Gem review, repositioning NYC - SJU Oct 15

[Justaddvodka68]

Getting this in a bit late as it's been a busy time for me.

 

This is going to be a quick review. As this was a repo, the dailies, stops etc, won't be the same as any other, so no point going day by day.

 

We sailed with another couple, long time friends who we've traveled with before, but this was their first cruise. This was our 4th.

 

We stayed at the Shoreham the night before. Dinner at Gallagher's, (my favorite NY steakhouse) and drinks at the Russian vodka room made for a perfect pre cruise night out in NY.

 

Embarkation in NY was super easy. We ubered to terminal and were dropped off in minutes right at the luggage check spot. Giant elevators took us up to the check in area. We arrived around 11. Security was a breeze, as was check-in. We had to wait about 15-20 minutes before they started boarding passengers. Then of course, since we were there later, we had to wait a few more minutes while they called groups 1-8 first. No big deal. We were on the ship in no time.

 

Went straight to the Spa because thermal suite passes had sold out online. Scored those and headed to O'Sheehan's for a bit of lunch and a couple of drinks. The steak fajitas were excellent and became my go to late night snack. I think they use the leftover flat iron steak from Moderno. It's that good!

 

Very easy muster. First time I've ever had a station in a bar where they let you sit down and relax during the drill. Sweet.

 

Headed up to the sundeck for sail away which was lovely with the NY skyline. Sailing past the Statue of Liberty was really nice. It could only have been better with a later sail time. We left around 4:30. The sunset and lights of Manhattan would have been beautiful from the ship.

 

We had 7 nights UDP - 4 "free" and 3 we purchased. We choose Cagney's and LeBistro twice, Moderno, LaCusina and Teppanyaki.

 

Quick reviews on the specialty dining:

 

Cagney's was great both nights. They are limiting apps, soup or salad and entrees to one each plus unlimited sides. Disappointing for me only because I'd sometime prefer two of the apps and no soup/salad and they weren't very accommodating on those type of switches. (They were on the Spirit in Jan.) She did sneak me the second app the first night only because someone in my party hadn't ordered one.

 

The meals were wonderful both nights. The desserts, when we had room to even consider them were wonderful.

 

LeBistro is my favorite. I was so disappointed to see the recipe changed for the mussels. They still had them available, but they weren't anywhere near as good as what I'd had on the Spirit in Jan and April. This time they were in a garlic buttery sauce, before they were done in a Pernod & cream sauce, and I'm not kidding when I say, I'd book a cruise just for these mussels. So I had to get over that! But I did, and things were wonderful.

 

I found on this cruise there were tiny little touches that were missing here and there that I missed. One of them was the little extra salmon spread that was brought out pre-appetizers "from the chef." at LeBistro. I missed it. I know, petty, but it's these small things sometimes.

 

Another small thing - I couldn't find brie on any of the cheese spreads. On the Spirit there was Brie everywhere, and it was delicious. They'd bring out a spread in the casino at midnight with fruits and veggies and cheese and it always had brie, but not a bite to be had on the Gem. They had an even better night time spread in the Gem casino, but I missed the brie.

 

Also, there was no salmon to be had on this cruise. I love salmon and eat it about twice a week. There was sole, sea bass and other fish to be had not no salmon on any of the specialty dining menus. Seems the salmon went the way of the lobster.

 

Back to the dining. The Teppanyaki was better than any land based Teppanyaki I've had. Very flavorful. We had a couple rolls and my husband ordered the Tuna tartar off the sushi menu as well and we walked away stuffed. Funny story, we saw the photographer taking everyone's photo and noticed the chef standing behind them with the big knife and fork pointing down towards them. Everyone was smiling like it was a serious photo op. Without consulting one another my husband and I both made a frightened face for our photo and it turned out so funny! Fun night, good food.

 

LaCusina was my husband's favorite. Italian is never mine, but it was good. Typical Italian fare, not much to say here.

 

Moderno was as expected. The flavors are wonderful. There's way too much meat to ever actually be able to try all 11 to any degree. After the first two servings, I learned to taste a bite or two and wait for the next thing to come around. I felt bad leaving a whole plate of uneaten food. My thoughts are if you've experienced a Brazilian steakhouse before, there's no reason to do Moderno on a cruise. It's for me anyway, one of those once is enough experiences. Our waiter however, was so charming and really funny. He really made my night.

 

All in all we received better than expected service in all the specialty restaurants. With the exception of drink service. Having been NCL cruises with the drink package before, we knew what to expect, so we'd meet at a bar, have a drink and grab one to take in, ordering the next one so we'd have it by the time the first was done. Getting that next one, or the glass of wine you wanted with your meal was tricky.

 

We did 7pm dining with hopes of getting out for the 9:00 show. It worked all but one night in LeBistro. Things were just a little slower that night and we were laughing and having a good time, so it was no big deal. We just skipped that show.

 

The Casino was good. The $100 buy-in hold'm table wasn't. There were a few guys there just making it unenjoyable. I couldn't catch a break. Every time I was in a pot even raising with my 3 queens couldn't get anyone out and they'd put something out of their butts on the river every time. Frustrating because on my past two cruises, we had a bunch of friendly players and would sit and play all night, winning some, losing some, but having fun. These guys weren't friendly players and even worse weren't friendly, period. So I moved onto Ultimate poker. Won $450 the first night hitting bonuses on ultimate pairs and hit a Royal flush on the second night on a $5 bet, so up $3,000+ after the first two days made me a happy gambler. Very exciting for me, because I love to play but have never won more than a couple hundred that I handily give back!

 

Very friendly dealers. My favorite, Valarie, (a cool Indian guy.) was really friendly. Taught me how to play Roulette. Had some fun with that as well.

 

My Royal flush pic is attached.

 

Ports:

 

We had a medical emergency on board and someone had to be airlifted off the ship. This caused us to have to reroute to get closer to land so the coast guard could meet the ship. So we were out of range to get to Antigua and stopped instead at Tortola for the first stop. We had no time to plan, so just hopped in a cab and asked them to take us to a beach with a bar. I couldn't even tell you the name of the place they took us too, but it was ok. The water was nice. The bar basic. The chairs kinda lame but cheap at $10 a pair. Wifi didn't work.

 

Next was St Kitts. We went to Shipwreck, very cool place. Saw the monkey's, had a nice chat with the bartender, then walked down the beach to the Carambola Beach Club. It was our traveling companions 50th birthday that day and he was incredably impressed with the beauty of the place. We got chairs for $10 each, wifi worked. We had lunch inside. A huge spread of sushi, lobster salad and more with a few cocktails and I think we spent $130 for 4 of us.

 

St. Maarten was next. We went to Orient Beach and started to go to Kontiki, which was highly recommended by a friend. But we looked to the left and there was a little tiki bar (I think it was called Kona) with blue chairs with padded seats and no one there, so we headed that way. The bartender, Gippy, was fabulous (pic attached) and the music he was playing was right up our alley, (90's alternative) and he knew a lot about it. Great conversation! We ended up staying there until we were ready to go back. The water was fabulous, like a swimming pool it was so clear. Best day on the beach I've ever had.

 

Next was St. Thomas, which we've been to twice before. We were all beached out, but our friends weren't, so they went to the beach and we wandered around the port shopping and found a bar. Scored a nice garnet ring at a great price then headed back to the ship.

 

Next stop San Juan. Debarkation was easy. Off by 9, porters were plentiful. Cab was easy, price was set up front.

 

We stayed on in San Juan meeting some other friends for 4 days. Stayed at the Courtyard by the airport, right on the beach. The place was beautiful and the beach was fantastic.

 

We went to Old San Juan the one day which was great. Other than that we stuck by the hotel, the beach and the pools were great and there were lots of nearby places to eat at night.

 

The bar was expensive, but we'd thought ahead and purchased some booze at the duty free. A quick stop for beer and mixers and we were all set. They said no outside drinks by the pool but no one bothered us and the beach is public so you can take anything you want there. They even gave us a paper

 

All in all a great vacation.

[Justaddvodka68]

Ops, got cut off.

 

Gave us a paper ice bucket for our beers on the beach.

 

Seems my attachments didn't make it because they're too big. I don't have time to resize.

[pusywillow]

Thanks for the review. You mentioned Cagney's was limiting your food choices to one each. Is Le Bistro doing the same? Thanks!

[bluesea777]

LeBistro is my favorite. I was so disappointed to see the recipe changed for the mussels. They still had them available, but they weren't anywhere near as good as what I'd had on the Spirit in Jan and April. This time they were in a garlic buttery sauce, before they were done in a Pernod & cream sauce, and I'm not kidding when I say, I'd book a cruise just for these mussels. So I had to get over that! But I did, and things were wonderful.

 

I found on this cruise there were tiny little touches that were missing here and there that I missed. One of them was the little extra salmon spread that was brought out pre-appetizers "from the chef." at LeBistro. I missed it. I know, petty, but it's these small things sometimes.

 

We had that on both our visits to Le Bistro on the JADE.

 

Another small thing - I couldn't find brie on any of the cheese spreads. On the Spirit there was Brie everywhere, and it was delicious. They'd bring out a spread in the casino at midnight with fruits and veggies and cheese and it always had brie, but not a bite to be had on the Gem. They had an even better night time spread in the Gem casino, but I missed the brie.

On the JADE, one evening in the MDR the menu had deep fried brie wedges served with cranberry sauce as an appetizer .... I had it and it was so good that I had it again as my dessert! :D

 

Also, there was no salmon to be had on this cruise. I love salmon and eat it about twice a week. There was sole, sea bass and other fish to be had not no salmon on any of the specialty dining menus. Seems the salmon went the way of the lobster.

 

Several restaurants on the JADE had salmon on their menus. Surprised to hear the absence of salmon on the GEM.

 

All in all a great vacation.

 

We were just off (on Sunday) the JADE TA from Barcelona to Miami. Maybe it was because the ship originated in Europe rather than New York???

 

Great review, glad you had a great time!

 

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by bluesea777

[njhorseman]

We were just off (on Sunday) the JADE TA from Barcelona to Miami. Maybe it was because the ship originated in Europe rather than New York???

 

Great review, glad you had a great time!

 

 

 

Yes, the likely explanation for not having the latest versions of the menus is that the ship was based in Europe. It's likely that the menu changes will be made during the time the ship is in the US.

 

The OP's description of the menu changes is identical to what we experienced on the Breakaway during our October cruise to Bermuda.

Edited November 16, 2016 by njhorseman

[boopsahoy]

:)

LeBistro is my favorite. I was so disappointed to see the recipe changed for the mussels. They still had them available, but they weren't anywhere near as good as what I'd had on the Spirit in Jan and April. This time they were in a garlic buttery sauce, before they were done in a Pernod & cream sauce, and I'm not kidding when I say, I'd book a cruise just for these mussels. So I had to get over that! But I did, and things were wonderful.

 

I found on this cruise there were tiny little touches that were missing here and there that I missed. One of them was the little extra salmon spread that was brought out pre-appetizers "from the chef." at LeBistro. I missed it. I know, petty, but it's these small things sometimes.

 

I love the Gem and I love Le Bistro. So disappointed! Those mussels were to die for. I'm glad I have been warned. I also enjoyed the nice touch of the salmon mousse at the start. Did you notice if the Cornets were still an appetizer choice?

[Tigger90]

I agree with all you said. While we had a wonderful trip, some of the specialty dining options were not up to the expectations we had from previous trips (5-6 on Norwegian).

 

Your comment about the mussels at Le Bistro really hit home. My husband called & asked me if I wrote it. I was salivating for the mussels since we booked the trip (a year earlier) & was very disappointed that they changed the recipe. I agree- the previous recipe was worth the whole trip! :) But, to those that didn't know what they missed, the new recipe was still delicious.

 

As you said, we had a medical emergency and had to reroute the ship. I have to send out my greatest appreciation to the Captain and crew. They handled everything expertly. Kept everyone informed, got us back on course as quickly as possible, & had excursions ready on the new island.

 

We had a wonderful time, we may have shared a cocktail in the casino & maybe we'll meet on a future cruise. Happy sailing!

[easyboy]

Glad you had a great cruise. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[dexddd]

OP - we are taking the trip back to NY. Can you confirm the shows at 7 and 9.

 

And yes, were they limiting courses at the other ala carte restaurants? There has been very little talk of this happening recently, and if so, it stinks.

 

Also - can anyone confirm which Cagney's menu they are using? There seems to be a couple floating out there but not sure what Gem is using.

Edited November 16, 2016 by dexddd

[Justaddvodka68]

Thanks for the review. You mentioned Cagney's was limiting your food choices to one each. Is Le Bistro doing the same? Thanks!

 

Yes, they all are.

[Justaddvodka68]

OP - we are taking the trip back to NY. Can you confirm the shows at 7 and 9.

 

And yes, were they limiting courses at the other ala carte restaurants? There has been very little talk of this happening recently, and if so, it stinks.

 

Also - can anyone confirm which Cagney's menu they are using? There seems to be a couple floating out there but not sure what Gem is using.

 

Shows at 7 & 9.

 

Yes they're limiting to one choice from each section at all. That said, if I really wanted a second app, I'd have gladly paid the ala carte price to get it. They weren't high, $4 range.

 

The Cagney's menu posted here looks like it. Definitely the same choices of apps and sides. The only thing I don't remember is having a choice for lobster. I had the surf & turf and it was a filet with shrimp.

 

http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-escape-menus.html

[Justaddvodka68]

Your comment about the mussels at Le Bistro really hit home. My husband called & asked me if I wrote it. I was salivating for the mussels since we booked the trip (a year earlier) & was very disappointed that they changed the recipe. I agree- the previous recipe was worth the whole trip! :) But, to those that didn't know what they missed, the new recipe was still delicious.

 

 

We had a wonderful time, we may have shared a cocktail in the casino & maybe we'll meet on a future cruise. Happy sailing!

 

Those mussels tho! I'm making it my mission this year to perfect that recipe. I've come very close!

[Justaddvodka68]

:)

 

I love the Gem and I love Le Bistro. So disappointed! Those mussels were to die for. I'm glad I have been warned. I also enjoyed the nice touch of the salmon mousse at the start. Did you notice if the Cornets were still an appetizer choice?

 

Cornets also gone. They too were a fav. Of course, that was also when they let you have unlimited apps. I could eat just apps honestly. Love my apps!

[Justaddvodka68]

On the JADE, one evening in the MDR the menu had deep fried brie wedges served with cranberry sauce as an appetizer .... I had it and it was so good that I had it again as my dessert!

 

Great review, glad you had a great time!

 

 

 

Oh you tease! I'm totally trying something like this for a Thanksgiving app!

[boopsahoy]

Cornets also gone. They too were a fav. Of course, that was also when they let you have unlimited apps. I could eat just apps honestly. Love my apps!

 

 

 

Oh no my other favorite :eek:

[Justaddvodka68]

A few things I remembered that I left out of my review.

 

On the Gem the White Hot Party was in the Spinnaker Lounge. It was fun, but not the same as having it poolside, as we did on the Spirit. It wasn't a weather thing, that's where they always have it.

 

For smokers, I was disappointed in the cigar bar. It's located nicely by the martini, whiskey and champagne bars, but there's no service in there and it was ALWAYS filthy. Even when they bothered to empty the trays and clear the empties away, they wouldn't wipe off the tables so they always had a layer of ash on them. Gross.

 

On the spirit, it was right off the Galaxy, (which is the Spinnaker on this ship) and the waitstaff came in regularly, cleared empties, emptied the ashtrays and wiped the tables and would get you drinks.

 

The Thermal Spa was amazing. I spent every morning there. My husband snores and once I wake up around 7, I can't get back to sleep. I'd head up there and after my hydrotherapy, have a little nap on the heated lounge until I got too warm, then relax on the regular lounge chairs until he wandered down with my morning bloody mary. I'd shower there while he showered in our cabin. Worth the cost. I want to find the piano music with the crashing waves to play at home. So relaxing!

 

I also lost the gel polish off my big toe the first day at the beach and they got me in for an emergency repair at the salon. She mixed colors together and matched my polish perfectly and saved my $75 pedicure for only $15!

 

Our steward, Willy was awesome. So friendly and accommodating. You could tell he was new because his towel animals were rudimentary, but they still always cracked me up. He'd use props from around our room, like a book, a hat or our glasses to make them funny.

[Alegeeter]

We were on board with you and had a lovely time. We spent a lot of time in the casino too so when you mentioned the royal flush I think I remembered who you were. I believe my mother and I played Blackjack with your husband.

 

By Valarie, do you mean Vivian? He was one of our favorite dealers too. The whole casino staff was superb!

 

I'm sorry you found some scrooges at the Hold 'em table. We found overall that the group of passengers on this cruise were among the (if not the) nicest we've sailed with. It was a lovely week.

[Justaddvodka68]

We were on board with you and had a lovely time. We spent a lot of time in the casino too so when you mentioned the royal flush I think I remembered who you were. I believe my mother and I played Blackjack with your husband.

 

By Valarie, do you mean Vivian? He was one of our favorite dealers too. The whole casino staff was superb!

 

I'm sorry you found some scrooges at the Hold 'em table. We found overall that the group of passengers on this cruise were among the (if not the) nicest we've sailed with. It was a lovely week.

 

Yes! Vivian, my mistake! He was awesome.

 

It was a fun cruise. Definitely a different crowd that out of Florida.

[mking8288]

Nice review, thanks for sharing - we almost booked the GEM on this itinerary this Fall, partially to revisit the "smaller" GEM (last cruised her in 2012). But, with all the changes happening, chose a land-based vacation over sailing.

 

The complimentary salmon spread used to be a given, always, in LeBistro but I've noticed that being gone earlier in the year (not a deal breaker, like the lobster tail/chunks and shrimp cocktail) but all the little "things" do add up. I also couldn't find the good, old Salmon burger at lunch - in steerage class. Chalk it up to seasonal availability & menu changes, at their discretion :rolleyes:. As for the mussels, the receipt was changed but one thing didn't change between 2015 and 2016, both times - it wasn't meaty & smallish to me. Footnote - comments made: food review & opinions are typically subjective and biased, FWIW.

 

However, I am disappointed in reading a # of recent reviews, from different CC'ers on different NCL ships that there is apparently trending in no longer provisioning salmon, whether it's smoked ones at breakfast (one tiny piece with the eggs benedict - IMO - don't count) or in the MDR as a complimentary option. For a quick meal on land, I'm fine with fillet of sole or plain white fish, and tilapia ... or, even catfish ... as long as they are prepared & cooked nicely, without that fishy smell, or spiced up in flavoring. This isn't, however, taking NCL closer as being an upscale cruise line.

 

Medtech2 has a similar review of the GEM - we just booked the GEM for early 2017, staying away from the *Away class ships for now in U.S. waters. Our friends got an excellent promo deal and so we are just going to sit back, relax & do our best to enjoy the ship - while keeping our eyes on other changes in the coming months, keeping our expectations low & realistic.

[Clarea]

Nicely written review, thanks!

[$hip$hape]

Nice review, thanks for sharing - we almost booked the GEM on this itinerary this Fall, partially to revisit the "smaller" GEM (last cruised her in 2012). But, with all the changes happening, chose a land-based vacation over sailing.

 

The complimentary salmon spread used to be a given, always, in LeBistro but I've noticed that being gone earlier in the year (not a deal breaker, like the lobster tail/chunks and shrimp cocktail) but all the little "things" do add up. I also couldn't find the good, old Salmon burger at lunch - in steerage class. Chalk it up to seasonal availability & menu changes, at their discretion :rolleyes:. As for the mussels, the receipt was changed but one thing didn't change between 2015 and 2016, both times - it wasn't meaty & smallish to me. Footnote - comments made: food review & opinions are typically subjective and biased, FWIW.

 

However, I am disappointed in reading a # of recent reviews, from different CC'ers on different NCL ships that there is apparently trending in no longer provisioning salmon, whether it's smoked ones at breakfast (one tiny piece with the eggs benedict - IMO - don't count) or in the MDR as a complimentary option. For a quick meal on land, I'm fine with fillet of sole or plain white fish, and tilapia ... or, even catfish ... as long as they are prepared & cooked nicely, without that fishy smell, or spiced up in flavoring. This isn't, however, taking NCL closer as being an upscale cruise line.

 

Medtech2 has a similar review of the GEM - we just booked the GEM for early 2017, staying away from the *Away class ships for now in U.S. waters. Our friends got an excellent promo deal and so we are just going to sit back, relax & do our best to enjoy the ship - while keeping our eyes on other changes in the coming months,

keeping our expectations low & realistic.

Nice Post:)

My DW says, according to The Rolling Stones.... "You can't always get what you want".:rolleyes:

[mugtech]

Getting this in a bit late as it's been a busy time for me.

 

This is going to be a quick review. As this was a repo, the dailies, stops etc, won't be the same as any other, so no point going day by day.

 

We sailed with another couple, long time friends who we've traveled with before, but this was their first cruise. This was our 4th.

 

We stayed at the Shoreham the night before. Dinner at Gallagher's, (my favorite NY steakhouse) and drinks at the Russian vodka room made for a perfect pre cruise night out in NY.

 

Embarkation in NY was super easy. We ubered to terminal and were dropped off in minutes right at the luggage check spot. Giant elevators took us up to the check in area. We arrived around 11. Security was a breeze, as was check-in. We had to wait about 15-20 minutes before they started boarding passengers. Then of course, since we were there later, we had to wait a few more minutes while they called groups 1-8 first. No big deal. We were on the ship in no time.

 

Went straight to the Spa because thermal suite passes had sold out online. Scored those and headed to O'Sheehan's for a bit of lunch and a couple of drinks. The steak fajitas were excellent and became my go to late night snack. I think they use the leftover flat iron steak from Moderno. It's that good!

 

Very easy muster. First time I've ever had a station in a bar where they let you sit down and relax during the drill. Sweet.

 

Headed up to the sundeck for sail away which was lovely with the NY skyline. Sailing past the Statue of Liberty was really nice. It could only have been better with a later sail time. We left around 4:30. The sunset and lights of Manhattan would have been beautiful from the ship.

 

We had 7 nights UDP - 4 "free" and 3 we purchased. We choose Cagney's and LeBistro twice, Moderno, LaCusina and Teppanyaki.

 

Quick reviews on the specialty dining:

 

Cagney's was great both nights. They are limiting apps, soup or salad and entrees to one each plus unlimited sides. Disappointing for me only because I'd sometime prefer two of the apps and no soup/salad and they weren't very accommodating on those type of switches. (They were on the Spirit in Jan.) She did sneak me the second app the first night only because someone in my party hadn't ordered one.

 

The meals were wonderful both nights. The desserts, when we had room to even consider them were wonderful.

 

LeBistro is my favorite. I was so disappointed to see the recipe changed for the mussels. They still had them available, but they weren't anywhere near as good as what I'd had on the Spirit in Jan and April. This time they were in a garlic buttery sauce, before they were done in a Pernod & cream sauce, and I'm not kidding when I say, I'd book a cruise just for these mussels. So I had to get over that! But I did, and things were wonderful.

 

I found on this cruise there were tiny little touches that were missing here and there that I missed. One of them was the little extra salmon spread that was brought out pre-appetizers "from the chef." at LeBistro. I missed it. I know, petty, but it's these small things sometimes.

 

Another small thing - I couldn't find brie on any of the cheese spreads. On the Spirit there was Brie everywhere, and it was delicious. They'd bring out a spread in the casino at midnight with fruits and veggies and cheese and it always had brie, but not a bite to be had on the Gem. They had an even better night time spread in the Gem casino, but I missed the brie.

 

Also, there was no salmon to be had on this cruise. I love salmon and eat it about twice a week. There was sole, sea bass and other fish to be had not no salmon on any of the specialty dining menus. Seems the salmon went the way of the lobster.

 

Back to the dining. The Teppanyaki was better than any land based Teppanyaki I've had. Very flavorful. We had a couple rolls and my husband ordered the Tuna tartar off the sushi menu as well and we walked away stuffed. Funny story, we saw the photographer taking everyone's photo and noticed the chef standing behind them with the big knife and fork pointing down towards them. Everyone was smiling like it was a serious photo op. Without consulting one another my husband and I both made a frightened face for our photo and it turned out so funny! Fun night, good food.

 

LaCusina was my husband's favorite. Italian is never mine, but it was good. Typical Italian fare, not much to say here.

 

Moderno was as expected. The flavors are wonderful. There's way too much meat to ever actually be able to try all 11 to any degree. After the first two servings, I learned to taste a bite or two and wait for the next thing to come around. I felt bad leaving a whole plate of uneaten food. My thoughts are if you've experienced a Brazilian steakhouse before, there's no reason to do Moderno on a cruise. It's for me anyway, one of those once is enough experiences. Our waiter however, was so charming and really funny. He really made my night.

 

All in all we received better than expected service in all the specialty restaurants. With the exception of drink service. Having been NCL cruises with the drink package before, we knew what to expect, so we'd meet at a bar, have a drink and grab one to take in, ordering the next one so we'd have it by the time the first was done. Getting that next one, or the glass of wine you wanted with your meal was tricky.

 

We did 7pm dining with hopes of getting out for the 9:00 show. It worked all but one night in LeBistro. Things were just a little slower that night and we were laughing and having a good time, so it was no big deal. We just skipped that show.

 

The Casino was good. The $100 buy-in hold'm table wasn't. There were a few guys there just making it unenjoyable. I couldn't catch a break. Every time I was in a pot even raising with my 3 queens couldn't get anyone out and they'd put something out of their butts on the river every time. Frustrating because on my past two cruises, we had a bunch of friendly players and would sit and play all night, winning some, losing some, but having fun. These guys weren't friendly players and even worse weren't friendly, period. So I moved onto Ultimate poker. Won $450 the first night hitting bonuses on ultimate pairs and hit a Royal flush on the second night on a $5 bet, so up $3,000+ after the first two days made me a happy gambler. Very exciting for me, because I love to play but have never won more than a couple hundred that I handily give back!

 

Very friendly dealers. My favorite, Valarie, (a cool Indian guy.) was really friendly. Taught me how to play Roulette. Had some fun with that as well.

 

My Royal flush pic is attached.

 

Ports:

 

We had a medical emergency on board and someone had to be airlifted off the ship. This caused us to have to reroute to get closer to land so the coast guard could meet the ship. So we were out of range to get to Antigua and stopped instead at Tortola for the first stop. We had no time to plan, so just hopped in a cab and asked them to take us to a beach with a bar. I couldn't even tell you the name of the place they took us too, but it was ok. The water was nice. The bar basic. The chairs kinda lame but cheap at $10 a pair. Wifi didn't work.

 

Next was St Kitts. We went to Shipwreck, very cool place. Saw the monkey's, had a nice chat with the bartender, then walked down the beach to the Carambola Beach Club. It was our traveling companions 50th birthday that day and he was incredably impressed with the beauty of the place. We got chairs for $10 each, wifi worked. We had lunch inside. A huge spread of sushi, lobster salad and more with a few cocktails and I think we spent $130 for 4 of us.

 

St. Maarten was next. We went to Orient Beach and started to go to Kontiki, which was highly recommended by a friend. But we looked to the left and there was a little tiki bar (I think it was called Kona) with blue chairs with padded seats and no one there, so we headed that way. The bartender, Gippy, was fabulous (pic attached) and the music he was playing was right up our alley, (90's alternative) and he knew a lot about it. Great conversation! We ended up staying there until we were ready to go back. The water was fabulous, like a swimming pool it was so clear. Best day on the beach I've ever had.

 

Next was St. Thomas, which we've been to twice before. We were all beached out, but our friends weren't, so they went to the beach and we wandered around the port shopping and found a bar. Scored a nice garnet ring at a great price then headed back to the ship.

 

Next stop San Juan. Debarkation was easy. Off by 9, porters were plentiful. Cab was easy, price was set up front.

 

We stayed on in San Juan meeting some other friends for 4 days. Stayed at the Courtyard by the airport, right on the beach. The place was beautiful and the beach was fantastic.

 

We went to Old San Juan the one day which was great. Other than that we stuck by the hotel, the beach and the pools were great and there were lots of nearby places to eat at night.

 

The bar was expensive, but we'd thought ahead and purchased some booze at the duty free. A quick stop for beer and mixers and we were all set. They said no outside drinks by the pool but no one bothered us and the beach is public so you can take anything you want there. They even gave us a paper

 

All in all a great vacation.

 

My wife had salmon for breakfast practically every day from 10/31 to 11/13 on the Gem.