RCI casino, some questions

[Rex008]

Hi

Been reading as much as I can on here, but still have some questions. This will be my first Royal Caribbean cruise. We're on Jewel of the Seas on a 12 day Baltic at end of July. I'm from the UK, so am reasonably used to European rules for various games, but am aware of the US differences.

 

I'm a keen poker player (keen, not necessarily good :)). I've heard they sometimes have tournaments, but the little information I've seen make them sound like crapshoots (low starting stack, very fast structure). Is this the case? Are they worth playing for the poker, or is it just a gamble? Are there actually likely to be any on that ship/sailing?

Cash poker - I've read that some RCI ships have the electronic tables with a 10% rake. Rake doesn't bother me too much tbh, just wondering if Jewel has these, if so how many and what kind of games get spread? $1/$2NL maybe? Or higher?

 

Blackjack - house rules- House peek for blackjack? Hit on soft 17? 1 card on split aces? Resplit aces? Double on any 2? I'd be guessing yes, no, yes, no, yes if it follows typical Vegas strip rules.

 

Video poker - do they just have bobby basic Jacks or Better, or do they have the menu type with lots of selections (I'm a Deuces Wild kinda person :)). Stakes? $1-$25? Multi-hand?

 

Slots? Range of stakes? Any people have any recommendations for $1 slot and a 25c slot?

 

What do people tend to do for cash? I've heard you can charge to seapass for a 3% fee, but I'm thinking of just bringing a roll with me, and try and be disciplined enough to stick to it :). Any problems with that? Probably $1500 or so depending on gambling performance up to then...:D. Decent poker win in the meantime I might take more, and vice versa.

 

That's a lot of questions, I'm hoping there are RCI gamblers out there who can summarise for me.

 

Oh, and is it the case that your seapass is also your loyalty card for the electronic games? Do you also use it for rating play on blackjack & poker? Do you actually get anything for a decent play rate? I've heard free drinks are rare - anything worth knowing here?

Thanks!

[cb at sea]

I don't remember the BJ rules on the ship....only one split, tho....can't do it multiple times. It's not quite LV rules....and I couldn't even PUSH with a 20....dealers were too, too hot.

 

I always recommend bringing the cash you're willing to lose/gamble with....no sense in paying 3% to gamble!!!

 

Free drinks are rare, unless you're gambling ALOT of money....alot!

[Catroo]

Hi

Been reading as much as I can on here, but still have some questions. This will be my first Royal Caribbean cruise. We're on Jewel of the Seas on a 12 day Baltic at end of July. I'm from the UK, so am reasonably used to European rules for various games, but am aware of the US differences.

 

Hi Rex008: I sailed on Jewel last November, so here's what I can remember on that trip (as well as some generalities on RCI). I generally don't play the slots, so I'll address those questions that deal with the tables and leave the other questions to those with more information/knowledge/experience. (Being a craps & blackjack player, I tend to gravitate more toward the table games than the one-armed bandits.)

 

I'm a keen poker player (keen, not necessarily good :)). I've heard they sometimes have tournaments, but the little information I've seen make them sound like crapshoots (low starting stack, very fast structure). Is this the case? Are they worth playing for the poker, or is it just a gamble? Are there actually likely to be any on that ship/sailing?

 

There is a poker tournament held, but since I'm not a poker player, I can't go into more than just observing that there was a tournament on offer.

 

There was one BJ tournament the cruise I sailed, and your observations are pretty much spot-on, at least for BJ: Low start, very fast pace, $25 buy-in, 7 players per round - swimming with sharks has a better success ending, IMO. I sat in one of the five rounds, but went bust pretty quickly. 35:1 odds of coming up on top is a little too rich for my blood...but I tried, anyway. ;)

 

If you're into Texas Hold 'em, that's on offer on Jewel also. When I sailed, the table was located in the Sports Bar, starboard, adjacent to Casino Royale proper, due to space limitations in the casino. I don't get it, so I don't play it, but there's a regular crowd at the Texas table, and a tournament takes place also during the cruise.

 

Blackjack - house rules- House peek for blackjack? Hit on soft 17? 1 card on split aces? Resplit aces? Double on any 2? I'd be guessing yes, no, yes, no, yes if it follows typical Vegas strip rules.

 

House peeks for BJ on face/10 showing; no peek before offering insurance on A showing; house must hit on soft 17; 1 card on split aces only; no resplit on aces after ace split, but can split further on other pairs; double up possible on any draw except ace pairs/split. Usually $5 minimum, though first night may see a $3 minimum one-off for a couple of hours to generate cruiser interest. Single deck and multi-deck tables on offer.

 

IIRC, Caribbean BJ has a $6 minimum. Place $1 to the side, if you wish, for a chance to spin the bonus wheel -- if you get BJ on the draw. Bonus wheel is always a winner for spinner: various payouts from $10-$1000 (with most pays being in the $10-50 range).

 

What do people tend to do for cash? I've heard you can charge to seapass for a 3% fee, but I'm thinking of just bringing a roll with me, and try and be disciplined enough to stick to it :). Any problems with that? Probably $1500 or so depending on gambling performance up to then...:D. Decent poker win in the meantime I might take more, and vice versa.

 

As you've probably read elsewhere, bring only what you care to share with the ship! :D

 

You can, for that 3% maintenance fee -- per use! -- pull a maximum of $2,000/day from your Seapass account for gambling only. It is a very easy process (which makes it extremely dangerous, IMO!): simply present your Seapass card to the dealer; the dealer presents it to the pit boss, who then brings you a chit to sign for your draw once the transaction is processed. With your autograph, the dealer passes you the pull in chips.

 

On my last sail, one of my fellow players pulled (that I saw) $1,000/night, each night of the 7 we sailed, from his Seapass, and his bar tab was almost as fluid. I have no doubt his end-of-sail bill was in the mid-five digits!

 

So yes, it's possible. Would I recommend it? No. Bring what you care to play, and leave the Seapass in your pocket. (But that's just me.)

 

I've heard free drinks are rare - anything worth knowing here?

Thanks!

 

I've played at all the casinos on the boats below, and in my experience, I've not seen any comp drinks made available from the other side of the tables. I've had a few bought for me, though, from fellow cruisers after a 20-minute roll at the craps table when everybody was smiling at their rack load, or after pulling the right cards at BJ to bust the house several times in a row. (Gotta ask for the right cards/dice to get 'em, I believe.) ;)

 

Have a great cruise on Jewel, and best of luck at the casino ~ it's a wonderful ship with a fabulous crew! CHEERS!~

[Rex008]

cb and Catroo - thanks VERY much for all the information. Very helpful.

 

When you say there is a holdem table - is that an electronic one, or a real human dealer?

 

I sometimes exhibit a [cough] "self-restraint" problem, so I'll try and stick to a roll, I think :).

 

I've never played craps. Despite what I've been told many times, it's still an intimidating sight to watch. I'm guessing they'll have some lessons though, so maybe it'll be time to have a go. It's very rare in UK casinos. The conversations about spending hours practising your dice throwing and how bouncy the table is doesn't help my confidence either :).

 

Anybody who plays the machines care to comment on video poker/slots?

 

Thanks once again.

[Catroo]

cb and Catroo - thanks VERY much for all the information. Very helpful.

 

You're very welcome. :)

 

When you say there is a holdem table - is that an electronic one, or a real human dealer?

 

A real human dealer, with real human players. (GASP - I know!) If you're fortunate to have my friend Victoria (from Newcastle) as your dealer (and you probably will), you'll be in good stead -- at any table, though she likes the Hold 'em crowd. (Tell her: "Your Majesty, Sir 'Fill-The-Hat' Allen sends his humble greetings! <bow>" :D )

[Rex008]

You're very welcome. :)

 

 

 

A real human dealer, with real human players. (GASP - I know!) If you're fortunate to have my friend Victoria (from Newcastle) as your dealer (and you probably will), you'll be in good stead -- at any table, though she likes the Hold 'em crowd. (Tell her: "Your Majesty, Sir 'Fill-The-Hat' Allen sends his humble greetings! <bow>" :D )

 

I'll, errrrm, think about that, thanks. Probably after my 4th Long Island Ice Tea (gambling cocktail of champions) :D.

[CubbyBear25]

Hey Rex. I was on the Adventure of the Seas in January. Here is the deal with poker tourneys. They have this Royal Poker Tour. Basically, they have 1-table satellites for like $75 throughout the cruise. The winner of each satellite advances to the final (most likely played on final night). The winner of that wins a cruise for 2 on the Allure later this year, along with entry into a bigger tourney which has all the winners from all the cruises throughout the year. I think second place of the final tourney won like $300. It really was not worth it. I saw some guys spend $300 in entries just to try and make the final table to no avail. However, if you're bored and wanna play a tourney, not much better to do, right? As far as cash games, we had a steady group of guys who would meet up every night and ask the pit boss to start up a $1-2 game (which had a live dealer). That worked out well, as we usually played from 10 PM until they kicked us out at 2 or 3 each night. Hopefully this helps.

[Rex008]

Thanks for the info. If they're running the tournament, I'll probably give it 1 go for a laugh. Hopefully there will be some other players for a cash game. It's a Baltic cruise out of the UK, and although there are a fair few poker players over here, I suspect a US sailing probably attracts more. Still, I can live in hope. DW will live in hope there isn't :).

[aces389]

Not been on the Jewel but the other Royal ships that i have been on all had multi-game video poker in multi-denominations. Just poor paytables.

 

good luck:)

[Rex008]

Not been on the Jewel but the other Royal ships that i have been on all had multi-game video poker in multi-denominations. Just poor paytables.

 

good luck:)

 

Thanks for the info.

[TravelTammy]

Hi Rex008:

You can, for that 3% maintenance fee -- per use! -- pull a maximum of $2,000/day from your Seapass account for gambling only. It is a very easy process (which makes it extremely dangerous, IMO!): simply present your Seapass card to the dealer; the dealer presents it to the pit boss, who then brings you a chit to sign for your draw once the transaction is processed. With your autograph, the dealer passes you the pull in chips.

 

 

Question, if I want to play blackjack and give them my seapass and ask for cash at the table, do I get charged the 3% maintenance fee there too or is it only at the cashier window?

 

I know I've done it before but don't remember seeing a 3% fee.

Also, I'm specifically asking about RCCL

 

Thanks!

[Catroo]

Question, if I want to play blackjack and give them my seapass and ask for cash at the table, do I get charged the 3% maintenance fee there too or is it only at the cashier window?

 

I know I've done it before but don't remember seeing a 3% fee.

Also, I'm specifically asking about RCCL

 

Thanks!

 

The Seapass cash-to-play maintenance fee is added wherever you make the draw, whether it's at a table or at the cashier's window. (Think of it like the automatic 15% gratuity that's added to your bar/drink order - it's part of the set-up no matter where you are in the casino.)

[TravelTammy]

The Seapass cash-to-play maintenance fee is added wherever you make the draw, whether it's at a table or at the cashier's window. (Think of it like the automatic 15% gratuity that's added to your bar/drink order - it's part of the set-up no matter where you are in the casino.)

 

But I don't want to think of it that way, nor do I want to "tip" anyone just for letting me have my money that's on my seapass as onboard credit, LOL!

I'm just being funny but really I just wanted to see if there's anyway to get my money, hmmmmm.

 

Thanks :)

[richstowe]

If you ask for cash from the customer service desk (ship purser) can you get it? And can you get it without the 3% fee?