NCL Gem to Greek Isles = Heaven

[Mooder]

I am loving reading your mini reviews. Easy to digest and I try to picture in my mind what you saw. It sounds lovely so far. Glad you had such a wonderful time on your Birthday Dream Cruise!:)

 

Oh, good, I'm glad. Last year I never sat down to write the full review I had planned in my mind. :( This is much more doable. And I love re-living it! :D

[Mooder]

I have no idea how they washed, but everything came back just fine, including 100% which was not shrunk so I believe they are pretty careful.

 

 

 

This was supposed to say 100% cotton. Sorry for the confusion! :o

[OceanDreaming2]

1. We put a mixture of lights, darks and delicates in the bag. All came back together, nicely folded in a basket, except the delicates were in a separate bag. I have no idea how they washed, but everything came back just fine, including 100% which was not shrunk so I believe they are pretty careful.

 

You must've had the suite laundry service. We had that on the Star - everything returned folded and pressed in the basket. But on the Spirit the laundry special came back in a paper laundry bag. Not that I'm complaining any. Nothing seemed to be faded, shrunk, etc. I didn't send any delicates this time; I did some hand washing of the delicate items.

[misspupule]

We didn't know what to expect in Split, but were pleasantly surprised. It is a lovely seaside city/town with architecture ranging from ancient to very modern, all beautifully mingled. We didn't pre-book anything, but planned to take the walking tour of Diocletian's Palace. The tender dropped us off literally in a parking lot with a stone staircase down to the water. Finding the palace was not as simple as I had read, perhaps because our ship dropped us off in a different place along the port area - I'm not sure. But within a few minutes of walking and asking directions once, we found it and immediately found the tour guides. The palace is fascinating and, again, a mixture of old and new since the city has been developing literally on top of it for centuries. After the tour, we walked about on our own, had lunch at a sidewalk cafe in the town square and then walked the lovely waterfront. One thing to note, we had read that shops would take Euros, but none of the places we visited did. At lunch, we used a credit card, but for a gelatto stop and to buy a few small souvenirs, we got Kunas from an ATM that was conveniently located. Everyone spoke English so no challenge there. It was clearly a tourist town with visitors from all over. If I were to go again, I might have planned a tour after the walking tour -there was time and it would be nice to see more of this fascinating place - we really never strayed more than a few blocks from the waterfront. But it was a beautiful, educational, relaxing day.

Thanks Mooder for your review. Will be on this cruise in october 2010. Found a HOHO Bus in split and thinking of that as excursion. It does a stop by there "beach" area and around the town, says the tour takes one hour.

Do you know anyone that took this tour? Glad you mentioned about their kunas. Will pick some up when we dock there.

[Mooder]

You must've had the suite laundry service. We had that on the Star - everything returned folded and pressed in the basket. But on the Spirit the laundry special came back in a paper laundry bag. Not that I'm complaining any. Nothing seemed to be faded, shrunk, etc. I didn't send any delicates this time; I did some hand washing of the delicate items.

 

Interesting. I know we'd never had it returned in a basket before.

[Seattitude]

The ports. What a great itinerary. I have dreamed for years of seeing the Greek Isles. So much so that I feared this trip could never live up to my expectations. I needn't have worried.

 

Venice is beautiful and truly unique. We flew in the day before and took the bus from the airport to Piazzale Roma. This was very simple, only cost 3 Euros and only took about 20 minutes. We checked into our hotel a few steps from Piazzale Roma and enjoyed walking around on our own and visiting the Basilica. Booking entry to the Basilica in advance is definitely worthwhile. We walked right in while everyone else waited on a long line. The only difficulty is knowing where to enter. The door just to the left (as you face the Basilica) of the door the regular line enters has a small scanner. You scan the reservation you print from the internet and enter there.

 

My only true complaint with NCL was the lack of information on reaching the ship from Venice. Despite lots of research, it was unclear whether there would be a free shuttle from Piazzale Roma. So, we played it by ear, planning to take the 6/ bus if there was no shuttle. Well, there is, but the bus is not marked (as the other cruiselines' shuttles are). But if you wait by the other tour busses, it will come. Saturday morning the Piazzale was chaos, full of cruise passengers unsure what to do, but the rumor mill told us it would come and a little waiting paid off. We also spoke with a number of people who walked with no problem. We had feared there being steps to contend with with our luggage, but we were told there were none. The shuttle bus drops you off at a building where the luggage is left and then you walk over to the ship terminal building. We arrived around 2:00 and went through security and check in in no time at all. And once on board the cabins were ready.

 

Sailing out of Venice is like a dream. I can only compare it to cruising out of NYC, past the Statue of Liberty - everyone agreed it was like a picture.

 

When we returned to Venice the following Saturday, we had booked a personal waking tour. You will see that we booked a lot of tours on this criuse. We considered this a once in a life time trip and wanted to be sure to get the most out of every port possible. Our guide met us at the ship, we took a taxi to Piazzale Roma, and left our luggage there and continued on with the tour. Unfortunately, this was the ONLY day we had rain which certainly hindered our tour, but it was still great. St. Mark's was flooded. (Note that if it is flooded, the pre-booked entry discussed above is not available as that entrance is closed.) Our guide took us to Ca' Rezzonico and then to St. Mark's. She was an art historian and greatly enhanced our understanding of the museum and the history of Venice. At the end of the tour, she recommended a wonderful taverna for lunch not far from S. Mark's. A casual, homey, NOT touristy place, where the gondoliers eat. Apparently, one or two of the local hotels recommend it too because it was packed (although it is so tiny, it doesn't take much to pack it :)). The food and service were truly memorable. After lunch we took the Vaporetto back to Piazzale Roma and then a taxi to our hotel near the airport.

 

Split, Croatia is next...

 

We will in Venice for 3 days before our B2B cruise on the Gem on Sept 11th. Did you find the guide there or before you left home? Do you remember the name of the taverna?

[Mooder]

We will in Venice for 3 days before our B2B cruise on the Gem on Sept 11th. Did you find the guide there or before you left home? Do you remember the name of the taverna?

 

We booked the guide in advance. It was 70 euros per hour and we took 3 hours. My sister and I shared it with a wonderful couple we met on the cruise - the price is the same regardless of the number of people. I'll get you the contact if you are intersted. The taverna was called Trattoria alla Rivetta. The entry door was under a typical Venetian bridge, very quaint and something you would never find on your own. Here is a link to info I found on it in Frommers. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/venice/D41722.html I highly recommend the eggplant appetizer. Then we had excellent ravioli. But you must have the tiramasu - it was the best any of us had ever had - that includes the 4 in my group, and the two tables to either side of us. The restaurant is run by a group of Italian men who add a lot of color to the place - very friendly to the guests, but fighting occasionally with each other, including slapping one another. ;) One nice moment: We were enjoying the bread before the meal came by putting the oil on that was sitting on the table. It was just salad oil, offered along with the typical vinegar. Good, but not excellent, but fine since the bread was good. The waiter saw us doing this, got upset and went in the back and brought us a big bottle of wonderful extra virgin olive oil. It was heavenly. And, I almost forgot to mention, get the house red wine. It is sparking, and thus served cold. While we waited for our table, they gave us all a glass to keep us happy while waiting. It was terrific, so we ordered a pitcher once we were seated.

[luvs2beachit]

Thanks for posting your thoughts and experiences. Am greatly enjoying reading your mini reviews. We are scheduled to do this same cruise in the fall and would be very grateful if you could share the information about the tours you arranged, in particular, the walking tour in Venice.

 

Am looking forward to the rest of your comments!

[NW Pacific]

Couple of questions, we are scheduled to go in Oct.

where did you stay pre cruise?

realize you took a walking tour day of departure, but upon departure did you see many taxis waiting to take passengers to the airport, or where ever?

saw on another post that NCL had a "pkg" that you could check your bags with them on departure and they would deliver to certain hotels (without you) so you could go into Venice and get back on your own to your hotel with your bags waiting, have any info on this?

 

Santorini- how long was the wait for the cable car, we are in a (low end suite) but still have suite perks, do you know if along the cruise priority tendering tickets are delivered to the room?

 

Can you still carry your luggage (roll on type) onboard with you, I think I understand there is a bus from where you check in and get your paperwork, then onto a bus to the Ship? Is that correct?

 

Thank you so much for your information, so many of us have been awaiting news about this cruise.

 

Sure hoping we go, BUT with uncertain times abroad and the darm volcano, I am getting a little anxious about making final payment, but so far it is a go.

[alibubba]

The walking tour of the palace was 10 euros. We had read it would be 11. The salesperson said they were giving a deal because of the sihps being in port, but I don't know whether that is true or if it is because there are different companies offering the tour. No need to book ahead. In the inner square of the palace, you will see the posters for the tour. We didn't even reach it when we were approached by the salesperson roaming the square. We paid her and then when the time came, within 5 minutes, we were walked outside of the palace to meet our guide. A little weird - finding our way in only to be walked out of the maze, but that's how they do it. The guide was excellent. The tour lasts about an hour.

 

I believe there was a Latitude line, but I don't have a specific memory of it. We used the Platinum/Gold/Suite line, but it didn't matter and I didn't pay much attention since there were no lines when we arrived - everyone simply walked through.

 

Can't tell you how helpful all this is. Please keep coming with the information. It is so much more than we get on the reviews, plus they have been so negative. Good to hear from someone positive. carol

[LoisGriffin1]

Another great discovery were the pitchers of Sangria. Not sure if this is new, but it was new to us. You could buy a pitcher for $26 and we got 6 good sized glasses out of that. It was a great way to enjoy the Great Outdoors, lingering with a pitcher, enjoying the passing scene, without having to flag down a waiter for a refill. A good deal and a pleasure! It was often being offered in the Garden Cafe and/or on the pool deck, but if not, you can always get it at the Tequila bar on deck 8.

 

Can they be taken back to the cabin? I am thinking it would be great to have while relaxing on the balcony.

[VonChap]

The walking tour of the palace was 10 euros. We had read it would be 11. quote]

 

The 11 Euro tour on the Gem 2010 web site is for a private walking tour with the guide meeting the ship's tender and starting the tour from there. They do that tour for groups of 16 people and it is a different tour.

 

Kim

[Mooder]

Thanks Mooder for your review. Will be on this cruise in october 2010. Found a HOHO Bus in split and thinking of that as excursion. It does a stop by there "beach" area and around the town, says the tour takes one hour.

Do you know anyone that took this tour? Glad you mentioned about their kunas. Will pick some up when we dock there.

 

Sorry, I didn't meet anyone who took the HOHO. But it sounds like a good idea.

 

The walking tour of the palace was 10 euros. We had read it would be 11. quote]

 

The 11 Euro tour on the Gem 2010 web site is for a private walking tour with the guide meeting the ship's tender and starting the tour from there. They do that tour for groups of 16 people and it is a different tour.

 

Kim

 

Thanks, Kim, but I did read the 11 Euro price elsewhere - in someone's travel blog before I left.

[Mooder]

Thanks for posting your thoughts and experiences. Am greatly enjoying reading your mini reviews. We are scheduled to do this same cruise in the fall and would be very grateful if you could share the information about the tours you arranged, in particular, the walking tour in Venice.

 

Am looking forward to the rest of your comments!

 

I plan to post more of my mini review, including the other tours, later today. Back to work today, so time is limited. Meanwhile, for the Venice walking tour, we found our guide via invenicetoday.com. I am contacting our guide to inquire whether I may post her specific contact information and I will if permitted. But, if not, I completed the form to request a guide on that website and was contacted very quickly by our guide. They have recommended tours listed online, but we were able to customize it to our needs since we had been to Venice previously.

[Mooder]

Couple of questions, we are scheduled to go in Oct.

where did you stay pre cruise?

We stayed at Hotel Arlecchino. It is very close to Piazzale Roma (in fact, we could see it as soon as we stepped off the bus from the airport) so it was very convenient for the morning of the cruise. I would describe the accommodations as basic, but clean and satisfactory. If you have any mobility issues, I would mention that when booking because we did have to climb 2 flights of stairs to our room. But they took care of the luggage. We would stay there again in a minute.

 

realize you took a walking tour day of departure, but upon departure did you see many taxis waiting to take passengers to the airport, or where ever?

 

We actually needed a taxi at the end of our walking tour to take us to our hotel closer to the airport. There is a taxi stand in Piazzale Roma. It was empty when we first arrived, but filled up within a couple of minutes. When the ships let out on Saturday morning, P. Roma is very crowded (we had quite a line at the left luggage office, for instance) so you may have a wait, but there will be plenty of taxis.

 

saw on another post that NCL had a "pkg" that you could check your bags with them on departure and they would deliver to certain hotels (without you) so you could go into Venice and get back on your own to your hotel with your bags waiting, have any info on this?

 

WE received literature about this in our cabin, but didn't pay much attention since we had other plans. It indicated that it was only for certain hotels and you had to inquire to find out which hotels. Sorry, I don't know more.

Santorini- how long was the wait for the cable car, we are in a (low end suite) but still have suite perks, do you know if along the cruise priority tendering tickets are delivered to the room?

 

The wait for the cable car was very short. This was something I had read, researched and worried a lot about, but I needn't have. One nice thing about this itinerary is that other ships are not arriving at the same time. We were on the cable car within a few minutes. The priority tender tickets were in our cabin when we arrived on board and could be used throughout the week.

 

Can you still carry your luggage (roll on type) onboard with you, I think I understand there is a bus from where you check in and get your paperwork, then onto a bus to the Ship? Is that correct?

 

That's not exactly our experience. The shuttle bus dropped us off at the building where our luggage was dropped off, but we did not check in there. After leaving our luggage, we walked across the port area to the building where we went through security, checked in and boarded the ship. I imagine we could have brought our luggage with us as we did our rolling carry-on. People who did not arrive by shuttle bus would not have known about the separate building and might have done just that, but I'm not sure.

Thank you so much for your information, so many of us have been awaiting news about this cruise.

 

I know how you feel. This was a tough cruise to research.

Sure hoping we go, BUT with uncertain times abroad and the darm volcano, I am getting a little anxious about making final payment, but so far it is a go.

 

I certainly hope you go. Try not to worry about it. See my answers above.

[Mooder]

Can they be taken back to the cabin? I am thinking it would be great to have while relaxing on the balcony.

 

Absolutely! In fact, we took ours back to the cabin and held on to the pitcher for mixing our mimosas the rest of the week.

[Seattitude]

We booked the guide in advance. It was 70 euros per hour and we took 3 hours. My sister and I shared it with a wonderful couple we met on the cruise - the price is the same regardless of the number of people. I'll get you the contact if you are intersted. The taverna was called Trattoria alla Rivetta. The entry door was under a typical Venetian bridge, very quaint and something you would never find on your own. Here is a link to info I found on it in Frommers. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/venice/D41722.html I highly recommend the eggplant appetizer. Then we had excellent ravioli. But you must have the tiramasu - it was the best any of us had ever had - that includes the 4 in my group, and the two tables to either side of us. The restaurant is run by a group of Italian men who add a lot of color to the place - very friendly to the guests, but fighting occasionally with each other, including slapping one another. ;) One nice moment: We were enjoying the bread before the meal came by putting the oil on that was sitting on the table. It was just salad oil, offered along with the typical vinegar. Good, but not excellent, but fine since the bread was good. The waiter saw us doing this, got upset and went in the back and brought us a big bottle of wonderful extra virgin olive oil. It was heavenly. And, I almost forgot to mention, get the house red wine. It is sparking, and thus served cold. While we waited for our table, they gave us all a glass to keep us happy while waiting. It was terrific, so we ordered a pitcher once we were seated.

Thanks for the info on the taverna. It's on our list of things to do in Venice. Hopefully the map will help us find it. I am interested in the guide. If you don't want to post the information on CC could you email it to me at japaine1atcomcast.net. Did you find that most guides were that expensive in Venice. It seems like everything in Venice costs more. Thanks again.:)

[VonChap]

Sorry, I didn't meet anyone who took the HOHO. But it sounds like a good idea.

 

 

Thanks, Kim, but I did read the 11 Euro price elsewhere - in someone's travel blog before I left.

 

I am glad that you read it someplace besides just our Gem 2010 web site.

 

I wanted to post a comment because I have been getting all kinds of emails about the tour descriptions and pricing outlined on the Gem 2010 web site. I just want to make sure that everyone knows that that web site was for the 4/24 cruise. We decided to leave it active in case anyone was looking for ideas. The prices and tour descriptions on that web site were for April--still considered the "off season" in Italy and Greece. Please dont get upset if you dont get offered the same tour at the same price. (may be less euros but most have been more euros)

 

Now, back to this great reveiw....

[Mooder]

Sorry, I didn't meet anyone who took the HOHO. But it sounds like a good idea.

 

 

 

I am glad that you read it someplace besides just our Gem 2010 web site.

 

I wanted to post a comment because I have been getting all kinds of emails about the tour descriptions and pricing outlined on the Gem 2010 web site. I just want to make sure that everyone knows that that web site was for the 4/24 cruise. We decided to leave it active in case anyone was looking for ideas. The prices and tour descriptions on that web site were for April--still considered the "off season" in Italy and Greece. Please dont get upset if you dont get offered the same tour at the same price. (may be less euros but most have been more euros)

 

Now, back to this great reveiw....

 

Kim, the website is a wonderful resource and clearly an act of love. It is very generous of you to keep it active as it holds so much information for future cruisers.

[misspupule]

Absolutely! In fact, we took ours back to the cabin and held on to the pitcher for mixing our mimosas the rest of the week.

Love that idea of the pitcher, will keep a note of it in my "travel folder". Still on this subject, were you able to bring liquor on board at the different ports and did they take it away if you planned to bring it back to the states. Were you charged the corkage fee if you brought wine to drink at dinner or your balcony and how many bottles is the limit per person?

Thanks

miss pupule

[Mooder]

Love that idea of the pitcher, will keep a note of it in my "travel folder". Still on this subject, were you able to bring liquor on board at the different ports and did they take it away if you planned to bring it back to the states. Were you charged the corkage fee if you brought wine to drink at dinner or your balcony and how many bottles is the limit per person?

Thanks

miss pupule

 

If you purchased liquor, they took it from you until the end of the cruise. We didn't bring any wine on board, but I did see them charging the corkage fee in the security/check-in area for those that did.

[flipsky]

Thanks for all the very useful information. I'm also happy to hear a positive review of this cruise. We're on the 31 JUL sailing and it's cretainly proving difficult to gleen much info from the web.

 

phil

[Mooder]

Corfu. We pre-booked a private tour with Corfu Taxi Tours (corfutaxitours.com). We shared this tour with a couple we met on our roll call and it worked out very well. Spiros was our guide and he met us at the port. He had recommended this tour from their website, which we elected, but it was also customized for our time and interests.

EXECUTIVE TOUR 3

Port,Vistonas,Makrades,Lakones, Paleokastritsa,Gastouri,Achillion, Kanoni, Corfu town (4 or 5 hours) .

 

Spiros was excellent, a very experienced guide, with a wonderful sense of humor. We felt we saw more of Corfu than could possibly have been done on our own in addition to learning more about the local lifestyle. Corfu is the greenest of the Greek Islands and is so mountainous as to offer very spectacular views across the island and down to the clear turquoise water. During our tour, among other things, we stopped and toured Sissi's Palace. The palace itself was probably not worth much time, but the views from the garden were among the best on the island. Our companions, however, skipped the palace, so it is your choice. I'll post some photos as soon as we get them downloaded.

 

We had the choice to stop for a swim, take a boat ride, stop for a meal, whatever, but we wanted to keep going. We ended up in Corfu town where Spiros left us at a casual gyro restaurant he recommended. From there we walked through the main shopping area of the town and purchased some jewelry before walking the rest of the way back to the ship. The shopping was such a pleasure as we found the shopkeepers to be so friendly, warm and helpful. They have a way of being "pushy" without seeming "pushy," only welcoming. :) It was a great day. People we met who did not stray from the area of town close to the port were disappointed so I would strongly recommend finding a way to see more of the island. The views from the peaks vary from side to side of the island and the small villages we passed through were amazing - the roads are so narrow in places that one charming village, for example, had a traffic light you had to wait for before you could enter so that traffic would not have to pass each other. The island is covered with olive trees, about which we learned a lot, and we had an opportunity to sample the local wine and olives.

 

My thanks to Patti and Dennis, our friends from roll call, for making this such a fun day. :)

 

This was also the day of our meet and greet. We met at 9:00 a.m., arriving in Corfu at 10:00 a.m. I worried that this timing would be a hassle, but it worked out very well. We had a relatively inactive roll call with only 12 signing up for the m&g so I didn't know what to expect - I didn't know if such a small group would be worth their time. But, Ana, our group events coordinator did a great job. We had coffee, juice and pastries, and a large number of officers showed up to speak with us. Not only the current HD (Fillippo), but also his replacement as he is about to go on vacation. I was also pleased that everyone who signed up for the m&g showed up, plus a couple more who we met at the martini clinic the night before and told about the m&g. This is definitely worth doing as you make friends for the rest of the cruise and get to know and learn from the officers.

[LOWTYD]

My goodness. You really did your homework and all that planning seemed to pay off. You really crammed so much into the time you had. I think that is one of the things that may give a trip a bad reivew is not doing the research and finding all these little out fo the way, local only not NCL excursion places. Some people just get off and say " Now what?" I think you get an A+ on this one.:)

Can you plan my next trip?:rolleyes:

[misspupule]

This sounds like a great tour. How much was this tour and how many people can go? Do they charge per person or per car?

How far in advance did you book tour? I know you'll get lots of questions, thanks for being so open and honest and quick to reply about your answers.

I think we may want to go for a swim on an island or at least put my toes in the"greek isles", see all i can in the little time we are there.

waiting "patiently" LOL for rest of ports.