World Cruise Casino Question

[LadyZolt]

I don't gamble much, so I'm not that familiar with how the casinos work financially for a cruise line, so I thought I'd ask here.  🙂 Anyone know how lucrative (or not) the casino is?  I'm currently on the Serenade on the world cruise and I've walked through the casino several times while it's been open and operating, and there are tables with employees ready to play, but few people actually playing.  I have sailed on other Royal Caribbean cruises, and other cruise lines with casinos, too (like Norwegian) and generally, there are a good number of people in it when it's open.  I didn't think there would be the usual number of people in the casino for this specific cruise as it's more of a "destination intensive" cruise rather than a "getaway for a vacation" cruise, but the impression I'm getting is that Royal Caribbean expected more people than they're getting in the casino. I asked one of the dealers tonight if they had been busy since I have only walked through it a few times, and they said they have not and it seems like they thought they would be.  So I was just wondering if anyone knows generally how much the cruise line makes off of the casino on a typical day or a typical cruise.  

[Sunshine3601]

Sorry i have no idea on daily revenue/profits for a regular sailing.

 

I'm the sure the play in the casino on a world cruise will be much less than other sailings, especially early on.

 

With all cruises the casino will be busier at certain times of day than others depending on dining and show schedules for the evenings.  I'm sure this sailing has a much different vibe.

 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by Sunshine3601

[Coralc]

I would expect that the small segment cruisers might be more inclined to gamble more. If you are going to be on a cruise for a long period of time, it might not be that interesting to toss money at the casino. 

[cruisegus]

I tend to agree that this particular cruise is not those that falsely believe that the "casino" pays for their cruise habit.

 

Completely different crowd. 

 

More towards my cruise paradigm 

[cruisegus]

1 minute ago, cruisegus said:

I tend to agree that this particular cruise is not those that falsely believe that the "casino" pays for their cruise habit.

 

Completely different crowd. 

 

More towards my cruise paradigm 

I would belive that shore excursions are the main revenue producer on this cruise 

[Merion_Mom]

40 minutes ago, LadyZolt said:

I don't gamble much, so I'm not that familiar with how the casinos work financially for a cruise line, so I thought I'd ask here.  🙂 Anyone know how lucrative (or not) the casino is?  I'm currently on the Serenade on the world cruise and I've walked through the casino several times while it's been open and operating, and there are tables with employees ready to play, but few people actually playing.  I have sailed on other Royal Caribbean cruises, and other cruise lines with casinos, too (like Norwegian) and generally, there are a good number of people in it when it's open.  I didn't think there would be the usual number of people in the casino for this specific cruise as it's more of a "destination intensive" cruise rather than a "getaway for a vacation" cruise, but the impression I'm getting is that Royal Caribbean expected more people than they're getting in the casino. I asked one of the dealers tonight if they had been busy since I have only walked through it a few times, and they said they have not and it seems like they thought they would be.  So I was just wondering if anyone knows generally how much the cruise line makes off of the casino on a typical day or a typical cruise.  

 

It's only Day 4.  Lots of unpacking and settling in on Day 1.  One day was CocoCay, so most people get off the ship and enjoy the port.  One day was Cozumel, and many people had a looong day going to Chichen Itza.  So it is REALLY not typical so far.  

[lovesthebeach2]

I’m not a gambler but if I was I probably wouldn’t spend time in the casino, because the 2 segments we’re doing are very port intensive.  In the 20 days we’ll be onboard, only 1 is a sea day. I agree that the vibe will be different many times as new people join the cruises. We did a B2B on Odyssey in October and the vibe on the TA was very different from the Holy Land we did before it.

[time4u2go]

I would guess (hope?) that people don't spend as much time in the casino because of the potential of losing a lot of money over such a long period of time.

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by time4u2go

[Jimbo]

The longer the cruise the more time there is to gamble later. The shorter the cruise, people feel they MUST get to the casino and gamble asap.

 

It's addition for some.

[island lady]

IMHO....it's simply typical of the whole ship.   We are far from sold out.  The MDR, WJ, lounges, etc. are never packed up.  Elevators easy to grab (even though there are only 6 of them mid ship).  Theater never packed either...always easy to find seats.  

[lovesthebeach2]

46 minutes ago, island lady said:

IMHO....it's simply typical of the whole ship.   We are far from sold out.  The MDR, WJ, lounges, etc. are never packed up.  Elevators easy to grab (even though there are only 6 of them mid ship).  Theater never packed either...always easy to find seats.  

 I’m curious to see how much the total pax changes with each individual segment. 

[LadyZolt]

Okay, but back to my question:  Generally speaking, how much money does a cruise line make from the casino?   🤔

[Coralc]

11 hours ago, LadyZolt said:

Okay, but back to my question:  Generally speaking, how much money does a cruise line make from the casino?   🤔

I don't think they will be sharing that information at any time. 

 

I know the Indian casino by our other house takes in approximately a million dollars/day. They actually do a lot of good things for the community with all that money. I don't know about Royal Caribbean. ☺️

[sgmn]

21 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

 I’m curious to see how much the total pax changes with each individual segment. 

Last time I looked, the Barcelona to Southampton segment was just about sold out. Not sure if that's true of all the european segments.

I'm surprised with such a big US market that the first few segments weren't sold out. There's some interesting and different ports on all segments 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

8 hours ago, sgmn said:

Last time I looked, the Barcelona to Southampton segment was just about sold out. Not sure if that's true of all the european segments.

I'm surprised with such a big US market that the first few segments weren't sold out. There's some interesting and different ports on all segments 

I think because it is over the holidays.  Some people want those times.  But many other avoid them. I agree the itineraries are excellent.

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

On 12/15/2023 at 9:37 AM, island lady said:

IMHO....it's simply typical of the whole ship.   We are far from sold out.  The MDR, WJ, lounges, etc. are never packed up.  Elevators easy to grab (even though there are only 6 of them mid ship).  Theater never packed either...always easy to find seats.  

 

I wonder why they didn't really attempt to fill the ship leg by leg with price reductions?  I've watched the pricing on the legs and as a solo, I never saw an attempt to reduce the solo supplement, which might have made a difference in selling more cabins, at least.  I figured the cabins were mostly gone and already taken up by a lot of solos, like longer cruises can sometimes be, while having the overall reduction in pax numbers.

[taglovestocruise]

On 12/15/2023 at 9:35 AM, LadyZolt said:

Okay, but back to my question:  Generally speaking, how much money does a cruise line make from the casino?   🤔

I don't think that they share that type of info.  I have heard that Pride of America and Disney ships claim that part of the reason their fares are so high is because they do not have casinos.  

[LadyZolt]

Thanks, all -- I was just wondering if anyone had an idea as I never really thought about it before.  🙂