Review of NCL Gem 2/27/10 NY to The Bahamas

[theshortchef]

This was our third NCL trip, our second on the Gem. Last fall we tried Royal Caribbean but found that we were anxious to return to NCL. This week we did the New York to Bahamas 2/27/10 trip and had our first (and hopefully not last) Owner’s Suite. We had a fantastic time and have mostly positive feedback for our review. Our room was absolutely gorgeous with more amenities than expected. We received consistently outstanding and friendly service throughout the week from most everyone on the crew. There seemed to be respect from the top down in that the captain found every opportunity to refer to his fantastic team in one way or another and their pride showed. Other officers showed the same respect. We are big fans of Captain Frank and his team!

Our room as well as the entire ship was immaculate. We took the Behind the Scenes Tour and would highly recommend it. If you are interested, sign up early in the week since it fills fast and it is a small group. The areas that you do not see on a regular basis such as the galley and the laundry area are as immaculate as the rest of the ship. Never have I seen a cleaner or more efficient food prep and storage operation!

The room was beautiful and spacious with a large front balcony and a large side balcony. The bathroom was huge with the very best shower in the world, two sinks, and a soaking tub (with a flat screen TV of course). There was a small powder room on the opposite side of the room. We had two other flat screen TVs, one with surround sound. The bed, pillows, and linens were spectacular; have not slept so well in forever. Worth a mention is that we found surprisingly little (comparatively) drawer space and the drawers were spread out throughout the room, no one piece of furniture that acted as a dresser. Pack more hanging clothes, less folded clothes. Also, be prepared for artwork that may not be your favorite which is another way of saying that some of the artwork in the room was dreadful such as the huge painting of 4 angry fish, one poised to attack with teeth that would make a tiger jealous.

We found, overall that the food had improved from our last trip with a couple exceptions. The very best of the best was breakfast and lunch in Cagney’s, which went from great last year to amazing this year. Another super treat here is the ability to make a request or substitution without a problem. The entire staff was professional and friendly. This year the lunch menu does not rotate but is fixed like the breakfast menu. Both have great variety and flexibility. Another area of improvement was the MDR where we felt the food was extremely good. Buffet was clean and fresh looking with a lot of variety and some really good ice cream!

An area of disappointment was with a couple of the specialty restaurants. We had a poor meal in Orchid Garden and found the sushi and only sushi or Chinese Food and only Chinese Food a little rigid and even confusing when the server suggested that one of us get sushi and the other get Chinese Food and swap amongst ourselves to avoid a second charge …. Excuse the pun but if you get eggroll either way, why not just allow a sushi roll as an appetizer in the Asian Fusion? We opted for simple and ordered from the Orchid Garden specific menu and again, the food was not good at all.

For us, the bigger disappointment was the Italian restaurant where we were shocked to see that the Antipasti Trolley was discontinued. That was the highlight of that restaurant for us and one of the cutbacks that we feel is a mistake! Our meal was fair, not nearly as good as past meals there. It is unlikely that we will return.

Le Bistro has a new menu and is a little more expensive now. The menu says the price is $25 but the Freestyle Daily says the price is $20. We were charged $20 so maybe they are easing into the $25 price? We liked the new menu and had an excellent meal.

The activities and entertainment were very good with great variety and something for everybody. We started each day in the gym at 6:00 am, followed by breakfast at 7, and the spa at 8. The spa pass is a great value at $99 per person or $167 per couple for the week. Since passes are limited, I would recommend signing up on embarkation day. Great facilities, kept beautifully in both the gym and the spa! One question we had though was why the gym closed at all and was not open 24 hours a day. At first we thought that it would be because there would always be a staff member in the gym but that was not the case. Someone showed up only to unlock the door and then we saw a staff member only two of the mornings as we were leaving. This was another area where we felt a cutback may have cut too deep in that a staff member probably should be present at all times.

Overall our weather was terrific for this time of year. It did get rather windy after Port Canaveral and many shore excursions were cancelled because of it including both of our remaining excursions. Our shore excursion in Port Canaveral was Kayak on the Indian River and it was the worst shore excursion we have ever had, actually the only poor shore excursion we ever had. In the 3 ½ hour tour, we were lucky if we had ½ hour to kayak, the rest of the time having to remain still to listen to a guide who could not get enough of hearing himself talk and having him make adjustments to the tour to take us to a citrus fruit and local honey store where he knew everyone (what a surprise). The bigger concern was that we brought this to the attention of the shore excursion desk and even though we made it clear up front that we did not want a refund but we felt it was important for them to know this info, the rep (while very pleasant) could not have cared less.

Fellow passengers were French Canadian. At times it felt like we were the only English speaking passengers LOL! We came to learn that it was the week of spring break in Quebec so we had lots and lots of kids. As is always the case, a mix of really fun and nice kids were the rule but the packs of unattended, roaming, block the stairs and push all the elevator buttons, touch every utensil while sampling food in the buffet kids managed to get on the nerves by week’s end.

We purchased the Cruise Reward Certificate and look forward to our next trip. All in all, an outstanding week on a spectacular ship. I have to mention Ruth, Dilip, and Judy (concierge, butler, and room steward) who made everything so special for us.

[Maryfrei]

Enjoyed your review thanks!

 

We went to La Cucina on the 2/13 voyage. They didn't have the trolley, but our server said they still had all of the items from the trolley, and offered to make us up any selection we wanted, and did! It was delicious!

[VonChap]

I think that the gym now has certain hours instead of 24X7 because the noise of the gym was disturbing the cabins below.

 

Did you see a sign on the treadmills that they can not be used before 8AM? I am a treadmill user and I think that I read on CC that those could not be used before 8AM due to disturbing cabins below. I am planning on moving to the jogging track in the early morning instead.

[theshortchef]

No, the treadmills were being used from the moment the gym opened at 6am. There were usually about 6 or 8 of us using them every morning.

[njhorseman]

Two observations on Le Bistro (we were on the Gem the week of 2/20).

 

When they introduced the new menu the price was $25, but NCL rolled it back to $20...hence the contradiction between the printed menu price and the actual charge.

 

We ate there twice, and thought the preparation of some of the entrees was a bit odd. The coq au vin had a tomato-like the sauce and was almost more like chicken cacciatore than coq au vin. The MDR's preparation of the same dish was much more traditional. There was also something untraditional about the spicing of the rack of lamb(I couldn't pin down what it was)...not what I usually expect from a "French" restaurant. The filet of beef , while tender, had little beefy flavor...in fact the Beef Wellington I had in the MDR tasted was much better.

 

Frankly, I thought the preparation/recipes on the old menu were better (and the price was only $15!).

[VonChap]

No, the treadmills were being used from the moment the gym opened at 6am. There were usually about 6 or 8 of us using them every morning.

 

I am thrilled to hear this. I am an early morning treadmill runner. I was afraid that I was going to get to the gym and see a sign about not using until 8AM. I have heard that on a few threads on CC.

 

Thanks!

[VonChap]

Two observations on Le Bistro (we were on the Gem the week of 2/20).

 

When they introduced the new menu the price was $25, but NCL rolled it back to $20...hence the contradiction between the printed menu price and the actual charge.

 

We ate there twice, and thought the preparation of some of the entrees was a bit odd. The coq au vin had a tomato-like the sauce and was almost more like chicken cacciatore than coq au vin. The MDR's preparation of the same dish was much more traditional. There was also something untraditional about the spicing of the rack of lamb(I couldn't pin down what it was)...not what I usually expect from a "French" restaurant. The filet of beef , while tender, had little beefy flavor...in fact the Beef Wellington I had in the MDR tasted was much better.

 

Frankly, I thought the preparation/recipes on the old menu were better (and the price was only $15!).

 

Le Bistro has been our favorite restaurant since our first NCL cruise. Thanks for your comments about the new menu. I am a little concerned about the comments that I have been hearing about the new menu.

[madibeme]

What is included in the spa pass? Is it like the thermal suites on RCCL?

[njhorseman]

What is included in the spa pass? Is it like the thermal suites on RCCL?

 

Yes..."thermal suites". There is a central coed area and separate men's and women's areas.

[Dolphins]

We just returned from the same cruise, which is actually the Gem March 20th cruise. We also enjoyed it very much and agree the food has really improved. The only thing we missed was the Big Band night which they usually had in the Spinakker Lounge with the show band. We thought hypnotist Brenda Kaye was outstanding and her seminars were very popular. Pianist/vocalist Laurie anne Gardner was very entertaining in the magnum Champagne Bar. Great cruise.

[sebas030]

Two observations on Le Bistro (we were on the Gem the week of 2/20).

 

When they introduced the new menu the price was $25, but NCL rolled it back to $20...hence the contradiction between the printed menu price and the actual charge.

 

We ate there twice, and thought the preparation of some of the entrees was a bit odd. The coq au vin had a tomato-like the sauce and was almost more like chicken cacciatore than coq au vin. The MDR's preparation of the same dish was much more traditional. There was also something untraditional about the spicing of the rack of lamb(I couldn't pin down what it was)...not what I usually expect from a "French" restaurant. The filet of beef , while tender, had little beefy flavor...in fact the Beef Wellington I had in the MDR tasted was much better.

 

Frankly, I thought the preparation/recipes on the old menu were better (and the price was only $15!).

 

We were on the Gem also 2/20, wife and I went to Le bistro and yes at 25$ it is a little over pricy. At 20$ I think it is OK. The appetizers were good. I had the duck two ways it was excellent, I don't remember what my wife had but I remember it was very good also. Dessert was very good and the "surprise" 5 chocolate truffle were also very good and we were even offered 5 more.

 

I heard the foie gras was bad :(

 

Overall great food and great service for 20$ pp

[Glamourgal]

I didn't realize you could by a spa pass. What does that include??

[Glamourgal]

Anyone???:confused:

[njhorseman]

I didn't realize you could by a spa pass. What does that include??

 

 

Use of the "thermal suite."

[ma40]

Thanks for the review that I meant to write, you hit all my points except 1, were the DJs at the pool from 12-4 a permanent change? I missed the live band, since many spring breakers love hip-hop,rap and LOUD music,hoping the answer is, it was just for this cruise. Since NCL did not announce what the improvements to Great Stirrup Cay will be, do you think it could be a pier, so Epic passengers can visit there? I enjoyed the day but missed the umbrellas. The cruise Critic meet and greet was fun, thanks Herb.

[BFisher244]

I went flying this past weekend thru the Hudson river corridor and snapped a pic of the Gem while it was in the dock

 

[nmat]

How were the seas and the weather?

[NJ04SS]

What a great picture. WOW I can't wait to cruise this Saturday:D