Poker on Cruise Ships: Royal Caribbean

[Hellmouth]

I know that poker is not normally spread on cruise ships but have read in the past that if there is enough interest, the casino may spread a game using an off duty dealer who will deal for tips.

Does anyone have anymore info on this, especially regarding Royal Caribbean lines? Has anyone been able to get this going successfully and if so how? Did you just ask to talk to the casino manager?

Thanks guys,
Greg

[KurtSF]

I've been on one cruise ever, on Carnival. They had a dedicated poker table (outside the casino interestingly) and spread 4-8 LHE every night. Super soft games.

Won't help you on RC I know, but next time if it matters you might want to consider Carnival.

[Josh W]

two summers ago i was on a RC cruise in alaska and they had no poker tables.

this past spring, i was on a princess cruiseline and they had a 4-table room, with a 3-6 and 5-10 game and one table for SNGs (I think...I didn't play). Given the increase in poker's popularity, RC may now have tables, too.

Josh

[jzpiano]

Went on a week cruise to Belize and Cozomel and the Keys, negative on the poker tables. *sigh*

[budman]

I just got off of a cruise on this ship. The table was very cool. It could be programmed to run tournaments and other poker games besides hold'em.

The games spread were: small tourneys on at sea days, $3-6 no limit at other times.

Most nights the games didn't get going until after the first dinner seating at least. And when the games did get going a lot of the players were college kids or semi knowledgeable tourists who would buy in for the $60 minimum. The games only got good a couple of nights when there were some significant chips on the table.

The table itself was very interesting. Each player got their own touch screen where their cards and betting options would appear. There was a big screen in the middle of the table where the board cards and some other information would appear.

Pros: The cards were dealt very quickly. No dealer errors, no flipped cards, no misdeals. No dealers to tip.

Cons: We really needed a dealer to help move the game along. The sound effects were not loud enough to keep the action moving. The rake was nearly unbeatable. They took 10% out of each pot up to $10. And the way they computed it would take $2 out of a pot of $11 - $20. So you could pay a $2 rake on an $11 pot.

All in all, it was an interesting experience, although my preference is to play live with real cards, dealers and chips.

[jackdaniels]

I was on an RC cruise a few months ago and they had two 5-10 (limit) tables going with dealers. They used BJ tables so we were 7 handed when table was full. The dealers were terrible and the players were even worse! The game was ok since it was mostly drunken cruisers who wanted to kill a couple of hours while their wives were watching the show. I am pretty sure they have proffesional tables (or even possibly the electronic ones) by now. Best bet is to call RC and inquire about the specific ship you are taking to see if they offer poker or not. Either way, the rake WILL be very high and you will need a table full of drunks to overcome it.

GL and enjoy the cruise.

[flafishy]

If you're going on a Royal Caribbean cruise, don't get too tipsy if you know what I mean.

[sng-sam]

As one person already said. I can confirm that Carnival did have a limit game everynight. It was a complete and utter donkfest and I must say that I quit it after 3 nights and went to Blackjack and banked mad cash. Ship it!

SAM

[LasVegasMichael]

Sapphire Princess had one table in January (4/8L).

Terribly slow dealers (no autoshufflers), but the most profitable 4/8 game I have EVER played in. Hopefully, they will expand the poker section on future cruises.

[dcasper70]

Thanks to your avatar, I was unable to read a single word you wrote... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]