The Carnival Liberty, newest of the line's four Conquest-class ships, has a large, active casino that was crowded at midnight and going strong until well after 3 am on its inaugural winter cruise.
 While the Czar's Palace casino is similar in size to the casinos of its three sisters -- Carnival Valor, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Glory -- its decor has a Russian pre-Revolution theme that gives it a quite different look than the casinos on the other vessels.
Liberty's casino, like those of the other Conquest-class ships, provides one of the largest gaming areas at sea with 18 tables (11 multi-deck blackjack tables, two three-card poker, one Caribbean stud poker, one Let It Ride, two roulette and one craps table).
 More than 200 slots surround the tables offering a variety of opportunities, including a shot at winning the Ocean Players Club progressive Megacash jackpot, which on this November 2005 sailing had climbed past $400,000. For slot players, the Liberty was heavily promoting the benefits of "coinless gaming" currently available to Ocean Players Club members only on Carnival's ships.
 No more carrying around buckets of coins (though you can if you want to). You simply insert the same Sign & Sail card you use as your cabin key into the slot machine, which then keeps a running tally of the amount you have in your player bank. When you are finished, simply download your slot winnings to the same card, as well as any cash rewards you may have earned. You can then take your winnings to another machine and continue, or turn your player bank into money at the cashier's cage. (Important note: The bankroll you have accumulated on your card has to be turned back into cash in the Casino before midnight on the last night of your cruise.)
Most of the table games have a $5 minimum and $200 maximum (a few were $10-$300), and these lower limit tables were generally packed. Also drawing a boisterous group of players on this cruise was the craps table (the Liberty had just returned from several Mediterranean cruises, where European gamers tend to cluster around the roulette tables).
Liberty also had a single blackjack table with a $25 minimum and $500 maximum -- a workable range for all but the highest rollers. We suspect that one blackjack table with a $25 minimum will not be enough on this winter's Caribbean cruises, which are likely to attract more VIP players with a serious interest in blackjack, but the casino is plenty large enough to accommodate additional higher-stakes tables.
The dealers on the whole are competent and extremely friendly, and casino hosts comped drinks for Ocean Players Club members playing for higher stakes.
Overall, the Liberty seems a strong addition to the lineup of Carnival ships that provide a fun, active casino in which to gamble.
--The Savvy Cruiser |
