Well It Finally Happened On The NCL Bliss

[Tutontow]

My wife and I play blackjack with a little VP and LIR.  On October 13th we sailed the Bliss on a comped cruise out of LA.  We didn't gamble the first night.  On the second day, a sea day we lost $700.00.  On the third day, another sea day we lost another $700.00.  Sea days kill us gamblers.  I figure this is how it is going to go this cruise but oh well we budgeted for it.  On day three after Puerta Vallarta we brought $400.00 to the casino and lost that in short order.  I am now fed up with the $15.00 continuous shuffler machines.  I know it really doesn't matter unless you are counting but I just don't like them.

 

We decide to get a marker for $500.00. Yes we are too lazy to go back to the room for more cash.  We head to the $50.00 table which is an eight deck shoe game..  We get spanked in a hurry.  My wife and I are playing head to head with the dealer.  Nobody else is on the table.  She says let's get another $500.00, the bad cards are out, it has to change towards the end of the shoe.  Guess what, it did. We got back to even and then got our original $500.00 back from the first marker.

 

Now it gets interesting.  We started playing BJ in 1986.  We play basic strategy.  I own a blackjack table and have it in my bar at my home.  I have a friend who says the problem with five and ten dollar blackjack is you never get up enough to walk away.  Anyway I digress.  My wife and I are feeling a little bit better and I say screw it, let's go into the high limit room an play $100.00 a hand on a six deck shoe.  We'll buy in for $500.00 and see if we get lucky and catch a couple of good hands.

 

We mosey on in.  It is just her, me and the dealer.  She gets a blackjack right away and I catch a soft 18 against a dealers 6.  I double and get a 10.  The dealer busts.  Now we are having fun.  Before you know is we are having the run of our lives and tipping $50.00 a hand.  My wife keeps track of the money and she has a nice stack of purple chips in front of her.  We have had good runs before but never anything like this.  At one point we were playing $800.00 a hand and tipping $100.00 a hand.  I know many people play a lot bigger than this but this is huge for us.

 

When it is all said and done we won back everything we had lost and was up $5500.00 dollars.  An added bonus, we went back a couple of days later and won another $2200.00.  We are spoiled now.  $15.00 blackjack won't get it done any more.

[Sunseeker810]

Damn! Good for you!  It is nice to hear that somebody actually came away a winner!

[Sand and Seas]

Wow!   What a great outcome 

Have you called CAS to book another cruise yet?   

[Tutontow]

On 11/2/2018 at 10:37 PM, Sand and Seas said:

Wow!   What a great outcome 

Have you called CAS to book another cruise yet?   

We haven't scheduled another cruise yet.  I really like NCL and casinos at sea.  We have never had a problem getting a comped cruise.  I just call CAS and tell them what ship and the date and they take care of me.  Let me add the Bliss is wonderful.  Between the drink package and the Observation Lounge I never really got burned in the casino.  If we were losing too much we would just hang out in the Observation Lounge.

 

It was funny, two days after we got back a flyer came in the mail with several ships and dates from NCL / CAS for comped cruises.  Like I said earlier I just call and tell them when and where.

[Sand and Seas]

Would you go back on the Bliss?   Or will you look at another ship next time?

The Observation Lounge sounds wonderful, but I'm wondering how much it will be utilized on the Caribbean sailings.  We will have our first cruise on her in a CAS comped MiniSuite offer in February out of Miami. 

We had called CAS to check on an Alaska cruise on the Bliss for this last summer, but they would only offer us an OceanView due to the popularity that first season.  Instead we took our usual Mini-Suite (or Large Balcony) offer to Bermuda.

[Tutontow]

54 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

Would you go back on the Bliss?   Or will you look at another ship next time?

The Observation Lounge sounds wonderful, but I'm wondering how much it will be utilized on the Caribbean sailings.  We will have our first cruise on her in a CAS comped MiniSuite offer in February out of Miami. 

We had called CAS to check on an Alaska cruise on the Bliss for this last summer, but they would only offer us an OceanView due to the popularity that first season.  Instead we took our usual Mini-Suite (or Large Balcony) offer to Bermuda.

After being on the Bliss we are spoiled, so yes we would sail her again in a heartbeat.  No matter where you sail the Observation Lounge is a great place to hang out.  I highly recommend getting a cabin close to the OL.  Our cruise was in Mexico and we used the OL every day.  The bartenders we had in the OL were fantastic.  Of course we tipped well.  

 

The OL was a great meeting spot.  We had a friend sailing with us and we always met in the OL before shows and meals.  It is just a pleasant spot to look outside, people watch and have a good drink.

 

The OL also has some good cold cuts and cheese along with mixed nuts.  Many times I munched out on the salami and cheese to hold me over until our next meal.  Sometimes we would get back in from a port and would just need something to tide us over until our dinner reservations.

 

NCL really hit it out of the park with this ship.  The OL and waterfront are just great ideas that really are home runs.  The waterfront at night is just wonderful. 

 

Our friend has been on over sixty cruises from CCL to Celebrity and everything in between, she raves about the Bliss.

[Sand and Seas]

Thanks for the good info on the Bliss! 

With a beautiful ship (and a nice casino!) we can't wait for this cruise.    The Observation Lounge sounds like a perfect place to hangout after sail away from Tortola.   We will have to make friends with those bartenders in there too

[Tutontow]

13 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

Thanks for the good info on the Bliss! 

With a beautiful ship (and a nice casino!) we can't wait for this cruise.    The Observation Lounge sounds like a perfect place to hangout after sail away from Tortola.   We will have to make friends with those bartenders in there too

Her name is Gene.  She was working in the OL.  As you can see she is a real artist.  One is a perfect expresso martini the other is a mudslide.  She took great care of us all week.  For the life of me I can't remember the other waitress who also was very good.

[Sand and Seas]

Those do look good!   We will watch for her 🙂