Why so against Casinos on DCL? With Poll

[Sarahslay]

The reason I wouldn't want DCL to add a casino has nothing to do with gambling being on brand or not (that's DCLs reason for adding it or not). Right now, I find that there are not enough organized Adult activities (Shopping talks and Spa sales sessions don't really count as adult activities to me). I just see having a casino on board as a reason for the Cruise Director/Staff not to have to put any additional effort into developing/conducting adult activities. I know there are family activities adults can participate in but I think this is an underserved demographic now, which would only be more underserved with a casino on board.

I have sailed on ships with casinos and am not opposed to spending a little time in them. I'd prefer DCL not have casinos but if they did have them, it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. In fact may make it easier to convince some family members to sail DCL with us.

But here's the thing, I don't care if they don't do more adult activities because I go on a Disney cruise to spend time with my family. If I wanted to go do a lot of adult activities I'd go somewhere else with just my husband so I don't have to think about what to do with the kids. When they go to the kids club I go relax in the adults only area, in a hot tub, or even the rainforest room. I'll go get a coffee and relax, take time to just rest, I don't need a ton of activities to do because that's not why I'm on the cruise. It's a chance to disconnect, relax, and spend time together and having more adult activities or a casino will not add to that experience.

 

[DanielleC]

I could see Disney putting in a casino, one or two ships only, in an out of the way location. They don't allows smoking, you have to purchase any alcohol, no slots or Big Wheel, only craps, baccarat, blackjack and roulette. Maybe not include craps because it gets so loud. And only open them at night. Also, only open them at sea, not in port.

 

[cgolf]

But here's the thing, I don't care if they don't do more adult activities because I go on a Disney cruise to spend time with my family. If I wanted to go do a lot of adult activities I'd go somewhere else with just my husband so I don't have to think about what to do with the kids. When they go to the kids club I go relax in the adults only area, in a hot tub, or even the rainforest room. I'll go get a coffee and relax, take time to just rest, I don't need a ton of activities to do because that's not why I'm on the cruise. It's a chance to disconnect, relax, and spend time together and having more adult activities or a casino will not add to that experience.

One thing we found as our daughter got older, we basically never saw her all week. She tended to hang out in the clubs and do stuff with other kids. It was relaxing for us, and she seemed to have a great time. I know there are some kids that won't like the clubs as much too. We may have benefited from some more adult activities being added.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We've had to walk through casinos to get from Point A to Point B on other cruise lines. Even when the casinos are closed they reek of stale cigarette smoke, and some of them have pictures of nekked women on the walls -- not cool for kids to have to walk by on their way to a muster drill. I realize Donald Duck runs around nekked from the waist down, but I just don't need the casino environment on a cruise.

 

[3monkeys4me]

I'm not much of a gambler so I don't care either way. Dh would probably like a casino onboard, he generally avoids the ones on ships since they are too smokey for him. But he did gamble for a bit on our sea days on our last cruise out of Australia since there is no smoking allowed indoors.

 

[AquaDame]

Having sailed RCCL and Celebrity now, I am curious why many are against a casino on a DCL cruise ship? The casinos on Celebrity are smoke free and other than the free 5 bucks we were given I spent zero time in there. If DCL added them as smoke free in an out of the way location, what are the concerns?

One argument I know of is some won't want kids exposed to it, but I see more people having issues with alcohol, always in the news of someone getting OWI 4 or greater, not gambling and DCL is not an alcohol free ship. I also see this as a plus for some parents that have kids that are big Disney fans but they are not. This may give them something to do to get away from all things Disney for a bit. In theory this could bring down or at least put a freeze on the cruise fares.

So why all the push back on something that you could jusMy t ignore?

For us it wouldn't be an issue at all. In my mind I would think my cruise fares are cheaper because of it and I would completely ignore it.

I feel it just doesn't fit in with DCLs image. They're 'All About' families spending time together, so adding in a casino that kids can't partake of seems ill fitting. Of the people I know who gamble they spend a LOT of time doing it - it isn't a pop in and out thing, and if it is, those people by and large don't miss it. No one wants to spend $ to sail on a cruise with grandma for her to spend hours in there, so why have it?

I know kids can't drink either and there are bars (and speciality restaurants) but those are fairly short winded and you have the option of having a drink in the MDRs or a venue kids are welcomed. You can't do that with gambling.

Comparitively, alcohol is everywhere and if Disney tried to have a "dry" cruise they would feel a much larger pinch to their pocketbook. Until alcohol falls out of favor in the extreme (every moreso than tobacco has in recent years) the differences in how the two are handled are going to be very different even though both can be abused.

 

[cdoc29]

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.

 

[Geomom]

I replied 'no', but would still sail DCL. I think the only case to be made for DCL putting a casino on the ships is if it's only on 1 ship that is exclusively doing the Asian market and it would still need to be in an adult only area with no smoking/no free alcohol. I agree with others that people 'lose time' in casinos. The Bingo games (the current form of 'gambling' on ship) only last an hour at a time, no more than 2/day and kids are allowed to play with the adults...just not claim the prizes, and it's interactive vs. staring at a slot machine for hours.

 

[ashley0139]

I replied 'no', but would still sail DCL. I think the only case to be made for DCL putting a casino on the ships is if it's only on 1 ship that is exclusively doing the Asian market and it would still need to be in an adult only area with no smoking/no free alcohol. I agree with others that people 'lose time' in casinos. The Bingo games (the current form of 'gambling' on ship) only last an hour at a time, no more than 2/day and kids are allowed to play with the adults...just not claim the prizes, and it's interactive vs. staring at a slot machine for hours.

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.

 

[otten]

One could argue that having bars is not a family activity either, but they do have many of those on board? I do think overall though people don't drink as much on DCL, but I have no proof to back it up. The only truly smashed people, (3 total) we have seen have been on DCL, but our sample size on other lines compared to DCL is very small.

The difference between the bars and a hypothetical casino is that the bars are also used for more family friendly activities during the day. They are multi use spaces which when you are talking about the finite amount of space on a ship is important. A casino can't be anything but a casino even during hours when it might not be very utilized.

 

[Cruise Diva]

Disney brand is family fun and people take vacations to get away, have family time, and have fun together as a family. I do not think casinos on a ship are conducive to family time. We do not gamble and the big attraction for us was no casinos on Disney. This gives Disney Cruise Lines more space to devote to kid's activities . We like the casual family atmosphere on the Disney Ships. It is nice to go to dinner, or to the theatre on board, or to the movies and see families sitting together and enjoying each other's company.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I don't care if casinos are added, but I hate the smoke, the location that forces you to walk through that smoke, the smoke that trails out and around the area. And all that... substitute the word "smoke" for noise. Those machines are annoying and loud. They make you feel stress, not calm.

Also, I'm not sure how you'd theme a Disney Casino. Scrooge McDuck?

 

[Happy100]

As others have mentioned. Casinos do not fit in with Disney's family friendly image. There is also absolutely no creativity/imagination with pulling a handle, playing cards or throwing dice. I have absolutely no interest in a casino being on a Disney cruise ship and taking up space that would otherwise fit in with the "Disney" image.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

I would only be ok with them adding a casino if it was smoke free. I would just not visit it if I didn’t want to gamble. I look at it as similar to the family pool area—we really never go there because it doesn’t interest us.

I don’t get the argument that casino revenue would lower DCL pricing. A business wants to make more money. When they bring in more $ they think “yay, more money for us!” not “yay, we can lower our prices now!” The only thing that would lower pricing would be a large drop in bookings, and I don’t see that happening until there is another big recession.

 

[squirk]

The only thing that would lower pricing would be a large drop in bookings, and I don’t see that happening until there is another big recession.

Even then, they probably wouldn’t explicitly lower fares. They’d re-introduce “Kids Sail Free,” or use other freebies/promotions that would back-door lower the overall cost of a cruise, but never lower the actual fares themselves. Doing the latter would telegraph to the public that they (DCL) were having a hard time filling ships.

 

[bbel]

Remember when you couldn't but alcohol in the parks because it didn't fit in with the image Disney wanted?...

I've said it before: I've worked at DCL, and I've worked on another cruise line. I've had far more drunk parents come and pick up their kids on DCL than I have on the casino, upselling, drinks package filled royal ships...

 

[kerry1379]

So many other cruise lines offer casinos. One of the reasons we love Disney so much is because they are one of the few that specifically doesn't. If they were to add it, then what makes them different? To me a casino is an easy out for adult entertainment. Disney works hard to offer something different-very unique entertainment. The fact that they are family friendly is the entire reason why we are willing to spend what we do for a Disney cruise.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

For the record, I despise casinos. It's not about morality or anything; I just can't stand the vibe. Watching people literally flush their money away to the sound of ringing bells and flashing lights is not the kind of thing I want to be around on vacation. If you throw in cigarette smoking (I'm asthmatic), you've now described my personal vision of hell.

I am with you 100%. I find casinos to be deeply depressing. We have had to stay in casino hotels a couple of times as members of wedding parties and couldn't stand having to walk through the casino floor. If DCL put a casino on one of their ships, we would not be sailing that ship. We want to sail Princess in Alaska for the itinerary, but I'm having trouble getting over the casino thing.

 

[sethschroeder]

Remember when you couldn't but alcohol in the parks because it didn't fit in with the image Disney wanted?...

I've said it before: I've worked at DCL, and I've worked on another cruise line. I've had far more drunk parents come and pick up their kids on DCL than I have on the casino, upselling, drinks package filled royal ships...

Could part of that be that parents feel more at ease to drink when on DCL based on how well the kids are taken care of? Could it also be the large percentage of the ship with families vs other lines where it's less families?

No clue but I am surprised it's not pretty much equal amounts of drunk parents with and without drink package cruise lines.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Remember when you couldn't but alcohol in the parks because it didn't fit in with the image Disney wanted?...

I've said it before: I've worked at DCL, and I've worked on another cruise line. I've had far more drunk parents come and pick up their kids on DCL than I have on the casino, upselling, drinks package filled royal ships...

You bring up an interesting point. While I'm assuming the majority of those drunk parents are still reasonably able to parent, what was the procedure if a parent showed up that clearly wasn't able to take care of their child if you released him/her? Were there protocols for dealing with that sort of parent?