Just off the Gem 12/14/13 - 12/23/13

[panda79]

Hello folks,

 

Just off the Gem on the Eastern Caribbean 9-day. Rather than write a full blown review, I'll do a quick summary and offer to answer any questions people might have.

 

Quick summary, these are just my opinions:

 

Second cruise overall, first on NCL. Previously sailed on Carnival.

 

Food was good, Carnival was better. But Moderno was so worth the upcharge. Tried the forum-renowned pretzel rolls. Those were great! They call them laughen rolls. Here's a tip: The burgers were tasty but I'm not fan of the rolls they have. But if you take two laughen rolls because they are small, and cut the burger in half.....you know where this is heading....:D

 

Service was slow in the main dining rooms, but still friendly. Even our room steward was slow in the beginning. He didn't introduce himself at all, we had to ask him his name. He also didn't make up our cabin the first 2 days, but a quick call to guest services fixed that. By the end of the cruise we were getting the service from him we expected and tipped him nicely.

 

The ship was fantastic. Very clean and the washy-washy people were at the entrance to all the eating venues on board. Loved the pools and the entertainment was outstanding, much much better that Carnival.

 

Ports of call were great. Did something in all but one port.

 

Overall had a great cruise. The slow service was a minor annoyance. There were some other minor quirks here and there not worth mentioning. But nothing happened that ruined my long awaited, much needed vacation.

 

I had a GREAT time and will sail NCL again. And carnival too! :D

 

Ask any questions and I'll try to answer them to the best of my memory.

[IpadEnthusiast]

Panda, I'm so glad you posted this. The Gem is a great ship and I'll be on the Jan. 1 cruise. What did you do in the ports? We booked the San Juan city tour and Cayo levantado. At St.Martin and St. Thomas we are interested in shopping. Did you do any shopping and how was it?

 

Also, what time did you arrive back in NYC?

 

I look forward to your updates

[Stuffy8]

Hello folks,

 

Just off the Gem on the Eastern Caribbean 9-day. Rather than write a full blown review, I'll do a quick summary and offer to answer any questions people might have.

 

Quick summary, these are just my opinions:

 

Second cruise overall, first on NCL. Previously sailed on Carnival.

 

Food was good, Carnival was better. But Moderno was so worth the upcharge. Tried the forum-renowned pretzel rolls. Those were great! They call them laughen rolls. Here's a tip: The burgers were tasty but I'm not fan of the rolls they have. But if you take two laughen rolls because they are small, and cut the burger in half.....you know where this is heading....:D

 

Service was slow in the main dining rooms, but still friendly. Even our room steward was slow in the beginning. He didn't introduce himself at all, we had to ask him his name. He also didn't make up our cabin the first 2 days, but a quick call to guest services fixed that. By the end of the cruise we were getting the service from him we expected and tipped him nicely.

 

The ship was fantastic. Very clean and the washy-washy people were at the entrance to all the eating venues on board. Loved the pools and the entertainment was outstanding, much much better that Carnival.

 

Ports of call were great. Did something in all but one port.

 

Overall had a great cruise. The slow service was a minor annoyance. There were some other minor quirks here and there not worth mentioning. But nothing happened that ruined my long awaited, much needed vacation.

 

I had a GREAT time and will sail NCL again. And carnival too! :D

 

Ask any questions and I'll try to answer them to the best of my memory.

 

Glad you had a good time. Thanks for the review , I am going on the Gem in 2 weeks so to hear about things helps.

[oklaviking]

Did you purchase the 9 day spa pass? If so what was the cost?

[panda79]

Panda, I'm so glad you posted this. The Gem is a great ship and I'll be on the Jan. 1 cruise. What did you do in the ports? We booked the San Juan city tour and Cayo levantado. At St.Martin and St. Thomas we are interested in shopping. Did you do any shopping and how was it?

 

Also, what time did you arrive back in NYC?

 

I look forward to your updates

 

She is a great ship.

 

In San Juan, we walked off the pier into Old San Juan. There are a few forts withing walking distance, one of them is Castillo de San Cristobal. It costs 3 dollars if you want to go into the fort but you can explore outside if you just wanted to take pictures. It was a beautiful and majestic view. After that we walked to Barrachina to try they're Pina Colada which was worth it. The food not so much. I think I had better food state side. So if you want my advice, try a different restaurant somewhere were the locals eat and go to Barrachina for the coladas. We went shopping for trinkets and stuff and stopped by the Walgreens to stock up on cans of soda. There is a CVS also that is right across the street from the pier. We then walked back onboard.

 

St. Maarten/Martin was my favorite. That day there were 8 other ships in port including the Allure :eek: . So knowing the local beaches were going to be crowded we decided to take a taxi to Mullet Bay beach which was close to Maho beach (where you can watch the airplanes land). Mullet bay was amazing. You'll share the beach with a resort that's there but the beach was not crowded at all which is how I like it. Water was warm. You can rent a chair and umbrella if you want. There's a hut for drinks and food. And you can see the occasional flyby of the planes landing near Maho Beach. My advice is to get there early. The taxi service which is at the pier (if you don't see it, ask someone they will direct you to the taxi stands) is ran by one company and they are pretty organized. Even though you need to be back on board by 5:30pm, the taxi service will tell you to be ready for pick up by 2pm because traffic is horrendous. But that still gave us plenty of time to enjoy the beach. Cost of the taxi was $16 per person.

 

St. Thomas is the port we really didn't do anything. We walked off and went shopping at the mall that was right at the pier. Best place to shop as everything is right by the boat if you need to bring anything back to your cabin and go back out.

 

In Samana we booked the tender to go to Cayo Levantado. NCL really pushed this excursion and it was worth the $15. Beautiful but crowded. If you're not bothered by the crowds, then you'll have a great time. Coconuts and Pinas with or without alcohol are $5. If you're gonna get it with alcohol, tell them to put a little. They use cheap rum and it has the taste of cheap liquor. My advice, there will be food vendors pushing they're little food shacks there, but if you go towards the back away from the beach and follow the signs that say "Buffet" you'll stumble upon an outdoor kitchen ran by the resort that's on this island (Bahia I think its called). It's $12 all you can eat. Not much of a selection but it was delicious and cost about the same as a platter at any of the other shacks. Rice and beans (delish), salad, chicken and fish.

 

That's pretty much what we did...any more questions you can just ask.

[panda79]

Did you purchase the 9 day spa pass? If so what was the cost?

 

I did not. I believe the cost on board was $189. It might be cheaper if you buy it before you board.

[panda79]

 

Also, what time did you arrive back in NYC?

 

We arrived in NYC before 8am. They didn't announce the walk-off till about 8:20am. They weren't rushing us off the boat, though.

[shanefm3]

I did purchase the pass a few weeks ago for $139. I bought it at the terminal prior to boarding . It is SOoo worth it

[meatball_nyc]

Thank you for your review, panda!

 

I will remember your tip for the "pretzel roll" burger when we sail this summer for our first time NCL cruise.

 

Cheers and Happy Holidays.

 

 

 

~robin and brian

(summertime jersey shore beach bums)

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Norwegian Breakaway 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[oklaviking]

Thanks for the information concerning the price of the spa price. My wife and I got the spa pass on the Star and it was worth it. So I believe we will get it on the Gem.

[Keith1010]

Glad you had a great time.

 

Keith

[shanefm3]

My only word if advice regarding the spa is to bring some sanitizing wipes for the ceramic chairs. I never saw them being cleaned down during the open hours. Still my favorite place on a ship but I treat it like a gym and clean before I use

[francina]

Thanks for the review. I will be sai g her on the 11th.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[jdvmd]

Glad you had a great time!