Likely rules on a cruise ship?

[EasyRhino]

My stepdad is going to be going on a cruise soon, specifically on the Carnival Ecstasy, going to somewhere on the Mexican Gulf coast.

He's a slot player, and I'm trying to at least get him to upgrade his play to basic strategy. What kind of rules is he likely to encounter? Number of decks? H17 or S17? DAS, etc?

I've never been on a real cruise, so I don't really know what's out there, but I've would guess it's standard tourist fare (6 or 8D, H17, DAS, no surrender).

[shadroch]

Last Carnival cruise I was on,was 1998,pre-blackjack. I remember they had one double exposure table,one carribean DRAW poker table,a carribean stud table and a $25 BJ table. The $25 scared me off so I never even sat there.

[Automatic Monkey]

Originally Posted by EasyRhino

My stepdad is going to be going on a cruise soon, specifically on the Carnival Ecstasy, going to somewhere on the Mexican Gulf coast.

He's a slot player, and I'm trying to at least get him to upgrade his play to basic strategy. What kind of rules is he likely to encounter? Number of decks? H17 or S17? DAS, etc?

I've never been on a real cruise, so I don't really know what's out there, but I've would guess it's standard tourist fare (6 or 8D, H17, DAS, no surrender).

I'd be interested in knowing too. I'll be going on a Carnival cruise this spring and I'm planning on playing BJ or perhaps some other games if I can beat them.

[Renzey]

Was on a Carnival Cruise two years ago. Had lots of blackjack tables -- all 8 decks, S17, DOA, DAS. Dealt our 5.5 to 6.0 decks. Tables were 5-to-100, 10-to-200 and 25-to-500.

[EasyRhino]

Didn't see any surrender, I presume?

[darrislance]

I went on a Carnival Cruise last June. I believe it was actually the Carnival Conquest. There were two standard blackjack tables; 1 $5 min. and the other $10 min. 8D, S17, DAS, DA2. The rules were not that great but the atmosphere was so layed back, I had no problem wonging in and out between the two tables, also I was on my honeymoon so my wife prematurely ended a few of my playing sessions.....which is understandable I suppose. The ship also had a few different variations of blackjack that I didn't mess with. Overall, the atmosphere was great b/c everyone was so layed back.

However, I wouldn't get too carried away unless you plan on sleeping with your life-vest, and it's a long swim back to the States from the middle of the Caribbean!!

Often the Cruiselines will post what type of games they offer on their website. It might be worth checking out before you go. I've heard that Royal Caribbean offers a single deck game but that is only hearsay.

Good Luck,