OnTheGoMom921

Deck 11 suites have an awesome layout. We loved the location, no noise from above or below. We traveled with our teen, and the Deck 11/14 layout worked well for our situation, as we could go to the balcony from the bedroom, while daughter was still asleep on the sofa bed in living room. But if you wish to have a bath while looking out at the ocean, then this layout won't be what you are looking for. I should still have the link to our Breakaway cruise with tons of photos in my signature...just look below :)

Oh my God! Joanne, I just binge read your entire thread! So sorry to hear of your illness, and so thrilled that you are on the mend! Wishing you a complete recovery and restoration of good health. It looks like you all had a terrific time on this cruise, and you daughter is so adorable! Nice going at the casino for both you and Mike. Maybe by the time your 14 day cruise is over, you have enough winnings to take your next cruise free ;) I guess I'll have to follow along until it's finished!! Be well <<hugs>>

Courtney's out with her best friend who lives in Boca so guess who has a night to himself?

 

"Deviant, party of one. Deviant, party of one. Your ski mask and chloroform are ready".

 

Actually, I just wanted to watch the Islanders game somewhere so I googled "Boca Raton sports bars" and the first thing that popped up was the Tilted Kilt. I've never been to one before so I figured why not now?

 

 

 

 

They had no problem putting the game on for me. And the Islanders are up 1-0 right now. Come on boys, keep it up. (I know, nobody cares).

 

 

 

 

Alright, in a desperate attempt to regain your attention I will post Food p-o-r-n next. I think CC blocks the P word now so that's why I hyphenated it.

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Husband and I never heard of the Tilted Kilt either, but Google searched a sports bar for a Mets game during playoffs when we went to visit our daughter at RIT in Rochester, NY. So DH, myself and teenaged daughter walk in and nearly fell over at the waitresses attire :eek: They did put the Mets game on for us, but the daughter and I were the only other women in the place. Google should have warned us :o Enjoy your dinner and the game...DH is watching the Islanders now as well

Wow Peg, Thanks!! I think some folks from your roll call might owe you a drink or two! Nice of you to save some of us $100 bucks :D and because parking was so high for 10 days, we opted to take the LIRR train instead. May rethink now! With this awful weather in NY, 3/2/16 can't come quick enough.

Smooth Sailing! :)

Hi and thanks for your review. A fan of the Gem here as well, and will be back onboard soon too.

 

Where is this Pamela's place someone mentioned and how far a ride from OSJ port? Is it in the Condado area where the lines of hotels are? We went ziplining last time in San Juan but I'm up for something else.

 

Hey OTG Mom -- haven't seen you in ages!!

Hi Lori!! Been a while since I've had a cruise vacation. We did the Epic in Europe for our last cruise, not too many "locals" like when you leave from NYC. Hope all is well with you and yours. Looking forward to my Gem 10 day this March. First time we get to do this one, as now that DD is away at college, we can cruise without being a slave to the school calendar. Needless to say, college costs have taken a huge chunk out of our cruise budget! Hope to see a few familiar faces on ours. When's your next cruise?

Thank you for a terrific review. Looking forward to seeing the recent dry dock renovations. Sorry about the rough waters and rudeness, those are out of anyone's control, but still puts a damper on a vacation. We are on the 3/2 Gem 10 day, and Tortola is a full day stop, but we only have a half day in St. Thomas.

Terrific live review...incredible sense of humor! I am really enjoying this one! BTW, the carpet fish all swim to the front of the ship...except one. That one is called the Rebellious Fish! They even used to have a bar drink with that same name. Enjoy the lovely weather, it beats Rochester weather! Our daughter goes to RIT and says they have the "weirdest" weather she has ever seen! She'll be happy to feed your cats :D

Such a terrible tragedy. Thoughts and prayers are with the family. So sad to hear this on the news today. :(

NYSCILLA, Yes, ELEMIS conditioner and shampoo, along with full compliment of "spa grade" products (body lotion, loofah sponge, shower gel, bars soap, shower cap, bath salts) are found in the suites.

Glad my review was so helpful to many of you... And Thank you to English101 for keeping the answers going on the thread!!

The sofa was a bit stiff but wasn't uncomfortable. Honestly, my teen daughter used it the most. We didn't really sit in the living room with all there was to do on that ship (or our balcony)

I'm looking to book my next cruise, and I am afraid to say that this suite has ruined me for life...couldn't imagine booking a different cabin on the Breakaway. I'm as spoiled as can be! My biggest issue is finding a week that it's available! :)

Thank you for this great review!!! Love all the pictures. Do you have any Dallies or menus??

I'm sorry, I never save the dailies. Also, I understand there has been a recent change in the menus fleet-wide (maybe within the last 7-8 months) Try using the search engine here or google.

YO Michele!!! Hope all is well with you. Love those foot shots facing the sea from the balcony (I do those too). How are the shoes (Louis V) holding up ? LOL

Love those aft SF.

Is Carlos (concierge) on vacation? Was Raymond your room steward? Had him in April (in 10166) and he was great.

Hi Lori! Hope all is well with you and yours. We are doing great, just came back from our Epic Med trip, although I haven't done a review yet. And, LOL, my red soles are still FAB...although I didn't traipse through Europe with them, and we were no where near a Christian Louboutin when we stopped in France (I asked our tour guide!!)

We had GiGi as our room steward, but this is my review from 2012 that someone resurrected!

I'm a little late to the party :eek:...because lately I've been zeroing in on all things Breakaway - ;) (up next in 6 weeks) ...but, just a little while ago, I found your wonderful review! I loved it...thank you, thank you! I'll be happily boarding the Gem, for the 3rd time, exactly 3 months from today :D ... & I can't wait! However, ;), it will be my first time in a PH suite :D...and I particularly liked this review from YOUR eyes in a PH suite! You guys looked like you had a blast :D...which is precisely my plan as well!

 

Once again...thanks a million for this terrific review!

Glad you enjoyed it...BTW, I have our Breakaway review in my signature as well. Just click the link!

Hi, I was so hoping to be able to open and read your review of the Gem and pictures. I only saw the one with 2 ladies and the little on peeping in....:) I tried clicking on the site, but nothing comes up. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

 

We're on the Gem Dec. 1:D

Sounds like you started on Page 3, as that is where those photos were posted. You must click back to page 1. Hope you can maneuver, not sure how you just got page 3.

Yes, decks 11 & 14. We had an Aft Suite (11908) on the Breakaway (identical to Getaway) Please click on the link in my signature for dozens of photos of this cabin's layout.

Enjoying your review already, and I'm not even traveling in a studio! Sailing on the Epic in just over a week! So consider me "following!"

We went to the WWHP in Universal on our Gem cruise back in 2012. We actually had a somewhat rainy day there, which helped tremendously with crowd control. If you don't want to disappoint your little one, take a chance. You can see a review of our Gem trip in my signature, complete with photos of our time at Universal. To make the most of our trip, we did the following.

1. Pre-purchased tickets to Universal from our local AAA. Saved a few bucks on each ticket and skipped the purchase ticket line at the park.

2. Hired a private car service to take us curbside to CityWalk at Universal. The service we used was just a bit more than the ship's excursion for the 3 of us. Actually would cost less than ship's price if you have a group of 6. Info on this limo company is listed in my review.

3. We docked at noon, and met limo by 12:05 and were on our way. We arrived long before tour busses left the dock. We stayed at park until 7 - 7:30 pm and car picked us up right in front of CityWalk entrance. We were back on ship with plenty of time to spare. It definitely maximized our time in the park.

4. We skipped through all areas and made a bee-line for WWHP, plenty to see and do, even if you aren't on a line for a ride. We went to Ollivander's wand shop (translation: we purchased expensive souvenir), Honeyduke's candy store (where else could you buy jelly-bellies with flavors like vomit and ear wax), took photo ops at Hogwart's train and track 9 3/4, and even had butter beer and a bite to eat. We did wait on line for the Dragon Challenge rollercoaster and the Harry Potter Forbidden Journey rides. Both lines were long, with no express pass options. Once inside Hogwarts (Forbidden Journey) there is plenty to look at (moving pictures on walls, staircases, all sorts of familiar movie set things your little one will marvel at) but it is a LONG time until you exit, maybe 2-3 hours.

We still had time to go through the Jurassic Park area and off to the Marvel Comics/Super Hero area, rode the Hulk roller coaster and see a few more attractions without feeling too rushed. You will never have time to do the whole Universal Islands of Adventure, and never would get to the Universal Studio side of the park, so buy the single "Islands of Adventure" tickets.

Good luck!

I've just increased my computer screen's zoom size to 150% and just scroll all the way to the left. Completely scrolls the ads off the screen and posts are seen on 100% of my screen. Of course text size is now 50% larger, but beats seeing that annoying margin going down the right side. :p

Do all the cabins that you are considering have 2 bathrooms?

All the S6's have 2 bathrooms, yes. Here is a photo review of Suite 11908, the configuration with the extra balcony doors from the bedroom http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1871807 which are available on decks 11 & 14

Obvious question (for the DW of course): what to pack in regards to attire? We are confirmed cruise snobs who dress to the nines on "formal nights." Since NCL is a little different in that regard, I don't want to over dress (tux) if I'm the only one. Can you give us an idea of what nights were formal (if any) and what would the attire be? In other words, if they do have a formal night(s), would we be the only ones dressed in gown and tux (me tux, her gown, not the other way around like you might have thought)? Really appreciate your help on this one.

There are usually 2 "formal" nights. One is "Norwegian's Night Out" and you have photo ops with the captain. NCL is truly "Freestyle" which means you may dress up as much as you wish. However, I don't believe I've ever seen a man dressed in a tux. Suits, yes. Some ladies wear gowns (or perhaps maxi-dresses) I would describe "dressy attire" as cocktail party attire. My family enjoys dressing up as well, but my DH has pared down his suitcase to include a sports coat (sans tie) or a nice high-end designer shirt/slacks for dress up nights. Also, you will see other passengers dressed in their finest denim and cutoffs that evening...but, hey, that's freestyle. To each his own!

Getting good service from the butler staff is a two-way street, we have found.

 

(and this is true for any cruise line, not just Norwegian )

 

I have a sit-down "meeting" with the Butler on our first day, to go over the trip, the itinerary, our port plans and our requirements. This helps them immensely to sync with your schedule.

 

I go over what we want in the cabin, the fridge, what special coffee or mixers we need... what we like in the way of snacks and what we don't like, etc. and when we want them.

 

I tell him in advance which days we want in-suite breakfast (like early port days) and if we are having any friends over for drinks etc.

 

I never surprise the butler with a spontaneous request; I always give them heads-up in advance of anything we are going to need.

 

When we are done chatting, I give him a printed copy of all the bullets we talked about, for reference.

 

I have never had a bad butler experience doing this. Once they know your needs and expectations, it goes a whole lot smoother than "waiting to see what the butler will do for you today." :cool:

Excellent advice, Ron! I do EXACTLY the same, and have recommended this approach to others (mentioned in my BA review below) and I bring a printed copy of everything we are looking forward to during our cruise and hand it to the butler on the first day. Then, throughout the cruise, if we require anything additional, we write a note to the butler and leave it on the dining room table. We have never had a problem when our requests are written.

We were on the Gem in 2012 in Suite 10666 (should be identical) here is a link to my review, with a few photos. We were 3 in that suite, it was classified as an SF not romance.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1667955&highlight=gem+review

Another great video! You are so talented, and your daughter is lovely. What a wonderful way to have special time with your daughter. I'm sure it's a vacation that she will cherish always.

I was one of your obsessive "voting" fans that voted everyday. You really have an excellent eye with the camera. I think I need to take you along on my next cruise, as my photos and videos are usually very lackluster. oh well!

Enjoyed your video! Excellence again!!!:)

Have a great time :)

I was in an aft SF on the Gem. You will find photos of the suite in my signature, under Gem (we were also in an aft suite on the Breakaway, which is ENTIRELY different)

The review also touches on suite privileges for the SF.

This is your complete list of the amenities that come with the SF category suite:

PENTHOUSES ~ SC, SD, SE, SF, SJ

Embarkation

Personal escort to stateroom

Metallic color key card

1 Full bottle of Sparkling Wine (House) w/compliments of NCL card

1 Floral Arrangement

Fruit Bowl *

1 Bottle of Spring Water

* Replenished upon consumption

Bath Amenities

Cotton ball & Q-Tip Caddie

Bath salts, presented in container, shell scoop

Loofah, cello wrapped, no logo

Elemis brand products presented on tray:

Pure Shine Shampoo 40ml

Pro-Vitamin Conditioner 40ml

Sharp Shower Gel 40ml

Vitamin Rich Body Lotion 40ml

Pure Zest boxed Soap 80g

Pure Zest boxed Soap 50g

Shower Cap, paper envelope

Other

Butler and Concierge Service

Access to Star Bar Day Lounge

Daily Breakfast and Lunch in Cagney's

Pillow menu selection (tent card on night stand)

DVD and CD Player

DVD & CD Library, with DVD movie library binder

Deluxe Coffee/Espresso/Cappuccino Machine serving Lavazza coffee

China cups/saucers, espresso cups, teaspoons

Coffee/Tea pod dispenser accompanying Lavazza Coffee Machines

Bathroom Scale

Clock

Bath Robes (Plush Terry Robe-Waffle Design)

Slippers, Standard

Feather Pillows, Queen/Euro

Feather Duvet Insert

Upgraded linen - 300TC with Embroidery

Towels including oversized bath towel

Long stem barware, 2 each or 1 per person, space available.

Full Breakfast Menu

24 Hour Room Service Menu (Suite Menu)

Food turn down amenity delivered each night

Priority restaurant reservations

Priority embarkation and disembarkation

In Suite Dining

__________________

Enjoy your suite! Just follow the link in my signature below...

I'd like to ask a question about breakfast if I could.

 

I see you had breakfast out on your balcony. Can you tell me the procedure for this?

I ask because on our Jewel cruise a couple years ago -our butler was not very enthusiastic about bringing us breakfast. The one morning we called for some items from Cagney's -he simply told us no. He said since it was 8am it was too late & that we could order eggs & toast. He also just dropped the tray on the table & left.

After that, we went to Cagney's & never asked for breakfast again.

 

But, this time I am determined to get what I pay for.

 

Did you speak to the butler ahead of time to say you wanted breakfast delivered onto your balcony? Yes

Did you call him in the morning or leave instructions on the door?

Is there a special Suite menu or Haven menu to mark things off, or do we just write on paper what we'd like? There is no special menu, just the regular room service menu. We just wrote our requests out on a paper specifically addressed to our Butler

Is 8:30 am considered too late to have breakfast delivered? I've read on other threads that there is usually a back-up for 7 to 7:30 -but I'd like it later.Not at all. I believe the Haven serves breakfast until 9-9:30 am

 

Thanks for your help.

Wow! He said "No??" Incredible. We had breakfast on our balcony most mornings. We set them up each day before. There is a breakfast menu for the Haven somewhere on CC. Either search or google the menu. If you look back to my post #109 here on this thread, you will see an actual letter I handed to the butler upon embarkation. Each day, we would leave a WRITTEN note to him, on our dining room table, with his name in big bold letters on top, spelling out EXACTLY what we needed the following day. We loved having the breakfasts delivered, as it served as our wake up call, and we could grab a shower, sit and have our breakfast still in a bathrobe. There was only 1 day where Marlon said he couldn't deliver at a specific time, but he could come 15 minutes later...no problem for us! We also made it clear he didn't need to stay and serve...just set up and go. We never actually made any "demands" but I think he understood that I expected a certain level of service. We were always extremely pleasant to our staff, and we did give him a nice tip at the end.

We had a lackluster butler on the Gem, so we understand your dilemma. But even then, we went to the podium for Cagney's about 2 hours before we wanted a late lunch delivered. Gave our order and our room number, and they said THEY would contact our butler to have him deliver it at the time we specified. So, maybe you could contact the Haven restaurant directly and place an order for your room. Your third option would be to dial up the number for the HD and explain how your butler told you "No" room-service. I would definitely never let that happen again. We learned from our first suite-life experience.