BeachyBrowns

Celebrity has not had great results with solar panels on it's Solstice class ships.

Really? In what way have the results been less than great? (Honest question, not snark.)

I'm the major shareholder in Standard Oil. :p

Well, that explains it, then! ;)

I am a proponent of solar energy but don't know if it's practical on cruise ships. If other cruise lines are using solar energy I am not aware of it...could you let me know which cruise lines?

 

I just can't envision where they would put sufficient solar panels to make a difference on a cruise ship. I've read about the dangers that rooftop solar panels can create for firefighters & maybe that's another consideration about whether to use them on a cruise ship or not.

Celebrity Solstice-class ships supposedly generate enough power with solar to power the elevators. http://www.celebritycruises.com/about-celebrity/environmental-initiatives?tab=environmental-stewardship

That's a drop in the bucket, I know, but it's better than nothing, and you've got to start somewhere.

I've never heard the "danger to firefighters" objection before.

Do you work in the solar industry?

No, not by a long shot. I don't even have any financial interest at all in solar, although I'm considering investing in solar panels for my home.

Do you work in, or do you have specific financial interest in, the fossil fuel industry?

My wife and I sailed on Caribbean Princess in January 2013. Having sailed with other lines and being the environmentally conscious person I am, I thought I would email Princess about their plans to install solar arrays on their ships. I got the following reply:

This seemed to me to be an unacceptable answer, since other lines have clearly seen the value in it; does anyone know whether this has changed? I enjoyed our Princess cruise, but I don't see us sailing with them again until they decide to join us in the 21st Century.

UPDATE: There IS a C2 erg on board Caribbean Princess! It was great to see, but unfortunately I was prevented from using it on a couple of occasions by people ill-skilled for the task (i.e. pulling ~200 watts @ 30 spm). Nonetheless, it was great not to have to use the treadmill!

I have recently gotten into erging as a time-effective means of doing cardio, and I hoped CB would have an erg I could use, but apparently not. Bummer.

Anyone know how much spin classes cost on the Dream? Thanks!

Went straight to the oracle:

From: "Greg Martin" <greg.martin@pokertek.com>

Date: Mar 24, 2011 11:25 AM

The rake aboard the Carnival Dream is capped at $6. We also offer no-flop, no-drop and we do not rake the players until there are 4 at the table.

Thanks,

Greg Martin

On Carnival Dream there is a PokerPro table so the rake will be the same as the PokerPro Manager quoted earlier in this thread, ie capped at $6, ( reduced from $7 last year) no rake if less than 4 players and no rake if there is no flop.

The PokerPro manager's comment was germane to Princess cruises:

February 8th, 2011, 01:09 PM

PokerTek

Cool Cruiser

Join Date: Feb 2011

Posts: 1

Response to PokerPro Rake Questions

Hello,

The PokerPro tables aboard all Princess cruise ships have a standard poker rake that CAPS at $6 per hand (reduced from $7 in 2010). ...

- PokerPro Account Manager

The Freedom of the Seas had a PokerPro table, and it was capped at $15, so not all ships are capped at $6. I want to know about the Carnival Dream, specifically. Mr. PokerPro Man, do you have any information on this?

Can anyone tell me, from recent experience, what the rake is on the Carnival Dream? My wife and I sailed on RCI Freedom of Seas last year, and the rake was 10% up to $15. On the Carnival Sensation, it was capped at $7, which made a huge difference. Someone tell me it's more like the Sensation and less like the Freedom of the Seas!

Just got back from a 7-night Western Caribbean on the Freedom of the Seas. I played a ton of poker, as did about 10 other people (the regulars). There was very little interest in poker outside those few, so it was hard to get the game started. The casino staff was quite unhelpful in that regard.

Furthermore, the structure of the game does not lend itself to profitable experiences for the players (profitable for the house, yes). The game was 1/2 NL before 7 pm and 2/5 NL after. There was only a 1/2 game on sea days. Rake is an exorbitant but sadly common 10% up to $15. When you're playing 2/5 NL, pots can get pretty big, and you can almost see the money evaporating into thin air as the rake takes its toll. We estimated something like $200-$250 per hour, when you're playing 45-50 hands per hour.

I played on Carnival Sensation in February, and the rake there was 10% up to $7, which does make a noticeable difference. Couple that with the fact that the game was always 1/2 and never 2/5, and you get a lot more people interested in playing. We never had a problem getting a game going there. I think the reason for that is that people want to play with $50 or $100, not with $500 at a time; $100 can last you a while at a 1/2 game, but at a 2/5 game, you need more than $50 or $100 to absorb the fluctuations that come along with playing NL.

If anyone else has cruise ship poker experiences to share, I love to read about them.