Casinos?

[ducklite]

I agree with both of these comments.

DCL will loose an important USP if they introduce a casino to the ships. It is a major turn off and takes a large amount of space away from family friendly venues, AND requires a lot of staff to run it. With limited crew berths, that means a reduction in crew from other areas and a reduction in Guest Service to the customer IMO.

 

ex techie

 

Personally I doubt if they will ever add one, but if they do I suspect it will be a small space like the one on Wind Star. It's in what's pretty much a sectioned off end of the main lounge area. It has a dozen slots, a card table and a roulette wheel. Typically it's staffed by one employee as there are seldom more than half a dozen people using it at any given time. It's only open after dinner.

 

I'm guessing it about breaks even once you factor in the cost of the employee and the space, but it's one of those things that I think they need to offer their 99.99% adult demographic.

 

On my two weeks on that ship I can remember more than a couple nights where the employee was alone in the casino and closed up around 10:00 without a single customer!

[slightlysilly]

We aren't Disney people. We were two adults and an 11 year old who is more of a Pixar guy (yeah, I'm aware that's Disney too). We didn't have our picture taken with any of the characters, we didn't stand in any lines for any of the characters, we didn't talk to any characters, if we passed a character I might have waved, I don't remember. I think though, if we stripped away all the Disney stuff, we still would have had a great cruise. The food is awesome, the service is great, the Aquaduck was cool, the rooms are really comfortable and have a really unique design, the spa is magnificent, the adult areas on the ship are strictly adult-only and quite relaxing. There are two adult only restaurants that are fantastic. There's an adult only area on Castaway Cay that is quiet and blessedly adult only. I'd totally go without my kid.

 

I think the question is more of whether or not you are a casino person. If that's the case, then probably not Disney... BUT if by casino you're thinking "adult-only" areas, then you'll definitely be in for a treat if you try Disney.

[Ex techie]

Gee, you mean the crew actually sleep onboard? Doesn't the crew go home every night? Can't they just build an addition? :D

 

Can't they just tow a small boat behind the ship for the crew to sleep in? ;)

 

ex techie

[Ex techie]

Personally I doubt if they will ever add one, but if they do I suspect it will be a small space like the one on Wind Star. It's in what's pretty much a sectioned off end of the main lounge area. It has a dozen slots, a card table and a roulette wheel. Typically it's staffed by one employee as there are seldom more than half a dozen people using it at any given time. It's only open after dinner.

 

I'm guessing it about breaks even once you factor in the cost of the employee and the space, but it's one of those things that I think they need to offer their 99.99% adult demographic.

 

On my two weeks on that ship I can remember more than a couple nights where the employee was alone in the casino and closed up around 10:00 without a single customer!

 

I agree that I doubt they would ever add a casino to their ships in the future.

That said, if they did add one, it would be in a very discrete area away from any families, and knowing DCL they would over engineer it.

Whilst I appreciate the Wind Star example of any one croupier, you also need security to monitor the dealing to make sure no underhand activities are taking place, plus security for when that member of the family that cannot say no looses all of their money/run's up a debt and the fall out of it.

 

chengkp75 will have a good idea of the challenges a casino can add to a cruise!

 

ex techie

[ducklite]

I agree that I doubt they would ever add a casino to their ships in the future.

That said, if they did add one, it would be in a very discrete area away from any families, and knowing DCL they would over engineer it.

Whilst I appreciate the Wind Star example of any one croupier, you also need security to monitor the dealing to make sure no underhand activities are taking place, plus security for when that member of the family that cannot say no looses all of their money/run's up a debt and the fall out of it.

 

chengkp75 will have a good idea of the challenges a casino can add to a cruise!

 

ex techie

 

They resolve security issues by having a camera over each table. If there is ever a concern the DVR can be replayed to see what happened. The hotel manager is in charge of discrepancies.

[Ex techie]

They resolve security issues by having a camera over each table. If there is ever a concern the DVR can be replayed to see what happened. The hotel manager is in charge of discrepancies.

 

Oh I appreciate that, but card counting on the last night etc.

Wind Star is a totally different kettle of fish customer to DCL!

 

I just think DCL would make it a whole other over the top operation of it!

 

Anyways, it's pie in the sky thinking that they would add a casino by both of us!

 

ex techie

[hackif]

While they have an advantage related to merchandise spend, they get zero casino, and much lower alcohol than other lines as well Im sure.

 

I wouldn't assume that they necessarily have a lower alcohol spend than other cruise lines. While I've never seen anyone on board who was completely plastered and the drink of the day is a reasonable price IMO, they do have a very nice wine cellar and it is possible to spend a rather large amount on high end alcohol. My SIL was appalled at the amount DH and I spent on alcohol on our first DCL cruise and assumed that we must have spent the entire time drunk. However, we didn't drink that much, we just drank expensive stuff.

 

Since they aren't trying to attract the heavy party people who are trying to get drunk on cheap drink, they can afford to carry (and charge for) more expensive stuff. On one of our cruises, I drank many glasses of Moet et Chandon Imperial Ice. A bottle at our local store is $89 but with the usual restaurant upcharge, I spent much more than that as I drank it by the glass. I have to believe that I probably drank 2-3 bottles of it over a period of a week. That would add up to a lot of cheap rum & cokes or glasses of beer if I was trying to get drunk. I've even paid upwards of $18/glass for wine on DCL (it was worth it - best red wine I've ever had; can't find it locally sadly).

 

I've also seen parents buy a lot of princess dresses and pirate paraphernalia from the shops and they have huge margins on those. Not to mention the Disney t-shirts, stuffed animals, hats, etc. All with high margins.

 

That all may not totally compensate for lack of casino, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that it contributes quite nicely to the bottom line.

[ducklite]

I wouldn't assume that they necessarily have a lower alcohol spend than other cruise lines. While I've never seen anyone on board who was completely plastered and the drink of the day is a reasonable price IMO, they do have a very nice wine cellar and it is possible to spend a rather large amount on high end alcohol. My SIL was appalled at the amount DH and I spent on alcohol on our first DCL cruise and assumed that we must have spent the entire time drunk. However, we didn't drink that much, we just drank expensive stuff.

 

Since they aren't trying to attract the heavy party people who are trying to get drunk on cheap drink, they can afford to carry (and charge for) more expensive stuff. On one of our cruises, I drank many glasses of Moet et Chandon Imperial Ice. A bottle at our local store is $89 but with the usual restaurant upcharge, I spent much more than that as I drank it by the glass. I have to believe that I probably drank 2-3 bottles of it over a period of a week. That would add up to a lot of cheap rum & cokes or glasses of beer if I was trying to get drunk. I've even paid upwards of $18/glass for wine on DCL (it was worth it - best red wine I've ever had; can't find it locally sadly).

 

I've also seen parents buy a lot of princess dresses and pirate paraphernalia from the shops and they have huge margins on those. Not to mention the Disney t-shirts, stuffed animals, hats, etc. All with high margins.

 

That all may not totally compensate for lack of casino, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that it contributes quite nicely to the bottom line.

 

I agree. We carried wine on with us but still bought a couple of expensive bottles of Champagne plus Port one night, a few beers for the other half, etc. with a total bar tab over well over $600 on a three night cruise. Add in Remy, Palo, spa, etc. and we spent over $1000 with no shore excursions!

Edited March 29, 2015 by ducklite

[Mbrthelegend]

Your question is being taken way too literal.

 

There is no casino on board. For whatever reason it was not included. However, there is Bingo. That leads me to believe the absence had nothing to do with disapproval of gambling and probably more to do with adding that much more adult only space.

 

Characters are all around the ship. However, they are usually planned ahead and listed in the Navigator. There are lines of families waiting to see them. There is a disney presence everywhere but it's often subtle and quite classy. Much of the fun is noticing the "hidden Mickey's" imbedded in railings, tapestries and general design. One does not feel like they have landed in a Disney Channel world. I find it more like Disneys Moderate to more high end resorts as opposed to the "in your face" theming of the value resorts.

 

We found there was plenty for adults to do and never felt overwhelmed by kids. Although there are TONS of kids onboard my experience was they were entertained enough not to be disruptive to others. I also felt like families on board were relaxed and enjoying their families in contrast to many families appearing overwhelmed and exhausted in the parks.

[jwalk03]

Your question is being taken way too literal.

 

There is no casino on board. For whatever reason it was not included. However, there is Bingo. That leads me to believe the absence had nothing to do with disapproval of gambling and probably more to do with adding that much more adult only space.

 

Characters are all around the ship. However, they are usually planned ahead and listed in the Navigator. There are lines of families waiting to see them. There is a disney presence everywhere but it's often subtle and quite classy. Much of the fun is noticing the "hidden Mickey's" imbedded in railings, tapestries and general design. One does not feel like they have landed in a Disney Channel world. I find it more like Disneys Moderate to more high end resorts as opposed to the "in your face" theming of the value resorts.

 

We found there was plenty for adults to do and never felt overwhelmed by kids. Although there are TONS of kids onboard my experience was they were entertained enough not to be disruptive to others. I also felt like families on board were relaxed and enjoying their families in contrast to many families appearing overwhelmed and exhausted in the parks.

 

Bingo is a far cry from having a full casino. I mean every Catholic Church in the country plays Bingo, but there are still a lot of places that would not allow a casino to be built in the church basement.

[moki'smommy]

Bingo is (IMHO) still a form of gambling, but it doesn't require a fixed space. On the Magic, I've seen it in the Walt Disney Theatre and in one of the nightclub areas--in both cases when I was coming in for the activity scheduled to follow. One CM is able to carry the needed equipment into the venue and the clean up is minimal to non-existent. (we didn't see any clean up before our event, so no addition to general room cleaning).

 

It is much less "invasive" than a casino in terms of space, personnel, etc.

[Ex techie]

Your question is being taken way too literal.

 

There is no casino on board. For whatever reason it was not included. However, there is Bingo. That leads me to believe the absence had nothing to do with disapproval of gambling and probably more to do with adding that much more adult only space.

 

What part of the question "are there any plans that you know of to change that in the future? " about no casino onboard is being taken too literally?

 

Yes they deliberately designed all four ships with no casino because gambling doesn't fit the "family friendly atmosphere" of Disney.

They have a history of governmental lobbying to stop casino expansion:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/us/gambling-debate-entangles-disney-in-florida.html?_r=0

 

http://gaming-awards.com/NEWS/?p=575

 

http://www.getgovernmentoutofgambling.org/tag/disney/

 

ex techie

[jwalk03]

Bingo is (IMHO) still a form of gambling' date=' but it doesn't require a fixed space. On the Magic, I've seen it in the Walt Disney Theatre and in one of the nightclub areas--in both cases when I was coming in for the activity scheduled to follow. One CM is able to carry the needed equipment into the venue and the clean up is minimal to non-existent. (we didn't see any clean up before our event, so no addition to general room cleaning).

 

It is much less "invasive" than a casino in terms of space, personnel, etc.[/quote']

 

I agree that Bingo is a form of gambling. So is a raffle, or a lottery, etc.

I am just saying that those types of gambling are more widly accepted than casinos.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

While on the other hand, there are those of us who are glad there aren't casinos onboard. I hate having to walk though them just to get somewhere else onboard.

 

Amen! Especially when coupled with the fact that generally the casinos will allow smoking when playing. It must have been horrible to be in there on HAL's Westerdam when people were playing because even the next day when the casino had been closed for over 12 hours you could not walk near there without smelling the stench and if you dared to walk through (which you had to do to get to the dining area unless you wanted to walk up and then down or down and then up (which I did) to get to dinner, you'd smell like you rolled in an ash tray. DISGUSTING!

[ducklite]

That was one nice thing about the casino on Windstar. No smoking. Windstar has no smoking allowed ANYWHERE indoors. There is one small area with seating for about six people on the topmost deck around the corner from one of the bars where smoking is allowed. That is the only place on the entire ship it is allowed. We sailed on a B2B and on the first week there was one smoker on the entire ship, and on the second week there were two.