Blackjack on Caribbean Princess

[RosieR]

Is it true the lowest blackjack table on C.P. is $25? I remember reading something about it on the boards. Seems a little too high for me.

[HighRoller]

The lowest Blackjack limit is $5.00 on any Princess Ship.

[spongerob]

You might have read one of my rather critical comments about the casino operations when we were aboard the Caribbean Princess. Or maybe it was the Golden Princess. The casino was short-staffed and the only "pure" blackjack table that was open in the early evening had a $25 minimum. You could play Lucky Spin or Super Fun(or whatever high house edge blackjack-based games they were offering) for $5. There were no problems filling an unadulterated table with green chip players. Anyway, that could be where that comment came from. Perhaps it has changed since we last cruised.

[HighRoller]

Spongerob and others, $5.00 is the amount that buys you in on a blackjack table at any Princess Casino, if they don't have a table open with the table limit you would like to play, simply speak to the casino host or an Assistant Manager and they will gladly open one for you....no one should have to be forced to play a table minimum because of the time of day etc....

[spongerob]

The circumstances I encountered might have been unusual. I assiduously avoid the jazzed-up variant games for obvious reasons, but those were the only ones open with a $5 limit. This must have been on the Golden - they'd lost a number of their dealers to the Caribbean Princess which had done its first cruise the prior week. More than one person tried to sit down beside me at the $25 table only to find out that it was for green chips or better. The circumstance was notable because it was so unusual. Perhaps incorrectly, I interpretted the setup as part of the new casino managments' desire to force people into playing higher edge games if they didn't want to play with larger minimum bets.

[HighRoller]

Spongerob that's wasn't right of them at all and I am franky surprised it happened, not that I disbelive you or anything just never encountered such a situation. Like I mentioned before, next time this situation unfolds if it ever happens again, get someone to open up a table a suitable limit that suits your needs.

[johnql]

You could play Lucky Spin or Super Fun(or whatever high house edge blackjack-based games they were offering) for $5. There were no problems filling an unadulterated table with green chip players.

spongerob, I may be misreading or misunderstanding your post, but I think I know which BJ games you're talking about. If I'm right, couldn't you just play at those tables without taking part in the side bet, which is where the higher house edges come from?

[spongerob]

As long as the standard blackjack rules and payoffs remain the same, I guess you could. Some of the add-on games have significant changes, others don't. I just avoid them all on general principles. I really didn't investigate further since I wasn't the one upset about the table limits - I don't mind playing green, but it leaves my wife out who gets uncomfortable playing with any color other than red.

 

My comments about the lack of a "pure" lower limit game were included in a much longer post about what I perceived as some negative aspects of casino operations since the Carnival corporate contractor has taken over Princess casinos. I assumed that the other BJ variants were of the high-edge type. I might have rushed to judgment, and next time I will conduct a better investigation.

[johnql]

spongerob, I completely agree with you as far as avoiding the "modified" BJ games on principle (e.g., Spanish 21; or the version where all cards are dealt up including both dealer's cards -- the catch here is that all ties go the house, which increases the house's edge enormously). I think I've played at Lucky Spin tables. That's the game where you place a side bet (typically $1) and if you are dealt a blackjack, you can then spin the lucky wheel and are paid 5-to-1, 10-to-1, etc. based on the amount of your side bet. The side bet is definitely a sucker bet in terms of house edge. It is an optional side bet and should be avoided. However, the main BJ game is played according to the casino's regular BJ rules.