shawn742

I've won a $100 bundle once, followed by another person winning a $100 bundle less than 10 attempts after I won. In my experience, aside from being there at the right time to get a full-strength claw, the key is to pick the bundle up flat with two grips on (or slightly beneath) a long edge, and the other grip on (or slightly beneath) the opposite long edge of the bills. I've personally never seen anybody win by picking up the bundle vertically.

We were just on the Nieuw Statendam in a Vista Suite last week, with the same room configuration (4 guests). The sofa had cabinets above it but was stuffed full of life jackets. You could always move these under the bed I suppose. No drawers under the sofa. I don't think the pull-down bed could be used for storage, as it folds up flush with the pocket that it sits in. You would also need a room steward to unlock/lower it I believe.

If the box is shaped differently than those fridge boxes that sodas generally use, that may be a red flag. Try and see!

Fort Lauderdale. I looked for the X-ray line that I assumed would care the least, based on how miserable they appeared 😅

I can provide updates on my recent sailing on the Nieuw Statendam. Blackjack: The lowest table minimum was $6, and I also played at a $10 table that was adjacent to the $6 table. The $6 and $10 table were 6:5 on BJ, and they used an 8-deck shoe that gets hand shuffled. They had the usual "Lucky Ladies" bet option, as well as a "Bust Bonus" bet option that I've never seen before. I didn't see a $25 table, but also didn't walk to the other side of the pit to check. Craps: One table, with a $5 minimum, and 2x odds on the pass line. All of the table games were on the non-smoking side of the casino, which was nice. Dealers and Pit Bosses were all friendly, and even provided drinks on the house during the last couple days at the craps table during the late night. Craps had a lady who rolled for about 2 hours, and a guy who rolled for about an hour. Unfortunately I showed up on the tail end of each of these rolls, but the house was taken for >$10k on the 2-hour roll, and >$5k on the 1-hour roll. I personally didn't have much luck though. Overall, the Casino was smaller than other cruise ships I've been on, but it operated just fine, and I enjoyed myself.

Update: I brought four 12-packs of soda in a carry-on luggage and security didn't even bother to open the luggage. As always, your milage may vary!

Cruise ship card counting is generally made unachievable by continuous shufflers, or 8 deck shoes that are cut about 3/4 in.

Craps has been hit and miss on the recent cruises I've been on. Generally the table is filled with the same people, and you don't get a lot of newbies leisurely joining in, so if you don't have a group of regulars, it won't be open. I only play in the evenings though, so I've been pretty lucky finding an open table.

Thank you for all the replies. Blackjack is secondary to craps for me, but I'm glad to hear about the low minimums for both 🙂

Does anyone know what the casino table minimums are, particularity for Craps and Blackjack? Also Craps odds if available? I'll be sailing on the Nieuw Statendam, but I'll assume all HAL ships carry the same minimums. Thanks!

I'll just bring a 12-pack of soda during embarkation, and if it gets confiscated, so be it.

Thank you all for the replies. Are the complimentary beverages on board the same as Carnival?

Hello! I was wondering if HAL allows you to bring on a 12-pack of soda per person, like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, etc. do?

Thanks for the replies everyone! It sounds like the entertainment is semi-lackluster compared to some of the cruises targeted at the younger demographic, but we'll get by. My wife also joined a FB group, and it seems like there will be a fair amount of kids being that this cruise sails during Spring Break for many. I'm sure this question has been asked many times, but with Holland American being owned by Carnival LLC, is the food generally in-line with what Carnival serves, or is it a step up?

Greeting Cruise Critic! This will be my first Holland America cruise. I just booked my family during Spring Break (11-Mar through 18-Mar) on the Nieuw Statedam out of Ft. Lauderdale. We're typically Royal Carribean or Carnival cruisers, but I booked this being that it was a great deal, with a Vista Suite being the same price as an Ocean View or worse on Carnival, and not really even in the ballpark of Royal Caribbean, for the same week and number of days. The itinerary is also great for kids (Nassau (blah), Amber Cove (so-so), Grand Turk (yeah!) and Half Moon Cay (yeah again!)). Aside from the stops, I was wondering if my kids (or myself) will be bored out of their minds during sea days and evenings? I know that I'm well below the age demographic, as I'm 39, my wife is 33, and our kids are 7 & 6...and none of us particularly care for pickle ball 🙂. I usually hit the casino when everyone goes to bed, so I'll find some entertainment there. Do the rooms have interactive TVs where we can watch movies and shows on demand? The newer Carnival and RC ships have this and my kids really enjoy it, but the older Carnival boats just have a few low quality tv stations, and a bunch of cruise line promotional stuff. Any tips, good-to-knows, etc. for traveling with young kids on Holland would be much appreciated!