Princess Cruises offers profitable gambling opportunities through Video Poker play funded by room charges and, potentially, the use of discounted Princess gift cards to offset gambling charges. You may also find additional value through Princess’ casino loyalty program.
Although Princess’ Jacks or Better Video Poker games have about a 97% return to player (3% house edge) with optimal strategy, it’s possible to have an advantage. Rather than putting cash into machines, cruisers can charge to their room with a linked credit card. Casino room charges are fee-free and should code as travel for most credit cards bonusing travel, or, more particularly, cruises.
Cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve earn 3x points on travel. With points being worth at least 1.5 cents each when used for travel, this minimum 4.5% will result in a player advantage when considering giving up about 3% in expected value. If points are used for better redemptions, like transferring to World of Hyatt or airline programs, one has a better advantage.
My Strategy
My strategy for cruise Video Poker play is playing through ‘new money’ one time, since the edge only exists with the initial deposit/play, depositing more, rinse and repeat. Keep track of play using a click counter app or, better yet, accumulated tier or Princess points. Princess Video Poker play earns one point per $5 wagered or coin-in, so every $1000 played through yields 200 Princess points.
I found several Jacks or Better games, but the best option was a 7/5 Triple Play game for $0.25 per credit. Playing three hands would be $1.25*3 for $3.75 total per round. As I’ve discussed in previous articles, I generally prefer multi-hand play compared to single play because this lowers variance and allows for more hands played. Rather than betting just $5 on one hand in a $1 denomination five-credit game, I’d prefer to play $3.75 spread across three hands.
We have an edge when playing new money, but also gain something back with Princess points as explained through a graphic. If we make $10,000 in room charges and play through one time, we would gain 2000 Princess points (America Loves Math), which gives $400 in freeplay. Leaving the ship with $10,000 or more in cash obliges you to declare cash with customs, so you may want to re-evaluate whether you want to play this much if you have a winning voyage.
My Advice
Instead of focusing on earning credit card rewards, you can likely use Princess gift cards sourced with a discount from sites like Fluz and Newegg. I say ‘likely’ because this requires the cooperation of customer service on the ship, so you may want to start with a smaller denomination and test before coming onboard with thousands in gift cards you won’t be able to use. A customer service representative should be able to offset room charges with gift cards after you gamble and charge to room.
Happy cruising! As always, gamble responsibly and use credit wisely.
