Casino Closures on Hawaiian Cruises

[mrsfanci]

Has anyone been on a cruise from California to Hawaii and had the Casino closed for the entire journey?

[packed&ready!]

No.

[caripoo]

Don't know why they are closed on the voyage over, but the casinos AREN'T allowed open in the Hawaiian waters.:eek::eek:

[lbt43]

Yeah, Hawaii has strict gambling laws. My grandpa was telling me he saw them once in port unloading the slots until departure.

[sandyh422]

My husband and I would like to take the Hawaii cruise in 2011 on the Century and have been trying to find out what to expect in terms of the casino being open. We asked the casino manager on the Millenium this past summer and he said, no, the casino cannot be opened and they dismantle it. However, he did not qualify whether in Intl waters or Hawaiian waters. I have been continuing my research on this and get reports from passengers on other cruise lines who say the casino has stayed open while in international waters even when it was near Hawaii. The reservationists at RCI/Celebrity really dont know the answer. All I seem to get is a mayber or maybe not. As we like to gamble for a few hours in the evening, we will not go take a cruise where there is no gambling at all. But, I am completely frustrated at not being able to get a concrete answer, particularly from Celebrity.

[kitty9]

Do you realize how long it would take to "dismantle" a casino? That won't be done and they will not take the machines off the ship. Just the man hours alone would make that impossible.

 

I've been on a few cruises to Hawaii, and they do close the casino for the days you're sailing the ports, but once you left and headed back to the US, the casino was in full operation.

[Ma Bell]

We've been on three Celebrity cruises to Hawaii and the casino was open whenever the ship was sailing, even from island to island. Since some of the islands are close together they seem to just go far enough out into open waters to be able to open.

[mrsfanci]

The reason I started this thread on Celebrity is because I know they go there more than occassionally. I'm booked on the Hawaiian Holiday Cruise on Crystal and just called yesterday to find out about the four nights while sailing in Hawaiian waters and was told they will not open it for the entire voyage. I was told by some of the posters on Crystal Board that there have been times that they have dismantled the entire casino and brought it below passenger decks and told by others that casino is open during voyage but not while in Hawaiian waters. It seems to be a crap shoot. I'm not a big gambler by any means but on a cruise I enjoy the casino for short periods especially on a cruise with 10 sea days and nights.

[Ine]

We've been on three Celebrity cruises to Hawaii and the casino was open whenever the ship was sailing, even from island to island. Since some of the islands are close together they seem to just go far enough out into open waters to be able to open.

 

Indeed the same on our Hawaii cruise on Summit.

[mrsfanci]

The Crystal management read my post on their board and informed me that they will, in fact, have the casino open while at sea going and returning to Los Angeles and will only be closed during the cruise portion between the islands. I was given incorrect information. Of course, I will verify again.