What Can We Expect from a Blackjack Tournament on a Cruise Ship?

My wife and I recent went on a “free” Caesars Diamond cruise through NCL. During this cruise the casino offered a tournament package ($100 for a slot tourney entry, a blackjack tourney entry and $50 in slot play). We entered. My wife handily won her round in the blackjack tournament and won a free entry to the finals in December. So here’s finally a question. The finals is on a gambling cruise. It’s not advertised on NCL, so I assume it’s invite only. There are finals for slot, poker, and BJ tournaments all on this cruise. We’ve never been on this type of cruise. What else should we expect? What type of competition should we expect (the tournament seat can not be sold to another player so that element is taken out). Are there any other advantage plays to look for (we’ve been told additional tournament entries can be bought once on the cruise itself, but we have no idea as to prize structure, etc). In general, maybe a just an overview of “gamblers cruises” from someone who’s done them would be great!

We asked a couple of experts and the following is what they told us.

Jean Scott: I've never heard of a special Caesars "gambling cruise." They aren't going to fill a ship just with 'gamblers, especially "invited" gamblers. I bet this isn't anything great; I can tell you that Caesars' "free" cruises are a big joke. They promote like you're getting something special and you never do. Usually, you can find a cheaper cruise on your own.

Jean actually recommended that we not touch this question, suggesting that you try to find the details by talking to a Caesars' host or executive, but "good luck with that," she says. "They often don't know any details of a 'special' promo." She warns against "falling for this" without written details from Caesars -- and maybe not even then. "You just can't trust them -- 20-25 years of experience with them!"

From Ben Rosenthal, author of our new book Breaking the Slot Code.

So you go on a "free" cruise — don't get me started on port fees — or at least mostly comped, because Norwegian Cruise Line must have a partnership with Caesars. That's common enough; almost every cruise line has at least some gambling-related partners to bring in volume players. There are even "cruise agents" out there who filter big gamblers to different cruise lines and get a piece of the action they generate. I should know, as I have one!

Your wife pulled a Katie Ledecky (for those who don't know, Ledecky won nine Olympic gold medals and 21 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer), won her blackjack heat comfortably, and won a free entry to the blackjack finals, bringing us to the question.

"The finals cruise is a gambling cruise." As opposed to what? They're all gambling cruises!

"It's not advertised on NCL, so I assume it's invite only." Possibly.

"There are finals for slot, poker, and BJ tournaments all on this cruise. We've never been on this type of cruise. What else should we expect?" I'd expect better competition in the slot tournament (people who take it very seriously and won't be swigging their Corona mid-spin). And the same in blackjack and poker. However, from what I heard from someone who worked at Norwegian about poker in-cruise finals, the competition is still quite weak. I'd also assume you're unlikely to run into any blackjack Hall of Famers like Anthony Curtis, but I can't say for sure, because I've never taken part.

From what I can see on Norwegian's blackjack tournament page, it looks like the finals take place on Saturday Nov. 15 aboard the Norwegian Gem. I notice you mentioned December and it looks like that's when the slot tournament finals take place aboard the Norwegian Escape.

If that's indeed the correct itinerary, here's what I saw: Saturday, November 8 | Welcome Cocktail Party; Sunday, November 9 | Session 1; Wednesday, November 12 | Session 2; Friday, November 14 | Session 3; Saturday, November 15 | $100,000 Blackjack Winner-Take-All Finale.

If it really is a winner-take-all format, I'd think playing aggressively would be the optimal strategy. But again, this is coming from a blackjack novice, so take that with a grain of salt.

Thank you, Jean and Ben. That's what we came up with to answer this question. We're hoping some cruise aficionados out there in QoDville can provide some more advice.

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Comments

Tim Soldan Mar-05-2025

My tournament experience

My wife and I went on a Norwegian cruise, and I played in the poker tournament. This wasn't a comped cruise and we had to pay to do it. And they had announced the top prize was a seat into the finals tournament on another cruise. And I thought what the hell, I have to pay for another cruise to enter if I win? Other players told me the seat had value and could be sold but I thought to myself how could I connect with another player that would want to enter that finals tournament. I didn't win, so really didn't find out any more details but I didn't see the value in the first prize if I had to buy another cruise to do it.

JohnfromtheEast Mar-05-2025

BJ at Sea

On Norwegian the entry fee was $25.00. with one prize of $500.00.  The top seven went to the final round.There was no limit on the number of entries.  If you lost you could buy another entry.  I counted a total of 49 entrants x $25 = $1,225.  It was fun playing, seven hands, but expensive fun. On Royal Caribbean, the participants were only ten, so they awarded the total take, along with a casino shirt…my only time winning.  Royal xCaribbean from what I observed on other cruises the take seem to be 10 to 15 percent.  For regular blackjack most tables still paid 3:2.

Kevin Lewis Mar-05-2025

Whatever sinks your boat

Going on a cruise to gamble is like going to Vegas to ride on a boat. It's doable, but...WHY???

John Pitcher Mar-05-2025

Thanks

....for taking on this question.  Even with no definitive answers, it was informative and interesting.
My family and I were on a Royal Caribbean cruise in February 2024.  My sons and I gambled a fair amount.  We all have been receiving "free" cruise offers ever since.  My wife and I will go on a 6 night cruise, on one of their nicer ships, in April.  Our total cost is $143 each for port taxes.  Not bad at all for a 6 night Caribbean cruise for the cabin, all meals, shows, etc. (no alcohol included).

Roger Gallizzi Mar-05-2025

Celebrity

Ona previous cruise we had $1,000 on board credit.  Didn't need to buy anything so we just played silly slot games.  A month later we received a free cruise (just port fees) in a suite.  Six day Caribbean.  I just figured the cruise wasn't sold out and they needed to fill the ship.

Ben Rosenthal Mar-05-2025

Gambling on Cruises

This isn't related to the question, but I'd caution against gambling much on cruises unless you're doing it with an edge. Or you just like to gamble and don't mind losing faster than normal. For slots at least, the paybacks are abysmal. The RTP is often in the 80 percent range. For cruises that offer poker (I've only seen 2/5 Texas Holdem), the rake is 10 percent with a high cap, which I can't remember off the top of my head. I don't play other table games, but if they are anything like slots or poker, I'd guess the paybacks suck. Your money evaporates much faster on cruises than in a normal casino.

Question of the Day - 05 March 2025

Comments