QuadraCatLady

On 12/17/2019 at 7:46 PM, monl765 said:

QuadraCatLady thanks for the information and your thoughts!

 

I have wondered if going on one of these poker cruises would be worth it, and your information is the best I have seen here.

Happy if it helps. I had such a difficult time getting information about this tournament. I wouldn't have booked if I'd known what it was like.

On 12/17/2019 at 9:00 AM, PTC DAWG said:

Smoking is allowed in most, if not all NCL casinos....most patrons know this, ALL the workers know this...not sure what you want to happen at this point.  

I want it to change. I spoke to several guests and a few dealers who all said they wished there was no smoking in the casino. It's easy to do and non-smokers (who are the overwhelming majority) shouldn't have to breathe secondhand smoke. This isn't rocket science.

Update: I wrote an email to NCL about their smoking policy. (I stuck to one topic as that tends to be more effective I've found). I explained that we had been assured more than once that the tournament was smoke free and I also discussed, more generally, the harm of secondhand smoke to guests and staff and expressed my concern that they allowed smoking in public areas. I did not ask for any compensation. I did ask how they planned to address the issue. This was their (non) answer and they also offered us a $100 credit (whatever, not interested). I love the highlighted line. Makes it sounds as if the ship itself decided to let people smoke and that management has no control over it. 

Thank you for your letter regarding your voyage aboard the Norwegian Getaway.

After delivering cruises for many years, our goal remains the same: to offer a fantastic cruise experience to all our guests from beginning to end. We are truly sorry to learn that we fell short of your expectations and apologize for the disappointments you experienced.

As the health and well-being of our guests and crew is of the utmost importance, indoor public areas, with the exception of the cigar lounges and the casino, throughout all our ships are smoke- free. Some of our newest ship have a designated smoking room within the Casino. Unfortunately, all our other ships allows guest to smoke in the Casino during game hours. 
 
Feedback from our valued guests is vital to the continued success of our organization. Please be assured the constructive criticism you have offered has been forwarded to the various departments involved, so they may be aware of your impressions. It is by receiving feedback such as yours that we are able to highlight areas that may need closer attention.

As a gesture of goodwill, we have arranged for future cruise credits, valid towards the cruise fare only on one future voyage.

4 hours ago, Blitzburggirl said:

Interesting comments!

 

We were also on this sailing and my guy played in the main and a couple of the smaller tourney's as well as a good amount of cash games.

 

Echo many of the comments...

1) Smoky.. bugs me, not him, so not really a problem.

2) Horribly slow refreshment service (I delivered more water/soda to him from the bar across the way over the course of his play than the servers.

3) Getting in a cash game was insane... a list where you have to stand around and wait and wait and wait. WTH. Additionally, it was so very crowded and players had no control over where they were placed in alot of cases.. which brings me to

4) there were a bunch of Vegas grinders (cool.. not a problem) however there seemed to be alot of communication. Also a husband/wife "team" that seemed to do very inversely well. The crowded situation and poor execution made it feel as if the games weren't exactly skilled/luck.

5) We were guests of the casino, but he paid his buy in... I cannot believe the waited til the last minute to provide any (vague) information.

6) He "got" the late flight, and that was extremely irritating. I'm sure some folks on the morning flight would have preferred evening and vice versa. Why was there no way to indicate a preference?

7) Ship rake is always nutty.

 

Overall.. we enjoyed the cruise and it was a positive experience, but we likely won't bother with poker tournaments via NCL again. Looking forward to Card Player cruise in Jan on the Symphony. 

Oh yeah, he mentioned the crazy rake!

Have you done a Card Player Cruise before? I was consider a cruise with them instead but didn't know if there would be enough big action to keep Hubs happy.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I haven't replied because Hubs and I are on the road. 

KKB, I'll just note that, no, the main event was not a turbo, but 30 minutes is a fast format for a big event. Otherwise, yes, seems like you and Hubs agree on everything else. 😉 And congrats on the win! 

11 minutes ago, Mike_DeA said:

I was on the cruise as well.  There were actually 560+ players (29 tables were used in my 6.30pm day1A). 

 

I've done the last three poker challenge cruises.  I would have let you know smoke could be an issue, since the 'poker room' aka Bliss Ultra Lounge, was not large enough to hold the entire main event field. Last year on the Escape, the Skyline Bar (which is basically in the same spot as the Bliss Lounge on the Getaway) was used, along with spill over onto the casino floor just like this year, however the Skyline Bar is not enclosed like the Bliss lounge, so smoke would permeate there. (Smoke doesn't really bother me unless I'm next to the cigarette.)

Thanks Mike. I recieved better information from you than from everyone I spoke with at NCL combined! We're both really sensitive to smoke--Fred more so even than me.  He loves playing at the Venetian because even though the surrounding casino allows smoking the poker room is smoke-free, and the casino is very open and has excellent ventilation. I really feel bad for the NCL staff who have to work in that environment. It should be illegal to expose employees to secondhand smoke. 

15 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

Thanks for sharing your review with us!     We were on the Getaway about a month before you and we must have had less casino smokers on that cruise as we didn't notice much smoke.    Wish we had went to see the Cirque show.   We love the entertainment 'night-life' on NCL.  

 

If you decide to try a cruise again, would suggest you try the Bliss or Encore.  They have about 70% of the casino totally smoke-free.  The smoking area of the casino is glass enclosed.

Thanks. Yes, I'd choose a different ship or cruise line for sure. But there was more than the smoking that convinced us it's not our thing. Maybe we'll try again in another decade? 😁

2 hours ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

How many players were there?  Was it 10 per table?  How were the dealers?  

There were, I believe, over 400 players. 10 per table. Dealers were average, at best. 

16 minutes ago, KarlChilders said:

Enjoyed chatting with you and The Fred at the meet and greet (I'm Art).  Sorry your cruise wasn't as good as you hoped.  The smoke in the casino did seem worse than our previous trip on the Getaway.  

Thanks, Art! It was nice talking with you and your wife too! 🙂

19 minutes ago, fastpitchdad said:

We were on the Getaway a couple of months ago and I agree with your Thermal Spa assessment...we will get it every time. It really does make the cruise. I am also sorry to hear about the poker but am not surprised. I played in a regular tournament and with their blinds and round times it was more like Poker Slots (and the share that NCL takes is tourneys and the rake they take in regular games is freaking criminal...only their Bingo is worse). 

 

Totally random question...how do you get to the ship from Quadra Island? Ferry to Vancouver Island and drive down to Victoria and then ferry to Seattle or Vancouver? 

Yeah, Hubs said the rake was ridiculous. 

So, from Quadra, we have to catch a short (10 minute) ferry to Campbell River, then drive to Nanaimo, then the ferry (1 hour & 40 min) to Vancouver, then fly out of Vancouver. Our flight left at 7am on the day before the cruise so we went to Vancouver a few days early and stayed with friends. We do have a good airport not far from Campbell River (in Comox) that we usually use as a quick connector to Vancouver flights but since our air was booked through NCL we had no control over the time of our flights. Just an excuse to visit friends. 🙂

25 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Thank you for sharing your experience.  Good for you for standing up to the drunks and requesting a table change. Until customers start fighting back, I fear no changes will occur.  I could not agree with you more about theater manners and I don't go to shows that much and actually don't care for Broadway shows.  However, these people trained and worked for months to perform for you.  I cant understand how rude people are.  There is a drag queen that did a perfect segment on theater manners these days.  Sadly, its not just bad manners on cruise ships but even in the nicest of theaters.

 

Hi David. Thanks for the reply! Regarding the drunks, I worry that they will hurt someone else. Will NCL be liable when that happens? I know where I come from that servers are legally responsible if they over-serve a customer who then harms themselves or someone else. 

Thanks for the video! Good gravy. Where did everyone's manners go??

FINAL THOUGHTS

I was hoping that this cruise would convince us that cruising wasn’t as “not us” as we’d imagined. Sadly, the good things we experienced were ruined or overshadowed by the bad. Looks like cruising isn’t for us, after all. Glad we tried it, but we’ll never do it again. Or, if we do, it will be on a much smaller ship with a much better staff-to-guest ratio and on a vessel that is entirely non-smoking. I actually had to wrestle with my guilt to book this trip because I know how environmentally hostile cruise ships are and how much damage they can do to the spirit of the people who live in their ports (we had a stopover on Grand Cayman Island once and saw that there were seven giant cruise ships in port, the look in the eyes of the servers where we had lunch was just dead and hopeless). We only planned to get off on Roatan for this cruise. We rented scooters from Capt. Van’s (really lovely folks) and explored the island ourselves. On the ride back, we talked with our host about the island and the cruise ships and the crowds. He said, melancholy, “I miss the way our island was seven of eight years ago.” That just depressed me and I too wish he could have his old island back.

I wish everyone happy cruising and thanks to all who offered advice and suggestions and answered my many questions. Fair winds and calm seas.

THE BAD 

Part 2

MISC.

• I did not like the feeling of constantly being upsold in some fashion on the ship. As an example: at the spa, after leaving the thermal suite and waiting for my husband in the lobby I was approached more than once and nudged to book services. No. Just don’t. I’ve paid my money in advance so that I can relax while onboard. Leave me alone!
•  Water. The ship’s tap water was great! I come from the west cost of Canada, I know good water. Bring a water bottle. No one should be buying bottled water and putting even more plastic into the environment!
• Theater manners! At the two performances we attended, I wanted to scream at all the people with bad/no theater manners. The number of people walking up and down the aisles and in and out of their seats during the performance was unbelievable. The shows were barely an hour long! Plan ahead. Stop ruining the illusion and disturbing everyone around you. Has no one been taught basic manners? Super disrespectful to the other guests and to the hardworking performers. During one show, I had a couple behind me talk through the entire show.
• Items for sale. How is it that the ship sells 8000 watches and not one cell phone charger? There were some pretty basic and necessary items that we simply could not find for sale. My husband forgot his headphones and wanted to buy a cheap set to wear during the poker tournament. The only set he could find were for kids, with the NCL logo on them. Seriously? These are the kinds of items you’ll see in any airport for good reason.
• Straws. Yes, I want to do away with plastic straws as much as anyone else but the paper straws that were available were crap and fell apart before we’d finished our drinks. Maybe offer silicone or metal straws for sale? We would have bought them.
• Internet. I knew going in that the internet would be bad but it was completely and utterly unusable. I didn’t get on even once. And, fair enough, I enjoyed being offline for a week, but offering 250MB of free internet as a “perk”? Don’t spit on my cupcake and call it icing.

THE BAD

Part 1

Bear in mind that the main reason we booked this cruise was for the poker tournament so that’s what we were most focused on. There were also things we didn’t like that weren’t necessarily bad, just not to our taste. YMMV.

Smoking – This is my number one complaint for multiple reasons. First…WTH? How is a business allowing their employees to be constantly exposed to secondhand smoke? There is absolutely NO safe level of exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke. If you’re a smoker, that’s fine, but forcing the rest of us to breath in your smoke is beyond thoughtless. I only booked this trip after I called Casinos at Sea and asked—twice, just to be certain—whether the poker tournament would be smoke-free. I was assured by the representative I spoke to that the tournament would not be held in the casino but in a separate, non-smoking, smoke-free room. When we arrived and my husband checked in, we learned that only half the players would be in this room and the rest would be in an area that was open to the casino and all the smoke and noise. And the entire casino area absolutely REEKED of smoke. We both felt ill. We both had headaches from it. I spoke with table dealers and players who complained and I noticed how at almost every table the vast majority of people were either non-smokers or would (considerately) go elsewhere to smoke (thank you). Same thing for the adult-only pool bar. Of course, the two places we wanted to be—the casino and the adult-only pool bar, were filled with smoke. It was gross. But as disgusted as we were, it’s the staff that are suffering. This is a serious health hazard and NCL should change their policy immediately OR create a fully enclosed area, with no staff, where the smoke will not reach other guests or staff. I cannot believe how backwards and thoughtless the owners and managers of this business must be to allow their employees to be harmed this way—clearly, they are just exploiting people who are powerless.

The Poker – I’ve written a separate, detailed review of the tournament but long story short it was disorganized, unprofessional, loud, cramped, and smoke-filled. A tournament of this size, with big name pros attached to it, should have been much, MUCH better. I’m livid that we wasted our time and money on this event, not to mention that we were lied to about the smoking.

Breakfast and Lunch – While we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the dinners on this cruise, the other meals were mediocre at best. I ordered room service the first morning as a treat and never bothered again because the food quality was so lacking. I would have paid extra if there was even one restaurant where I knew we could have gotten a really high-quality breakfast (my husband’s favourite meal) with great service. Disappointing.

Drunks – Okay, I don’t begrudge anyone a good time on their holiday and I expect some people to overindulge (myself and Hubs included) now and then, but NCL needs to have a better policy/training/enforcement when it comes to overserving guests. Our first night’s dinner was at Cagney’s. As I mentioned in my intro, this cruise was our very long overdue honeymoon and I planned for us to have a lovely romantic dinner to start the trip. Our meal was first rate and our server was excellent but we were seated right next to a family group (Gramma, Grandpa, two adult kids with their spouses, and their young kids). The three men at that table got drunker and louder as the meal went on, and yet the staff continued to serve them. Everyone around them was visibly annoyed, the Gramma tried a few times to quiet them down, and we finally asked our server to move us—yes, we waited too long but we didn’t expect it to get so bad. What would have been a perfect first dinner was ruined. I spoke with another guest who’d had a drunk at her poker table at the tournament who ruined the play for everyone and yet staff continued to serve him. NCL needs to address this.

Waste – I’ve been to Vegas enough and I had enough pre-warnings about cruises and their buffets that I expected to see people waste food but it still makes me angry. Seeing full plates of buffet food left behind, to be cleaned up by people who come from countries where so many people go hungry, will always bother me. One night I watched a woman who couldn’t figure out the soft serve ice cream machine. Instead of walking away or asking for help, she just let ice cream fall out of the machine over and over. We avoided the buffet as much as possible.

Service – To be clear, I do not blame the staff for any of the bad service we had. The bars were understaffed for the number of guests and the pool bars were pure chaos. I should not have to bribe a bartender to get served before people who arrive five minutes after I do. It’s not rocket science. Put more staff on duty and/or mark areas where people who aren’t sitting and drinking at the bar need to line up to order. I blame all our bad service (and we had some looooooong waits in bars and restaurants) on the folks on high who design the systems and decide on staffing levels. At the poker tournament, it took my husband three hours to get a server to order from. That’s bullsh*t.

THE GOOD!

Part 2

Stateroom – We were in 14818, a midship, balcony stateroom. I’m so very glad we booked a balcony stateroom! We live right on the ocean and almost all our travel is to ocean locations. I would have been disappointed if I couldn’t see the ocean whenever I wanted. Loved having a quiet place to sit and drink our tea, coffee, or cocktails, watch the water, and enjoy the warm breezes.  The layout was great, comfy, lots of storage, etc. Hubs had a few minor quibbles (he’s big into streamlining and organization) but otherwise no complaints. Bed was comfy and we enjoyed the free movies and being able to make our own coffee and tea.

Service – There were some service issues but I feel it’s important to note that those weren’t the fault of the individual employees. Almost every staff member we encountered was friendly, helpful, and hardworking. Our stateroom steward, Armel, was a gem! He was genuinely concerned whenever we left our “do not disturb” light on and he couldn’t clean our room. We explained that we didn’t need it cleaned every day but I think it still bothered him, lol. I was really impressed by all the staff. (Note: my husband and I have both worked in tourism and hospitality in the past).

The Thermal Suite – This cruise would not have been very enjoyable if we had not had access to the spa’s thermal suite every day. It was HEAVEN!! We especially loved port days when most guests were off the ship and we had the spa area pretty much to ourselves. If you like quiet and relaxation, spend the money and buy a pass!! We went every day, soaked in the various pools, sat in the steam room, stretched out on the ultra comfy loungers, read, napped, drank water and tea and nibbled on the snacks we brought with us. I know everyone rushes to get Vibe passes but, in my opinion, the Thermal Suite is a far, far better choice and you can buy the passes well ahead of time. There was only one day where some folks were noisy but as soon as anyone turns on the pool jets they drown out all the talking in a lovely white noise.

Entertainment – We only saw two shows because of the poker tournaments but, wow wow wow, were they terrific! Burn the Floor was just spectacular. I was in awe of all those dancers. That is an hour of crazy cardio—I’m tired just thinking about it. Fabulous music, dancing, singing. So good. Cirque Dreams & Steam was also fabulous! We’ve seen three different Cirque shows in Vegas and I was curious to see what they would do in such a small venue, and one that’s constantly moving, no less. We were not disappointed! It was basically a condensed Cirque show, with all the thrills and chills and eye-popping wardrobe you’d expect. (Note: My Hubs and I were professional stunt performers for film and TV for many years—17 for him and 10 for me—and anyone who isn’t in awe of the skill and showmanship of these performers needs to give their head a shake!)

Waterslides: We love waterslides. These waterslides were thrilling! YEE HAW! We rode the slides every day but one. It was often just us and a few kids in line, which was perfect. Sooooooo much fun!

Selection – While Hubs was on the ship for the poker and I was there pretty much just to read and relax, I was blown away by how many things there were to do on the list that arrived at our stateroom every night. It seemed like there was lots to keep most folks busy and entertained.

Meet & Greet – Thanks so much, again, to Lauri for organizing this event! We didn’t end up talking to many other guests, sorry, but it was nice to meet some of the crew and pick their brains. And we went home with two lovely shot glasses, (one customized with the name and date of the cruise!) and a beautiful card—thanks Heidi! To the folks who got our shot glass (the one with the starfish on it) sorry that it didn’t have the name of our location but Quadra Island is pretty small! It was made by a local artist and is hand-blown glass, if that makes you feel better.

The Good -- Summary: Overall, as a first time cruiser and as someone who has spent a lot of time on (small) boats there was much that impressed me about the design and operation of this ship. I don’t think cruising will ever be our “thing” but I can see why so many folks love it!

Before my review, I’d like to thank all the forum members here who gave me such good advice! As a novice cruiser, you all saved me a lot of headaches and made the good stuff just that much better. High fives all around!!

For reference, my husband and I were first time cruisers. We have been together for 21 years and almost all our travel has been adventure/self-guided/off the beaten path. We chose to book on the NCL Getaway because of the annual poker challenge as my husband is an avid Texas Hold ’Em player (I chose to go because I wanted to relax, relax, relax!). We are both in our 50’s, no kids, fairly fit, and outgoing. We decided to make this cruise our long-overdue honeymoon, lol.

I’ll start with the “good” first and break the review into multiple parts for easier reading.

THE GOOD!

Part 1 

DINNERS – Holy cumuli, the dinners on our cruise were so good! After reading all the negative reviews on this site, I was prepared for the worst but we did not have one bad dinner all week. I’m not sure whether other folks just had bad luck or really, really high standards but our dinner experiences were fabulous across the board (with one minor exception I’ll note later).

Cagney’s – We ate here the first night and both ordered the tenderloin. Each of our steaks was cooked to perfection—we eat a LOT of steak and we’re pretty picky about how they’re cooked—and were delicious! We also ordered appys (tuna tartare and crab cake), which were wonderful. Every dish was great, service was fast and friendly. I almost didn’t book this restaurant based on how many bad things I read about it here. I’m so glad I didn’t listen to those reviews!

Savor – Again, another place I read lots of bad reviews about, but the meal was perfectly fine. Not as good as Cagney’s, sure, but still really tasty and great service.

Wasabi – OMG!! AMAZING!!!! We love sushi, we’ve eaten a LOT of sushi, I grew up outside of Vancouver and lived in Japan, we make our own sushi with our own freshly-caught seafood, and this was GREAT sushi! You won’t find the selection of a big city sushi place but I’ll take quality over quantity any day. The Rock and Roll roll was heavenly and even the seaweed salad was to die for. Five thumbs up!

Teppanaki – This place was fun! I’ve never eaten at one of these kinds of restaurants before. Sure, the humor was hokey and I don’t think it’s a place you eat at more than once unless the staff was beyond five star, but for a fun night out with tasty food it was a great choice.

Cirque Dreams & Steam – I didn’t know what to expect from a dinner show menu but everything was super good, especially the steak! And the desserts…*drools*. The woman next to me at our table didn’t eat her dessert and I was sorely tempted to steal it! Service was a little slow and the drink service was super disorganized but not enough to ruin the experience.

Moderno – Another restaurant I *almost* didn’t book because of the many bad reviews—so glad I didn’t listen to those either! The salad bar was so different! Don’t go in expecting the traditional salad bar with lots of lettuce and veggies. This was olives and cheeses and meats and breads for the most part. I especially loved the smoked salmon and fried provolone! The various meats were really tasty but the grilled pineapple stole the show! We ate in moderation so that we could enjoy desert. Chocolate Coconut Tres Leche Cake…wow!

Overall, five stars for our dinners! Every server started by asking if we had any special dietary considerations, which was really nice to see. And what a treat to eat out every night. That is definitely not something we do when we travel our usual way.

4 minutes ago, Greek Boss said:

I would suggest filing a complaint with NCL and see what their response will be. I'm sorry your cruise was less than memorable. I will say I used to play poker more regularly in Vegas and various casinos in Pennsylvania and I always tell people not to hold casinos on a cruise to the same standard as any Vegas casino or tournament in general. I've played texas hold 'em on a cruise two or three times and it is at least in my opinion much more relaxed and less serious than any hold 'em game I have played on land. Cruising isn't for everybody. I am sorry you didn't have a good time. I am curious as to what else happened that got you to never want to sail with NCL again.

Thanks, Greek Boss. Yes, I do plan on filing a complaint, not that I expect it to go anywhere. I've heard that cruise casinos aren't to Vegas standards but I really thought that a tournament of that size, with such a large pot and attending poker pros would have been much more professional. Really disappointed. I wonder what Joe Cada, Loni Harwood, and Kelly Minkin think about it? 

As for why we won't cruise with NCL again, I'll detail that in my general review but the smoking is a big issue. Also, it's partly personal preference. We've been traveling together for 21 years, almost all self-guided, adventure, off-the-beaten-path kind of stuff and that's really more our thing. We avoid big cities and cruise ports when we travel. The only port we got off on was Roatan, because we'd thought of visiting there for years for a dive vacation. We rented scooters from Capt. Van's, which was great, but the island is not really set up for DIY snorkeling and we're not used to dealing with busy beaches and aggressive vendors. On the drive back to the ship, discussing the cruise ships and the crowds, our host said, "I miss the way our island was seven or eight years ago." That depressed me. 😞

After a few months of research, I decided to book a cruise for my husband Fred and myself on the NCL Getaway. We had never considered cruising before but had a hefty stock of Visa airmiles to use and Fred loves Texas Hold ’Em—he usually plays at least one or two big tournaments in Vegas every year and has spent a decade playing cash games and smaller tournaments. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for him to play and for me to relax in a new location.

I booked our trip and entered Fred in the Poker Challenge based on the few tidbits I could find online and some information provided by a Casinos at Sea representative. It was difficult to get much detailed information about the tournaments until the day we boarded (thanks to the folks here who helped me out!). I hope this review will help anyone who is thinking about participating in future NCL Poker Challenge cruises.

SHORT VERSION: The poker experience on this cruise was disappointing, to say the least. Chaotic, disorganized, cramped, loud, and lacking the level of professionalism experienced players should expect from an event of this size. We will never cruise with NCL again for a variety of reasons but this tournament, particularly, soured us on the cruise line. If you’re not interested in serious, well-run poker tournaments, don’t mind playing in a hectic, loud and uncomfortable environment, and you aren’t paying the main event entry fee out of pocket, then you’ll probably be fine with it. Everyone else? You’ll be much happier at a professional event in an established poker room in Vegas.

Read on if you want details. I have also attached photos of the various tournament formats for reference.

1. SMOKING – My husband does not smoke and the smell of cigarette smoke makes him feel sick. When I spoke with a Casinos at Sea representative about the NCL Poker Challenge, he assured me that the tournament was held in a room separate from the casino and that the entire poker area would be non-smoking. When we arrived, we learned that the tables would be divided between the Bliss lounge (a separate, completely smoke-free room) and a section of the casino that they had cleared for the event—a section that was open to all the smoke from surrounding slot machines and tables. This open area was every bit as smoky as the rest of the casino and the casino reeked of smoke. It was disgusting. ***We paid in full for our cruise and Fred’s tournament entry. I would never have done so if we had been told that he would be playing in these conditions.*** (I have other thoughts about NCL’s smoking policies and the health risks to their staff but I’ll save that for my general review on this forum).

2. TOURNAMENT SIGN UP – The term clusterf**k applies here. Lines were random and players would finally get to the front only to discover that they were in the wrong line, though there was no signage to indicate which line to stand in and no one directing the players who were trying to sign up. (This should have been a red flag for all that followed)

3. FORMAT – Until we boarded the ship, we could only find a rough outline of the tournament schedule and no explanation of the tournament(s) format. Considering this tournament has been running for a few years now, I’m not sure why more information could not be made available earlier? In any case, as it turns out, the format was VERY fast for a large buy-in (probably why they don’t share that info earlier). Though it was not technically a “turbo” format, the fast blind structure made it close enough to being one. The $500 Freezeout tournament was a turbo format and the $200 Rebuy tournament was super turbo with a ridiculous format that allowed players to rebuy before play had even started (??).

4. THE SPACE – Whether seated inside or outside of the Bliss lounge, the tables were super crowded together, with players’ chairs bumping into each other and no room to manoeuvre around the tables. Chairs were uncomfortable—not great when you are sitting for hours. Outside of the Bliss lounge it was even worse, with all the noise, crowding, and smoke from the surrounding casino. As an example, while the main event was on, the casino was trying to get cash games going (as tables freed up) and the casino host shouted non-stop over the PA system calling names for cash games—really loudly. The tournament players were frustrated and annoyed at the disturbance during tournament play.

5. SERVICE – Or more accurately “lack of service”. Drink service was practically non-existent. At one of the tables where Fred was playing, it took three hours for players to get any drinks at all, even juice or water. At one point, Fred shouted loudly to a nearby server to get drinks…and was ignored. Likewise, signing up for cash games was a joke. It didn’t matter where you were on the list, you had to stand close and wait to see an empty seat and then bug the casino host until she sat you, otherwise you would never get to play.

6. DRUNKS – I get the sense from what we saw and what other guests shared with us, that NCL does not regulate over-consumption of alcohol in general, the poker rooms being no exception. I spoke at length with a woman who was playing in the main event with a very drunk man at her table. He was so intoxicated and slow that it would take an entire level to make one orbit of the table (sometimes he even nodded off). None of the staff did anything about this and so one player ruined the game for the rest of the table. (Just like three drunks ruined our first dinner aboard).

7. CHEATING – Security protocols were non-existent for table breaks or table moves. For example, it would be laughably easy to cheat, for a friend to slip another friend chips during a table move or table break.

SUMMARY: We do not recommend this tournament. If you’re a serious poker player, do not go into this tournament expecting any of the basic protocols and etiquette of any typical, professional, well-regarded poker room. If you are sensitive to cigarette smoke, don’t even bother playing. I plan on forwarding this information to NCL (for all the good it will do). If you had similar experiences, your complaints might help. And, yes, I'm sure other people had a great experience, but this was my husband's experience, YMMV and all that. 

How did you arrange this? First cruise. Our flight home doesn't leave until 4pm. 

On 9/14/2019 at 5:18 AM, drvmywifecrzy said:

 

I hated being told to be quiet.  I wasn't talking that loud.  Anywho the spa is great for a hour or two a couple days but the cruise has so much action its hard to just be bump on a log all day.   Although that works for some people

If I pay for a spa pass, I'm paying for a place to escape from noise and crowds, and I'd be really unhappy if I showed up and had to listen to people talking while I was trying to read or relax. Seems to me there are lots of other places on a ship to talk and hang out with friends and not be a bump on a log. 

Fabulous! Thanks for the speedy response. I think we can manage with just one entree. 😉

Another newbie cruiser question. 😉

Hubs and I got the specialty dining (x3) as one of our perks when we booked. I've made reservations for all three nights, one of which is at Cagney's Steakhouse. Just want to make sure I'm not in for any surprises when I pay our bill at the end. On the receipt, for the other restaurants, the balance shows as "0" but for Cageny's it says "a la carte". Does this mean we might have to pay for some, or all, of the meal even if we use our perk to book it? Confused. 

~ Kristene

On 8/13/2019 at 11:28 PM, debgreg said:

I agree, on Epic recently we were all having a nice peaceful snooze on the balcony when a group of young American girls, (who were all given free passes because their friend fell down the escalator drunk and broke her leg)   😵 came in, drinks in hand and talking (or screeching) at 50 decibels above necessary. One of them was even Vaping in there 🙈Didn’t take it well when I asked them to respect it was a quiet zone 🤨

Eeep! I'll cross my fingers and hope for respectful visitors. 

4 minutes ago, stefmaia said:

All of them are co-ed. Sauna, steam room, hydrotherapy pool and jacuzzi. My husband and I purchase the pass every cruise, it’s lovely after a shore excursion to relax and restore, and since I am not a sun worshiper, it is also a great way to get a lounger and pool time and not fight off the crowds.

Awesome! So glad to hear. 🙂 That's exactly what I was looking for--a quiet place for us away from the crowds. 

20 minutes ago, newty25 said:

Not so fast. We met the captain on the Getaway this past Thanksgiving. He invited us up for a private tour of the bridge. Answered tons of questions for us and was very gracious. It was just us three (wife, son, and I).

 

He even let my kid "drive" the boat! Let him wear the hat too! LOL!

 

Was definitely the highlight of our trip and we thanked him profusely. Very kind gentleman, indeed.

 

How cool! Lucky kid. 🙂