Gem Review 12/25/10 - 1/1/11

[CruiseShelly]

12/25/10 - 1/1/11 Norwegian Gem

 

Embarkation. Arrived 11:10 AM. Dropped luggage off, took escalator upstairs, through security, and lines to desk. Photos taken, credit card swiped and to waiting area in 15 minutes. Very organized and pleasant. Waited until noon when promptly they started calling groups to board. They boarded on two gangways so it went quickly. We were aboard by 12:15PM.

 

Headed for Grand Pacific dining room for quiet civilized luncheon. Met Christopher who would be my laison for my Gluten-Free dining needs. He recommended I eat there with him in the Grand Pacific Dining Room and just let him know where else I wanted to eat during the cruise. Every night I picked my dinner selections for the next night. Christopher was a Gem himself!!

 

They announced staterooms were ready about 2PM. Had a lovely BC balcony room deck 9 aft port side. Mark took good care of us all week. He and his partner were very visible in the hallway, whistling a happy tune most days.

 

Ship. Big, glitzy and brightly colored. Thought the Grand Pacific Dining Room the loveliest area aboard. Stardust Showroom was also especially nice. Buffet area was cramped due to a terrible selection of chairs -- too heavy and the chair arms made it impossible to get between tables. NCL, if you are paying attention to this -- DITCH THE CHAIRS!!! Replace them with armless slightly smaller chairs. I heard complaints about the ships layout, but we found it rather straight forward once you got the hang of the three stairwells and which one you needed to be able to get up or down to the location you wanted. Crystal Atium --intersting concept as a gatheing place. Horrible furniture. Someone was on drugs when they selected it, or had a brother-in-law in the business that got the Line a deal on the ugly non-functioning oversized plush ugly stuff (IMHO). Likewise the furniture up in the Spinnaker Lounge. Horrible. Kept us out of these two venues.

 

We didn't have a lot of pool / sun weather but spent a couple days around the hot tubs. Enjoyed the hot tubs, the music, the lunches on deck.

 

Food. I know it's terribly subjective subject. We have travelled and cruised a great deal and thought the food overall very good. Nice presentation, enough variation to always have something that was good. Kudos to Chef Vaughan Sanft (sailed with him on the Norwegian Crown in 2005). Breakfasts we took in buffet, and lunches we tried Grand Pacific, buffet and Topsiders at the pool. The usual fare, nothing too outstanding. I did enjoy the Indian offerings as something different. I wasn't shopping for it, preparing it, or cleaning it up, so perhaps I am easy to please. But overall the food was better than I was expecting.

 

Bars. Lots of opportunity for a cool one at any time of day or night. I thought prices were a bit high for the portions given, but oh well. I did enjoy my BBC and my Bahamamama at the pool, and wine before dinner. I never felt pestered to consume anything if I just wanted to sit somewhere and listen to the music. And the wine steward always arrived at our table when seated for dinner, but if we didn't want wine for dinner, we never felt pressured. We spent the most time at Magnums Champagne and Wine Bar and at the Star Bar which we thought was a lovely and small venue. Pre-ordered Champagne for New Year's Eve which came to our stateroom about 7:30PM. Drank it there while whatching football. Then headed to Star Bar to ring in the New Year. Michael the Piano Man was there, with a quiet crowd and superb atmosphere tor the Captain's countdown at midnight. Good times!

 

Staff. Super staff. Never saw a frown, never was treated with anything but the utmost professionalism and courtesy. Had good service in all the food venues. Officers were very visible and approachable. Very eager to interact with the passengers. Much more so than on other lines I have cruised. We enjoyed that.

 

That being said, we turned Freestyle into our style which is NOT Freestyle. We ate early 5:45 - 6:30 every night. Zena Petrova, hostess at Grand Pacific did a great job juggling everyone's reservations and walk-in times. We never had more than a minute or two wait before being seated. We always wanted a table for two and there were plenty of them. We did see some unhappy people that would show up at 7:00 and want a table for 12 or more without a reservation. We learned very quickly to make a reservation at breakfast for the next night's dinner. Because of my gluten-free eating needs, we did not eat at the other restaurants aboard for dinner. This made it simpler for us.

 

Cruise Critic Meet & Greet. Thanks to Dan for setting up the Meet & Greet. It was at 10AM on the Monday we were due into Port Canaveral at noon after 24 hours of very rough seas, so some of those signed up didn't make it. It was so nice of the officers to come and to mingle with us and listen to us all. Especially Hotel Director Steven Jacobsen. It was good to meet the other Cruise Critics that are merely a name on the Boards. Now I have faces to put with many of those monikers.

 

Shows. We enjoyed the Singer/Dancer shows the best. They really did a lot with a small stage and limited time. Not Broadway, mind you, but entertaining. The juggler was okay. The comedian wasn't. Skipped the Improv show.

 

Ports. As far as we were concerned Port Canaveral was a waste, Didn't get off the ship and it was only 50 degrees so we didn't even use it as a pool day. Took a nap! Great Stirrup Cay: would have been better on a warmer day with lots of sun, but I went over, looked around, and went in the water so I could say I did. Nassau: I have been to Nassau numerous times, but DH had not. I had printed out a walking tour of Nassau on the internet which we did in the morning. Then I had arranged for a local birder to meet us and take us around to the local spots to look at birds. Had a great time birding and seeing parts of the island no ever gets to see.

 

Disembarkation. I had read so much about this procedure, I was dreading it. But it seemed to work well. We were self disembarking, so we had breakfast in the buffet about 7:30AM. We were at the dock early so the ship was cleared right on time. We went to Crystal Atrium about 8:45 to see what was happening. Sat for a while and when the passenger line started moving off the ship (9:00AM), we joined the line. Line was quite long but moved quickly. Once in line, we were off the ship, through Immigration and Customs and at the taxi stand (no line there!) by 9:20AM. I was impressed with NCL's organization with this.

 

We chose this cruise because it left from NYC -- DH said no way he was getting on a plane Christmas weekend due to crowds and weather uncertainties (and he was right about tha as it turned outt!!) so for us that meant the Gem or Jewel. I love cruising out of NYC anyway so I was okay with using a northern "winter" port,. We normally sail Cunard or HAL as we like a dressier, older, more traditional line and crowd. We cruised NCL once before to Bermuda and didn't mind Freestyle too much, so we were detemined to enjoy ourselves this week. We packed light, but were dressed appropriately for evenings. We were a bit concerned there would be rampaging hoards of kids and teens, but there were not. It seemed for the most part the children were very well behaved and just really "into" the cruise and what was going on. So, yes, I'd sail on the Gem and with NCL again, and I would look forward to it.

 

Any specific questions, I will try to answer for you.

[blitzjb]

The best kept secret on the Gem 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.

__________________

[llam]

Thank you CruiseShelly for your well balanced, delailed review. We were on this sailing and had a GREAT TIME. It was so wonderful meeting you at the M&G.

[marinaro44]

Interesting that some people can't simply say that something isn't to their taste, but have to say it's "horrible" and "plush ugly" and "someone was on drugs when they selected it." Or can't simply say they wish the chairs in the buffet weren't so large and heavy, they have to say "DITCH THE CHAIRS." Such hyperbole is the bane of Cruise Critic. And not very Cunard-like in tone, I might add. I can't imagine someone avoiding a public room because of the design of the furniture. Oh, well.

 

Oh, I happen to like sitting in chairs with arms when I eat. Thank you, NCL.

[family cruisers]

We just booked the Gem for fall 2011.

We've been on the Dawn , liked it didn't love it.

We LOVED the old NCL's Crown twice.

 

We have a nice OBC to use and are trying the GEM to our favorite destination , Bermuda . We plan on using the specialty restaurants every night for dinner. I will say on the Dawn they were excellent.

 

Can you tell me who the comedian was ?

We have had Dave Heenan all three times and while he was very funny his jokes all three times were the same. Third time was stale for us.

 

Looking forward to trying the Gem .

 

Thanks for any replies.

[CruiseShelly]

Family Cruisers -- comedian was Rod Long. From Seattle.

[NYcruzzer]

Interesting that some people can't simply say that something isn't to their taste, but have to say it's "horrible" and "plush ugly" and "someone was on drugs when they selected it." Or can't simply say they wish the chairs in the buffet weren't so large and heavy, they have to say "DITCH THE CHAIRS." Such hyperbole is the bane of Cruise Critic. And not very Cunard-like in tone, I might add. I can't imagine someone avoiding a public room because of the design of the furniture. Oh, well.

 

Oh, I happen to like sitting in chairs with arms when I eat. Thank you, NCL.

 

Seems like you are stirring the pot. I thought OP's review was fair and balanced. Would I avoid Spinakers or the Crystal Atrium because I didn't like the seating ? Absolutely not !

[family cruisers]

Thank You !!

 

Family Cruisers -- comedian was Rod Long. From Seattle.

[ace6636634]

Hi Shelly,

 

I'm going on a cruise to no where on the gem with someone who also can't eat gluten. How did you arrange to meet with Christopher?

 

Thanks!

[Jeweljudy]

Shelly - Thanks so much....I am also Gluten Free. Just came off the Dawn - loved the desserts they make that are gluten free. Going on the Gem in July to Bermuda - did you love the 9th floor? Thanks....

[bob brown]

Thank you for your fair and detailed review. I would have to agree with you on the furniture. The seating by necessity in the buffet was tight, but the arm chairs made it almost impossible to get in and out of some of the seats without having those at adjacent tables get up and move around.

Or if you were nimble, you could step over arm, stand up on seat, and then drop your feet down onto floor. The armchairs that stood alone were okay, but when packed around others, not practicle.

 

I also think they could have better seating in the Spinnaker. Those 'beds' took up a lot of room. They should emulate the seating that HAL has in their version (The Crow's Nest). Comfortable and handy for sightseeing.

 

Regardless of seating, I would not be swayed from a room that I would otherwise enjoy.

[lordchaos]

i had an exact opposite experience. this was my 4th time with Norwegian. i generally do feel that in the past few years the quality of their brand has improved greatly. i did find most of the workers friendly. the food was a pretty good variety, but the quality on alot of the dishes i thought could have been better. the ship itself is very pretty, but i think the design is flawed. most of their public space is taken up by specialty restaurants, so on the sea days when it was cold and everyone was crammed inside the ship, there was not a whole lot to do. the entertainment as far as daily activities i thought was very lacking, and the cruise director was not that good. as someone who likes to relax, i can say i will not cruise during the holiday again. there were too many kids on the ship(i know, to be expected during Christmas week. note to parents-watch your children. the ship should not be substituted for a babysitter). also, i bought the week pass to use the therapy pool in the spa, and found this area to be overcrowded and LOUD. do people not realize that was supposed to be a place to relax? instead, everyone wanted to talk loudly and have no consideration for other passengers. also, contrary to an earlier post, i was constantly bombarded every 5 minutes about asking if i wanted a drink- got really annoying. it seems Norwegian puts way too much emphasis on everything being about making money. i was never bothered that much on RCL or Celebrity in comparison. as for the positive, the food in the specialty restaurants was great, as well as the service. all in all, i had a much better time on the Dawn about 2 years ago. this cruise on the Gem just seemed to be lacking something. i will take Norwegian again, but at an off peak time. just seemed as if the staff was very overwhelmed with all the extra people on the ship.

[Coastalbreezes]

The best kept secret on the Gem 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.

__________________

 

Darn, wish we had known about that! I saw that bar but did not realize they served tapas...oh well, next time.

 

Shelly, thanks for the review! We love sailing out of NYC -- so convenient!

TracyE

[CruiseShelly]

Seems like you are stirring the pot. I thought OP's review was fair and balanced. Would I avoid Spinakers or the Crystal Atrium because I didn't like the seating ? Absolutely not !

 

 

Thanks. I thought I said a lot of positive things as well as the couple of negative things.

[CruiseShelly]

Shelly - Thanks so much....I am also Gluten Free. Just came off the Dawn - loved the desserts they make that are gluten free. Going on the Gem in July to Bermuda - did you love the 9th floor? Thanks....

 

Loved theh 9th floor. We were aft of the aft stairwell, so it was up 3 flights to buffet, or down three flights directly to Grand Pacific without walking the length of the ship.

 

At lunch on Embarkation Day when I told the waiter I needed Gluten Free, he immediately went and got Christopher to come to talk with me. From then on, I saw Christopher each evening to arrange the next day's dinner selections. I ate buffet breakfast and lunch and was careful.

 

There was also a letter in my cabin asking me to call someone about the Gluten Free (I had arranged to be Gluten Free in advance of the cruise) and he basically said, go to the dining room and talk with Christopher who is in charge of all the "special" diets and menus.

 

Have a blast in July!

[CruiseShelly]

Hi Shelly,

 

I'm going on a cruise to no where on the gem with someone who also can't eat gluten. How did you arrange to meet with Christopher?

 

Thanks!

 

Make sure you arrange to be Gluten Free with NCL before you go. You can call and ask them. I don't have number or department name handy, sorry.

[CruiseShelly]

Thank you for your fair and detailed review. I would have to agree with you on the furniture. The seating by necessity in the buffet was tight, but the arm chairs made it almost impossible to get in and out of some of the seats without having those at adjacent tables get up and move around.

Or if you were nimble, you could step over arm, stand up on seat, and then drop your feet down onto floor. The armchairs that stood alone were okay, but when packed around others, not practicle.

 

I also think they could have better seating in the Spinnaker. Those 'beds' took up a lot of room. They should emulate the seating that HAL has in their version (The Crow's Nest). Comfortable and handy for sightseeing.

 

Regardless of seating, I would not be swayed from a room that I would otherwise enjoy.

 

Perfectly said!! And of course we WERE comparing Spinnaker Lounge to the Crow's Nest on HAL ships. The "bed" furniture they have on the Gem is not for us. And what you said about the armchairs in the Buffet was so true. There were times I was afraid I was stuck there until other tables of people emptied out.

[Jeannine1026]

I am looking to go on the Gem for the one night cruise. I was wondering about the casino and the shops? Does anyone know what the price of cigerettes and the game tables are?

[Duncan28]

Cruise Shelly - How did you find out about the local birder on Nassau? That sounds like something we might like to do. Did you see the birds in their natural settings?

 

Thanks!

[JohnGaltny]

Nice job on the review and thanks.

 

We're on the Gem (first NCL) in April so this was useful. We agree with you about no shop, no cook, no clean = good meal.;)

[BlueC5Kitten]

Thanks for the review...I'll be sailing the Gem in a week and haven't been on a NCL ship previously...the info is good to have though I don't require any special dietetic requirements! :) Really looking forward to my cruise!

[CruiseShelly]

Cruise Shelly - How did you find out about the local birder on Nassau? That sounds like something we might like to do. Did you see the birds in their natural settings?

 

Thanks!

 

I searched the internet for Birder or Birding Nassau Bahamas and found a website that looked interesting. Email me at eshellybell@comcast.net and I'll send you the name and LInk. I am not sure I can do that on the boards and don't want to cross the line of appropriate posting etiquette.

[Duncan28]

I searched the internet for Birder or Birding Nassau Bahamas and found a website that looked interesting. Email me at eshellybell@comcast.net and I'll send you the name and LInk. I am not sure I can do that on the boards and don't want to cross the line of appropriate posting etiquette.

 

 

I'll send you an email shortly. Thanks!

[VonChap]

I am glad that you enjoyed your Gluten Free cruise! NCL always does a great job with Gluten Free.

 

-Kim

[ks&ks]

Great review Shelly!! Thanks for posting about your gf food. So glad you had a great experience!:)