They work MUCH harder than in any land-based casino.

OAD, care to elaborate? No reason, I'm just curious what they have to deal with.

Quote: Joeman

Funny this thread should crop back up as I just booked a cabin on the Carnival Sensation.


Thanks for the BJ report. Did you happen to notice the odds/minimums at the craps table or any VP paytables?


OAD, care to elaborate? No reason, I'm just curious what they have to deal with.

Don't remember anything about the other games, partially because I've never played them. 2F

As a final note, it is hard to get win/loss statements from either line, so I assume hard from their partners, which covers most of the US Port sailings. jFYI.... 2F

Quote: OneAngryDwarf

Which ship was this? Just like land casinos, most large cruise ships these days are owned by mega-corporations who have little incentive to cheat players. (Offering decent rules/playing conditions is a different story.) If it was some tiny European ferry operation, though, I could see it happening.

Source: worked on cruise ships for 7 years, not as a dealer, but was and still am good friends with many of the dealers/managers I met onboard. They work MUCH harder than in any land-based casino.

I don't recall the ship name, but it was a Royal Caribb ship. I don't know the specifics here, but often, the casino will be owned by a different company, not the cruise line.

They have plenty of incentive to cheat - $$ with no regulatory authority to oversee them in international waters. I know other APs who have reported the same.

Quote: 21forme

I don't recall the ship name, but it was a Royal Caribb ship. I don't know the specifics here, but often, the casino will be owned by a different company, not the cruise line.

They have plenty of incentive to cheat - $$ with no regulatory authority to oversee them in international waters. I know other APs who have reported the same.

I think I'm done with gambling on cruise ships maybe. I mean, there's a door, or double door, right from the casino out to the rail on the ship. Way to easy for you to accidentally fall overboard. At least on land they just escort you to the door....just saying......2F

I've taken a few cruises, mostly on Carnival. The VP is awful, 6/5 JOB with a Progressive Jackpot that doesn't grow too quickly since no one will play it. I am not a BJ player, so I cannot speak to that. My other game is Craps, which is offered rarely on one $5 table, 2X odds, 2x 2 and 12 on the field. I don't buy the 4/10, and no one else did either, so I'm not sure of how they would collect the vig. Generally I just play a PL/odds with $6 on 6/8, pressing one unit per win. Carnival will usually only open the table after 7:00 PM, but if there is interest, they will open it sometimes in the afternoon on sea days. Most cruisers don't know how to play craps, which is probably why the table isn't open too much.

On my last cruise on Carnival Liberty, one afternoon I got lucky and turned my $60 buy-in into over $400 after about 2 hours. When I came back later that evening after dinner, I was given the 'drinks on us' card for the rest of the cruise - free drinks in the casino only. That is usually earned after earning 1500 slot points; so that was the first time I ever received that since there's no way I would run enough through a slot or VP machine to earn that many points. I would routinely buy-in for only $60 or so, and played until I lost it or until we wanted to do something else on board. The last night of the cruise, I splurged, and bought in for $100, and walked away with $275. Most of the time, though, it's rare to come out ahead in a Carnival Cruise casino.