Eurodam - Alaskan Cruise - Casino Question

[dalesyang]

Hey guys,  if anyone has been on a HAL Alaskan cruise:  

 

I noticed that our upcoming Alaskan Cruise on the Eurodam has a lot of port nights (Juneau 1pm-10pm;   Icy strait point 6-11pm,   Victoria Canada 6pm-11:59pm).  Does this mean that the casino will be closed during those times?    

 

It doesn't seem like the casino will be open very much if they have to be closed when the boat is docked?   

 

[CruiserBruce]

Yes, the casino will ALWAYS be closed when at dock or tendering. Never heard of casino being open while in port.

[Haljo1935]

You are correct - casino will be closed those port nights.

We just came off that itinerary on Eurodam; I'll post copies of the casino hours if I still have the planners.

Enjoy your cruise!

[dalesyang]

awesome thanks!   I wonder if the casino will open after 11pm for a few hours if we leave Juneau at 10pm?

[CruiserBruce]

10 minutes ago, dalesyang said:

awesome thanks!   I wonder if the casino will open after 11pm for a few hours if we leave Juneau at 10pm?

If it opens, it will open pretty quickly...usually less than 30 minutes.

[kangforpres]

It's usually opens 30 minutes after sailing. And despite cruiser Bruce's emphatic no about a casino being open while in port, there are ports that allow it. We had an Overnight at HMC once and the Casino stayed open the entire time we where hovering around and the tenders where operating. Also on my last transit of the Panama Canal aboard the New Amsterdam the casino was open during the entire transit.

 

Om my recent Trans-Pacific cruise on Carnival the casino stayed open while in the Tahitian ports. But if you would rather be in a cruise ship casino then visiting Tahiti, you have a serious gambling problem.

[kangforpres]

Ports that currently allow the cruise lines to operate their casinos while the ship is in port include Bermuda and Malta, which require cruise lines to apply for a gaming license. Bermuda has allowed casino operations for licensed ships between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. since 2013. It’s an ideal situation as Bermuda has no land-based casinos, and many cruise ships overnight in port on Bermuda cruises. Malta, which does have land-based casinos, allows ships that have been approved for licenses to open their casinos between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.  -from TPG

[Haljo1935]

HMC is a private island owned by HAL/CCL and not a "regular" port city likely allowing them to operate differently when anchored there.

[CruiserBruce]

2 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

HMC is a private island owned by HAL/CCL and not a "regular" port city likely allowing them to operate differently when anchored there.

And an overnight at HMC is more rare than casinos open in port!

[Haljo1935]

3 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

And an overnight at HMC is more rare than casinos open in port!

Has there actually been an overnight at HMC?

If Feb our stop got canceled due to wind, so we could only wave at her and the weebly wobbly tender that was trying its best... but it was scheduled for just a half day, so not really relevant to the overnight question, lol, just me being reminded of the beautiful sandy beach I missed. 😪🤧

Edited June 3, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[CruiserBruce]

Just now, Haljo1935 said:

Has there actually been an overnight at HMC?

If Feb our stop got canceled due to wind, so we could wave at her and the weebly wobbly tender that was trying its best...

@kangforpres states they experienced one. Not sure if it was a unplanned overnight stop or not. I think I heard a charter  did it once.

[Haljo1935]

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

@kangforpres states they experienced one. Not sure if it was a unplanned overnight stop or not. I think I heard a charter  did it once.

Charters don't count in my book, lol.

@kangforpres please spill it about an overnight at HMC...

Edited June 3, 2023 by Haljo1935
Edit

[kangforpres]

8 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

@kangforpres states they experienced one. Not sure if it was a unplanned overnight stop or not. I think I heard a charter  did it once.

Yes I am the experienced one. It was a post covid November 2021 cruise as the sail date got closer more Caribbean ports canceled on us, So HAL decided to OVR at HMC. Although since you can't dock at HMC we took in all the tenders by about 10 pm and sailed around little San Salvador and Big San Salvador a few times until about 7 am the next morning. Started tendering at HMC again and then headed to FLL at about 3pm on the 2nd day at HMC to finish the cruise

[CruiserBruce]

1 minute ago, kangforpres said:

Yes I am the experienced one. It was a post covid November 2021 cruise as the sail date got closer more Caribbean ports canceled on us, So HAL decided to OVR at HMC. Although since you can't dock at HMC we took in all the tenders by about 10 pm and sailed around little San Salvador and Big San Salvador a few times until about 7 am the next morning. Started tendering at HMC again and then headed to FLL at about 3pm on the 2nd day at HMC to finish the cruise

That doesn't sound like an overnight in port. If you were sailing, the casino would open.

[kangforpres]

5 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

That doesn't sound like an overnight in port. If you were sailing, the casino would open.

Well All I can tell you is I stayed on the ship the entire time at HMC and the casino was open but  but I didn't gamble since by that point in the 22 day Seattle to FLL cruise my gambling budget was long gone. 

 

The casino staff said they had made arrangements with Bahamian authorities to keep the casino open while visiting. Also Casino staff reported Panama charged a hefty amount to keep the casino open during the roughly 8-10 hour transit (It goes faster now with the 2nd set of locks operating)

[1025cruise]

Also note that on the Victoria day the casino will close early. 

[MisterMatthew]

I was on Eurodam a week ago.

 

It was closed a lot.  On day 2, SEA DAY, it was open at 215pm.  Please let me say that was WHEN I WALKED in.  It may have been opened before i got there obviously.  They had the machines on.  One BJ open, roulette open, and one other card game open.

 

I asked WHEN WILL DICE be open.  Answer, 8pm.

 

--matthew

[SuzWillCruise]

Is smoking allowed in the casino now? Restricted to active gamblers, or open to all?
 

As non-smokers we were happy to read about some casino smoking restrictions on the Eurodam several months ago, but I don’t recall what they were or if they were Covid related.  (On Carnival the smoke definitely travels beyond the casino, and impacts how we traverse the ship and where we can eat.)

[Banditswife]

I was on a cruise that over nighted in HMC, it was an early longer cruise after the restart.  A lot of our ports got canceled, so they opted to overnight at HMC.  I don't remember if the casino was open though.  But I have been on cruises when the casino was open while in port... it is very rare, but does occasionally occur.