When is the casino open on a cruise?

• Sea dayA day with no port call. The casino can open in the morning and run late, so this is when you'll find the most table time, lessons and tournaments. Princess advertises 24-hour slots while the ship is at sea, and Holland America says its slots stay open all night.
• Port dayThe casino stays closed while the ship is docked or at anchor. It opens again some time after sailaway. Virgin Voyages puts that at about 30 minutes after sailing, once the ship is in international waters, so an evening departure can still give you a full night of play.
• ArrivalCasinos close before the ship reaches port. Holland America closes slots 30 minutes before arrival; Virgin closes at least 30 minutes before approaching the port.
• Short cruisesFewer sea days and more port time mean fewer casino hours. A two- or three-night trip may have only one full sea day, or none.
• Scenic cruisingDays spent cruising a fjord, glacier or canal aren't port calls, but they aren't open ocean either. No line we checked says how it treats them, so look at the daily planner. In Alaska, state rules may apply (see Alaska).

For a first trip, start with your first time in a cruise ship casino. It covers paying, getting rated and etiquette, which this guide doesn't repeat.

• The general ruleThe law makes it unlawful to "possess, or use any gambling device" within US jurisdiction, including on US-documented ships and foreign-flagged ones.
• The exception ships rely onIt doesn't prohibit using a gambling device on a vessel "that is not within the boundaries of any State or possession of the United States." The machines can stay on board while the ship is in a state's waters, as long as they're used only outside them. That is why casinos open after sailaway and close before arrival.
• Cruises to nowhereA state can ban gambling on a voyage that begins and ends in that state with no stop in another state or country. That power doesn't reach a segment that is part of a voyage to another state or country, if the ship gets there within 3 days.
• Hawaii and AlaskaThe law has a special rule for each. Hawaii is excluded from the main exception, and Alaska gets a narrower power to restrict play. Both are below.

We quote the statute as published by Cornell's Legal Information Institute; the official US Code site was under maintenance when we checked. We don't give legal advice, and how the law applies to a given sailing is up to the line and the authorities.

• Pride of AmericaNorwegian's Pride of America sails Hawaii inter-island cruises and has no casino, the only ship in Norwegian's fleet without one (our Norwegian page).
• Other Hawaii sailingsLonger cruises that visit Hawaii from the mainland or elsewhere are a different case, because they don't begin and end in Hawaii. But the stretch between Hawaiian ports may be a segment that does. We found no cruise line page that explains how it handles this, so ask the line before you book if casino time matters to you.

• HawaiiPride of America (Norwegian).
• GalápagosCelebrity's expedition ships Celebrity Flora, Celebrity Xpedition and Celebrity Xploration.
• River cruisesCelebrity's river ships due in 2027, Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker. Viking, which runs river, ocean and expedition ships, describes itself as having "no casinos."
• Other linesOur other cruise lines page notes which smaller lines have casinos and which don't.

• Before you bookCount the sea days in the itinerary. A cruise with several sea days in a row gives you far more casino time than a port-intensive one of the same length.
• RegionFor Alaska and Hawaii, check the age rule and expect closures near ports. If you're on Pride of America, there's no casino.
• On boardCheck the planner or app each evening for the next day's casino and table times. Ask the casino host (The casino staff member who looks after players: sign-ups, points, comps and offers.) when the casino opens after the next port. The glossary explains other terms you'll see.
• Last dayCasinos close before the final arrival. Cash out the night before; end-of-cruise comps covers when play stops counting.