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I've been on the SunCruz Casino boat in Daytona Beach, FL before, so I thought I'd try this one as well. There are two fees for this cruise -- $10 cruise fee and $10 port tax. The port tax is mandatory, but there are coupons around Myrtle Beach for free cruise that can get you out of the $10 cruise fee. You can also cruise for free if you've previously joined the player's club. I joined the Player's Club in Daytona, and was told over the phone that I would not have to pay the cruise fee because of this. However, when I got to the ship, they could not find me in the system. It turns out the two systems are not linked, so I had to pay the fee. I did ask about getting a free buffet and the lady said that since I was a first time Myrtle Beach cruiser, I could get this -- so all was not lost. The buffet is nothing to write home over, and it's one trip through the line. I would compare it more to your grade school cafeteria type of meal.
It takes the boat about an hour to get to international waters. So, eating the buffet was a good way to kill some time. When the casino opened, I took a little time to examine things around the ship before playing. One thing I was impressed with was they had low limit table games -- multiple tables of $5 blackjack and other games. After taking things in, I headed upstairs to the poker room.
There were 3 tables of 11 players each. They were playing 2/5 no limit and 5/10 limit. These minimums were a little higher than what I was expecting. I had to join a waiting list, but was seated within about 10-15 minutes. I sat down at 2/5 no limit. The table was pretty loose and hyper aggressive. Average pre-flop raise was about $25. On my 3rd hand after sitting down at the table, I was ready to join the action. After the flop, one guy bet $175. Everybody folded until it got around to me. I had a decent hand, but needed to think about whether or not to call. The dealer (an older man) gave me literally about 30 seconds before telling me the action was to me, and I acknowledged. He gave me another 30 seconds of letting me know i needed to make a decision about every 10 seconds. Then, he started counting me down -- 10...9...8 all the way to 1 and said "hand's dead". I did not appreciate this at all. That is a lot of money to call, and he didn't give me time to think about it. There were no players trying to hurry things along. I did not enjoy my gaming experience about this ship at all. Maybe I'd recommend blackjack and not poker.
Something else I noticed after I left the poker table was a large number of people sitting outside who were out of money. It was only about 2 hours into a 5 hour cruise. So, maybe the slots are pretty tight?
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It takes the boat about an hour to get to international waters. So, eating the buffet was a good way to kill some time. When the casino opened, I took a little time to examine things around the ship before playing. One thing I was impressed with was they had low limit table games -- multiple tables of $5 blackjack and other games. After taking things in, I headed upstairs to the poker room.
There were 3 tables of 11 players each. They were playing 2/5 no limit and 5/10 limit. These minimums were a little higher than what I was expecting. I had to join a waiting list, but was seated within about 10-15 minutes. I sat down at 2/5 no limit. The table was pretty loose and hyper aggressive. Average pre-flop raise was about $25. On my 3rd hand after sitting down at the table, I was ready to join the action. After the flop, one guy bet $175. Everybody folded until it got around to me. I had a decent hand, but needed to think about whether or not to call. The dealer (an older man) gave me literally about 30 seconds before telling me the action was to me, and I acknowledged. He gave me another 30 seconds of letting me know i needed to make a decision about every 10 seconds. Then, he started counting me down -- 10...9...8 all the way to 1 and said "hand's dead". I did not appreciate this at all. That is a lot of money to call, and he didn't give me time to think about it. There were no players trying to hurry things along. I did not enjoy my gaming experience about this ship at all. Maybe I'd recommend blackjack and not poker.
Something else I noticed after I left the poker table was a large number of people sitting outside who were out of money. It was only about 2 hours into a 5 hour cruise. So, maybe the slots are pretty tight?
Read the full Casino Review