Gem Canada/New England Sept 21 Review

[lhall85917]

My husband and I just returned from the 7 day New England/Canada cruise on the Gem that left on September 21. This was our 12th cruise with NCL, 25th altogether, and 3rd cruise this year (West Caribbean with Royal Caribbean and Mediterranean/Adriatic Sea with Celebrity were the others). I mention this not to brag but to give some perspective of where this review is coming from. This was our first cruise on NCL as platinum and first with NCL in about 5 years. We really looked forward to our return on NCL and must honestly say we are quite disappointed and our opinion of NCL has gone downhill since last sailing, I'll try to be as specific as possible with the reasons why.

 

Let me start with the good - and there was quite a bit that was good. The nightly entertainment was excellent, better than we have experienced in many cruises. The ship's performers and dancers put on an excellent show and we enjoyed the three production shows. It was fun to find that one of the lead singers is from our town and lives just down the street! The comedian was also very good and we looked forward to going to the shows each evening. The ship is very well taken care of, the public areas are kept clean and carpets and other decor is very well maintained. Food was fine - not great, but we have never felt that the food is the best on NCL and didn't have high expectations. We certainly didn't go hungry and found plenty to eat. Our room steward did a great job and the cabin was always cleaned promptly and ice was left each day.

 

Here is our biggest concern - and much of it centers around the wait staff, but not all. There wasn't any one major problem, but many little things that just led to an overall impression that service wasn't what it should be. Since we don't go to the casino or spend time at the bars, and this was a highly intensive port cruise - most of our experience onboard was with the wait staff. I'll list them below, but again -none of these are a big deal, but these little things kept adding up. We did talk to the hotel director, Jennie Lim, at the platinum party and stated our concerns. She was very nice and attempted to address our concerns. NCL should be very proud to have her as an employee - she is outstanding! The problem is that the officers and upper management have a very high standard for customer service (as they should), but I don't feel that the rest of the crew follows through on that standard. Here are things that we found concerning and repeated throughout the cruise:

 

*when we checked in our representative seemed very confused with the check-in, then had no idea where to send us when complete, after it got figured out our cards didn't work when we swiped to board the ship

 

*after security let us through we went to customer service to get new cards. Again, there seemed to be a lot of confusion - it took a couple of people looking at the screen to figure out how to get us new cards

 

*later that same day I went back to customer service to let them know we were interested in the behind the scenes tour and again there was confusion when looking at our account. I asked if there was a problem and didn't really get a reply, when they finished I asked if they would mind looking at the account to see if there was a problem and if it was ok. The girl rolled her eyes and said it was fine, no problems.

 

*We ate in the main dining room the first night and received drinks promptly. When the waiter came to take our order (this was our first interaction with him), he just said "What's your order?". He delivered meals without a word, then asked what we wanted for dessert at the end of our meal. We don't expect a lot - but an introduction or friendly gesture would have been appropriate.

 

*The following evening in the main dining room there seemed to be a lot of confusion again. Tables all around were waiting for a very long time for meals - we had all arrived at around 5:00 so it was at the beginning of service. It was well after 5:30 and we were sitting with water and a bread basket - no one had taken a drink order or given a menu yet.

 

*We have always found it typical to be offered coffee when ordering dessert. Not once during this cruise were we offered coffee at dinner, we had to ask if we wanted it. Not once did anyone check to see if we needed refills for our Diet Pepsi we had with every meal although our glasses were empty early in our meal.

 

*We ate at the buffet one morning before leaving the ship and it was very busy. After finding a table that had some dirty dishes we moved them ourselves and asked a nearby server if she would wipe it off. She did, but had an attitude about being asked.

 

*One afternoon we stopped by the Blue Lagoon and waited several minutes to be seated. Finally a waitress looked up, pointed to a table for us to sit at. It was slightly busy at the time, but not half full. Most of the tables had dirty dishes and weren't occupied - they stayed this way the whole time we were there.

 

Again, not one of these things is terrible, it was just a general feeling that the service as a whole was not on par with what we have experienced in the past or that we expect to see on a cruise. We actually had better service with our lunch at the airport in Atlanta on our way home than we did at anytime on the ship!

 

I will post pictures and information from each of the ports separately - we did all the ports on our own except for Halifax, we booked the Shutterbug's Dream through NCL.

[lhall85917]

OOPS, trying to share images - not working, will try again

[lhall85917]

IMG_3313 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3317 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

From our cabin...

 

IMG_3290 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

More to come...

[lhall85917]

Our first port was Halifax. We had really thought about going to Lunenburg but in the end chose the Shutterbug's Dream excursion. This took us to the 5 photographic highlights of Halifax including the old dock area, the Titanic cemetary, Peggy's Cove, the Citadel, and the Botanical Gardens. We ended up not having time to get out at the Citadel and only 30 minutes in Peggy's Cove. It was a nice excursion, but I expected it to be more geared toward photography - just things such as tips for best places for pictures would be nice; however, it did provide a great overview.

 

Botanic Gardens

 

IMG_3438 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse

 

IMG_3424 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

Peggy's Cove

 

IMG_3419 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

Filming Beethovan's Treasure movie at Peggy's Cove

 

IMG_3406 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

Poor Jack...

 

IMG_3374 by LHall85917, on Flickr

[lhall85917]

In Saint John we joined other CC'ers for a tour with Roy's Tour. We had a really nice day and saw a lot! It was chilly and rainy but still a great day. We enjoyed seeing Saint Martin and had lunch just outside of town. If you do this, I would recommend asking for a little time in Saint Martin to explore and take pictures - we just drove through and I would have loved a few pictures.

 

IMG_3520 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3512 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3479 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3469 by LHall85917, on Flickr

[lhall85917]

It may be a while before I can finish. Here is a link to the whole photo set on Flickr if anyone is interested -

[deladypilot]

Love the photos. Keep the review coming. I look forward to the rest

[RIvacationgirl]

Your photos are so clean and crisp. Thank you for sharing!

[Vicki'sMom]

I so appreciate this review! We are boarding Gem next Saturday!

 

I have read a number of reviews about the MDR issues. :rolleyes: I think we will find alternatives! ;)

[jaja]

Thanks for your review !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RCmommy]

Lovely photos and a nice review. My family is on this cruise on Oct 12 and I hope some of the MDR issues are sorted out.

[mrwilliamt]

Did you dine in any of the specialty restaurants?

[lhall85917]

Did you dine in any of the specialty restaurants?

 

Yes, we ate in Moderno one night. It was ok, there was certainly plenty to eat!

[mrwilliamt]

Yes, we ate in Moderno one night. It was ok, there was certainly plenty to eat!

 

That's my favorite restaurant. We have it booked for night 1 on the Breakaway next Sunday.

[lhall85917]

Our next stop was Bar Harbor. We had booked Lulu's Lobster Boat the week before the cruise. It was easy to find from the dock and everyone was very nice. This was an excellent choice - we enjoyed the 2 hour ride and the captain was very informative and easy to talk to. Each trip is limited to 30 participants so everyone could see and hear all that was taking place. They took us by the light house, saw the seals, then brought up a lobster pot and talked about the anatomy of lobsters as well as the process of setting pots and conservation. I would highly recommend this. After Lulu's we went to West Side Cafe for a lobster lunch then enjoyed browsing the stores until returning to the ship. Bar Harbor was our favorite stop, we would love to go back and see more.

 

IMG_3646 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3640 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3622 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3601 by LHall85917, on Flickr

[lhall85917]

Following Bar Harbor we went to Boston. We had been there before and love looking around the city. Before leaving on the cruise we booked a whale watching tour for the morning of our arrival. We don't mind walking so we walked the couple of miles from the ship to the pier where the whale boat is located. It was a very easy walk and I would recommend this as an option if you like to do things on your own. The tour was booked through Boston's Best Whale Watch Tour since it had the best reviews on TripAdvisor. The ride out to the whale feeding grounds is about an hour, and it was very cold and choppy. Unfortunately, we didn't see any whales that day so it ended up not being the greatest choice for our morning. After returning we had time to walk across the street and look around Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market before walking back to the ship. In total, we walked over 6 miles that day but it was a very easy walk.

 

IMG_3664 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3691 by LHall85917, on Flickr

[lhall85917]

Our final port was Newport and again we set out walking. This time we walked to the other side of town to the Cliff Walk. It is about 2 miles away, and the entire length of the walk is over 3 miles but part of it is closed. By the time we finished, we walked over 10 1/2 miles!

 

IMG_3722 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3719 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3715 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3709 by LHall85917, on Flickr

IMG_3737 by LHall85917, on Flickr

[lhall85917]

Some of our favorite pictures were taken during the sailaway from Newport, there were beautiful houses and towns along the shore on the way out. It didn't hurt that there was a beautiful sunset that night! These were all taken from the promenade on deck 7 as we sailed from Newport.

 

IMG_3751 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3757 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

IMG_3773 by LHall85917, on Flickr

[ValRober]

Your photographs are simply stunning! Thank you so much for sharing! We leave on this cruise this coming Saturday. Now we are even more excited, if that is possible!

[gardener718]

It may be a while before I can finish. Here is a link to the whole photo set on Flickr if anyone is interested -

 

 

Yes, thank you for the pictures and the review, hope there is more.

 

by the way, lol, is there a way I can upload your pictures to a flash drive or memory card. I hope so, as I have absolutely no luck taking pictures and now the shutter on my camera won't close. :((((

 

o by the way, I am electronically challenged.... and your pictures are lovely.

 

Marianne

[jaja]

Thanks for your review !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Forgot to mention...I am sorry about your dining and front desk service..I do hope it was a "fluke"....and not a general downturn in service..:(

(though I have never really had great service in Blue Lagoon)

 

Curious..which MDR did you eat at...? and did you experience the tender problems they had the week before?

[lhall85917]

Forgot to mention...I am sorry about your dining and front desk service..I do hope it was a "fluke"....and not a general downturn in service..:(

(though I have never really had great service in Blue Lagoon)

 

Curious..which MDR did you eat at...? and did you experience the tender problems they had the week before?

 

We ate in the Grand Pacific dining room. No tender problems at all, it went quickly and easily - we did use our priority tender tickets and left the ship early both times. Upon return from Newport, there wasn't a line for our tender but the Princess ship had a HUGE line - hundreds of people waiting!:eek::eek:

[jaja]

We ate in the Grand Pacific dining room. No tender problems at all, it went quickly and easily - we did use our priority tender tickets and left the ship early both times. Upon return from Newport, there wasn't a line for our tender but the Princess ship had a HUGE line - hundreds of people waiting!:eek::eek:

 

 

We usually eat at GP-:(-as we find the other a bit noisy! But maybe we will try it again if we see the problems in GP--and hope for the best!

THANKS AGAIN--I am sure I will come up with a few more questions...;)

[lhall85917]

We usually eat at GP-:(-as we find the other a bit noisy! But maybe we will try it again if we see the problems in GP--and hope for the best!

THANKS AGAIN--I am sure I will come up with a few more questions...;)

 

I hope all goes well, I'm sure you will enjoy your trip. One more picture - just for fun. Notice the level of the oceanview cabins in this pic? This is where they were when we returned from our Saint John tour, when we arrived,our cabin window was below the dock and we were looking into concrete!!

 

 

IMG_3559 by LHall85917, on Flickr

[jaja]

I hope all goes well, I'm sure you will enjoy your trip. One more picture - just for fun. Notice the level of the oceanview cabins in this pic? This is where they were when we returned from our Saint John tour, when we arrived,our cabin window was below the dock and we were looking into concrete!!

 

 

IMG_3559 by LHall85917, on Flickr

 

 

LOL! I remember something similar on one of our cruises !

 

We have done this itinerary before...but looking forward to it again. We have plans for Halifax and Bar Harbor..probably just walking around in Newport...maybe staying on ship in St.John and Boston..just to relax! (esp since it is so port intensive..I will miss the sea days..)