Poker is back on Card Player Cruises. That’s the message from the organizers of the poker-at-sea trips, which have been on hiatus for nearly a year and a half.
Just last month, Card Player Cruises announced an Alaska cruise in September and a Caribbean trip in November. The Alaska adventure, however, was to be a social cruise only, as the Royal Caribbean ships had not yet permitted poker to resume. The cruise line was not requiring vaccinations for customers, and the group activity seemed too risky.
That Alaska Glacier Cruise remains a social one. It will depart from Seattle on September 3, cruising up the coast and back to Seattle on September 10. The Ovation of the Seas will take cruisers to see the beauty of Alaska and is one of the most popular trips offered by CPC.
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The November trip, however, is going to have poker. This is thanks to the tenacity of Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Tina and Mark Napolitano. And they are ready to cruise.
November in the Caribbean
The crew will be headed to Alaska in September, but when winter sets in to the United States, they’ll be floating out from the Miami dock. The Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Oasis of the Seas is set for November 7-14 as follows:
-November 7: Docked in Miami, Florida-November 8: Docking in Perfect Day Cococay, Bahamas-November 9: Cruising-November 10: Docking in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas-November 11: Docking in Philipsburg, St. Maarten-November 12: Cruising-November 13: Cruising-November 14: Docking in Miami
Players must book through Card Player Cruises to play in the poker room. The team also decided to require everyone booking this cruise through them to be fully vaccinated and show proof. All of the staff attending to the group will be fully vaccinated as well.
At the poker tables, action will be 8-handed. Staff will replace the cards hourly and sanitize all poker chips nightly. The tables will be spaced, though Royal Caribbean has yet to inform the Card Player team as to how many tables will be allowed. The poker schedule will be drafted based on this information.
Staying Nearby in 2022
All of the cruises scheduled for 2022 thus far remain in North America. The return to normalcy is slow because…well…read a newspaper. The pandemic is not over. And not many people will forget the cruise ships stuck at sea with Covid-positive people confined to their rooms, when no one would let them dock. It may simply be too soon to cruise around the world.
That’s not to say it’s out of the question for 2022. It just means that the current schedule stays close to home. Everything depends upon the virus trajectory and vaccination efficacy.
As it stands, this is the schedule for next year:
-7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise: January 22-29 on Symphony of the Seas-7-Night Mexican Riviera Cruise: March 18-25 on Navigator of the Seas-7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise: April 3-10 on Liberty of the Seas-10-Night Hawaii Cruise: April 25 – May 5 on Ovation of the Seas-7-Night Alaska Cruise: August 29 – September 5 on Quantum of the Seas-5-Night Bermuda Cruise: October 8-13 on Adventure of the Seas-9-Night Canada/New England Cruise: October 13-22 on Adventure of the Seas-8-Night Southern Caribbean Cruise: October 29 – November 6 on Explorer of the Seas
