If you are a VIP player looking for some gaming action sailing out of New Orleans this winter, do yourself a favor and try the Maharajah's Casino aboard the cruise ship Norwegian Spirit.

The Spirit is unique among NCL ships in that it started life as SuperStar Leo, built for the Asian market and its hard-core gamblers. The ship was only a few years old when it was transferred from Star Cruises to sister-company NCL after a storm set back construction of one NCL's new ships.

Players who tried the Norwegian Spirit in the weeks after it first started U.S. cruises returned home with incredulous stories of the ship's multiple casinos, which for Asian gamblers included not just a couple of VIP rooms but a VVIP casino area as well.

That no longer is the case. During the ship's most recent refurbishing, one high-roller area was transformed into an additional nightclub and another into a conference center. But the current Maharajah's Casino still ranks among the more spacious at sea, hosting 15 gaming tables, including 7 blackjack, 2 three-card poker, 1 Ultimate Texas Hold 'em, 1 Let It Ride, 2 roulette, and 1 craps table.

At one end of the casino is a Texas Hold 'em table, where no-limits games attracted a full-house of players nightly. Leaving aside the Texas Hold 'em tournaments that are independently run from time to time on other cruise ships, NCL is the place for higher-stakes Texas Hold 'em players seeking action on a week-long cruise.

NCL's blackjack games, as we have noted before, are the most player-friendly at sea. The Norwegian Spirit -- like other NCL ships -- uses six-deck shoes and the dealer stands on soft-17. The Spirit uses continuous shuffling machines only at its $5 and $10 blackjack tables. Higher-stakes games are dealt from a shoe. The Spirit had both a $50 minimum and a $100 minimum table on this cruise, and is ready to open even higher stakes tables upon request.

Off to the side of the gaming tables, as well as in a separate alcove that apparently is a vestige from the SuperStar Leo days, are a couple of hundred slots offering wagering opportunities ranging from 1 cent to $100.

NCL remains a leader among cruise lines in issuing VIP players a Casinos at Sea card, just like the player's club cards you get at land-based casinos, enabling them to track slots play and provide rewards.

Slot players only needed to insert the card in the machine of their choice to accumulate points that can be redeemed on the final night of the cruise.

Supervisors and casino hosts on the Spirit took good care of Casinos at Sea player's club members, with drinks quickly comped for all those playing for higher stakes. Dealers were competent, though some were more outgoing than others.

Bottom line: VIP players interested in cruising out of New Orleans this winter for a week in the Caribbean sun would have a hard time finding a better shipboard (or land-based) casino experience than that aboard the Norwegian Spirit.

--The Savvy Cruiser