casino

[Maxie]

Hi all! 4 more days until my cruise on the Paradise!! I like to do some light gambling. I like the slots the best. Any favorites? What about BlackJack? Any winners?

Also, Any suggestions as to what I should get as my first cocktail on board? Do they make a good cosmo?

[Cruise Specialist]

You are going to have a great time on your cruise. I am not much of a gambler but my hubby loves the slots. About 3 cruises back he went to Books A Million and purchased 2 books on playing slots (after loosing $$ on every previous cruise). He studied these and put in practice what he had learned...He won a total of $1200.00 on the slots. He only allowed himself $150.00 to play for the week...and still cleared the $1200.00. I think his favorite is the Wheel of Fortune slots. Good Luck.

Also, try the drink of the day, but keep in mind that when you purchase the drink it comes in a souvineer glass, just have them refill the glass for the rest of the day at a reduced price. I believe the cost is around 6.95 for the drink and 4.95 for refills.

[penny3333]

Hi Maxie, best of luck to you in the casino. I usually donate lots to the video poker machines. My hubbie gets really mad at me, but it's my money and my entertainment. I have seen other people win, in fact I saw a gentleman hit a $10,000.00 jackpot the first night out on one of our cruises. We usually get a rum punch when we board and wing it from there. Have a wonderful cruise!!

[Jim C.]

Not a slot player myself but I do enjoy the casinos (as you probably can tell by my choosen picture under my name) The casinos have all the popular games including Blackjack. I think I remember even seeing penny slots on the Spirit (but I could be wrong). Since the ship casino is the "only game in town" they do tend to stack the odds against you. ex- Blackjack, the dealer hits on soft seventeen and your double-down and splitting options are limited.
But its still fun anyway. Don't give them too much of your money...

[ChucksOK]

I prefer the craps table. The best odds are to "buy the numbers".

[Jim C.]

Chuck- I fully agree with you. I stay mostly at the craps table.. but I have been know to try a little blackjack when the table is slow.. Playing craps solo takes some of the fun out of it.

[KRoyal]

Hey guys I have 24 days and a couple of hours until my cruise, I'm going on the Conquest for 7 days with my newly wed wife. Jim you said that the doubling and splitting options were limited on the ship. I read on the casino page on carnival.com that they have 2 types regular and one where you can see the dealers cards as soon as he gets them. My question is does the normal black jack have the doubling and splitting limit. If so that sux that's how i make most my money. anyway thanks for the info.

[ChucksOK]

Jim, correct me if I'm wrong but every cruise ship I've been on do not follow "Vegas rules" on the Blackjack table (it may have to do with having British dealers and pit bosses). I've not played BJ in a London casino but I have played Chemin de Fer (aka Banco).

[Dwayne]

The slots pay way less than Vegas I have read. I have also had an unfortunate situation when my credits were deleted from the machine on Celebration all of the sudden. I got them back because had witnesses after much arguement. I asked the guy to run a history/report he said it only shows deposits. That was so convenient for them, he said the head guy was sleeping, I said wake him up. He comes up acting like I disturbed him and all..Now they got 3 guys on me looking at me at 2 AM. My witness whom I did not know told them I had 181 in credits on a $1 machine..They gave me the money for the credits, which in my opinion was admitting was wrong and crooked. They were mad I won $1600 and then $400 twice on same machine. I find the older ships have the better slots, It was even a running joke on Glory last year they were trying to pay for the ship because the slots were so tight. You usually hear 3 or 4 bells a night for big winners and jackpots...We heard one the entire week for $1200 and the casino was packed. I advise to play some nickels for fun.

[Dwayne]

I forgot to say, Holiday is great also, I was waiting for my dinner partner and they were filming "Shipmates" which I did not know at the time was going to be on TV, so I got out of the way and stood in the casino, they had her playing at least 3 rolls of quarters while filmimg. I was playing the 4th slot beside her for a quarter at a time..to kill time..They moved on and within seconds I won $750 with a Quarter! They said I would have won bigger if I put 3 quarters in. I was happy, paid for my cruise. True Story.