When it comes to cruising, gambling in the ship’s casino is one of the most popular activities. In fact, in the late evening it can be the most electric spot on the cruise ship.

In many ways the casinos on a cruise are very similar to what you’ll find on land, only on a smaller scale. If you’re someone who loves gaming, then you’ll feel right at home in a cruise ship casino.

Casino Cruise has emerged as one of the most reliable online casinos accepting Norwegian players and offering the best selection of table and slot games. As for the payment methods Norwegians can use for topping up their accounts and withdrawing their winnings, Casino Cruise provides them with many payment processors to choose from. Book a cruise, come aboard and find the casino.Ask the casino manager how to join the players club. On Norwegian Cruise Line (and sister lines, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas), you can sign.

That said, there are still a number of things you should know before gambling on a cruise. If you’ve never placed a bet on a ship, the tips and details below will make you a pro in no time and teach you everything you need to know before you try your luck.

1 – Which Cruise Ships Have Casinos?

If you’re wondering if there will be a casino on your ship, you can rest assured there will be. Mass market lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and the like always have casinos on the ship.

I want to mention one exception; Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America, a U.S.-flagged ship that sails Hawaii, is one of the few ships from a mass market cruise line without a casino.

The only major line I’ve heard of that doesn’t have gambling is Disney. Can’t really fault them, watching Donald Duck carve an ice sculpture with a chainsaw is likely a better way to spend an hour with your children.

You’ll find the casinos located in the middle of the ship, typically near the most highly-trafficked areas. So if your ship has a main promenade, the casino will be right near it.

This makes sense, putting the casino easily accessible means it’s easier for players to find and gamble.

2 – What Are Cruise Casinos Like?

In many ways cruise ship gambling is similar to what you’ll find in brick and mortar casinos. This also means that while they all have a familiar feel with flashing lights and ringing bells, each casino definitely sports its own personality.

Generally, the gaming floor is tiny by the standards of land-based casinos. On many ships, you’ll usually find closed-in areas with relatively low ceilings because decks above and below limit the ceiling height. The low ceilings and maze of games give the casinos an intimate feel. Yet, they are some of the biggest rooms on a cruise ship.

Some ships, most notably the newest ships in Norwegian’s fleet, have roomier, more open casinos. On those ships, the casino floor opens up to the rest of the ship, giving it a brighter feel.

As for the atmosphere, within seconds of walking into a cruise ship casino you’ll completely forget that you’re on the open seas. Given the casino size and number of passengers, evenings can get crowded pretty easily. That means the casino will feel high energy, with lots of people cheering, noise from machines, and an overall festive atmosphere.

3 – What Are Payouts Like in the Casino?

You already know that the odds are always in the house’s favor when it comes to casino gambling. That’s especially true on a cruise. To put it mildly, games on the ship don’t pay that well.

For example, the gold standard for video poker is a “9/6” machine, one that pays nine credits for a full house and six for a flush. This gives an expected payout of 99.5% if proper strategy is used over the long term. On ships you will often find “6/5” machines, meaning they offer a 94.9% payback.

For blackjack you’ll often find tables that pay 6-to-5 on blackjack instead of the normal 3-to-2. If you play a higher-limit table, then you might still find 3-to-2 payouts.

Craps will have odds bets, but they will be restricted somewhat. The best you can hope for is 3X-4X-5X, but I’ve seen some ships with even lower bets available. They also have the “Big 6/8” bets at tables that have a higher house edge.

So go to the casino and have a blast, but if your only goal is to get the best payouts, then you are often better off with land-based casinos.

4 – What’s the Gambling Age on a Cruise Ship?

While there are some exceptions, the majority of places in the United States require you to be 21 to gamble in a casino.

On a cruise the minimum age to gamble is only 18 years old. If you’ve ever wanted to try your luck but aren’t old enough to head to Las Vegas, a cruise ship might be just the place for you.

5 – Casino Limits for Table Games and Slot Machines

If you’re a low-stakes gambler, then you’ll feel right at home on a cruise ship. Minimums among all games are low, making it relatively cheap and easy for any level of player to enjoy themselves.

Obviously, there are penny slots as you’ll find in any casino. For table games you will find minimums starting at around $5 for most games.

This makes sense considering the potential customer base on a cruise. With only a few thousand people on the ship the cruise needs to be sure to appeal to the most people possible. Of course they also are aware that they have a captive audience.

Having said that, I have seen table games starting to climb towards a $10 minimum rather than $5.

6 – What Casino Games Are Available on a Cruise?

Like playing real money slots? You’re covered. In fact, whatever your game, they have them all. Despite the small size of cruise ship casinos compared to brick and mortar, they offer a vast selection of games.

Texas Hold ‘Em poker is also popular, with tournaments and play throughout the cruise.

What’s a little surprising is that there are several games you won’t ever find on land that are on a cruise.

One is similar to a “skill crane” where you use a joystick to move a key to push down stacks of dollar bills. But perhaps the most popular are the coin pusher machines.

The coin pusher machines are exactly like you’d find in an arcade, but instead of tokens they use quarters. You can try your luck to push quarters over the edge, along with wads of cash that are also in the machines.

Many cruise lines are also now offering their own scratch-off tickets available for purchase, as well as big lotto-style drawings with jackpots worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

7 – When Are the Casinos Open?

As you might guess, there are a number of laws that oversee casino gambling, depending on the jurisdiction the ship is in. That’s why there’s a simple rule, the casino is open when the ship is at sea.

On the day that you board the casino will be closed. It will open up later that night after the ship has set sail.

During the days that the ship is docked the games are closed, but available once the ship exits the jurisdiction of the port country. So on days at sea, the casino will be open 24 hours a day.

Note that if you want to play during off hours, like early in the morning on a day at sea, the table games may not be staffed. However, coin pushers and slot machines will still be available to play at your leisure.

8 – Keep Your Sea Legs

Which brings me to my next point. Fun, that’s what this experience should be all about. People’s definitions of fun can vary.

If you’re planning a trip with your friends or family without kids around, fun can often mean staying up late and partying, which means drinking. I recommend alternating nights to make life easier for you during the daytime.

If you’re planning a big night “out” at the casino, don’t spend the evening taking shots. Basically, just be a responsible adult, and you’ll be fine.

Treat your gambling funds as part of the trip’s expenses, no different from food and drinks, fine dining, and shopping with no expectation of returns.

Really, this should be pretty much the same mentality you have when managing your bankroll at any regular land-based. You should be playing with no more than you can stand to lose. Beware of the ATM.

Conclusion

If there is a casino game you’ve always wanted to play, but have been too intimidated to pull up a chair, then a cruise is perfect for you.

Not only is it less intimidating than a regular casino, but they even offer classes on table games for beginning players. You can come and learn how to play free of charge, for real money, so that when it’s time to play for real money you aren’t as intimidated.

In addition, the vibe at a cruise casino is simply more friendly. Remember that the dealers want to make sure you have an enjoyable time on the cruise and your other passengers are typically in a good mood. In addition, the stakes are typically low, so there’s usually not a ton of money at stake.

If you’ve never heard of a cruise ship, then I’m not sure what rock you’ve been sleeping under. But I’ll give a brief explanation of what a “cruise ship” is before we go into a few of the best casino cruise ships out there.

A cruise ship is essentially a floating resort. While on board, you can enjoy the relaxation and luxury that comes along with staying at a five-star hotel. Most cruise ships have so many activities to offer that it can be almost impossible to check them all out.

On board, you’ll find restaurants, bars, casinos, swimming pools, spas, gyms, shops, theaters, and cinema. There’s plenty of space on modern cruise ships, even while being packed full of so many amenities, so you never have to worry about not being able to find a place to stretch out and relax.

Your cruise ship is also going to include staff that have high levels of customer service and will be there to take care of you and meet any of your needs. Cruise ships can take you just about anywhere in the world, with two of the most popular destinations being the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

More ships have expanded to other territories, including Alaska, Asia, the Middle East, and Northern Europe. The beautiful thing is that while you will get taken to a new place sometimes every day, your hotel will come along with you, so you’ll only have to pack once!

Again, cruise ships have many different activities to keep you occupied. Some not mentioned yet include high class culinary opportunities and top entertainment from world-renowned performers. You can always count on there being something for everyone while on your cruise, so you don’t need to worry about your kids getting bored.

Drawbacks of Casino Cruises

All that being said, there can be a number of drawbacks to going on a cruise. One of the first (and most obvious to some people) is that seasickness is a very real phenomenon. With that being said, cruise ships are so incredibly massive that most people don’t experience motion while on the ship, but it’s possible for you to experience this not-so-fun phenomenon during bad weather.

Norwegian
A potential drawback for a lot of people is the size of your cabin. Cruise ships are massive, but they still have cabins that can be unreasonably tiny, especially if you live in a big house and are used to having a lot of space to move around in.

Sure, smaller saves you money, but not everyone can handle being stuck in a tiny room day after day.

This leads me to another drawback—claustrophobia. Not everyone suffers from this, but even people who aren’t normally claustrophobic can run into this problem. In fact, there’s a form of claustrophobia that you’re probably familiar with often referred to as “cabin fever.”

You can absolutely experience this (and the related form, island fever) when stuck in a small area with no real horizon. Not everyone knows if they’re going to have this problem or not until they get on the boat though, so if you’re prone to claustrophobia, you might want to think twice before going on a casino cruise ship.

Finally, there’s the recent rash of cruise ship crashes and problems that you’ve probably heard about. More than a few cruises have ended up as nightmares, with literal crashes in some cases, and others where the facilities on the boat stopped working. Now I’ll be the first to say that these are pretty rare, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Casinos on Boats

When it comes to casinos and boats as one entity, there’s actually a long and storied history, especially in America. Some of the first casino boats were on paddle steamers that used to journey up the Mississippi River.

The paddle steamers were used as entertainment venues and casinos, offering slots as well as table games. Paddle steamers are still used today as popular river boat casinos, but the concept of gambling at seas has evolved to a place much bigger than paddle steamers.

Now, we have gargantuan cruise liners with casinos inside that take their passengers on journeys all around the world.

These cruise ships include some of the finest and most elegant casino floors that you’ll find anywhere, land or sea. They can come in all shapes in sizes, from intimate casinos to some that rival the size of what you would find at any Las Vegas casino.


Here are three of the best casino cruise ships in the entire world.

1 – The Sunborn Superyacht Hotel and Casino

Norwegian Cruise Casino Cash

It’s hard to find a hotel and casino experience as elegant as what you’ll find here at the Sunborn Superyacht Hotel and Casino. It’s docked in the Ocean Village Marina in Gibraltar and includes some of the most breathtaking views across the strait toward Morocco.

The casino can be found through a separate entrance at the back of the boat. It includes 58 state-of-the-art slot machines, three American Roulette tables, three live poker tables, and four card tables where you can play blackjack for real money.

There’s also a private poker room available that holds tournaments. Inside the casino at the Sunborn Superyacht, you’ll find a world-class bar serving beer, spirits, champagnes, wines, and a huge selection of cocktails.

There’s also a table-side service that will take care of you in case you don’t want to step away from the poker table. There’s a variety of bedroom suites available once you’re on board, including a penthouse with a sundeck.

This ship is a dream come true for someone wanting a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There’s a lot to be said about cruises in general and how much fun they can be. But for the gambling aficionado, there’s something particularly compelling about combining that passion with a luxury cruise.

2 – The Norwegian Escape

The second casino cruise ship on the list is known as The Norwegian Escape, based in Miami, Florida.

Norwegian Cruise Ships

The ship can hold 4,266 guests and takes them on adventures throughout the Bahamas and the Caribbean. For some people, water that’s crystal clear and sand as white as snow may not be enough to keep them entertained. And with that being said, The Norwegian Escape is packed with plenty of entertainment options on board.

Amid the rest of the options for fun on board, the ship includes a state-of-the-art casino. The casino comes with 28 gaming tables that offer roulette, pai gow, baccarat, poker, Let It Ride, craps, and blackjack, and 318 real money slots.

For the real high-roller casino goers, the ship has an exclusive VIP room. It includes three tables that can be used to meet any guest preferences. Limits can be requested that are much higher than the $5,000 maximum that’s on the casino floor for guests wanting to go big or go home.

There are over 15 restaurants on the ship that provide a great opportunity to spend your winnings, as well as clubs or a massage at a spa.

3 – Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas

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The Allure of the Seas could be the Granddaddy of all cruise ships. It’s the second largest cruise ship in the world, sitting at 362 meters long and weighing over 225,000 tones. The ship carries up to 5,400 passengers. A whopping $1.2 billion was used in the construction of the Allure of the Seas.

My favorite part of this large vessel is its world-renowned casino, Casino Royale. Casino Royale is probably one of the greatest poker movies of all times, not to mention one of the best James Bond films of all time.

The Casino Royale has everything you could dream about gambling on a cruise ship. The gaming floor is 18,000 square feet and it includes 500 slot machines, including Wheel of Fortune and a game called Triple Diamond. There are 27 game tables that include roulette, poker, blackjack, craps, and Caribbean Stud.

The guests of this ship receive an experience that I would compare to a weekend in Las Vegas, but maybe even better. From the beautiful decor to the customer service, you’ll never need to worry about spinning a wheel without a drink . All of the service is tableside, so if you’re on a winning streak, you don’t have to leave the game for the sake of getting a refill.

The Vegas experience on Allure of the Seas doesn’t just stop with the casino. The ship hosts some famous Broadway shows, including Mamma Mia!, Cats, and We Will Rock You. It also has an Aqua Theater. The Aqua Theater merges water with drama, similar to what you would see at a Cirque Du Soleil performance.

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Conclusion

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Are there any great casino cruise ships that I left out? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

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