As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Cruise ship slot machines pay out less than their Las Vegas cousins. Industry estimates put the average return-to-player around 80% at sea versus 90% or higher on the Strip. That single fact should shape almost everything else about how you gamble on your next sailing.
Casino gambling has always been a fixture of mainstream cruising, but the rules of the game have shifted in 2026. Royal Caribbean overhauled its Club Royale loyalty program this spring, and Carnival is preparing to fold its long-running VIFP Club into a new points-based system. If you play the tables or slots regularly, both changes are worth understanding before you set sail again.
Casinos Only Run at Sea, With a Few Odd Exceptions
International maritime law generally bars ships from operating casinos while docked or within a set distance of shore. In practice, that means the casino opens once the ship clears roughly three to twelve nautical miles from port and closes again as it approaches the next one.
There are quirky local exceptions. Bermuda allows onboard casinos to run from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. even in port, and Nassau permits similar evening hours. However, those are the outliers, not the rule. If you’re planning a trip built around casino time, favor itineraries with more sea days, and know that Alaska cruises tend to offer extended access since ships spend long stretches cruising between ports rather than sitting dockside.
Drinks Aren’t Automatically Free
A lot of first-time cruisers assume the same drink comps that apply in Las Vegas casinos carry over at sea. They don’t. Unless you’ve purchased a drink package, beverages ordered while gambling are charged to your account just like anywhere else on the ship.
The drink package does work in the casino if you have one, so factor that into whether it’s worth the upfront cost for your trip. Running the real math on drink packages matters more if you plan to spend hours at the tables or slots.
Penny Slots Aren’t Really Penny Slots
The name is misleading. Most modern penny slot machines require a minimum number of active lines per spin, typically 25 to 30, which means a single spin often costs 25 to 30 cents or more rather than one cent. Combine that with the lower payout percentages at sea, and a casual hour at the slots can drain a bankroll faster than the denomination suggests.
Table games remain the better value for cruisers watching their spend. Many ships offer blackjack and other table games with $5 or $10 minimums, which is considerably friendlier than what you’ll typically find in a Las Vegas casino. Learning basic blackjack strategy before you sail can meaningfully lower the house edge, even against a cruise ship’s already tighter odds.
Timing Your Visit
Evenings, especially right after dinner and the main show, are the busiest stretch in most cruise casinos. That’s fine if you enjoy the energy, but it’s a poor time to focus on strategy at a crowded blackjack table. Slots are the exception, since ships typically run hundreds of machines all day and there’s almost always an open seat.
If you want a quieter, more deliberate session, daytime sea-day hours are consistently less crowded than post-dinner prime time.
Cashless Play Comes With a Catch
Nearly every cruise casino now runs on a cashless system tied to your cruise card and onboard account. You can insert the card directly into a slot machine or use it to buy chips at a table, and cash is usually still accepted as an alternative.
The convenience cuts both ways. Because you’re never physically handing over bills, it’s easier to lose track of how much you’ve actually spent. Setting a hard budget before you walk in, and checking your onboard account periodically, is the simplest way to avoid an unpleasant surprise on your final bill. Onboard ATMs also charge fees, commonly in the $6 to $8 range, so charging to your room avoids that specific cost even as it makes overspending easier.
Yes, Cruise Casino Winnings Are Taxable
This one catches people off guard because it feels like winning in international waters should be exempt. It isn’t. The IRS requires a Form W-2G for individual slot jackpots of $2,000 or more, and the agency has stated that cruise casinos aren’t legally obligated to issue that form for wins under $1,200, or under $600 for bingo and keno.
That reporting threshold doesn’t erase the tax obligation, though. Every dollar won gambling, whether or not it triggers a W-2G, is technically reportable income on your federal return. If you gamble often enough that this is a real consideration, keeping a simple log of wins and losses during the cruise will make tax season considerably less painful.
Royal Caribbean’s Club Royale Got More Expensive to Earn
Royal Caribbean’s casino loyalty program, Club Royale, entered a new casino year on April 1, 2026, and longtime players noticed the difference immediately. The wagering requirement to earn points jumped from $10 per point to $15 per point, meaning a player who used to need $1,000 in video poker action to hit 100 points now needs $1,500 for the same result.
The complimentary cruise structure changed too. Royal Caribbean moved from an exclusion list, where members could pick almost any sailing except a blacklisted set of holidays and special events, to an inclusion list of specific eligible sailings. The newly eligible cruises can run longer and include better cabin categories, up to Grand Suite on some offers, but the tradeoff is less flexibility in choosing when and where you sail. Signature-tier members also gained onboard credit tied to sailing length, a perk that tier previously didn’t receive at all.
Royal Caribbean has additionally started folding Club Royale into its mobile app, so members can check their tier and offers in one place instead of hunting through email.
Carnival Is Retiring VIFP for a New Points System
Carnival’s casino players are facing a bigger structural change. The cruise line is replacing its VIFP Club with a new program called Carnival Rewards, set to launch September 1, 2026. Where VIFP tracked loyalty mainly by cruise days sailed, Carnival Rewards is built around dollars spent, including cruise fare, onboard purchases, and pre-cruise add-ons like airport transfers.
Under the new system, members earn three Stars and three Rewards Points for every eligible dollar spent. For frequent casino players, that’s a meaningful shift: money dropped at the tables and slots will count toward status in a much more direct way than the old model, where casino play mattered mostly through separate comp offers rather than core loyalty tier progress.
My Take
Both of these program changes point in the same direction: cruise lines are asking casino players to spend more to earn the same rewards they used to. That’s not surprising given how profitable onboard casinos are, but it does mean the “free cruise” math that made casino loyalty programs so appealing is getting less generous in real time.
None of that means skip the casino. It means play with a number in your head before you sit down, treat table games as the better value over penny slots, and don’t assume the loyalty perks work the way they did even a year ago. Check your program’s current rules before your next sailing rather than relying on what a friend told you about their cruise last summer.
Would you still chase casino status if it meant treating your cruise budget like a Vegas trip instead of a vacation?
