Activity Spotlight: Playing Bingo on a Disney Cruise
Playing Bingo on a Disney Cruise is one of my favorite activities that I have done on my latest cruise on the Disney Magic back in February of this year (2024). My family agrees too. I thought it would be a perfect spotlight to feature on my blog.
Information is based on my cruise on the Disney Magic in February 2024.
Details of Playing Bingo on a Disney Cruise
Rules
- The minimum age for winners is 18. Children below the age of 18 may participate, however, they must be supervised at all times by the adult, who purchased the Bingo card in play. This adult must also claim any winnings.
- Bingo Cards must be purchased and activated for the current session. Please retain your receipt for proof of purchase (they will ask for a receipt if you won/claim a Bingo).
- It is the responsibility of the player to stop the game when they have a valid claim to Bingo (say BINGO!) Once the game is closed no further claims will be honored.
- The last number called MUST appear in the winning pattern.
- Bingo cards cannot be ripped or torn and must remain intact.
- Any and all errors must be presented to Bingo staff prior to a game start.
- You must notify the staff if there are any handset malfunctions.
On our cruise ship, the cast members asked those who had one number left to win bingo to stand.
Rounds
Bingo on a Disney Cruise will consist of 4 rounds aka games. Each round they play a different pattern. Some patterns include the traditional bingo row or diagonal, making a square, etc. For the final jackpot bingo in the final round (game 4) the bingo is typically a black-out bingo.
Types of Bingo Cards
There are two types of cards paper cards and electronic cards.
The paper cards are in a clear cover folder in which you will use a dry-erase marker to mark off the numbers. Each round is a certain color in which you will use the cards in that color. The colors of the paper cards are Blue, Orange, Green, and Yellow. Cast members will inform which color Bingo cards to use at the start of each round.
Electronic cards are on tablet-like devices. This device does everything for you- it marks out the number when called,
informs you how many numbers are left to bingo, loads your bingo cards for each round, shows the pattern for the round in the bottom corner, and lets you know when you have bingo. You just place it on your table or lap and watch.
Both paper cards with their holders and devices are returned to the Cast Members at the end of the session of Bingo.
Price
Playing Bingo is one of the additional cost activities on the cruise. Whether paper or electronic, the price for the Bingo cards is for all 4 rounds in that Bingo sitting.
- Family Pack = $60
- 2 electronic tablets with 24 cards on each device
- 2 Packs of Paper Cards
- 48 Electronic Cards on 1 Device= $50
- 24 Electronic Cards on 1 Device= $40
- Double 3-Pack=$40
- 3 Paper Cards $25
Final Bingo on our ship saw a slight increase in prices. Below is the image of the price for the final bingo.
They will charge the bingo cards to your room charges so make sure you have your World to Key Card or Magic Band Plus so they can scan to charge to the right room.
There are some special bingos like Double-Up Bingo. Double-Up Bingo is when you can get double the cards on the electronic bingo devices for the same cost as the regular package.
Special Sayings
What makes Disney Cruise’s Bingo fun and enternating are the fun sayings the cast members use during it. One and what I consider the most popular is “Shake it Up, Betty!” Betty is what the cast members call the Bingo machine. You say this when you are wanting the machine aka Betty to give you the numbers you are waiting for. Definitely said this a lot when I need specific numbers.
Another one is the best number in Disney Cruise Bingo B11. Cast members will start chanting “B-11 B, B-11!” when B11 is called. Sometimes do a little dance routine to it just depends on how often it is called.
When is Bingo Available?
They are typically between 1-2 sessions of Bingo a day with the last full sailing day typically being the big final jackpot. Check the Disney Cruise Navigator app once you are onboard to see the times and days for your sailing along with the location. Fathoms was the location of Bingo on the Disney Magic during our sailing.
Bingo Presales
To purchase your Bingo cards, whether you buy electronic or paper, you will need to purchase them before the start of Bingo during the Bingo Presales time slot. Bingo Presales is 30 minutes before the start of Bingo. Again the times for presale will be in the Disney Cruise Navigator app.
Prizes
Winning Bingo is cash prizes and if multiple winners in a round split the cash prize for that round. Each round the prize amount increases. The last day of bingo is usually the big/final jackpot, which has the higher winnings.
In some sessions, they did some door prizes drawing in between rounds. Your name gets entered if you purchase any cards for playing bingo during that session.
My family and I have won a couple of bingo games but never the door prizes. For me, my first Bingo I was the only winner. the second time I won there were a few other people who got Bingo as well.
Payout
If you win Bingo, winnings are added to your room charges or you can go to the Guest Services and ask them to cash out. You are given a receipt with the amount you won. Make sure you have the receipt that you receive from winning Bingo along with the receipt for paying for the cards. My family always opted for the cash-out.
My Recommendations for Playing Bingo on a Disney Cruise
Get to Pre-Sales Early
My family and I always ensured we arrived for pre-sales early. Sometimes it was 30 minutes before presales and one time we got there an hour before for the final jackpot bingo presales. We do this to ensure we get the types of bingo cards we want and our lucky seats(in one session of Bingo we had different seats and didn’t win any Bingos, so we made sure to grab them for future games of Bingo). There were a few times that they ran out of electronic bingo cards and only sold paper cards.
Have One Member in Your Group to get the Bingo Cards/Electronic Bingo Cards
When they opened the doors for presales, My family and I had one person go in line to get/pay for the Bingo cards while the others went to get our lucky seats, which was mentioned in the previous recommendation.
Cast members did announce to have one person in your party to be in line for payment of the cards. This helps keep the line down and allows for the purchasing process to move quickly.
Get the Electronic Bingo Cards
The electronic bingo cards are the easiest way to play on a Disney Cruise. This device/tablet does everything for you- it marks out the number/square when the number is called, informs you how many numbers are left to bingo, loads your bingo cards for each road, and it lets you know when you have bingo. You place it on your table or lap and watch.
My family and I enjoy this. It was relaxing yet fun. It allowed us to be more involved with the music and cast members during the rounds. We had the paper ones with the family pack. and It was stressful trying to keep up with marking the numbers and seeing how many left for bingo and such, especially during the weird patterns in which they had some.
If Using The Device with Electronic Bingo Cards, Be Sure to Check the Battery Life
Before the start of Bingo, I noticed the battery life on my device had a battery life of around 30%, I went to the cast members and asked if they thought my device would last the whole session. They said it would not have, and they switched it out with a fully charged one.
My family and I can’t stop talking about our time playing Bingo on our cruise. It was one of the best activities that we did. My hubby and I are already planning to play Bingo on our next cruise on the Disney Treasure.
