aggie182

Based on the itinerary, I'd go Vista.  Based on the ship, Mardi Gras.  We did Christmas on the Vista this past year and had a great time.  You can't go wrong with either.  Coin flip for me.

Has anyone seen any updates?  Google still seems to only turn up the same Summer 2022 articles.

It seems odd to me that summer 2022 had a bunch of stories on sports betting coming to Carnival ships, with some referencing Q1, 2023.  Now, in 2023, there's nothing on it (that I can find, at least).  You figure this would be newsworthy, on some level, with all of the cruise ship bloggers, vloggers, reporters, media etc. etc. etc. , if it was in fact "coming soon".

On 4/21/2023 at 5:01 AM, Honolulu Blue said:

I haven't heard anything recently about sports betting coming to Carnival anytime soon. However, sister line Princess has had sports betting onboard through its app since the restart. 

Hopefully Carnival will follow in Princess' footsteps sooner rather than later.  I wouldn't mind an additional degenerate type of activity while cruising!

Thanks for the info.  

Just now, lesters said:

Now if only you could watch the games on board that you want to bet on.  We love spending time in the Vegas sports books... would love a similar experience on board.

On our Horizon sailing the sports bar was much too small for the number of people wanting to watch the NFL games that were on.   With channels so limited it was packed  - believe me I am not looking for more TV options in my cabin - but I wish while on board there were more and larger where they exist - places to catch the games.

I'd imagine with the rollout of sports betting, some sort of increased sports viewing will be part of it.  I am wondering if the roll out is somehow how hinging on starlink installations.

As with the 3 links above, a lot of what I was seeing was from last summer.  I didn't find anything recent to speak of.  I'd imagine the roll-out is newsworthy enough, so no news may not be good news in this case, if you're wanting the sports betting to come sooner rather than later.

For the typical $6 minimum, 6/5, Lucky Ladies Variant, BJ game on a Carnival Ship - what has the higher house edge?

$6 bet on the hand (making it a 7/6 BJ game??)?

or

$5 bet on the hand and $1 bet on the Lucky Ladies bonus?

Looking at a photo I have from a cruise last year, Lucky Ladies pays out as follows:

1000 to 1:  Queen of hearts pair, plus dealer BJ

125 to 1:  Queen of hears pair

19 to 1:  Matched 20

9 to 1:  Suited 20

4 to 1:  Any 20

Based on a google search:

Lucky Ladies has a house edge of 24.71% (assuming 6 decks, it's 24.05% with 8 decks) with the pay table above.

6/5 BJ (again, assuming 6 decks) has a house edge of around 2%.

What I am unsure of:

How to calculate the house edge on a game where your typical bet is $6 and you receive $7 on a BJ, a 7/6 BJ game.

and

How to combine the house edges on the $5 bet plus the $1 bonus bet.

I understand the amount of EV I am giving up playing the 6/5 game, but I am curious if anyone can help calculate or answer the questions above.

Have they began to roll this out?  My understanding was that it was planned for Q1 of 2023.  Have any recent cruisers seen sports betting, or any evidence that it's coming soon?

Haven’t seen drink packages and stuff go on sale but have seen sales on cruise fares. 

Was able to purchase for our 7-day over Christmas ay $129.95 and for our Summer 8-day for $149.95.

I'd lean towards the Lido interior as well.

Grab a 750ml bottle of Capriccio Bubbly Sangria.  The bottle has a black plastic wrap on it with little pieces of fruit printed on it.  It's 13.9% ABV.  Pour 1/2 a glass, over ice, and fill it the rest of the way with the lemonade on Lido.  It's delicious.  You can also grab pieces of fruit off the buffet and drop it in if you want to sweeten it up a bit.

I also enjoy staying on the ship for all or most of a port day each trip.  Plenty to eat, drink, and enjoy.  If you're in to the waterslides, sky bikes, or whatever, it's a great day to do those kinds of things over and over.

Many months ago, I was trying to convince the wife to go on this last sailing on the 10th.  She wasn't having it between kids in school, time off work (she works at the school), etc.  She agreed to let me book a trip on the Ecstasy for her and I during the summer and we were on the last sailing before the Rolls Royce came out.  We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and are sad to see the Ecstasy go!  Such a gem.

We will be on the Vista for Christmas this year.  I am really looking forward to it.  I am also looking forward to the replies here to know a bit more of what to expect.

I'd love to see it!

We went on the 8 day last week and had a blast.

To answer your questions -

-We had a Spa Balcony and it was nice and cold.  The wife and kids both complained it was cold.  I enjoyed it.

-The steakhouse was great.  It took about an hour and 10 minutes from start to finish so it was on par time-wise with the MDR.  Appetizers were great and the filet was awesome.  Dessert was a bit meh to me, but despite being a big dude, I am not much of a dessert guy for what it's worth.  We got the deconstruction chocolate dessert and it was too rich for me.  I went with it because the other selections did not seem appealing.

-MDR was great.  We did Your Time Dining and always checked in around 5:20-5:25 and the table was always ready between 5:25 and 5:35.  We were seated in the same section every night (except for the steakhouse night) and we got to know our wait staff and more importantly they got to know us!  They'd have a beer waiting for me and Dr. Pepper waiting for the wife.  Food ranged from decent to awesome.  We didn't have anything we disliked.

-We haven't been on the Breeze so no comment there.

We're going to be on the Vista over Christmas.  We're really looking forward to it.  I'll be following this one for info.

We used Resorts for a Day in Jamaica a few years ago and everything went as planned.  We're using them again in a few weeks for Margaritaville in Nassau.

We went out of Mobile a few weeks ago and it was a breeze.  Easiest cruise port we've been to.

One cabin for sleeping, one cabin for...nevermind.

Leaving on the Ecstasy on Friday, thanks for the report.  Our main purpose of this trip to to cross a Fantasy Class ship off the list before they go extinct.

Enjoy!

Going on the Ecstasy in a few weeks and part of the draw for us is the old-school vibe.  I'm looking forward to it in a weird seedy, but safe, off-strip, dingy casino in Vegas kind of way.  Just want to experience it.