The MS Radiance of the Seas has a Vegas-style casino that is an impressive 6,459 square foot with 188 slots and 11 tables.

Cruise ships are a great place for players top enjoy some gambling while they are on a relaxing vacation at sea. With many of the leading cruise lines offering ships that have full casinos, players who enjoy the thrills of blackjack will find great games that can be played. The main difference between playing on a cruise ship as opposed to a land casino is the limitation of game variations. Since there is smaller floor space available, most cruise ships will only offer a single variation of blackjack, though there may be a few that have two or more variations depending on the size of the casino.

You can find quarter pushers, flip-it machines, or coin pushers in casinos, on cruise ships, and even in some convenience stores. The odds of winning on a quarter pusher can vary due to the temperature, humidity, dirtiness of the coins (which adds additional friction), and the tilt angle the machine is set to. The 6-to-5 tables are rampant on cruise ships and lower a gambler’s expected return by about 1.5% over the long-term. You can still find some 3-to-2 payouts, but usually only if you are playing higher limits ($25 per hand). Slot machines are not your friend. The cruise line is not in the business to give money away, they are.

Cruise ship casinos open their gaming tables the moment the ship is three miles offshore, in international waters. Gamblers will find that he betting options on a cruise ship are relatively low, so high rollers may not be interested in betting. However, for the casual blackjack player, these cruise casinos offer a great way to enjoy some gabling action while on vacation. There are even themed cruises, where the focus is on gambling and these can offer more game variations and even tournaments that can be played aboard.

Best Cruises for Gambling & Blackjack

Blackjack fans will want to make sure their selected cruise ship offers the game and below are the most popular ships for those that enjoy the thrills of blackjack.

Radiance of the Seas – Royal Caribbean

Destinations: Alaska, Australia/New Zealand, Transpacific, Hawaii

• Single and eight deck blackjack offered with a $5 minimum on both tables.
• Cruise offers blackjack tournaments.

More info:www.royalcaribbean.com

Voyager of the Seas – Royal Caribbean

Destinations: Asia, Australia/New Zealand

• 6 blackjack tables offered, 2 with single deck games.
• Small table limits, between $3 and $6. Two tables offer higher bets, ranging from $25 to $300 per hand.

More info:www.royalcaribbean.com

Carnival Fantasy – Carnival

Destinations: Bahamas, Caribbean

• Multiple blackjack tables with variations such as Face Up and Fun 21.
• Low game minimums for casual players with some higher limits up to $300 per hand.

More info:www.carnival.com

Norwegian Jewel – Norwegian

Destinations: Alaska, Mexican Riviera, Pacific Coastal

• 9 multi-deck blackjack tables with $5 minimums.
• One table offered for high rollers for bets from $100 to $2000.

More info:www.ncl.com

Norwegian Dawn – Norwegian

Destinations: Bermuda, Canada, New England, Caribbean

Casino Cruise Lines

• Multiple tables with eight deck games and side bets, like Lucky Ladies and Wheel of Madness.
• High roller table reserved with minimums of $100.

More info:www.ncl.com

Five Important Tips for Playing on a Casino Cruise

Playing casino games on a cruise ship is not much different from playing at a land casino, but there are some slight differences to prepare for when sailing. The following tips will get gamblers ready for their onboard blackjack experience.

1. Plan gambling around the complete cruise itinerary. Always remember that all cruise ship casinos are closed when the boat is in port. There are some exceptions, such as in Bermuda and Nassau.

2. The casino will be open when in international waters, so those eager to play just have to wait for the boat to be between 3 and 12 nautical miles from shore.

3. Be ready to deal with smokers. Most of the cruise ships that offer a casino will have designated smoking areas and if the casino is small, smoking may be allowed everywhere in the casino. There may be some exceptions to cigar smoking.

4. Most casino games on a cruise ship are played by casual players. There are seldom card sharks or professional players on board, so prepare for a casual and relaxing experience at the tables.

5. Watch for themed cruises where a major focus is on gambling. These are the cruises that will offer blackjack tournaments and special events throughout the cruise that will make onboard gambling even more exciting and rewarding.

Don't expect to get comped well either. It is very hard to impress in the cruise ship casinos.
One question I get asked from time to time is what do cruise ships do at the craps table when the ship crosses out of international waters. If you knew that was going to happen momentarily, and assuming they refunded any unresolved bet, then you should make a huge bet on the pass or come.
I've never investigated this on the three cruises I've done, but I tend to think they close the casino well before they have to, very late at night, when they don't inconvenience anybody. Craps does not seem popular on cruise ships anyway. I suspect I get asked about it more often that the situation actually happens.
If you find out the answer, please let me know.I took a gambling day cruise out of North Carolina a few years back.
I don't remember the craps odds, but I do remember feeling wierd, tossing the dice while the table was not level, but was moving. It was a small ship and we were in rough water...
After craps & BJ, I made it to a poker table. Eventually, there was an announcement that the casino would close in 15 minutes. At that moment, everyone at the poker table decided to call it quits. I wanted to play more, but, whatever. It seems those guys had the right idea. I was fourth in line at the cage. By the time I was done (only a few minutes later), the line had snaked it's way all over the casino. I don't know how long it took to get in to port, but there were still people on line as we were getting off the ship.

Gambling On A Cruise Ship

I'll be on a cruise in about 3 weeks and hope to get in some craps time. The negatives of a cruise ship tend to be low odds limits, either 1x or 2x. I'm sure the field plays double, but that's no different than a lot of places these days.
The positive - depending upon your bankroll - is that cruise ships are known for having low limits. $5 tables are pretty common for both craps and BJ.

I just got back from a cruise with Norwegian in May. This was my 5th cruise, I try to go every year.
In short, the casinos are lousy. Here's some of what I remember seeing in the casino on my last cruise, aboard the Norwegian Spirit. All the other cruises I've been on are basically the same, with Royal Caribbean offering slightly worse games/odds than NCL:
-VP JoB 6/5, denoms $0.02 to $1 (maybe $5 on some cruises, saw 7/5 at $1 level)
-$5 bj 5 decks, H17, dealt from a CSM paying 6:5,
-Lucky Ladies sidebet on CSM tables, one bj table with a 'Wheel of Madness' side bet paying somewhere between 10 to 1,000 for a bj, though no dealer or pit boss I asked has ever seen a 1,000-to-1 win (next highest pay was 40). Average seems to be in the 12-15 to 1 range. Both are very bad bets.
-$25 bj, H17, 1 deck, paying 6:5, players handle their own cards
-$10 bj, 6 or 8 decks, shoe, S17, no surrender
-$5 royal match shufflemaster automated blackjack game upstairs, S17, split once only, no hitting on split aces, double after split allowed, no hole card (lose only 1 bet, so equivalent to hole card game), late surrender offered.
-3-card poker with the 6-3-1 short pay table on PP
-Double-zero roulette, I think $1 or $2 min on inside bets, maybe $5 or $10 on outside, it varied based on the time of day/crowd size.
-Coin pushers
-Comp system, but impossible to actually earn any comps (play through $10,000 to earn free drinks, for example)
-'Paradise lotto', $2 a ticket, paying between $200,000 to $300,000 for matching 5/5, 4/5 pays $2,000 and 3/5 pays $100. Picked from a staggering 80 numbers. Odds of winning jackpot 5/5 is 1 in 24,000,000. Return = 27%.
-Craps, 1 table $5 min, double on 12 field, I think the odds were 3-4-5, but could be mistaken. Otherwise, looks like your average craps table with bad bets junk in the middle. Not very busy, which is good if you like to roll the dice.
-Let it Ride with the 'bonus buck' bet capped short at $10,000. 3-card bonus bet included, same short pay as 3-card PP.
-The worse Bingo games I've ever seen, costing nearly $50 to play with prizes that are way too low, and a few thousand dollars jackpot that is practically never won.
-Slot returns are very bad, don't play them. Usually the pay tables of the vp games are a good indication of the looseness of the slots, so 6/5 JoB doesn't instill much confidence. Limits vary, $0.01 to $25/$100 machines.
-A texas hold-em table, not sure of the rake. Not much action, usually.
-A rapid roulette table, double zero, $1 min.¸
-Heavy cigarette smoke at times (due to low ceilings). No free drinks.
-Free casino credit to all players, secured by your onboard account. Limits vary, usually $1000 or $2000 per trading day.
-USD currency
-BJ, Poker and Slot tournaments. Some ships charge $15 to enter, some $20 (poker $60 to enter). Sometimes you'll get 2-for-1 entry. Wait until the very last day to play, as they play 'qualifier' rounds throughout the cruise, but only top 5 to 7 scores get into finals. NCL pays first place only and keeps half on entry monies, Royal pays first and second (and I've seen third place paid, too), don't know what their take is. May buy in as many times as you want. I won the bj tournament four times out of five cruises, won $300 to $350 per cruise. Fairly easy to crack final table if you know what score to beat (hence, always play as late as possible).
-Offers available sometimes: $5 - $25 match plays, free Ace (max bet capped low), $10 gets you $15 in chips (sticky chips), $10 gets you $20 in slot play. I was not eligible for any of these offers as it was only open to first time cruisers. I think that is a policy unique to NCL.
Basically, you shouldn't play while cruising. But if you must, the best bets seem to be the $5 shuffle master bj game, then the $10 bj 3:2 game (this is the best game if you can count), and finally $5 craps pass/don't pass only. BJ tournament is ok, I would avoid slots. Take advantage of free chip offers and whatever else you can. I would use the $10 for $20 slot play on the vp machines. Watch the 3-card poker table, though. It happened to me on 2 separate cruises (though not this last one) where I saw a dealer consistently expose his bottom card.

I just got back from a cruise with Norwegian in May. This was my 5th cruise, I try to go every year.
In short, the casinos are lousy. Here's some of what I remember seeing in the casino on my last cruise, aboard the Norwegian Spirit. All the other cruises I've been on are basically the same, with Royal Caribbean offering slightly worse games/odds than NCL:

Are There Casinos On Cruise Ships

This is interesting, because there was a poster on here a couple months ago who worked in the RCL casino, and he acted like their odds were a bit better as they hadn't switched to 6/5 on any of their games beyond the single-deck game, always offering $5 3:2 either 8 deck or CSM.

This is interesting, because there was a poster on here a couple months ago who worked in the RCL casino, and he acted like their odds were a bit better as they hadn't switched to 6/5 on any of their games beyond the single-deck game, always offering $5 3:2 either 8 deck or CSM.

I didn't read his posts, but I do recall a few years back NCL tried to advertise their 'Casinos at Sea' as being the best of all cruise ships. They used to offer really excellent games, actually, better than you could find in most land casinos outside of Vegas. On my first NCL cruise 5 years back, which coincidentally was the same ship I took out of Boston in May, they had only 3:2 blackjack and S17. Dealt out of shoes, too (though I think the 'Wheel of Madness' table was always a CSM). Even full pay 9/6 JoB, though you had to play at the $1 level. They also had S17 Spanish 21! It was really very nice to see, and I was impressed. Sadly, the good games and rules only lasted a few years and I'm sad to report they're now pretty much at the same level of their competitors.
Now, I haven't been on all their ships, so who knows, maybe some ships retained some of the old good rules. Like I said, they still had a good S17 shoe blackjack at the $10 level, and the shufflemaster $5 bj game is even better for the non-counter. However, they have removed all the information about their games from the website, other than a basic listing, which isn't a good sign.
http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=CasinosAtSea
BTW, if you are a member of Harrah's Total Rewards, NCL has a partnership with them and you could get a discounted rate depending on your tier status with TR. I got 20% off the lowest rates thanks to my Diamond card. I ended up paying only $560 after tax for a 7-nighter, which is an excellent price for sailing out of the East Coast.
http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=TotalRewards

I just got back from a cruise with Norwegian in May. This was my 5th cruise, I try to go every year.
In short, the casinos are lousy.

Well at least there a few playable games.. but who are the dorks playing $25 limit 6/5 game??? Was this game busy?

Well at least there a few playable games.. but who are the dorks playing $25 limit 6/5 game??? Was this game busy?

Cruises With Casinos On Board

Ha...i thought the same thing. Maybe novice players thought it was sophisticated to play a single deck game where you got to handle the cards.

Cruise Ship Gambling

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