Vegas of the Sea?
#1
Original Poster


Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Cleveland, OH
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Vegas of the Sea?
What cruise ships have the best onboard casinos? I could care less about the slots, but am more interested in table games like texas hold'em poker, blackjack, and craps. Are the house advantage (rake) and minimum bets typically consistant with what you see in Vegas?
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist


Join Date: Aug 2001
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All cruise ship casinos "suck". On Carnival and Royal Carribean you're looking at single odds crap tables, blackjack tables with 5-6 decks (on constant shuffle machines), and double zero roulette. The closest you'll find a full pay video poker machine to a cruise ship is Vegas. Drop $500 (or more) and with luck you may get the pit boss to comp you a drink.
I gamble on cruise ships for "fun" not to make money or beat the house.
I gamble on cruise ships for "fun" not to make money or beat the house.
#5
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Join Date: May 1998
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#6
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Brooklyn, New York
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Posts: 2,092
Originally Posted by skofarrell
All cruise ship casinos "suck". On Carnival and Royal Carribean you're looking at single odds crap tables, blackjack tables with 5-6 decks (on constant shuffle machines), and double zero roulette. The closest you'll find a full pay video poker machine to a cruise ship is Vegas. Drop $500 (or more) and with luck you may get the pit boss to comp you a drink.
I gamble on cruise ships for "fun" not to make money or beat the house.
I gamble on cruise ships for "fun" not to make money or beat the house.
You are a captive audience on the ship and they know it. While you may see a winner now and then, the odds are you are just making a donation to the cruiseline.
#7
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On the Radiance of the Seas casino (December 2003), it was 6-deck blackjack with hand shuffling. They also offered single-deck blackjack (can't remember if they paid-out 3:2 or 6:5).
#8
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: ATL
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Originally Posted by skofarrell
BTW, I've never seen a vegas style poker card room on a ship (unless you're on the WPT/Party Poker cruise!)
#9
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 3
Royal Caribbean
I went on a cruise with Royal Caribbean, I thought that the casino was pretty good. They gave me $1 drinks, and I did pretty well at the roulette wheel. I didn't do so hot playing video poker, but all in all it was a good atmosphere and a good time! Hope that helps...


