Jump to content

Warning about HAL Casino


NevergambleonHAL
 Share

Recommended Posts

:eek:In Las Vegas the pit bosses and dealers are usually very friendly and helpful. Holland America's are not, their casino is by far the worst we have ever been to.

There were many times that the dealers would take your bet even though you hadn't lost and we would have to tell them to give it back, pay us or both. It got to where when they started to take the bets we would say uh, uh, uh and they wouldn't take it. It became a running joke. Of course the people who were new to the game usually didn't notice unless we said something and we did but what if we hadn't been there.

The dealers at Black Jack would tell the customer the sum of their cards as they were taking their hits but many times they would be wrong and the person would take a hit or pass based on what the dealer said their cards were. When I was able I would correct the dealer so the person could make a better informed decision on whether they wanted a hit but most of the time, unless I was the next person, there wasn't enough time to correct them. Once the guy beside me had 13 and the dealer said 18 with the dealer showing a 10, the guy waved it off thinking he had 18 and I said no it's 13 so of course he then took another card and won the hand but he would have lost based on misinformation.

Their casino gets a lot of patrons who have never gambled before and are clueless. When these people would ask for advice or help the staff would tell them they aren't allowed to help them. Are you kidding me? The odds are already in the casino's favor, the staff could at least be helpful and courteous. I've never heard another dealer at any other casino refuse to help a player.

With the exception of about 3 dealers, most of the casino staff were very smug and condescending especially the pit bosses and cashiers.

The casino hours were very bizarre and they often closed early.

We have been to a lot of casino's and this would have to be the worst one we have ever been to.

By the way, we actually won a few hundred at the casino so we are not disgruntled patrons. But, if we hadn't been paying attention we would probably have been losers too. I just want to warn people who are not familiar with gaming to be very careful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

We have spent one heck of a lot of time and money in HAL casinos. We have found the staff to be friendly, helpful and very, very nice. We participated in specialty nights ( ie 60's night) their were slot tournaments , blackjack tournaments and gaming lessons on several occasions.

We received free drinks, great service and even a PG dinner on the staff. I don't know which HAL ship you were on but apparently it isn't one I've sailed on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Kakalina - DH and I have never had anything but good times in HAL casinos. Very friendly staff and no monkey business. We are very experienced players and would have recognized anything untoward going on. What ship were you on?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DH and I were on Rotterdam in July, August , 2014 and the staff in the "Casino" was absolutely wonderful. When I say "The Staff", I mean EVERYONE.

We went to Norway and when my DH and I talk about the Cruise and the Amazing sights that we saw, our conversation always includes our fun in the Casino.

Depending on the itinerary, I usually spend more time in the Casino, but this itinerary limited my time on slots, because there was so much to see.

Limited selection for the type of slots I like, but I also played the BJ tables. No hanky panky and always noticed that the other passengers were also very happy with the casino staff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

We loved the casino staff on the Eurodam, and we've sailed 10 times, 10 casinos...Eurodam was the best.

 

It's a shame your experience was poor. Hopefully, your next one will be better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...