Are those servers working 40 hours a week? If so, I would like to see the source of your information.
At $15.50/hour, a person working full time at minimum wage is making over $32K per year. I find it very hard to believe the average full-time server in California is making less than $150 a week in tips.
Roulette odds can certainly change based on how many zeroes are on the wheel. I don't believe I have seen any on a Carnival cruise yet, but triple zero wheels exist.
One of the reasons Cozumel is famous for its dock runners is that often, ship time is an hour earlier than local time. Well, that and all the drinking.
You are not going to see anything close to "loose" odds on any cruise ship.
They know they have a captive market. If you don't like their odds, you can't go to the casino next door.
How much was your deposit and how much is the insurance?
I can't imagine your net recovery would be all that much, and yeah, there is the whole insurance fraud thing...
I have seen several posts on CC about people eating them as a side dish instead of a burger topping. If a lot of folks did this, it was probably too expensive for Carnival to offer them.
So much better to be surly to the customer and receive the same amount of pay. 😊
For most of the tipped jobs I had, I am pretty sure that the restaurant would not be willing to directly pay me the amount of money I was getting in gratuities. Most of the servers were earning more in salaries and tips combined than their manager's salary.
It's the luck of the draw, I don't see why set dining would be any different, and you run the risk of getting permanently seated at a large table with 8 other passengers.
We are a party of 2, and we have often gotten booths to ourselves in the MDR.
Once on Half Moon Cay we bought a Carnival-logo soft-sided cooler of beers from a waiter on the beach. I don't remember how much it was, but it wasn't crazy expensive. Now take it on every trip, and we use it up on Serenity, in our room, and as a smallish gear bag to take on shore excursions.