Navy nuke

It's rare that I have a losing cruise because I stick to live Texas Hold 'Em Poker against other humans. It's an easy game because most of the other players are drunk, don't know the game, come in underfunded, or just play to play and not to win.

On two occasions I've won enough to pay for the cruise but usually I get enough to defray the cost.

My favorite experience was on a Blackjack table. I was down a little bit but another player could do no wrong. He was betting high and had tons of chips in front of him. Then my wife comes into the casino and fetches me for dinner and upon my return, the dealer said that he lost it all back in front of his sobbing wife.

For the record, I've never used, nor wanted, a chair. Being hypersensitive to glare, and skin cancer, dissuades me. Still, these people sometimes (emphasis on sometimes) provide more entertainment than pier runners.

Occasion 1: A towel went past me from behind as two women in their 50's got into it.

My favorite :, two girls about 19-20 start screaming and then sandals, etc. start flying over the railing. I was supposed to meet my wife for lunch but stayed to see the end of that one.

I watch them all the time and make no excuses for it...but I don't think anyone has tried it my way...from ground level.

Last time I cruised my RCCL shared the pier with NCL. You could tell from above that NCL was getting ready to go and I knew that I had at least 2 hours since I didn't go on any excursions. Anyway, I got off and hung around the pier and, sure enough, they stated to arrive. It was like being against the rail at a horse race.

Two couples didn't make it and, while I kept my distance, you could hear the language between the husbands and wives, the workers, etc. Then it dawned on them that their passports sailed away with the ship.

RUN FORREST RUN!!

The best place is pier side aft. It could be on either the port or starboard side. Either way, watching those fools never gets old ha ha. Sometimes they make it......and sometimes they don't.

Won jackpots - never. I prefer to play real poker and pluck the pigeons for modest amounts. It's usually enough to defray 1/2 the cruise cost if not more.

Well, all in all, there could be 20 Pinnacle's, or 20,000. It doesn't make any difference to me since my wife and I enjoy ourselves all the same. We're just below 400 (ah, the benefits of living in Fort Lauderdale) and probably spend 15 days a month or so at sea. It's just a status thing and we'll just keep booking the cheap last minute interior cabins.

I just came off a cruise. Number of Pinnacles: 0

Just call RCCL and ask.

The rake is ridiculous but I look at it as the price of admission to play in such an easy game. The players come in on a whim, sometimes drunk, and usually underfunded. I was there every night with one other "regular" on a 4 day cruise and we ate them alive.

Well, I wouldn't worry about any of them drinking up all the liquor in the two lounges any time soon.

I have never taken a cruise where the poker didn't seriously defray the cost of the cruise (just never paid for it)

Just play a tight game and you'll be fine. The Donk might hand you a bad beat or two on the river, but luck doesn't last forever.

That's a typo on my part. I meant Diamond plus

This is an interesting thread since I've been wondering the same thing myself.

Has anyone called up RCCL and just asked?

Also, no matter what they say I'd wager that what they are telling you is how many Pinnacle members have ever existed, not how many there currently are, since I'm sure that they don't purge their records to consider inactive cruisers or Pinnacles that have gone to that big cruise ship in the sky.

I'll get there eventually, just not today.

Also, it's a lot easier to be a DD+ member that you think. I saw a DD+ pendant on EBay :)

Remember to enjoy yourselves.