I am going to investigate cruise ship casinos in this article and identify the best ones. Such on-board gambling venues are a mix of thrill and opulence, with guests having the opportunity to bet while sailing on ships.
These establishments have thus come to be an essential part of cruising for many tourists, as they exude an ambiance that is luxurious and games that are highly diversified. Let me show you around some of the leading cruise ship casinos and their standout characteristics.
What are Cruise Ship Casinos?
Cruise ship casinos are onboard gambling facilities found on cruise ships that offer passengers games and entertainment while they sail to different places. Most of these casinos have popular games like blackjack, poker, roulette, and slot machines where the guests can try their luck while having fun during their voyage.
Often, the interiors of a cruise ship casino will be sumptuous and vibrant to create an environment where people can enjoy playing. If one is a professional gambler or simply interested in spending time with joy, there is always something for everybody in these casinos whenever they go on vacation aboard a ship.
How To Choose The Best Cruise Ship Casinos?
To choose the greatest cruise ship casino, a number of things must be put into perspective so as to make the experience satisfying and enjoyable. Here’s how you can decide right:
Types of Games: You should find a cruise ship casino that has an assortment of games to suit various needs and abilities. For example, these might include such well-known games as blackjack, poker, roulette, or slot machines.
The atmosphere around: Go for a lively cruise ship casino which is well decorated and served by professional staff. It will improve your gaming experiences because the atmosphere matters most.
Services available: There are also other services like complimentary drinks, VIP lounges, special events or tournaments offered at the casino. These amenities add value and spice up your overall gaming experience.
Reputation matters: Look for online reviews or ask fellow travelers about their experiences in the cruise ship casino. Only look out for factors including reliability; fairness as well as customer service which will ensure have a positive encounter.
Location counts: Select a cruise ship with centrally located casinos that are easily accessible from various onboard amenities. This guarantees convenience while allowing one to participate in gambling throughout their voyage.
Budget and preference: When choosing a cruise ship casino consider your budget and type of game you are interested in playing. Try to prioritize those casinos with multiple betting options catering for people on different budgets and focus more on the ones providing games you love playing.
Regulations essential for fairness: Such included points will help guarantee that play within legal boundaries is maintained at the maritime casinos. Therefore, go to only those casinos affiliated with auditors’ boards meaning what they do is fair enough throughout their games.
Here Is a List Of Best Cruise Ship Casinos
- Allure of the Seas
- Oasis of the Seas
- Norwegian Epic: 13,000 square feet
- Symphony of the Seas: 12,000 square feet
- Sun Princess: 9,000 square feet
- Norwegian Escape: 8,000 square feet
- Carnival Celebration: 5,000 square feet
7 Best Cruise Ship Casinos
1. Allure of the Seas
One of the major cruise lines in the world is Royal Caribbean, which operates casinos on all seven seas. Among them was the largest cruise ship in the world until a few years ago, which belonged to their Oasis class. The Allure made its maiden voyage in 2010 and has capacity for 5,400 guests.
It features about two dozen restaurants, fifteen bars and lounges and other things like rock climbing, outdoor movie theaters, minigolf courses or one beautiful theatre. Additionally, you should also try out their zipline as well as Aqua Theater and Central Park on a boat.
The biggest casino currently sitting at 18,000 square feet happens to be on board Allure. On the other hand, a large Las Vegas property could be only 100k sq ft. Nonetheless; this size pales in comparison to that of the Winstar-located in Thackerville Oklahoma-which stands at 600k sq ft.
They have blackjack games (fan favorites), craps table games roulette tables with baccarat tables being available too. Not forgetting carnival table games such as Three Card Poker Mississippi Stud and others among them. There are also some machines like Buffalo, Buffalo Stampede and 88 Fortunes totaling to 456 slots in all.
There is also a small non-smoking casino on Deck 4 that contains a few tables and maybe several dozen slot machines if you want to get away from cigar smoke at that big casino upstairs. By far it remains the ultimate cruise ship casino today.
2. Oasis of the Seas
Interesting fact: although it was built on the same blueprint as Allure of the Seas, Oasis is two inches shorter. Nonetheless, this Royal Caribbean flagship for Oasis class is a stunner, which made her first voyage in 2009.
She has had significant renovations in 2019, unlike her sister ship the Allure which gave her really added more modern amenities like an 11 story slide and waterpark. She also boasts of various new restaurant concepts that are not present on Allure.
During remodeling, Oasis lost some space for casinos but still has up to 15k gaming square footage including twenty-four tables and four hundred sixty-four slot machines. It has three tables and forty-six slots machines. For those who want to find ships with the best slot selections – this one is a good option.
3. Norwegian Epic: 13,000 square feet
Norwegian Epic was launched in 2010 and had plans to have two other ships of her kind known as Epic class, however, the agreement did not go through leaving Epic as the only ship of this class in Norwegian fleet. The vessel can accommodate roughly 5,300 guests and rises to a height of 19 decks.
There are fifteen restaurants on board, plus twelve bars and lounges, water slides and rock climbing walls as is customary for such ships; there are also two pool areas and Broadway styled Theaters which Norwegian is famous for.
At one time Norwegian Epic had one the biggest casinos found anywhere on a cruise liner. However many modifications later in 2020 she returned with an impressive 348 slot machines still up from before and a total of 28 tables over about 13,000 square feet.
If you want to play any table game or even try new trendy slots that you’ve never played before in your life, you can find them here. Other Norwegian casino would have less than perfect reviews about their venues’ atmosphere but at least the sheer size of the epic casino serves to alleviate the irritation caused by cigarette smoke.
4. Symphony of the Seas: 12,000 square feet
Royal Caribbean has been ranked again as one of the top cruise lines with casinos.
The Oasis Class by Royal Caribbean comprises five ships built over almost a decade. She entered the water in 2018, and while essentially following the Oasis model she has better staterooms and facilities that are now closer to that of the newly upgraded Oasis of The Seas, rather than Allure of The Seas which is her senior by eight years.
Symphony Casino Space has also been somewhat reduced in size to just around 12,000 square feet. Nonetheless it seems like nearly the same size as Oasis’ casino, having a few additional number of slots (452) and tables (24). So this is why we still consider them among top cruises with casinos.
5. Sun Princess: 9,000 square feet
Princess Cruise Lines’ Sphere class of cruise ships, the latest and greatest one, was launched in February 2024 with its maiden voyage on Sun Princess.
With a double stateroom capacity of 4300 guests, when you hear the name, it may sound familiar to you because it is named after Princess Line’s iconic boat from “Love Boat” TV show.
The cabins are state of the art as well as the usual zip lines and rock climbing. The dining room is designed across three decks high at the back or aft of the ship for breathtaking views.
This unique feature significantly distinguishes this class from other classes in that her attractive glass sphere forms its atrium while overlooking into several indoor cafes along its multi-floor upper deck down the middle core of this new vessel.
It has a casino covering 9000 square feet including seventeen tables games and two hundred twenty-seven slot machines. They don’t seem to be getting their minds around downsized casino space- it’s the biggest yet.
Three great additions are table games linked progressives on blackjack and various poker games. A Buffalo Zone, often found in land-based casinos, is just a dedicated space for many buffalo slot machines with cool signage. A new high-limit slot area will feature enhanced luxury seating for those long hours at the machines.
6. Norwegian Escape: 8,000 square feet
Escape is a Breakaway Plus class ship. It was launched in 2015 and can comfortably carry just over 4,000 guests. Norwegian is known for its best-in-class Broadway-quality shows and entertainment and its relaxed approach to cruising. Here there are no formal dinner nights.
The Escape offers more than twenty-five dining options, has 15 bars, an Aqua Park as it must do with rock climbing wall, rope course and mini golf. There are two swimming pool areas, plus a massive spa and fitness facility.
The casino encompasses around eight thousand square feet but crams in twenty three tables and three hundred eighteen slot machines. They have a variety of poker games like
Three Card Poker, Pai Gow, Ultimate Texas Hold’em as well as the customary blackjack, craps a nd roulette games. The slots are newer ones bearing most of the same names you would find in one of today’s Las Vegas casinos.
7. Carnival Celebration: 5,000 square feet
Carnival’s Excel Class ship, the Carnival Celebration, is one of them. It was launched in 2022 and can comfortably accommodate over 5,300 passengers with a lot of time spent in the Caribbean on six or eight-day cruises.
They’ve got twenty-four restaurants; and if you’re a huge Guy Fierro fan for some unknown reason, they have his Barbeque Smoke House concept along with his Guy’s Burger Joint.
There are fifteen bars and lounges, none of which seem to offer Guy-inspired cocktails to us as far as we know, as well as the usual movie theater, climbing wall and splash pad-type amenities.
This is what differentiates the Celebration from other ships: Bolt is its rollercoaster that runs across the top deck for 800 feet at a speed of 40 mph. This has raised the bar when it comes to onboard sports deck amenities and looks way more fun on paper than another rock-climbing wall.
It covers almost 5k square feet although it is smaller compared to some other entries on this list , has fifteen tables, and just over two hundred slot machines. In Newsweek’s reader’s choice poll in 2023, it won Best Cruise Ship Casino.
Are Cruise Ships Rigged?
It is important to note that cruise ship casinos are regulated and monitored strictly to ensure safety and equality during its processes. Occasionally, there have been rare reports of misconduct or cheating in the cruise ship casinos; however, such issues have always been promptly addressed by cruise line authorities and regulators.
The modern casinos in the ships have employed the current technology with them following strict rules of gambling so as to foster justice and openness. It’s common for them to hire independent auditors as well as gaming commissions to affirm their integrity and comply with the industry standards.
However, similar to other gambling institutions, the casino on a cruise ship is designed to make money for the company. Such gaming houses operate with a house edge built into them which makes certain that it will be profitable over time. While service providers may lose small amounts in short run, but they are guaranteed long term profitability.
Despite some doubts about fairness in cruise ship casinos, there is generally good oversight within legal and ethical bounds. Gaming onboard can be enjoyed without fear since all games are conducted fairly and transparently.
Are Cruise Ship Casinos Regulated?
To be regulated by their country of registration, such as the Bahamas, is the usual case for most. Some have signed pacts and directives with CLIA (Cruise Line International Association) being industry trade association that has some regulations and controls; however market forces are responsible for almost all regulation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the high seas are sailed while cruise ship casinos provide an extraordinary and interesting gaming experience for passengers. These onboard casinos have become part of the cruising experiences of many travelers as they have a variety of games, luxurious atmospheres, and top notch amenities.
By considering factors such as game diversity; atmosphere; amenities; reputation; and accessibility to name but a few among others; tourists can be guided to choose the best casino on a cruise ship that meets their tastes for unforgettable gambling during their stay.
Although concerns about fair play may arise, these casinos are generally well regulated and follow legal and ethical standards while providing passengers with safe havens where they can enjoy gaming activities.
For that reason either you are professional gambler or just need some fun in your life; you will find all this in an onboard casino of any cruise vessel- adventure, luxury and a chance to change your luck by playing on open sea waters.
