Update re Los Angeles Poker cruise Oct7, on RCI Vision OTS

[cruisinryan]

UPDATE to original post below: I have received a reply to the inquiry email I had sent to the poker organizers; here it is:

"Ryan,

Sorry for the delay in reply.

The rake on the no-limit tables will be 5% $4 max or possibly a time collection of $5 every half of an hour. Whatever our players prefer.

There will be from 8-10 tables running at a once. Cash games will be provided on sea days along side the tournaments. As soon as a tournament table breaks down we will open it up for a cash game.

We prefer for you to book with Tanforan for a few reasons. You get trip insurance which protects your money due to sickness, cancellation etc. You also will be apart of our poker group and have benefits that "normal" passengers won't have. We are not demanding you book with our agent but one major problem we have had in the past is if we change our traveling dates we have no way of contacting you to inform you we will be on the ship. Also, the price is a bit higher as we have to pay extra to provide our players with a cocktail party, seminars and rental space for the poker room.

I hope I have answered all your questions. If you have anymore please don't hesitate.

Again, sorry for the delay in response, with the October cruise so close we are getting a lot of requests.

Sincerely,

Jesse Petrakis
www.worldpokersolutions.com"

End of email reply from the organizers.
Back to me:

Also, I spoke to the TA, Sheila (1-800-225-9901), who says there ARE 18-19 people signed up, and another 12 or more "waiting" to sign up. She says she will keep on top of things, and that yes, the organizers are hard to get a hold of, but that they HAVE put up money already, and they say it will happen. Sheila said she would like 30 people signed up, and I'm sure if there were, the organizers of the poker games would be happy too. Sheila said she will "cancel" the group and return everyone's money (90 days before the sailing, which would be around July 7th), if she thinks there is sufficient concern. I was concerned that the organizers had not responded to my email, but now they have. Sheila says the poker organizers have reserved a room for the poker tables, it's not part of the casino.

The poker organizers' website says there will be a tournament on each of the 3 at sea days, as well as cash tables all the time (except when in port). So that's a pretty good bit of poker.

I'm thinking, this could be a fun cruise, and hoping that since there are not a whole lot of people signed up, and hence the tourneys won't have huge payouts, it may not appeal to "professional" players, so maybe it won't be too intense.

DISCLAIMER: I am in NO WAY associated with the travel agency, nor the poker organizers! Just an interested party who is trying to help make sense of this, so he can sign-up too.

BTW: It's a 7 day cruise, LA to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarto, and 3 days at sea.


ORIGINAL POST:
Hi everyone. There is supposedly a poker cruise out of Los Angeles on Oct. 7, 2007, on RCCL Vision of the Seas. Go to WorldPokerSolutions.com and click on Poker Cruises for more.

HOWEVER, I have sent emails to the organizers, and phone calls, and I have received NO ANSWERS. The travel agency is concerned also.

I'd like to go, but I'm not signing up for a poker cruise without any confirmation from the organizers that it's even for real.

Anyone know anything??

Thanks,
Ryan