A day/night at Sea,what to do?

[heresjohnnytonight]

I know nothing about cruising,Well I will be having a few days at sea 3 going out of NY in Oct on the NCL Gem heading to San Juan,it will be cold then what do you do? and going back there will be 2 more days seems I would have done everything in the first 3 days,any suggestions.also do they show the same shows every night if you're on a 11 day trip?

[lady_cruiser]

If you are not travelling alone bring games; scramble, travel monopoly. Etc. Most games on cruise ships always seem to have pieces missing. I also find their cards dirty so we go to Guest Services on the first day and ask for a free deck of cards.

 

Bring an E-Reader , find a quiet spot and enjoy a good book. There are many activities planned around the ship; trivia, wine tasting, martini making, belly flop contests, etc. But check your ship's newspaper since some, not all, activities have a small fee.

 

As for the shows we have never seen a show repeated during the cruise.

[Ehpride]

I love sea days. Since you have so many, you don't have to cram everything in. Eat meals in the dining room instead of the buffet. Go to activities. Go in the hot tub. Sleep in. You'll have to take some time the last day to pack.

 

 

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[Sauer-kraut]

Your ship's daily newspaper will have a full schedule of things to do and enjoy listed. You might find there is a lot you'd like to do and not enough time to do it in!

 

It will still be warm in October, you can use the pools with no problem. Hurricane season is still likely, so depending on storms you might not get to all your ports or others will be substituted.

 

Since you on on the GEM, you can even mix up your dining choices. 2 main dining rooms, a 24 bar food area (try the chicken wings):D, Buffet and outdoor buffet area (its really nice to sit out there and just veg) and several specialty options, a steakhouse, French Bistro, Italian, and Brazilian Churrascaria, and an Asian restaurant.

 

I love sea days!! They are relaxing, you don't have to do anything, just sit and read use the pool, etc. Depending on your cruise line you might be able to participate in a pub crawl, martini tastings, dance lessons, trivia games, poolside games, karaoke, and so much more! You will be as busy as you want to be.

 

The shows will change. You might have comedians, magicians, song & dance shows, acrobats, crew show, amateur night, hypnotists for entertainment. Then there are the art auctions, spa treatments, exercise classes which also have extra fees involved.

 

Have a great trip!!

[cb at sea]

If you are doing a true 11 nighter, the shows are different each night, as is the menu. If you are doing some sort of "back to back", the menus and entertainment will repeat to some extent.

 

Guest performers change on every cruise!

[OCruisers]

The "daily newsletter" is your friend -- very helpful knowing which activities are being offered.

 

Meeting and chatting with others is one of our very favorite things to do.

People are creatures of habit and tend to return to the same bar or lounge area every day. Hint: You will meet more people actually sitting AT the bar rather than a table for two in the bar.

 

Often our sea days pass all too quickly and we never find ourselves bored.

 

Have a great cruise! :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[RoobyDoo]

I didn't see it mentioned yet, but the Gem also has a casino, if you're into that; it costs extra, of course. But beware if you're very sensitive to cigarette smoke.

 

I was on the same 9-d EC itinerary on the Gem on Jan. 20-29. I spent much of the first couple of sea days just exploring the ship, since it was my first time on the Gem. Great ship!

 

A fellow CC member has posted scans of the Freestyle Dailies from her November cruise (same itinerary), so you can have a look to get an idea of the daily activities.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41177159&postcount=49

 

Of course, many of the shows will be different for your October cruise. Have a great time!

[heresjohnnytonight]

If you are not travelling alone bring games; scramble, travel monopoly. Etc. Most games on cruise ships always seem to have pieces missing. I also find their cards dirty so we go to Guest Services on the first day and ask for a free deck of cards.

 

Bring an E-Reader , find a quiet spot and enjoy a good book. There are many activities planned around the ship; trivia, wine tasting, martini making, belly flop contests, etc. But check your ship's newspaper since some, not all, activities have a small fee.

 

As for the shows we have never seen a show repeated during the cruise.

 

Thanks Rose,I have always be intimated to go on a ship but now I am looking so forward for this Cruise,This is nothing I have ever expected to do in my lifetime,we always fly to a Island and kind of stay put!I will be with my husband so I will bring my own cards,maybe a deck of Uno too.

[heresjohnnytonight]

If you are doing a true 11 nighter, the shows are different each night, as is the menu. If you are doing some sort of "back to back", the menus and entertainment will repeat to some extent.

 

Guest performers change on every cruise!

 

Whats a back to back?

[Sherlock43031]

the nice thing about sea days is you don't have to 'do' anything..

[OCruisers]

Whats a back to back?

 

A back to back (B2B) is when you are staying on the ship for the following for the following sailing.

 

LuLu

~~~

[Hlitner]

The OP might be shocked to know that many of we cruisers love our sea days. In fact, DW and I often book cruises because they have a lot of sea days (our record is 21 sea days on a single cruise). Cruise ships (and their Cruise Directors) work hard at providing something to please nearly everyone. DW and I love to just relax, do a lot of reading, sit in a deck chair, attend a lecture (if they have them and it looks interesting), and perhaps go to some activity like a wine tasting or cooking demo. In many cases it is not an issue of "what to do" but more of an issue of "which option should we choose." And a real shocker is some of us just love to sit and gaze at the sea. Having spent over 3 1/2 years as a cruise ship passenger we never get bored with the beauty of the sea.....and I guess it is one reason why we are truly cruise lovers. I once had a chat with a recently retired HAL Captain and he told me that after spending a majority of over forty years at sea he also never gets tired of the beauty of the sea. And when we talked to him about his retirement he said he looked forward to going out on his boats (he collects small boats). Go figure.

 

Hank

Edited February 16, 2014 by Hlitner

[meatball_nyc]

All great advice.

 

Sea days are a great way to explore the ship. Get to know the pool decks, the buffets, the library, the theaters and clubs.

I read a review just this afternoon about the Gem. I will try to post a link to it after this post. It was a great cruise review. The person who wrote it did not sound bored at all on her sea days.

 

The beauty of a cruise is that you can do everything, or you can do nothing (like me....I like to sunbathe on the upper decks or my balcony) and just enjoy the ocean!!!!!

It really is VERY peaceful.

 

Enjoy your cruise!! You will love it.

 

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Edited February 16, 2014 by meatball_nyc

[meatball_nyc]

I tried to copy and paste the link to the review here, but since the format of the CC forums have changed for my iPhone, I haven't figured it out yet.

 

The review is on:

Cruise lines A-O

Then click on Norwegian. It's called

"11/16 gem review"

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[jkgourmet]

Generally, We love sea days. But some cruise lines do them better than others, and some ships are better suited to sea days.

 

For example, we did a winter cruise in the med on the NCL Jade. That ship does not have an indoor or enclosed pool area. Luckily, this was a very port intensive itinerary, but we would be unlikely to select a ship without a useable bad weather pool area again. And, frankly, NCL didn't offer sea day activities that were as varied and interesting (and free) as we have experienced on other lines.

 

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[heresjohnnytonight]

I tried to copy and paste the link to the review here, but since the format of the CC forums have changed for my iPhone, I haven't figured it out yet.

 

The review is on:

Cruise lines A-O

Then click on Norwegian. It's called

"11/16 gem review"

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

 

Thanks Robin,After reading everyone's messages Im wondering if Im gonna have enough time to do everything!LOL

[meatball_nyc]

I see that you did read it. I posted on it right after you.

 

Have a great trip and enjoy those sea days!!

 

 

 

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[Rockfan2]

"People are creatures of habit and tend to return to the same bar or lounge area every day. Hint: You will meet more people actually sitting AT the bar rather than a table for two in the bar. "

 

How true. Our first couple of cruises we would grab a table for two in the Oceans Bar during Happy Hour and really never got to know any of our other cruisers. Then we started sitting at the bar and every cruise after that we have come away with great memories and friends who we still communicate with.

 

Rockfan2

[Cruisin' Chick]

My family loves sea days too. In fact, our last three cruises have been two-week ones with, I think, a total of 28 sea days among them. My hubby brought his guitar with (we were an hour's drive from the port) and got in some playing, after finding a little nook to do so. I took part in many trivia matches. I also bring a few paperbacks (mainly chick lit) and a puzzle magazine. Plus we'll try to hit the gym (hubby is better at doing that than me).

 

Since those cruises were the Hawaiian ones on Princess, we had the extra benefit of their Hawaiian program so I got in hula classes and learned how to make leis, plus there was a wonderful musical duo who specialize in Hawaiian music, so we got to enjoy their music as much as possible.

 

To me, the ports are just a bonus -- the ship is for relaxing.

[gymbomb]

The Spinnaker Lounge on the Gem is a nice place to relax indoors with lots of windows on cooler days. There are some planned activities in there that will be on the schedule in the daily newsletter, but often it is quiet and unused. Has a wide variety of odd looking but comfortable places to sit :)

[wallie5446]

Thanks Robin,After reading everyone's messages Im wondering if Im gonna have enough time to do everything!LOL

 

And this is why you will read and see people that have sailed the same Ship 2,3,4 times! We are another that now pick our cruises for the most number of sea days. No rush to get up an about. We have coffee sent to the cabin to enjoy on the balcony, or up at the buffet. Then spend time wondering about the Ship, or sitting on a lounger by the pool. Oh my, now we want to go now! But alass we must wait till Nov for 5 wonderful sea days and 4 new ports out of the 6 we stop at!

Go, Enjoy, we know you will.

Edited February 17, 2014 by wallie5446

[A2Mich]

The OP might be shocked to know that many of we cruisers love our sea days. In fact, DW and I often book cruises because they have a lot of sea days (our record is 21 sea days on a single cruise). Cruise ships (and their Cruise Directors) work hard at providing something to please nearly everyone. DW and I love to just relax, do a lot of reading, sit in a deck chair, attend a lecture (if they have them and it looks interesting), and perhaps go to some activity like a wine tasting or cooking demo. In many cases it is not an issue of "what to do" but more of an issue of "which option should we choose." And a real shocker is some of us just love to sit and gaze at the sea. Having spent over 3 1/2 years as a cruise ship passenger we never get bored with the beauty of the sea.....and I guess it is one reason why we are truly cruise lovers. I once had a chat with a recently retired HAL Captain and he told me that after spending a majority of over forty years at sea he also never gets tired of the beauty of the sea. And when we talked to him about his retirement he said he looked forward to going out on his boats (he collects small boats). Go figure.

 

Hank

 

I agree with this (mostly). While I could care less about wine tastings, I really enjoy the sea days. The port days are nice to go out and about to see a new (or favorite) port, but let me tell ya, those days can be tiring. We once did a relatively port intensive 10 day Princess cruise----I almost needed a vacation after the cruise to just relax. I enjoy the sea days to sleep in a bit later, grab some breakfast, or just pastries and coffee, wander around the ship and just take it easy. I realize that some people have so much energy that they need to be doing something all the time. I, however, am not one of them. I've always enjoyed the trivia or other games, sitting by the pool, etc.