Why so against Casinos on DCL? With Poll

[FSU Girl]

I think they should add a casino. I think one of the reasons Disney is so expensive to sail is they have to make up for the money they are not getting from a casino on their ship. I don't really get why people are so against it. They have bingo, which is also gambling. As long as it was a smoke free casino I think it would be a nice place for adults to go and have fun and Disney could lower their overall prices a bit with the added revenue. They could add a deck on their new ships to have the casino, but not take away something else in that space. The ships aren't that high so that is totally doable.

 

[FSU Girl]

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.

You do know that Universal is more dog friendly than Disney? All their hotels are pet friendly and have been for years. Both parks only allow service dogs inside the actual park.

 

[starvenger]

Tbh I don't think they would lower the price if they added a casino. They'd just count it as an extra revenue stream. I mean, if you're already getting cruises past the break-even number at the price point they're at, why lower it?

 

[SteveH]

IMO, casinos just seem cheap (all those flashing lights and noise), even without smoking. Not really the image Disney wants.

I would add the word tacky too.

Disney doesn't need it, if they did they would have added it by now. They wouldn't fight to keep casinos away from their parks. Under Iger ESPN has avoided the sports betting side of things and I just don't think Disney will ever embrace it.

I am not into gambling at all, I just see it as tacky entertainment. Went to Vegas once, walked through the casinos and felt no desire to go back.

 

[NaturalNine]

Would love to see them do a casino with table games such as Baccarat, Blackjack, Roulette and Poker Tournaments

I’d rather see them cut down on a number of bars / lounges to make way for that - people who want to drink have plenty of options on the ship, those who want to gamble currently do not

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Disney is a family cruise geared toward kids and the imagination. If you want to gamble then get off the ship in the Bahamas and go to the casino there.

 

[ludari]

I'm not a gambler unless you consider spending most of my money on Disney related items a gamble. Anyway, I've been on several other cruise lines that had casinos and although I hate walking through them because of all the smokers they normally don't bother me. However on a recent cruise with NCL the ships casino was mixed around several specialty paid restaurants and it was not pleasant having dinner with the smell of cigarettes trailing into the restaurant.

 

[DisneYE]

Disney is a family cruise geared toward kids and the imagination. If you want to gamble then get off the ship in the Bahamas and go to the casino there.

I'm with you on this.
I like gambling once in a while but casinos aren't part of the Disney brand.
There's so many casinos in the US (and a few in Canada), many 100miles within any major city, how desperate are ppl to get their 'fix'? I don't get it.
I wouldn't stop sailing DCL if they put a casino, I might even go and gamble a little, but it'll be a turnoff if they did. Same with Mexico, if they put casinos near Mexican resorts, they'll diminish their appeal to me.
If ppl really want to gamble, just wait till you're back home and go to one. Is what I do.

 

[Trera]

Disney is a family cruise geared toward kids and the imagination. If you want to gamble then get off the ship in the Bahamas and go to the casino there.

We have done this before. Went to the Baha Mar and enjoyed their resort for the day and squeezed in a little gambling while we were there as well.

 

[Uncle Coaster]

I'm with you on this.
I like gambling once in a while but casinos aren't part of the Disney brand.
There's so many casinos in the US (and a few in Canada), many 100miles within any major city, how desperate are ppl to get their 'fix'? I don't get it.

As one of the very few and perhaps only person to say they’ve tuned out DCL because of no casino I’ll take a stab at replying.

I’ve never cruised before but I’d really like to. People who know me tell me I’d be bored to tears. Therefore, I want to go with a line that offers something that’s open through the day like this that I’m interested in. It’s not about being desperate for a fix it’s about being someone who doesn’t generally care for free time.

Casinos happen to be what other cruise lines offer. If zoos were popular on ships but DCL didn’t offer them I would say the same thing.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Thread got too long to read entirely but I agree with many others. I don't go to casinos and I don't want space used up for that since I don't use them. I know the new ships are supposed to be larger - maybe they can put casinos in there.

I sailed on Star Princess once and it has a casino. The casino entrance was in the center of the ship where lots of the things that were important to me where located. I never needed to go into the casino and I never did. When I first saw it, I thought it was an arcade, but realized it was a casino. It didn't affect me or my vacation in any way that it was there.

 

[msmama]

There are zillions of kids on Disney cruises. Kids can't gamble. They'd probably need to spend more in staffing to keep kids out of the casino than they would make in the casino! Then you've got the entitled parents who already can't say no to their kids...seems like it'd just be hard keeping kids away. Especially when Disney already has this culture of guest pleasing and keeping everyone happy.

As for putting it in an out of the way place where kids couldn't get to it - that defeats the main purpose of a casino. It it supposed to draw you in and make you want to stay, otherwise it wouldn't make money. If only the people who were looking for it went there, again, it probably wouldn't be cost effective. Plus, maybe the larger ships are different, I've only been on the smaller, but I can't think of anywhere I went where my kid didn't come with me, even if it was just walking from one place to another.

My neighbor has told me even with her kids she doesn't like cruising Disney because they don't have a casino. She also said that they usually gamble so much they a ton of stuff comped. That's another thing that Disney would have to deal with by adding a casino. People have expectations when they walk into a casino and I would argue some of them don't jive with the "Disney way."

There are so many cruise lines out there with casino's I have to say I hope Disney doesn't add them. I don't think they need them and I do think it would change the feel of the ships. I'm not against gambling (I don't do it, I find it incredibly boring and a waste of money), I got married in Vegas. But I think there is a time and place for casinos and they don't need to be added everywhere.

 

[DanielleC]

Yes, but should be in an out of the way location...like at the end of the "night club" district on the ships. Should also be smoke free. I think some additional "night life" options are needed and that could help liven things up. Would hopefully help subsidize the cost of the cruise and bring down prices a little for the non-gamblers. I can see them releasing casino chips with characters on them, which become collectibles and never get redeemed at face...which could also be good for Disney.

Anyone who says they would stop sailing Disney if they had a casino without first at least giving it a chance is lying...plain and simple.

I collect casino chips and the idea of a chip with Mickey on it sounds really weird. Of course if they did, I would buy a mint set, but it does sound rd.

 

[mevelandry]

Wow, why do people hate Casino so much? It's not like you are forced to play.

 

[mevelandry]

Simple - they don’t need a casino to attract their target demographic.

Even if a casino was “out of the way,” space is finite and something else would have to go to accommodate it.

I can’t think of anything on the ships that I’d want to give up in favor of a casino.

I do... Jewelry shops. LOL

 

[disneyophile]

My only objection to having a casino on a cruise ship is the stench. I am a non-smoker: Overpowering stale and new cigarette smoke odor lingers everywhere near the casino on every cruise ship I've sailed on, including newer ones. Often, the most direct route to get to other venues is through the casino, so to avoid the stink I need to find a different route. Not only do I not want to breathe the stench, but I don't want to wear it on my clothes either.

 

[grantclaire]

My issue would be with the smoking, this past March in Nassau we walked into Atlantis casino and it was very smokey. I am close to 60 years old and that was my first time ever in a casino, we did not stay to gamble.

 

[KashasMom]

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 just 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.

We're with our daughter all cruise long so while we wouldn't go to a casino we'd have no issue if there was one on board. Certainly if it's out of the way, it shouldn't bother anybody. I love the comments about getting a casino fix from BINGO...cause yeah, those things are quite similar. And wow, I just read all the comments. I am not surprised by them at all.

I also feel that - at least for some - it is very easy to park down in front on a slot machine and suddenly hours have passed....seems like a waste of time that could be spent with family, but perhaps that's "fun" for some.

Parents leave their kids in the clubs all day/night long. I'd consider that a "waste" of my valuable family time. But to each his/her own.

Celebrity casinos are smoke free, and the hope is RCCL will be too in the future.

So are NCL on the newer ships.

The real tell is that in the main dining room you can uncharge your meal with one from a specialty restaurant on RCCL. that is an example of the constant upsell

That is something I would actually enjoy. People rave about Palo/Remy and since my daughter is not welcome there, I might like to sample this wonderful food, especially if it's better than the MDR food. And BTW, we've never felt nickeled/dimed on ANY cruise line...although I did really get ripped off by buying water on the Magic first day in Cabanas.

 

[squirk]

I do... Jewelry shops. LOL

Oh, I’d absolutely like to put those spaces to better use as well. As I said in another thread, maybe some dedicated 1820 Society space?

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

No, sir. None. Nowhere. No how.