Norwegian star trip report 6/24/12

[Dicenator]

NORWEGIAN STAR - TRIP REPORT - 6/24/12

The Star departed from Manhattan on Sunday 6/17. For the next 2 1/2 days it slowly cruised to Bermuda, arriving at 8 AM on Wednesday. It departed from Bermuda at 5 PM on Friday night arriving back at Manhattan at 8 AM this morning. The ship booked coming home averaging over 20 mph the whole way. This was our first time visiting Bermuda and we had 3 full days on this beautiful island.

Bermuda is part of the British Commonwealth therefore the language is English and they drive on the left side of the road. Visitors cannot rent cars in Bermuda, only motor scooters. They have a really well developed transportation system making use of buses and ferries. We bought a 3 day transportation pass for $28 each which gave us unlimited use of both the buses and the ferries for the whole time. We were docked at the Royal Dockyard which is at the farthest northwest tip of Bermuda. The shape of Bermuda is like a circle with an open section from about 10 o'clock to 1 o'clock. On the first day, Wed., we took the Ferry (20 minute ride) from the dockyard to Hamilton, the capital, where we spent about 3 hours wandering around sightseeing and shopping. The city was very picturesque and I took quite a few pictures of various buildings. What was interesting was that 99% of all the buildings on Bermuda were pastel colors. Most looked like they were colored stucco. The roofs were very interesting in that they were all white colored concrete looking to be anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. The concrete is due to the frequent hurricanes which get to Bermuda every year.

On the second day we took the bus to Horseshoe Bay, a pink sand beach on the southern end of the island. The beach was beautiful with talcum like clean sand. The water temperature was around 78/79 degrees so it was very easy to go in and was crystal clear with no seaweed. In fact I spent probably 2 out of the 3 hours we were there in the water. Renting beach chairs was kind of expensive costing $15 for the day. We got there at 9:30 in the morning and there weren't too many people there at that time. When we were leaving at 1:00 the place was packed. If you want to go to this beach go in the morning. If you want seclusion and don't mind walking you can walk east from Horseshoe Bay and you will come upon cove after cove of small beaches. You have to walk down a hill from the bus stop to get to the beach. Going back up that hill is tough but you can get a ride up the hill for $2.

The third day we went to snorkel park which is a man made beach right at the dockyard and is within walking distance from the ship. I wouldn't recommend this beach. The sand was coarse and there were rocks in the water for about the first 15 feet or so of entering the water from the beach. I managed to pick my way through the rocks and once in the water you were surrounded by tropical fish. However the day was somewhat overcast and I didn't stay there all that long. The whole dockyard area has been developed and the National Maritime Museum is there along with a host of shops.

Bermuda does not have any casinos and I didn't research whether there is any nightlife anywhere on the island. Being booked on a ship your food is supplies along with shows bars and entertainment. Just an impression but Bermuda seemed a little sleepy to me.

A little information about the ship itself. The Norwegian Star was commissioned in 2001 and displaces 91,700 tons with a length of 971 feet and a beam of 107 feet. The overall layout of the ship is almost identical to other Norwegian ships that I've been on; Dawn, Jewel and Gem. It was refurbished in 2010 but it is still showing signs of aging. I noticed that the top edges of the wood on the coffee table in the stateroom had the stain worn down to the wood and that on the balcony I could see some spots of rust here and there but I'm sure this happens to even a brand new ship within a year of service. The market cafe (buffet) was just a straight line layout which could get crowded at times. The Gem had different stations which made for a much quicker and easier flow for the passengers. We went to one show on the ship and that was Second City Comedy and the show was pretty good.

Now for the Casino: It was well laid out and brightly lit. There were 192 machines, slots and video poker total. They had blackjack ranging from $5 min to $25 min. At the $5 blackjack they paid 6:5 for a blackjack and that was with an 8 deck continuous shuffle machine. At the $10 table the payoff for a blackjack was 3:2 with an 8 deck hand shuffle. The $25 table had hand shuffling with 6 decks. There was 1 roulette, 1 Let it Ride, 1 Ultimate Texas Hold em and two 3 card poker and 1 craps table. All of these games had $5 minimum bets.

Before I get to craps I want to mention that any ship docked in Bermuda cannot have the casino opened or the on-board shops while in dock. For my trip there was no casino action at all on Wednesday or Thursday. The casino reopened at 8 PM on Friday. The craps table was opened around 1 PM on every at sea day although with only a stickman and 1 dealer. Luckily for me the dealer was always at the SR side of the table. If the half table filled up they would bring in the second dealer very quickly. One of the supervisors who sat box at the craps table remembered me from the Gem last November when I had the 54 throw hand. Both my wife and myself were able to transfer our casino points from last year onto our Norwegian Star players card so we both got the free drink cards. You need to accumulate 1500 points to get the free drinks. I did play some Ultimate Texas Hold em I think 3 different times during the week and won around $200. There is no skill involved in this game only being in the right seat at the right time.

CRAPS: The craps table was 12 feet long with a dark blue smooth micro fiber layout with some soft rubbery cushioning beneath it which made the table extremely bouncy. The max. bet was $300 and they had 3X/4X/5X odds with no proposition bets other than hardways, horn, high low etc. A straight path from the pass line went to the straight section of the wall. The table was so bouncy that I even had a Underhand throw bounce off the table the first time that has ever happened to me. If I was in Atlantic City I would never play on a table this bouncy but on a ship you have no choice. I was not happy with how my throwing was working so I really cut back the amount of playing time that I spent at the table. I tried 4 different throwing styles; Underhand, Parr, Push and Dice Magic (off-axis throw). I don't feel that I got any consistency with any of them. I was able to spend some practice time at the craps table every day even in the presence of the casino manager who didn't care. I guess she knew that the table was unbeatable.

My practice rig at home and the casinos that I play at all have neutral bounce characteristics so using the Mad Professors Underhand terms I would call my throwing; low, slow and easy. What this table required was ultra low slow and easy. I will admit that I am not capable of making a ultra low slow and easy throw with enough consistency to beat a extremely bouncy table. Yes there were moments of sunshine which I'll detail shortly. One small modification I made to my Underhand throw was when I pull my hand in toward my body by 2 or 3 inches as I start my throw what I did was use a fraction of a second stop after pulling the dice in toward me before I executed the forward throwing motion.

Sunday

U Hand 5 throws

Parr 3 throws

U Hand 6 throws 1 point 1 come out win

Dice Magic 7 throws

U Hand 13 throws 1 come out win

Monday

U Hand 9 throws

U Hand 5 throws

Push 12 throws 3 come out wins

U Hand 8 throws 1 come out win

Parr 4 throws

EVENING

U Hand 22 throws 3 points 2 come out wins

U Hand 15 throws 2 come out wins

Dice Magic 7 throws

Tuesday

Push 11 throws

Parr 28 throws 3 points 2 come out wins

Parr 14 throws 1 point 1 come out win

Parr 24 throws 1 come out win

Parr 7 throws

Parr 10 throws 3 points

Friday

U Hand 12 throws 1 point 1 come out win

U Hand 9 throws 1 point

Parr 10 throws 1 point 2 come out wins

Saturday

U Hand 5 throws

U Hand 32 throws 5 points 1 come out win

U Hand 6 throws 2 come out wins

EVENING

U Hand 8 throws

U Hand 8 throws 1 come out win

U Hand 28 throws 4 points 2 come out wins

U Hand 6 throws 1 point

I feel that I had a moment of brilliance with my Parr throwing on Tuesday which I couldn't maintain. On Saturday I finally felt that I had some semblance of a good Ultra slow and easy throw going but was somewhat unlucky with the short hand 7 outs.

Even on the short hands most of the throws were inside box numbers so I did manage to win close to $300 for the week which I consider acceptable along with the $200 win at Ultimate Texas Hold em. Again I was the only DI on the ship and the only regular playing craps every day. All I saw was chicken feeders all week long with dice bouncing off the table regularly.

I've been on 3 Norwegian ships in the past year; the Jewel, the Gem and the Star. The Jewel and the Star both had extremely bouncy tables which were not fun to play on. The Gem on the other hand had one of the best tables I've ever played on anywhere. On all of the Carnival ships; Valor, Liberty, Glory, Legend and Victory that I've been on the tables have been identical within a few % points of each other.

Dicenator

[Keith1010]

Thanks for posting your report.

 

Keith

[chrisc71]

Thanks for the report on the tables.