Deal breakers? 10 must-have facilities you will not discover on all cruise ships

Some cruise traces, nevertheless, have chosen to not put casinos on their ships or ditched them throughout refurbishment. For instance, family-focused Disney Cruise Line ships don’t embody casinos. Additionally, Pleasure of America is the one vessel in Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet and not using a on line casino as a result of it solely cruises in Hawaii, the place playing is unlawful.

You additionally will not discover casinos on most expedition and river ships. Such is the case with Viking, which operates a fleet of adults-only ocean, river and expedition ships.

Some premium traces, corresponding to Azamara, Windstar Cruises and Paul Gauguin Cruises, eliminated casinos after they refurbished their ships.

Which cruise traces provide casinos on their ships? You may roll the cube whenever you sail with Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, Celeb Cruises, Princess Cruises, MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages. Premium and luxurious cruise traces like Cunard, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas additionally characteristic casinos on ships.

Balcony cabins

It’d shock you to study that not all ships provide normal balcony cabins. Cruise traces started designing vessels with extra balcony cabins and suites about 25 years in the past, so some ships constructed within the Nineties and earlier won’t have them — or solely provide a small variety of suites with balconies.

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Amongst small-ship luxurious cruise traces, Windstar’s masted crusing ships lack balconies. And whereas its motorized yachts do characteristic two high suite classes with personal outside house, a lot of the balcony suites solely have French balconies (sliding doorways with a railing for letting in recent air however with out precise outside house).

Most expedition vessels lack normal balcony cabins (though some have floor-to-ceiling infinite veranda-type home windows or French balconies). Nationwide Geographic-Lindblad Expedition Cruises’ Nationwide Geographic Endurance and Nationwide Geographic Decision and UnCruise Adventures’ Safari Endeavor and Safari Explorer are among the many exceptions.

River ships crusing Europe’s waterways have a mixture of balcony and French balcony rooms, relying on the cruise line. AmaWaterways and Viking provide full balconies, for instance, whereas Avalon, Uniworld River Cruises and others have French balconies. Many cabins on Scenic Luxurious Cruises & Excursions ships characteristic an indoor Solar Lounge with home windows that may convert to a balcony. Nonetheless, many smaller vessels cruising the Nile, Mekong and Amazon rivers characteristic simply French balconies. Exceptions embody Viking Saigon and Aqua Mekong on the Mekong and AmaWaterways and Viking ships on the Nile, all of which have true balcony cabins.

Associated: The perfect cruise ship balcony cabins to your trip at sea

Self-service laundry

Should you prefer to journey gentle, it helps to know in case your ship presents free self-service laundry (although you will typically pay for detergent and cloth softener until you introduced them from dwelling). Valet-type laundry companies are extensively out there for a charge.

Carnival does provide self-service washers and dryers (though you will pay a per-load charge) on most of its ships. Nonetheless, solely machine-less “ironing rooms” can be found on its latest Excel Class ships (Mardi Gras, Celebration and Jubilee) and on the three ships it acquired from sister line Costa Cruises (Luminosa, Firenze and Venezia).

Princess additionally costs per load in its self-service laundry rooms.

Most river ships additionally don’t provide self-service laundry rooms. Some exceptions embody American Cruise Strains and Viking’s U.S.-based ship, Viking Mississippi.

Disney Cruise Line, Viking, Oceania and Azamara, amongst others, present free self-service laundry services on their ships.

Associated: All the things it is advisable to find out about cruise ship laundry companies

Waterslides

These cruise traces embody Celeb, Princess, Holland America and Oceania. As you may anticipate, expedition vessels, yacht-style ships and river ships don’t provide waterslides.

Should you’re sport for an adrenaline rush, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Disney and MSC are the waterslide kings. Many of those traces’ newer and bigger ships provide at the very least one and as many as six waterslides, plus all of the splashy top-deck enjoyable you might presumably think about.

That mentioned, choose Royal Caribbean vessels — all Quantum Class ships, plus considerably older and smaller Radiance Class ships — don’t characteristic waterslides. Moreover, some older Norwegian ships lack waterslides.

Spas and health facilities

Nearly all ocean ships — from mainstream megaships to ultraluxury small ships and expedition vessels — characteristic a spa and a health heart. Nonetheless, the spa dimension, therapy choices, thermal suite facilities and train tools will fluctuate.

Spa services would be the most elementary on smaller adventure-style vessels and river ships. It’d come as a shock that Viking, identified for ocean and expedition ships that includes a few of the most spectacular spas and thermal suites at sea, doesn’t provide a spa on any of its 80-plus river ships. The road’s ships additionally lack gyms and strolling tracks (aside from Viking Mississippi, which has the latter).

Avalon Waterways, which operates on the rivers of Europe and Asia, and American Cruise Strains, which has coastal and river ships solely within the U.S., each characteristic health areas on all ships however should not have spas.

Associated: The perfect cruise ship spas

Libraries

As extra cruisers tote studying tablets loaded with a number of books, libraries on mainstream cruise ships are doing a disappearing act, with take-a-book, leave-a-book exchanges typically taking their place.

Carnival has additionally ditched the library on its newer ships, Carnival Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee.

Royal Caribbean nixed the library on Icon of the Seas (and on the upcoming Star of the Seas), whereas a small choice of books is accessible within the Card Room on Oasis, Quantum and Freedom Class vessels.

Celeb additionally jettisoned the library on its Edge Class ships (Edge, Apex, Past, Ascent and the upcoming Xcel). Nonetheless, these looking for stacks of books and a cool place to learn will discover it on Celeb’s 5 Solstice Class vessels (Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse, Reflection and Silhouette), all of which characteristic a two-level library on decks 10 and 11.

Which cruise traces do provide libraries on their ships? Cunard is thought for its libraries (the one on Queen Mary 2 has greater than 10,000 titles). Holland America not too long ago added libraries again onto its ships; by the top of 2025, all vessels will characteristic refurbished onboard libraries with new decor and as much as 1,700 books.

Oceania ships characteristic a few of the most inviting libraries, from cozy, wood-paneled rooms on its older vessels to bigger, chicly embellished areas on newer ships. A handful of Azamara ships characteristic a sublime Drawing Room stocked with books. All Windstar ships have a library.

Luxurious cruise ships from Regent, Silversea, Seabourn and Viking have devoted library areas. These on Regent Seven Seas Explorer, Splendor and Grandeur are particularly effectively stocked, and the “secret library” on Silversea’s Silver Nova and Silver Ray is a small however stunning jewel.

Swimming pools and scorching tubs

Is a pool or scorching tub a cruise trip should? Nearly all ocean and luxurious expedition ships characteristic one or the opposite (or each) — with bigger ships providing a number of spots to get pleasure from a dip. Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, the biggest ship on this planet, has seven swimming pools and 9 scorching tubs.

River cruise ships, alternatively, are inconsistent with pool and scorching tub choices. For instance, none of Viking’s 60 an identical Longships crusing in Europe characteristic a pool or scorching tub. Nonetheless, you will discover swimming pools on its vessels on the Douro, Nile, Mekong and Mississippi rivers. Moreover, none of American Cruise Strains’ vessels have swimming pools or scorching tubs.

Pool and scorching tub availability on different river cruise traces fluctuate, with some AmaWaterways, Avalon, Scenic and Uniworld ships that includes swimming pools or scorching tubs, and others missing them.

Most journey and expedition traces solely provide scorching tubs on their vessels.

Most river ships have but to leap on the craze resulting from house limitations, however AmaWaterways has a full-size pickleball courtroom on AmaMagna, which cruises the Danube.

Suite enclaves

Some mass-market cruise traces provide a “ship-within-a-ship” house, however the format varies from line to line. For instance, some suite complexes are grouped collectively in a personal space on the ship, with unique eating, a lounge, a pool and a sundeck located close by. Suites on different traces are situated across the ship, with the designated restaurant, lounge and sundeck space elsewhere on the vessel. Alternatively, some traces provide suites however lack unique areas for suite company.

You’ll not discover suite enclaves on Holland America or Carnival or on older Norwegian and MSC vessels.

Disney ships characteristic concierge-level rooms that include personal lounge and sundeck entry, plus perks like particular onboard meals and choices, early cabana reserving at Disney’s Castaway Cay personal island and early theater seating, amongst different advantages.

Unique areas are additionally out there on Cunard sailings whenever you e-book one of many higher-tier lodging, together with Britannia Membership cabins, Princess Grill suites and Queens Grill suites. They arrive with entry to unique lounge and deck areas, personal eating and different perks.

The latest Princess ship, Solar Princess, and all Virgin Voyages ships have added facilities and areas for suite company, however once more, these areas are situated all through the ships.