Wow, what an unexpected great time we had. Going in after being primary rcl anf ncl loyalists wasnt sure what to expect. Far exceding anything negatives or pre conceived expectations. All the staff, cabin stewards, servers, bartender but especially the casino staff went above and beyond to make sure we had a great time! Look forward to sailing with mvas again in the future!
We really enjoyed our 5 night trip on the Islander. The ship, crew, and food were all very good to excellent. Our only disappointment was the casino. None of the machines were hitting. We lost quickly every dollar we put into a slot machine. The paybacks were simply not normal which makes me wonder if they abide by the Nevada gaming rules regarding minimum payouts. The only exception to that was the video poker machines. The payouts were reduced which was a disappointment, but the odds are standard since they cannot manipulate those. Even with the reduced payout schedule, I managed to earn a lot of points while only losing $200 at VP. Also the happy hour (3 to 6) $5 blackjack was fun. The blackjack rules were the usual "bad" rules. No surrender, no doubling after splits, only two cards when splitting aces and of course 6 to 5 B.J. payout. Tough to win in the long run with those rules. I did manage to get 1184 points for the trip which bumped me up to Silver and a free cruise. Hopefully it's a certificate I can use to sail again on Islander or maybe the new Beachcomber.
Attractive and easy to navigate layout. Very comfortable room. Ari is an excellent room steward. Louis taught 3 easy to follow dance classes and has a great personality as well. Caio organized an excellent karaoke superstar program and we finalists very well treated. Attended a song and dance variety show and was very pleased. Food at the buffet could stand improvement; would like to have pork sausage at breakfast. Found the pizza excellent. Found the staff very helpful and caring.
That’s amazing! Congrats on hitting those majors and the hand pay on Dragon Link. That’s an incredible start to your cruise! Sounds like Margaritaville at Sea Islander treated you well 😊