Any GEM Secrets to Pass Along

[bragstarr]

Menus for MDR are posted daily.

 

Restaurant fees: Cagneys--$25 pp., Teppanyaki--$25 pp., Le Bistro $20 pp., Tequila $10 pp., La Cucina $10 pp. Not sure about the Asian restaurant and I believe Sushi is a la carte. We had a coupon in our past passenger booklet mailed to us by the travel agent for buy one get one free in Tequila if we had a receipt from Le Bistro showing 2 dinners had been purchased on the cruise, so we ate there for $5 each. The coupon book expired 12/31/10, however, so no idea if they are reissuing it. The 2 main dining rooms, buffet and Blkue Lagoon are free.

 

The only way you can eat in Cagney's for lunch is if you are in certain cabins/suites, but I think it's free in that case.

[giddy2travel]

Menus for MDR are posted daily.

 

Restaurant fees: Cagneys--$25 pp., Teppanyaki--$25 pp., Le Bistro $20 pp., Tequila $10 pp., La Cucina $10 pp. Not sure about the Asian restaurant and I believe Sushi is a la carte. We had a coupon in our past passenger booklet mailed to us by the travel agent for buy one get one free in Tequila if we had a receipt from Le Bistro showing 2 dinners had been purchased on the cruise, so we ate there for $5 each. The coupon book expired 12/31/10, however, so no idea if they are reissuing it. The 2 main dining rooms, buffet and Blkue Lagoon are free.

 

The only way you can eat in Cagney's for lunch is if you are in certain cabins/suites, but I think it's free in that case.

great stuff thanks for that!

[blitzjb]

The best kept secret is the tapas bar. Located in-between the Mexican restaurant and the blue lagoon at the tequila bar. No charge!! Every night at 5:30-9:30. we highly recommend it. The wings at blue lagoon are a great anytime snack, open 24/7. Walk to the back of the buffet for breakfast, plenty of omelet stations and seating.

[Nyc2tropics]

There's a site beyondships.com I believe they have Gem specialty menus on there.

[buzzandjulie]

what night would be BEST night for french resturant on 7 day Gem

[profteedee]

This is a great thread! Thanks for starting it!

We are two couples sailing on the Gem in April and are newbies to NCL having previously sailed with Celebrity and Princess.

I had read somewhere on the Message Boards that it is possible to wait until the last minute to disembark in NYC and just walk off rather than

waiting in long lines to disembark. Since we live in NJ we will be driving home, we'd like to have a leisurely last day on the cruise. Is this possible to do? Are you given a specific time to disembark (colors, numbers, etc.) or can you choose your time?

Do they collect ALL suitcases before disembarking or can you carry yours off when you want to?

Thanks again!:)

[KevinsCruising]

Sailing her AGAIN on April 2nd....love her

 

Great Outdoors...great for breakfast

Spinaker lounge has a roulette wheel and some pub games such as shuffleboard

FREESTYLE DECK is topless :eek:

Dont pay the extra money for the souviner glass with your drink.. reg glass much cheaper.

BaliHai bar above the pool is great for food and a cold beer during the day.

 

:)

[9876]

Question about the clubs...Bliss is 21 and over as I understand it and then Spinnakers is open for dancing if you are younger? Is Spinnakers 18 and over? Do they card if so and are there young adults there versus having under 18 guests there? We need a 'cool' place for the 18 to 20 year old crowd to go. Also, are there any 'secret' cabins that are better than others in their category? Thanks!

Edited February 19, 2011 by 9876

[bugrussell]

I'd like to know more about the spa pass! Do tell.

[travelloverontario]

This is a great thread! Thanks for starting it!

We are two couples sailing on the Gem in April and are newbies to NCL having previously sailed with Celebrity and Princess.

I had read somewhere on the Message Boards that it is possible to wait until the last minute to disembark in NYC and just walk off rather than

waiting in long lines to disembark. Since we live in NJ we will be driving home, we'd like to have a leisurely last day on the cruise. Is this possible to do? Are you given a specific time to disembark (colors, numbers, etc.) or can you choose your time?

Do they collect ALL suitcases before disembarking or can you carry yours off when you want to?

Thanks again!:)

 

Our experience with NCL is you get off when you're ready if you self disembark (take your own luggage with you as opposed to putting it out the night before).

We have done this the last 2 times with NCL...first time we had a late flight, so we had a leisurely breakfast, walked around the ship one last time and relaxed until about 10:00 or 10:30 am, then walked off with no line ups. You do need to be out of your cabin earlier than that though, to give the stewards time to get it ready for the new guests.

 

Second time we had a 13 hour drive ahead of us, so we wanted to be off a little earlier, but we still had our own luggage (but no colour ticket for a particular time), and ended up in a very long line that meandered around what seemed like the whole ship!!! It actually did go very quickly considering the length of the line.

 

If you are in no hurry, I'd suggest a later breakfast, and some last minute picture taking, etc...maybe a coffee, then walk off when the lines are gone.

[buzzandjulie]

looking over the deck plans it seems the buffet is not as big as on RCI ships( this is our first time on NCl) is the buffett crowded duering week for lunch or just on first day?

Also best night to book french resturant on 7 day

[MelMazz]

I am LOVING this thread and thinking there should be one for each ship! So much great info in one place! Ahhhh!

 

buzzandjulie- We haven't sailed the Gem yet, but on the others we've sailed the busiest time is always breakfast, ESPECIALLY on port days before people disembark. It gets a little crazy! That's a time I'd recommend dining in your alternative options for sure!

 

Keep the tips coming! :D

[Suesan Jean]

Is there a Crepe Station in the evening in the Buffet?

Last year on the Dawn my DD LOVED the Crepes!!!

 

 

[plien69]

Yes, there is a crepe station. I don't think it was there the first night, though.

[Suesan Jean]

Yes, there is a crepe station. I don't think it was there the first night, though.

 

Thank You very much!!! Mt DD will be VERY HAPPY about that!!!

[lizajane84]

Sailing her AGAIN on April 2nd....love her

 

Great Outdoors...great for breakfast

Spinaker lounge has a roulette wheel and some pub games such as shuffleboard

FREESTYLE DECK is topless :eek:

Dont pay the extra money for the souviner glass with your drink.. reg glass much cheaper.

BaliHai bar above the pool is great for food and a cold beer during the day.

 

:)

Seriously???? Is this deck open to all adults or is it one of those private areas for people in the courtyard villas or something?

 

New here, loving this thread, so much good information. Going on our first cruise in 9 days so I have found this site and particularly this thread invaluable. Keep the info coming!! :)

[edawn]

I was on the Gem before but didnt notice breakfast at the blue lagoon. what kind of breakfast do they serve there? Im looking for some eggs benedict :)

 

When we were on the Dawn in August/10 the blue lagoon didn't have eggs benedict but the MDR did. DH loved it.

[travelloverontario]

Seriously???? Is this deck open to all adults or is it one of those private areas for people in the courtyard villas or something?

 

New here, loving this thread, so much good information. Going on our first cruise in 9 days so I have found this site and particularly this thread invaluable. Keep the info coming!! :)

 

 

yep...freestyle is open to all adults...and yes, it's topless. If you or your kids happened to be exploring the decks and venture up to the uppermost one...you may be in for a surprise. There are signs posted before the stairwell. If you want a quiet place to sunbathe...even if not going topless...it's pretty quiet up there usually.

[doodlesinkentucky]

Didn't eat breakfast in Blue Lagoon. Went there for lunch one day, it was terrible, and never went back. Did see menu one morning, very limited, I think you're better off going to the back of the buffet (Great Outdoors) for a quick and good omelette.

 

As for MDR reservations, we called them every morning (most phones have a button right to it or dial 050) and made our reservation for that evening, based on that day's newsletter and what we had planned for the day.

 

 

We are BIG fans of Blue Lagoon. Great food but service can be slow

[doodlesinkentucky]

The best kept secret is the tapas bar. Located in-between the Mexican restaurant and the blue lagoon at the tequila bar. No charge!! Every night at 5:30-9:30. we highly recommend it. The wings at blue lagoon are a great anytime snack, open 24/7. Walk to the back of the buffet for breakfast, plenty of omelet stations and seating.

 

 

 

Interesting...what kinds of food?

[KevinsCruising]

The best kept secret is the tapas bar. Located in-between the Mexican restaurant and the blue lagoon at the tequila bar. No charge!! Every night at 5:30-9:30. we highly recommend it. The wings at blue lagoon are a great anytime snack, open 24/7. Walk to the back of the buffet for breakfast, plenty of omelet stations and seating.

 

 

I am not sure if the free tapas are still going on. Need a recent cruiser on the GEM to comment on that. I hope so but I heard that they dont do that anymore. :mad:

[Clay Clayton]

Are there any secret great rooms on Gem? For example on Sun, there are a couple of huge balcony cabins on the bow that are in the same category as a regular balcony and some big inside cabins that are only a few bucks more than a regular inside.

[geneology]

Is deck 14 the Free Style deck? Is that the only deck where the large sun loungers are located? Also - I thought it was better to buy one Souviner (sp ? sorry) glass and use it through out the cruise for refills?

[KevinsCruising]

Deck 14 does have the large loungers that you are referring to but that is not the Freestyle deck. The Freestyle deck has its access from deck 14 but it is a sunning deck where you can go topless if you like :D. Thats why its called the "Freestyle Deck."

[terriberri268]

This is a great thread! Thanks for starting it!

We are two couples sailing on the Gem in April and are newbies to NCL having previously sailed with Celebrity and Princess.

I had read somewhere on the Message Boards that it is possible to wait until the last minute to disembark in NYC and just walk off rather than

waiting in long lines to disembark. Since we live in NJ we will be driving home, we'd like to have a leisurely last day on the cruise. Is this possible to do? Are you given a specific time to disembark (colors, numbers, etc.) or can you choose your time?

Do they collect ALL suitcases before disembarking or can you carry yours off when you want to?

Thanks again!:)

My husband and I always take the last color for getting off the ship.

We love the way ncl let's you stay anywhere on the ship. No waiting in predetermined areas.

We enjoy a leisurely breakfast and hang out ... Very relaxing.

Last two times we disembarked around 10:30- 11:00.