peak17

I have a credit line on NCL, mainly because I don’t like carrying larger sums of cash while traveling. It doesn’t affect my rating, they don’t care how you got the money, just how you use it. 

After reading the responses so far, I’ve come to the conclusion that the ships set the loungers up like this as a cheap form of entertainment! 😁

Nope, this isn’t about saving chairs at the pool! As I’ve, ahem, gotten a little older, I find getting in or out of those pool loungers to be a hassle. Usually squeezed neck to neck, there is no way to gracefully get up or down from them. Twice my last cruise I had to ask a stranger to hang on to me while I disingorged myself from my lounger. They were very nice about it, and actually said they had problems themselves sometimes. I watched several other ladies grab some help more often than I had ever noticed before. 

I think my point in this post is to ask why they don’t make the *am things a few inches higher off the ground. Then it would be like standing up from a regular chair, not from a squat. Anybody else? 

So, has anyone had problems parking at the pier? We are two females who will not be hauling our luggage from the crowne plaza to the ship on their little wheels.:D.

We will be driving to our cruise and staying at the Crowne Plaza the night prior. It looks like it's a wash for the cost, the pier for 7 days is $126, and the hotel with shuttle is $125. I'm tending to think pier to avoid the shuttle crowd. Any thoughts?

Hi everyone.

 

I am a professional gambler, and would like to few things up:

 

1) Unless you are playing at the $25 minimum tables, your odds at blackjack onboard are TERRIBLE. This is because they are reducing your blackjack payout to 6:5. This may not seem like a big deal, but it's TERRIBLE. How terrible? The $25 minimum game has a house edge of 0.74% per hand. The other games (6:5) have a house edge of 2.13% per hand. Therefore, you will lose almost three times as quickly at the game paying 6:5 on blackjack. Ouch.

 

2) If you still insist upon playing, never deviate from basic strategy or you will cost yourself more money. A lot of people say thing like, "I try basic strategy and I lose, and yet when I go with my gut feeling, I win!" That's garbage. You are either having atypical luck or are only remembering the times basic strategy hurts you. In both the long run and the short run, deviating from basic strategy is a killer.

 

3) NCL machines have continuous shuffling decks. You cannot count cards on those. Even if they weren't continuous shufflers, counting cards wouldn't be enough to overcome the casino edge of 2.13% on the 6:5 game.

 

4) Other players' actions have ZERO effect on you. Yes, you may win or lose a specific hand based upon another player hitting or standing, but in the long run (even the short-long-run) it will even out. Again, you will remember much more when a player "costs" you money by his "wrong" action than when he saves/makes you money. Human nature sadly remembers the bad more than the good in situations like these.

 

5) There is absolutely no way you can exercise "betting systems" or any other strategy to beat the blackjack game onboard. If you win, you got super lucky, and should feel fortunate. You will lose most of the time at these terrible odds.

 

6) The blackjack tournament typically rakes more than 50% for the house. For example, on the cruise I went on in December, they took in $1080 in buyins, and paid out a single $500 prize. (Sadly, I made the final table of 6 players, and was leading going into the final hand, but did not win.) I have a really good strategy to beat these things, but at such a horrendous rake of 50%+, even my strategy would not be profitable in the long run. Therefore, I will never play it again. (I didn't realize the rake until after I started playing.)

 

7) Unless you are counting cards, a continuous shuffling machine does not change the house's edge against you, aside from a negligible "cut card effect" which isn't even worth discussing here.

 

 

Unless you REALLY enjoy gambling on board, I would suggest curtailing your gambling and sticking to land based casinos, where the odds are much better for both blackjack and the machines.

 

I will be glad to answer any other questions in this thread regarding gambling.

Just got off the Jewel and wanted to throw in my two cents. I'm not a professional gambler but play blackjack regularly using "perfect" basic stragegy, and agree with everything you have said. I figured out the terrible tournament deal and didn't sign up.

This time I played at my regular $25 minimum table, but next time I might go with the poker machines, simply because the rating difference between the two is huge. Even though I normally was the only player at the table, and played a few hours at a time, every day, I never even got to the 1500 points needed to get more than a $6.00 slot credit. So I definitely agree with you about sticking to land based casinos where you literally get more bang for your buck.

I also think any serious jewelry is better purchased at home from a local store. They can't take the risk of not giving you exactly what they say and have to stand behind it. But, if this is truly how you want to do it, go to a few local stores before your cruise and find out how much things are before you buy it outside the country.

Ps. I am not a jeweler!

Just got off the jewel on 1-17 and the one time we had a short wait for dining, they gave us a coupon for a free glass of champagne while we waited. Not a bad exchange!

Clothes line = yes, in the shower.

 

Separate Latitudes line = yes, although doesn't make much difference in terms of "priority" or anything...

 

Balcony in the showroom = depends on your definition of "good"...

The balcony is ok, but don't sit in the first row or two, as you won't see the whole stage from that angle. They placed the first row of seats so far back from the railing, ( which is all wood and not transparent) that you have to sit on the edge of the seat to seethe complete stage.

It depends on when you were last rated on NCL, if it was within the last year they would have your points tallied which may put you in the "hot or golden" tier which gives you additional perks.

If your cruise came from a land based casino and your last cruise was longer then a year ago, it is drink cards & treats in your room only.

Yep, last cruise was thru caesar's and in 2012. Doing this one the same way, so will see if at least treats and drink card given to us. Thanks for the information.

I've only cruised on NCL once before, (am leaving again in a week), but I don't think they are as good as land based casinos in rating table play. I'm a diamond level with Caesars/Harrahs, playing only blackjack, no slots to speak of, so I know how this works. But other than a few free drinks, I got nothing! Maybe things will be different on this next cruise, but I'm not holding my breath.

Have you ever stayed at this hotel before ? We have a party of 9 and trying to suit everyone and budgets .

 

 

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No, never stayed here before, but it got generally good reviews on tripadvisor. My kicker to book this was getting 5,000 miles on Southwest Airlines through rocketmiles. Sorry I didn't answer you sooner.

Since NCL has partnered with Caesar's/Harrahs , my friend and I have taken advantage of their " free" cruises. We sail on the Jewel in the upgraded balcony cabin, all taxes and port fees, cancellation coverage and tips for $648.00 pp. in another week. There is no crossover between them and CAS as far as I can tell, except for the fact you can get a decent cruise price with either. As I am a blackjack player, I can get the benefit of the cruise without playing $100 a hand that seems to be necessary with CAS. We are both Diamond level with Harrahs.

Glad I found this board. We will be on the Jewel for the 1-10-15 sailing, and now I have a little more information to go on. A new port is exciting, and it will be novel to stop somewhere that isn't over-commercialized.

I am interested in finding non-water things to do, so if anyone has come up with something, please share. My friend will be still recovering from foot surgery and even though she expects to be able to walk around ok, we won't be doing the beach stuff.

Thanks,

Pat

From everything I have read, you are gambling on the time. Seems to be regular fog in the port in the winter months. I would try for something after 1:00pm if you can. Better sit in the airport for an extra few hours than to be wait listed on the next flight.

Good luck, have fun on the cruise!

I'm sailing on 1-10 on the Jewel, and your info has pretty much convinced me that the blue super shuttle is the way to go. Our flights for the return are at 1:30 and 2:00, so I hope the fog stays away!

Yep, we have insurance, but it's the entire hassle of rearranging things that is such a pain in the neck. Guess I will hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

We will be on the Jewel for the 1-10-15 sailing from Bayport. At the moment, we are booked into the Drury Inn and Suites Houston Hobby Airport. They do free shuttles to/from the airport and offer some amenities like free light dinner, free pop and popcorn and free breakfast. I haven't made up my mind on how to get to the ship yet, but figured I could do the ship transfers or on my own if a better deal comes along.

I am somewhat concerned about all the fog talk on the boards. Never left from this area before and so wasn't aware of the possibility. Right now we have departure times at 1:25 and 2:00, is that safe? Any input appreciated.