Nautical Chip

2010-11-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

This is EPIC!

Calling all poker players!!! Crown Poker Cruises will be the first poker cruise company to offer a poker cruise on the EPIC! The cruise departs Miami on March 19, 2011 for a beautiful 7 day cruise to the Caribbean ports of Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel. The poker room will be open any time the ship is at sea. There will be live games, tournaments, daily raffles and prizes! Beginner poker lessons are free. You will be entered into the $1,000 Free Roll Tournament for booking EARLY! So don’t delay! Many of the cabins are offered are limited in availability, you can reserve your today for a $350 per person deposit. Full payment is not due until December 30, 2010---your deposit is fully refundable until this time…so what do you have to loose? So go all in before the flop, you do not want to wait for the river to book this one!

THIS SHIP IS EPIC!

There are many things in life that can be explained by one word…what do you think of when you here the word EPIC? I think of massive - something large that has taken place in history… Well the Norwegian EPIC fits the bill. The NCL Epic will hit the waters of Florida sometime after July 4^th and will be making its inaugural Caribbean cruise July 17^th. The Epic has so much to offer this ship is truly revolutionary! NCL has stepped up the entertainment on board the Epic, for the first time ever you will be able to see the Blue Man Group at sea in the Epic Theater! If you have never seen the Blue Man Group you will not want to miss your chance to see this one of a kind show. In fact it is more than a show it is a true experience! I personally love them, I have seen them in Las Vegas at the Venetian, the experience was wonderful, the show was mesmerizing, and it tickles your senses. I can not wait to see what the “guys” have put together for the show on the Epic. Featuring Blue Man Group on board the Epic is not the only way NCL has changed the face of cruise ship entertainment, the new show Cirque Dreams and Dinner takes place in the Spiegel Tent. This one of a kind spectacular combine’s equal parts circus and Moulin Rouge.

Aboard the Epic the night life is certainly going to rock! There are 20 bars, lounges, and night clubs to choose from. In fact when you get too “hot” dancing the night away during the White Hot Party Night you can chill out in the “coolest” new bar to hit the seas – ICE BAR! One of 14 true ice bars in the world and certainly the only one at sea --- yes, that’s right aboard this ship an ice bar. The bar is always set at 17 degrees or below, so you will definitely want to enjoy one of the complementary cozy faux fur coat, hat and gloves to enjoy that martini on the “rocks”. The ICE BAR certainly looks hip and cool!

Norwegian Cruise Line was rated as having the “Best Cruise Line Casino”, by Casino Player Magazine-Casino Player Annual 2003-2009. You’re bound to get lucky here, the Norwegian Cruise Line casinos pay out more winnings than any other cruise line. In fact they even offer blackjack tables on the pool deck, so you can enjoy some gaming fun in the warm Caribbean sun!

Kids will be thrilled by a huge multi-slide Aqua Park! The Aqua Park is one of the largest at sea with three extreme twist slides, including the Epic Plunge, the largest bowl slide at sea - spin around until you are sucked down the drain! Parents you will never get the kids to dry off when they see the water park on board this ship. PS---it’s not just for the kids!

There is still more to do, you can play wii on the two story screen in the lobby, climb one of the 3 rock walls, rappel for the first time ever at sea, let the kids climb like spiders in the 24’ high spider web climbing cage, check out the full sized batting cage, play basket ball or take the family bowling on one of the 6 alleys on board this ship. There is even an ice rink aboard this ship! You are guaranteed not to run out of things to do.

The cabins on board this ship have been totally reconfigured! You will not see your standard cruise ship boxes for staterooms; the walls are “wavy”. It has been designed to give passengers the maximum amount of space in their staterooms, this way the rooms feel more open. On the Epic there are no ocean view cabins – cabins with only a window or port hole, all outside cabins have a balcony! NCL has also come up with another new cabin category, it is the Studio Cabin. Single travelers can now book a cabin designed for the single traveler in mind, they are priced for a single person, so no more having to pay double the fare to cruise without a companion staying in your stateroom. There is an added bonus to the Studio Stateroom---access to your very own lounge! In this key card access only lounge - The Living Room - you can enjoy a cocktail before dinner or just sit and read a book. This personalized lounge idea has been carried over into a few of the other stateroom categories, such as the suites and villas, in fact there you can enjoy your very own private pool and bar and three private restaurants. Many of these staterooms come with butler and concierge service too!

I haven’t had a chance to cover all of the dining options on the Epic yet, but I think they are fabulous! There are 20 dining options on board the Epic, so there will definitely be something to offer every palate! Eleven of the restaurants are included the cruise fare, some of the specialty restaurants do charge a small cover fee if you choose to dine there. Not to worry there are still the standard dining options available, the two main dining rooms on board the Epic – The Manhattan Room and Taste, plus the buffet and the 24 hour eatery – O’Sheehan’s at no extra fee, you are guaranteed to get mouth watering food no matter where you choose to dine on the ship.

If you haven’t cruised before or haven’t been on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship in a while you don’t want to miss this one. Call Crown Travel today to book your cruise on the Epic, whether it is our poker cruise or your very own date, your cruise EPIC!

2010-06-16T07:55:00.001-07:00

Crown Poker Cruises is Passionately PINK… are you?

Crown Poker Cruises has gone Passionately PINK for the CURE! Passionately PINK for the CURE is a Susan G. Komen fundraising raising program; CPC is proud to be sponsoring a charity poker tournament on our November 20^th sailing on the Carnival Freedom. The goal is to raise $5,000 in support of this worth while cause. The statistics are still so frightening with this disease; one woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes. Men, don’t think that you are exempt from this disease, an estimated 440 men died from this disease in 2009. Each of us knows someone who has suffered this horrible disease, and unfortunately many of us know a woman who has passed away from this plague. Lend your support to find a cure…and here’s a POKERIFIC way!

Crown Poker Cruises’ November 2010 Caribbean cruise falls over Thanksgiving, we will be giving thanks by hosting a charity poker tournament to benefit breast cancer research. There is still time to book this cruise. All cruisers are asked to wear pink for the tournament. If you can not attend the cruises there is still a way that you can show that you are Passionately PINK for the CURE; donate any amount directly to the cause via the Crown Poker Cruises group website. The link is included below. Please take the time to check out the website and donate to this very worth while cause.

This is a cause that is very close to the “heart” of the Crown Poker Cruises family. Seven years ago Deb was diagnosed with breast cancer, she is a survivor!!! We have been blessed as a family; she received top notch health care and treatment, but many women are not as fortunate. This is where the Susan G. Komen foundation is so important - eighty-seven cents from every dollar Komen receives goes towards the mission! Twenty-five percent is used to fund research and seventy-five percent is shared with affiliates across the country to be used in your locals areas for education, screening and treatment efforts! Please join us on the cruise and play in this worth while tournament! There is a great prize pool of cash and gifts. Crown Poker Cruises has printed a special collector poker chip for the event---it is a $5 chip that you can purchase for $10 with the extra $5 dollars going directly to the cause! Don’t miss your chance to collect the commemorative chip, it will be a great keep sake to show that YOU went Passionately PINK too!!!

For more information or to book this terrific 8 Day Caribbean Cruise check out: www.CrownPokerCruises.com or 877-387-6537.

Book Today! You can play in our $1,000 Free Roll Tournament for booking early!

Passionately PINK for the CURE

Tournament Structure

$50.00 buy-in 400 in tournament chips

$40.00 re-buys for the 1st hour - 500 tournament chips

$80.00 double add-on after the 1st hour - 1,000 in tournament chips

$40.00 single add-on after the 1st hour - 500 tournament chips

Note the 1st buy-in will go for cash back to the players a $5.00 dealer fee and $5.00 for prizes.

All other money will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Passionately PINK for the CURE website for online donations:

www.CrownPokerCruises.com – click Passionately Pink banner on home page to donate directly to the charity.

Team ID# 7279775

Team Name: Crown Poker Cruises - Group

Vancouver ~ A Beautiful City

2010-06-04T19:19:00.000-07:00

Until now I had never been to Vancouver, in fact I had never visited Canada. I was not sure what to expect, as many times you see on the news that Canadians’ do not hold Americans in high regard. I think this is a major false hood – at least here, I can not speak for all of Canada. I have much enjoyed my trip here. I have been here for 4 days, the people are warm and friendly, the city is extraordinarily clean, and the food is terrific! This experience is a bit different than many “cruise ship experiences” in a port city. The port is easily accessed, it is at the Vancouver Convention Center, and in fact it is under the Convention Center. There are hotels so close that you won’t have to worry about getting transportation to the port because you are within a few steps of your ship. Cruise ships leave from here to explore the cost of Canada on the way to Alaska. Although I am not here to depart on one of these cruises, I wish I was, I am here as a traveler and a cruise agent – I am here attending a cruise trade show and conference. I have had the pleasure of checking out a few of the ships while they were in port. I have enjoyed them greatly, I am getting a feel for the ships up here; they are not your Ft. Lauderdale or Miami behemoths; they are the smaller – medium sized ships – but don’t let that fool you there is still so much to do on them…No you won’t be surfing on board the ship, but aboard these ships you will be able to tour glaciers, get off in ports like Victoria, BC or Skagway, Alaska. You will be able to explore the last great North American wilderness. You can test your skills as crab fishermen on the Aleutian Ballad in one of the ports, you can climb a glacier in another or take a horse drawn carriage ride in Victoria.

Let me tell you, there is so much to do in this city, I recommend staying a few days in Vancouver before and after your cruise. The city as I said is extremely clean, the air is crisp and for many who live in fast paced cities, when they say there is traffic here you will look around and wonder where it is. The city is easily traversed whether it be by foot or public transportation. And YES there are casinos and card rooms here. Yesterday I was able to spend a couple of hours in the Edge Water Casino Poker Room. The poker room has 12 or so tables, forgive me I forgot to take a proper count. The dealers were efficient and polite and the players were great in welcoming this American. Deb played the 1-2 no limit game and was able to walk out with a little more than she walked in with.

There is more to do here than just play poker, although I know many of my followers would be happy with just that… I spent the day at Grandville Island, a quaint little shopping/open air market on False Creek. Grandville Island is actually a peninsula. The area was an industrial center at one time, but about 20 years ago the city planners had the foresight to transform the area into a great shopping destination for both locals and tourists. There are many artisans, making their wares and selling them. All art and crafts that are sold on the island must be manufactured there. There is a seasonal open air farmers market and a year round indoor market with various fresh fruit and vegetable vendors, bakeries – selling every sort of pastries that may come to mind. For you ladies there is so much hand made fine jewelry to be hold that you better bring a charge card! I would love to live here just to be able to go down for the fresh flowers; they were like nothing I have ever seen, cut hydrangeas the size of an NFL cheerleaders pompoms! You can get to Grandville Island by bus, taxi, car – but let me worn you there is limited parking, and aqua bus. We road a bus down to the island, but decided to take an aqua bus back to the other side a False Creek, conveniently there is a stop at Edge Water Casino at Nations Plaza – you may have seen it during the Olympics, there are the flags from every participating nation in the world there. The stop was within a couple blocks of our hotel – the Georgian Court Hotel, a beautiful hotel, located on Beatty Street across from the sports stadium. They provide excellent service and there are many special touches you will find, such as complimentary apples and water on the front desk, and many other fine European style accommodations. If you are into Hockey this would be a great hotel to stay when catching a game. I would however stay at a closer hotel if I was departing on a cruise ship, although it is only an $8 cab fare to the port.

I have also had the pleasure of visiting the Vancouver Aquarium, which features not only Beluga Whales, but some of the only White Sided Pacific Dolphins in captivity. These dolphins are only in this beautiful aquarium because they were tragically caught in fishing nets off the coast of Japan and after being rehabilitated could not be returned to the wild for various health concerns. These days they spend their days educating the public on their species, which not much is known about. I was able to enjoy a very special meet and great with the dolphin’s head trainer, we talked about different issues facing the dolphins, their care, the plight of their species in the wild, etc. This was a wonderful experience for this diver…I just wish I could of gotten in and breathed under water with these wonderful creatures! The aquarium is located in Stanley Park. The park is Vancouver’s first park and covers over 1,000 acres, which is pretty amazing in a city that is covered by high rises and is the second most populated city in North America behind Manhattan Island. The rhododendrons in the park are certainly something to behold, I am lucky to be here during their peak season. Let me tell you there are plenty of them to see, with over 4,500 plants. There is quite a lot of walking to be done in the park, but all levels of fitness can be accommodated there. If you prefer to see the parks flora and fauna without walking you can opt for one of the wonderful carriage rides, this is a fun and relaxing way to experience the park. There are many other activities that one can behold in the park from golf to swimming, don’t come to Vancouver without taking the time to experience Stanly park, you won’t regret staying the extra day or two.

My time here is quickly coming to an end, I hope to make it back here soon with my family to show them around this wonderful city…I hope to bring my “poker family” here to embark on another one of our fabulous poker cruises; I look forward to exploring Alaska via a cruise in the near future!

LATE ADDITION: Tonight we ate at Zachary's on Robson...we found the establishment by accident, just walking to our hotel last night. We decided to try it and boy we're happy we did!!! The food was impeccable, the atmosphere was very warm and inviting. We walked in and there was not a seat in the house, although we only waited five minutes. Zachary's is a very small restaurant, less than a dozen tables inside and a small bar area, if the weather was better we could of enjoyed their out side dinning area. Deb ordered the prime rib, the manager guaranteed she would love it and if she didn't he would pay for her meal...with a guarantee like that who wouldn't try it. Well I guess myself, I had to try something else from the menu after seeing the scrumptious dishes that we being served around me...I decided to have the basil chicken pizza, a very thin, crisp cracker style crust. All I have to say is FABULOUS and Deb did not get a free meal! She said it was one of the best prime ribs she had ever eaten. The large end cut was served with quartered potatoes and various other roasted vegetables that were lightly coated is a delectable gravy, but not your usual brown gravy served with beef. The manager said that he roasts the prime rib slow all day with sea salt and rosemary - Portuguese style. Our service was impeccable, and the prices of our meals could not be beat! The waitress told us that the locals call the restaurant the best hidden secret on Robson Street. I hate to give away secrets, but this one has to be shared! If you want a terrific meal when you are about town in Vancouver you must stop in Zachary's and try the prime rib or anything else on the menu, I'm sure there is something to suite any palate.

What is a poker cruise?

2010-05-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

I have many people ask me, “What is a poker cruise?” I know many people who have been playing poker for a while have heard of poker cruises, but many new comers have not. A poker cruise is a great way to spend a vacation; it is really two vacations in one. Instead of flying to Las Vegas or another “poker mecca” to play poker; a poker cruise offers you a way to see exotic places, the luxury of being on board a floating resort and the ability to play poker. A regular cruise offers you a casino on board the ship, which is great for the black jack or slot player, but most do not offer live poker; they do however have one or two computerized tables…for many of us this just doesn’t cut it…we could stay home and play Full Tilt, or one of the various other online sites. A poker cruise offers you a full service poker room on board the ship; and is open anytime the ship is not in port. Since the ship’s casino and the card room must close when in port it gives plenty of time to check out the port of call.

These days there are a few poker cruise companies out there; Crown Poker Cruises being one of them. Our inaugural cruise was November 2008 to the Caribbean ports of Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. This was a wonderful cruise; we were able to meet some really great people that have continued to book on every subsequence cruise. Since then we have taken two other cruises – Mexico November 2009 and the Caribbean March 2010. Our most recent cruise in March took us to the magnificent islands of St. Maarten, St. Lucia and St. Kitts. As many of you have read, I had a terrific time in St. Maarten aboard the Random Wind sailboat! We are currently taking bookings for our next great escape – 8 day Thanksgiving cruise, November 20-28, 2010. This cruise will take us to three exotic ports of call that we have not been to yet, Cozumel, Mexico - Limon, Costa Rica – Colon, Panama; this cruise departs from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We are currently organizing an amazing excursion through the Costa Rica rain forest! In April of 2011 we will be departing from Galveston, Texas for the first time! We are offering a wonderful 7 day cruise to Montego Bay, Jamaica – Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands - Cozumel, Mexico. Then is September of 2011 we have a fabulous surprise cruise – 14 days and you will not believe the destinations! I can’t tell you just yet, but make sure you check our website (www.CrownPokerCruises.com) routinely because you won’t want to miss this one!

Life on board a poker cruise…

If you have never cruised before a cruise is a wonderful way to experience a world class floating resort, the best thing of all is a cruise takes you to exotic locations all around the world, and if you so choose you can get there in your bath robe or bathing suit! On board a cruise ship you will be pampered by the crew, you won’t have to make your bed or pick up your towels – the towel ninja will do that for you! You will have the opportunity to eat gourmet meals, enjoy Broadway style shows and entertainment, sit by the pool, go to the gym, or enjoy the spa…there is so much to do on board a cruise ship and when you add in the poker room it makes a cruise simply irresistible!

Crown Poker Cruises poker room…

We operate a friendly poker room that is very inclusive whether you are a novice player or the seasoned pro. Our poker room is staffed by professionals that have been in the business for many years. Deb Wohle run’s the poker room; she has been in the poker industry for well over 20 years! She has owned her own card room in California, played all over the world, worked card rooms all over the country, played in the World Series, worked the World Series, is an accomplished dealer, floor person, card room manager, and the best of all my partner and mother in law! Crown Poker Cruises only employs professional dealers; whether they are from Las Vegas or your local card room, they are simply the best dealers around. For the novice player we offer daily beginner lessons, a beginners table so that they can test out their new skills and a final beginner tournament.

Anytime the ship is at sea the poker room is open! Well…if everyone decides to sleep, then we close! We offer our players a friendly card room that they can let their hair down, relax and play poker…they are multiple tables, structured and no limit. We offer tournaments throughout the cruise with various buy-ins. There is a $1000 Free Roll Tournament for early bookings on the next two cruises as well as a $500 Free Roll Tournament for past cruisers, so it definitely pays to cruise with us again and again! There are always great raffles and a grand prize raffle that will nock your socks off at the end!

We love our cruisers and truly believe our motto, “We treat our PLAYERS like ROYALTY”. Join us on the next cruise and we will make sure that you get the ROYAL TREATMENT too!

Check us out on the web: www.CrownPokerCruises.com

You can reach Christina or Deb at 877-38-POKER

HERE’S TO CRUISING THE HIGH SEAS!

Favorite Excursion ~ St. Maarten

2010-05-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

The island of St. Maarten is located in a beautiful part of the Caribbean ocean, the azure water turns to a turquoise color that defies imagination. While visiting the island on a previous cruise I had rented a Jeep and drove around the entire island…that was fun, but to see the island from the bow of a 54 foot traditional sailboat is one of the best experiences I have ever had. In April we were in St. Maarten. As an early cruise booking bonus we, Crown Poker Cruises, charted a sailboat named the Random Wind and took a group of cruisers out for a wonderful day of sailing around the island. Our terrific experience started out with the crew of the boat. The owner of the boat Diane walked to the cruise terminal and picked us up. The sailboat was a short walk down the bustling highway that encompasses the island. I say a short walk, but if you are elderly or unable to walk long distances I would not recommend the walk, instead hop on the water taxi, it is located close to the cruise pier exit and the water taxi will deliver you a short distance from where the sailboat picks you up. When we made it to the sailboat awaiting us there was Trevor, a tan salty dog with a charming British accent, he fit the role of boat captain to a “T”. He helped everyone board the boat and he and Di made us all feel welcome aboard the vessel. After our safety briefing we were off to sail the high seas, well maybe the low seas around the island… The view of the island was breath taking! Our cruise ship happen to be in port on a day like no other, there were 7 other cruise ships in St. Maarten that day, that is a huge population increase for an island that is 36 square miles and has a population of 75,000 people. We found ourselves the lucky ones, only 18 of us on a beautiful sailboat with only the amazing views of the sea and ocean surrounding us. We had wonderful sail and tossed anchor in a little cove where we were able to swim and snorkel. Unfortunately this is where we ran into the masses…or rather they ran into us. We were the first boat to anchor in the cove and along came another half dozen catamarans loaded with enthusiastic passengers who were just dying to get into the same water we were leisurely snorkeling in. Saved from the schooling humans by the conch horn blow, we all made our way back to the boat for a fabulous chicken curry rice dish, salad and fruit. Di our hostess made sure that we were all plied with the beverages of our choice; I being a rum girl, on a sail boat with Jimmy playing in the back ground was all too happy to consume boat drinks! After our “scrum-delicious” lunch Trevor and Di had a surprise for us, they called it the Tarzan swing; we all just called it a really good time! Almost all of the cruisers tried their trapeze skills, many of us got a bit crazy with attempts of flips off the swing, but not this girl! I saw the ways those guys belly flopped and face flopped – they looked like a freight train crashing into a wall, I saw all the pink, it looked painful! I did enjoy flying through the air and free falling into the water. It is amazing to be able to swim in water that you can see 20 to 30 feet below you and is as warm as bath water. After our circus show was complete we had to make our way back to the dock, toss our crazy group off the boat and watch the Random Wind sail off into the horizon. It really was a day of pure happiness and joy for this pirate girl who is getting way too close to turning forty!

I've Decided To Blog...

2010-04-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start blogging…so I figured I would start with what I do.

What do I do?

I book travel for a living. Wow, that doesn't sound like much, but I’m busy all the time. To be more precise I book a cruises and vacations to terrific resorts and specialize in booking poker cruises. I know that many people have never heard of a poker cruise…so this is what I tell them, “My company books group space on board a cruise ship where we set up a full service, professional poker room. We travel to exotic locations on board a floating palace and play poker any time the ship is at sea.” What could be better than that? I’ll have to tell you, not much. Over the past three years I have been able to meet people from all around this country and the world and it has been a fabulous experience. I am now to the point that I can’t wait until the next cruise to see all of my “family” again, we add clients every cruise and many of them become close personal friends, and yes family… I think that is something very special about the atmosphere in our card room, we are a family, and it seems like the new players each cruise get into the swing of things and like the way we operate. It may stem from the fact that our business is truly a family affair; my business partner is my mother-in-law, Deb Wohle. I think we make terrific partners, I run the travel agency side of the business and she runs the poker room, which couldn't be a better arrangement. Deb is a terrific poker player, she has played in the World Series, won numerous tournaments through out her poker career and has owned her own card room in California. She runs a very professional card room and only highers professional dealers – from all around the country. I get to play hostess on board the cruises, I love it, I get to mingle with the players and play poker… couldn't be better! Yet there is still more family involved in our business, my husband Rob works floor, and aunts – Ginger and Suz work as cashiers, my boys even make brief appearances to check in - not old enough to put to work yet, but boy you should see the little one spread a deck! Watch out dealers!!! We have a terrific time working together and I think that reflects in the laid back and friendly atmosphere of the card room. We love to show beginners the ropes and definitely love to give the hard core players a good game! We would love to show you why our motto is: “We treat our PLAYERS like ROYALTY!” For more information on our business – Crown Poker Cruises – check out our website – www.CrownPokerCruises.com. We would love to meet you on our next cruise and add you to the “Family”!