Cashless gaming is considered the future of the casino floor, taking things a step further after going to a TITO world 20-25 years ago. (Meanwhile, Circus Circus continues to get press for expanding its coin slots offerings at their Slots a Fun casino.)
But back to cashless. If you’re not getting cash back from the machine or a ticket, what happens when you’re done? This is particularly important on a cruise, given once you disembark the ship on the last day, you’re not reboarding.
On the last day of the cruise, how do you cash out the remaining money on your room card? Mark N.
Mark N.
We’ve talked about Carnival’s cashless gaming system here on the site. You load money with room charges to a slot machine, and when you cash out, whatever remains returns to your bank balance for the casino.
An earlier implementation of this system meant a visit to the cashier at the end of a trip. During one trip we did where there was a million dollar slot tournament that had took place with a lot of players onboard, that meant an average of 45 minutes to an hour wait to cash out your account in the casino on the last day.
However, more recently, Carnival has rolled out machines just like the ones you’re used to seeing in casinos, but instead of inserting a ticket to get cash, you insert your ship’s Sail & Sign card (which is both your room key and your players card onboard) to pull up your balance and cash out the remainder. With this system we didn’t see any major lines, and as it augmented the cashiers who could do this as well, it simplified the process quite a bit.
So ultimately the cashier is the key avenue, but now some new high-tech options are stepping in to even take the pressure off that option, making it even easier than ever to cash out your remaining balance!
For land-based casinos where the cashless system is available but isn’t the sole avenue for cashing out, the cashier window will still be your main stop, although land-based casino cashless systems usually also have transfer in/out options that also allow avoiding the cashier lines.
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