Gem 1/22 - some practical lessons and a little encouragement

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Just wanted to put a few more thoughts out there on the Gem 1/22 10 day run.

 

I am a former crew member -- worked as an entertainer on NCL, RCI, and Cunard through the 1990s and 2000s.....my husband, daughter and I have cruised together 4 times as passengers -- all out of NYC, 3x on the Gem. Even so - I learned some VALUABLE lessons on this cruise that I hope can be of encouragement and help.

 

Yes. There was a giant storm. We threw snowballs on a cruise ship, and I'd never done that. It was awesome. It was rocky the first 2 days -- like my old transatlantic days on the QE2 rocky -- I LOVE that! My husband and daughter, not so much...so they wore sea bands. We were fine. If you cruise in the winter, be prepared for storms. Roll with it. (hah hah - see what I did there?)

 

Yes. The Yeshiva group was awful. Horrible people - an entitled, rude, nasty group that challenged every liberal open-minded value I hold dear - but it was just that group, I know, and not an entire population of people. Made for good conversation about stereotypes with my 11 year old. Another plus -- when my ADHD child is shocked by other childrens' behavior and ability to get banned from the kids club for the entire cruise before the second day? I feel just a little better about my own parenting skills. :)

 

Okay -- the nuts and bolts of what this haggard sea hag actually learned on her third trip on the Gem:

 

UDP -- we chose the UDP over UBP because my husband doesn't drink. We considered trying to switch that back after we did the math, knowing that we didn't NEED to eat in a specialty venue EVERY night. But given the affect the aforementioned group had on the main dining rooms, it turned out to be the best choice ever. We had UDP for all three of us, and my daughter now has a steak and lobster palette, for sure. With the new a la carte prices we ate well over $1000 worth of fantastic food, in delightful ambiance, with excellent service. MUCH more than my bar bill....although I will hold out for that "pick two" perk before I book again, because I was jealous of the people who had both. Five out of ten nights would have been fine though; sometimes you just want a burger and beer out in the Great Outdoors while you watch the stars. :)

 

iCONCIERGE -- this was THE DEAL! My daughter was able to check herself in and out of the kids club, which saved us the 45 minute drop off/pick up experience that was only thus because of - you guessed it -- the aforementioned Yeshiva group. That for some reason had to drop of their children as a family herd, pushing in front of anyone waiting, and then spending 15 minutes berating the staff before bustling off. But I digress -- my daughter loved this first shot at independence. She proved herself well -- texting us where she was, and when she got there. Being able to converse with one another freely across the ship proved vital for my husband and I later in the cruise....

 

AFT BALCONY - BEST MONEY SPENT EVER. We had a balcony aft on 10 (10668), which became our haven from the chaotic pool deck. It was not only overcrowded and terrorized by Yeshiva, but honestly, got too windy and cold to really enjoy yourself up there on the first and last days. We had 80 degree sun all day, both final days at sea. My tan is awesome! The aft balconies on 10 have 2 loungers, 2 chairs, and a table. The sail aways, too, were glorious, and sunsets and views magnificent. I sailed quite happily in inside cabins for a decade, and questioned spending the extra dough; I will never question that again.

 

ALWAYS BUY THE INSURANCE AND ALWAYS TAKE AN NCL TOUR. This was the biggest learning I had on the trip - and counter to everything I believed I knew about cruising. We always book tours privately - they are the same tours for less money and usually very well run. We never buy the insurance because...we spent the money on the aft balcony. But this time we did, knowing that job issues could have caused us to cancel after the cancellation date. And in Tortola, we took the ship sponsored tour to Virgin Gorda and The Baths because of the short time in port and the guarantee that we would not be left behind.

 

My husband was "that guy" who broke his foot at the bottom of the Baths, mis-calculating distance between rocks. We are young and healthy -- but stuff happens. And the tour company (Speedys) was useless in helping him. They had no medical kit, no triage plan, no CLUE how they were going to get him off of the rock at the bottom of the hill and back to the ferry/back to the ship. They left us stranded. BUT (and more on this in moment) God sent angels in the form of our fellow cruisers and three random tourists from Canada. One fellow passenger, a nurse, was beside my husband (on the top of a very scary rock!) triaging and stabilizing him before I could find the so called tour guide. When the tour guide could not produce any kind of medical kit or tape to help stabilize what we thought could be a snapped Achilles or broken ankle, this God-sent fellow passenger (and several others) set out to carry my husband up the rocky hill. They were met halfway up by the three Canadian tourists, one of whom was a paramedic. They got my husband up the hill, made a stabilizing boot out of cardboard and toilet paper, and set us off to the ferry in the car of a now very relieved Speedy tour guide. When we got to the ship, we received ex-rays, cast, and crutches. And chocolate covered strawberries. :) THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART -- HAD WE NOT BOUGHT THE INSURANCE, THIS WOULD HAVE COST US THOUSANDS. HAD WE NOT BEEN ON AN NCL SPONSORED TOUR, THE INSURANCE WOULD HAVE BEEN MOOT. As it was - they could have airlifted us to Puerto Rico (if it was warranted) and put us up there until the injury was stable, then fly us home - and all would have been covered. His medical bills on land, now? Covered. Lesson SO learned - and we are SO grateful.

 

A FINAL LESSON - and perhaps this actually was the most important. Humanity is good. We encountered some of the nastiest, ugliest individuals and groups of individuals we have ever met on this cruise. But. We also met some of the kindest, self-less, classiest people ever as well. And that's the lesson, isn't it? Cherish the good. From the roll call peeps we shared slot pulls and balcony sail-aways with, to the kind and attentive staff, to the ANGELS who carried my husband up that hill while I tried to keep our daughter calm, to the random people on that Baths tour who sent my husband drinks (which I happily consumed) and gave us well wishes. I have more faith in humanity than I ever had before.

 

OKAY ONE MORE LESSON -- crutches? Will get you disembarked seamlessly. And you can find a porter easily in the baggage claim. And they will take you upstairs to arrivals, where you can catch a cab without having to cross the West Side Highway.

 

We will sail NCL again. But not on Yeshiva week. :) And we hope to sail again with some of you wonderful people who helped teach us, this trip, about what's really important.

 

Great little lessons.

[MsTabbyKats]

If there are roll calls for either the Gem or BA...for next year, during this week, someone who was on the 2016 sailing should warn them...and perhaps they will cancel or they should write a mass letter to NCL demanding this group be banned.

 

You'd be doing them a big favor.

[Buford T Justiice]

If there are roll calls for either the Gem or BA...for next year, during this week, someone who was on the 2016 sailing should warn them...and perhaps they will cancel or they should write a mass letter to NCL demanding this group be banned.

 

You'd be doing them a big favor.

 

My guess would be January 19-29 2017.

[Host Star]

this thread is being closed for the same reason the last one was closed.. I suggest the op submit her review for the review section only...