Royal Caribbean has changed another entertainment venue into a casino on one of its ships.
While undergoing routine maintenance work in drydock, Radiance of the Seas returned to service this week with one notable change: a new non-smoking casino.
Reports from passengers onboard the ship indicated the Pub had been replaced with a non-smoking casino. Jeremy Thomasson posted, "Onboard now and can confirm Radiance has removed the Pub and replaced it with a Non Smoking Casino."
A video tour of the new casino was shared by Sea Days & Sunsets and the entire Quill & Compass Pub has been swapped out for a casino space.
The change is part of a greater trend on Royal Caribbean ships to offer more casino space while also offering an enclave for non-smokers.
Traditionally, cruise ship casinos offer a non-smoking and smoking side. But just like airplanes, sharing an enclosed space with smokers doesn't keep the smoke odor on one side.
The new casino space is still attached to the main casino on two ends, but there's a corridor in-between to provide some separation.
The non-smoking casino space has a dedicated bar, which takes the place of the former bar within the pub.
There are slot machines and some table games. In the video tour, it appeared the casino space was still being set up.
Gone is the pub, which leaves one less bar with entertainment onboard the ship.
Radiance of the Seas is one of the smallest Royal Caribbean cruise ships in the fleet, with a capacity of just 2,143 passengers. Compare that to Icon of the Seas, which can handle 5,610 passengers at double occupancy.
Trend of adding more non-smoking casinos
Royal Caribbean has been on quest as of late to expand its casino offerings on its ships, a trend that began with the launch of Wonder of the Seas.
Wonder of the Seas launched in 2022, and was originally slated to debut in China. Instead of a jazz club on deck 4 that all other Oasis Class ships had previously had, there were plans for a casino instead.
When Wonder of the Seas was shifted and debuted in North America instead, Royal Caribbean decided to experiment with keeping the casino. Evidently it was a success, because more ships received the update.
Since then, all the Jazz on 4 venues on other Oasis Class venues have been replaced by non-smoking casinos.
On some ships, the cruise line has even moved the Crown Lounge loyalty space to offer an even bigger casino fingerprint.
On Freedom of the Seas, the Vintages wine bar was removed and replaced with a non-smoking casino.
In this case, this added a casino on the Royal Promenade for the first time.
When Legend of the Seas debuts later this year, it will be the first ship in the fleet to have a two-story casino.
In fact, Legend will have the biggest casino space of any ship.
Why Royal Caribbean is adding more casinos
Adding more casinos has two benefits, but it comes at a price.
First and foremost, adding more gambling space provides more revenue opportunities for the cruise line.
Royal Caribbean Group does not break down its revenue it earns from gambling, but it's hard to imagine that based on how many more casinos are being added to ships that the move is not a profit generating space.
Traditionally, casinos have always been a profit generator for cruise lines.
Anecdotally, the casino loyalty program seems to be more popular than ever, and those that gamble enough to get free cruise offers are reporting an influx of additional offers.
For passengers, it's a case of good and bad news with the casino expansion.
Those that don't smoke and refuse to gamble in the regular casino because of the smoke odor have celebrated the expansion of casino spaces.
It offers them an opportunity to enjoy gambling without the second hand smoke issues or even smell. Plus, a bigger casino means more capacity and possibly less crowds.
The downside is these new casinos replace bars and lounges that sometimes offered entertainment.
In the case of Radiance of the Seas, this change possibly means there is no longer a pub singer entertainer onboard. It remains to be seen if the pub singer will be moved to another venue.
With Jazz on 4, the jazz music was moved to Central Park on the Oasis Class ships to perform outdoors.
Similarly, when Royal Caribbean got rid of the comedy club space to make room for a casino, the comedy shows got moved to the Royal Theater.
Comedy in a large theater is adequate, but lacks the crowd work and sense of inclusion you get in a smaller comedy venue.
