Travel Craps Table
To the best of my knowledge the info in this article is up to date. However, you should always check with your cruise lines on their specific games and policies before making any final travel and play plans.
For years the on-board casino on most cruise lines has been a pig-in-a-poke. Unless you’ve cruised on a specific ship in the past you never really knew what you were getting until you boarded the ship. Here’s a listing of what you can expect from most of the major cruise lines you’ll find sailing from U.S. ports:
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Carnival Cruise Lines is by far the largest cruise line, currently with 22 ships. Its casinos are among the largest on the high seas. In addition to blackjack, they offer roulette, craps, Caribbean stud poker, Caribbean draw poker, three-card poker and slots.
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While most tables are $5 and $10 minimums, Carnival also offers blackjack tables with a $25 minimum. They are also is willing to make higher maximums available for players who obtain approval prior to sailing. Carnival’s blackjack rules calls for the dealer to stand on soft 17, which is consistent with casino rules in Las Vegas and more favorable to the player than the policy of requiring the dealer to hit soft 17 as is found on some other cruise lines.
Carnival’s craps tables feature double odds (most cruise lines offer only single odds) with a pass line minimum of $5 and maximum of $200. Again, the casino is willing to make higher maximums available for players who obtain approval prior to sailing.
Their Ocean Players Club offers something for every level of player from awards for playing slots to credit lines and higher betting limits for high rollers. Players can earn points towards complimentary beverages, free gifts, discounts off on-board services, future cruise benefits and even cash back rebates on future cruises.
All Carnival Cruise Lines’ vessels have a dedicated casino host to welcome you and answer your questions. All of the larger Carnival casinos host slot and blackjack tournaments as well as other events. For more information, visit the Ocean Players Club at http://www.oceanplayersclub.com.
Celebrity cruise lines four newest ships – Millennium, Summit, Constellation and Infinity – each boast a Fortunes Casino. These casinos each features 5 blackjack tables, 2 three card poker, 1 Caribbean stud poker and 1 Texas Hold ‘em table, 1 craps table, 2 roulette tables, and about 200 slots.
The Fortunes Casinos on three slightly smaller Celebrity ships — Mercury, Century and Galaxy — are almost the same, with one fewer poker table and a couple dozen fewer slots. The line’s smallest ship — the Zenith — has the same number of table games but only 143 slots.
Celebrity’s casinos have great ambiance, but the action tends to fade fast after midnight. Generally the casinos close by 2AM for lack of players.
Celebrity claims to offer a variety of comps for players who meet certain requirements. However, details on how their comp program works are somewhat murky at this point.
Crystal Cruises is a high-end luxury line with two ships considerably larger than those of most competitors. The line recently took over operation of its casinos from Caesars Palace of Las Vegas. Most of the casino dealers and managers are former Caesars employees who stayed on after the takeover.
Each of Crystal’s casinos offers blackjack, three-card poker, mini-baccarat, craps, roulette, and slot and video poker machines. Now, as was the case when Caesars ran the casinos, the Crystal Casinos offer all players complimentary cocktails.
Holland America Line’s newest ships — the Noordam, Westerdam, Oosterdam and Zuiderdam — have ultramodern casinos with blackjack tables, Caribbean stud poker, three-card power, Let It Ride, craps, roulette, and slots.
Members of their Ocean Players Club can be rated when playing table games in Holland America cruise ship casinos, and may be eligible for complimentary drinks, free on-board gifts and discounts off on-board services. High rollers may be eligible for discounts on future cruise bookings. However, at last report the Ocean Players Club slot system was not yet available in Holland America cruise ship casinos.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Casinos at Sea offer baccarat, blackjack, craps, roulette, Caribbean stud poker, 3-card poker, Texas Hold ‘em, Pai Gow poker and tiles, Oasis poker, video poker, mystery jackpots, and 24-hour slot machines.
NCL was the first cruise line to offer a rewards program similar to those offered by most “land-based” casinos. Known as the Casinos at Sea Players Club, this program — currently operating on the Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Star, Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Jewel and lets players earn “Sea Bucks” when playing either table games or slots.
Travel Craps Table Layout
For table games, Sea Bucks are earned based on amount of time played, the type of game, and the average bet. Sea Bucks are earned on slot machines based on coin in and type of machine.
Once a member has reached a minimum of $25 in points, the Sea Bucks can be used as payment of on-board items like food and beverages or shore excursion packages. Sea Bucks can also be accumulated and used toward payment for a future cruise, however points expire on a rolling-basis 18 months after they have been earned.
Princess Cruises, a favorite with many upscale travelers, has virtually doubled its fleet in the past three years. Casinos aboard Princess ships offer all of the popular table games with Las Vegas style rules including craps, roulette, blackjack, Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, and Three Card Poker. They also offer a variety of slots including video poker and novelty machines — many of which have progressive jackpots.
Members of the Ocean Players Club can be rated when playing table games in Princess cruise ship casinos, and earn points that can be used for discounts on future cruises or cash back rewards. However, the Ocean Players Club slot system is not yet available in Princess cruise ship casinos.
Royal Caribbean’s newest ships, Liberty of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas, are the world’s largest cruise ships, and their Las Vegas-style casinos are among the largest on the seas as well. The line’s five Voyager class ships — Mariner of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, and Adventure of the Seas — are only a bit smaller, and their casinos are among the most active afloat.
Freedom and Liberty feature 19 gaming tables, and just over 300 slots. The Voyager class ships feature 16 gaming tables and just under 300 slots. But there is action to be found aboard all ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, with a minimum of 8 gaming tables and at least 150 slots.
Royal Caribbean now has Players Club, which offers qualifying players complimentary drinks in the casino, and based on play, invites some of its high rollers to expense-paid blackjack and slots tournaments.
According to Royal Caribbean, to qualify for cruise discounts a player is expected to spend a minimum of two hours a day at the table, betting a minimum of $50 per hand at blackjack, $50 per roll at craps, and $25 per hand or spin at Caribbean stud poker, Let It Ride, or roulette. Slot comps are based on play at $5 per spin.
Members of the Player’s Club are also able prior to their trip to arrange personal check-cashing privileges provided they have existing privileges at any U.S. land casino.
One question players often have about cruise ship casinos is “Who regulates them?” The short answer is that there is no independent governmental regulation such as is provided in Las Vegas by the Nevada Gaming Commission or by local gaming commissions in other jurisdictions.
The good news for players is that cruise ship casinos tend to be more likely to resolve disputes in the passenger’s favor than most land-based casinos. After all, they want happy cruisers who return to sail with them again and again. But in the absence of government regulators, the cruise ship casinos operate under a set of guidelines published in 1999 by an organization called the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL), whose members include most of the major cruise lines.
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The ICCL guidelines address the equipment, conduct of games, internal controls, and customer service for casinos on cruise ships. In terms of facilities and equipment, the ICCL guidelines call for all equipment purchased and installed on cruise vessels to “meet the regulatory standards of the Nevada Gaming Control Board or other licensed jurisdiction for payback and internal software.”
Travel Craps Tables
Regarding rules of play, ICCL guidelines require that the rules “generally follow those established for casinos in Nevada, New Jersey, or England.” Admittedly there are some casinos in Nevada and New Jersey with some pretty bad rules for players. Nevertheless, I think the games are fair if you understand the rules in advanced. And in many cases the games will be better than you’ll find in the local casinos in most of the ports cruise ships visit.