skatermegs Posted September 19, 2014 #1 Share Posted September 19, 2014 I am doing my research for our cruise in June, and I am trying to figure out what to budget for entertainment. This cruise is a surprise for my mom, so I want to make sure she has plenty of play money to enjoy. The problem is-she loves slot machines and bingo, and I have yet to set foot into the casino onboard! I would much rather be relaxing with a book somewhere! So, could someone give me an idea what the slot machines cost and what the bingo costs onboard? we will be sailing on Independence in June. Also, is the Bingo electronic or punch cards? Thank you so much!!!!! Megan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattpro Posted September 19, 2014 #2 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Casino They have one cent and nickel slots along with larger denominations. For $20 you can get a lot of "action" on the penny slots. Bingo Though not a bingo player myself, I've heard it costs over $60 per session and a lot of folks just play on the last day when they have to disburse the jackpot. I've also heard that it was electronic. Not sure if the "manual" version is still in play. I'm sure that there are more knowledgeable folks on this board that will reply to you. Just remember - it's all entertainment - so don't go crazy - it's not like the slots in Vegas where they return 98-99% to the player - it is closer to 85% on cruise ships - which means the house will "win" $15 of every $100 "gambled". So, for the amount to budget for a 7 day cruise (bingo & slots ), I would say about $300 would give you enough money for daily action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinman66 Posted September 19, 2014 #3 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Bingo is about 30 per game set Machines vary from 1cent through to 1dollar Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkrosesdeb Posted September 19, 2014 #4 Share Posted September 19, 2014 You do need to be careful on those "penny" slots though. You can bet $5 or more per pull if you have the settings wrong. Just check to see how much you are actually betting before you pull. My brother in law didn't understand why his $20 went so fast until we checked his bet, he played something like 50 lines at $.10 per line! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maybaybie10 Posted September 19, 2014 #5 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Casino Just remember - it's all entertainment - so don't go crazy - it's not like the slots in Vegas where they return 98-99% to the player - it is closer to 85% on cruise ships - which means the house will "win" $15 of every $100 "gambled". So, for the amount to budget for a 7 day cruise (bingo & slots ), I would say about $300 would give you enough money for daily action. I found the casino slots to be very 'tight' on our last cruise. I usually play $20 and get to play for awhile....going up and down for an hour or two. On our last cruise, my $20 lasted all of 3 minutes...everytime I played. My Mom had a different experience and kept winning and winning. I budget $100/day for sea days and much less for port days- but then again, that casino calls my name much more than it should...:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin13 Posted September 19, 2014 #6 Share Posted September 19, 2014 I was on IOS this past April and spent a lot of time in the casino. Unfortunately, I didn't win and found it very frustrating how tight the machines were. You do have to be careful to make sure that you are only playing the amount that you want as there were a few times I hit the wrong button and ended up playing $5.00 a spin. I still had a good time and I did budget about $100 a day for gambling. I didn't lose it all as I am the type that knows when to stop. As for Bingo I only played the last day and that was around $30 for the punch cards. They do have the electronic cards but those cost $55 and I didn't want to spend that much on Bingo. I should have as almost all of the winners won with that stupid machine. Hope your Mom has better luck than I did but the main thing is that I still had fun and I know that she will also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeySailor Posted September 19, 2014 #7 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Bingo $55 for machine $35 for punch cards You can get one or the other or both. Most of the winners, actually all of the winners on our last cruise won on the machines! My Mum actually won using a machine.. It does it all for you:) Casino is subjective dependent on your budget But as stated penny slots all the way up to $5 a spin. Good luck Happy Days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscobeans Posted September 19, 2014 #8 Share Posted September 19, 2014 I am doing my research for our cruise in June, and I am trying to figure out what to budget for entertainment. This cruise is a surprise for my mom, so I want to make sure she has plenty of play money to enjoy. The problem is-she loves slot machines and bingo, and I have yet to set foot into the casino onboard! I would much rather be relaxing with a book somewhere! So, could someone give me an idea what the slot machines cost and what the bingo costs onboard? we will be sailing on Independence in June. Also, is the Bingo electronic or punch cards?Thank you so much!!!!! Megan If she has played slots before as you stated she would know her own limits. Have a conversation over coffee one day and without pulling the cat out of the bag bring up the subject of casinos and slot machines, ( " I saw something about casinos on TV last night. Wow! They look like they could be fun. Are they very expensive?" ) See if you can worm the information from her. bosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatermegs Posted September 19, 2014 Author #9 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Thanks guys, every little bit of information helps! It seems crazy to even offer the physical Bingo cards if nobody wins that way-but I don't understand why you'd want to play a game that a machine does the whole thing for you? Isn't it supposed to be fun to actually play the game? Bosco-that is a good idea. The hard part is we live in Washington, so the Tribal casinos are everywhere, and they are definitely a lot looser then it sounds like the ones on the ships are. We have several within 15 minutes of us, and I know she can easily go play and spend several hours on just $20. I wasn't sure if the slot machines on the ships were different-it definitely sounds like they are! So, is it best to bring rolls of coins or actual bills? (Basically, I have never set foot in a casino, and I like it that way!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeySailor Posted September 19, 2014 #10 Share Posted September 19, 2014 The majority of the slots on the ships these days are all Bills The odd 1 or 2 quarter machine but few and far between. $20s will be fine All machines take 1$ through $100. Best of luck Happy Days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Good Cruising Posted September 19, 2014 #11 Share Posted September 19, 2014 (edited) I find the slot machines are kind of tight on ships as compared to casinos on land so $20 can sometimes go real fast in those machines. Your Mom may need more money to gamble with than what she is used to bringing to the land casinos. Edited September 19, 2014 by Life is Good Cruising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama(mine) Queen Posted September 19, 2014 #12 Share Posted September 19, 2014 I think there is some confusion about ‘penny’ and ‘nickel’ slot machines. The MINIMUM bet on these machines can be as high as 50 cents a ‘pull’ (depends on machine). Don’t expect to bring a roll of pennies and play all night unless you’re VERY lucky (BTY – slots only accept $$ bills and vouchers). Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatermegs Posted September 19, 2014 Author #13 Share Posted September 19, 2014 You guys are great! So excuse one more question: If I pre-order onboard credits and have them loaded to our account, can she use those in the Casino or should I just bring her cash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spurschick Posted September 19, 2014 #14 Share Posted September 19, 2014 You guys are great! So excuse one more question: If I pre-order onboard credits and have them loaded to our account, can she use those in the Casino or should I just bring her cash? Take the cash. If you draw the cash at the casino there will be a fee applied so you won't end up with the whole credit you applied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeBitten Posted September 19, 2014 #15 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Also, check your roll call and find out if a slot pull event is organized on your cruise. SB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garycarla Posted September 20, 2014 #16 Share Posted September 20, 2014 What do slots machines cost? Some folks can go into the casino with $5 and do just fine. Some folks can go into the casino with $100 and play till it is gone. Some folks need a few thousand a night. Hard to say what your Mom will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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