Gambling on Cruise Ships was NOT WORTH IT For Me - Why I Stopped Gambling at Sea

This is a video where I talk about my personal journey with cruise ship gambling and why I have decided gambling at sea is not a good idea. Will provide you with the financial and personal reasons why cruise ship gambling is not for me and I am giving up the cruise ship slot machines!

The main perk people talk about how is cruise ship casino comps and free cruises from the casino but I am going to give you my top reasons why free cruises from the casino did not work well. From Celebrity's Blue Chip Casino program to Royal Caribbean's Club Royal, here is why they have not been worth it for me.

*Personal note: This is one of those videos I don't like to make, where I share my full cruise ship journey - the good and the bad. It is me admitting I am not perfect and make decisions I don't always like. However, I always try to recognize these are my decisions and I can change them! Always a work in progress and always striving to do better.

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[dinodesantis]

There is no shame in personal growth. Your advice here is spot on.

[adamp]

Agree 100%…..the amount you have to put through a machine to get any decent offer or free cruise is insane, I always book my room and then if I want to play a little I do and if I don’t I don’t you have to always remember the house always wins in the end no matter what

[slowmads]

I have been a gambler for over 30 years. And a cruiser for 20. I view the comped casino cruises as a discount program, not free. We travel full-time and use cruises as transportation. And I don’t take a free cruise just to gamble. I gamble on a cruise going somewhere I want to go. I’m pretty good about setting daily win and loss limits. My last cruise, I was ahead by a few thousand thanks to a jackpot, and I took a 5-day break from the casino. I paid off the entire bill and walked off with more than I came on with. Which isn’t always the case! I appreciate and applaud your decision. . .

[Nancy-nxcf]

I made the comment on Facebook that I will just pay for my cruise because it's less expensive than gambling for one. I am a former gambler and I see first hand the losses. Thank you for your honesty.

[GrantMcLeod-ur]

Really enjoyed this video. I have read that ship revenue from liquor sales, shore excursions, and gambling pay for the cruise. Revenue from cabin room sales in past years was just an incentive to get people on the ship, so they would spend on other things. Glad to see that you are "economizing" in the interior cabins, like I have done in the past. I admire your efforts to stay away from the ships' casinos. Grant in Phoenix

[pauldickerson]

Thank you for speaking so honestly. I feel exactly the same but couldn’t have described it so eloquently. You’re a special guy. Keep up the good work.

[daviddegeorgia]

I appreciate the video. I think I lost less than $400 on my last cruise and after that I got a bunch of free offers. I booked a 4 day cruise over Memorial day weekend for free for me and the wife and even though it is an interior room with a window it is worth far more than I lost. I do like what you said about not spending all your time in the Casino.

[CruiseDude]

I love that you are not beholden to any particular cruise line and can tell it like it is. This is an extraordinary video and glad you can be hard-hitting and self-reflective. Gambling is for losers.

[bethgintx]

Great video! I am one of those peeps that gamble on a cruise ship and get comped offers (mostly through the website and not instant offers on the ship). I have a $100 a day limit and don’t go over it. I have been Prime for 2 years and have no desire to get to Signature.

[travelwithdebandnick]

wow brandon i really appreciate your honesty in this video. to share this with us all is such a personal thing. and i love that you told us, i hold that in high asteem :) always be true to yourself :) thinking of you, deb.

[bocajay]

Thank you for the video. On a lot of the cruises that I'm on I meet I do need a lot of people that say that their cruise has been comped they always talk about their wins but not their losses just like you I prefer to buy and book my cruise on my own I may set a limit for what I want to do in the casino and once I reach it that's it. Then I head over to the buffet that's always a win-win for me lol

[soulfullmusic]

Gambling can spoil a great cruise, I've seen many sad faces in casinos over the years.

[tazpinball]

I also used to gamble a lot and no longer do. It's a lot of time just sitting down in an enclosed room while you're on a beautiful ship that is sailing the ocean .. yet you only get to see the inside walls. Kind of crazy when you stop to think about it! Plus, if you really are into gambling, there is plenty of time to do that on your phone when you're back at your house. Great video and advice.

[iceelfonsea]

Thank you, this may be the best video on casino playing i have ever seen 🙂 I have been thinking about starting to play to get some "free" cruises but now i dont think i will, thank you again 🙂

[rdderrick]

Good for you…I always wondered if there was some way to come out ahead at the tables (w comps)

[connie_]

Love that you shared this. I came to the same conclusion recently. 9 days is all I've had comped (NCL).
After my only RC cruise in Nov (paid), RC has been throwing Junior Suites at me but only from hot US ports. I was so overwhelmed with offers and add-on costs at RC, going nowhere I want to go, I've decided to avoid casinos and travel on my own dime. 🎉🥳✈🏆 😁😁

[jimlewis]

I have been on 23 cruises and gambled on most of those cruises. I think only twice did I win more than I came with. I usually lose what I came with and sometimes more than I came with. I would have considered myself a winner if I had not played in the casino at all. This last cruise I skipped the casino for about half the time. I used half my money in the shops and bought a watch, perfume for my wife, alcohol, all tax free. I came home with something instead of losing it all in the casino. My next cruise I will probably skip the casino completely. I kind of like having something to show for the money I am spending.

[glavegas]

Gambling is no different than things like drinking, overeating, etc. Everything in moderation. We gamble on our cruises but we keep things in check and yes we have been the benefit of cruise line comp cruises. Same with land based casinos. I appreciate your telling your story. It no longer works for you and you have shared it with your viewers. Look forward to your cruises adventures for this year.

[gwenking]

I love this video. This is exactly where I'm at with gambling and cruising. Don't mention your credit cards you have to pay back when you don't win. And there is a lot of that going on lately. Time to do something differently.

[gobbsmacked]

I once dropped a wad of cash in Las Vegas . . . as I recall, it was $20 in nickels at the Stardust in 1982 . . . it still hurts . . . since we're sharing.