Thanks to all for your contribution on NCL Video Poker.
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> From: joel0457 <joel0457@yahoo.com>
>To: "vpFREE@yahoogroups.com" <vpFREE@yahoogroups.com>
>Sent: Monday, July 29, 2013 10:25 AM
>Subject: Re: [vpFREE] NCL Epic (NCL gambling....)
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>I was lucky enough to hit a $1 royal at the bartop machines on the Epic on the last night of our cruise. My brother was also pretty lucky hitting numerous quads on one of the other machines. This was on the Caribbean cruise. When we were on the Epic last month for the cruise out of Barcelona I couldn't hit a thing. The casino was significantly less crowded on the European cruise and everything is still in dollars.
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>I agree on the design of the ship. Not enough open space or elevators. It seems they wanted to cram in as many cabins as they could fit. Can't compare with the RCL Allure of the Seas with lots of open spaces set-up as neighborhoods and sufficient elevators.
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>Joel
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>From: Misscraps <mailto:misscraps%40aol.com>
>To: "mailto:vpFREE%40yahoogroups.com" <mailto:vpFREE%40yahoogroups.com>
>Sent: Sunday, July 28, 2013 4:09 PM
>Subject: [vpFREE] NCL Epic (NCL gambling....)
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>I get bored on cruises easily (my husband loves them), and often play in the casino despite bad pay tables. On our Epic trip I played with two friends, primarily at the casino bar near the dining room, and we played and played and all of us had horrible luck on different machines. Never have I seen so few quads. It reached the point where not only did I see a lack of quads, but began to see unusual patterns of cards (something like 2,3,4,5 or 3,4,5,6 not necessarily in that order, but the last square was not a straight card, hold the 4 to a low straight and up came a queen, like one out of every two times, or more...always a queen). -- and decided the VP definitely wasn't random.
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>In years past I've played on other cruise ships, including Carnival and Princess, with poor pay schedules, but the machines were never as tight as on recent NCL cruises. And the Epic was the worst.
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>Now that isn't to say that no one ever hits Aces (I did) or a royal (I think Coachvee/Hedy did on an Epic cruise), but it sure seemed to me like these machines were gaffed in some way.
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>You can expect bad pay tables, like 6/5 JB, but the lack of quads was something else.
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>I didn't hear of a lot of people hitting the reels either on that trip. Usually there are some reports of big jackpots, especially the first day, even on NCL, but the Epic seemed worse.
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>The best games to play are craps or BJ. Really bad odds if you play bingo (too many people and low payouts), scratch cards, slot tournaments (unless free), blackjack tournaments, or other "special" non-normal type tournaments.
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>The good news -- if you are there with a NCL certificate, drinks in the casino are free. We would go to the bar and get a drink prior to dinner and take it with us. You'll be invited to A special casino party, generally the first night, with free appetizers and drinks, and they will give you a special card for the drinks.
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>If you are a degenerate gambler (like me) and can't stop yourself from gambling on a cruise, even after my warning, remember to contact the casino host after a day or two, and see if you qualify for any comps. They generally will give you a free specialty dinner with wine as a comp for heavier play, and maybe send a bottle of wine or other goodies to your cabin. Continue to play and get more free specialty dinners (they will make a reservation for you), but if you wait too long to ask for the comps, the cruise will be ending, so ask as you go.
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>Also the casino gives free play or comp money to your onboard account. They post the amounts they give. BUT if you are a heavier gambler, the host will give you extra credit. I think I got twice or more of the posted amount, to pay for certain charges to your room, such as Internet or spa. I'm not sure I'd shore excursions or gifts were included, there were some restrictions, but ask about this if you are playing a lot.
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>VP pay schedules are a bit better for higher denominations such as $5 and up, but still poor. Some people enjoyed playing poker on the ships, but they do take a larger rake than on land. My friend Siona played in a poker tournament and won some money, but since there are a lot of people playing in them, the odds aren't good.... If you play in the BJ tournament, play toward the end so you know what sort of score you need to win.
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>Also, the casino in the Epic was extremely busy and smoky. A lot of people onboard seem to have never been in a casino before, and since the casino is in the middle of the ship, right along the main corridors, rather than a separate room, people are constantly playing and watching other people play. There is a lot of noise, smoke, and congestion. This is one reason we did not like the Epic.
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>We pretty much hated the Epic, unfortunately. I think this is a link to part 1 of my super long review http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vpFREE/message/119292, and here is part 2
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>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vpFREE/message/119292
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>Other people have gone and enjoyed it a lot more than we did. The fact that I was in a handicapped room with no couch and had to negotiate narrow hallways clogged with cleaning carts in my scooter didn't help at all! A non handicapped person would have had a lot less trouble. But still the awkward setup of the bathrooms, the smokiness of the main area which combined a casino and entertainment/eating venues, the necessity of prebooking shows, and the lines to get in everything (or end up not getting decent seats), the lack of good areas to walk around the ship or sit quietly without loud Muzak, all might be troubling to non handicapped people too. Things may have improved since we went, back in Jan. 2012. First time cruisers definitely would enjoy more than we did (not having the experience of over 20 other, and better cruises to compare), and most we talked to on the ship were having a good time. But for us, we would never go back on the Epic
>again. (note we are repeating trips on other NCL ships)
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