Turtles06

Yikes. What ignorance. I hope the one-gallon jug would just count as one drink under the beverage package. 😂 (Seriously, not funny whatsoever.)

I'm surprised to learn that HAL charges CPAP users for distilled water. I know that when you request this from NCL by going through their Special Needs department, there is no charge for the water. BTW, folks who travel frequently might want to look into a travel-size CPAP device that does not have an actual humidifier requiring water, but uses something called HME - Heat Moisture Exchange. Take a look at the Breas Z2 devices (most current is the Z2 auto). It does not use a proprietary mask (unlike the ResMed AirMini) -- you can use the mask you use on your "home" CPAP. https://breas.us/products/cpaps-for-travel/z2-auto/

It's not just the issue of buildup in the CPAP device itself (which can ruin your device), it's also making sure you aren't using any water that might contain bacteria or other impurities.

There are no reservations needed or taken for shows on the Jewel or her sisters. Only on the newer, mega-ships.

The very best part of our Alaska cruise many years ago were the ten days we spent pre-cruise driving ourselves around the state. Yes, the cruise was beautiful, but no comparison to the land visit. Even with just one day in Seward, a person could do a small boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park. Spectacular and I highly recommend it.

Done lots of tours all over the world, and I’ve never been on a privately booked tour that also had people booked through the ship.

Much easier on the Gem last month. Just went over to the Finance desk at Guest Services before the last day and got the money.

We were on a 23-night B2B in Jan./Feb. We had one reservation at Le Bistro for each leg. After being seated in the "side kids' room" the first time, we did speak to the concierge about being seated in the main room the second time, and we were. Unfortunately, we had the worst service that night of any night on the cruise. So bad that we skipped dessert and walked over to Magenta for that. It was a good decision.

I really dislike the new decor in Le Bistro. It's monochromatic, cold, sterile, too bright, and there's nothing to absorb sound. Also, eating in those two little side rooms on either side of the entrance way just makes you feel like you're not even in the main restaurant.

See my comment above re NCL. Celebrity’s “free” beverage package is far better than NCL’s; it includes still and sparkling water, including large bottles of San Pellegrino.

As an fiy, the Terms and Conditions of the package are here: https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/beverage-packages There is no water, sparkling or still, included in the FAS Premium Package (which it appears NCL is now calling the "Open Bar Package"). With the package, you could get club soda or, at the bars, soda water from the guns. And non-alcoholic versions of mixed drinks like piña coladas and daiquiris. If you don't drink soda or alcohol, you'd be paying a significant service charge on the Beverage Package for very limited options. I believe you can decline the package if you don't want it. "Tap" water, which tastes perfectly fine, is free on the ship. Also free are things like lemonade and similar beverages. (There are machines in the buffet that dispense these.) Good luck with your decision.

I'll start by saying that we bring binoculars (or, more recently, a monocular) whenever we cruise. You never know what you'll see from a ship. Birds, sea turtles, marine mammals. The Canal itself is only a single day of the cruise. But even in the Canal, we've used binoculars to identify other ships that were too far away for us to read the names, to look at birds flying over, to get a better view of places and things of interest we are passing by on shore and seeing in the Canal itself (e.g., the workers in the rowboats rowing the lines out to the ship that are tied to the mules, etc.). To me, the only "con" that I can see from bringing binoculars is space/weight. I hope that's helpful.

We had a similar experience in 2020 in Manhattan getting off the Gem. No one was allowed down into the cruise terminal until ALL baggage had been brought down and sorted. Last month, also in Manhattan and getting off the Gem, we were in a suite and had "priority disembarkation," and so we somehow were allowed to get down to baggage claim, where we could SEE our bags across the way in the "priority" area, but no one was allowed to get any baggage until all of the luggage had been brought down from the ship. We were told this was a safety rule, that no one could cross the baggage claim floor while bags were being trucked in. I understood that, but on each of those occasions this caused huge lines and backups. Prior to 2020, I don't recall this being a problem in Manhattan. Is this the current process everywhere now? OP: I'm very sorry for the very unpleasant end to your cruise!

With thanks to Canal expert @BillB48 for this article: https://www.cruisehive.com/norwegian-not-planning-on-more-sailings-from-panama/96077 "There is only one sailing scheduled for 2024 from Panama. That sailing in December 2024 is the 9-day cruise on Norwegian Gem to Cozumel & Jamaica from Panama City. The cruise line is discontinuing cruises with Panamanian ports as a homeport, such as the Norwegian Jewel cruises to Curacao, Aruba & Cartagena from Panama City. Cruises that have a regular scheduled port call are not affected."

When I read the headline, I thought for sure this would be about the mess that is Fuerte Amador, but no! And, especially given that mess, what chutzpah of Panama in trying to force cruise lines to use just one refueling company. Maybe much more than that going on, who knows.

They have repeatedly changed when tix go on sale. The best thing is to check their site for the most current info (which right now is every Tuesday for six weeks out).

Welcome to Cruise Critic! CC has excellent Ports of Call forums, where you will find lots of info and detail about specific ports, including recommendations for tours, private tour operators, etc., and where it's most appropriate to ask these sorts of questions that are not cruise-line specific. I suggest you head over to the Caribbean forum, and then, within that, you'll find subforums for the specific islands you'll be visiting: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/ Great Stirrup Cay is NCL's private island, so here in the NCL forum is the best place to ask about that. Enjoy your cruise!

None that I can recall over 23 nights on the Gem in January/February.

Thanks again, you've been hugely helpful! (Meanwhile, HAL is insisting there's been no itinerary change, even when the publicly-available information suggests otherwise.)

Ugh. Duc de Valmer. Wow, definitely not Prosecco and definitely not even drinkable on its own. I think it may have been supply issues on the Gem. We were able to get Prosecco in some restaurants but not others. (The same with Half & Half, until the ship ran out completely.) In one restaurant, when we ordered Prosecco, the wine steward started pouring from a bottle that was definitely the cheap French sparkling wine. When we said that's not Prosecco, he said he knew that. To which I replied that if someone orders Prosecco, and you are going to pour something else, you should say so. He said he had, which was definitely not the case.

On the Gem in January and February, Prosecco was definitely included by the glass in the FAS package. However, many times when we ordered it, what was available instead was a marginally drinkable French sparking wine (not to be confused with champagne). It’s quite unfortunate that NCL has (outrageously) priced the very nice California sparkling wine Domaine Chandon at $20/glass. We found few wines by the glass available in the Premium Package, and overall felt that the value of the package has really diminished.

The food? The service? Both?

Except that you can’t tell whether “it worked,” because you don’t know what would have happened without the “pre-tip.” Many of us have had excellent service without feeling the need to hand over cash at the outset, which might actually be construed by the recipient as insulting, as the guest not having confidence in their ability to do their job without money up front.

Pete, this is what Marine Traffic is showing now. What’s the Nav Channel on your TV showing?

Agreed! For reasons I cannot fathom, the manner in which your account is displayed on the TV in your room, and especially if you have both refundable and non-refundable OBC, is very confusing. Interestingly, it's NOT the way the account displays to Guest Services -- they have a much easier display and it's simple to see from their display (and printouts) how much NF OBC you have left (the stuff you want to spend before the end of the cruise!). If there's anything confusing at all about what you see on your TV (or the app), just go to Guest Services and ask for a print out of your account. It's a good idea to keep track of your account throughout the cruise, so that you can have any errors corrected before the last day, and/or clear up any confusion. Get printouts periodically if you want.