BINGO on Carnival ships....I suggest staying away and don't play.

[salty dingo]

DW thinks playing bingo is "fun", but then again, she buys lottery tickets too (I don't.)

 

If losing money is fun, then have at it! Yes, I know some people actually win the lottery too.

[LuckyZ]

I wouldn’t say scam but definitely favors the house. The math is easy to figure it out.

For us it’s similar to the Casino. You go in thinking you will lose and decide how much you can afford to lose and enjoy it.

Secret is to do it near the end of the cruise when the jackpots are bigger.

 

 

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[beachbum53]

• Carnival has raised more than $13 million for St. Jude since 2010, and they have committed to raising an additional $10 million by 2021. In July 2015, Carnival Cruise Line was recognized as St. Jude Proprietary Campaign of the Year.
  

From the St Jude website

https://www.stjude.org/get-involved/other-ways/partner-with-st-jude/corporate-partners/carnival-cruise-lines.html

 

Yes, I know that Carnival raises a lot of money for St. Jude. I was just wondering if any of the money made from selling bingo cards goes to St. Jude. If so, that might explain the disparity between money taken in from sales and paid out in prizes.

[sc4125]

Not sure if it still works this way, but I was a purser on another cruise line & we were in charge of the $$ - that was back in the day where you actually used cash to purchase bingo cards. We would take in the $$, and pay out the wins. This is the way it happened "way back when": Everyday on the 7 day cruise, you would play the cover all (or black out) as the last game, calling XX numbers, which increased each day. If no one won, the jackpot rolled over and on the last day of the cruise, you called numbers until someone did win. Typically, the jackpot would be quite substantial on that last day.

 

No one was suppose to be able to win until the last day - if they ever did (and there were some close calls) - we would not have had the $$ to pay it out on those first few days. Remember this was back when everything was done in cash. There were some really nerve wracking days when someone would call Bingo on the first couple of days of cover all knowing there was no way I had $2000 in the cash box to pay out, but it was never a "good" bingo.

 

The cruise line take back then was one-half of the sales. We would count the $$, keep back 1/2 and then determine what the prize $$ would be for each of the games. It was a great money maker, but no where near the amount we took in from the casino.

[Alaskan Joe]

I won't go as far and say it's a "scam" because that word means different things to different people but I will say that Carnival is making an insane amount of money on BINGO. For example....

 

We just got back from an 8 day cruise on the Vista. It was a wonderful trip but I was very disappointed with BINGO. The way it works is they sell different BINGO packages that are $20, $30, or $40. The more you spend, the more BINGO cards you get. We bought the $40 package and I think the majority of the BINGO players at our session did as well because many of the sign up sheets they were handing out already had the $40 box checked (hmmmmm). Anyway, this session was a $4,000 jackpot BINGO and consisted of three games. The host, Richie Rich (who was quite entertaining), mentioned that he thought there was a good 1,000 people or so in the room. So right there....let's say on average, everyone bought a $30 BINGO package. That is $30,000 that Carnival just took in. Remember that. $30,000.

 

The first game was your standard straight line BINGO. Cool. The winner got $350. Okay. The second game was the six-pack game where you had to get six numbers grouped together like a "six-pack". The winner got $450. Okay. The final game was called "black-out" and you had to get every single number on your card checked off. What is that...like 45 numbers? Anyway, they have a rule where if so many numbers are called (I think it was forty something....definitely no more than fifty) and there is no winner, the jackpot prize if void and they go to a back-up prize. Yes, you read that right. They will not be giving out the $4,000 jackpot prize. The winner ended up winning something like $750.

 

What a rip-off, right?

 

Even if Carnival gave out the $4,000 on the last prize, they are still up $25,200 on one session of BINGO ($30k minus $350 minus $450 minus $4,000).

 

And finally, although it was fun at times and like I said, Richie Rich is an entertaining guy......the is no where close to being worth playing.

 

STAY AWAY.

 

 

My experience with bingo is the same as yours Bowlinmoe. However, our really bad experience was on NCL Pearl were our so called "Jackpot" was worth $9,000. Just like you said had to fill card like 45 numbers but only call 50 after that the winner got $1,000 (good for them). When everybody was getting up and leaving this old man walked up to the table where the "Fun Crew" was at and ask them "Hey, we (PAX) built up the jackpot over the course of 6 days to $9,000 why would you not pay it back?" They simply ignored him, but he was not done. He says again "Where is the $8,000 you stole from the PAX? We are your bread and butter, and this is how you treat us you steal from us?" Finally one of them spoke up, "Sir, we did not steal anything the money gets rolled over to the NCL Sun".....:confused: He was like "Why the hell would our money go to the PAX on the NCL Sun? Is their roll over jackpot coming over to us on the Pearl?" He was gathering a small crowd standing on his soap box. They finally pulled the guy over to a corner to talk to him without the crowd. In short, I totally agree "Stay away from BINGO".

[Havingfun2010]

All games of chance, will mean that you basically will not come out a winner. Casino's are businesses, where they must collect more money than they pay out to make a profit.

 

Is it a scam? NO, it's gambling. You pay money in hope you will win, even though you know, you won't.

[Alaskan Joe]

The neighbor says that's how blackout bingo is played at the church on the corner. if there's no winner after a certain amount of numbers are called the announcer says that and says " we will continue to play until we have a winner for the consolation prize. " Sounds to me like Carnival is doing what other Bingo halls do in the states.

 

While you are correct, they the "US Bingo halls" give out a small consolation prize each week (if no one hit the jackpot). However, next week when you get there the progressive jackpot as gotten bigger. Furthermore, last week they only called 46 numbers for the progressive pot, but his week they will call 47 numbers. In fact, this will continue to happen (jackpot, and number of balls called growing) until finally weeks and weeks later someone will win. I know it is gambling and the odd are stacked against you, but "really" they the cruise lines are already making money on you, this is what I call double dipping.

[Micahs Grandad]

On our first cruise realized how low the payout ratio was and very quickly realized not in our favor and so we do not play. Just amused watching people line up to do it without realizing what was going on.

 

Thought of organizing my own bingo game with better payout but figured the ship would not be amused.

[Greenhopster]

Bingo cards have 24 numbers and a free space. I agree the jackpot games is crap. Back in the day, you made sure you played Bingo on the last day because the Snowball jackpot was going to be given away no matter how many numbers called. But back in the day also meant great service and food. Now it's a cattle car with feed.

[AdGuyMG]

Finally one of them spoke up, "Sir, we did not steal anything the money gets rolled over to the NCL Sun".....:confused: He was like "Why the hell would our money go to the PAX on the NCL Sun? Is their roll over jackpot coming over to us on the Pearl?" He was gathering a small crowd standing on his soap box. They finally pulled the guy over to a corner to talk to him without the crowd.

 

I'm fairly certain that the rollover money from the Pearl may have been going to the Sun in an exchange for some of the Sun's leftover Artwork from the auction.

[okgirl]

It's certainly a money maker, but not nearly as profitable as the casino.

[buddylover]

Bingo is a fun thing to do maybe once per cruise, and the profit they make on it helps keep our cruise fare down, so I see it as a win-win! :D

And just how do you know this "fact"?? Just curious.......Where did you see where "profits" made on Bingo defray booking fares???

[Tapi]

OP:

 

What you’re describing is very typical of bingo on ANY cruise line. Truly nothing new or out of the ordinary. And yes, the cruise lines do make a lot of money from bingo. Why do you think they announce it incessantly over the PA system multiple times a day?

 

I don’t care much about bingo, but if I do attend, I do so not to win, but for the entertainment factor. Its amusing, first to watch as the level of excitement builds up, and how emotional some people get, and then to watch the whole thing come crashing down (except for the person that wins). [emoji23]

 

 

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[thall1717]

If I pay $40 with a chance to win $350 I'm good, don't really care what they make...it's entertaining

[bowlinmoe]

You have less of a chance on slots than you do on bingo

 

 

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No, you do not.

Most slots pay over 90% back.

BINGO is no where close to that.

[gtalum]

Bingo is always among the worst odds in gambling. I doubt Carnival is alone in this.

[bowlinmoe]

I agree the pay out is not high enough. But, how do you really estimate how many packages they sold? My husband and I bought 1. So, 1,000 people in the room could be 500 packages.

And an exaggerated 1000 people could really be 600 with 300 packages sold.

 

But, yeah, they should pay out more.

 

Good point. I didn't think that some of those people are there just to watch.

Regardless, it's still insane how much money Carnival makes on the game and how bad the player's return is on the game.

[scottydog123]

We played bingo on the Conquest once last week. I enjoyed it, though it was pricey and it took a long time to call the numbers.

 

What I questioned was how the balls are chosen as it seems like it is all computerized and can be set up. I think on the coverall they program the computer to not have a winning number until the 49 balls are called and then it's just the smaller jackpot. Wondering if anyone has actually hit it.

[mskaufman]

I think that people understand the odds for bingo. While I don't play if others like to play I hope they win and hope they have a good time.

[coevan]

You have less of a chance on slots than you do on bingo

 

 

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based on what calculation ?

[Drazil65]

It is like everything else, no one is twisting your arm to play, you know exactly what you are spending to play. Do you play regular bingo anywhere? Same premise, sometimes its good and sometimes not.

 

Last month on the Magic I bought the $20 pkg and won $50, it was a $250 prize split 5 ways, so I was up $30 that day (and it paid for the next day $20 pkg), pure entertainment! Of course they will get the most players on the big prize day, if you are on a bigger ship with more people then your odds of winning are not great. Have you been to the casino??? Not everything that happens on CCL is a setup to take your money or "get you" as some have asked if it is fixed not to pay out:rolleyes:, there are options out there and you have free will to spend on what you want. Play if you like to play but with the idea the money is gone, if you dont have that mentality then probably best not to play.

[Pyrate13]

We played bingo on the Conquest once last week. I enjoyed it, though it was pricey and it took a long time to call the numbers.

 

What I questioned was how the balls are chosen as it seems like it is all computerized and can be set up. I think on the coverall they program the computer to not have a winning number until the 49 balls are called and then it's just the smaller jackpot. Wondering if anyone has actually hit it.

 

Friend of ours hit the jackpot for $5K on her first cruise.

[bobandsherry]

Don't think slots on Carnival is anywhere near 90%. Carnival doesn't have to disclose.

No, you do not.

Most slots pay over 90% back.

BINGO is no where close to that.

 

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[tidecat]

Don't think slots on Carnival is anywhere near 90%. Carnival doesn't have to disclose.

 

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Even if it is 90%, someone who bets $1 and wins $1000 has a 100,000% payback. It take 1,110 pulls with no payback whatsoever to average out that 100,000% back down to 90%. Of course a well-designed slot machine will give you enough partial wins to keep you engaged, so in reality it would take far more spins to offset the jackpot.

 

 

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[PAPERBKWRITER]

The idea is to make money. Nobody is forced to play. My biggest complaint about Bingo is that its often scheduled right before the nightly show and most people stay, making it hard to find a seat.