Gem 9 day Eastern Caribbean, 1/20/2014 review!

[bobg529]

Please excuse this, my first review. I returned today from a 9 day cruise aboard Norwegian Gem. I just want to give my impressions on a few specific areas of the cruise and then of course I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability.

 

Embarkation was extremely smooth. Manhattan Cruise Terminal is very efficient, as are the NCL personnel. I arrived at the terminal at 11:30 AM and was processed within 30 minutes. I had boarding number 11. I would estimate that my group was on board the Gem by 12:30 at the latest.

 

The rooms weren't ready yet so I headed right to the Grand Pacific for lunch. I'm never a big fan of the buffet. I'll use it when I have to, but I'd rather sit down and take my time to eat. Service at the Grand Pacific was excellent throughout the cruise and embarkation day was no different. Wait staff was efficient and extremely pleasant. It's been my observation in the limited time that I have been cruising that their are "happy ships" and their are "unhappy ships". I believe this comes down to the ships management, more than the cruise line itself. I think that the Gem was without a doubt the happiest ship that if has been my good fortune to travel on. I don't think I had a negative experience with a single crew member. Everyone was always smiling. You would be greeted by name as soon as they knew it, and it seemed that all crew members genuinely cared that you had a good time. Anyway lunch was fine if simple, and when I was finishing we received the news that the cabins were ready so I proceeded up to mine.

 

My cabin was # 8612, a unobstructed oceanview cabin located just aft. I have heard that some forum members don't care for deck 8 cabins on the Jewel class ships because of all the turns in the corridors, instead of a single long straight passageway on passenger decks such as deck 11. To me this was a non issue. I can't be sure of this, but it seems to me that on a deck such as 8, that has both passenger cabins and dining areas as well as the atriums upper level, that the twists and turns tend to help baffle the sound. My cabin was on the port side, a five minute walk from the Blue Lagoon and it was extremely quiet at all hours of the day. This was my first experience with an oceanview cabin. I decided on this vacation in the fall, which is short notice for me, as I tend to book vacations long in advance. I booked with a desire to save money, and figured that my balcony would get little use in January, except for the port days, when I'd be off the ship anyway. I just can't see myself booking an inside. I know many cruisers swear by them as they are very thrifty choices, but every time I've been in one I felt like it was a closet with a bed in it! I was able however to use my reward points from my NCL credit card to get a two category upgrade, so I paid inside cabin prices for my oceanview. ;). I have to say that I liked my cabin very much. It was surprisingly roomy, with an impressive amount of storage space. Yes I missed the balcony a bit, and there are some trips that I believe it would be a must on. But on this trip my picture window gave me a nice view of the sea and most importantly brought in in the natural sunlight which brightened up the room considerably. My steward, whose name was Ruell ( please excuse me if I've botched the spelling! ) was excellent. I have a habit of looking for my steward on day one of the cruise, just to introduce myself. At that time I always slip him a small cash tip, say $10, with the promise of better at the trips conclusion. This has always brought me good relations. I think Ruell would have been just as good however, even if I didn't give him a tip. The guy was ALWAYS working. It seemed that every time I peeked out in the hall his cart was there. I got into the habit of leaving my cabin in the morning, putting on the "make up room" sign, and just speaking out into the air, "good morning Ruell". Invariably, the reply would come back from some other cabin he was hard at work in "good morning Sir Robert!" (Every time I go on a cruise I feel like I've been knighted by the queen, lol).

 

I will admit now to being a lazy photographer. I think I was having too much fun to take pictures! :) But I did manage to do a video review of the cabin. I will post a link to it as soon as I get to put it up on you tube. Either in this review or else separately. Anyway I am going to stop for now. It has been a long busy day. I want to finish this up tomorrow if possible. In the mean time please feel free to ask any questions.

[antsnanny]

Please excuse this, my first review. I returned today from a 9 day cruise aboard Norwegian Gem. I just want to give my impressions on a few specific areas of the cruise and then of course I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability.

 

Embarkation was extremely smooth. Manhattan Cruise Terminal is very efficient, as are the NCL personnel. I arrived at the terminal at 11:30 AM and was processed within 30 minutes. I had boarding number 11. I would estimate that my group was on board the Gem by 12:30 at the latest.

 

The rooms weren't ready yet so I headed right to the Grand Pacific for lunch. I'm never a big fan of the buffet. I'll use it when I have to, but I'd rather sit down and take my time to eat. Service at the Grand Pacific was excellent throughout the cruise and embarkation day was no different. Wait staff was efficient and extremely pleasant. It's been my observation in the limited time that I have been cruising that their are "happy ships" and their are "unhappy ships". I believe this comes down to the ships management, more than the cruise line itself. I think that the Gem was without a doubt the happiest ship that if has been my good fortune to travel on. I don't think I had a negative experience with a single crew member. Everyone was always smiling. You would be greeted by name as soon as they knew it, and it seemed that all crew members genuinely cared that you had a good time. Anyway lunch was fine if simple, and when I was finishing we received the news that the cabins were ready so I proceeded up to mine.

 

My cabin was # 8612, a unobstructed oceanview cabin located just aft. I have heard that some forum members don't care for deck 8 cabins on the Jewel class ships because of all the turns in the corridors, instead of a single long straight passageway on passenger decks such as deck 11. To me this was a non issue. I can't be sure of this, but it seems to me that on a deck such as 8, that has both passenger cabins and dining areas as well as the atriums upper level, that the twists and turns tend to help baffle the sound. My cabin was on the port side, a five minute walk from the Blue Lagoon and it was extremely quiet at all hours of the day. This was my first experience with an oceanview cabin. I decided on this vacation in the fall, which is short notice for me, as I tend to book vacations long in advance. I booked with a desire to save money, and figured that my balcony would get little use in January, except for the port days, when I'd be off the ship anyway. I just can't see myself booking an inside. I know many cruisers swear by them as they are very thrifty choices, but every time I've been in one I felt like it was a closet with a bed in it! I was able however to use my reward points from my NCL credit card to get a two category upgrade, so I paid inside cabin prices for my oceanview. ;). I have to say that I liked my cabin very much. It was surprisingly roomy, with an impressive amount of storage space. Yes I missed the balcony a bit, and there are some trips that I believe it would be a must on. But on this trip my picture window gave me a nice view of the sea and most importantly brought in in the natural sunlight which brightened up the room considerably. My steward, whose name was Ruell ( please excuse me if I've botched the spelling! ) was excellent. I have a habit of looking for my steward on day one of the cruise, just to introduce myself. At that time I always slip him a small cash tip, say $10, with the promise of better at the trips conclusion. This has always brought me good relations. I think Ruell would have been just as good however, even if I didn't give him a tip. The guy was ALWAYS working. It seemed that every time I peeked out in the hall his cart was there. I got into the habit of leaving my cabin in the morning, putting on the "make up room" sign, and just speaking out into the air, "good morning Ruell". Invariably, the reply would come back from some other cabin he was hard at work in "good morning Sir Robert!" (Every time I go on a cruise I feel like I've been knighted by the queen, lol).

 

I will admit now to being a lazy photographer. I think I was having too much fun to take pictures! :) But I did manage to do a video review of the cabin. I will post a link to it as soon as I get to put it up on you tube. Either in this review or else separately. Anyway I am going to stop for now. It has been a long busy day. I want to finish this up tomorrow if possible. In the mean time please feel free to ask any questions.

 

Thanks for you review. I look forward to tomorrow's.

[boopsahoy]

Looking forward to more! We got off the Gem as you embarked. Hope you had as good a time as we did!

[Mom in Maine]

Looking forward to your review...we will be on the ship in 3 weeks!

[sparks1093]

Looking forward to the remainder of your review. We'll be on deck 8 up forward in one of the hull balconies in a few months.

[mommyto2girls]

we got off as you got on..curious how were the seas? we had some pretty rough waves.

[boopsahoy]

we got off as you got on..curious how were the seas? we had some pretty rough waves.

 

We certainly did!

[mommyto2girls]

We certainly did!

 

Memorable 😊

[meatball_nyc]

Looking forward to the rest of your review, Sir Robert!

:)

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[Tyskie]

Thanks for the review, we'll be on the Gem in October :)

[Demonyte]

My cabin was # 8612, a unobstructed oceanview cabin located just aft. (....) My cabin was on the port side, a five minute walk from the Blue Lagoon and it was extremely quiet at all hours of the day.

 

Thanks for the review, keep it coming!

 

P.S. The distance from your cabin (8612) to Blue Lagoon is about a fifth of the ship length, so around 60 yards. If an average person walks in unobstructed conditions at least a yard per second, even in ship's narrow and labyrinthic corridor on deck 8 that walk should not take more than a minute or two. In five minutes you can reach pretty much any restaurant onboard. ;)

[sailingnut]

I will be on the "Gem" in October for the 11-day cruise~~I love the "Gem" and the spa!:)

[margincall]

Looking forward to rest of review. We are on a 12 day gem cruise dec1

[earlbird]

Nice review. We will be there on Feb.17.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[bobg529]

Well I'm back with more of my review of the Gem. To start, here, as promised, is the link to the video tour of my cabin that I promised.

 

 

 

I believe that there is an error in the video however. In the video I point out a thing on the ceiling that I presumed was the location of the third bed. However I later discovered to my chagrin that that is in actuality the air vent. Duh. :o I think the extra bed is actually under the bed proper and slides out but I'm not really sure. NCL advertises the cabin as "sleeps 3" but someone here more informed than I can probably solve this mystery!

 

To answer a few questions about the sea conditions, we heard that the prior cruise had had some rough sailing, and were in fact warned by the captain our first night out to expect some difficult weather the next day and evening. As it turns out, the captains forecast was correct, but thing were better than they had been for our predecessors. I heard that there were a few cases of seasickness reported. But things smoothed out on our second sea day. Personally, I just kept eating (and drinking ;)) and never noticed if it was the boat rocking or me!

 

Speaking of drinking let me speak to my experience with the UBP. I had used the program on my last cruise on the Breakaway and expected to use it again on board the Gem. However when I got closer to sailing I frankly couldn't really justify using it enough on a nine day cruise, to the tune of just over $500 including tax and gratuity, to make it worthwhile or even advisable. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting a little tight once in a while, and when I drink, I drink as they say, but I'm a bit long in the tooth to do it for 9 days straight. I think that it's a worthwhile product, but each person needs to decide if it's worth it to them. At least for this cruise I passed and just paid by the drink.

 

As to food, I went on the cruise full of the warnings I have read on these pages about substandard food in the main dining room and in general, and of poor service and long waits. I am happy to report that I had NONE of these experiences. Breakfast I generally enjoyed at the Grand Pacific although I had it once or twice at the buffet as well. Breakfast was very nice, the scrambled eggs in the main dining room were delicious and obviously cooked to order which to me for the volume of eggs they prepare is amazing. Yes, I had both pancakes and waffles, and yes the supplied syrup tastes odd. However I was forewarned on these boards and came armed with my own little jug of genuine dark amber maple syrup. :D. Lunch, I usually grabbed something on the run at the buffet or the Blue Lagoon, although I had a very nice lunch at a little bar and grill called Coconuts on St Thomas. If you find the place make sure you order a drink they call a Bushwacker. Wow!:)

 

For dinner, I had purchased the dinner trio package which included a bottle of wine as long as you booked a dinner on sail day. I enjoyed each dinner I had at Cagneys, La Cucina, and Le Bistro. Food was generally best at Cagney's and I had a great bone in rib eye. Service was impeccable at Le Bistro, and my Rack of Lamb was fantastic as was the grilled asparagus in hollandaise sauce. La Cucina was also very nice. The only complaint I have about the lasagna was I couldn't finish it!

 

One evening I got back to the ship late from shore excursions, and after chilling out for a couple of hours in the spa, I just grabbed a burger (delicious by the way) at Blue Lagoon and went to bed. I dined three times at the Grand Pacific, and once at Magenta and these dinners were uniformly delicious. The service was attentive. Drinks were delivered quickly, water was offered and refilled without waiting. And as to waiting to be seated, I almost never did. I arrived on each occasion without a reservation. As I was traveling solo, I let it be known to the maître d' that I would be happy to share a table. Twice at Grand Pacific, that is what happened and I had an excellent experience on both occasions. The other two times single tables were available and I was seated at those. Only once was I given a beeper and told it would be ten minutes. I walked over to the bar and bought a drink and was walking back to the dining room when the beeper went off letting me know my table was ready! By the way, I quite liked the atmosphere at the Magenta, the food was the same as Grand Pacific, but vibe was more intimate. Both venues are very nice.

 

My final dinner experience will be saved for the next installment. The Chef's Table!

[bobg529]

Thanks for the review, keep it coming!

 

P.S. The distance from your cabin (8612) to Blue Lagoon is about a fifth of the ship length, so around 60 yards. If an average person walks in unobstructed conditions at least a yard per second, even in ship's narrow and labyrinthic corridor on deck 8 that walk should not take more than a minute or two. In five minutes you can reach pretty much any restaurant onboard. ;)

 

 

I am sure you are correct about the distance. I just know it was extremely convenient to my room while being far enough away if you know what I mean. It was also very nice to be able to stroll over and just grab a cup of coffee whenever I liked! :)

[sparks1093]

Well I'm back with more of my review of the Gem. To start, here, as promised, is the link to the video tour of my cabin that I promised.

 

 

 

I believe that there is an error in the video however. In the video I point out a thing on the ceiling that I presumed was the location of the third bed. However I later discovered to my chagrin that that is in actuality the air vent. Duh. :o I think the extra bed is actually under the bed proper and slides out but I'm not really sure. NCL advertises the cabin as "sleeps 3" but someone here more informed than I can probably solve this mystery!

 

To answer a few questions about the sea conditions, we heard that the prior cruise had had some rough sailing, and were in fact warned by the captain our first night out to expect some difficult weather the next day and evening. As it turns out, the captains forecast was correct, but thing were better than they had been for our predecessors. I heard that there were a few cases of seasickness reported. But things smoothed out on our second sea day. Personally, I just kept eating (and drinking ;)) and never noticed if it was the boat rocking or me!

 

Speaking of drinking let me speak to my experience with the UBP. I had used the program on my last cruise on the Breakaway and expected to use it again on board the Gem. However when I got closer to sailing I frankly couldn't really justify using it enough on a nine day cruise, to the tune of just over $500 including tax and gratuity, to make it worthwhile or even advisable. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting a little tight once in a while, and when I drink, I drink as they say, but I'm a bit long in the tooth to do it for 9 days straight. I think that it's a worthwhile product, but each person needs to decide if it's worth it to them. At least for this cruise I passed and just paid by the drink.

 

As to food, I went on the cruise full of the warnings I have read on these pages about substandard food in the main dining room and in general, and of poor service and long waits. I am happy to report that I had NONE of these experiences. Breakfast I generally enjoyed at the Grand Pacific although I had it once or twice at the buffet as well. Breakfast was very nice, the scrambled eggs in the main dining room were delicious and obviously cooked to order which to me for the volume of eggs they prepare is amazing. Yes, I had both pancakes and waffles, and yes the supplied syrup tastes odd. However I was forewarned on these boards and came armed with my own little jug of genuine dark amber maple syrup. :D. Lunch, I usually grabbed something on the run at the buffet or the Blue Lagoon, although I had a very nice lunch at a little bar and grill called Coconuts on St Thomas. If you find the place make sure you order a drink they call a Bushwacker. Wow!:)

 

For dinner, I had purchased the dinner trio package which included a bottle of wine as long as you booked a dinner on sail day. I enjoyed each dinner I had at Cagneys, La Cucina, and Le Bistro. Food was generally best at Cagney's and I had a great bone in rib eye. Service was impeccable at Le Bistro, and my Rack of Lamb was fantastic as was the grilled asparagus in hollandaise sauce. La Cucina was also very nice. The only complaint I have about the lasagna was I couldn't finish it!

 

One evening I got back to the ship late from shore excursions, and after chilling out for a couple of hours in the spa, I just grabbed a burger (delicious by the way) at Blue Lagoon and went to bed. I dined three times at the Grand Pacific, and once at Magenta and these dinners were uniformly delicious. The service was attentive. Drinks were delivered quickly, water was offered and refilled without waiting. And as to waiting to be seated, I almost never did. I arrived on each occasion without a reservation. As I was traveling solo, I let it be known to the maître d' that I would be happy to share a table. Twice at Grand Pacific, that is what happened and I had an excellent experience on both occasions. The other two times single tables were available and I was seated at those. Only once was I given a beeper and told it would be ten minutes. I walked over to the bar and bought a drink and was walking back to the dining room when the beeper went off letting me know my table was ready! By the way, I quite liked the atmosphere at the Magenta, the food was the same as Grand Pacific, but vibe was more intimate. Both venues are very nice.

 

My final dinner experience will be saved for the next installment. The Chef's Table!

 

Did the room have a sofa? If so it was probably a pull-out bed and that is where the third person would sleep.