megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 #1 Share Posted May 4, 2014 I took my first cruise on the Gem last may. Im just now getting around to writing this review, i know i know im a horrible person, but ill make it a good one!!! This was the May 18th Sailing on the Gem from NY to the Bahamas. We stopped in Florida, GSC, and Nassau. We got to the Terminal about an hour before boarding began. It was a very easy process and not frustrating at all. When we walked onto the ship this is what we saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #2 Share Posted May 4, 2014 We didn’t use out Credit card for our sign and sail card instead we used cash. This was a bit of a pain in the butt because we had to wait on a really long line in order to give them the cash to put on the card. This process took about 35 minutes and then it was really time to relax!! We decided that we wanted to get the soda card because my ex was a big soda drinker. I think it came to around $45 per person. It was convenient to be able to drink all the soda we wanted, however it was kind of annoying to get a drink. You were given a cup that you were supposed to bring with you whenever you wanted to get soda (we also forgot it sometimes and they just gave it to us in a regular cup) The cup they gave us was pretty nice though, and a nice souvenir to take home! You could either bring your cup to the bar and have them fill it (we noticed that they would help us after they helped all the people buying drinks) or you could ask for it at dinner and show them the sticker on your card. Once we got our soda card it was time to explore the ship!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #3 Share Posted May 4, 2014 We were docked right next to the intrepid which was really neat!!! It was drizzling for our sailaway but we made the best of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #4 Share Posted May 4, 2014 We decided to eat at the buffet in the back of the ship to watch sail away. We met up with the people from our roll call, and watched us sail away! This was amazing!!! We got to go past the freedom tower and the statue of liberty. (not to spoil it for anyone but they started playing patriotic songs when we went past the statue of liberty which gave me chills down my spine!) This was my favorite part about leaving from NY. A little side note on leaving from NY in may…it was still pretty cold and the whole first day was kind chilly which def was a negative to me considering all I wanted was the warm weather!) Im going on a Carnival Cruise this August and we are flying down to New Orleans, so I will be able to compare which I like better at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #5 Share Posted May 4, 2014 At this time we were able to go to our room. We had a balcony room on deck 5 which was midship. (we originally booked an inside and then a few weeks before our cruise we check the price and it had dropped so much that I called my TA and got a balcony upgrade for only 50 extra! It was absolutely worth it!!!! (only problem is now I don’t ever want to cruise without one!) Our room was nice, decent size, big closets, bathroom was nice but small. The shower was pretty normal, nothing special. We unpacked our stuff and decided to head out to do some more exploring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatball_nyc Posted May 4, 2014 #6 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Awesome pics and thank you for your post :) Happy cruising! Robin Norwegian Breakaway July 2014 Carnival Miracle 2010 Carnival Legend 2006 Every Day at Sea is a Great Day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #7 Share Posted May 4, 2014 After our exploring we had worked up an appetite and decided to go to get some food. (I don’t remember where we ate the first night but I know it wasn’t one of the pay restaurants I took pictures of most of our meals so we will get to that later) After dinner we went to one of the clubs and had a few drinks. It was lots of fun with loud music and lots of dancing! Then it was off to bed!!!! Tommorow our first day at Sea!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #8 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Awesome pics and thank you for your post :)Happy cruising! Robin Norwegian Breakaway July 2014 Carnival Miracle 2010 Carnival Legend 2006 Every Day at Sea is a Great Day Thank you!!!! There is lots more to come!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #9 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Every night before I went to bed I would put the room service card out and order coffee, and a few danish’s. I would always have it come for whatever time I wanted to wake up because they call when they are on their way up and I would use it as an alarm clock. Im the type who doesn’t like to sleep in on my Vaca because I want to enjoy every second I can. We got our wake up call that our room service was on its way so I woke up got dressed and answered the door (we always tipped a few bucks to the person who brought our food up) I would have my coffee every morning on the balcony, and just relax until I felt like getting ready. Oh I forgot to mention that when we first boarded we ran up to the spa and purchased spa passes for the week. (this was probably the place that we ended up spending more of our time) More on that later. I got into my bathing suit and cover up and we headed to breakfast. We did the Buffet almost every morning and it always satisfied us. They had a big selection and we could pick what we wanted. Whenever we ate at the buffet we would get our food and walk all the way to the back of the buffet and sit outside on the very back of the ship. It was perfect out there!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #10 Share Posted May 4, 2014 The Ex wanted to go explore some more so we walked to the basketball court where he played, and I layed right outside of it looking out at the back of the ship. We found that these loungers were almost never occupied. It was a great place to relax and get some sun!! Then we went out to the pool and hung out there for a while. They had music playing and games going on which were fun to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #11 Share Posted May 4, 2014 After this it was time for out Meet and Greet. I forget which club it was in but it was really nice. NCL had a nice buffet set up for us (all pastries and such) and coffee tea ext. All of the Heads of each Dept were there and spoke to us a bit. We had a Great group of people on our roll call who were all so organized and had lots for us to do. (More on this later) We hung out here for a while and then decided to head to the casino. The people from our roll call set up a slot pull which was so much fun (we didn’t win but we had a blast) We hung out in the casino for a while and then went to dinner. Our Cruise Director was Sinan, he was the BEST!!! So funny, and personable!!!! I honestly thought he made our trip!!!!!! He would wake us up every Morning singing you are my sunshine!!! he was awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #12 Share Posted May 4, 2014 We ate in one of the Main dining rooms tonight and really enjoyed the food. ' We both got the steak which was delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #13 Share Posted May 4, 2014 after dinner we went back to the room to hang out a bit and found this little guy waiting for us! We decided it was time for a few drinks and some dancing and headed to the club! We sat at a high round table and danced a bit! Then went for a nice walk around the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #14 Share Posted May 4, 2014 On the Balcony The Ship at night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #15 Share Posted May 4, 2014 The next day we got our coffee and did the same routine as the day before. This day was Port Canaveral. We wouldn’t arrive until around noon so we decided to go to the buffet then hang by the pool until we arrived. We saw this in the distance off the balcony Pulling into Port Canaveral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #16 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Ok enough for tonight, more tommorow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpcanuck Posted May 4, 2014 #17 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Thanks Megan for the great review and pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnjrockette Posted May 4, 2014 #18 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Thank you so much! Can't wait to read more! We are sailing for the first time on the Gem NEXT Saturday and your pictures and commentary are wonderful!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlynn0366 Posted May 4, 2014 #19 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Thank you for your review, I'm sailing the Gem next March & I'm loving your pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #20 Share Posted May 4, 2014 You will all love the GEM its a great ship!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soaringfalcon Posted May 4, 2014 #21 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Thank you! Excited for more. We're sailing her in August and can't wait. Love the Jewel class ships Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #22 Share Posted May 4, 2014 We didn’t have any excursions planned and just wanted to go to Ron Jons and Cocoa Beach Peir. It was beautiful weather and we just wanted to explore. When we got off the ship we got a taxi which took us to a little shop near ron jons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #23 Share Posted May 4, 2014 We could have gone all the way to Cocoa Beach but we opted to get out here and go to the stores. Ron Jons was cool, nothing special and very over priced but we had fun walking around. The store that they dropped us off at was much better price wise and had some great souvenirs for us to bring home. We saw a little restaurant on the beach and ate there. It was delicious we got chicken nachos and margaritas (just $1 why not!!) It was a fun little place! These were our nachos!!! HOLY HUGENESS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megb123 Posted May 4, 2014 Author #24 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Next it was time to go to Cocoa Beach. We under Estimated how long of a walk it really was in this hot weather, but we made it!!! This is what the Pier looks like when you first walk up to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare www3traveler Posted May 4, 2014 #25 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Thank you for your review and pictures. I was on this cruise and your pictures and descriptions brought back a lot of fond memories. I love The Gem. This was my 2nd cruise on Her and I am booked again for the cruise just before this year. Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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