Carnival Radiance Casino Report

I just returned from a four-night cruise on the Carnival Radiance. We left and return to Long Beach, with stops in Catalina and Ensenada.

Let's get right to the games.

Video Poker -- Game Makers with 25c to $2 denom. The following were the games at both ends of the bet range:

Game	Pay Table	Return
Bonus Poker	8,5,3,1	94.18%
Double Bonus	7,5	93.11%
Jacks or Better	6,5	95.00%
Double Double Bonus	6,5	94.66%
Triple Double Bonus	7,5	94.92%
Deuces Wild	20,10,8,4,3,2,2	91.42%

Video Keno -- Much like video poker, as bad as it gets on a Game King. 25c bets only.

Pick	Return
2	86.08%
3	84.66%
4	85.97%
5	85.79%
6	84.96%
7	85.33%
8	84.57%
9	84.25%
10	86.43%

Table Games

Roulette -- double-zero
Blackjack -- Eight decks, dealer hits soft 17, double after split allowed, no surrender, no re-splitting aces, dealer peeks at hole card. Blackjack pays 6-5 at $10 minimum and 3-2 at $25 minimum. House edge of 0.66% at 3-2 and 2.02% at 6-5
Craps -- 2x odds, stingy field, 15-30 hops
Let it Ride
Heads up Hold 'em -- Sorry, I forgot to record the Blind pay table.
Three Card Prime
Ultimate Fun 21 -- This seems to be a copycat game of Spanish 21. I need to get more details.

There was unfortunately no fun book waiting for me and no incentive for new player sign-ups. Conveniently, one could use their room key as their player card.

Drinks were NOT complimentary. Bar prices were charged. As I recall, $10 for a draft beer and $12 for a vodka & tonic.

Service was good and the atmosphere was lively. I think smoking was allowed, but I didn't notice anybody actually smoking. Personally, I played Head up Hold 'em at the $5 minimum level for a couple hours. I know the house edge is not the lowest, but I had only so much cash, it's a slow-paced game and tends to comp better than blackjack games.

I welcome all questions.

This is sadly standard across all Carnival cruises. The slots are all set to the lowest chip possible provided by the manufacturer. I have personally seen this on the set up screen. (Obviously I haven’t seen this on every slot but it’s a educated guess based on the info I have)

Here is a thread on Fun 21, which is similar to Spanish 21. I wonder if Ultimate Fun 21 is a different game.

Are there any Baccarat Games offered? And if so, is it Regular Mini-Baccarat or EZ Baccarat (No Commission on Banker Wins w/ Dragon 7)?

They had regular mini-Bac on my NCL Cruise last year, but NOBODY played the whole time. I played about 6 hands and got bored after going down $50 and realizing it's no fun if you can't touch the cards!

I'm used to playing $50-$100 limits at my local casino and noticed it really does make it more enjoyable when you can touch the cards!

Quote: 7NeverWins

Are there any Baccarat Games offered? And if so, is it Regular Mini-Baccarat or EZ Baccarat (No Commission on Banker Wins w/ Dragon 7)?
link to original post

No. I think Carnival gets a younger crowd than NCL and baccarat gets an older demographic.

The Carnival casinos I have been in lately have had a couple (literally, two) All Star VP machines that have 6/5 Bonus as their best game. However, with the exception of Spin Poker, you must play at least 3 hands per deal.

Wiz, did you notice any such machines on the Radiance?

Quote: Joeman

The Carnival casinos I have been in lately have had a couple (literally, two) All Star VP machines that have 6/5 Bonus as their best game. However, with the exception of Spin Poker, you must play at least 3 hands per deal.

Wiz, did you notice any such machines on the Radiance?
link to original post

No. Just a bank of eight Game Makers. However, I could have missed them.

Here is another thread on Fun 21.