Cruise Ship Playing

17 March 2024

By Royal Flushes

CINDY: One topic we really haven’t hit in the last two years or so is gambling on a cruise ship. I am not a big fan of cruising but I have brought myself to the casinos on the ships.

ABBY: That is where we differ. I like a nice evening watching the ship moving out to the ocean and the casino open with the people ready to try their luck against Lady Luck.

CINDY: First off, I think the slot machines are really tight. I haven’t seen many big winners – actually I haven’t seen or heard of many winners at all.

ABBY: I did ask the ship’s casino manager what the paybacks were but he basically brushed me off. I only heard some small wins.

CINDY: But I have to say that we didn’t spend an enormous time trying to listen to slot machine noises.

ABBY: True.

CINDY: Didn’t you find the craps games to be inferior to the land-based casinos?

ABBY: Yes. We had double odds but the casino would not let us put $25 on the 6 or 8 in odds when our pass-line or come bets were on the 6 or 8. You won’t find that in the regular casinos. Putting $25 in odds on those numbers is just a regular practice.

CINDY: I thought the craps dealers were somewhat hesitant in their games. Maybe they were new but they didn’t seem to have a professional flow to their dealing. There were a lot of pauses. And questions – from the dealers.

ABBY: Not too many normal craps players like you get at a regular casino. I think a lot of them were new and trying to learn the game. Maybe cruise ships don’t attract regular craps players? I don’t know. Maybe.

CINDY: The blackjack dealers seemed efficient but many of the players did not know basic strategy or even close to basic strategy. There were regular players too who were getting frustrated with the other players’ play. So that’s somewhat like a regular casino.

ABBY: Roulette was normal but there were too many players at the wheel. They only had one wheel. That surprised me. It was the American double-zero wheel with 0 and 00. Not a great game but because the table became packed, the game was slow which is good if you are a roulette player. Slow is always good for the players.

CINDY: Fewer decisions will ultimately mean fewer losses. Too many players want fast speeds and fast speeds are not good when you are playing casino games. With fast games you should maybe not bet on every decision. I follow that sometimes. Of course, if I have a few drinks I might not follow that. Drink is the devil.

ABBY: So much for your New Year’s resolution…or was that mine?

CINDY: There were a few other games but in reality they aren’t for me.

ABBY: Overall, what did you think of the cruise ship’s casino experiences?

CINDY: Well, we were not on a huge ship so my opinion only applies to a smaller ship, like the one we were on. I enjoyed playing but it is not a great resource as a gambling site. I would play again but, you know, I just love to play in casinos.

ABBY: I agree.