Does anyone else take the 7 Stars cruises?

[Rob.Singer]

I have always only recommended five-play if players want to go after the multi-plays. 3-play doesn't give enough opportunity when a near-hit deal comes up, ten-play is good but too often strips the player of their inadequate bankroll before they know what hit them, and the 25/50/100 play games are gimmick games and not for serious players. I developed a five-play strategy also, and I can go over that with you too if you like.

[seemoreroyals]

What would you differently in 5 play that you would not do in single game play?

[Rob.Singer]

For holds, that depends on the game, but there are few differences from single-play. I do not play BP on five-play--only the advanced BP games like SDBP & TBP+. I use 2000 credits on each level, and those levels are 25c/$1/$5 (and $25 if fully prepared). The win goal is only $500/session, no matter how high a denomination is played because the goal is solely a function of the lowest denomination played in five-play.

[Dan Druff]

Anyone else doing a 7 star cruise this year? We had such a great time doing a 7 star event cruise last year on the NCL Dawn from NOLA we are going to do our first ever 7 star regular cruise this year. We are going to Alaska on the NCL Jewel in September. Unlike the event cruise we will have to pay the taxes and fees and gratuities that add up to about $900 for two people. But we have been wanting to go back to Alaska. And thanks to CET we saved around $2000.

I am also doing a cruise this year.

BTW, you are paying more than "port fees and taxes". That's what NCL calls it, but it's a lie.

You're actually paying port fees, taxes, and NCF (non-comissioned fare).

But it's still a great deal.

Why did you choose September? Might be a bit cold.

Are you doing a round trip or one-way? I did a one-way from Vancouver to Whittier (near Anchorage) in August 2014.

Anyway, let me know if you need any tips regarding NCL. I know the line really well.

[seemoreroyals]

I am also doing a cruise this year.

BTW, you are paying more than "port fees and taxes". That's what NCL calls it, but it's a lie.

You're actually paying port fees, taxes, and NCF (non-comissioned fare).

But it's still a great deal.

Why did you choose September? Might be a bit cold.

Are you doing a round trip or one-way? I did a one-way from Vancouver to Whittier (near Anchorage) in August 2014.

Anyway, let me know if you need any tips regarding NCL. I know the line really well.

We decided to go in September because we have never been to Alaska that time of year before. That and I am hoping that by going in September the number of screaming kids on board will be at a minimum. From what I have been reading the weather there is usually quite nice that time of year. We are doing a round trip out of Seattle on the NCL Jewel.

I would be interested in hearing about any and all tips you have regarding NCL and about the Jewel if you have ever been on her before. On our cruise on the NCL Dawn last December the smoke in the casino was really bad so we probably won't be spending much time in the casino. The ports we will be stopping at are Juneau, Skagway, Ketchican, and Victoria. We have been to all of them before except for Victoria but it has been almost 20 years. Please let us know about anything at any of these ports that we need to either do or we need to avoid.

Thanks for all the posting you have done in the past in regards to CET/NCL cruises.

[Dan Druff]

Okay, here are some tips:

Onboard, avoid the casino. You are not expected to play. A host will not bother you. The casino odds are TERRIBLE, and the comps you earn are lousy. Also, there is a lot of smoke there. The tournaments are terrible, as they literally rake half of it for themselves!

I recommend going to the specialty restaurants and avoiding the main dining room. The main dining room sucks. The specialty restaurants are considerably better -- not gourmet, but way better than the main dining room. For $119, you can get a package giving you unlimited specialty restaurants. Also, with that package, you can order unlimited main dishes for free.

Do not buy any art or jewelry on board. It is heavily marked up.

You may want to consider switching to the 1-way Vancouver cruise to Anchorage, as you get to see Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. On your selected cruise, you only get the inferior Sawyer Glacier, and it's listed as "cruise past Sawyer", so I'm not sure what that means.

Anyway, here's what I would suggest at the ports:

Ketchikan: In town, ask them how to take the city bus ($2 each - have exact change) to Totem Bight State Park. It's way out of the way, and barely any tourists are there. It's free, not gimmicky at all, has a small rainforest trail and a tidepool beach, and you will be done in about an hour.

Juneau: Rent a car, drive to Mendenhall Glacier, and take the hike to the waterfall. (You have to view the glacier from afar, unlike in the '90s when you could walk right up). Then drive north on route 7 along the coast, to see some very nice scenery and various beaches which you will have all to yourself.

Skagway: Rent a car, drive into British Columbia, and then into the Yukon. Don't bother going all the way to Whitehorse, though, as there's not much there. I would suggest going to Lewis Lake (in the Yukon, look it up on a map), see it (it's beautiful, and there is almost no one there), and turn around. Many scenic points along the way.

Victoria: Visit Butchart Gardens if you haven't been there before, though it's better to be there on Saturday (you are coming Friday), as they have the best fireworks display at night that I have ever seen. But you won't get to see that. Also of moderate interest is the Fiskgard Lighthouse. Rent a car here if possible.

Don't expect the glaciers to look like they did in 1995. I was also there in 1995, and sadly they have receded a lot.

Try to avoid taking any of the ship excursions. You can do it better and cheaper on your own.

[carolinajacket]

Very nice advice. The Alaska cruise has to be special. I have taken several to the Caribbean cruises and they aren't bad, but nothing like Alaska. I must say, however, that I had some luck in the casino. I hit one of my nicest handpays on one and won a Texas Hold'Em tourney on another. But I may have just been pure lucky. Over all, thanks for the info.

[Alan Mendelson]

Dan your warning about the main dining surprises me. While I've never been on a cruise all I ever hear about is the abundance of great food that's included in the base price. And your advice is pay more to avoid it?

[seemoreroyals]

Dan thanks for your advice for the Alaska ports. We have another couple that will be taking this cruise with us and I think a rent car would be a great way to see both Juneau and Skagway. Would you book the rent car in advance or wait till you get there? Any particular company that you would recommend?

Agree with you about casino. We don't smoke and there is so many other things to do. And there is really no incentive to play and 6/5 paytables have no appeal to me.

Like Alan said, I am surprised at your comments about the main dining room. On our last cruise, we did some specialty restaurants, LaBistro, LaCusina, and Moderno and thought the main dining room food was just as good maybe even better. Service was a little slower at main dining room but not that bad.

We have already booked our airfare so it would be too late to change cruises. Besides we have already done the Vancouver to Anchorage and it will be interesting to see the differences.

Have you ever sailed on the NCL Jewel? And if you have were any of your comments directed towards her?

[Dan Druff]

Definitely rent the cars now. Go to the AVIS website and reserve them. It will not cost you anything until you get there. Make sure to print out your reservation and make SURE they give you the type of car you reserved. The Juneau AVIS tried to cheat me, but I caught them. But they're the only game in town, aside from some Rent-A-Wreck type places with REALLY old and beat up cars, and you don't want those.

The rental cars will not be cheap (it will be more than $100 after taxes), but still cheaper than taking an excursion with the ship.

Alan, the food at cruise dining rooms has not been good since the late 1990s. That was a cost-cutting measure implemented industry-wide about 15 years ago. That's why the specialty restaurants were created -- to offset that.

seemoreroyals, I am surprised you enjoyed the MDR food. Most people, myself included, think it is bland and tasteless. But if you really enjoyed it more than the specialties, I guess go ahead and save the money. I will say that La Cucina is mediocre, and Moderno is a poor man's Fogo De Chao. But Cagney's and Le Bistro are both fairly good.

I did take the Jewel in December 2013, from New Orleans. I don't have that much to say about it specifically. It's one of their older ships, and is just your average, medium sized cruise ship. I found the buffet on the Jewel to be better than the one on the Sun (and I'm not usually a buffet person). I found the staff of the Sun to be a lot nicer and friendlier than the Jewel, where the staff was sometimes surly. The Jewel officers were constantly walking around the specialty restaurants and saying hello to people, so they were very accessible. If you have a problem, I suggest going to the appropriate officer. On-board customer service is pretty good at NCL. That's actually why I quit cruising Princess, because it was the opposite.

[Dan Druff]

Also, I highly suggest you drive north up route 7 in Juneau and stop at Lewis Lake in the Yukon (Skagway port). These are both out-of-the-way and you will find peaceful, beautiful, summery Alaskan scenery without anyone around. There's something to be said for having an entire beach or lake to yourself, even if just for a short time.

[FABismonte]

I believe as a Ceasars affiliated guest you will be issued a "drink" card that will allow free drinks when playing at the casino. I think the only reason to gamble at all in the NCL casino is to get free well drinks. Alcohol is otherwise a big up-sell on NCL. I like to go to a casino bar, play a few hands of video poker, get a drink then walk off with it after leaving a tip.

FAB

[seemoreroyals]

I believe as a Ceasars affiliated guest you will be issued a "drink" card that will allow free drinks when playing at the casino. I think the only reason to gamble at all in the NCL casino is to get free well drinks. Alcohol is otherwise a big up-sell on NCL. I like to go to a casino bar, play a few hands of video poker, get a drink then walk off with it after leaving a tip.

FAB

When we booked our cruise we received the unlimited beverage package as a perk for booking when we did. So no being held hostage to the casinos for free drinks for us. On our last cruise we also got the UBP and really liked it b/c we were able to get drinks at any time, anywhere there there was a bar on the ship.

[seemoreroyals]

Dan, did you get any priority boarding on your Alaskan cruise since your cruise was affiliated with CET or did you have to wait in line with the masses? On the 7 star event cruise we took out of NOLA we had priority boarding. We were on the ship fast with hardly any wait at all. I am hoping it will be the same way on these CET regular 7 star cruises.

[Dan Druff]

Dan, did you get any priority boarding on your Alaskan cruise since your cruise was affiliated with CET or did you have to wait in line with the masses? On the 7 star event cruise we took out of NOLA we had priority boarding. We were on the ship fast with hardly any wait at all. I am hoping it will be the same way on these CET regular 7 star cruises.

The one I took out of NOLA (the Jewel) had priority boarding, but the priority line was longer than the regular one!

The Sun out of Vancouver had a priority line, but I wasn't on the list for some reason. When I stated I was a CAS booking, they stood there staring at me like I was speaking a foreign language. Finally after speaking to 3 people, they gave up arguing with me and moved me to the priority area, where there was zero line.

[seemoreroyals]

Glad to hear Dan that we should get priority boarding. Last night I did some research regarding rent cars for Skagway and Juneau. Skagway we will be there from 7:00AM - 5:30PM plenty of time to justify a rent car. Juneau we are only going to be there from 7:00AM - 1:30PM. Not sure if this is long enough to justify a rent car. When I talked to the rent car places AVIS quoted $160/day for Skagway and about $80/day in Juneau. I also talked to a couple of local rent car places that were about half that. I think we are definitely going to do the rent car in Skagway as we will be in port all day, but we are having second thoughts about the rent car in Juneau because we are only going to be there about half a day. And I am wondering how long I need to allow to walk to the rent car place, fill out paperwork, get car, and how much time to allow for gassing up and returning car and walking back to ship. With only 6 and a half hours to work with in Juneau we are wondering if that will still leave us enough time to do anything and still have a comfortable amount of time to get back to ship. What are your thoughts Dan?

[Dan Druff]

The 6 1/2 hours is kind of tight. It will work if you honestly get off the ship at 7, but otherwise don't bother.

For AVIS, make an online reservation and use AWD code W046000.

This is a code associated with a lot of businesses there, and is freely given out to customers of various Alaska businesses. (For example, if you stay in an Anchorage B&B, they will sometimes give this to you.) You will save some money. The $160 is surprising, though. It was a less when I went last year.

Don't use the local rental car places. They give you junkers with 170,000 miles on them, and there are lots of reports of the cars breaking down.

There is a bit of a walk from the port to the place where you rent the car in Juneau. If you don't rent a car, though, you will be stuck taking a tour bus to wherever you want to go, which is a pain. I think you can get ones going to
Mendenhall for about $20/person, though. Don't buy these tour buses on the ship for Juneau. Way marked up and not worth it. You will find plenty in town for much cheaper.

[Dan Druff]

Also, DO NOT take the CDW (supplemental insurance). It's ridiculously expensive in Alaska. In fact, it's a terrible deal wherever you rent a car, but in Alaska it's especially bad.

Most credit cards will cover the same thing for free.

You probably already know this, but just wanted to mention it.

Laughably, I dated a girl in 2001 who worked for Enterprise, and she really liked me at first. However, we got into an argument about whether the CDW was a good deal (I said it wasn't), and she took it personally and didn't want to see me again.

[Alan Mendelson]

Laughably, I dated a girl in 2001 who worked for Enterprise, and she really liked me at first. However, we got into an argument about whether the CDW was a good deal (I said it wasn't), and she took it personally and didn't want to see me again.

Best post of the week.

[Rob.Singer]

Am I missing something, or is kind of ironic for 7-Stars members to be talking about saving 20 bucks here or working the system to the bone for a hundred bucks there?