We do not go on a cruise to gamble, especially not to play video poker. The paytables on the NCL Pearl machines, as on most cruise ships, are so bad I can’t look at them without becoming “see-sick.” Besides we live in Vegas and we could play VP, and on good paytables, every day if we wanted to (which we don’t). This cruise was a time to spend time with our family and enjoy with them the Alaskan scenery and visit interesting ports.
However, we did spend some time in the casino at their blackjack tables, some of which had surprisingly good rules. (You have to check – some have that terrible 6/5 payoff for blackjacks.) We have always enjoyed the social aspect of blackjack on cruise ships, and this time we could share this with Angela and Steve. While Kaitlynn and Zachary were busy with the active Teen programs, the 4 adults would hit the blackjack table. Brad and I hadn’t played BJ for so long that I had to drag out my basic strategy chart to review, for our own play and to help Ang and Steve as well since they are novice players.
One perk of our being on this cruise as a “casino guest” was that we had a card that gave us free drinks in the casino. Although Brad and I don’t drink alcoholic drinks, this was a valuable benefit since all drinks, including soft drinks and bottled water are VERY expensive onboard.
Our casino time was not only full of fun and laughter and all we could drink, but despite playing a negative-expectation we ended up with a small profit of $200.
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Now here’s a photo for you to think about before my next blog entry. Did everyone who suited up for that ziplining adventure actually push off on that thin line so far above that Alaskan forest?
