Carnival Cruise Wants You to Gamble Onboard, But at the Casino Only  

Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, John Heald, has issued a polite reminder to travelers to ensure that when they gamble onboard any of the ships, they do so only in the designated area that has been approved for games of chance, i.e. the casino.

Carnival Cruise Restricts Gambling to Casino Floor Only

The reminder has been issued by the brand ambassador, following a guest’s request to clarify the gambling policy and how it works. The guest, who has yet to board a Carnival Cruise ship, is reportedly interested in playing Left-Center-Right, a popular game played for fairly large prize pools.

The guest will be sailing aboard Carnival Radiance this February 9, 2025, and plans on a 14-night Carnival Journeys Hawaii which will set sail from Long Beach, Miami, California. The guest though was unhappy with the conditions set by the cruise line regarding the gambling experience onboard.

They argued that another cruise line had allowed them to host private-room gambling sessions of up to 12 people and that there was no actual harm in letting guests enjoy one of the most popular games with “Americans over the age of 50” in a more private setting.

However, Carnival Cruise Line will not budge nor cater to individual requests to move gambling off the designated area, Heald explained. He confirmed that the cruise line has already had discussions about the possibility of allowing guests to host their own games, or have the company run them for them in private rooms.

However, the company has concluded that gambling outside the casino is not allowed, and that “strict” rules apply to this. Cruise companies like Carnival Cruise Line have been keen to offer travelers a complete experience, which often features the availability of casino-style gambling.

Cruise Lines Keen on Keeping Gambling Going

Although this was at first a heavily contested issue, eventually cruise line firms agreed to set up casinos, many of which actually feature advanced gaming systems. Some cruise lines even offer wide-area jackpot games across their ships, allowing prizes from across different liners they operate to accumulate and offer even more tempting rewards for players.

In the meantime, certain jurisdictions, such as the Cayman Islands have been debating whether they should allow onboard gambling while in territorial waters. As things stand, many ships are now obligated by law to force their casinos if they enter the territorial waters.

This may have steered some ships clear of the Cayman Islands, impacting the local economy. Although Carnival Cruise may limit its casino games to its designated floor only, it may soon not have to choose between visiting the Cayman Islands and offering a 24/7 gaming experience.