Where facts come from
Every fact on a cruise line page, guide or ship profile comes from a source we opened, and the source is listed on that page. We look for sources in this order:
- The cruise line's own pages. Program terms, casino pages, FAQs, ship pages, fact sheets and deck plans. When two of a line's own pages disagree, the page quotes both or says which one is newer and shows the older figure as superseded.
- The line's own news releases. Used where the line's regular pages are silent, for example when a refit changes a casino.
- Official sources for law and tax. US tax figures come from IRS pages, and the federal rule on where ships may open their casinos is quoted from the US Code.
- Everything else is named and labeled. News sites, trade press, fan sites, comp services, forums and player videos are cited by name, and a figure that only they give is marked Reported. A forum post or a player's account is never presented as a line's own rule.
Where a page works something out itself, such as the expected cost of a bet, it says that's our arithmetic, not a figure from the line. If we can't find something, the page says so instead of guessing.
When a source goes offline, we keep it in the list, unlinked and marked "(no longer online)", so the report and its date stay visible. One source is shown this way so far. When a page has moved or gone, we sometimes cite an archived copy from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine instead.
How dates are shown
- Last checked. 222 pages end with a Last checked date: the day the page was last reviewed against its sources.
- Checked, on ship profiles. Each ship profile also has a line under its casino figures with the source label and a "Checked" date. 166 of the 169 ship profiles were last checked on October 22, 2026; the rest show an earlier date, and What's new lists them.
- Accessed dates. On 94 pages, each source in the Sources list shows the date we opened it, plus the date the source itself was published or updated when it gives one, for example "(updated Feb 23, 2026; accessed Oct 21, 2026)".
- Report dates. Ship profiles and the slot library show the month of each report of a game on a ship, so you can see how old a sighting is.
What the labels mean
- Not published
- We didn't find it on the line's own pages, and no reliable source gave it. It doesn't mean the rule or figure doesn't exist. 241 pages use this label somewhere.
- Not stated
- Used in tables: the line's page or terms that we cite for that row don't answer that question.
- Reported
- From the press, players, fan sites or comp services, not confirmed by the cruise line or an official source. In running text you'll see "reported" or "as reported" instead of a flag.
- Not rechecked
- We read it before, but couldn't open the source again in the latest check, for example because the page no longer loads.
- Not announced
- On new ships: the line hasn't said yet.
Each ship profile also gives its casino figures one source label. Of the 169 profiles:
- Cruise line: 20, where the figures come from the line.
- Mixed sources: 32, where some come from the line and some from third parties.
- Third-party: 59, where the line publishes no counts and the figures come from reports.
- Not published: 58, where neither the line nor a reliable third party gives a count.
How pages are re-checked
We re-check in passes, one group of pages at a time: a cruise line's pages, a set of ship profiles, or the guides with the oldest dates. In each pass we open the line's current pages again, fix what has changed, mark as reported what only third parties support, remove what no source supports, and update the page's Last checked date. Corrections that matter to players are logged on What's new.
After a pass, automated tests pin the corrected facts to the pages. Each check names the source behind it, so a later edit can't quietly bring back an old figure. 10 test files hold 84 of these checks.
How pages stay consistent
The same fact often appears in several places, so we try to keep one copy of it and build the rest from that copy.
- Ship pages are generated. The ship profiles, the ship directory, the ship comparison, the at-a-glance boxes and the biggest casinos ranking are written by scripts from the same ship data. A corrected figure changes in all of them at once.
- The build is repeatable. A check runs the whole chain of scripts again and fails if the result differs in any way from the published pages.
- Pages are tested as served. Each new page gets a test that loads it and checks its key content, and one test checks that every page has the same footer links.
- The casino calendar is written from its data. The dated list on the cruise casino calendar is generated from the same data file its filters and calendar download use, and a test checks that the page matches that data and that each date is printed on the page it cites.
- Tool math is tested on its own. Each tool's math lives in its own file with its own tests; the video poker pay-table checker, for example, is checked against an exact calculation that goes through every possible hand.
How the tools work
The calculators in Tools are math, not predictions. They work out averages from the rules and numbers you give them, and their results are estimates.
- The math runs in your browser. Each tool's own scripts do the arithmetic on the page. They don't send what you enter to our server, and they don't save it in cookies or browser storage.
- They ask for numbers, not who you are. The tools ask for bets, hours, points and choices. None asks for your name, email address or a casino account number.
- What goes in the address. What does this blackjack table cost?, What does this roulette or craps bet cost?, Which cruise lines will match my casino status?, Is the next tier worth it?, What will this offer cost me? and the cruise casino calendar keep your choices after the # in the address, so you can share a link; browsers don't send that part to the server or pass it on to the next page you open. Older links to the next-tier and offer cost tools put the choices after a ? instead; those still open, and the tool moves the choices after the # as soon as the page loads. The pay-table checker and the strategy trainer don't put your entries in the address.
- The page is still a page. Visits to a tool page are counted like visits to any other page (our visit statistics record the page's path and the address you came from, cut before any ? or #, and Google Analytics gets addresses without them too), and the site-wide script remembers your cookie choice and recent searches. Our Privacy Policy covers all of it.
What we don't do
- We don't offer gambling, take bets or handle money.
- We're not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any cruise line or casino.
- We don't sell your data, share it with cruise lines or casinos, or use it for advertising.
- We don't fill a gap with a guess, and we don't present a third party's figure as the line's own.
Casino programs change often, so always confirm details with the cruise line before you sail.
Corrections
Corrections we've made are listed on What's new. How to tell us about something out of date or wrong is on the About page.
Counts on this page were taken from the site's own files on October 22, 2026. A test recounts them every time the site is checked and fails if any of them no longer matches.