Those who've sailed many NCL ships...a ?

[djpk2003]

We LOVED our first experience with NCL, sailed on the Gem. Ready to book cruise #2 and debating between booking another on Gem and going with an alternative. We loved the size, layout, crew, and service on Gem. Any recommendations for a similar NCL ship, or do I stick with the tried and true Gem?

 

I know this is highly suggestive, just curious for your input. I do not think we'd enjoy the very large ships. Want to do another tropical cruise but open to exact destinations (Caribbean, Mexico, Bermuda, etc.). Also, as much as I'd LOVE to, we can't afford HI right now. :rolleyes:

[Demonyte]

Service and crew is something you can't never tell for sure in advance - crew members come and go and move around ships as their contracts start and end, and for most part you can't tell who will be serving you where on a specific cruise. Generally we have felt that significant changes in service are fleetwide (unfortunately the level of service seems to have gone downhill because of staff cuts) and actual variation between different ships is generally pretty small.

 

What comes to ships, we like the Jewel class ships (of which Gem is one) the best, others are Jewel, Jade and Pearl – altough we've never had a bad cruise on any NCL ship.

[4774Papa]

We LOVED our first experience with NCL, sailed on the Gem. Ready to book cruise #2 and debating between booking another on Gem and going with an alternative. We loved the size, layout, crew, and service on Gem. Any recommendations for a similar NCL ship, or do I stick with the tried and true Gem?

 

I know this is highly suggestive, just curious for your input. I do not think we'd enjoy the very large ships. Want to do another tropical cruise but open to exact destinations (Caribbean, Mexico, Bermuda, etc.). Also, as much as I'd LOVE to, we can't afford HI right now. :rolleyes:

 

The ship is generally of minor importance to us. The itinerary is what counts.

We have done cruises on the Gem, Jade(same class as Gem), Epic and Star. The large Epic was our least favorite.

[KeithJenner]

You may not be aware, but the Pearl, Jewel, Jade and Gem are all the same class. There are some differences between them, but not too much.

 

You certainly don't need to just restrict yourself to the Gem.

 

In addition, ships like the Dawn and Star are also similar in many ways, although a little smaller.

[cruisejunkie76]

I have been on most of the NCL ships. Only one missing is the Norwegian Sky (will do this October), Norwegian Spirit and the Dawn (however was on the sister ship "Star")

 

each of the different "classes" of ships have the pro's and con's.

It really depends on what you are looking for.

 

most time I go by the Itinerary

[Barb Nahoumi]

My husband and I recently completed a 10 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Gem. The ship is lovely, food, entertainment, and service were very good.

 

We had a balcony cabin on deck 9 which was an excellent location.

 

All of our meals were in the complimentary venues-----Grand Pacific, Magenta, O'Sheehan's and the Garden Cafe. The offerings were fine, and we found no reason to spend more for specialty restaurants.

 

Like the Op, we enjoyed the Gem very much and would do this ship again.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Continued:

 

On previous NCL Cruises, we enjoyed the Spirit, Dawn, Jewel, and Pearl.

 

The Dawn is undergoing a multi-million dollar dry dock now, and should be like a brand new ship when she emerges. I would recommend a cruise on her from Boston to Bermuda.

 

So far we have not cruised on a mega ship, but we might try one someday.

[roger001]

We've sailed on the Pearl and Jewel several times each. Both wonderful ships and as mentioned the same class ship as the Gem. Can't go wrong with either. We're booked on the Jade next, again one of the Jewel class ships. But she is usually in Europe. We will be on her while she is briefly in Tampa. The Sun is a smaller ship and of a different design. However, she is many folks favorite ship, and one of our favorites. The Dawn and Star are just not as nice for us. Neither have a Great Outdoors, which we really enjoy and both had their deck 13 forward Spinnaker Lounge removed a few years ago and that area converted into more suite cabins. We've sailed the Getaway twice. She is beautiful, well designed, has the same wonderful NCL crew, but just too big with too much activity for us. She didn't leave us feeling as relaxed as the smaller ships do. However, again she is a very nice ship and might be worth trying just once. Here's way too many unedited pictures of her I took a year or so ago if you want to just look her over. Researching and planning is part of the fun of this cruise addiction.

 

http://s241.photobucket.com/user/roganderson60/media/Getaway1/DSCN5596_zps8f68ea0b.jpg.html?sort=2&o=0

Edited May 3, 2016 by roger001

[Crusin6]

If you are looking for a cruise out of NYC your only other ncl choice is the breakaway

 

 

 

Decide what itin you want

 

If it's out of NYC and its Bermuda....then your only choice is the BA

 

Another reason to pick the BA is if you have kids as the lido deck activities are incredible for them

 

Of course the pool is a joke but the slides and rock wall and ropes course, while again poorly placed and very intrusive to the pax, will provide incredible enjoyment for kids and adults alike ...when they are open

 

If smoking inside the ship is a deal breaker for you as it is for me, be warning that the smoke from the open air indoor casino will permeate decks 6/7/8 and le bistro and the eateries and bars, which are non smoking, on deck 8

 

IMHO the only reason to take the BA is if you want to do Bermuda out of NYC otherwise the Gem and her sister ships are always my first choice as would be the dawn out of Boston to Bermuda

 

 

The BA is so poorly designed compared to the gem it's ridiculous

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited May 3, 2016 by Crusin6

[biker@sea]

Gem has been on the top of the Vacation Hero charts down on I 95, the most of all NCL ships.

 

 

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[sjbdtz]

I have been on most of the NCL ships. Only one missing is the Norwegian Sky (will do this October), Norwegian Spirit and the Dawn (however was on the sister ship "Star")

 

each of the different "classes" of ships have the pro's and con's.

It really depends on what you are looking for.

 

most time I go by the Itinerary

 

 

I've also been on all of the ships except the Pride of America. I agree though that different ships offer completely different experiences.

 

I really liked the Escape, because it served small-group experiences rather than "everybody go 'here'", and then "everybody go there".

 

On Escape there were people at Food Republic, others at Sushi, others at Bayamo, etc. And the entertainment was all over the ship.

 

So far, Escape has been my favorite, for this reason.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

[mking8288]

OP, as you are from PA - assumed that you plan to drive to port & sail out of the northeast ? When do you plan to cruise next & are you considering longer itineraries (9 to 10 days+ as those would get you to West Caribbean ports)

 

Gem is doing one or two one-ways this Fall between NYC and San Juan, PR - if I'm not mistaken or it hasn't been changed, that would involve a one-way flight to/from home - possibly overnight hotel expenses ... to get you to different destination at reasonable pricing bundles as you've mentioned budgets.

 

If your vacation plans are flexible & can go short notice - you can play the cat-n-mouse game for those last minute discounted sale pricing, sometimes offered but not always, especially on longer itineraries if there are large inventory of unsold cabins. If you sail during off-peak seasons when most "kids" are in school, the ships will "feel" less crowded & prices tend to be discounted a little more ... just factor in the semi-hidden costs of any "Free At Sea" packages offered, as we don't care for most of the offers & rather book the Sail Away no-frills rate.

 

Both the Breakaway & the Gem sail out of NY, doing Bermuda and/or Florida/Bahamas - the ports are the same regardless of which ship you are sailing on, mega-ships like the BA is a different experience & not everyone like it as I'm sure you've read some of the reviews here on CC.

[tomk3212]

We've sailed on the Gem MANY times as you can see below. The Gem is sort of our "home" ship as we sail out of NYC usually and, as NCL is fond of saying, is our vacation "home away from home". We sailed out of Barcelona on the Gem back in '07 when she was first launched and brand-spankin' new (it was the Gem's 3rd voyage, I think) for our 30th wedding anniversary. So we really LOVE the Gem & we'll be sailing on her, once again, next week.

 

If you sail out of NYC on a regular basis, however, you HAVE to try the Breakaway!!! We did a 7 day to Bermuda on the Breakaway & absolutely LOVED it!! DW was a little reluctant to sail on the Breakaway due to her size & the # of people she can carry; she thought it'd be WAY too crowded. To be honest, because it's soooooo darn big you really don't notice that she carries almost twice as many pax as the Gem & similar ships of her class carry.

 

So while we absolutely love the Gem we'd also highly recommend the Breakaway as well if you're sailing out of NYC.

 

Have a great vacation!!

 

Tom K.

[peg013]

OP you really should try the Breakaway to Bermuda. I did not think I would like the Breakaway because of its size but it doesn't feel much bigger than the Gem when you consider that the BA forward elevators are midway between Forward and Mid so you aren't walking the whole length of the ship every time you want to go somewhere. We loved hanging out at H2O at the back of the ship. It's adults only during the day and has a water feature to cool off. The slides, rope course, minigolf are all icing on the cake! Try it - you might like it.

 

And as far as Bermuda goes...it is our favorite island. It beats the caribbean islands hands down as long as you go between late May and early October if you wish to swim in warm waters. No excursions are necessary as they have a fantastic bus and ferry system that will take you all over Bermuda. Another plus is staying in Bermuda for almost 3 whole days! No worries about getting back to the ship on time except for on Friday. You have your own floating hotel right there in Bermuda! We have been on the Breakaway 3 times and to Bermuda 5 times with the 6th time scheduled for this October.

 

We've been on the Jewel, Gem, Dawn, Star, Sky, Breakaway and Escape for a total of 22 times on NCL. (27 total cruises) To date we have not found a NCL ship we wouldn't sail on again. I'm waving to you from our State capital. :D

[cv322]

I love the Gem...she's tied with the Breakaway for being my favorite...but since you don't like the larger ships ;)....I would recommend the Dawn, another wonderful ship, and about the same size as the Gem.

[mking8288]

Dawn was one of the "larger" NCL ship we sailed twice while homeport in NY years ago, the good old days & fond memories.

 

Might want to plan ahead & book her after it's done drydocking this year, a # of CC reviews wrote that the ship is looking tired & in need of more sprucing up. We do like the layout of the Dawn/Jewel class ships, the main theater is more grand with the stage & high ceilings vs. the *Away class being more of a theater setting.

 

For OP, it's a 7+ hour long drive from PA to MA and 375 miles or so of driving, but parking is cheaper so it's a wash for extra tolls & gasoline. And, while there - chow down on plenty of fresh, cold water New England whole lobsters ... soft shells in season, 2.5 lbs - yeah, oh yes :p ;)

[djpk2003]

Appreciate all the info and opinions...decisions decisions 😛

[DMH15]

I love the Sun. My fave. Twice in aft PH, awesome suite huge balcony. Next fave Jewel. Great ship. Nice aft PH. Both Sun and Jewel have Great Outdoors.

 

I did not care for the Dawn.

 

Lucky enough my first NCL was the grand old NORWAY.

[mugtech]

Appreciate all the info and opinions...decisions decisions 😛

 

We will be taking our third and fourth cruises on the Gem this year, for us age 62 and over we take Trans Bridge buses from Allentown to 42nd Street for $30 round trip each. We also enjoyed the Spirit and the Sun, the ships a bit smaller and the itineraries better. We took a BA cruise and did not find it too large, liked all the choices on board, will be taking another for 7 days is not enough to enjoy it all.