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• Pacific Dawn has 30 features and amenities. See 0 candid traveler photos of the dining, entertainment, bars, fitness, kids areas and more.

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P&O Cruises Australia focuses on all the food favourites of Aussies and Kiwis, they cater for their broad sense of humour, their most loved sporting events, plus they provide all the best non stop entertainment for the kids and the oldies. But lastly and most importantly they have all the most popular pokies machines onboard their cruise ships to enjoy and hopefully get a few wins while on the high seas.

Australians and New Zealanders do like to let their hair down a little so they can party till they drop while cruising (please party and drop responsibly) plus AU and NZ cruisers will find all their most loved poker machines onboard P&O cruise ships from IGT, Ainsworth, and Aristocrat of just a few pokie manufacturers.

Pacific Dawn Casino Stock

The vessel offers really awesome on-board child-care programs so you can get some time for yourself, adults have their own getaway private areas also. The Reader’s Digest company gave the most trusted brand trophy to P&O Cruises for the seventh straight year in 2019 – how good is that!

The P&O company has been in business since 1932 in the land down under, it’s one of the nine Carnival cruise brands that operate all over the world, Carnival have a huge 85% share of the world cruise ship market. In Aussie they have several mid-size ships sailing out of major ports like Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.

NB – No cruises available from February 2021 as the Pacific Dawn is moving onto new blue waters and it will not service the Aussie market any more.

There are all your favourite New Zealand and Australian pokies machines onboard the P&O cruise ships, you can also enjoy various poker games like three-card poker / Texas Hold’em, plus roulette and blackjack table gaming. Free gaming lessons are available in the Pacific Dawn Cruise Ship casino area in the not busy times, so if you ever wanted to try something a little different just join in one of the gaming classes.

The casino has about 100 games to enjoy, you can have a spin on all the best Aristocrat slots like the Lightning Link games, plus IGT, Ainsworth, Konami and SG are available to play. The rewards program is well worth using as the benefits are quite good for players.

The Players casino is located midship on deck 8, it’s open from about 30 minutes after leaving port, while at sea the pokies are open usually 24 hours a day and tables are open from about noon to late. They also have a nice bar area to enjoy a few drinks before or after a little flutter.

The casino is a non-smoking venue with heaps of pokies, ranging from 1 cent to $1 machines. Just keep your cruise card inserted in the game and you will earn you rewards with the Southern Cross Players Club.

You can join in the pokies and card game tournaments to win some great cash prizes. Just take a look at the daily information available from the P&O WhatsOn app (onboard use only) or their daily newsletter “Good Times” to know about all the tournament and Players casino happenings. They have heaps of promotions and daily giveaways for all the cruise ship punters.

Our View: Overall P&O cruises cater extremely well for all the Aussie and Kiwi pokies and casino game players.

Eats & Drink – 14 + venues

• Waterfront Restaurant (main dining)
• The Pantry Restaurant
• The Grill Restaurant
• Promenade Bar
• The Orient Restaurant
• Salt Grill by Luke Mangan
• Promenade Lounge & Bar
• Shell & Bones Restaurant
• Chefs Table Restaurant
• New Zealand Natural ice cream
• Charlies Bar
• Ocean Bar
• Room Service
• Players Bar

Entertainment

• Kids Clubs: Fully supervised in the following groups.

– 2-6 years: Turtle Cove
– 7-10 years: Shark Shack
– 11-14 years: HQ
– 15-17 ears: HQ+

• Live Entertainment
• Comedy Club
• Casino with Pokies & Table Games
• Trivia & Game Shows
• Car Simulator
• Show Lounges
• The Big Screen – Movies, Sports events
• Flying Fox
• Laser Tag
• Jackpot Bingo
• P&O Edge Adventure Park
• Dance Lessons
• Dancing
• Pool Deck Parties
• Theme Nights

Relaxation

• Shopping
• Spa
• Whirlpool
• Sauna
• Massage & Beauty

Fitness

• Jogging / Walking Track
• Aerobics Classes
• Fully Equipped Gym
• Fitness Centre
• Various Deck Sports

Other Pacific Dawn

• Reception
• Duty-Free
• Boutique
• Art Gallery
• Shore Tours office
• Medical Centre
• Drink Packages
• Spa Vouchers

Pacific Dawn – Ship Specifications

Summary

No matter if you were looking for a short 4 day cruise with a theme like the Melbourne Cup, NRL State of Origin, an 80’s cruise, New Years Eve, a Comedy cruise or for even several weeks on the blue waters cruising around the Great Barrier Reef, the South Pacific or Papua New Guinea P&O have something for you and your budget available.

Pacific Dawn Casino Slots

Great cabins, awesome food and drinks plus entertainment and activities a plenty on the deep blue seas. P&O offers fun-filled cruises at a very affordable price so make sure you get your bags packed!

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I was lucky enough to travel on the P and O (P&O) Cruises liner the Pacific Dawn a month or two ago. I enjoy a good cruise, with great company, great entertainment, and great food. And I also enjoy on-board casinos, which tend to be a little more relaxed than their land based equivalents. That was the case with this P and O casino on the whole, although I encountered a little heat from the pit boss when I had a “lucky run” on blackjack. It wasn’t agressive or abusive heat, but he insisted on talking to me throughout the game for about half an hour – which ruined an otherwise relaxing time. I assume he thought I was card counting, and was trying to throw me off the scent / count. Whether that was the case or not, I still won. Talking to me becomes nothing more than background noise when I’m “in the zone”. I thought the discussion length was unnecessary – but hey, I’m a player, and I understand the casino trying to protect their bankroll. The main dealing staff were helpful and very friendly and professional – and on that basis, I tipped them. Tipping is allowed on the cruise ship casino tables.

The casino is quite small, but has most of the games you’d expect, including 6 deck hand shuffle blackjack, pontoon, 3 card brag, and roulette. Note that there was no craps – which I know is a favourite game for American cruisers. Table limits were pretty affordable, ranging from $5 – $200 a hand from what I recall. I’m pretty sure the roulette wheels could be spun for $2 a number also. So this is good family entertainment value. Note that the currency used on board is the Australian Dollar – so travellers from other countries should convert accordingly.

There were also a range of slot machines (mainly IGT, Aristocrat and similar – many with individual machine progressive jackpots – and some without), which I estimated were probably paying back between 87% and 90% – but that’s not a confirmed figure, just an estimation from my own experience of the various casino slot machine games on offer. With no competition in the middle of the ocean, there’s no need for the cruise line to set them any higher. The slot machine games I saw included slot classics such as Zorro, Geisha, Indian Dreaming, Geisha, Buffalo, and Choy Sun Doa.

There is a players club on board, but it’s pretty lame if I’m honest. The points are only valid for the duration of your cruise, and cannot be transferred across cruises or cruise lines. Table play did not accrue points, only slots, and you needed 1000 points to get a $10 cash refund. From what I could work out, it seemed that $1 of play gave 1 point. At $1000 in for $10 refund, that’s a 0.01% rebate – which is less than a third of what many land based casinos offer. Considering you’re on a boat in the middle of the ocean, and therefore a captive audience, the fact that there is any sort of players club at all is probably significant to note – but I wonder how many occasional players would ever reach the threshold required to see that $10. It’s pretty tricky to get a free drink too – in fact, I didn’t see one all cruise. The pit boss did indicate that signficant (and ongoing) table play when onboard may get you a free drink. (It’s ok thanks, I’ll play casino games online from one of the online casinos I feature on my blog, and get my own from the fridge – along with a much higher rebate, higher paying machines, and a wider range of games).

The general ambience of the casino was pretty good considering its size, and the cool blue colour scheme was easy on the eye. And the ever changing vistas outside the windows of the casino (assuming you take breaks to see them from time to time) are lovely. There’s something very relaxing about playing casino games in the middle of the ocean – especially when you know there’s a free buffet somewhere close by all day long. The casino tended to open around midday or a little later depending on the cruise itinerary, but the slot machines were open 24 hours a day when the liner was not in a port – which is good service.

Tip for advantage players: you can effectively play with credit on these boats, up to about $5000 AUD ($1000 AUD daily or thereabouts) for the cruise. All purchases in the casino (whether slots or table chips) are charged to your on board account. You can just settle up your account at the end of your cruise – in cash, or just a signature to charge your account directly to your nominated credit card. So if you’re a credit card points fan (e.g. American Express Reward Points) then charging your gaming play may be a good move. Just be aware however that there is a surcharge made to the on board account when it is settled via any credit card rather than cash – which could affect your profits.

Have a great time on your next P and O cruise. If you’re not planning to cruise, or you’d rather play online from the comfort of home in your pyjamas (as I sometimes do), then check out any of the online casinos we feature here, with their fantastic offers.

Many of these online casinos even offer Australian dollar play if required. Good luck wherever you decide to play. And do let me know of your experiences at admin@howtobeatthecasinos.com.