Celebrity Cruises Casino

Some people like to head to a casino because they want to place a wager or two, whilst others enjoy it because it gives them the chance to imagine living a different life, such as that of a celebrity. You can see, therefore, why it is that the casinos on Celebrity Cruises ships are a popular place to head to, given the fact that they are often large and have the chance to play table games as well as slot machines and other types of games. They also appeal to many on account of the fact that they are smoke-free, allowing for a much fresher experience than on some cruise lines. There is a Fortunes Casino on most ships in the fleet.

The Casinos

Fortunes Casinos on Celebrity Cruises ships allow those on board to enjoy plenty of games, each with its own odds of winning. Each ship has its own casino, meaning that the games that you’ll be able to play will change from ship to ship, but there is one on board each vessel. In total, there is more than 103,000 square feet of gaming space across all of the casino floors, which offer just shy of 200 tables and more than 2,500 slot machines. The slots all promise most of your favourite games, whilst the following is a list of the table games that you can expect to find on board:

• Blackjack
• Baccarat
• Craps
• Roulette
• Three-Card Poker
• Ultimate Texas Hold’em Poker

If you’ve been on a cruise before with pretty much any cruise line, you will likely have seen that they offer the chance to learn to play their casino games. On that front, Celebrity Cruises is no different, with the opportunity there to get step-by-step instructions from professional dealers in what are labelled Learn-to-Play sessions. If this is something that you think you’ll benefit from, just ask the casino host for some more information about it. They don’t tend to involve slot machines, but there are plenty of the most modern offerings in Fortunes Casinos, meaning that you’ll get the chance to figure them out pretty quickly.

High Rollers

If you’re someone that likes to place a wager that is a little bit higher than might be expected on the regular tables, you will want to have a look at the cruise ships in the Celebrity Cruises line that have high roller areas. This is not only where you can place higher bets, but the experience tends to be a little bit more exclusive in terms of feel and ambiance. Whether it be table games with higher limits or slot machines that ask for higher denominations to play, most Fortunes Casinos have such an area that also benefits from more comfortable seating and an attentive level of service that you won’t find on the regular casino floor.

Paying for Your Play

One of the main selling points of the Fortunes Casinos is that they promise cashless wagering. That doesn’t mean that you have to opt into it, but that those who don’t want to carry large sums of money around with them don’t have to. Instead, you can use your SeaPass to place a daily maximum of $5,000 on slot machines and $5,000 on table games for a total of $10,000 per day. If you want to do that, you will first need to add a valid card onto your onboard folio account, with fees possible. If you’re a member of the company’s loyalty scheme, then you might find that these fees get waived for your play.

If you are more old-fashioned and like to have a clearer idea of how much you’re betting from one minute to the next, you might want to keep an eye out for the various ATMs that are available on the ship. There is usually one in the casino itself, meaning that you can withdraw cash to bet with as you play. These will have a fee attached to them, so if you’d prefer to get some funds wired to the ship or ask about the possibility of opening a credit line, then you will need to get in touch with Celebrity Cruises at least two weeks before you’re due to sail. There are, therefore, several options in terms of how you can spend your money in the casino.

Opening Hours

When it comes to the times that the Celebrity Cruises casino is open, it depends entirely on how many people are looking to place bets. The Fortunes Casino has to shut when the ship is in port, usually being unable to open up again until the ship is around 30 minutes away from shore. Most of the time, the casino will open up as soon as it is in international waters, remaining open as long as there is someone there who wants to be able to place a wager on any of the games on offer. As the ship looks to dock in a port, the casino will close when the vessel is about 30 minutes away from the port in question.

Loyalty Scheme

If you want to take advantage of the loyalty scheme for people placing bets and spending time in the Fortunes Casino onboard a Celebrity Cruises ship, you’ll want to keep an eye out for the Blue Chip Club. It is free to join for anyone aged 18 or over, or 21 and over in Alaska, giving you rewards points and tier credits depending on your level of play. If you join the Captains Club, which is the overall cruise loyalty programme, you will be automatically enrolled in the Blue Chip Club when you place bets using your SeaPass. You earn Tier Credits across a 12-month period, starting on the first of August through until the 31st of July.

There are six tiers on the Blue Chip Club programme, with one point earned for every $5 spent on slot machines or $10 spent on video poker machines. When it comes to table games, the number of points you earn will depend on which table game you play, what your average bet is and how long you choose to play for. It is worth noting that games such as Texas Hold’em Poker, Keymaster, Coin Pushers and Cash Crane are not eligible for points. When you join the Blue Chip Club, you will be in the Pearl tier. This moves to Onyx after you get 500 points, then Amethyst at 5,000 points and Sapphire at the 15,000-point mark.

Players who get to 75,000 points will be classed as Sapphire Plus, with those earning 150,000 or more points being in the Ruby tier. Each tier gets progressively more benefits, starting with the ability to redeem points for FreePlay and instant cruise rewards as well as complimentary drinks, working up to the likes of unlimited complimentary room service, reserved seating at theatre shows and another cruise, as well as access to a priority call centre when booking. It goes without saying, but the higher up you make it through the tiers, the more you get to take advantage of when it comes to the benefits.

Routes

It is fair to say that Celebrity Cruises is a huge company, boasting a large fleet of vessels that travel to numerous different locations around the world. If you want to head to the Caribbean on a Celebrity Cruises ship, you’ll be able to take in a wealth of different natural wonders, UNESCO sites and breathtaking beaches, seeing exotic wildlife and waterfalls as well as coral reefs teeming with fish and many more things besides. You can opt for cruises that last between three and 12 nights when seeing the Western Caribbean, taking in places such as Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Cozumel, which is ideal for those that like experiences.

The Southern and Eastern Caribbean takes you off the beaten path, whilst also exploring the likes of Puerto Rico, Antigua and Barbados. You can head to the Bahamas and Key West if you want to enjoy some quirky bars and fun characters that make that part of the world unique. From the likes of Aruba and Curaçao to St Maarten and Belize, there are options aplenty on the Caribbean cruise front. With more than 500 different options available to you, Celebrity Cruises doesn’t skimp when it comes to the variety of options that customers can choose from, including the likes of Alaska, Greece, Italy and Spain, to name but a few.

What Else Is on Board

We obviously have a focus on the casino here, but Celebrity Cruises have so much more to offer those who sail on the company’s ships than just a place to head to to put some bets on. When the Celebrity Silhouette arrived in Liverpool, it actually made headlines for how many different options there were for those sailing on it, including the swimming pools, which is representative of most of the ships in the fleet. If you are gearing up to sail on one of the smaller ships, it is understandable that there might be slightly less for you to get up to whilst on board, but the larger ships all tend to have many of the same things available.

There is a nightclub on the ship called Quasar, as well as a number of different bars that are there to suit every mood. If you’re in an AquaClass suite, you can head to an exclusive restaurant called Blu, whilst for everyone else there are numerous different places to get a bite to eat or a drink. If you’re the sort of person who enjoys being entertained when sailing the seven seas, you can enjoy a programme that is as meticulously crafted as the Celebrity Cruises ships themselves. As well as the theatre, which is the main hub for entertainment, you can also stumble across something at any time pretty much anywhere else on board.

There are events and parties held on a regular basis, such as silent discos, whilst there are numerous activities happening in places such as the fitness studio. If sport and fitness are your thing, you can play pickleball whilst at sea or join in a game of pool volleyball. From yoga on deck to a High Intensity Interval Training session, there is no shortage of options for the sporty-minded. If you’re much more of a relax and chill out type, perhaps a trip to the library will be more your sort of speed. The Magic Carpet promises to take people three stories above sea level, so you can enjoy a sip whilst looking at an incredible view.