Just got back into town from a family vacation, wanted to bump this thread and share my experiences.
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Ship's Name: The Anthem of the Seas
Date of Cruise: June 1 - June 6 2019
Number of tables:1
Live or e-table: Live
Blinds: 2/5
Buy-in structure: $100min-$500max (or biggest stack)
Rake structure: 10% w/ $15 cap
How often did the game run: nightly 9PM - close
I had a similar experience to everything that you'll find reviewing live poker tables on cruise ships. The dealers were good, but slow. I actually observed that several of them were rotating between other table games (blackjack etc) and the poker table. Although not the most skilled, they were professional and one did a great job resolving a tough spot where a villain mistook my $100 bet for $25 and flicked in a green chip, then refused to call the rest.
The rake was of course very high, but the player pool was what made playing worth it. I have actually never played 2/5 before, but decided to take a shot and sit for a few orbits and see how the table was. There were plenty of very, VERY passive old TAG types who were regulars every night, with a random drunk gambler mixed into the lineup. Lots of limping, lots of minraising pre, just very bad play that can be easily exploited.
My final takeaway is that if you're there to play very standard poker with a long term strategy you cannot beat cruise ship poker between the slow speed and high rake. However, if you're willing to look for spots to exploit the very weak field and play for stacks, you can make a killing. As for personal results, I played for 6 hours over 2 sessions and showed a profit of $1.2K, booking my biggest career wins in my first time playing 2/5.