CB 9-30 review...long!

[alexspepaw]

CB 9-30 Trip Report (long…)

First of all, thanks to all who helped me plan this trip by posting good tips on this site. I even picked up $150 OBC I did not know about by reading this board.

Also – this review is for information purposes only, and while I will be happy to answer any and all questions pertaining to the cruise experience, I do not intend to be drawn into an argument regarding the morality of smoking, smuggling liquor, pre-marital sex, post-marital sex, smoking pot, or anything else – so flamers beware!

This was one of the best cruise experiences I have had out of about 10 cruises on Princess, NCL, RCCL, and a couple of now defunct lines. Overall the food was great, service was good to great, the ship was very clean, etc. I heard some gripes about charging for special coffees, ice cream, etc. – guess what, my first cruise in 1984 cost more for an inside cabin than my balcony on the CB this year. Add in inflation, and a cruise today is much less than it cost 20 years ago, even with charging for extras.

Day One – Flight - traveling party includes myself, my wife Dottie, brother Mike and his wife Lori, and honeymooners Mitch and Sue. The wedding had taken place in my backyard the previous day, which prevented us from flying in our customary day early. Needless to say, I was watching the weather closely. We had a 7:50 direct flight out of Charlotte, and everything went well including an upgrade to 1st class for Dottie and me. The flight was a bit bumpy, and I am a scared flier so it took a couple of screwdrivers to settle my nerves. We landed on time at 10:00, took a cab to the terminal and were there by 11:00.

Embarkation – They gave us a #2 card, and they began boarding shortly after 12:00. Once we started boarding, we were in our stateroom in less than 15 minutes. Nice job Princess!

Cabin – C753 – corner aft balcony on Caribe – again, thank you CC! My TA wanted to try for an upgrade, but I knew from my reading that this was a prime cabin, so I said NO! Big balcony with a great view out the back…we would leave the door open and listen to the wake at night. We always gathered for pre-dinner drinks on our balcony, and there was plenty of room for the six of us. We had a table and four chairs, and we would bring another chair from inside the cabin. Our cabin steward was Ronaldo, and he did an excellent job of keeping our cabin clean and stocked with ice. He also had our egg crate pads on the bed as we had requested by fax.

Lunch – we had lunch at the Horizon Court…very good beef short ribs which we did not see the rest of the cruise, I guess they were from the Prime Rib the night before.

Regarding the Horizon Court buffet, I had read a lot of negative comments regarding the lay-out. I found the lay-out to be very accommodating, as long as you did not try and stay in line for everything. It is a “dive-in” event – if you see an opening for the fried rice – go for it and come back later if there is a line for the fish. I always had my food back at the table less than two minutes after I started selecting items.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the ship…it was raining on and off, so we stayed inside most of the time.

Dinner – after a balcony cocktail we ate at the Horizon Court (HC) on the first night. We had lobster claws, crablegs, etc. Both were very good, although the scoring on the claws was not good, and we had a tough time opening them. One of the waiters saw our dilemma and brought us a plate thoroughly cracked!

Liquor – yes, we did smuggle booze on board. I packed mini-bottles of rum and vodka, as well as a small bottle of Baileys for our coffee. We still had a sizeable bar tab as well by the end of the cruise. We used the mini-bottles in our cabin, and I would also take one on deck. We all purchased Coke cards so we could have mixers at anytime.

Casino – I do not play blackjack, roulette, etc. I like Texas Hold-em, and I was very interested in the electronic table I had read about. They only had one, and it usually filled up from 8:00 on. I absolutely loved it…easy to play, and I will be glad to answer any questions about it. You got a poker card from the cashier (think of it as a prepaid debit card) and purchased chips with it at the table – it inserted like a slot players card. We mostly had the same group playing each night. Dottie was tired from all the wedding stuff, so she turned in early. I played until about 1:00 – the game was $1-$2 No Limit, and I won $450 the first night…woo hoo! What a way to start my cruise!

I retired to my cabin – the sailing 1st night was extremely rough for a cruise – it did not make me ill or anything, but several times I woke up when we hit a big wave. My wife admitted to being nervous…plus we were in the very back.

Day Two a little later…

[strummer]

Thanks for the review - looking forward to hearing the rest as ailing the CB in Feb 08

[Solida123]

To hear the chapters about the pre- and post-marital sex! No but seriously, what does one need to do to get the $150 OBC? I saw some posts about it and a brochure error??? Could someone explain the issue?

[alexspepaw]

Day Two – Princess Cays – got up around 8:00 and we all met at the HC for breakfast. The selection was plentiful, and they had my favorite lox and bagels which I had every day. They offered lots of eggs, bacon, sausages, corned beef hash (another fav) cheeses and meats, pastries, fruit, etc. My wife loves watermelon and cantaloupe, and she pronounced the fruit excellent. I also had my Baileys and coffee to get the day started off on the right foot!

Bungalow - We had booked a Bungalow on the island, and that got us priority tender tickets. They had originally only given me 2 priority tickets, but a quick stop by the tour desk on Sunday afternoon corrected that, and we headed over to the island. The bungalows (there are only about 6-7, although they are building more) were to the left and a good little walk. We picked up the 2 floats I had reserved and settled in. The bungalows are small with a table inside the AC building. There is a shower outside, and loungers set up with a reserved sign. The head waiter was quick to show up and give us the basics, and to tell us lunch would be along at 11:30. I tipped him $5, and we tipped the waiter $20 after lunch was served. Lunch consisted of a ridiculous amount of chicken, huge hot dogs, burgers, cheese, crackers, corn, fruit and cookies and brownies. It was all very good. Drink service was slow to start, but then very prompt after that. They also kept our pitchers of ice water filled. The beach was right in front of us – be sure and wear some type of water shoes as it is rocky; my Crocs worked well. I tried to find the old grave site, but I think it may have been on the other side of the resort, or I did not walk far enough. Oh well – about 3:00 we headed back for Bingo. I did not win, even though we played every day. My brother did win $200 once however. If anyone has Bingo-related questions, ask away.

Dinner – we met at the Palm for dinner at 6:00. I ordered the Fettuccini Alfredo (always available)and Lamb Shank, even though some of the reviews were kind of iffy on the lamb. The fettuccini was very good, and the lamb shank was delicious and fall off the bone tender; I don’t know if I got lucky or what. For dessert I got the Love Boat chocolate thing and I had it almost every night, if that tells you anything.

Casino - After dinner I headed down to the Casino, which was pretty busy. I sat down at the poker table again, and left about midnight with another profit of $250! I am afraid that those of you waiting for reviews on shows are going to be disappointed. I want to give a big shout-out to all the great people I met at the poker table, and not just because I won. We had a great time all week, and pretty much the same crowd played every night or so.

more tomorrow...

[raydon]

Thanks for the review. Will watch for the rest. We have B748 in 11/25 and said no upgrade! We figured, based on the weather here in South Florida on your sailing day it would be a rough ride out. It was also quite blustery this Sat, but not as bad, so maybe the last night wasn't as bad for you.

[alexspepaw]

To hear the chapters about the pre- and post-marital sex! No but seriously, what does one need to do to get the $150 OBC? I saw some posts about it and a brochure error??? Could someone explain the issue?

 

I have to get permission first...but my bro and his wife did ask to borrow our balcony one day. I thought they just wanted to get a tan, but on reflection...

 

Re the OBC, Princess posted a $75 future credit on a lot of peoples' Captains Circle accounts. I found mine by reading about it hear, and then logging onto the "MY Princess" part of the princess web site. It was supposed to be for future bookings, but my TA called and talked then into posting it to the 9-30 cruise, just 2 days before we left. Very nice of Princess I thought, as they did not have to do that The $150 for Dottie and myself was waiting for us. My brother and the honeymooners did not get the credit; I suspect because they had not sailed Princess before.

[alexspepaw]

Thanks for the review. Will watch for the rest. We have B748 in 11/25 and said no upgrade! We figured, based on the weather here in South Florida on your sailing day it would be a rough ride out. It was also quite blustery this Sat, but not as bad, so maybe the last night wasn't as bad for you.

 

I actually kind of enjoyed the ride out, we must have been heading into it as it was more up and down as opposed to sideways.

[tinman1717]

We were on the same cruise Caribe balcony, Starboard Aft (last room).That first night at sea was definitely out of the ordinary. I woke up to a loud bang about 4 A.M. which must have been the aft smacking the ocean. In my previous eight cruises i had never expieirienced anything like it. My poor GF did not make it to dinner as she was ill from the motion.:( That being said after that night the Cruise was FANTASTIC!!:D :D :p ;) We also had a bungalow WELL WORTH IT!! I am now a porud Princess Alumni and will most likely never sail Carnival again. I hope to write a more detailed review later for first timers like me.

[alexspepaw]

We were on the same cruise Caribe balcony, Starboard Aft (last room).That first night at sea was definitely out of the ordinary. I woke up to a loud bang about 4 A.M. which must have been the aft smacking the ocean. In my previous eight cruises i had never expieirienced anything like it. My poor GF did not make it to dinner as she was ill from the motion.:( That being said after that night the Cruise was FANTASTIC!!:D :D :p ;) We also had a bungalow WELL WORTH IT!! I am now a porud Princess Alumni and will most likely never sail Carnival again. I hope to write a more detailed review later for first timers like me.

 

we were also starboard aft on Caribe...best location ever for me. Were you in the suite beside me?

[VIKINGCRUISER]

Day Two – Princess Cays – got up around 8:00 and we all met at the HC for breakfast. The selection was plentiful, and they had my favorite lox and bagels which I had every day. They offered lots of eggs, bacon, sausages, corned beef hash (another fav) cheeses and meats, pastries, fruit, etc. My wife loves watermelon and cantaloupe, and she pronounced the fruit excellent. I also had my Baileys and coffee to get the day started off on the right foot!

Bungalow - We had booked a Bungalow on the island, and that got us priority tender tickets. They had originally only given me 2 priority tickets, but a quick stop by the tour desk on Sunday afternoon corrected that, and we headed over to the island. The bungalows (there are only about 6-7, although they are building more) were to the left and a good little walk. We picked up the 2 floats I had reserved and settled in. The bungalows are small with a table inside the AC building. There is a shower outside, and loungers set up with a reserved sign. The head waiter was quick to show up and give us the basics, and to tell us lunch would be along at 11:30. I tipped him $5, and we tipped the waiter $20 after lunch was served. Lunch consisted of a ridiculous amount of chicken, huge hot dogs, burgers, cheese, crackers, corn, fruit and cookies and brownies. It was all very good. Drink service was slow to start, but then very prompt after that. They also kept our pitchers of ice water filled. The beach was right in front of us – be sure and wear some type of water shoes as it is rocky; my Crocs worked well. I tried to find the old grave site, but I think it may have been on the other side of the resort, or I did not walk far enough. Oh well – about 3:00 we headed back for Bingo. I did not win, even though we played every day. My brother did win $200 once however. If anyone has Bingo-related questions, ask away.

Dinner – we met at the Palm for dinner at 6:00. I ordered the Fettuccini Alfredo (always available)and Lamb Shank, even though some of the reviews were kind of iffy on the lamb. The fettuccini was very good, and the lamb shank was delicious and fall off the bone tender; I don’t know if I got lucky or what. For dessert I got the Love Boat chocolate thing and I had it almost every night, if that tells you anything.

Casino - After dinner I headed down to the Casino, which was pretty busy. I sat down at the poker table again, and left about midnight with another profit of $250! I am afraid that those of you waiting for reviews on shows are going to be disappointed. I want to give a big shout-out to all the great people I met at the poker table, and not just because I won. We had a great time all week, and pretty much the same crowd played every night or so.

more tomorrow...

 

 

ALEXSPEPAW,

Just out of curiosity, how far out did you book your bungalow?

 

I'm hoping to be as lucky as you to reserve one!

 

TIA

[alexspepaw]

ALEXSPEPAW,

Just out of curiosity, how far out did you book your bungalow?

 

I'm hoping to be as lucky as you to reserve one!

 

TIA

 

I got it the first day you could book excursions, and they were all gone the next day. I'm not sure how far out that was, but if you do a search on booking excursions I am sure you will get an answer...I learned from this board that the bungalows go quickly.

 

for six people the $200 was well worth it.

[flvol77]

We also had a bungalow on the this cruise - one thing there is a new pricing structure that is about to go into effect - they are going to have a "VIP treatment" that is 299 for 2 people and $48 dollars extra for each additional two people. That $299 or $295 will include everything that they give now and the $199 is going to be for the bungalow only and no food delivered.

 

JMO I am glad we still got the old pricing because under the new structure there is no way we would have paid $400 for 6 people. I have the sheet and I will try and scan it in for all to see.

 

Also beware of the pricing in the spa - online 7 days before our cruise my wife's massage was $119 when she went to pay it was $129 I know its only $10 but whatever, oh and they changed her time from 10:30am to 9:30 am which was kind of a drag because she loves to sleep in the second day of the cruise and take it easy..

 

We had a good cruise overall - I think the dining room experience is better, we loved the new menus and the we had a great service. Hozion Court and Cafe Caribe was good, Sterlings for the first time in our seven Princess cruises was just avg and we were disappointed, we had great service but the food just wasn't up to par.

 

Charlie Sleeth was on the Piano and he is SO MUCH more talented that crazy man they usually have playing. It was the second time we have heard CS and he is flat out amazing. He is so talented.

 

Our Room steward was horrible, she wouldn't do a damn thing for us, we asked her to make sure we had a large bottled water in our room everyday and it never happened, we had to ask and ask and ask, finally we just called room service. We asked for Wine glasses and never got them, we had to call room service for them also. We keep our cabin very clean, so she had very little work in our cabin but she wouldn't do anything extra for us...don't get me started about the ice.....

 

But, all and all we usually make the best of things, we love Princess and have no desire to try another line.

 

If you have any questions ask.

[VIKINGCRUISER]

I got it the first day you could book excursions, and they were all gone the next day. I'm not sure how far out that was, but if you do a search on booking excursions I am sure you will get an answer...I learned from this board that the bungalows go quickly.

 

for six people the $200 was well worth it.

 

 

Thank you

[alexspepaw]

Day 3 – Sea Day

My favorite days are always sea days…if they ever have a seven day cruise with no stops, I will be the first person to sign up. Breakfast for the most part is the same routine for all 7 days, so I will not bore you with repetition.

I had visited the library on Sunday and checked out a thick book of short stories to read during the cruise, and after breakfast I found a lounge chair in a quiet place topside and read for awhile. A good place when it is hot is the partition area where the AC vents are – a cool breeze comes out of them. Regarding the weather, it was overcast for a good portion of the cruise, which I actually prefer, but of course the sun worshipers (including my wife) were disappointed.

We had lunch at the HC and I also tried the pizza - which while not terrible was also not great. The HC always had someone slicing pork, roast beef, turkey, etc. I think today was the day they had a pretty good Bolognese Lasagna. The hard rolls were very good and I always had a couple at lunch and dinner.

MUTS – I don’t have a complete list of the movies because I did not hang out in this pool area much, but my wife loved this feature. The picture quality was very good. They had NFL football on Sunday and Monday nights, and some of the movies I do remember were – Must Love Dogs, Ice Age 2, several Spiderman movies, Rocky Horror (at midnight), Over the Hedge, Mission Impossible, - also they had a Bob Marley concert and a Beyonce concert.

Dinner – first formal night – we made reservations for the Palm at 6:00, and were seated at what would become our table. The waiter was Vincente from Mexico, and his asst. Elvis, also from Mexico. He brought us the cokes and diet cokes we requested, and from then on whenever we sat down he had them already at the table for us. Elvis quickly learned we liked the hard rolls, and we always had a basket of them on our table. We did have anytime dining, but we enjoyed the service so much we requested Vincente each night. The concierge would never confirm the table, but would put in the request and we never had a problem. Each night Vincente would go over every menu item and give his recommendations, and they were usually spot on. I had the duck breast appetizer, bow tie pasta and the twin filets for dinner. I was going to have a glass of wine with dinner, but Vincente talked me into spending some of my poker money on a nice bottle of Brunello di Montilcino. He promised to keep the unfinished bottle for me, and I enjoyed a glass each night for the rest of the cruise (I was the only wine drinker in the party). Dinner was very good, and afterwards I headed downstairs again to see if I could recoup my wine costs.

Casino – the casino was a little more crowded – regarding smoking, they did not allow smoking at the tables, but you could step away and smoke so there was still a lot of complaining by non-smokers. I do not smoke, but it does not bother me either, so to me it is a non-issue; of course it is a hotly debated topic and I only mention it for informational purposes. I played in two tournaments, then a cash game and ended up $30, so my winning streak had slowed down a little. I would like to commend the two Casino Hostesses, Michelle and MJ, who were very personable and quick to answer any questions.

I headed up to my balcony and was treated to a very nice light show from the storm behind us before turning in.

[tinman1717]

we were also starboard aft on Caribe...best location ever for me. Were you in the suite beside me?

 

No the very last Balcony. We probably walked right past each other!

Great Room. Loved it1

[tinman1717]

ALEXSPEPAW,

Just out of curiosity, how far out did you book your bungalow?

 

I'm hoping to be as lucky as you to reserve one!

 

TIA

 

TIA, we were on the wait list and found out the first day we had been cleared for a bungalow. So make sure you book it b/c you never know.

[alexspepaw]

Day Four – Ochos Rio, Jamaica

As far as I am concerned, this was just another sea day, only at anchor. Jamaica – been there, done that and don’t ever want to do that again. We awoke to find us tied up at the secondary pier, which looks like it should be condemned. After my lox and Baileys and coffee, I read while Dottie and the gang went ashore. Of course they were back within two hours telling me I was right to stay aboard. I think the Dunns River falls would have been the only think I would have gone to see, but as I mentioned before, it’s all about the ship to me. We had lunch at the HC, don’t remember exactly what but it was good. They have a very plentiful selection, and the Caribe Court behind the HC has some different items on it as well. I know the pastry reviews on this ship have not been great, but I found the cream puffs to be pretty tasty, especially the pistachios.

After the obligatory bingo session, we got ready for dinner – that means a rum and coke or two on the balcony!

Dinner – We had told Vincenzio we would request his table, and he and Elvis were waiting for us with Cokes, Diet Cokes and hard rolls. He explained the menu items to us (Italian Night) and went to fetch my wine; I really like the left-over wine feature.

One thing I forgot to mention about Day 3 – we were offered Escargot even though it was not on the menu. Mine was good, but not as good as I remembered from a few years ago…still available though.For tonight he recommended the Eggplant Parm, the Rabbit Pasta and the Veal Chop. I ordered all three – the Eggplant was delicious, the Pasta very good, and the Veal Chop was the one of the best things I have ever tasted. It was roasted, like a Prime Rib, and would almost melt in your mouth. Even though I was stuffed, I asked Vincenzio to bring me another one, and I skipped dessert. The second one was just as good, so I did not just luck out on the first chop.

Casino – Sorry again about the lack of reviews on shows, but blame it on the makers of the fabulous PokerPro Electronic Table! Also – I need to thank my lovely wife for allowing me to play each night – a cruise with great food and poker? There may indeed be a heaven. This would be my first losing session, as I suffered a very bad beat to a very nice guy we called Stiffler (after American Pie), and lost a $300 pot to runner-runner hearts. Oh well, I battled back to only lose $50 for the night, so still a very good week so far.

Café Caribe – Late Night – I did check out the Caribe afterwards, and they have a nice bistro after 11:00PM, with about five dishes to choose from (full service) I remember a steak, omelet, pasta dish and a couple of other things…I did not order however.

See you in Grand Caymans!

[alexspepaw]

Day Five – Grand Caymans

Woke up to find us sharing the harbor with a RCCL ship and also a Carnival one…after our usual breakfast routine we tendered over to Grand Caymans to do some shopping. I had promised Dottie I would buy her a watch for letting play so much poker; but she did not see anything that she felt she needed. My sister-in-law did get a tattoo - her exact words were “getting a tattoo…let me tell ya, it’s painful.” Hmmm, don’t think I needed to get one to know that, but thanks anyway Lori. Mitch and I managed to break away from the group and sneak back on board after a couple of hours.

No bingo today which did not please some of our crowd; but I was not complaining. After a very lazy afternoon, we got ready for dinner and headed to Table 124 in the Palm.

Dinner – Tonight was the 2nd formal night; our crowd opted for suits instead of tuxes, but I did see quite a few tuxes, mainly from the many English passengers on board. Tonight was Lobster night, and I opted for the Veal Pasta and Lobster Tails (now you get one lobster tail and two large prawns, so those of us eating lobster tails went ahead and ordered seconds as soon as the entrée arrived.) Also – Vincente offered French Onion Soup even though it had been removed from the menu…Dottie had some and it was very good! I also ordered a bottle of white wine to go with my dinner – ½ bottle and 3 lobster tails later I was fat and happy.

Casino – down to the Casino for late night poker, where I got back on my winning streak for a $200 profit – unfortunately most of that came from my brother, Mike. Oh Well…keeping it in the family at least.

 

Back in the cabin, we were treated to another great light show off to starboard.

[calisota]

Glad you liked the Poker-Pro table so much. It is so much easier to run than a traditional table with a dealer (no disputes or "human error"), can be set up easily to run all sorts of different games and tournaments and can even be kept open after the rest of the casino has shut if the players want to keep playing. It's also a great way for beginners to get an introduction to the game because all of their options are on the screen for them.

 

Some people say it's an abomination and should be thrown overboard but on the whole it is a very popular game. You also get to keep your individualised card as a keepsake. :-)

 

Greg

[alexspepaw]

Glad you liked the Poker-Pro table so much. It is so much easier to run than a traditional table with a dealer (no disputes or "human error"), can be set up easily to run all sorts of different games and tournaments and can even be kept open after the rest of the casino has shut if the players want to keep playing. It's also a great way for beginners to get an introduction to the game because all of their options are on the screen for them.

 

Some people say it's an abomination and should be thrown overboard but on the whole it is a very popular game. You also get to keep your individualised card as a keepsake. :-)

 

Greg

Hey Greg...were you the cashier aboard CB last week? If so - thanks for your help in signing up for the card and the tournamens, and tell Michelle and MJ Keith said hello.

[alexspepaw]

Day Six – Cozumel

Yay…more lox and bagels; I think we also had grits today to go with my corned beef hash, so great breakfast to start the day.

I was actually awakened by the sound of the ships engines revving at a high speed several times. By the time I stumbled out of bed we were tied up at the quay in Cozumel, and a Carnival ship was docking beside us. The captain announced that we had had some problems with the current, and that was the reason for the engine noise.

After breakfast, Mike, Lori, Dottie and I headed to Cozumel. Mitch and Sue decided to stay on board for some “honeymoon time”. Mike and Lori wanted to rent a jeep and explore, and I said OK – I figured it would be about $200, but Mike walked up to a guy with a sign and $50 and ten minutes later we had a nice jeep for the entire day. Mike drove us to the other side of the island and we had lunch and a few adult beverages at Coconuts, which is a bar that sits on top of a big rock (the only big rock) alongside the sea. Excellent guacamole and chips, and very large margaritas were enjoyed. They had a big stack of photo albums on the bar, and we started looking through them. All the pictures were of women guests in various stages of undress – mostly topless. Like I said, very good margaritas indeed.

We drove along the rocky shore, and swam in a small lagoon for a while, and then headed back to the ship, having enjoyed a very nice excursion on our own.

Dinner – King crab legs and rack of lamb – the rack of lamb was the first thing that was not great, but it was certainly OK. I also of course had the cheese soufflé for an appetizer – outstanding. I had my Love Boat Dream for dessert, and then though I know you won’t believe it, we actually went to a show.

Comedic Juggler – comedic he was not, but he could certainly juggle. All the jokes were recycled, although I did like the one where he said Ocho Rios was Spanish for “stay on ship”. He could juggle his a__ off though.

Casino – they had another tournament, and my brother Mike won! He was prouder of the hat he got than the money, and he kept flaunting it the rest of the cruise – “yeah, I know you are winning, but you know what you don’ got? You don’t got a hat.” I play in the cash game and come back from losing $100 in the tourney to finish up $100 for the night. They are going to have to throw me off this ship. I also found a $100 bill on the casino floor when I got up to go to the restroom once. There was no one within 10 feet of it. I told the casino host that if someone was missing money to send them to me at the poker table and they could have it back (did not want any bad karma hanging over me). No one ever did, so…

Back to my balcony, where I hang on the rail for awhile and enjoy the wake before turning in.

 

Oh - almost forgot - I like to stand on deck at sailing time and watch all the people come in at the last minute(yes, i am a sadist I know)...sure enough I was rewarded by seeing a couple run about 200 yards down the quay - they were already 15 minutes late. They were quite fortunate the Captain waited, and he was quite put out. He made an announcement that "apparantly some or our passenger keep time with a calender instead of a watch".

 

Also enteresting to watch all the inebriated Carnival crowd come aboard their ship as well.

[DiTomCruisers]

Great review Alex...

 

Question about Poker.. Is it regular Texas Hold'em with dealers, etc? How many tables do they have?

[happy cruzer]

What's the rake or vig, you know how much does the casino take? On the ring game? on the tourneys?

 

You must be a Poker God. Can't wait to hear the final results.

[TSM AND JP]

Hi Alexpaw - love your review. We were part of your Cruise Critic Roll Call on the CB. Your review is spot on - we too stood on our balcony and watched as everyone cheered the latecomers on board in Cozumel. I'll never forget the sounds of everyone yelling Run, Run, Run!!!!

 

Truly this was a fabulous cruise - we are first time cruisers and are hooked. The CB is a beautiful ship. We were on the Riviera deck and our Cabin Steward Benjamin took the best care of us. Our egg crate matress pad was on our bed when we arrived, the robes were delivered that night and when we asked for Wine Glasses, he brought them right away, and brought us fresh ones every day. The icebucket was always filled - we were fortunate to have him take such good care of us.

 

To all of you going on the CB in the future, you will love this ship!

 

Enjoy!

[alexspepaw]

What's the rake or vig, you know how much does the casino take? On the ring game? on the tourneys?

 

You must be a Poker God. Can't wait to hear the final results.

 

 

"Great review Alex...

 

Question about Poker.. Is it regular Texas Hold'em with dealers, etc? How many tables do they have?"

 

Only one table and it was set to 1/2 NLHE all week. On cash games the rake is a reasonable 10% with a $6 max rake per hand. i say reasonable because that is only $1 more than oker rooms in Vegas, and you do not have to tip a dealer. This was the first week they had NL; previously it had been limit and the casino staff said it was much busier than it had been in weeks prior.

 

On tournaments they collect 10% of the pot - again, I have seen much worse.

 

It is an electronic table and there is no dealer - no mis-deals, no pot miscalculations, no improper betting amounts, no string betting, NO CONTROVERSY whatsoever. Also you get more hands per hour, so the casino is making more money without paying a dealer.

 

I think that within 5 years we may see these all over the country, the comraderie was actually better than when you have a dealer at the table, and I think beginners are actually less aprehensive about playing on them.

I am a big convert to these tables.

 

As to my abilities as a player, I do play a lot here in Charlotte(illegally I might add, thanks to the asinine laws in my home state of NC) and on the inernet, but in my group of players I am considered above average to above average at best. However, it quickly became apparent that solid T/A play would cash almost every night.

 

I would be happy to answer any more questions if you have some...

 

Final Day review with grand total coming tomorrow~:)