Norwegian breakaway -nov 2016- trip report

NORWEGIAN BREAKAWAY – NOV. 2016 – TRIP REPORT

This was a 7 night cruise departing from Manhattan on Nov. 6th and returning on Nov. 13th. We were gone for Election Day but we did absentee ballots back in October. The original itinerary was port Canaveral, Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegians Private Island. Great Stirrup Cay was cancelled due to hurricane Matthew damage. It will be reopened in a few weeks. We ended up staying overnight in Nassau. The casino on board the ship was allowed to be open from 7 pm.

This cruise was a free cruise for us from the casino dept. Now it’s never really free because they give you an interior stateroom and you still have to pay taxes and port fees. We upgraded to a balcony stateroom, deck 12 forward. So our total cost for the cruise was somewhere around $450 each.

This was the third time for us on this ship and it might be the last time. Here are the negative issues we ran across on this ship:

1- The ships capacity is 4200 passengers but there were an additional 1000 kids due to school being closed for Election Day and 3 days of teacher conventions in New Jersey. Our opinion was that the ship was way overcrowded and the only time we didn’t deal with crowds was at 7 in the morning when we went to breakfast at the buffet.

2- This was a Blackjack tournament cruise which we weren’t aware of. So the casino was filled all the time with overzealous gamblers with big bankrolls particularly at the craps table.

3- They have 2 craps tables on this ship. One was always $10 minimum but the second table was $25 minimum for the first 2 nights. After this it went down to $10 but was hardly opened for the last 5 nights.

Now for some casino adventures. As usual I brought dice from home to check out the table bounce on day 1 of the cruise. Both tables were playable with a bounce rating in my opinion of 7.5 with 10 as the maximum. While checking out the table we met another craps player, Peter, who was making a Parr style toss. He commented to me that the table was bouncy for his throw. So I recommended to him that he make his throw in a manner that removed all the backspin. What a difference it made for him as he was now able to keep the bounce back from the wall minimized. We got to know him pretty well and had dinner with him 3 nights as he was cruising alone. His buy in was typically $500/$600 and with his new throw he had some great hands during the week. I’m only guessing but I think he was up around $1500 for the week.

Now for us. I was very disappointed because every day the craps table was packed from the moment it opened to closing time. I won’t play at a table with more than 5 players so I really did not get to play too much at all. In fact I never got to play enough in any one session to get the feel of the table or get warmed up. My wife, Eva, will play at a full table betting on everybody. This worked out well for her. On 2 separate sessions she was up around $250/$300. One of these sessions when she was throwing the dice she made 3 twelve’s in a row. Since she bets high low on come out throws and presses after a win, she was up over $200 on this factor alone.

Here are the throwing results:

Day #1 11/6

No play at all. The $10 table was packed from 4:30 pm when it opened all through the evening

Day #2 11/7

Eva 9 throws 1 point

Bob 9 throws

Eva 11 throws 2 points 1 come out win

Bob 7 throws 1 point 2 come out wins

Eva 7 throws 1 point 1 come out win

Bob 7 throws 2 points 1 come out win

Eva 7 throws 5 come out wins

Bob 19 throws 2 points 6 come out wins

Eva 5 throws

After dinner

Eva 11 throws 1 point 1 come out win

Bob 5 throws 1 come out win

Eva 14 throws 3 points

Bob 6 throws 1 point

Day #3 11/8

Casino not open until 10:30 pm Evening – watching election coverage more important than craps.

Day #4 11/9

Bob 11 throws 1 point 4 come out wins

Eva 20 throws 3 points 1 come out wins

Bob 7 throws

Eva 11 throws 1 point

Bob 7 throws 1 points 1 come out win

Eva 10 throws 1 point 1 come out win

Bob 5 throws 1 point

Eva 10 throws 1 point 1 come out win

Bob 6 throws 1 come out win

Eva 16 throws 2 points 2 come out wins

Day #5 11/10

Bob 13 throws 2 point 1 come out win

Bob 11 throws 1 come out win

Bob 21 throws 4 points 3 come out wins

Eva 8 throws 1 point 1 come out win

Day #6 11/11

No Play – table packed all day from 10:45 in the morning

Day #7 11/12

Eva 8 throws 1 point

Eva 20 throws 2 points

Eva played at a full table and won close to $300 this day. Bob didn’t play due to table being full the whole day.

For the whole cruise I only played 14 hands at the craps table and Eva played 15 hands. Between us we made 35 points in the 29 hands for a ratio of 1.21 points per hand. In addition we had 35 come out wins for the same 1.21 ratio. I was so disgusted at craps on this cruise that I didn’t keep track of our win. I was up about $150 and I think Eva was up around $250.

In the middle of the week I had 2 consecutive hands interrupted by buy ins in the middle of the hand. The first guy bought in with $2000 and by the time he got his chips and made all his hopping and other bets the game was stopped for 5 minutes. The next guy buys in right in the middle of my next hand. He then proceeds to place a bunch of bets and then start an argument with the stickman and dealer. Again another 5 minute delay. The first buy in guy flipped and flopped the dice 20/25 times trying to get a specific arrangement of the dice before he would throw them. Well when he threw the dice he was totally bent down with his chin about 1 inch above the rail and then he would make his random toss.

On this ship they made you bet on the person throwing before you or they would pass you by with the dice. Only Norwegian ship I’ve seen this on. Luckily for me Eva was to my right on most of my hands and I always bet on her.

Some other memorable characters were Mr. NO PASS. This guy would buy in for $3000 at the end of the table and not throw the dice himself. What made him memorable was his baldness and extreme bad breath. Eva had to leave the table one evening because he bought in right next to her.

Then there was the ATOMIC FART. This was on the 11th in the evening. Some guy at the craps table did a SBD that was so ripe the stick girl put her shirt up over her nose, the box man ran to the other end of the pit and all the non guilty players were asking where’s the hazardous waste disposal team.

Most of my time in the casino was spent playing slot machines where I was down about $300. Slot machine payouts on the cruise ships are not governed in any way.

During the week we ate at 3 specialty restaurants, Cagney’s Steakhouse, Le Bistro (French) and La Cuchina (Italian). I found the food to be fine on the ship but Eva who is now a vegetarian (almost vegan) had some difficulties at times.

In the future I have to be much more careful in planning one of these free offer cruises. This was the second time I’ve had a bad experience on a tournament cruise.

Dicenator

[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji119][emoji119] The atomic fart was hilarious!

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Thanks for sharing your experience.

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Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy your reports, even though I rarely comment.

Ah, the hazards of casino life. You described them well. Not all gamblers are like the ones you see in the brochures.

As for the election, I booked a cruise (not this one) during the same week specifically to GET AWAY from election coverage. Mission accomplished.

Thanks for the review!