Gem 8/11-8/18 NY to Bahamas (quick review)

[krisbenny0526]

We had a wonderful time on our cruise! It was my third cruise, but the first in a long while. We had a balcony room on deck 10 mid-ship. This was a great choice and it was perfect for my kids very close to elevator. Staff was very friendly overall, but some things need to be changed with their planning and organization. The worst thing was when everyone who had an excursion booked in FL had to meet in the theatre. First of all, it was hard to understand what the man was saying so since our excursion was Magic Kingdom I just listened for those words when called "Magic Kingdom". When we were called we walked out of the theatre. We were to go down to deck 4 to depart and get on our bus. Well this was horrible. There had to be hundreds and hundreds of people from the exit of the theatre all the way down to deck 4 in hallways, stairs and elevators. We had no breathing room and were packed in like sardines for a very long time with no movement. It looked like an emergency situation where everyone was trying to escape at the same time with nowhere to move or go. Some people were almost passing out b/c they had anxiety and panic attacks. Others were yelling b/c they couldnt hold their children right next to them or the children were too short and getting lost in the crowd. It was impossible to say the least to find anyone unless you literally held them against you very tight. It was a terrible experience (especially since I had to kids with us) and I was very disappointed in the way NCL had this planned out and thought it would work. NO....it didnt work AT ALL and hopefully after this day it happened it will be fixed for the guests on board for tomorrows FL excursions. Once we got off everything was organized we got on the bus went to Magic Kingdom and when we had our return times that was well organized too. Room was cleaned pretty good, but one would think that we would have our sugar, coffee, cream and ice filled daily. This was not the case. I had to find staff in charge of other rooms daily just to get ice or coffee to make in the room and I also had to get sugars and creamers at the buffett to replace the ones we used. This is not good service and I was disappointed in that. Room service was ok, but it took over an hour for a small simple order all the time no matter what time it was. This didnt bother me b/c it is free and its understandable that many guests order. Also, I didnt block my childrens card I let them use it a couple of times. One time I let them go get candy at the store and they came back needing me b/c it said their card was blocked by the parents. I went to front desk told them I never blocked it they apologized and fixed it. The kids went on to get their candy with no problems. The next day I let them use their card for the arcade same thing happened. I was mad b/c this was the second time they told me the same story that I must have signed something to block their cards when I did not. They fixed it again apologizing. I gave up on that and accompanied them every other time they needed something b/c I did not want to waste any time at front desk with the same issue. Food was good. We did a few of the speciality rest and they were great. Service in Magenta one night was horrible. We waited so long for the food and once we were done we asked for our key back (from buying drinks) and nobody would find our server who first took it. That annoyed me. Once again disorganization. Blue Lagoon is good. Food tastes great, but depending on what time you go it seems like the servers just dont want to deal with you. One time they came over to us and said can I get your order while you wait for water? This was 20 minutes into waiting at the table to begin with. Its the little things that were a bother b/c you would think that they have their little details set. It was nothing that would make me not go on the Gem again. I really enjoyed it. Ken was awesome. So friendly and funny. Shows were good. Casino was average. Beware of the notorious Key game lol. We spent about 30 trying to win the money in it and there were always people trying and trying. My boyfriend ended up getting addicted to it (explains the 30$) but he was lucky and he won a bunch or $5 which was a total of $100. I could probably go on forever about the things we loved. WE had a great time and we would definitely do it all again. If anyone has questions feel free to ask my opinion on anything. I'll be planning my next cruise in the near future with NCL.

[NJPrisonCop]

We were on the same cruise. Agree with most of your post. Didnt do excursions, so I have no real opinion there. Good time. My twin girls loved it and son had a blast. Ken was a good dude. Took care of us with one minor issue we had.

[vivavegas]

Glad you had a great cruise! Thanks for sharing your review!:)

[NYGirl1002]

Thanks for your review. I'm doing the same itinerary on the Jewel in Nov and I'm a little scared now as I booked the Magic Kingdom too. I was getting a little claustrophobic reading your description!

 

What did you do in Nassau? Did you go to GSC too..and if so how was it?

[tonit964]

We were on this cruise also.

I agree with the FL port and everyone meeting in the theater.

 

My DH was really annoyed at this and the way everyone was packed into the stair wells. It took us about 30 minutes to get through it.

 

We had the same experience in Blue Lagoon for lunch one day. The staff were slow and seemed to just not want to be there. We ordered desert with our server and somehow they brought two of what we ordered and the waitress nearly bit our head off, thinking we ordered it twice, we didn't.

 

She just must have been having a bad day.

 

 

With that being said, this was one of our best cruises to date. We LOVED the ship, the food, the entertainment, the ports, the staff for the most part was super friendly.

Just a great, great cruise for us. :)

[krisbenny0526]

Thanks for your review. I'm doing the same itinerary on the Jewel in Nov and I'm a little scared now as I booked the Magic Kingdom too. I was getting a little claustrophobic reading your description!

What did you do in Nassau? Did you go to GSC too..and if so how was it?

 

Hi I wouldn't worry much about that happening to you on your cruise. People were saying that they sailed on the Gem for the same cruise destinations and never before did it happen. I'm sure they even had it fixed for today's excursions in FL as many many people complained and were furious about it.

Yes we went to GSC it was beautiful. We rented one of the big round floats for the four of us which was fun for the kids and since it was so hot we wanted to stay in the water. If you will be renting anything that day I do suggest you do it asap as my brother was unable to rent the big float like we did because they ran out. It's very popular. After spending time in the water we got a few drinks and I bought my girls a non alcoholic frozen drink that was put into a carved coconut that can also be used as a bank. That was really a cute perk for them and they were $15 each which isn't too bad considering drinks alone can go up to $9 something or more depending on what you order. Then before we went back to the boat we stopped to look around at the little stands and they got their hair braided. It was fun but after a few hours I was ready to go back to the ship mostly cuz the kids were so hot n tired. Overall we enjoyed it a lot.

We did go to Nassau. We did the dolphin excursion at Atlantis. We did the shallow water one not the one where the dolphin pushes you to swim on the board. This so organized and a perfect choice. We had a blast and it was an unforgettable experience. It's well worth the money even tho it goes by fast. They really let u have hands on experience much more than just taking pictures with the dolphin and petting it. The only downside is u cannot bring your own cameras in water for obvious reasons and of course who wouldn't want pics of that. That photos that they take are very expensive u cannot buy just one u have to get a pack. Lowest was like seventy I believe. But they will save your pics and give u a card to view n purchase them on line. I bought lowest package but will be ordering more soon on line. After that we walked around Atlantis for a while then took bus back to where ship docks. We weren't ready to call it a day so we went on a horse pulled carriage ride for a quick tour and shopped around at the straw market. I always loved the straw market! Then

back to ship. It was a fun day to say the least.

Enjoy your cruise. I wish mine was coming up I need to book another soon lol

[krisbenny0526]

I forgot to say that I talked to some people who rented a cabana on GSC. They loved it! Something to look into if you didnt already b/c those book fast before the cruise. Maybe someone can tell you more about it.