gikkeroo

We loved Tall Katherine too!! Great smile, great memory. And my God, the girl should model. Her legs were as long as my whole body!

What a great review! Beautifully explained. I'm going on the gem April 30th with my fiance and I feel like I'm gonna explode with excitement and anticipation lol. Going to be our first cruise ever so I'm overly prepared. The clear shoe organizer is on my shopping list but my fiance doesn't think it's necessary but now I'm gonna show him this review! I have long curly thick hair so I'm bringing lots of hair products. I know I will need the organizer lol. Glad u had a great time with your family and glad for no mosquitos! I'm a mosquito magnet lol

1/2 of the organizer was full of my stuff LOL - hair products, makeup, costume jewelry.

I brought my own hair conditioner, but next time I'm bringing my own shampoo too. I have thick hair too and I needed a golf ball sized amount of their lousy shampoo to get a lather. Def bring your own shampoo! The shower gel in the dispenser wasn't terrible, but I brought a pouf.

Yes I did mention it on another post. It was a major issue for the first 5 days of our cruise. Which I brought to the attention of cabin stewed, his supervisor and guest services. They tried resolving it but I told them in the meantime To put us in another cabin (the same or smaller or bigger I didn't care). I will go into more details later.

 

There were times when my cabin could not be inhabited and my son had a headache and we didn't have a quiet room for my 10 year old to nap. This went on for 5 days as they tried to resolve the issue. Well give me another room I paid for a room to use for 10 days at my leisure and half of it I had restrictions from the minute I was about to enter the room. They knew there was an issue as they were trying to resolve it when the announcement was made that we can go to our cabins. 4 of them were sea days.

 

If I knew I couldn't use my cabin at me leisure I would have not cruised at all.

YIKES

that's terrible :(

We did see the sign at the front desk that cabin change requests could not be accommodated as the ship was full... they didn't move you?

Ok. Thanks. Ill make sure i put repellant on kids to be safe. That makes me feel better that u didnt even see mosquitos.

 

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my best advice for traveling with the kiddies:

1) pre-package their outfits and label with their initials. I use gallon sized ziplocs from the dollar store. I put all of the day time clothes (mesh shorts & tee shirts) in 1 drawer and all of the dinner clothes in another drawer. It was SO EASY to just say "Grab an outfit from the top drawer and get dressed" and have no questions about matching or if that shirt was his or his brothers, blah blah blah. Saved a lot of time and aggravation.

2) Hanging shoe organizer with clear pockets on the back of the bathroom door was amazing. There was no clutter on the bathroom counter, the desk, the table. Everything had a home in the organizer. 4 people in 1 tiny room could've been a disaster but it was honestly OK.

3) I went through 2 bottles of sunscreen for the kids and I only applied 6 out of the 10 days, as it was too cold to use the pool deck the first 2 days and last 2 days. Make sure you have 3 bottles :)

4) Bring granola bars or something for the kids to munch on in the morning. Both of my kids were seasick that very first day at sea, 1st thing in the morning while we were seated and waiting for breakfast to be served. And yes, I had already given them seasickness meds. we quickly learned that the best way to avoid seasickness is to never have an empty stomach. Going forward, they had granola bars as soon as they got up (before showering/dressing) and they weren't sick again.

HAVE THE BEST TIME!

So im supposed to go on a cruise next week with my children. Im worried about the Zika virus. We r visiting the same ports. My question is did u see allot if mosquitos. Should i be worried about that. Most if our excursions are to the beach's..

 

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Surprisingly, we saw NO mosquitoes. I guess they're always out at dusk/nighttime and we were already back on the ship by then. I am a mosquito magnet and didn't get 1 bite.

Unless you're pregnant, I wouldn't even be concerned.

And finally, our morning view [emoji2]

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In the Stardust Theater

Tom Kaminski in the spinnaker

https://vimeo.com/163493030

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Kids were pretty excited about the bridge viewing room

Tortola- dolphin discovery

Towel clips!

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Maho Beach

https://vimeo.com/163492629

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The end of the Easter Scavenger hunt!

St. Maarten excursion

KINDER SURPRISE EGGS!!!

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Sent this back home, we missed our family on Easter

I asked them to smile. Asked them for 1 nice photo. Pffffft.

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Brownie a la mode EVERYDAY!

BEAUTIFUL Magen's Bay, St Thomas

Does it get any better than this?!?

https://vimeo.com/163492094

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From our balcony

Chocolate pancakes in the grand pacific!

Quick downpour in San Juan

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On line to check in!

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Ship - Gem

Deck - 9

Stateroom # - 9524 & 9526 (adjoining)

Stateroom Category – BA

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Very quiet, we heard nothing from the hall or from outside. We were only a few staterooms down from the FWD elevator bank. Foot traffic was not an issue, it was very quiet. Due to the ships design, we never heard any elevator noise.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - Yes

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – No obstructions, amazing view.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal. 2 chair and a table with room for 2 more standing by the rail.

Was wind a problem? - No. We even dried swimsuits out there and came home with everything we left with. :D

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A

Any specific problems with this cabin? - None

Any other comments- We were pleasantly surprised by the size of the shower, but the toilet stall is tiny! My husband is 6' and just barely fit.

We returned 4/1. I am not a credit card person, I'm a debit card person. I brought a credit card and they held $300 for my whole cabin (2 adults, 2 kids). I asked at check in and was told that if I wanted to do cash, I would've had to leave a minimum of $450 for the cabin.

edited to say that my onboard charges were only $65. The $300 hold was lifted on 3/30, a $65 charge appeared 4/1.

Tim Kaminski. Funny guy and overall good person.

Once I figure out how to upload the pics ... just tried from my phone and it didn't work. :eek:

Sorry for the delay, real life hit us very quickly once we returned. I had such an enjoyable time, I can't wait to go back.

About us: mid 30s, married, traveling with our 2 boys, 6 and 4, and my husband's parents, late 60s. Life has been a bit hectic lately and we were so ready for the break. We only brought 1 cell phone and no “devices” of any kind. We couldn’t wait to relax, unplug and just reconnect.

Cabin: 9524 & 9526, adjoining family balconies. 1 large bed plus a double pullout couch (and 1 pull down bunk that we didn't use).

Our booking promo choice was UBP. I would've loved UDP but we weren't sure how our kids would be in the specialty restaurants. The last thing I wanted to do was disturb other passengers. Turns out I could've done UDP because they were angels, but we were more than happy with the main dining rooms.

We live on Long Island, but due to the terrorist attacks in Brussels the morning of 3/22, NYC was on high alert. The traffic was terrible AND our limo was stopped and checked before we entered the tunnel. Our ride to the pier took nearly 3 hours! We got to the terminal at 12, checked our bags curbside, and got on line to check in. The check in process was smooth, I was surprised how fast the lines move, and that's where we were told that due to the extra sanitization, boarding would be delayed. The time escapes me, but I want to say we boarded around 2pm. At one point after we were checked in, an announcement was made that the terminal was full and those that had not yet entered and checked in had to wait outside until boarding began and the terminal emptied out a little bit. I felt badly for those people, but we were seated and comfortable and I had packed snacks for my kids so all was fine.

Once we finally boarded, rooms were not ready yet so we headed to Grand Pacific to eat something. Chicken Nachos...amazing. While we were at lunch, there was an announcement that rooms were ready and we could proceed. We liked the location of our cabin - just a few cabins forward of the FWD elevators. It was very convenient for my in-laws because they spent a lot of time in the casino. We also frequented the Magenta dining room for dinner, as it was a closer walk for them. We loved the ship, it was just the perfect size for the kids and the grandparents.

I thought this was pretty strange - our cabins (we had 2 adjoining) had little red dot stickers on the top of the door frame. No other cabins on either side of us had the stickers. This had me wondering if people had been quarantined with the noro virus in our rooms on the prior sailing... eek. Before my family walked through the door, I wiped down every flat surface with hospital-grade germicide wipes, and I repeated the wipedown process after Puerto Rico and Tortola as well.

My kids had every meal in the dining room with us and often ordered from the adult menu (we preferred Magenta over Grand Pacific, the service was faster) and attended all of the evening shows with us too. I had UBP and all drinks were great. I stuck mostly to bellinis at breakfast, bahama mamas in the late morning, frozen melon coladas or Miami vice in the heat of the afternoon, wine at dinner, crown & ginger for the shows, and baileys & Kahlua as a nightcap. (Now you all think I have a drinking problem!)

After reading so many mixed reviews about the food, I was pleasantly surprised with how good it was. I had one less-than-stellar meal, it was a strip steak that wasn't trimmed well and difficult to eat... but the appetizers were all amazing. Did anyone else try that chorizo & potato cold salad appetizer? I loved it so much, I'm trying to recreate it at home. The dessert was nothing spectacular, except for the bread pudding. That was SO good.

We enjoyed the shows and my 6 yr old took a liking to Chloe, the blond singer. He was on stage with her at one point and that pretty much made his life. One of the singers caught us after one of the evening shows to say how they all noticed that we never missed a show and we were always together as a family, and how nice it was to see that. I thought it was really sweet that he took the time to say something, and that was really the underlying theme of our whole trip. We spent time with each other and it was everything.

Overall, the staff was really great to the kids. They had extra special surprise desserts every night and napkin animals. One of the Magenta servers learned that my son liked red jello and brought it over before he even had the chance to order it.

I'm not going to get into the islands, I'm sure there is already tons of info out there about PR, St Thomas, St Maarten and Tortola.

Puerto Rico: We just explored old san juan on foot. My husband and kids had never been there and the kids were really into the gate and the history of the island. We walked the along wall and read them all of the historical info signs. Stopped in Starbucks for a clean bathroom and a taste of home. ;) Facetimed our family back home. My in-laws stayed on board.

St. Thomas: (Easter Sunday) Took a cab into town with the in-laws, hit a couple of the stores. They went right back to the ship, but we hopped in another cab to Magen's Bay and stopped by an outdoor church service on the way. Spent the next 5 hours floating around, drinking the amazing rum punch, enjoying my family in our beautiful surroundings. It was one of the best days of my life. The beach wasn't crowded at all, as we were the only ship in port. Just incredible.

St. Maarten: In-laws booked an excursion for us - the SeaWorld Explorer glass-bottom boat. Nothing too exciting, I probably would not have booked that myself but they seemed to enjoy themselves. They went back to the ship, and we took a cab to Maho Beach so the kids could see the planes. SO COOL. Definitely something to do once in your life. They didn't enjoy this beach as much as Magen's Bay, because they're still young and the waves were too much for them. I did some snorkeling right off the beach and saw lots of great things off to the left on the rocks. Sting rays, a sea turtle, lots of fish, urchins, etc.

Tortola: We did the dolphin discovery excursion. The kids loved it, again, something to do once in your life. The trainer was very nice and extremely patient. My kids didn’t need his patience, my in-laws did. They were nervous and couldn’t follow directions! LOL The place is a fortune but we were able to get some photos without being yelled at. I was in Tortola almost 15 years ago and can’t believe how much has changed there! The pier is going to be great once it’s all done.

Note to anyone that forgot to buy duty-free in St Thomas: buy it in St Maarten because there’s nothing in Tortola. A duty-free shop is due to open at the pier but they don’t have a date yet.

SPLASH ACADEMY: We kept very busy on sea days and the kids only went to Splash Academy for 80 minutes the whole trip. My 6.5 yr old is never bored, he brings the party with him. He made friends but was happier hanging out with us vs. going to Splash. The 4.5 yr old was bored. They Turtle group is 3-5 yr olds and there happened to be more 3 yr olds than 5 yr olds. He didn’t want to sit around and color. He wanted to go to Splash on circus day but they were at capacity and he was wait-listed. In my opinion, a max capacity of 25 in the 3-5 age range is ridiculous. I didn’t feel like there were a lot of kids on the ship so I was surprised it reached capacity.

We participated in all of the family events on the ship (scavenger hunts, intensity, the Easter Hunt) and even caught some of the movies.

We spent plenty of time on the pool deck and have a couple of tips: Deck 13 is very windy and makes reading a paperback difficult. We preferred deck 12. DON’T sit near the ping pong tables (deck 12 FWD, port side) because let’s be real, no one is very good at ping pong and the balls go flying. We were stuck there 1 day and I counted 69 rogue ping pong balls in a 90 minute period. People were smoking in Bali Hai so we avoided that area too. On the nice warm sea days, you better be out there by 7:30am to reserve chairs, otherwise you’re going to have to deal with ping pong balls or wind. LOL The chair hogs are early birds. Our travel agent gave us towel clips and these came in handy to keep our chairs marked. The towel clips also double as clothespins for drying bathing suits out on the balcony chairs!

It went WAY TOO FAST. This was the 1st cruise for my kiddos and only the 2nd cruise for my husband. A great time was had by all. I didn’t take too many photos – less than 200 – and I didn’t take pics or save the menus or dailies.

I want to thank everyone that set up and had a hand in the M&G, the prizes were so nice but the people were nicer. We really appreciate you taking the time to get everything all set up, and thank you for including my kids.

We couldn’t have asked for a better trip and I owe all of you a big thank you for preparing me so well.

Pics to follow.

@Renata, you mentioned a major issue with your room, maybe on another post...what happened??

We sailed on Quantum right after a noro outbreak.

 

First of all we didn't board until 3 hours later because of cleaning. Everything was sticky.

 

well that's gross!

I board the Gem tomorrow with my 2 small children and elderly in-laws. I was planning to just bring some Clorox wipes, but after word of the recent situation, I am now bringing hospital grade germicide wipes and gloves (helps to have a friend whose parents own a senior health facility!) and I plan to wipe down all surfaces before allowing my kids (and husband) to touch anything.

My healthy 27 yr old husband was hospitalized with the norovirus 6 years ago (caught at the school he was teaching at, not on a ship) and it was scary. He dehydrated so quickly, he passed out, his BP was so incredibly low that he was kept in the cardiac ICU for 2 days.

I am not typically a nervous person but my 6 yr old is a nail biter. Of course I correct the behavior every time I see it, but nothing is 100%. Can't risk anything!

I just want to relax.

We leave Tuesday! What's playing in the movie theatre? Assuming there is still a movie theatre? Maybe I'm confusing my ships...

I have Verizon Wireless, I was told that voice calls will work fine, but there is no data service on the island. I don't typically trust the Verizon reps (I feel like they just make things up 50% of the time) so I was wondering if anyone knew the TRUE answer :)

Thanks

You just tell the check-in person that you want to set up a cash account and then deposit what ever you want at the guest services in cash after you get onboard the ship. No problem what so ever.

And they won't require $450/pp? The paperwork regarding onboard account is very confusing.