Most others use companies which run Casinos on land. Only a few Cruise lines run their own Casino department. Working for a Casino company which has the concession onboard cruise ships helps greatly. In order to get a position onboard, you have to be a certified Casino dealer with many years experience and have a clean record. However we cannot go ashore every time, but certainly we have more possibilities than many of our colleagues, to see the places where the ship stops. Therefore we are basically are off duty every time the ship is in port. The main reason for this is, that many countries have casinos in their ports and of course, the visited countries want the people to spend money on land and not everything onboard.

Due to international regulations, the Casino has to be closed, while the ship is in port. While casinos on land are open 24 hours and one has to work shifts, it is a little easier for us to work onboard a cruise ship. We have10 dealers, a pit boss, the Cashier, Slot Technician and Casino Manager here onboard. Of course, in relation to some of the Casinos on land it is a small casino but we have a good number of slot machines and various card game machines. I am trained in all common games offered in a Casino, such as Blackjack, Roulette, Poker, craps and baccarat. This is my second contract onboard, I have worked for several years in different Casinos around the world.

I am French, from the mysterious town of Rennes-le-Chateau, close to Carcassonne and my name is Alais. Yes, this, like most cruise ships, is not just a floating hotel, but also a floating casino.

Cruise ship casino dealer