Sat, 01/29/2011 – 00:38 – PokerPages Staff

For the serious poker devotee, family vacations pose a dilemma.  Yes, it’s great to have time with loved ones a in a stress-free chill-out zone unpumelled by the demands and irritations of ordinary working life.  But which cardroom aficionado hasn’t secretly felt that a vacation is also an unwelcome interruption to the ongoing play of poker?

If you can admit to sentiments like this, then it might be worth finding a vacation which allows you to spend time with the people you love without demanding a period of strict abstinence from the game you love.  A Players Cruise vacation might just represent the perfect solution.

First things first, for those in your family with recessive poker genes: you all get to take a fabulous cruise vacation to the Caribbean aboard a luxury cruise liner.  Sixty per cent of the Carnival Conquest’s cabins have ocean views, and sixty per cent of those have balconies, too.  There is a broad range of excellent eateries, from the Manhattan-chic Point Steakhouse to the exquisite elegance of the Renoir and Monet Dining Rooms, right through to the casual delights of the Cezanne Restaurant on the Lido Deck.  There’s a stunning 12 foot by 22 foot LED screen on deck to watch movies, concerts, news and sports, as well as a 9-hole golf course, a jogging track and plenty of other sporting facilities.  Kids will love the spiral Twister Waterslide, and there are clubs for children of different age groups to keep them entertained and occupied.

But best of all, there’s a superb poker room on board.  If you like the idea of sipping languidly on an exotic cocktail as you contemplate your chip stack and consider your next action, this is the vacation for you.  As well as enjoying the free food and live entertainment, the spa, the night clubs on board, not to mention the delightful stops in Caribbean ports of call, you’ll also be able to indulge in a full service poker room with professional dealers and courteous, efficient hosts.

When you walk in, you’ll find ten full-size poker tables, sumptuously padded chairs and cash games of varying limits played throughout the day and night (except when the ship is in port).  There are also daily tournaments and an exceptionally tempting prize – one player per sailing wins a future cruise for two.  For poker rookies, there are excellent instructional seminars and when the action gets going, you can have food and drinks brought to your table.  And because there are virtually limitless onboard activities and entertainments for your loved ones to get stuck into, you never have to feel guilty about spending time at the table.

The next 7-day cruise is scheduled for 14th February, and will set sail from Galveston, Texas, making ports of call at Montego Bay in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel in Mexico.  For 2010, an interior cabin costs $529 per person, an ocean view cabin $564 and an ocean view with balcony $829. 

For poker fans, as vacations go, this one’s a peach.