Why so against Casinos on DCL? With Poll

[cdnfamily]

I am not opposed to Casinos in general, just not on Disney.

And I could not care less if they served alcohol on the ship.

But to compare serving alcohol to a casino is absurd. Having a glass of wine while I eat dinner with my family does not take away the family experience. Nor does having a cocktail while I take in a show with my kids.

People drink alcohol socially. You don’t gamble socially. Sitting at a slot machine is not a social activity.

If you need to get your gambling fix, they have bingo and it’s family oriented.

I have been on Royal, Carnival and Celebrity, all of which had casinos, and had a great time on each. But I always come back to Disney. I like them just the way they are.

As for the profit, last time I checked they were in business to make money. The alcohol is a current revenue stream on the ships. Take it away, and your fares will increase dramatically.

But again, if I wanted to go on a ship that had no alcohol than that is what I would choose.

As I said, just my personal opinion

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

I am not opposed to Casinos in general, just not on Disney.

And I could not care less if they served alcohol on the ship.

But to compare serving alcohol to a casino is absurd. Having a glass of wine while I eat dinner with my family does not take away the family experience. Nor does having a cocktail while I take in a show with my kids.

People drink alcohol socially. You don’t gamble socially. Sitting at a slot machine is not a social activity.

If you need to get your gambling fix, they have bingo and it’s family oriented.

I have been on Royal, Carnival and Celebrity, all of which had casinos, and had a great time on each. But I always come back to Disney. I like them just the way they are.

As for the profit, last time I checked they were in business to make money. The alcohol is a current revenue stream on the ships. Take it away, and your fares will increase dramatically.

But again, if I wanted to go on a ship that had no alcohol than that is what I would choose.

As I said, just my personal opinion

I think you can certainly gamble socially. And as for sitting at a slot machine don’t you think people sit at bars on ships?
You seem to think people who drink have a single glass of wine at dinner. And people who like casinos bet the rent money. You can take either activity to extremes. Why do you need a cocktail with your kids???
I don’t see the difference between a glass of wine at dinner and putting some loose change in a slot machine after dinner.

It seems some people feel Drinking is family oriented while casinos are evil.
The reality is that since alcohol is available in just about every town across America and casino gambling is very limited the consumption of alcohol has just become more prevalent and therefore socially acceptable.

Obviously in a case like this individuals who drink want Booze on a ship. People enjoy casinos would like to see a casino on the ship. Whatever activities individuals are comfortable with on land translate to the sea.

You do pose an interesting question. Perhaps we could start a poll would go on a dry cruise.

A cruise with absolutely no alcohol
A cruise with wine at dinner only
A cruise with wine at dinner and bars
Full on drinking like it is now.

But we know the outcome.

Yes Disney is in the business of making money and there are enough threads complaining about that. And just as they are loosening the restrictions on alcohol in the parks, can’t believe you can get alcohol at Oga’s Cantina at 10 in the morning, it’s only a matter of time until casinos show up on the ships.

 

[monkeydawn]

I'd still cruise DCL if a casino were included. I think that because of the focus group you are using you are going to get a weighted response. Most people here are DCL fans, many believe that DCL "does it right"...I mean they would have to because of the premium they pay to sail DCL...so many here would be hesitant to see a shift this big.

If you asked the general cruising public and included a "I dont cruise DCL now but might with a casino" response I think we'd see a much different picture. I have a friend in that, um, boat. She is a Disney freak, the kind that could wear a new piece of Disney clothing a day and not run out for quite some time. And she loves cruising, they do 1-2 cruises per year, occasionally more. She wont do DCL because of the lack of casino. She wants to be sure that in bad weather or after hours (she is a night owl) she will have something to do.

DCL won't put a casino on board, same reason you don't see any slots themed by Disney owned properties. Oh you can argue that Marvel and Star Wars slots are out there but Disney has been actively pulling these agreements as they are able after acquiring the properties.

We just rewatched Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back in preparation for the sequel this weekend and I had to wonder if all the SW references will be gone now that Disney owns them. I am betting the will be.

I'm not sure staring at an electronic bingo card is any more interactive than a casino where you can play blackjack, craps, roulette, etc and actually make decisions and interact. Casinos are not just slot machines.

Yup. And yup.

For 18 years I was a die-hard Disney park fan. Supported Disney through 9/11 and economic down turns. I would not think twice about refusing to sail with DCL if they bring on casinos. I have already given up going to WDW because of the dog policy that is now the norm. I don't spend that kind of money to vacation in a kennel. Everyone decides what they are willing to tolerate and what they consider the best value for their vacation dollars. Disney has put so many nails in their coffin over the past two years not even the 50th Anniversary is going to bring me back. The new ships will continue my interest in Disney but my next Florida park vacation will be at Universal.

What the heck do you think the dog policy is (what have you seen there)? You write as if dogs are allowed but in my research when we were planning on stopping by Disney Springs last year dogs were not welcome (as pets anyway). I cant imagine the parks are more welcoming.

Sorry we will never visit Vegas, not our thing either.

Vegas is more than the casinos. Yes, if you stay at one of the larger properties you will be walking through the casino quite a bit but there are several nicer non casino hotels that you can stay in. Lots of activities that do not require traipsing through a casino. And if you are willing to suck it up for a minute*, tons of restaurants and shows that would be otherwise hard to find elsewhere. There are beautiful state parks all around Vegas too.

*IMO casinos have gotten much better about filtering out cigarette smoke. As smoking has become less acceptable in public, Ive become more sensitive to it. Im certainly much more sensitive to smoke now than I was 20 years ago and the amount of smoke in Vegas casinos now bothers me less than 20 years ago. Unless someone smoking gets right up against me, then I move.

I always imagined that if Disney did a casino, it would be very lux. As in soft music playing, men required to wear suits/tuxes, women in floor-length gowns, you pay for alcohol if you want it, high minimums, and basically only a few table games. Logistically that would probably make the most sense as a high-end adults-only event one night on the cruise, rather than a dedicated casino.

I would guess that a table games only casino would be much easier to swallow and much closer to on brand than your typical casino. If I were designing the space, Id likely put it somewhere on the same floor as the adult only dining. Id want the dining to be insulated from the noise but I think bundling those two things together would be a more natural fit than sticking it elsewhere.

 

[Numtini]

Just saying... if they wanted to do a "Disney casino", there's always the one in the last Star Wars movie.

And gosh, isn't it portrayed as a happy wonderful place.

OTOH I'm pretty sure my nerf steak was a fathier, so there is that.

 

[shelbell77]

Two reasons:
1. The space most cruiselines devote to casinos Disney devotes to kids clubs. I like the kids occupied, helps me enjoy the ship better!
2. I can't stand the smoke from other cruiseline's casinos. It drifts, and its hard to avoid sometimes.

 

[Intr3pid]

Why should anyone want a casino? The industry averages more than a 40% gross margin, so why should anyone want to toss away a part of their hard-earned money like this? The answer, of course, is the entertainment element. The lights, the sounds, and the thrill. It's competing with the movie theater.

Except that the theater is going to cost you a fixed amount of spending - and that's it. Not so with gambling. I've seen people run thousands of dollars of gambling bills - or, worse, run themselves into a financial ruin as a result.

And this is the sort of 'entertainment' we would like our kids to stay away from. At least until they can understand its consequences as an adult. Then, it's their own call. And that's where Disney delivers and gets our business.

Now, the movie theaters are roughly the same size on most ships, so how does DCL reclaim the casino space? Mostly, the second theater and the expanded kids clubs. I would much rather our kids get entertained with an Oceaneer Lab activity or active social interactions with other kids than growing up to see gambling getting our blessing.

I have no issues with casinos on an adults cruise if located discreetly. In fact, on bigger ships where it's difficult to use the space above or below an atrium efficiently, a tucked-away casino will be fine. I can rest well knowing that the losses of those tossing away their money are helping subsidize the room rates for the rest of us.

 

[cgolf]

I am not opposed to Casinos in general, just not on Disney.

And I could not care less if they served alcohol on the ship.

But to compare serving alcohol to a casino is absurd. Having a glass of wine while I eat dinner with my family does not take away the family experience. Nor does having a cocktail while I take in a show with my kids.

People drink alcohol socially. You don’t gamble socially. Sitting at a slot machine is not a social activity.

If you need to get your gambling fix, they have bingo and it’s family oriented.

I have been on Royal, Carnival and Celebrity, all of which had casinos, and had a great time on each. But I always come back to Disney. I like them just the way they are.

As for the profit, last time I checked they were in business to make money. The alcohol is a current revenue stream on the ships. Take it away, and your fares will increase dramatically.

But again, if I wanted to go on a ship that had no alcohol than that is what I would choose.

As I said, just my personal opinion

My comment on the this is if someone wants to say casinos/gambling is evil and wrecks families, than alcohol is worse and wrecks even more families. I could be wrong but I believe there are more alcoholics than gambling addicts.

I personally don't have issues with either being on the ship and feel that bar or casino or other venue the adults will spend some alone time away from their kids while they are in the clubs

I agree that DCL or any cruise line would not stop selling alcohol because of the money it brings in.

 

[MomOTwins]

What the heck do you think the dog policy is (what have you seen there)? You write as if dogs are allowed but in my research when we were planning on stopping by Disney Springs last year dogs were not welcome (as pets anyway). I cant imagine the parks are more welcoming.

This is referring to the fact that in the past year, Disney began allowing dogs at several of its resort hotels (in rooms and on the hotel grounds). Theme parks still allow only service dogs, but since the hotels began allowing them, I have definitely noticed an uptick in dogs with service vests at the parks who were clearly not trained service animals at all from the way they were behaving.

 

[Kennywood]

 

[AquaDame]

Then by the same logic all of the bars and areas that serve alcohol should be removed because obviously they are not kid and family friendly. They could use the space for an additional VR theater or other family friendly activity.

That's the problem most folks who say no casino are the same that wouldn't give up the alcohol

But Disney won't stop the booze because that has a high profit margin. That's the reason they are adding more and more alcohol to the parks.

Are you sure? Judging from the fact that pubs are by and large kid friendly everywhere now it seems that having a pint with a meal IS family friendly. I remember growing up kids were never allowed in, but here you look for 21+ signs rather than safely assume minors are not allowed.

You can have a drink while spending time with your kids, but you can't spend time in a casino with kids. I honestly think its as easy as that. Disney is about as likely to put in someone else's IP slot machines are they are to put Mickey on one. It's just not a good fit.

 

[monkeydawn]

This is referring to the fact that in the past year, Disney began allowing dogs at several of its resort hotels (in rooms and on the hotel grounds). Theme parks still allow only service dogs, but since the hotels began allowing them, I have definitely noticed an uptick in dogs with service vests at the parks who were clearly not trained service animals at all from the way they were behaving.

Thanks for the reply. Its a shame that people have fake service dogs, it will ultimately make things harder for those that really need them. I used to have a not formally trained hearing ear dog, he was great at alerting me to the landline and, of course, door knocks. Once we ditched the landline in favor of cells he never got the hang of those rings, probably since I use different ring tones for different people.

 

[bakerworld]

The kids would probably think the Casino was an arcade game and WDW has been closing down the arcade room as the hotels because they are 'virtually' empty. Basically, I think it would be a space waste.

On the other end of the spectrum we always wonder why Cabanas closes at 3p - I think it's to force people into the MDA.

 

[fhtpdw20]

Last trip two instances personally witnessed that caused the enough with this attitude. "Therapy" dog with no vest placed in planter at Frontierland that has ledge to sit on peeing in the planter (might not be spilt mountain dew you sit near) and dog with vest on leash wrapped around owner's legs (think 101 Dalmations scene where Pongo and Perdita meet) while the owner was engrossed in cell phone at Pandora.

 

[fredandkell]

I've been checking out Disney cruises for the possible future and a casino would put me off booking for sure. Heck, honest to gods I'd pay even more for one without alcohol. In my searches I checked out RCL and a few others, we don't drink, we don't smoke, we don't gamble, there was nothing for either me or my spouse to do besides maybe lounge in a deck chair but I could do that from a beachfront hotel and have more dining options. If I'm looking for a DCL cruise it's because I like Disney, so add more Disney, not a casino... unless maybe it had a villains theme and the blackjack is being dealt out by Hades. Then I'd be tempted...

This is the best. Idea. Ever. Villains as the dealers?! Sign me up!

 

[Karlrob]

Already mentioned, but don't see the need for it. When I think of casinos on a ship I am reminded of smoke filled space filled with noise and the sometimes sad sight of people almost slumped over the slot machines playing over and over. Does not bring joy to mind. The space could be used for another family together space. Can't imagine being bored on a Disney cruise, and perhaps you needed another type of cruise line if boredom is a factor. The lack of it also can make Disney cruise lines appealing to families. They know someone in their family won't be tied to that space and away from the family. I imagine it is a big money maker, but Disney already charges prime rates for their cruises, don't see the need to add to their coffers.

 

[starvenger]

Just saying... if they wanted to do a "Disney casino", there's always the one in the last Star Wars movie. But I agree, I don't think they will. If they wanted to, they would have done it already... unless that whole casino scene was so that one day they could put a casino on some Disney property?

I would be against it. Everyone knows that sabbac is a suckers game.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Sitting at a slot machine is not a social activity.

That's weird because my husband and I generally speaking are by each other often he's sitting I'm behind him watching and vice versa whenever we've gambled with exceptions here and there; talking with each other, celebrating with each other or saying "better tap out this machine ain't hot".

Huh..guess we've been doing it wrong this whole time who knew.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I answered that I wouldn't want DCL to have them but we'd still sail them.

Because Disney has been so hard against the casino business in FL I doubt they would want to come across as hypocrites and add them in their ships even just one but never say never.

I go to Vegas but no doubt about it the smoking is hard on me. I would vastly prefer a smoke free casino.

I think even with the alcohol Disney still has such a predominant 'family friendly' image that a casino would hurt that. But again it wouldn't bother me to have it. That said my mother-in-law is not interested in going on another cruise with her husband if the cruise ship has a casino and DCL is basically it (haven't checked every single cruise ship out there though lol) for knowing for sure it won't have one but my mother-in-law is not interested in going on DCL so that leaves out cruises, for now at least, for them and for us to all go on together.

 

[Joe Brig]

DCL does have Bingo with cash prizes so they are not against gambling. I wouldn't mind a casino/sports bar, as long as they didn't allow smoking.

 

[monkeydawn]

That's weird because my husband and I generally speaking are by each other often he's sitting I'm behind him watching and vice versa whenever we've gambled with exceptions here and there; talking with each other, celebrating with each other or saying "better tap out this machine ain't hot".

Huh..guess we've been doing it wrong this whole time who knew.

LOL That's how we do it too, mainly because we are too cheap to both gamble at once! And very slowly, we are in it for the *free* drinks.

DCL does have Bingo with cash prizes so they are not against gambling.

And on our cruise Bingo was PACKED. People were itching for an opportunity to throw their money away (me included, I went in with some friend on the low level set).