CruiserN1

My Alaska cruise on the Crown Princess is 88 days away and we've made final payment. I tried making a specialty dining reservation today and it still is saying "Check back closer to your journey date" when I go to "Explore Dining Options." We are staying in a club mini-suite and are gold level. When do specialty dining reservations become available? Or is this just a glitch in the app?

Thanks SO much for this detailed trip report! I am sailing on the Crown to Alaska in July and it was so fun to follow your experience on the ship. I love Hawaii and apple bananas are so yummy, I was drooling over the ones you picked up. I'm not sure I would have been as understanding as you were about missing Kauai and Maui after making the long trip across the Pacific, but it was great to see how you made the most of your sea days. Mahalo!

I wouldn't have read it except for this discussion and wondering if HAL specifically prohibited it. We passed through the casino a bunch of times (not willingly, but it was often on the path we needed to take) and I don't think I ever saw anyone at the BJ tables. Lots of rats pressing the slot machine bars for their pellets, but table games were pretty empty.

Just off Rotterdam yesterday. I read the rules posted outside the casino and it does state that card counting is not allowed but then says the use of any technology to assist is not allowed. I imagine if one's card counting was obvious, they'd kick you out of the casino.

Sea days tomorrow and Monday and the St. Maarten and a bunch more islands. It's the 11 day Southern Caribbean itinerary. Last one before Rotterdam heads for Europe.

On Rotterdam now. The "queen" size bed in our verandah is 68 inches wide.

Boarding Rotterdam tomorrow and happy to measure the bed in our verandah cabin. I always carry a tape measure in my knitting bag. We sleep in a king at home and the cabin beds that are called "queen" feel a little narrower than our bed at home but wider than a true queen bed.

Shore exc for St. Vincent were posted today, so about a week after the port change was announced. Found the one I really wanted and booked it right away!

Do the billboard and rolling stone bars make frozen drinks? I know not all bars have blenders.

Also boarding Saturday! Thanks for the report.

True, but if the price increases between now and when you're onboard, you'll have to pay the higher price. I benefited from buying online a few weeks before the price recently increased (no way to know that was going to happen, but it worked out for me).

I have the same problem with the security photo and also can't access menus. Running 4.23.1 on Android, Samsing S20+

In Vegas he is probably right because the odds are fixed. Who knows how ship casinos set their odds? There isn't any regulation on that in international waters.

I think you're right about that. I just printed my confirmation and it specifically says "it will be credited to your onboard account upon embarkation."

My shareholder request was approved a month ago but it isn't showing in the app. I plan to bring the confirmation email in case it doesn't show once we're on board.

I'm a statistician and can't understand why anyone would play a game for money where the odds aren't fixed. Playing video poker/BJ or slots are like being a rat in a psychology expert. The machine is manipulating your behavior. Craps has the best odds but BJ is easier to get the odds on your side.

No, it's almost impossible to do it from memory with 6 or more decks. There are algorithms that help you decide whether to hold or hit. You still have to have a good memory and be good at mental math, and a partner makes it much easier to do it successfully. There's a documentary called Holy Rollers that I learned about this method from.

We are on her next sail away!!

That's the key, don't get greedy. Card counting isn't illegal in the U.S. as long as you don't use any tools other than your brain. It will get you kicked out of casinos in Vegas if they figure out what you're doing and you will be banned. Not sure what a cruise line would do other than ban you from the casino. I haven't tried it because DH is unwilling to work with me and it's less successful when you're working alone.

Seems odd that there really aren't many pasta dishes or even dishes that come with a side of spaghetti. The house-made pasta is a big draw for me. I wonder if ordering a side of pasta would be considered a second entree and cost me $10.

No updated menu on the HAL website

Card counting in BJ is easier than you think. If you're decent at mental math, there are algorithms that increase the odds in your favor based on what cards you have seen. If two players work together it's very doable. I've proposed this to DH as a retirement funding strategy as we are both excellent at mental math, but he's afraid we'd end up "falling" overboard 🤣

Yes, looking forward to it even without Barbados.

I'm disappointed too. Hopefully HAL can come up with some good excursion options for us. Being that it isn't an often-visited port, the excursions available independent of HAL are not very interesting to me. Hoping for a good snorkel trip as St. Vincent has some beautiful reefs.

It is known for snorkeling and has some beautiful reefs offshore. There isn't much snorkeling from shore.