Bingo machines on Oasis...how do they work?

[Bogos22]

I just read about the Bingo machines that cost $55!!. They said it was a must-have if you want any real chance of winning. They said that when they were on their cruise that every game was won by people who rented the 30 card machines. Now I love to play bingo so how do these machines work?

[alexkrn46]

I just read about the Bingo machines that cost $55!!. They said it was a must-have if you want any real chance of winning. They said that when they were on their cruise that every game was won by people who rented the 30 card machines. Now I love to play bingo so how do these machines work?

 

It is an electronic board, once you pay the fee, it is programed for the game. When a letter/number is called it lights up if you have it. It does all the work for you and no need to embrass yourself by calling bingo when you don't have it.

[Bogos22]

Do you have to purchase a new one each time you play or can you keep it and just pay to get new cards?

[phoenix1181]

That $55 doesn't buy the machine. That's the cost for a round of Bingo.....

[Bogos22]

So each time you want to play bingo, it costs $55 using the electronic board? What does it cost to use regular boards?

[emdia43]

$55! Are they kidding? What are the prizes like? Is anyone paying $55 for these boards?

[teddie]

You do get several Bingo games on the machine, which is only good for the session that you are in.

 

If I do play Bingo, it's only at the 'win a cruise" or final session of the trip, since the cost of the games adds up!

 

Teddie

[teddie]

......

[Expar]

I think it was $35 in Nov. for 3 chances per game. I like to play Bingo and usually only do so on cruises but the machines totally took the fun out of playing. I played once and didn't go back. When I played the only people who won were those using machines.

[smoosh21]

$55! Are they kidding? What are the prizes like? Is anyone paying $55 for these boards?

 

Surprisingly low. Royal is way more expensive than HAL or Princess when it comes to Bingo. I have never played on Royal, other than when I have won a free round card doing something else on the ship.

 

It does seem to keep less people playing than on other lines.

[teddie]

Surprisingly low. Royal is way more expensive than HAL or Princess when it comes to Bingo. I have never played on Royal, other than when I have won a free round card doing something else on the ship.

 

It does seem to keep less people playing than on other lines.

 

Our last cruise (Dec 1) was for ten nights, and there was NO jackpot at the final Bingo session because not enough people had played. I guess I'm partly to blame, since I usually only show up for the final session. :)

 

Also, it looked as though at least half of the room was using the machines...maybe that's why it might seem like "all" the winners had them.

 

Teddie

[ClemsonTiger96]

We were using the old fashion cards during the final day jackpot bingo during our January 2009 cruise on FOS, and we actually won it. There were a lot of people using the machines, so I figured our chances were pretty slim, but somehow we did it.

[phoenix1181]

When we started cruising years ago, the cost to play Bingo was reasonable & there was generally a good crowd. Now, the cost is so ridiculously high there are fewer people playing & many wait for the final game hoping to win the big jackpot................ The jackpot on the Sovereign (7 night) in 1990 was in the vicinity of $10,000. I don't recall what it was last May on the Explorer (9 night) but I'm pretty sure it was smaller & the Explorer is a larger ship.

 

I always thought the cruise line didn't make any money on Bingo but that obviously isn't the case. At the rate they're going, Bingo will soon be a memory like the midnight buffet!

[IWORK2CRUISE]

When we started cruising years ago, the cost to play Bingo was reasonable & there was generally a good crowd. Now, the cost is so ridiculously high there are fewer people playing & many wait for the final game hoping to win the big jackpot................ The jackpot on the Sovereign (7 night) in 1990 was in the vicinity of $10,000. I don't recall what it was last May on the Explorer (9 night) but I'm pretty sure it was smaller & the Explorer is a larger ship.

 

I always thought the cruise line didn't make any money on Bingo but that obviously isn't the case. At the rate they're going, Bingo will soon be a memory like the midnight buffet!

That is so true.

Bingo used to be more fun with more people and larger pots of $. I used to play multiple times each cruise.

I still prefer the paper cards because then I am "playing" instead of looking at an electronic box.

I was very disappointed on Oasis 2 weeks ago to find that the traditional 6-pack of paper cards was being sold for $48.00!

I played once. It was NOT crowded and not very fun. And, that was the win a cruise session which is usually packed. I chose not to play again.

 

I heard that the estimated jackpot for the final just over $2,500. Not much when you consider the amount of passengers that Oasis can carry.