This elegant story relates a 17th wedding anniversary cruise aboard the Southern Elegance. It explains why so many like to relax on deck and play for a chance to win.
On their 17th wedding anniversary, Henry County residents Diane and James Holland were rocking and rolling aboard the Southern Elegance, the latest addition to Georgia's small fleet of gambling ships.
While Diane Holland rolled dice in the big casino on the Magnolia deck, her husband rocked to the ship's sway in the topside lounge on the Cypress deck, watching football on satellite TV.
The lounge is a refuge from the smoky casino's din of jingling slot machines, live and recorded music, clattering chips, and shouts of victory or moans of defeat from the 150 or so high rollers aboard for a recent evening cruise from Sail Harbor Marina near Savannah.
"I love to gamble. He hates it," said Diane Holland, 43, a criminal investigator for the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs in Atlanta. "But it's our anniversary, so he's going to let me have my way."
James Holland later went below to people-watch in the casino.
"I work entirely too hard for my pay to give it away, and that's what they're doing," said her husband, who manages an Appleby's restaurant on Memorial Drive.
But even he felt the excitement. "When they announced the casino was open, you could see all the smiles and feel the energy," he said.
The Southern Elegance, like other Georgia-based gaming ships, is required to reach international waters three miles off the coast before opening its slot machines, video poker games, blackjack and poker tables, craps table and roulette wheel.
About half the six-hour voyage was spent getting to and from international waters. The rest of the time, the ship cruised back and forth just outside the three-mile limit.
On the way out, passengers explored the 165-foot-long ship, browsed the gift shop, had sandwiches and drinks (soft drinks are free), and watched sea gulls soaring in the ring of brightness created by the ship's lights. During daylight cruises, dolphins often surf the bow waves, gleaming like silver torpedoes in the clear green water offshore.
The journey also gives novice gamblers time to learn rules of the games from the amiable crew members, many of whom are British.
The ship is licensed to carry up to 500 passengers, but Karen Armstrong, vice president of Southern Elegance Casino Cruises, said it never sails with more than 300 aboard.
"We like to make it a comfortable ride," she said.
Armstrong said the company, which operates gaming cruises all over the world, chose Savannah as home base for the Southern Elegance because Georgia's oldest city is "very pretty" and Wilmington Island, where the ship berths, allows an easy cruise to international waters. In addition, Savannah gets 3 million visitors a year.
"We're also close enough to appeal to the Atlanta market, too," Armstrong said.
Two other gambling ships also sail out of Georgia harbors. The Atlantic Star operates out of Tybee Island and the Emerald Princess sails out of Brunswick.
On the cruise home, gamblers told war stories, watched sports on television or just relaxed. Some took naps, their heads cushioned on the bar.
Diane Holland, who lost $150, was feeling a little queasy from the motion of the ship. She and her husband - who eventually succumbed to the lure of the casino and dropped $50 - perched side by side on stools while he cradled her in his arms.
Everyone said they'd had fun even if they didn't end up winning.
"It is always a good time on the Southern Elegance."
Savannah, Georgia, is a beautiful city. After strolling down River Street, why not try a cruise on the Southern Elegance? It sails thirteen times weekly from Sail Harbor on Wilmington Island. Start your cruise adventure enjoying a cocktail in the lounge.
Try one of their special frozen cocktails at the Tiki bar or sample the menu, which includes such items as hot and cold sandwiches, salads and hors d'oeuvres. The Southern Elegance is open to the general public; private parties and business functions may also be arranged for passengers' Don't miss the sunsets! Hours of operation are Monday - Saturday 7.00 p.m. until 12.00 a.m. and Sundays, 12.00 p.m. until 12.00 a.m.
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