Seas2mountains

Our non-Haven 2 bedroom suite. We are being spoiled. We were very blessed to get the upgrade from Club Balcony Suite. The best parts are getting breakfast at Moderno and lunch at Cagney’s .

Fitness center

Thermal spa

Haven/Suite lunch at Cagney’s. It was delicious! Soup de jour was Corn and shrimp Appetizer - plain shrimp without the Shrimp Louie dressing and veggies. Caesar salad Shrimp Scampi Salmon One new thing is they offered burger and chicken sliders when we entered Cagney’s. They were also handing out cheese or something on toothpicks in the atrium when people were boarding.

Embarkation at Pier 90 and Haven/Suite boarding area.

Hello - sorry for the delayed update. We are having a lot of fun on the cruise but also blame the SLLLOOOOOWWWW Wifi for the delayed updates. (More on Ink 48 later on as we did have an issue.) We left Ink 48 about 9:30am and it was a super easy and short walk from the hotel to Pier 90. Street level is where all the people getting off of the Gem and Getaway were hanging out waiting for transportation. While the porters seemed to be collecting luggage on the street level, for some reason we didn't completely trust them to get the bags on the ship when it looked like there were so many bags in the area for those getting off the ship, so we took our bags with us on the large freight elevators at Pier 90. The woman operating the elevator asked why we didn't drop our bags but we said we were told to bring them upstairs so she didn't argue with us. Several porters were there when we got off the elevator and we felt a little better as everyone on this floor was definitely departing. We waited until a little after 10am until they ACTUALLY called for people by check-in times and asked to CONFIRM the check-in time really matched on the paperwork. This is our 19th cruise on NCL and it is the FIRST time they have ever checked our check-in time. It took a little bit of waiting in line to get through security even though we were within the first 20 people going through security. Once we got through security, we looked for the Haven signs and they confirmed we were on the list with our Suite and we were allowed to enter the Haven/Suite lounge. We did not get breakfast as sleep was a little more important for us and we knew we would get food and plenty of it very soon after boarding. We were happy to see many different appetizers and more than your typical breads and fruit but some sandwiches including some mozzarella and tomato sandwiches. Leo the concierge greeted us and welcomed us. He gave us our current restaurant reservations. I had written out on a paper the reservations I wanted to add or change. He asked to keep the paper and I agreed. Magically, those reservations were made quite quickly! 🙂 Leo also answered questions including the question about Bermuda. He did tell us about the change and additional time we would get in Puerto Rico. We got on the ship around 11:20am and were among the first 10 people to board the ship - yeah - my husband likes to be among the first when possible. We have been the first and second on the ship a few times. I have no idea why but I go along with it as it makes him happy. Lol. The things we do for love. We were escorted to Cagney's for a wonderful lunch and we had excellent service by Leah. We enjoyed a cocktail with lunch. I'll post photos later. Our rooms were ready by 2:30pm but they had warned us earlier that they might not be ready until 3pm. We found our luggage in the hall and got all items unpacked before the Muster drill at 3:30pm. Muster drill was a little irritating after having no muster drills during the past post-Covid trips but it went fairly fast. We really liked getting a nap in when there were no muster drills. The ship left fairly close to the planned departure time of 4pm and it was a little after 4pm when we left. While it was cold outside, we bundled up with our parkas and enjoyed watching the Newark shoreline until we passed the statue of Liberty. Our normal ship tradition is to spend the early afternoon in the hot tub before most people get their luggage as few remember to put swimsuits in carry on luggage. It was way too cold for us so we waited until 5pm to go to the spa (photos provided later) to get in a hot tub and the thermal spa. It was a quick dip as we had reservations at Cagney's at 6pm. We had a wonderful dinner at Cagney's (photos later) and enjoyed hearing the amazing Nathaniel in the atrium and the beautiful voice of Tania in Magnum's until we called it a night. We took advantage of FAS+ where the P+ got us 4 bottles of San Pellegrino and flow water for the room. We also enjoyed the P+ wines at Cagney's and in the lounges. We can tell that there are fewer bar servers but we did get served fairly quickly last night. Today was not as quick and the bars that were open were all swamped. With it being a little cold outside, many guests are hanging out at bars taking advantage of their FAS drink packages. We were happy see many people giving tips to the bartenders who were working so hard and did not get a break. I will update on our Saturday at sea next.

This hotel, Ink 48, really tries to rip off the hotel guest. For a small fee of $8, you too can be the proud owner of one 16.9 ounce bottle of Kirkland purified Water (aka Costco). Not even fancy Spring water. But the 40 pack in NYC retails for $29. We can’t wait to get on the ship to use the FAS+ package. If you are wondering what the $40 “Intimacy Kit” contains, see the photo below.

As we have a nephew who works and lives in the area, we were happy we could meet him for dinner. He lives near the pier so we selected the hotel for this cruise to be closer to him while being closer to the pier. We met at his favorite restaurant, 44 and X Hell’s Kitchen. https://www.44andx.com As we were so engrossed with hearing all about our nephew’s work and personal life in NYC plus a little gossip about our families (Lol), I was so frustrated that I didn’t get a photo of us with our nephew. But I did remember to get photos of our dinner which were excellent. Dinner 1 - Short ribs Dinner 2 - Salmon Dinner 3 - Lemon Sole Food and service were excellent. Our water glasses were constantly refilled with lemon water. The food was really good. We would return. The prices were much higher than we pay in our hometown but this is NYC and we are on vacation. Here are links to Trip Advisor review: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d425603-Reviews-44_X-New_York_City_New_York.html

My husband and I love real NY pizza so that was a must find for lunch. We enjoyed Sal’s pizza https://www.newyorksalspizzamenu.com/?utm_source=gbp#about It is really small inside but we were lucky to have two seats to eat inside of the four total bar type of chairs in the eat in area. The cashier/server was very kind and friendly. The pizza was exactly as we hoped - hot and delicious. We would return and do recommend it. Slice 1 - Pepperoni Slice 2 - Chicken and broccoli

We are staying at Ink 48 in Hell’s Kitchen which is super close to the pier. It took about 45 minutes in mid-day traffic to get here by taxi from LGA and about $80+ with tip. Check out the super expensive hotel mini bar prices. Yikes. When we returned to the hotel after lunch, we walked past a family with their Getaway tagged luggage. The pier area will be busy with the Gem and Getaway both here tomorrow. Photos of our room.

We are in New York! The past few days have been a little busy with the typical packing, throwing out food in the refrigerator, watering all plants, cleaning up the house and visiting with relatives who were in town this week. DH and I also had a last minute trip to Florida from Saturday - Tuesday since we both have time off from our full-time jobs for 2.5 weeks beginning with this work week. It was really nice to get to the warmer weather in Florida and hang out by the pool all day those past few days. We were a little bummed about the cooler weather in NY but knew that was likely, too. I do also have a small business and had to work a few hours on Tuesday night but most of that is remote. I do always have to get the internet package on the cruises to stay connected with the business but this week won't be too bad as we will be closed for most of those days. The alarm went off at 3:45am this morning as we picked an early flight. All was uneventful with good weather in both locations.. I'll post photos of our lunch and hotel info. It looks like we will be able to walk from our hotel to the pier.

Thank you! I appreciate it. It sounds like Bermuda isn't happening based on weather reports and rumors being reported on social media from tour providers in Bermuda. Where we are going instead of Bermuda is a mystery and some are calling NCL reps and getting different results. You are right that there are plenty of people who do like Bud Light. It sounds like the cruise before ours got restocked at some point. It has been really busy for me even though DH and I have not worked at our day jobs at all this week. I will be enjoying your review, too!

We can see the Gem is making her way back to NYC with the Getaway nearby. Both arrive in NYC on Friday. The Gem is skipping Bermuda due to weather and the Getaway was supposed to be at Dominican Republic today. Looks like they are headed up the coast with strong headwinds over the next few days.

Thank you! I enjoyed reading your excellent review and viewing the photos! Looks like you had a wonderful cruise.

As mentioned, the Gem cruise before ours will be skipping Bermuda according to an update on a social media site made by someone who said they were on the Gem now. They also reported that they ran out of Bud and Bud Light. I agree with another poster who suggested if you are going to run out of beer on a cruise ship, Bud and Bud Light are the least impactful choices. 😂 Here is what the Windy.com app shows now for the area around Bermuda. It looks like weather forecasts predict strong winds and waves for the rest of the week.

We are just a few days away from an 11 night cruise on the Gem leaving from and returning to NYC. It will be our first time on the Gem but we’ve been on the sister ships of the Jewel x 4, Jade, and Pearl. We booked this in mid-January when prices were very reasonable for a mini-suite. We really wanted a suite but the prices for the few remaining suites were too high even a week ago or so as prices never really dropped. We are thrilled to report that the upgrade fairy hit this morning and we are blessed with a 2 bedroom non-Haven suite. That means we have the awesome spacious bathroom with windows in the shower and bathtub plus the separate living area. We do like breakfast and lunch in Cagney’s or Moderno with the same breakfast and lunch menus used in the Haven. We have a thermal spa pass so we won’t be too disappointed about not having access to the Haven pool and hot tub. We loved our Haven experience on the Getaway in September. This is the first cruise we are able to use the new NCL military discount of 10% off. DH is an Air Force retiree and I’m an Army veteran. We do have all three of our sons on active duty (one is Army, one is Navy and one is Air Force). One daughter supports new Air Force pilots so we are truly a military family grateful for the new discount as one son and his fiancée will join us on an NCL cruise in May. Here is the itinerary. Will we make it to Bermuda? The cruise before ours will not due to wind and sea conditions.

I’ve had a few HAL cruises but as others mentioned, the entertainment was quite disappointing as there weren’t many options. We have had a great experience on MSC in the Yacht Club and will return to them for another cruise later this year.

I think the OP's daughter DID eat the chicken or steak with fried rice or other food as the OP did seem to hint about sharing food since the portions were so large. The OP was just being cheap about it. If I were the OP's 15 year old kid I would be in tears that my parent forced me to order off the kid's menu to save a few $. When we went to Teppanyaki on the Pearl a few years ago with our granddaughter who was 3 years old at the time, they did require us to pay the full meal price for her as they noted their policy. We did not argue and understood that she was taking up a seat and got to enjoy the show. She barely ate anything but even a few years ago that was NCL's policy.

If you Google "Chocolate covered strawberries" you will find photo after photo of them with the stems on. I like them on as I agree that it makes it easier to eat as you can hold it by the stem. They also look better with the stem on.

I look forward to another one of your wonderful reviews! After being in suites, I am sure it will be an adjustment to be in the "closets". Lol. So Dad decided to stay home this time? I will miss his funny comments.

I look forward to your live review! We have not been on the Joy but definitely want to try it out especially if we can get in the Haven. Like you, we also love being in the thermal spa and we intentionally did not book it because of it not having a spa. I think the itinerary you have will be just fine without it. We will be on the Gem which departs this Friday, March 10th until Tuesday, March 21st so while I may do a live review of it, I may not see some of your posts until getting back. Have a wonderful cruise! Congratulations to your husband on his citizenship! The passport thing would cause me some stress but I bet it will all work out for you!

Will you be on the Gem or the Getaway in two weeks? If on the Gem on March 10th, I am more than happy to give you the bottle of sparkling wine we will receive for being in a Club Balcony Suite that we won’t drink. Welcome back to NCL and cruising again. This will be our 6th cruise since the restart and 5th on NCL. We’ve been really happy with the excellent service, food and entertainment on each cruise. I hope you have a great time! We are sapphire, too.

Thank you so much for your wonderful and detailed review of the Gem! We are so excited to board in a little over two weeks from today. I look forward to reading more. Is it possible to add screen shots of any of the dailies?