Cruise Ship Gambling Overview

Video compliments of the Travel Channel

What's a vacation without a friendly wager or two? That's precisely the philosophy that cruise lines are banking on as they make glitzy casinos a mainstay on nearly every vessel. Gambling at sea started as a convenient loophole to avoid restrictions for betting on land. Now it's a multi-million dollar business for cruise lines.

You'll still be able to find a non-gambling cruise if you're not much of a card shark, as easily as you'll be able to book yourself on a cruise that's almost all about gambling with multiple casinos, daily Texas Hold ‘Em tournaments and blackjack lessons. Just remember to spend a little time on deck, away from the slots, since that's what you came for in the first place.

Cruise casinos are a fantastic venue for novice gamblers to learn the trade. Many ships offer tutorials for the major games like blackjack, craps and poker, and the overall mood in cruise casinos is less serious than what you'll find in Las Vegas or Atlanta City. As an added convenience, many ships provide you with a player's card, so you don't have to worry about carrying enough cash (although there are maximums on the cards) or getting stuck with valueless chips.

So go head, pull that slot. You may just be winning your next cruise vacation.