magneto1

What!?! Really? Why are they doing that? Less people are going to play now and they will lose revenue. Do they do it for the Black Jack tourney as well? Also is this for all RCI ships or just EOS?

I found these rules at the following site. I'm not sure if this is the most recent set of rules. It looks like Blackjack pays 3:2 on multiple deck, 6:5 on single deck.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experience/html.do;jsessionid=0000mePKeKeobGGPtOCzPbgb1a_:12hbioan0?exCode=503

Blackjack

Details

In Blackjack, you win if you get a higher hand than the dealer without going over 21. Should you go over 21 (Bust), you lose immediately. Face cards count as 10, aces are either 1 or 11, and all other cards are face value. The players and the dealer each get two cards. If your first two cards total, for example, 15, you can "Stand" (take no additional cards) or you can "Hit" (ask for additional cards, one at a time). You can indicate your decision to hit or stand by using hand gestures. The dealer will be happy to show you how. After each player in turn has taken all the extra cards he wants, the dealer exposes the "Hole" card. On 16 or less or soft 17 (a combination of cards adding up to either 7 or 17, such as an ace and a 6), the dealer hits. The dealer stands on hard 17. Should the dealer bust, you win.

Blackjack Terms:

Blackjack

An ace and a 10-value card is "Blackjack" and pays you 3 dollars for every 2 you bet, unless the dealer too, has a Blackjack, in which case you "Push" (neither win nor lose).

Splitting Pairs

You can split pairs and play them as two separate hands by placing another equal bet on the table. You can split up to three times for a total of four separate hands. If you split Aces, you get one card on each ace. If you draw a ten-value card, it will count as 21, not a Blackjack.

Doubling Down

You can double your bet and get one additional card only. You can double any two cards and you can double after you split pairs.

Insurance

If the dealer's up card is an Ace, you can place an "Insurance" bet of up to half your original bet. If the dealer has Blackjack, your insurance bet pays 2 to 1. If you have Blackjack and take insurance, you are immediately offered "Even Money."

Single-Deck Blackjack

Very similar to the game of Blackjack with the following exceptions:

No mid-deck entry; players must wait until the shuffle to join this game.

No double down after splitting.

Blackjack pays 6 to 5.

Insurance offered but not even money.

I do not believe there is anyway to avoid the 3% service charge any longer :(

I guess too many people were taking advantage of that loophole. 3% is reasonable since AmEx charges them close to that. What's unreasonable is the new Blackjack rules I keep seeing now - like paying 6:5 instead of 3:2 for blackjack, or taking out all of the queens from the deck!

We were also on that Grandeur cruise back in 2005. Quite an experience.

So you remember the "Cruise to Cozumel and Back" itinerary :D

I remember so many people were irate at the number of "at sea" days, but even more irate that we had to spend an extra day in Cozumel.

I think I can answer the question of how the cruise line handles a delayed cruise. I cruised on Grandeur of the Seas in 2005, and we were delayed a day by Hurricane Ophelia. Then we got caught in the middle of Hurricane Rita. I've learned my lesson about cruising at the peak of hurricane season!

They offered everyone an on-board cruise credit, rather than a refund, and it was roughly equal to 1/9 of the price we paid for the nine day cruise. Most people thought they had to use that money for buying excursions or other stuff on the ship. I found a better way - go to the casino and get the cash! (as an aside, you can also get cash from the casino on your credit card without it being charged as a cash advance, which is especially nice if you have a credit card that gives you a rebate). They only charged us tips for the days we were on the ship, so don't worry about the automated tip charges. I can't speak for the people on the previous cruise, but I'm sure that they didn't have to pay for the extra day and were reimbursed for airline change fees. I'm not sure if the cruise line covers all expenses, so this is where cruise insurance actually comes in handy (we had it on our cruise, and it paid for a night in a hotel).

The biggest annoyance from losing a day was the cancelled ports. We were supposed to have five ports, but that got cut down to three, and then with Rita it got cut down to two - Cozumel and Port Canaveral. Port Canaveral is hardly a travel destination - it's where they go to get food and supplies. Since we were cruising out of Baltimore, there was a lot of mileage to make up, hence the lost stops.

I also learned another lesson on that trip. When we checked in, we asked about upgrade options. For an extra $500 we upgraded to a suite, and they actually gave us a grand suite. The room was huge and lovely, but it's also on the part of the ship where you feel the most motion (deck nine forward). During Rita's sixteen foot high waves it was really the worst place to be! Now I prefer lower decks near the center of the ship. The cruise director summed it up by saying that it was easy to spot the drunk people because they were the only ones able to walk in a straight line! :)