Crapster

Tipping "incentivizes" the dealer to remind you when you forget a bet or odds... but I find most dealers still remind players that aren’t good tippers, regardless of tipping or not. Where I think tipping benefits me directly related to “points” is as mentioned, “… Then, when the 7 is rolled, I sometimes think they’re “slow” to reset my $300+ back down to $30 until after a few rolls go by.” Increasing my points. I personally never bet the hard ways due to the poor house edge (9 and 11%), therefore I don’t bet this for the dealers either. If I do “pick the bet” for the dealer I either add them to the PASSLINE or PLACE them on the 6/8. Both are under 2% house edge. However, my goto dealer bet is to tell them to put it where they like. (I find they almost always PLACE the 6/8) for themselves.

I can confirm dandelpino's Anthem findings on Adventure, Liberty, Allure, and Harmony as well. Large Specialty counted as 2. I had 1 to 2 coffee's each morning and shared the card with my son.

Royal calculates ratings playing Craps by your bet on the table times number of rolls you were at the table. They keep a solid count by moving a little chip outside, then back inside a lighted round circle by the Boxman position. Often, you’ll see one of the box side dealers update their screens with the players bets. When I say "take very good care of me” I see them ensuring they’re updating my 6/8 presses (30/60/90/120… which can reach 300+ at times). Then, when the 7 is rolled, I sometimes think they’re “slow” to reset my 300+ back down to 30 until after a few rolls go by. Complete theory though… With regard to my comment "after each new point." Was referring to offering $2 for the dealers to bet each time a new shooters Point (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) is established and not referring to Casino Royale Loyalty points.

I really can’t recommend rather than simply supply the metrics I encountered with regard to points earned. Craps rating isn’t as clear as other casino games and I’m unsure if Royal count the free odds bets or not. Some land casinos don’t. My personal strategy is to stay away from high house edge bets and to have fun. I play “with” the table and typically stick with PASS/COME and/or PLACE 6 or 8... allows me to play longer.

Asked for $1,000 to start. Sun/Mon, I bet $15 PASSLINE with full ODDS ($15/$20/$25) plus a $30 6 and 8. I'd press the winning 6 or 8 $30 each time, no limit. 6 & 8's weren't hitting. Lost half by Monday so... On Tue and for the rest of the week I switched to betting $15 PASSLINE with full ODDS ($15/$20/$25) plus 2 (sometimes 3) additional $15 COME best with full ODDS. This Craps only play earned about 280 points per hour. Made back to mid-week loss and ended Sat evening about even.

So sorry, 2 corrections... Yes, this sailing was for the Harmony update. (I think the mod would have to alter the Subject line to Harmony at this point.) And yes, it's 60 days to receive OBC, but only 30 to receive your FP. Thanks for the correction.

Casino TABLES on Harmony of the Seas Updated for Dec 2023 7 days cruise. CRAPS (2 tables) No smoking at ANY Craps table. Table Min was $10 / Table Max was $500 per bet Open 1PM – 2AM on sea days Open 6-7PM – 2AM on port days (approx. – Or shortly after international waters if they have staffing for Craps, always by 8PM. In Port of Roatan law allows Casino/Tables to open after 2PM while in port but no staffing for Craps Table until 6-7PM.) • (Standard house edge on a Pass Line is 1.41% with no odds) • $10 Pass line they allowed "SINGLE: Odds (0.85% house edge) [only single odds but 0.85% is still a good bet!] • $25 Pass line they allowed "Double" Odds (0.61% house edge) • $50 Pass line they allowed "3x4x5" Odds (x3 is 0.47%, x4 is 0.37%, and x5 is 0.33% house edge) • While no sign, Dealers allowed $15 Pass line to add odds of $15(4/10) $20(5/9) and $25(6/8) • Field paid Double on 2/12 (5.56% house edge) • Standard Proposition bets with standard payoffs. (aka sucker bets, 9.09% and higher house edge) • No Tall/All/Small. • They do NOT allow $1 increments of the 4/10, only increments of $5. i.e. $25, $30... • The do round BUY bets commission and allowed up to $30 on $1 vig. (3.33% house edge) A $35 bet went to $2 vig. So, calculate (bet*5%) round to nearest $ • Largest denomination chip in front of Boxman was PURPLE ($500). • Almost all of the dealers were quick and accurate. Very few new but well watched by the other dealers. • Most players seemed to buy in for low to medium bankroll. $25-$500. • Cruise demographics, there were about 5 regular daily players and many more repeat faces so at some point during the sailing all became acquainted. • Pitching dice high or not hitting back wall will receive a “NO ROLL” call every time. • Dealer bets must drop both bet + payout, player may not control and ask for the original bet to stay up. • Table might close on sea days if empty for an extended time during the day. Reopens around 6-7 PM Unlike many Land Casinos, your FREE PLAY chips remain in play after a win. (Many land casinos pay, then take the FP chip). Tables had light to medium traffic. Never busy. Other Tables: BLACKJACK (11 tables) BJ 8 deck $15 Min paid 3/2 (0.6% house edge) BJ Single Deck $15 Min and BJ 8 deck $10 Min paid 6/5 (1.98% house edge) • Dealer HIT on Soft 17 at all tables • Max 3 splits (4 cards) • Split Aces draws only one card. • Max 3 boxes (spots) per player Lucky Ladies paid $1,000, $200, $50, $25, $15, $10, $5 3 CARD POKER $15 Min (2 tables) paid 4, 3, 1 on Ante Bonus (3.8% house edge) and paid 40, 30, 6, 3, 1 on Pair Plus (7.3% house edge) <higher house edge than most! paid 1,000, 200, 50, 25, 15, 10, 5 on 6-Card Bonus (15.27% house edge) ULTIMATE TEXAS HOLDEM (2 tables) Ante $15 MIN $300 Blind $10 MIN $200 500, 50, 10, 3, 3, 1 (house edge 3.737%) Trips $10 MIN $100 50, 40, 20, 7, 6, 5, 3 (house edge ?%) LET IT RIDE (1 tables) Ante & Blind $10 MIN $200 MAX 3 Card Bonus $10 MIN $100 MAX Basic Pay table 500, 200, 50, 11, 8, 5, 3, 2, 1 (house edge 3.737%) Bonus Pay table 5000, 2000, 100, 75, 50, 25, 8, 4 (house edge 27+% Most pay 20,000 for RF) ROULETTE $10 Min. Double Zero (5.26% house edge) (3 tables) POKER (2 tables) - No data collected (house edge references - wizardofodds.com) Personal: My personal gameplay preference is to stay below 2% house edge for anything in the Casino. I played Craps bets PASS/ODDS (0.85% house edge) covering 1 to 3 numbers or PLACE 6/8 (1.52% house edge) I also played a small amount of Multi Deck BJ (0.73% house edge No BJ Lucky Ladies side bet for me as it’s a whopping 24.71% house edge (pay table 1,000, 125, 19, 9, 4) TIME/Bet vs Points 95% play time was on Craps. My play times totaled 28 hours at the Craps table for the week. Consistent in betting $15 Pass Line with max odds. (0.85% house edge) with 2 like Come bets. I would add 2 $1 chips for the dealers to place where they want after each new point is made for the duration I'm at the table. They tend to take very good care of you. Casino Royal tier points earned on this 7 day cruise was 4,000 points (Balcony with $500 FP) from almost all Craps. Do consider that while 1x FREE ODDS is disappointing compared to our Land Casino norms, it’s still a great house edge at 0.85%! The difference between x3/4/5 and SINGLE ODDS is a very small difference of 0.48%. Comparably, the 6/8 PASSLINE is 2 times more at 1.4% (I still think this is a good bet) And playing Craps on the ship is always a pleasant experience as you get to know a good handful of regular Craps players you’d see over and over during the sailing. Tip: Once PRIME the 5% fee is waived if you charge to your Sailpass rather than use cash. These are charged as MERCHANT purchases so you’ll earn Cash/Points for these. Cash in the Chips, redeposit into the bank to pay off the credit card and you’ll earn rewards with your card. :- ) I earn 2% Cash Back and I only play Table games with a house edge under 2%... remove luck, its player advantage! 🙂 With regard to any "Instant Reward Cruise Certificate" you may receive. You no longer have to make an actual booking while on the ship. You can (must) fill out a few lines on their new BOOK LATER form and pay a $200 deposit. Then, you'll have up to 2 months to call and apply your Certificate to the BOOK LATER reservation and the $200 can go towards the taxes and gratuities. No Next Cruise appointment needed. No rushing decisions while on the ship anymore. ... WINNER six, came easy, take the don't and pay the line! Cheers,

Correction, 3PM on the early Oct I 100% get it. The first dozen times off the boat in Roatan were great. I'm retired and most sailings are solo. My preferred entertainment is at a Craps table (low house edge). When taking breaks, the ship offers more things to pass time over a land Casino. Here are the published hours on Allure 7 days sailing out of Galveston. This sailing was Roatan (Day 4), Costa Maya (Day 5), then Cozumel (Day 6). Cheers,

I can confirm, unlike most ports, in Roatan, the Casino has always open up a bit after noon and while still docked in port. During COVID they didn’t open the tables until a bit later solely due to crowds and staff. But the last 12 months and 4 cruises to Roatan on Allure out of Galveston, tables (cards) are open mid day each sailing on.

As DNA mentioned, Smoking side opened first and they only open the non-smoking side as it gets later and busier. With regard to ratings, average 7 day is around 3,000. Allure and Grandeur rate nicely. Liberty not so much. I play Craps about 95% of the time... BJ only when tired (not often) PlayRating: While I'll pass 1 number, to offset the limited Pass/Come ODDS, I always cover the 6 & 8 with a $30 PLACE. Each time it wins I press $30. So, 30, 60, 90, 120, until roll ends... I also keep a $1 Dealer bet alongside my 6/8. It often reaches $300 (playing with Casino money at this point). Most of the time the crew "tunes" the ratings after each roll but MY SUSPITION is that the crew are a little liberal resetting my rating when high and each roll looks like $600+ even though we started over. Maybe the tips help. None the less, it translates to more free cruises than I can take in a year (4). Using the betting play mentioned above, here shows how they were rating each day. Seems to average 5 sail days to make Prime this way.

Well, I was cleaning up my phone of excessive photos from the cruise and found one I took of the UTH limits. ... on Allure as of Feb 2023 Cheers,

There was a guy that gave the Craps dealer a hard time about Royal's 1x odds 0.85% and as he's complaining, he pitches out a $5 YO. 🤔.

I really prefer x3/4/5 or x5. But... single odds at 0.85% is still a good bet! While a x3/4/5 house edge is 0.37%, you only lose 0.48% house edge with SINGLE. Certainty no reason not to play. Without getting into the the dark side, the PASS LINE with no ODDS is one of the best bets in a casino at 1.41%. With SINGLE ODDS it's below 1 percent at 0.85%. So, PLAY and have FUN! Ship Craps is GREAT because you end up playing with a handful of regulars. SINGLE ODDS should not be a deal breaker. To put Craps bets house edge in perspective, take a look at this table of the most common Craps bets. The proposition bets in the middle START at 9% thru 16%.

Sorry pittmh, I left off the "S". I should have wrote "...Dealer HIT on S17 at all tables With regard to paying off a $6 bet on a 6.5 BJ... Casino will rounddown to nearest 0.50 cents. A $6 bet would win $7.20 but only pays $7. You loose another $0.20. To minimize the house edge on a 6/5 table one should always bet in $5 increments. My thoughts are the $6 min on a 6/5 table is a marketing ploy as it's attractive for those on a low budget that may not understand their getting shorted on a BJ when betting $6.

I agree and only play 3/2 BJ tables. I’m also disappointed because I’m spoiled after decades of 3/2. But at the end of the day it only adds just under 1.5% house edge and it’s still one of the lowest bets in the Casino. Spoiled the same with Craps. I’m used to my sweat spot of 3/4/5 When I first sailed, I was a bit disappointed that Royal Craps only offers a meager Single Odds. Peel back the onion and SINGLE ODDS is 0.85% house edge and still a GREAT bet. I only lost a quarter of a percent by not having 3/4/5. I always get a chuckle of the guys that cause a scene when told their $10 bet can only have SINGLE ODDS 0.85% house edge - and follow the rant with “And give me a $5 (fill in the blank +9% Proposition Bet)” With regard to SINGLE ODDS, for me, I just redirected my focus to Placing the 6/8 in liew of what I would have used for behind the line Free ODDS.

I did forget to check Ultimate Texas Holdem minimums were this Jan sailing, but it was $10 a little over 2 months ago while on Allure.

Sorry I forgot to list it. Table max was $500 per bet/number. Pit staff was super and had many dealers cross trained. During the sea days, and after 1PM, if the Craps table emptied, they would shut it down and reassign dealers. Each time I came up to the closed Craps to ask when it would reopen, they said 5 min and reshuffled idle card dealers over to open it up. They would start with only one side, with a Stickman and single Dealer and part time Boxman. Once they only had 1 Dealer, so the Pit Boss played Dealer until someone replaced them. I've been on Allure several times and give their staff an A+ on their ability to shuffle "well cross trained" dealers every time I'm there. what you don't want to hear... SEVEN OUT, line away, pay the don'ts, last come, pay behind cheers,

Sessions on Allure of the Seas JAN 2023 7 days cruise. Observations: CRAPS (2 tables) Open ~1PM – late on sea days - Open ~5-6PM – late on port days (approx.) • Sign on table said: Table Min was $10 (never $5 all week) They allowed: (Standard house edge on a Pass Line is 1.41% with no odds) • $10 Pass line they allowed "SINGLE: Odds (0.85% house edge) [only single odds but 0.85% is still a good bet!] • $25 Pass line they allowed "Double" Odds (0.61% house edge) • $50 Pass line they allowed "3x4x5" Odds (x3 is 0.47%, x4 is 0.37%, and x5 is 0.33% house edge) • While no sign, Dealers allowed $15 Pass line to add odds of $15(4/10) $20(5/9) and $25(6/8) • Field paid Double on 2/12 (5.56% house edge) • Standard Proposition bets with standard payoffs. (aka sucker bets, 9.09% and higher house edge) • No ALL Tall/All Small/Win them ALL. No Fire (both have 20%+ house edges). • They DO NOT allow $1 increments of the 4/10, only increments of $5. i.e. $20, $25, $30... • They DO round BUY bets commission and allow up to $25 on $1 vig. (4.0% house edge) A $30 bet went to $2 vig. • Largest denomination chip in front of Boxman was BLACK ($100). If buying in heavy and you’re lucky, you may end up with a pocket full of Black chips. • All of the dealers were quick and accurate. Very few new dealers and they were well watched by the other dealers. I didn't see a bad payoff all week. • Most players seemed to buy in for low to medium bankroll. $25-$500. • Cruise demographics, the same 8 or so players were at the table each day of the trip at some point during the day and all became acquainted. Also noticed: BLACKJACK BJ $6 Min paid blackjack at 6/5 (1.98% house edge) BJ $15 Min paid blackjack at 3/2 (0.6% house edge) ...Dealer HIT on 17 at all tables “Lucky Ladies” side bet pays: 1000; 125; 19; 9; 4 (HIGH 24.71% house edge) 3 CARD POKER $10 Min paid 4, 3, 1 on Ante Bonus (3.8% house edge) and paid 40, 30, 6, 3, 1 on Pair Plus (7.3% house edge) <Higher than most! ROULETTE $5 Min. Double Zero (5.26% house edge) TEXAS ULTIMATE HOLDEM (available but I don’t play and did not obtain info) (House Edge ~2.185%) (house edge references - wizardofodds.com) Personal play/results: 95% time was at Craps. My play times were several sessions each day between open thru 9pm each day. Totaled ~30 hours at table for the week. Buy in $1,000. Consistent in betting $15 Pass Line + max odds and $30 place on 6 & 8. Keeping the 6/8 Place bets up throughout gameplay and pressing $30 to the winning 6 or 8 each time until roll is over. The highest reached on 6/8 for this sailing was $330 . (i.e. 30, 60, 90, …330) . Unfortunately, this sailing, I cashed out down $200... but, Earned 5,000 Casino Royal tier points this sailing. Earned Cruise Certificate for Balcony/Jr Suite, all ships and sailings listed thru Dec 20, 2023 (except blackout dates), plus +$750 Freeplay. ... WINNER six, came easy, take the don't and pay the line!- cheers,

Royal serves Starbuck in Starbucks cups at their Cafe Promenade (4th deck). You CAN use your card there. The card can NOT be used at the "licensed Starbucks® across from Cafe Promenade. Makes no sense but it's how they licensed the on-ship Starbucks® stores.

SpaceX and T-Mobile are teaming up T‑Mobile Expands Coverage Above and Beyond https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/t-mobile-takes-coverage-above-and-beyond-with-spacex This should allow phone HOTSPOT for any other devices you're carrying. 👍

With regard to your objective to terminate your cruise in a port other than the ship itinerary, an agent implied it has to do with Customs and Border control and the information cruise lines send them just before departure… When I called to ask about if I could do this they said it was not allowed. Most ports allow you to visit but expect you’re leaving later that day the same way you came and so you rarely go thru “their” Customs check into their country like at an airport. And then you’d raise concern when you were not accounted for as you pass back thru your home port Customs check in. Back story: A while back I was thinking about going to Roatan for a week or so and was surprised (at that time) the airline ticket “each way” was more expensive than an inside cabin and thought “why not enjoy 3 days on a cruise to get to Roatan and then just get off there and fly back when we were ready. They said no.

I preferred to capture a large chunk of rewards without having to manage a set of cards, so I went with the more *simple* use of a good Cash Back card. It’s a 2% cash reward card and allows the monthly cash back as a credit applied to the balance before paying the remaining balance. I didn't find I'd spend enough on specialty cards where above 2% would add up enough to be worth my time. (I do use a Chase AMAZON card tied only to my Amazon account for 5% cash back) Cash Back translates to cash, easy peasy and eliminates the complication of “using” points and/or having to convert points to OBC’s.

I sure hope so, I'm booked on the second Allure schedule out of there and am looking forward to using it. I'm so curious what they're calling "State of the Art" facilities. Most I found was automated TSA but they already do this now with their threaded lanes with little iPad taking your picture for matching.

It's just an XLS that only needs small updates from time to time since I only go out of the GAL port and, exactly as you said, it provides me a quick way to see what my ship choices I have and any given time in one view. Happy sailing

As you mentioned ... 45 days out... as for timewise... My assumption is: I believe that most Royal Caribbean works of Eastern Time Zone and so my thoughts have been I could check in as early as after midnight Eastern time. From Experience I can only say I've checked as early as 4:30am Eastern. cheers,