Cardplayer Cruise Trip Rport

[JoeU]

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Are games on cruises raked or is your rake the fee to be on the cruise in the first place?

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Rake was a 10% to $4 max. The trip was actually a bargain. We paid $810 + tax and port charges per person. The fair was around $950 pp on Carnival.

Joe

[Cyberchomp]

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Are games on cruises raked or is your rake the fee to be on the cruise in the first place?

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Rake was a 10% to $4 max. The trip was actually a bargain. We paid $810 + tax and port charges per person. The fair was around $950 pp on Carnival.

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So that was you in the jersey... I think you called my wife on a string bet one evening. She and I are both still learning the game, and we'll work on our betting motions... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Yes, I was one of those chasers in the 2/4 games. Tried my hand at 4/8 and had my head handed to me. Not pretty.

The tourneys were even tighter. A lot of respect was handed out -- so much so, that I lasted until the mid-80s in a 180-player tourney (Thursday's $150 buy-in).

My own thoughts about the cruise (also my first Card Player Cruise):

The facilities were not exactly ideal. The poker rooms were split among two decks near the dining room at the rear of the ship. The upper room had absolutely no lighting -- unless the window shades were open, some of the tables were in twilight, giving the term "raise in the dark" a whole new meaning... The air conditioning in the upper room was meat-locker quality. I didn't go in there without a sweater or jacket. A miner's helmet probably would have helped.

The lower room was far better lit, but there were metal projections sticking out of the floor where room fixtures had been removed to make room for the tables. Players were constantly tripping over the projections.

I overheard Linda Johnson discuss the Carnival Spirit's shortcomings with one of the other CPC guests. CPC takes what the cruise line gives and they try to make do with the facilities. CPC usually books passage on Holland America because their ships are nicer, the service and food are better, and the facilities are far superior to Carnival's. However, HAL is more expensive to book than Carnival, especially for the overseas voyages (CPC uses HAL for its European and Mediterranean cruises). CPC does at least one cruise a year on Carnival in order to give players a cheaper cruising option. We came strictly for the poker, not because we like Carnival.

However, there are sights never to be seen on Celebrity or Crystal Cruises. Hairy-chest contests on the pool deck. Gang-banger wanna-bes in 'fros and baggy jeans talking on their cell phones while dishing up scrambled eggs in the Spirit's breakfast buffet on disembarkation day. Card Player Cruises guests (identified by our neck pouch/ID badges) and Carnival Vacation Club members (identified by their special neck badges) studiously ignoring each other. And more tattoos than a circus sideshow...

One of the best moments in the poker room: on the way back to San Diego, action in the lower room almost completely stopped when whales and dolphins were seen out the windows on the starboard side. Very cool. "Hey," I joked, "bring 'em on in! We can always use a few more whales at the tables."

CPC runs its cruises in a homey, seat-of-the-pants way and that ain't all bad. First day of the cruise, the staff handed out Card Player Cruise swag to CPC guests -- luggage tags, t-shirts and the like. And we had our own section of the dining room -- no reserved seating; we could sit wherever we wanted.

As with you, I, too, brought a suit to wear on formal nights. But I saw as many jeans and t-shirts as there was formal wear in the dining room on those nights. Dinner time was a mere break for most of the players before they headed back to the tables for the evening sessions.

A lot of the dealers were from Viejas and other San Diego-area rooms. We did run into a few folks from our Bay Area neck of the woods. Gary from Bay 101 is a terrific guy! We also got to hear some stories from Red, who dealt at The Oaks years ago. My wife said Red looks as if he dealt at Oaks... CPC brought over sixty dealers to get the cards in the air.

Other than the ship and the facilities, only a few peeves. The staff at the door of each room didn't always check to see whether the players were CPC guests (to be in the room, you have to have booked the cruise through CPC). At least one non-CPC player was caught before he got into the same tourney I was entered in -- he picked my stepson's name off the player list and took his seat card. And I heard that someone else bluffed their way into a 2/5 NL game early one morning and won $1500 before anyone found out. The people who ran the lists on the boards looked as if they were under siege at times. Names on the lists had a tendency to disappear unless you were standing right at the room entrance to watch over yours. And if there had been tables and dealers to spare, I would love to have bought into some sit-and-goes.

The Missus and I have done the Mexican Riviera to death, and there wasn't much we wanted/needed to see. We did book a private car and tour online prior to embarkation, and took a tour of Colima (near Manzanillo). Far nicer and less confining than the ship's bus tour, not to mention cheaper. I don't much care for Manzanillo, but we loved Colima.

We generally like what CPC is doing, and wouldn't mind booking with them again. CPC has the Mexican Riviera again in December '06, with a different itinerary -- Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta. If the bankroll is willing, we'll be there...

[FeliciaLee]

I don't know who you are, but welcome [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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CPC usually books passage on Holland America because their ships are nicer, the service and food are better, and the facilities are far superior to Carnival's. However, HAL is more expensive to book than Carnival,

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Amen! Actually, as far as HAL prices go, the CPC on the Spirit was the most I've ever paid, pp/pd, out of four cruises (three on HAL, one on Spirit). But I usually go for bargains, not necessarily CPC.

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And we had our own section of the dining room -- no reserved seating; we could sit wherever we wanted.



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I think this was hell on the dealers. Glenn was never able to get to dessert. Sometimes he didn't even finish his entree. The servers were indifferent, at best, outright rude, at worst (we changed tables almost every night, trying to find a server with even the slightest hint of a conscience).

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At least one non-CPC player was caught before he got into the same tourney I was entered in -- he picked my stepson's name off the player list and took his seat card.

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Yuck! I am sure you reported this. I hope it doesn't happen again.

Nice to "meet" you, at any rate. Glenn has already been invited back to deal, but I think we'll stick to the HAL cruises only.

Too many complaints about Carnival for me to even list, lol.

[DoubleB]

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At least one non-CPC player was caught before he got into the same tourney I was entered in -- he picked my stepson's name off the player list and took his seat card.


Yuck! I am sure you reported this. I hope it doesn't happen again.

What is reasoning for restricting tournies and ring games to CPC cruisers - just that there are long wait lists for seats. Seems that the players would want all the cruise passengers to participate.

[FeliciaLee]

So that everyone who wants a seat can have one without being stuck on a waiting list for five hours.

If there are empty seats or breaking games, it's only reasonable to allow non-CPC passengers to play, and they do.

[JoeU]

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What is reasoning for restricting tournies and ring games to CPC cruisers - just that there are long wait lists for seats. Seems that the players would want all the cruise passengers to participate.

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As Felicia pointed out, they do this to keep seats open for CPC guests. Since we booked through CPC, we deserve the benefit of having an open seat in a game. It wouldn't be fair to the CPC guests if a seat was filled by a non-CPC player.

Joe

[Cyberchomp]

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I don't know who you are, but welcome [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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Thanks Felicia! Sorry I didn't introduce myself...

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I think this was hell on the dealers. Glenn was never able to get to dessert. Sometimes he didn't even finish his entree. The servers were indifferent, at best, outright rude, at worst (we changed tables almost every night, trying to find a server with even the slightest hint of a conscience).

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My wife and I noticed this, as well. At least the wait staff on other lines pretend to smile and pay attention to us. Or even have a clue...

We never quite got the entrees as ordered. When they did arrive, they were either overcooked or way undercooked. Some we wouldn't touch again with a ten-foot pole.

The only thing we were sure about was to get the hell out of the dining room before the maitre'd or cruise director got on the PA system to announce the singing waiters (boy howdy, did we feel sorry that they had to sing! how embarassed they must be) or some other BS. Most of the time we could dine and be done with coffee and dessert in 45 minutes or less.

If I had to recommend only one dining option on Carnival, it would have to be the Supper Club (CCL's ultra-ritzy alternative restaurant). At $30 per person, pricey. But the food and service were as nice as the luxury dining options on other cruise lines.


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Nice to "meet" you, at any rate. Glenn has already been invited back to deal, but I think we'll stick to the HAL cruises only.

Too many complaints about Carnival for me to even list, lol.

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Don't. Get. Me. Started. About. The. Rest. Of. Carnival... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] The December '06 Mexico cruise is on HAL's Oosterdam. Perhaps we'll see you then!

Take care,
Bruce I.

[FeliciaLee]

Glenn was the dealer with the ponytail, in case you don't know. Obviously you've seen my supermodel pic, lol.

We should definitely be on the Oosterdam. It's HAL and it's convenient (SD is only about a five hour drive for us). That is, if Jan doesn't boot me off for being such a rag.

I will never, ever, complain about the HAL Lido again. In the past, I was comparing it to Vegas buffets. Having tried the Spirit Lido, all I can say is that the HAL buffet is comparable to Bellagio, lol.

[MicroBob]

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My wife and I noticed this, as well. At least the wait staff on other lines pretend to smile and pay attention to us. Or even have a clue...

We never quite got the entrees as ordered. When they did arrive, they were either overcooked or way undercooked. Some we wouldn't touch again with a ten-foot pole.

The only thing we were sure about was to get the hell out of the dining room before the maitre'd or cruise director got on the PA system to announce the singing waiters (boy howdy, did we feel sorry that they had to sing! how embarassed they must be) or some other BS. Most of the time we could dine and be done with coffee and dessert in 45 minutes or less.

If I had to recommend only one dining option on Carnival, it would have to be the Supper Club (CCL's ultra-ritzy alternative restaurant). At $30 per person, pricey. But the food and service were as nice as the luxury dining options on other cruise lines.

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Don't. Get. Me. Started. About. The. Rest. Of. Carnival... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] The December '06 Mexico cruise is on HAL's Oosterdam. Perhaps we'll see you then!

Take care,
Bruce I.

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Nice report overall.

Bringing back some memories of our experience on the PPM cruise last March (hoping to go again sometime...still working on that one).

FWIW - I've been on only one other cruise in my life. I was 18 and I forget the company.

The PPM was on Holland Oosterdam and we pretty much thought that the food and service were both outstanding.
I was equally impressed by the quality of dealers from CPC and how the games were run. Certainly better than I was expecting.

Anyway, I've since heard quite a few bad things about Carnival and your tales of undercooked or wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole certainly differed from our experience on the Holland line.

We thought the service was pretty prompt (most of the time) and extremely friendly and courteous (almost all of the time).
This certainly does make a difference.

I might have considered a carnival cruise for a future vacation if I wanted to save dough....but I think this thread is steering me in the correct direction that it's worth it to spend just a little bit more to get the better overall experience.

I would really hate to be on a cruise that had nothing but crappy food and crappy service all around.


They sell seperate packages for the PPM cruise in March (down to Cayman Isls and Cozumel this year) that don't include the $10k tourney-package and this would likely be the ultimate for card-playing cruises I suspect.
The whole boat is poker-players (or families and friends of poker-players) so you don't have the cross-over clientele.
And the main poker-room is 60 tables with lots of action (not nearly as tight on a boat with a bunch of party-poker satellite qualifiers...the games were quite crazy most of the time).
But I think the cost of the cruise alone costs a bunch more than it does on the other cruises for some reason.

Anyway, thanks for the memory re-visit. Looking forward to our next cruise (whether it be poker-related or not).

[FeliciaLee]

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But I think the cost of the cruise alone costs a bunch more than it does on the other cruises for some reason.

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I think this is because they chartered the whole ship, rather than just reserving a block of cabins. Don't quote me on that one, though, lol.

The Oosterdam just won the best mid-sized ship on the seas, according to Porthole Mag. We will definitely be on that CPC next year!

The great thing about HAL is that no matter what, you will have a good cruising experience. It may not be the very best line, but it is never going to suck, like some Carnival cruises.