🛳️ Cruise Casino - Can you win?

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Tips: 26

1. Of course you CAN win. The question is over what time period. If you commit to a maximum amount of money to lose and/or fixed time period to gamble, you will in fact win, that is break even, 25% of the time! That’s the psychological thrill of playing. May the odds be ever in your favor!

2. But Cruise Katniss, the odds are never in your favor. You can win a game, for a day, or even a trip. But can you win consistently, over the long term? Fuggedaboudit. That’s the definition of a game of chance. This is a business. The cruise lines set the rules (machine win rate, game rules). But do have fun!

3. You also CAN win a complimentary cruise. The casino doesn’t let you leave empty-handed. The cruise lines have sexy casino loyalty rewards programs. But of course you’re paying for it. That’s entertainment!

4. But even the cruise award isn’t free. You still have to pay taxes and port fees, typically $200-400 for 2.

5. Free drinks, yay! Who’s in a hurry? Take your time. Bet again. And again. … The casino floor is the one place onboard where you can get free drinks - when you’re playing - even if you don’t have a drink package.

6. And no casino drink tip auto charge!!! The casino floor is also the one place where the ship typically does not automatically charge a tip for a drink.

7. Bring lots of singles. Even though the drink is free and there is no automatic gratuity, you want your cocktail server to give you great service, don’t you? It’s customary to tip $1-2 per drink.

8. You can use cash to bet. Some passengers prefer to bring cash with them onboard to manage their gambling budget and clearly limit how much they’ll lose.

9. Also bring cash to avoid a transaction fee (3% at Carnival), which can be charged if you use your keycard to download cash.

10. Always provide your stateroom keycard when playing, even if you use cash, so you can earn points and rewards. The casinos are set up to be cashless. Bets are charged directly to your room and registered credit card. Just insert your card directly in the slot and video machines. Give your keycard to the dealer at table games so you can be credited for your time playing.

11. Cruise win odds are worse than Vegas. The percentage of money from slot machines that goes to the casino is known as the "house edge" or "hold percentage". In Las Vegas the Return to Player (RTP) percentage is 90-95% with the higher RTP for the machines closer to the doors. The average cruise casino RTP is 85%.

12. We know what you can do to earn a cruise. Most cruise lines make it a mystery. Plus the reward programs always vary with new player bonuses, special promotions, program changes, etc. Royal Caribbean doesn’t make it a secret. With them you earn an interior room at the lowest member tier with 2,500 points. So we’ll play with that.

13. Each game type credits you differently. On Royal ships slots earn 1 point for a $5 bet. Video poker earns 1 point for a $10 bet. Table games earn 10 points on an average $10 wager over an hour. Some machines and games may not earn credits. So check with the dealer or casino staff.

14. You need to spend $12,500 to win that free cruise. Again, this is just Royal and their published program. I’ve read that slots are the most efficient way to earn casino rewards. So let’s stick with them. 2,500 $5 slots bets will get you the 2,500 points for the trip. That math was easy! Make sure your credit card (or cards, or debit cards) has that amount available.

15. You’ll lose $1,875 for that free cruise. That is an average based on the slot RTP of 85%, which means you lose 15% of the time.

16. Easy come, fast go. If you gamble for fun, have a set amount each day or trip that you can lose. A rule of thumb is to never bet more than 1% of your bankroll. If your limit is $500, don’t bet more than $5 per spin. Use this handy calculator to see how long your bankroll will last. Using the limit above, you can play about 700 times on average. If you’re a steady player, that will last for about an hour and a half. So you might want to take it easy and make it last, pardner. Take your time. Enjoy the occasional wins. Enjoy those drinks. Take a bathroom break or two. Check out the musical group playing next door in the atrium. Chat with your wife (if you want to), talk to your neighbors, flirt with the cocktail server.

17. Find the slots with the highest bet. Our goal here is to win that free cruise, damnit! So we’re going to be serious about gameplay and not get distracted. Cruise ships generally have $0.01 to $10 slots. Some cruises may have higher denominations. Since rewards are based on bet amount, the higher bet machines allow you to reach our point and bet target faster. Plus some machines pay out more for higher bets.

18. It doesn’t take that long to earn the cruise. Let us assume you’re at the $10 slots and average 6 seconds per play. You’ll make 600 bets per hour. Let’s give you 10 minutes off every hour for a break. So we’ll round it down to 500 plays/hour. That results in you betting $5,000 and losing an average $750 an hour. It will take just 2.5 hours to reach $12,500 in bets (and the average $1,875 in losses), a modest investment in time for the cruise.

19. That’s expensive entertainment. If you take your time over a few days of the cruise and spread your playing over a total of 5 hours instead of an hour and half, that entertainment is costing you $375 per hour.

20. You can’t take that free cruise wherever you like. You played at the casino, you lost your money, and you finally get that complimentary cruise email you’ve been waiting for for you and your sweetheart. But it comes with limitations. Casino offers may be associated with limited promotions. They often are for short-notice and/or specific sailings and cabins.

21. Sorry, it’s not really free. You still have to pay taxes and port fees.

22. So what is the free cruise comp worth? The average last minute Caribbean cruise price for 2 adults in an interior cabin on a 4 night sailing is $1,250. Let’s be generous and say their offer is for a $1,750 sailing. Taxes and port fees are about $250, which you have to pay. So the net casino comp is worth $1,500.

23. Is the free cruise worth it? You played for a few hours and spent $1,875 in gambling losses. You have to pay $250 in port fees and taxes for a total of over $2,100 in spending. Financially you could have bought that cruise directly for less. But you love to cruise and had fun, right?

24. Don’t bet against the house. The last word - you're playing with “house money”. Your cruise credit is worth $0 if you don’t sail again. It forces you to cruise … on that line … and on the ship, sailing, and dates they may limit you to. Meanwhile the cruise line essentially holds your money. On the free cruise they still make money on you as 50% of their revenues don’t come from the cabin (it’s from drinks, Internet, excursions, and yes, the casino).

25. Happy gambler, happy cruise line. The cruise lines make even more money on those who play other games, the casual players who don’t qualify for rewards, and those that gamble much more. It’s a good business for them. They’re even starting to schedule cruises primarily for their gamblers. This is why cruise lines get 11% of their revenues from the casino (even after cruise award costs) and dedicate much of a ship entire floor to it!

26. There are other casino rewards. You don’t have to lose $1,500—$2000 to enjoy the casino. You can place smaller bets and just plan on losing a few hundred dollars. When you use your keycard the cruise line will still track your play and accumulate it over multiple sailings. You might not play enough to earn a cruise. But you may still receive discounts or other offers.