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Back from the GEM today. Some thoughts

Odesitka70

By Odesitka70,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Odesitka70

Odesitka70

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We just got back from the 10 day cruise on the newly refurbished GEM. We liked new look and it almost felt like new ship. They are still in the process of replacing beds and mattresses in all cabins. Ours was replaced on the first sea day. Very comfy. After all the storms we had in the north east, we got very lucky with the weather. It was warm and sunny every day. And considering its winter in Atlantic the seas were ok. A little bit of rocking, but nothing crazy like cruise before us. We are platinum with ncl and invited guest of cas. As our free perk we chose sdp and free internet. So we had diners at specialty restaurants every night. Starting January 1 2016 all the restaurants except teppanyaki and moderno went al a card. If you have sdp you can order anything and as many as you want from the menu. When done they bring you your bill to sign with all your charges on check that zeroed on the bottom of the check. With platinum diner you still get to select your bottle of wine, but can only order either appetizer or soup and main entry and desert. With casino diner, no more drinks and they give you voucher with amount of money you allowed to spend. Depending on the amount they give you you either pay the difference or if you have nice amount you can have more then one diner. Gone are the days when if you had meal plan you could go to sushi restaurant and pay $7 up charge. It was still available in August on BA. The quality of food was good, but we had better in the past. So the prices went up and quality down. Regarding 18% service charge, everyone I ask told me they don't get this money. They only get dcs and if guest take care of them. In my observation a lot of people who have UBP don't tip the wait stuff. There is no more check to sign and people don't carry cash with them. Even in the casino I rarely saw anybody tipping for drinks. Btw the slide is back in business and kids had lots of fun on it. That's all I can think of right now. But if anybody have any questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them.

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Odesitka70

Odesitka70

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What was the price for Sushi if the $7 upcharge is gone?

How much was your casino voucher? I am Golden and my wife is hot.

I hear that the roullette and blackjack machines are gone from both Spinnaker and the casino, is that true?

 

Thanks

 

Sushi is al a card and different prices for different pieces or rolls. I'm golden with casino and my voucher was for $100. There are no roulette or bj machines in the casino, just regular tables.

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Odesitka70

Odesitka70

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Thanks for the review..!!

Curious which restaurants you ate in and how they were...

 

We eat at the Cagney 3 times, teppanyaki once, le bistro 3 times, and twice in la cuchina. First night we went to grand pacific dining room. Food was good but not great. We had better testing diners in the past.

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jaja

jaja

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We eat at the Cagney 3 times, teppanyaki once, le bistro 3 times, and twice in la cuchina. First night we went to grand pacific dining room. Food was good but not great. We had better testing diners in the past.

 

Thanks! I have prebooked...Cagneys (2) Teppanyak (1) Le Bistro (2) and 1 each Moderno and La Cuchina ..for May... First time doing so many specialties.(we have UDP) .so appreciate your input. :)

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Letsgo 2

Letsgo 2

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We just got back from the 10 day cruise on the newly refurbished GEM. We liked new look and it almost felt like new ship. They are still in the process of replacing beds and mattresses in all cabins. Ours was replaced on the first sea day. Very comfy. After all the storms we had in the north east, we got very lucky with the weather. It was warm and sunny every day. And considering its winter in Atlantic the seas were ok. A little bit of rocking, but nothing crazy like cruise before us. We are platinum with ncl and invited guest of cas. As our free perk we chose sdp and free internet. So we had diners at specialty restaurants every night. Starting January 1 2016 all the restaurants except teppanyaki and moderno went al a card. If you have sdp you can order anything and as many as you want from the menu. When done they bring you your bill to sign with all your charges on check that zeroed on the bottom of the check. With platinum diner you still get to select your bottle of wine, but can only order either appetizer or soup and main entry and desert. With casino diner, no more drinks and they give you voucher with amount of money you allowed to spend. Depending on the amount they give you you either pay the difference or if you have nice amount you can have more then one diner. Gone are the days when if you had meal plan you could go to sushi restaurant and pay $7 up charge. It was still available in August on BA. The quality of food was good, but we had better in the past. So the prices went up and quality down. Regarding 18% service charge, everyone I ask told me they don't get this money. They only get dcs and if guest take care of them. In my observation a lot of people who have UBP don't tip the wait stuff. There is no more check to sign and people don't carry cash with them. Even in the casino I rarely saw anybody tipping for drinks. Btw the slide is back in business and kids had lots of fun on it. That's all I can think of right now. But if anybody have any questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them.

 

We always carry extra $$$$ in a little pouch and always tip extra, the crew will remember and a few extra $$ go a long way! The crew on the Gem is the best and work very very hard to make our cruise a great one

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  • 4 weeks later...
peg013

peg013

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Hey, New member from NYC. I will be on the April 11 depart.

 

hi you should join our roll call for that sailing-- we have a meet and great scheduled

 

Yes didithepest, please join us here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2055173 you might want to skip to the last page and then read earlier pages as you get time. I think we're up to 460 posts. :D

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Odesitka70

Odesitka70

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How was the internet service? I want to be able to facetime/skype my family from the ship, do you think this is possible?

 

Thanks.

 

Internet work fine. I had 250 minutes and thought I would need to buy more, but it was enough for everything I want it to do.

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johnandlinda

johnandlinda

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We have cruised other lines and with the unlimited drink packages we have rarely tipped extra...only if there was a particular server or bartender who took extra care of us...and we never really felt pressured or felt we were expected to tip extra...our first NCL cruise is still months away...we are doing UDP again...and overall it will be the least inclusive we have ever had and by far the most expensive

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KiloEcho

KiloEcho

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So NCL charges 18% gratuity for the UBP yet you denigrate passengers who refuse to tip again? Maybe you should take it up with NCL. After all, they are the people stealing from the crew.

 

Thank You.

 

Can a listed company really do this and basically commit fraud?

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hawkeyetlse

hawkeyetlse

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Gone are the days when if you had meal plan you could go to sushi restaurant and pay $7 up charge. It was still available in August on BA.
Curious about this, because it is still listed as an option in the SDP terms and in the current promo terms. Did you actually eat there and get charged full price (despite asking to use your SDP), or is this what the staff told you would happen if you ate there?

 

If I wanted to use my SDP to eat a lot of sushi I would insist that they respect the stated terms of the offer.

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Odesitka70

Odesitka70

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Curious about this, because it is still listed as an option in the SDP terms and in the current promo terms. Did you actually eat there and get charged full price (despite asking to use your SDP), or is this what the staff told you would happen if you ate there?

 

If I wanted to use my SDP to eat a lot of sushi I would insist that they respect the stated terms of the offer.

 

I didn't have a print out of term and conditions. But I did ask f&b director who didn't have answer for me right of way and who after checking into it left a message in my cabin that it was no longer available. Then I also ask master chef who gave me the same answer. I actually went to sushi restaurant and ask about it asst matre d, who also told me that this was no longer available and if we want to order sush we would have to pay a la cart price.

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hawkeyetlse

hawkeyetlse

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Thanks for that, so the new policy is very clear, and very disappointing. And kind of puzzling, because $7 plus one meal deducted from the package isn't exactly a steal, so why take it away? Oh well, our next cruise isn't in the Gem, so I'll be watching to see if this cutback starts to spread to other ships.

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Jezo

Jezo

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Curious about this, because it is still listed as an option in the SDP terms and in the current promo terms. Did you actually eat there and get charged full price (despite asking to use your SDP), or is this what the staff told you would happen if you ate there?

 

If I wanted to use my SDP to eat a lot of sushi I would insist that they respect the stated terms of the offer.

 

Would the current T&C of the promo as it stands now apply for a 2017 sailing if they change the words later this year?

 

I have a copy saved for printing next year and it clearly says

"Guests who have purchased a Specialty Dining Package and wish to dine at one of the following venues will be charged an Upcharge instead of the full cover charge or a la carte price: [...] Sushi**$7"

 

So when I sail next year can I fight for my AYCE sushi for $7?

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