Bonobochick

10 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

That's just not true.  It totally depends on where the ship is leaving from, and how the cruise line has set up the itinerary.  For example, three years ago, we sailed on NCL from NY to the Caribbean.  We had three sea days out of NY, and then a full day (8am to 5pm) in San Juan, our first port on that cruise.  

 

PS: Sunset today in San Juan is approximately 6:15pm.

Was it a Thanksgiving cruise? I usually sail out of NYC and it used to be 3-9p and now it 4-10p in Old San Juan. I remember one year we skipped arriving in PR at night cause it fell on Thanksgiving Day so we docked in PR on Black Friday and got to spend the day there. I really enjoyed it cause there was so much more I could explore in a full day vs a few hours at night but it an anomaly. I would support skipping another port (I would totally skip St Kitts cause after 3 visits it has lost its wow factor for me) if it meant having PR as a day port. 

I saw this on one of your other threads and I am wondering if you heard any noise from the theater below?

I have one of those on the Gem and thinking if I should keep it or upgrade?

I had this problem one night. Usually I was out of the cabin during the theatre shows but one night there was some sort of crew raffle event with numbers being called out into the speakers that penetrated through the floor loudly to my cabin on deck 8 (I was in 8024). Went on for an hour after midnight. It wasn't pleasant. :(

Other than that one experience, it was fine.

Anyone who has recently been on the Gem - do they still have the bowling alley? Older posts talk about it - recent ones don't mention it - just curious!

When NCL refurbished the ship a few years ago, the bowling alley was taken out and the bliss lounge was completely redone.

So my husband and I can’t share one pass? We have to buy 2 separate?

 

 

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They put a special sticker on the back of my keycard as proof of access to the thermal suites. I think it's a pass per person and not something that can be shared as I had to give my keycard to them whenever I used the thermal suites and to get it back, they asked for my name to retrieve the card. Assuming that's the way they check people aren't sharing and the person using the facilities is legit.

The spa is beautiful. However, I think whether or not it is quiet will depend on the particular passengers any given week. While beautiful---I didn't find it to be quiet on most visits. Just putting it out there to manage expectations in case it being quiet were essential to your enjoyment of it.

Totally. I got off the Escape yesterday and I had access to the thermal suites for the week thanks to getting a spa balcony out of my balcony guarantee purchase. :cool:

I enjoyed the thermal suites, especially the heated tile loungers, but I also found that some folks were very chatty Cathy despite the "quiet area" signs posted all around the thermal suites. I didn't mind so much in the therapy pool that folks were talkative but some people turned the salt bath, sauna, steam room, and sanarium rooms into [loud] group chat sessions so it wasn't all that relaxing, IMO. I used my iPod when I could to block out the chatter but I may bring ear plugs next time I do it.

As I said, I really enjoyed it :) ... I just wish someone other people who used the thermal suites when I was there had been able to embrace being quiet in a spa for relaxation purposes a lot more firmly to heart.

There should be terminal employees near-ish to the the entrance through the sliding doors. IIRC, they* are before passengers go through security screening (*dedicated employees for Haven passengers and those requiring assistance).

I don't do daily service. I generally travel solo and tend not to unpack a lot of my stuff. When we're At Sea, I use that time catching up on reading or movies/shows or extra sleep when I'm not out of my cabin doing an activity or eating.

I take advantage of daily service when in port cause I like coming back to a freshly made room and clean towels but generally for At Sea days, I skip it except the last At Sea day. Different strokes, though. :) I traveled once with a friend who was all about daily steward service.

Ideally, they need to assign passengers specific disembarkation times (right now it's a choose what you want free-for-all that few abide by anyway); provide an adequate onboard waiting area, even if that means keeping a dining room open longer than they would prefer; and have more onboard staff on hand to direct (read: enforce) a more orderly process.

Yes. Some actual order and enforcement would great.

The color coded tags are a bit of a failure. You're supposed to exit at the time designated by luggage tag color with easy walk-offs having first dibs before the tag folks are to exit. It's a joke since that rarely is how it plays out. The most the crew seems to do is set up the lines to herd departing passengers to get off the ship but people jump in line early regardless of color tags plus there are the people who do the easy walk off with entirely too many bags who slow things down.

It seems like NCL doesn't care about making disembarkation orderly or easy at the Manhattan terminal. They just want people off the ship so they can turn it over for the next passengers and don't care how they get off as long as they do get off. I feel like it's actually gotten worse as time goes on. My first few cruises (like 2012-2014) were not great either in terms of disembarkation but I could usually get off and out in about 30 minutes. Now it's always at least an hour. Maybe next time I will try the packed and by the door before we're even cleared so I can run off as soon as the all clear is sounded method. :cool::)

The post cruise survey asks about embarkation / disembarkation and I am sure folks lament about the NYC disembarkation disaster consistently but nothing seems to change.

I think the biggest issue with the disembarkation is outside of the crew setting up ways for passengers to get off, they don't do anything to control the line on the ship of people leaving. They don't monitor the colored tags so people with different colors than the one called will jump in line early thus bloating it and slowing things down. People with too much luggage or rowdy kids they have to chase down or constantly watch also can slow things down with they do the easy walk-off. The crew just want people off so they can clean & get ready for the next set of passengers so they put the least amount of effort in to making disembarkation orderly.

This past Sunday, agents weren't the problem. At least for me. That part was a breeze and I was in line and in front of an agent in less than 5 minutes.The slog was the line wrapping around the Manhattan Club then out to the deck then merging with the forward section of ship passengers exiting.

{This part isn't on NCL} Then we got to the terminal building from the ramp, it was a mass of people outside instead of a line trying to get in. Once inside the terminal, that was fine. The only people sailing through this chaos were Haven passengers, those in wheelchairs, and some people with babies / toddlers. (And then the inexplicably long taxi line which was first for me with having it go around the block and taking almost 30 minutes to get a taxi when it usually is less than 10 minutes with a much shorter line).

I need NCL to be better at managing people disembarking in NYC but they don't really seem to care at that point as long as people are leaving so they can get it ready for the passengers embarking later in the day. I have found this to be true whether I am on the Gem, the Breakaway, or the Escape. Then again, I didn't think embarking / disembarking was done well at Port Canaveral back in 2016. I think the only easy embarking / disembarking experience I've had was in Miami a few years ago.

Can anyone tell me what the last time to disembark is , as I don’t fly till 22.30 and am in no hurry to get off the ship . I was hoping to have a long slow breakfast and stroll off the ship last , can I do this ? And is it best to keep my cases with me or send them down the night before .

Also can anyone recommend somewhere in Manhattan to store our luggage for a few hours .

The disembarkation guide said passengers had to be out of the stateroom by 9am.

I think you can eat (Savor/Taste was 6:30a -8:30a; not sure about buffet... may have been til 9am) and exit the ship at your leisure until 10:30a. It may be 11a. I'm only 100% sure about the time to be out of the room and Savor/Taste hours.

Anyone off yesterday's Escape having an issue with the post-cruise survey?

Mine keeps sticking 2/3rds of the way through on the questions about King's Wharf and I'm unable to complete it. :(:(:(

I took a pic of the Bliss sign but it was so hectic with the lines for getting off and for the taxi that I was just more focused on getting home at that point than anything else. :ship:

Did these delays apply to Haven guests too? They pay sooo much extra for priority "everything."

Not with the Escape today. Someone on the Gem can weigh in there but I saw several people waved to the front of the line by a dedicated staff member once they proved they were Haven guests.

I remember when I first hit platinum that I thought priority disembarkation was a perk. Boy was I wrong.

Just disembarked the Escape today as well, and had a similar experience as described by the o.p. After enduring an endlessly long line onboard, we made it off the ship in about an hour. We got through the baggage hall and customs in probably 10 minutes -- surprisingly no backup in customs today.

 

IMHO, really poor organization onboard, but we've sailed the Breakaway multiple times, and it was always the same on that ship as well. NCL really needs to rethink their NYC disembarkation procedures. Sure, sometimes it's NY authority's fault, but the process onboard is equally bad.

 

(Off topic, but for those who were on this sailing, does anyone know what happened to cruise director Zac? He disappeared and was replaced without explanation halfway through the cruise.)

I wondered about that too. When we got on Friday, I noticed Alvin and that he was also listed in the daily as the cruise director. I should try to hunt down that facebook book explaining what happened.

I got off the Escape this morning and was in line by 8am to do the walk off and it still took almost an hour. Then another 25 minutes in the long taxi line. It was a great cruise otherwise but NYC disembarkation has never not been crappy from my own personal experiences. I was in the aft line, with I foolishly thought was moving quickly through the manhattan room, then it stalled and then moved very slowly once outdoors. :( :(

I wish I'd stayed to at least have breakfast first but I thought I would beat the madness getting off at an earlier time before tag colors were called. Once in the terminal, it moved quickly but everything else about the disembarkation was no bueno.

Initially I wondered if the extra slow disembarkation today was due to the Bliss also being docked next to the Escape

I had a privasea balcony on my last Gem cruise. I liked it. :):) I wasn't sure what to expect as I couldn't find much info online prior to the cruise other than someone who had one on Epic and hated it.

I have done it. I had a good day. It was relaxing with buffet and open bar (limited drinks, tho) plus plenty of places to sit/lie out. Good beach too. I thought it was worth it, especially cause it wasn't very crowded. I've heard about other Cozumel excursions being too full/crowded.

Of my 5 times in the Haven, adults were always more misbehaved than children! This thread is very misleading, and not true at all from my experience.

Not misleading at all. Your experience isn't universal. Another person's experience being different than yours doesn't make either experience any less true. I haven't had this experience in the Haven but I do agree the issue is parents letting kids run wild. Kids will be kids and it's a vacation for all but their parents can't just check out on watching their behavior. Some kids are well behaved... others not so much.

That said, it may be worth checking out premium lines as a way to lessen the chances of this happening again.

I cruise solo all the time and I take valuables with me into the water during beach trips, for the most. I have two waterproof pouches... one for my phone and the other for money/card. The only times I've not taken everything with me into the water is when in St. John, USVI during NCL excursions cause I felt it would be fine there on the shore.

When I was on the Escape last they sold waterproof pouches for cell phones in the gift shop. Can’t remember the price but I don’t think it was unreasonable

I got a NCL pouch on the Gem last year and it was $10. It's a nice size. The only drawback is you can't take pictures with it cause the back of it is a solid blue instead of clear, but it kept my non-phone stuff nice and dry. :cool:

:cool:

Out of 4 cruises with that stop on the itinerary, I've only made it there once. It is a beautiful island. :hearteyes: The tender process was a nightmare on my cruise, though (I was on a sold out Epic).

I was on the Gem in late November last year. I hit up Cagney's, Le Bistro, Moderno, and Teppanyaki. Looking at my picks, I took a few at Le Bistro but somehow didn't take pics at the other restaurants.

• I went to Cagney's the most on my Gem cruise (I had specialty dining package plus 2 platinum vouchers) and enjoyed my meals there. Last night of a cruise, seems like this restaurant is especially popular. I have to say also that this was the first Cagney's - I've been on Breakaway and on Epic - where I thought the food was actually really good. I thought Cagney's on Epic was disappointing and on the Breakaway, it was only ok.
  

• Le Bistro is always good. I only went once on that cruise. I went the first night of my cruise and it was pretty quiet. We did leave NYC later than normal, though (guessing cause it was the first cruise right after the 10-day Gem cruise that got cancelled), so that could've been why. I've found the service to be the best in Le Bistro as well.
  

• Went to Moderno once too. I usually like churrascaria but the meats seems bland/under-seasoned and too chewy the night I went, so I was somewhat disappointed. The salad bar was excellent, though, at Moderno. And my drink was good! ;) I have had better experiences at Moderno on the Breakaway.
  

• Finally hit up Teppanyaki... my first experience at Teppanyaki ever. It was fun with good food. I have a shellfish allergy so I got my food cooked first, which I appreciated that accommodation. Can't recall the name of my chef.
  

We did the 11 day Thanksgiving cruise on the Gem - we really enjoyed ourselves but found the entertainment/music in the lounge & bar areas mediocre compared to other NCL cruises. It was our fourth and final trip during 2017, (all NCL) and that particular part of the Gem entertainment line up seemed particularly uninspired to us.

I was also on this cruise and concur on the lack of activities / uninspired options. It was the first cruise were I didn't participate in anything other than going to an evening show (the Whitney tribute) because nothing seemed really interesting in the dailies.

I was on the Gem last week and went to Cagney's three times on the 11 day cruise using the SDP. I got 3 sides each time cause they're good but tiny and was never charged extra for them. I think with the SDP it's unlimited sides at Cagney's (and possibly other items but I can only speak to the sides from personal experience) but the voucher seems more arbitrary in how strictly it is enforced.

Gem repairs begin tomorrow and are expected to be completed by Friday. Gem plans to be back in NYC for 11/21 cruise.

 

 

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Thanks!

Also, I know in the 10/31 early ending thread that things were rather messy for some on that cruise regarding getting back.

Any update on how things turned out for the ppl on the 10/31 cruise and what's going on now with the Gem repairs?