UnaPalomita

I've read some good reviews on cruise critic about their nachos. My plan is to pay for the nachos and then use my UBP to have a "free" drink :) If the nachos are blah but I like the vibe, I think I might come back only for the drinks. Excited to try it out. I've also heard that the burgers are good, but I'm not a big burger fan.

I think everything is worth trying once. I can't imagine it being as good as FDC but if you're into that style of food it might be fun alternative to the free restaurants :) We will be trying it for the first time and celebrating my husband's birthday there on Sunday night!

I look for cruises that are less than full and then book them closer to time of sailing in hopes I can score an upsell. I've been quite successful doing this for a reasonable amount of $$. This year, I booked a 10 day on the Gem in March out of NYC. I have an aft balcony so its a great cabin, but there were lots of empty cabins above my category when I booked, two weeks ago. All of a sudden all cabins are gone except for lower level inside or OVs. Does anyone know what might have happened? And is there any chance those cabins are "hiding" and I should call the upsell number at around 30(or 20 or 10) days and see? Just really curious........Thanks for your help,

I would call the upsell line and try every day until the cruise. They say 3 days before you leave that rooms start opening up, but husband called 4 days before and got a balcony upsell for 500 or 600 extra. They also had a family haven open, etc.

Usually travel agencies block off rooms and as it gets closer to the sail date they start releasing these. Or people cancel, etc :) But there is a bid system in place or soon? It's going to start changing things.

We did get the same offered upsell email about a balcony room/ balcony mini suite the following day after we called. So sometimes they do send an email. :)

Whoo! Printed this for our upcoming cruise :) Very excited to try some..

Le Fizz martini was not on the list! We discovered it a martini tasting on the Gem last year and really enjoyed it. It's elderflower wine, vodka, club soda, and I think a twist of lime juice. Very smooth and not super sweet. Good for sipping at night time :)

Hello Steve

 

On the 42 night Rome-Singapore we had one each (Pauline and I) per week; we actually used about 1 per week most weeks.

 

Mike

Do you have a review of your 42 day cruise? Would love to do it when we retire! :) Do they offer the UDP for those long ones? We are doing a 14 day this Sunday and it is our longest so far. Looking forward to doing more with longer sea days :)

This ship is "narrow", and I swore I wouldn't sail her again ... and yet, here we are. Booked for next May :D

I've been looking at some RC trips, but they don't offer the same great itineraries from NYC! I guess I am stuck with NCL too :D:D That is unless we start flying to Miami..

It seems there have been many complaints about the debarkation process recently. NCL needs to get its act together. Not a good last memory for a vacation!

 

 

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Legit! We are doing a Breakaway ship Sunday for the first time. Why is de-embarking so awful compared to the Jewel/Gem ships?? We were going to do self walk off but maybe waiting for a color and the last grouping is a better idea??

Hey everyone. We returned from our cruise on Sunday, so I figured I should get this review started already. I've had a lot going on and I was having issues getting my pictures uploaded and ready, but I now have the first 3 days done.

Please forgive me if I take a break here and there from posting. My father was just diagnosed today with either bone cancer that has spread to his lungs and liver, or lung cancer that has spread to his liver and bones. Either way, it's not good. My family just can't get a break.

For those of you that know me, or read my other reviews you would know that this cruise was supposed to be a relaxing, recharge our batteries type of vacation. My Mother-in-law passed away in November from dementia. And I had recently undergone 2 more surgeries for my post breast cancer reconstruction (Build-A-Boob). The first reconstruction was right after our 14 day cruise in January 2016, and then the reconstruction ruptured and tore apart, so I had to have them redone in June 2016. You know I took advantage of it and had them made just a little bit bigger. :p

So, we really needed this cruise to be relaxing and fun for all of us. Would that happen? Stick with me and you will find out!

So sorry to hear about illness in your family :( Sending you prayers!

Very excited to read your review of the Breakaway though, we will be on the ship for the same 14 day Caribbean trip this Sunday! Love all your pictures from the raw bar! Can't wait to do the same :) Keep the review coming! I am excited about seeing the daillies.

Your claim about "all sushi serves in the US" being frozen is simply not true.

 

That said, even stuff from the Raw Bar is served frozen? There's nothing nastier than eating a frozen oyster. Bitter, bitter, bitter.

It's true. I've heard it as well. There are places like Mitsuwa in NJ, who will fly over a huge fresh tuna from Japan and slice it fresh for customers once a year for $$$$

I've heard that they keep salads in water and it preserves the leaves :) at least on a 10 day cruise.

Not sure if this varies ship to ship, but when I was on the Gem and the Jewel there are tea bags for free in the buffet (kind of laid out in a tray) and in the spa (if you have spa pass or are in there for a treatment). They definitely had black and lemon. Not sure if they had fruity ones though :(

We saw some crazy lady steal all the black tea. No joke! :D:D:eek:

6 days away via the breakaway out of NYC down to the southern Caribbean for 14 days!

Just wondering if anyone knows why the Gem itineraries have such little time in Tortola?

 

Tortola is one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean :) I have a cruise booked on the Gem but I am thinking of switching to the Breakaway just because of the lack of time on Tortola. I really wanted a chance to get on the Gem before it repositioned to NOLA since I have been on the Breakaway many times already. This one thing is making me rethink my plans.

 

The Tortola port day on Gem itineraries seem to be a waste to me :confused:

They need that half day time to get back to NYC on time! I think my husband asked one of the officers last year. As soon as you leave tortola they pretty much go full speed back up the coast.

Because there was so little time we did the ship's tour to the virgin gorda baths. Got there and back with no issues. Definitely recommended :)

Also if you like Tortola the Breakaway does a full day there on their 14 day cruise! One of the reasons we booked the Breakaway.

My son was a lot younger but he had a great time. I think your teens will love!

We cruised in Jan/Feb and the general rule is the longer the cruise the less kids/younger families there are. From my observations the demographics were definitely 50+ on a 10 day cruise. We're doing a 14 day cruise and are expecting the same.

That being said there were children around, just not as much as you'd see on a 7 day cruise or less :)

But I will admit that my above observations more than likely go unnoticed by those who are just thrilled to be on any type of cruise at all

 

Those that cruise ncl frequently like I do will recognize these issues with regard to other ncl ships but may not care or see them as important

 

Fwiw I probably would sail the ba again if it were my only choice and the price itin and dates were right or if my kids were with me

 

However...my last two cruises I chose the gem over the ba.

 

Take that as you will

 

 

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the second hand smoke has me worried though, wish it was restricted to outside :( or those electric cigarettes..

Does anyone think one of those hand held battery fans (the kind you would use in Disney World) would help with the smoke??

We have taken a taxi in the past to Orient Beach and La Gallion - we then have the taxi driver return to pick us up at 1pm then drop us off in town and we make our way back to the ship stopping at all the shops along the way. We are usually in port til 7 or 8 9m so we never had any trouble fitting in a beach and shopping. We do get off the ship asap. This next time around we are going to Kakao.

Ditto. We did Le Gallion in 2016 and Maho Beach in 2015. We left the ship as early as possible, went to the beach (taxi and bus respectively) then returned around 1. Husband had plenty of time to waste money ;) on booze and then carry it all back to the ship! I think we also had time to stop at the candy man shop there too.

 

This is the best shot I've got.

 

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Last time we went to the bar on the other side of the beach. Interesting to see it from the other side :) thanks for sharing!!! We went to Le Gallion beach last year, maybe we will revisit. And I've been reading good things about Rogue Bay.

We took the bus once back in 2015, only $2 each. Saves a bunch of $$. We hit morning traffic though (which I am assuming you'd also hit if you're in a taxi). The only down side is the no or little to no air conditioning on the way there and you're cramped. Coming back there were a lot less people on the bus.

Definitely doable especially if your trip is port intensive. Wish we had easy bus options like this on the rest of our upcoming trip!

Was just there on Thursday. There is a small beach left. Many people crowded onto it, but yes there is still a beach there.

 

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Any pictures? :( we have a five year old and he'd love to see the planes taking off again, but I think he'd like playing the sand more.

What's the status of the sand at Maho beach? We skipped this beach last year (Jan 2016) because there was a storm that wiped out a lot of the beach. Is this still true this year? We'll be there in less than a week in a half :)

If you fly into Manhattan the night before you can make a long weekend of it and stay at this really cool hotel:

http://www.yotel.com/en/hotels/yotel-new-york

It's also close to the port, so bonus points :) I think we could see it from the ship last time. If you do a summer cruise Yotel has a really cool balcony rooms with outdoor hot tubs.

This made me giggle out loud, but it's also a useful bit of info! I figured it out on the second day of the cruise. There's no signage indicating that the button only controls four of the eight elevators. If you're in that much of a rush, hit both buttons. Doubles the chances you'll get an elevator as quick as you'd like.

 

And really, if you're going downstairs and your ankles and knees can handle it, take the stairs. It's just so much faster.

We took the stairs on the Gem, it's a lot smaller though! And sometimes late at night it's hard to get your balance after a martini ;) Hoping we can burn some extra calories and do the stairs on this ship too!

I was on her for thanksgiving and had a great time and would definitely sail her again. One thing I would not do is go when the weather is cold. I like the heat when I am on vacation and being on a cruise ship and shivering do not go well together. IMHO.

Would you suggest wearing a light coat / sweatshirt for walking around the ship? I am going in 12 days and I was thinking I could get away with a t shirt and jeans for the "cold" indoor days when we sail down and back up! I'm also one of those perpetually cold people. Pool's always too cold for me lol :D

Just to clarify the tipping point.

 

You are charged the daily charge ($13.50 per person per day) which covers housekeeping and also the servers in the main dining room (amongst others). This can be altered, although I'm not sure of the current procedure for doing so.

 

When you buy drinks, or eat at a speciality restaurant, you are charged an 18% autogratuity. This can't be changed. If you have the dining or beverage package you pay the 18% on the value of the package.

 

So, you don't need to do anything if you don't want, and your tips are covered. Obviously, if you want to tip more then the staff will appreciate it.

 

You don't get a slip to sign these days when you buy a drink, so if you did want to tip bar staff extra then take some cash.

Did they go paperless and get rid of the slips you have to sign when you buy a drink? I can't remember not signing something last year, but we didn't have the UBP on the Gem last January... Interesting! Leaving in 12 days :)

Even though tipping is included my husband likes to tip a bartender he becomes friendly with. Last time that was the one at O'Sheehan's, I forget his name :(

Usually I like to tip when someone goes out of their way for me, for example I like to tip when I get served a drink at the pool by the rotating bar staff. Nothing like 15% or 20% back home, more like a dollar or two or three :)

I did tip on top of a tip at the spa, but I probably won't do any services this time.

We usually tip the daycare workers and also our cabin steward (if he/she is friendly or does a good job) or we ask them for a lot.

It's really up to you :)

Awesome, I was on the Gem last January and Alvin was our CD. Truth be told I was not a fan

Yes, we thought the same last year. He was polite but didn't seem to quite fit that CD role. I think the CD needs some extra spunk or pizazz, like the Genie from Aladdin. ;) Dan Dan we had way back when on the Jewel in 2012!