Norwegian Gem Dec 11-19 Review

[clean1owner]

This is my review of our 8 night Norwegian Gem repositioning cruise, AKA the Diamonds International Tour. I hope you all will enjoy it.

 

First a little background.

Sailing is me, and my wife Esther. We booked this trip about as close to last minute as you can get. Apparently NCL was having a hard time selling cabins, because I received an email 8 days prior to departure announcing an Epic (no pun intended) fire sale, where we ended up getting a balcony, #9616, for $279 each! Lucky for us, we had plenty of Southwest points, and were able to cash them in at a reasonable rate. Now with temperatures in Minnesota predicted to drop below zero, plus snow on the way, this decision was a classic no brainer. Since we booked this trip soooo last minute, we decided it would just be a kick back and relax cruise. No shore excursions, no beach trips, no rushing to catch a taxi or tour bus. Normally when I write a review, I include many pictures from what the excursions were like. This one will be lacking those pictures, but I will try and include some that may or may not be of interest.

 

Day 1 Getting There

As we always do, we flew into San Juan the day before departure. We got to the airport at 4:00am for a 5:50 flight. About 10 minutes after arriving, the ticketing crew showed up. Another 10 minutes and we were on our way to Checkpoint Charlie, where we hit the TSA jackpot! Our boarding passes were chosen for TSA Pre-check. We were able to use the express lane with no disrobing, no 311 bag removal, no taking the laptop out of the case. In less than 5 minutes we were sitting at the gate, not knowing what to do with all the time on our hands. A weird feeling indeed!

 

Southwest did an admirable job. Our schedule was MSP – Chicago MDW, 2 hour layover with a plane change, MDW- Orlando with a 1 hour layover and no plane change, then on to San Juan. Since Southwest uses open seating, once everybody who gets off in Orlando is gone, and the through passengers are accounted for, we could change seats. However, after landing in Orlando, it was announced that we would have to change planes after all. This still worked out in our favor, as the new gate was right across the walkway, and they boarded us right after the pre-boards. The looks we got from everyone else standing in line were absolutely amazing! Here they just check our IDs and let us on. No announcement or anything. All in all the flight to San Juan was every bit as good as could be expected. But then things got a little dicey.

 

 

Having read several horror stories about the San Juan taxis, we decided to reserve a private car with Puerto Rico Green. After collecting our luggage, we headed out to the passenger pick up area, but no driver standing there with our name on a sign. Esther watched the bags while I walked up and back the entire pick up area, but still no driver. I called Puerto Rico Green, and was told they will contact the driver and have him call us. 15 minutes later the phone rings and it’s the office girl. The first thing she said was “we have a situation here”, not at all what I was wanting to hear. Apparently, the taxi drivers were protesting Uber, and had all the roads leading into the airport snarled up. Our driver was a minimum of ½ hour away. So we cancelled the car and took our chances with a taxi, which turned out ok.

 

 

When we arrived at the Acacia Boutique Inn, the desk girl was on lunch, so we had to wait about ½ hour for her to come back. Looking up our reservation, she said “Oh no, there is a maintenance issue with your room.” Once again something I really didn’t want to hear. But luck was on our side, and she booked us in a better room at a sister hotel, the Wind Chimes Inn, about ½ block away. She even helped us carry luggage over there.

 

 

The Wind Chimes is a rather small inn with a kind of rustic theme to it. It was clean, the shower was hot, the bed was comfortable, and it’s only 1 block to the beach. It also has free in room wi fi. Should anyone decide to stay at the Wind Chimes and use the wi fi, after entering the pass code, The browser will default to the hotels facebook page. Right below the picture is a link for check in and don't check in. Click on the don't check in link, and the service should work fine. If you just start browsing the web without clicking the link, you will find yourself on the facebook page quite often. If you like the Hilton Gardens, this isn’t the place for you. If you want a decent place to stay pre or post cruise, it works fine.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hotel Bar that is actually open to the public in the evening.

 

 

 

The swimming pool

 

 

 

 

The sun deck

 

 

 

 

Not exactly a brochure picture. Look straight behind the suitcase and you see the doorway to the sitting area. Through the sitting area is the bathroom.

 

 

 

 

 

It even has a balcony! Well, maybe only big enough for a couple pigeons, but a balcony none the less.

[clean1owner]

Day 2 Embarkation Day

 

Finally! Even though we only booked our trip on Monday, it still felt like forever for embarkation day to arrive.

 

 

Today was Puerto Rico Green’s second chance at getting us to where we needed to go. We had an 11:00 pick up scheduled, and at 7 minutes prior, our driver, Will, was pulling up to the curb. Will was very friendly and informative. He warned us that traffic was backed up getting into the pier, and it would take longer than usual. At 11:25 we had arrived at the pier, where there was already quite a line backed up out of the terminal entrance. Surprisingly, the line moved rather quickly. Check-in was a breeze, and by 12:15 we were walking into the main dining room for lunch. This was one of the smoothest embarkation processes I have ever had.

 

 

The MDR wasn’t scheduled to open until 12:30, but they let us in early, so we could have a place to sit. Sure enough some crabapple started complaining about not having a menu, and was quite loud about it. Unfortunately for us, he was only 1 table away. We both ordered Fish N Chips, and it was very good. The waiter seemed a little disinterested, but the rest of the staff was very friendly and attentive.

 

 

Sure enough, right in the middle of lunch, Mr Crabbypants , who I didn’t see leave, cam walking back with the Assistant Maitre D’ and started raising all kinds of cain about not having his food yet, and how he was never going to come back. I should get the “Bite My Tounge Of The Year” award for not telling him that the ship was still tied to the pier, there was plenty of time for him and his wife to get back off, and that nobody would miss him.

 

 

After lunch it was up to the cabin to drop of our carry ons, then out to explore the rest of the ship.

 

My initial impression of the Gem was very good. The layout, to me, seemed similar to the Dawn, and much better than the Epic. NCL could do a better job installing signs directing you to the bathrooms. In some instances, you could walk right past one and even know it’s there, unless you are specifically looking at every door you walk past. Room 9616 is a nice balcony cabin, almost mid ship, and conveniently located near the elevators. It will sleep 3 comfortably.

 

The view forward from our balcony

 

 

 

 

The view aft from our balcony

 

 

 

 

We did sailaway on the top sun deck, all the way forward, and I was really amazed that the Captain backed the ship all the way out of the dock area, rather than turn around and leave forward.

 

 

After sailaway, it was down to the cabin to change for dinner. When we arrived, our luggage had already been delivered, so we quickly unpacked, met our Cabin Steward, Joel, asked him to empty the mini bar and remove the coffee pot, and headed to O’Sheehans for the Prime Rib dinner. I have to say, it was a little disappointing. The cut was rather thin, and it lacked flavor. Also, the potato and small piece of corn on the cob were lukewarm. Not even hot enough to melt butter. The dining room manager came by and asked how it was, and I told him. He wrote something down in a small notebook, asked me my cabin number, and left it at that. The server seemed totally disinterested in what she was doing.

 

For entertainment, we went to the Welcome Aboard show, which was a mini preview of upcoming shows. They had a couple doing a small part of their circus type routine, one of the singers, and a juggling comedian. None of them really made us want to see the whole show.

[clean1owner]

Day 3 St Kitts

 

Breakfast was at the MDR, pretty much the only place we will go, unless circumstances dictate that we have to go to the Buffet due to time issues. We both ordered omlettes, and I ordered a fruit plate. Everything was fine.

 

 

In St Kitts, there is a shopping area straight off the pier. There are several streets full of stores selling pretty much whatever your heart desires for souveneers. There are also many hustlers trying to sell you an island tour, pretty much at every intersection. I find it amazing that after walking past 3 guys and telling them no I don’t want an island tour, a fourth will be right there asking the same question. I finally started asking if their tour visits every whorehouse on the island, which drew a strange look and the hustler walking away shaking his head.

 

Since we have never been to St Kitts before, we took our time and thoroughly checked everything out. We even got away from the touristy area and ventured into the regular area of town. Part of the reason for this is that I decided to be a knucklehead and forget my swimming suit, which virtually no stores in the trap area sell. Not even one of the 15 Diamonds International. After finding a pair of trunks, we picked up a couple St Kitts trinkets and returned to the ship, where I almost got by security with the bottle of liquor I bought.

 

 

SHOPPING ALERT

If you’re a smoker, St Kitts and St Maarten are the best places to buy smokes, $18 a carton. St Maarten is the best place to buy booze, at least what we like. Di Sorrono is $18 a liter, $4 less than St Kitts or St Thomas. Crown Royal is 2 liters for $30.

 

Esther took a nap, and I went up to the buffet for a quick snack, and then out to the pool. Since I’m normally one of the later arrivals back from port, I never realized before how peaceful the pool area is when in port. No chair hogs, no endless searches for a chair, just a few people hanging out.

I don’t know if I used old sunscreen, or just didn’t get it on right, but I managed to get myself done about medium rare in just a couple hours, but only on my chest, belly, and thighs. Every other part of my body survived unscathed.

 

 

Dinner, tonight, was in the MDR. We were lucky enough to have the same servers that we had for breakfast, Hazel and Frankie. They are really great, and I wish NCL had traditional dining so we could have them all week. I had Tilapia and some carved loin roast (kind of made my own surf and turf). It was all very good. For desert I had the Lava Cake, which didn’t have any lava. It was more like a very moist brownie. Everything was very good.

The Stardust show was Swing!, a song and dance deal with music from the swing era. It didn’t interest us much, so we just divided the time between the casino, Battle of The Sexes, and the Not So Newlywed game show.

 

 

 

 

St Kitts as we are pulling into port

 

 

 

 

[clean1owner]

Day 4 St Maarten

Breakfast again in the MDR. I ordered a ham, bacon, sausage, and cheese omelet. What I got was a ham and bacon omelet, sausage on the side, and no cheese. Oh well, at least it was hot

 

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St Maarten has changed quite a lot since the last time I was there. The whole tourist area around the pier is new to me.

 

We grabbed a water taxi to Phillipsburg ($7 per person round trip) for the 5 minute ride to town. The town has changed a lot since my last trip there. Way more stores, and Most of them a Diamonds International. Gone are most of the mom and pop type stores, replaced by Corporate chains with their hustlers handing out cards on every street corner.

 

 

Here is where I’m going to put in my shopping rant. I fully understand the relationship between the stores in port and the Shopping Guru (Jake for this trip) on board. But if you watch his shopping talk, it’s almost all Jewelry, and of course, Diamonds international, with maybe a small plug for Effy Jewelers and Little Switzerland. Even a small mention of the little shops selling local goods wouldn’t kill you. Rant over.

 

 

 

When you get off the water taxi in Phillipsburg, straight ahead you will see the Court House. At the courthouse the main street both right and left. The coin flip came up right, so that’s where we headed. Like I mentioned before, all down the street are people handing out cards for various stores, most of them jewelry or watches, and not on the “approved” list from NCL. A few blocks down and on the left is Old Street, where you will actually find some smaller, general merchandise shops. When we made it to the end of the main shopping area, it was time for a couple Daqueries at a beachfront bar, then down the other direction for block after block of nearly identical merchandise. We finally reached the end of the shopping district, about 2 blocks past an Elementary school, and on the left side of the street, discovered a small shop full of local handcrafted items. I don’t recall the name of the shop, but inside it we found a very nice hand painted Christmas ornament for a decent price. Every other place sells the same pre-packaged stuff we weren’t interested in.

 

On the way back, there was a choir in front of the Elementary school singing Christmas music. It was pretty nice.

 

Back on board, I just hung out by the pool until the Blackjack tournament qualifying round.

 

We had an all aboard time of 5:30, and at 5:35 there was a general announcement calling for 5 passengers to contact Guest Services as soon as possible. I knew what this meant, and since I was just waiting in the casino for my Blackjack Tournament qualifying round to start, I walked over to one of the windows that was right above the gangplank and looked out. The crew guys standing on the pier were looking back and forth rather intently. There was a second, and third announcement calling for the same 5 people. At about 5:45 two came running up the pier and boarded. Between 5:50 and 6:00 thgere were 3 announcements calling for 3 people to contact Guest Services. At 6:00, our scheduled departure time, some guy rode up on a golf cart, the crewman in charge pointed to his watch, and the guy took off for the security gate. About 6:05 and golf cart guy comes back, shaking his head no. The crew boss throws his hands up in the air, walks on board, and they pull the ramp. The next morning when getting off in St Thomas, I asked the guy checking room cards, and he confirmed that we left 3 behind in St Maarten. Sucks to be them.

 

 

For Dinner I had the Crab & Cheese Souffle, which was very good, and the Flounder Milanese, which looked like a couple pieces of breaded fish out of a Gorton’s box. It tasted fine, it just wasn’t what I expected.

 

 

Lava Cake again for desert. You can never go wrong with chocolate.

 

The Stardust had Travis Cloer, which didn’t interest us much, so we just hung out by the Atrium and Watched the Weakest Link game show, then up to poolside for the Caribbean Tropical Party.

[clean1owner]

Day 5 St Thomas

 

 

 

As we entered the harbor in St Thomas, I took these pictures from our balcony

 

 

 

 

Our last cruise was aboard the Epic in the Mediterranean, so I thought it was kind of neat she followed us into port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belgian Waffles in the MDR. With the automatic waffle makers, you really can’t mess them up. I had to hook up to the internet while in port, so I asked our waiter where to find free wi fi. He told me to just follow the crew, because their first stop is Kmart about a 10 minute walk. He was spot on, and while I was there, I even picked up some lotion for my slight sunburn, without having to pay $12 for an 8 oz bottle.

 

 

St. Thomas has changed even more than St Maarten since I was last there. They now have a large Havensight shopping area right next to the pier, and the pier is fenced off with security gates to go through.

 

We took a cab to town ($4 each one way) and what a waste of money that was. Seriously, if you don’t want to buy jewelry or a watch, there is really nothing else there. I found out that AH Riise doesn’t have a liquor store anymore, they just have an entire mall. Walking down the main street it is just one jewelry store after another, and guess what? There is actually a Diamonds International, or 10, or 20. After that disappointment, we walked through an ally to the street that follows the water. Going what I think is East, we traveled two or three blocks of more jewelry, and a bar or two. We finally came to a small area with a bunch of tent vendors, but it looked like every one of them got their merchandise from the same supplier. Unless there is something specific you know is downtown, save yourself the $20 taxi fare and use it for something else.

 

 

BATHROOM ALERT

If you do decide to go to town and have to use a bathroom, people in the Main Street vendors will direct you to the Palm something mall, where there is even a sign advertising Public Restrooms. The restrooms are public, but the toilet paper isn’t. You have to pay some crabby woman if you have to do any business that requires paper.

However, if you go to where the tent vendors are, kitty corner from them and right behind the Fire Station is a large red trailer with public restrooms, complete with toilet paper, and a whole lot cleaner than the other ones.

 

 

Look to the far right of this shopping map and you will see Emancipation Garden. Across Forte Strade Street from there are the public restrooms.

 

 

 

This is what you want to look for

 

 

 

We took a cab back to Havensight, walked around a little while not finding anything we liked, and went back on board.

 

We had another somewhat interesting departure. All aboard was 4:30, and sure enough, at 4:35 they were again calling out the names of 5 passengers to call Guest Services as soon as possible. Since we were sitting in the Atrium, we headed outside to lean on the rail and see who the runners were tonight. About 4:45, after two more calls for the same five people to call Guest Services ASAP a taxi pulls up almost to the security gate, and three girls jump out and sprint to the ship. Three or four more calls for the final two people and it’s 4:55. Out comes one of the ship’s officers who walks over to a port agent and starts showing her the passports and a billfold that obviously belonged to the people they were looking for. Just then, a couple came strolling along the walkway like they had all day to get somewhere. The officer met them and gave them back their belongings. I don’t know what he said to them, but the woman let out a loud “Oh my God”, and the officer just pointed to the door. I don’t think he was very pleased.

 

 

Dinner tonight was at the Orchid Garden. We called early in the afternoon to get a reservation, and were told the earliest available was 8:15. We passed on a reservation, walked up at 6:05 and were seated immediately. I had the Salt and Pepper Calamari, Lemon Pepper Shrimp, and Sweet and Sour Pork. For desert it was 5 Spice Chocolate Cake. Everything tasted fine. The Orchid Garden is right next to an open area that is directly above the Martini Bar. The bar had someone playing the piano and singing way too loud. On top of that, he wasn’t very good. This caused everyone eating dinner to talk louder than normal, so it actually felt like a sports bar, rather than a nice Oriental restaurant. Even the bad singing would have been tolerable, had it not been so loud. Other than that, it’s a good alternative to the MDR or Garden Buffet.

 

 

The Stardust had Blazing Boots for the show tonight, which is a Country music song and dance deal. While I’m not a Country music fan, the show was all right.

 

 

Next on the agenda was the poolside Rock Night party, where the house band did music from the 70’s and 80’s. The cruise Director, Drew, was lead singer and did a great job. They played a nice variety of songs that kept us there until the very end.

[clean1owner]

DAY 6 TORTOLA

 

 

 

The MDR got my omelet spot on again. The Gem’s batting average is much better than the Epic was last year.

 

 

Having never been to Tortola before, we didn’t have any idea what to expect, so we couldn’t really be disappointed.

 

As you exit the pier in Tortola, straight ahead is a small building, open through the center, with about three or four shops on each side. They weren’t all open yet, so we just passed through to the mains street. Anybody have a guess what the first and most prominent store is? That’s right, Diamonds International. We quickly made our way down the street, about a two block walk, where you have to turn left to go to Road Town. The moment you leave the port area, there is a gauntlet of hustlers pushing their $20 Island tour. So I decided to try the whorehouse line again, and the guy I said it to, without batting an eye, said “I can help you with that too.” Now it was my turn to shake my head and walk away.

 

 

From the port area it’s about a 3-4 block walk to a stop light, turn left at the light, walk another block and you are at a market area full of little huts where the vendors are set up. We found a hand painted ornament, and a coffee mug the woman in the shop claimed was locally made. I’m not sure if it was or wasn’t, but at least there wasn’t a “Made In China” sticker on the bottom of it. Shortly after noon we were back on board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About an hour or so prior to departure, Staff from different areas of the ship lined both sides of a red carpet laid down, welcoming passengers back to the ship. There is music playing and everyone is dancing, including Cruise Director Drew, who was on stilts. Our balcony was on the same side of the ship as the pier, so we were able to sit out and watch the festivities. This is one of the things NCL does that I really like. We shared the pier with the P & O Lines Azura, and the looks on their passengers’ faces walking past the Gems reception line was priceless. They were stopping to watch and take pictures. The people sitting on their balconies were also paying close attention. A few were even getting a close up view with binoculars. You could almost see the wheels spinning in their head thinking “I wish our crew did that.”

 

 

 

Bucking the trend, everyone was aboard with time to spare.

My overall thoughts on Tortola are that it is probably better than what little bit we saw, and a return trip with plans to see more of it should be part of my future.

 

For Dinner I once again made my own Surf & Turf by ordering the Wok Fried Shrimp, and from the everyday side of the menu, the New York Strip. Everything was very good.

 

 

The show in the Stardust was Second City, which we have seen twice before, and both times didn’t like it at all, so we didn’t bother giving them a third chance. We did go watch the Perfect Couple game show, which was very entertaining.

[Clarea]

Enjoying the review.:)

[clean1owner]

DAY 7 FIRST SEA DAY

 

When we booked this trip, the number one thought that crossed our mind was about how we would like three sea days in a row. We do like them in the middle of an itinerary to help break things up.

 

The day started with waffles in the MDR, and then out to the pool for a short while, before heading down to the Casino so Esther could try and qualify for the Slot Tournament finals.

 

Side Note: Since I’m an early riser and Esther isn’t, when I wake up I’ll head up to the buffet for a banana and an orange juice, and then take a walk around the ship, looking for some good pictures to take. Normally on sea days, the chair hogs are out in full force. I was very surprised to see only 1 instance of the piggish behavior, especially since we were still far enough south that it will be a nice day at the pool.

 

Look mom, no hogs!

 

 

 

The only piggish behavior I witnessed

 

 

 

The Cruise Critic Meet & Greet was at 11:00 am in Li bistro. We walked in at five minutes before, and most of the Senior Officers were already there. Right on time they introduced themselves and did a question and answer session. Following the M&G we did a slot pull, with 34 of us in the pool. We put a total of $510 into the machine, and after everyone did their five pulls, there was $371 left, which gave each person $10 back. The remaining $31 was put back into the machine and promptly lost.

 

 

For lunch, our original plans were to go to the MDR, but the CC events took longer than anticipated, so we had to go to the dreaded buffet. Walking through the buffet thinking to myself “this is why we eat in the MDR”, I suddenly remembered that there was a mention of grilling poolside. Sure enough, they were grilling pork chops and chicken. Instantly, what to have for lunch became a no-brainer. Other than steaks, you can’t beat freshly grilled chicken and chops, and these didn’t disappoint.

 

 

While eating lunch, the Mr. Sexy Legs contest started. It should really be named Mr. I Want To Be A Chip N Dale dancer contest, since that’s what it turns into. As is usual, it was fun to watch. At 2:00 I went down to the Casino for a shot at qualifying for the finals of the Blackjack tournament. I managed to win my round, and end up on top of the leader board. Unfortunately, it didn’t last.

 

 

Dinner in the MDR was Prime Rib, and it was much better than what we had in O’Sheehan’s Sunday night.

 

 

The Stardust had Two Worlds, the Cirque Du Soleil show, which we passed on, and went to the Latitudes Wine And Cheese Reception instead, where they had Bahama Mamas, Yellow Birds, and, of course, wine and cheese.

The last thing we did was go to the Ultimate Dance Challenge, the ships version of Dancing With The Stars.

[clean1owner]

DAY 8 SECOND SEA DAY

 

 

Not much going on in the Morning, so after breakfast we just went up to the pool to hang out. The temperature was 73, but it was cloudy, so the pool didn’t have a lot of activity.

 

There was a 2 hour only $10 event going on in the Orchid Garden, and what a zoo it was! The best way to describe it would be a Black Friday Garage Sale. They had t-shirts, watches, bags, belts, and all kinds of ugly jewelry that people were practically climbing over top of each other just to dig through the piles of crap. And as you might expect, the gift shop personnel couldn’t write up the tickets fast enough. People were even buying t-shirts with the names of ports we didn’t visit. I found it to be quite amazing.

 

 

At 1:30 there was a Miss Biceps competition, and since the pool area was rather slow, it was hard finding contestants. The ones that did sign up weren’t really feeling it, so the show ended up being a bit of a dud. The girl who won was an obvious body builder, and she did have some impressive arms.

 

 

We tried our luck at Deal Or No Deal, and only had 1 match between the two of us. I guess someone has to help make up the prizes.

 

 

For dinner tonight we decided on O’Sheehan’s. I don’t know if working there is some kind of punishment assignment, or it’s something else, but we had another server who was completely disinterested in her job. She couldn’t even force a fake smile once during the entire dinner.

 

 

The Stardust had Get Down Tonight, a song and dance deal with music from the 70’s and 80’s. At times it seemed to lack any kind of flow, but it was still good to watch. The crew did their farewell presentation after the main show, which I found surprising that they would not save it for the last night.

Late night in the Spinnaker was the White Hot Party, and as usual, they had the dance floor overflowing with people.

[clean1owner]

DAY 9 THIRD SEA DAY

 

 

 

Every cruise has one, like it or not. The final day. It’s when you walk around with that forlorn look on your face, with an occasional tear running down your cheek, because you know what is going to happen tomorrow.

 

 

This was a complete sit around and relax day. On Tuesday, I started feeling a little tickle in my nose, which progressed to a plugged up nose, then a cough and sore throat. Since the next day was my travel home day, I didn’t want to do anything to make things worse. I actually spent a good portion of the day sitting in the Spinnaker, looking out the window to make sure the crew was steering the ship in the right direction, and writing this review.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Dinner I had Cream of Broccoli soup, the New York Strip, and my last Lava Cake of the week for Desert. The soup was so good I had a second bowl.

 

After Dinner we had to kill some time so Joel could do the turn down, so we went to the Brain Race game show, which is a basic trivia game that has 3 contestants competing against each other for prizes

 

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The Stardust had Dan Bennett, the Comedian Juggler. What we saw of him during the welcome aboard show didn’t really make us want to go to the whole deal, so we headed to the cabin to pack our bags. A few more tears later, we had our bags out in the hallway waiting to be picked up.

Our last event of the cruise was The Quest. The Quest is The Quest.

[mking8288]

Excel narrative review - it's time consuming to write it up, thank you !!!

 

We last sailed the GEM in 2012 - brought us back to memory lanes. Oh, yes -that welcome back on the pier with the crew & officers on deck, singing, dancing & music - very, very unique to the GEM's culture. Moist towels, cold water and lemonade for those thirsty ... and, yes, the pier runners & the golf cart.

 

Lava Cake, ah ... yes, did you like it by 3rd. night. Whatever happened to the dessert/pastry chef's imagination lately on NCL.

 

Waiting for the rest ... counting down, 4 months before our turn.

[clean1owner]

DEBARKATION

 

 

We passed the Statue Of Liberty about 4:30am. The temperature on our balcony was 25 degrees and windy. I tried a few photos, but my hands were so cold it was pretty tough.

 

 

 

 

One last Breakfast in the MDR, back to the cabin to grab our carry ons, and up to the Bliss to wait for our tag color to be called. Everything went very smooth with practically no wait at all. I just a few short minutes, we were on our bus waiting to leave for the airport.

 

 

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

 

The Crew:

With the exception of our servers in O’Sheehan’s, the crew is very friendly. If you meet any crew member in the hallway, no matter their position, you will get a warm greeting.

 

 

The Cruise Director, Drew, is an amazing talent. I believe this is the first time I have seen the CD singing Lead Vocals with the band, or dancing on stilts welcoming passengers back to the ship. He’s probably the youngest CD I have seen, but he definitely does a great job. The rest of the CD staff do a very good job.

 

 

Our cabin steward, Joel was excellent. Without us asking, he kept the ice bin full in the morning and evening.

 

 

Dining:

The wait staff in the MDR were overall very good. While some seemed to be just going through the motions, the superb service from Hazel and Franklin was enough to bring the score up. If any of you are fortunate enough to get these two, count your blessings.

 

Here is where I do my dining rant. I wish NCL would offer even a portion of one dining room for Traditional dining, so if you get a couple like we had, you can have them all week. The big wheels (or since we are on a ship, are they the big rudders?) will all tell you that all you have to do is request a server and it will be done. We did try this, but several times the ones we wanted weren’t working then, or the girl checking you in gives you a very strange look, which turns to almost panic while they are trying to find you a spot. Will Freestyle dining make me say that I won’t come back? Nope. It is just a part of what makes the cruise. Now if I was looking at two cruises, one with NCL and the other with RCCL, and everything else came up equal, it could be a decision maker.

 

 

The food, overall, was very good. Whether the MDR, O’Sheehan’s, or the Orchid Garden, it had good flavor, and what was supposed to be hot, was. I normally post menu and food pictures, but they are completely redoing the menus starting with the next sailing, so pictures would be irrelevant.

The buffet is the buffet, is the buffet, and I don’t like any of them. About the only thing I ever get there is fresh fruit, ice cream, and drinks. Speaking of drinks, having cups that hold more than two swallows would be nice.

 

 

 

Activities / Events

I can only imagine what a tough job it is to try and keep 2400 passengers entertained for three sea days in a row. At times it seemed like there was a shortage of things to do, but looking at the schedule, it is mostly a lack of things that I wanted to do. You can do only so many trivia shows and spend so much time in the casino. One thing that would be a definite positive for me is to bring back the HORSE RACES!

 

 

 

Accommodations:

The cabin had plenty of space and storage for two people, the bed was comfortable, and the shower got as hot as anyone would want it.

 

Overall this was a very good cruise, and there was nothing that would keep me from sailing the Gem again.

 

 

 

 

 

Aaaaaaaand this is what was waiting for us when we got home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To which my immediate response was

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask, and I will try to answer them the best I can.

Thank You for reading.

[clean1owner]

Enjoying the review.:)

 

Thank You

[jaja]

Thanks for sharing your great review!!! :)

[boopsahoy]

Great review! We love the Gem.

[Vinegarjoe10]

Cal,

 

Thanks for taking the time to write the review.

 

It was a pleasure to meet you (albeit briefly) at the Slot Pull.

 

If you and the Mrs. ever get up to Saratoga for flat track season, let me know, we are usually there about 10-15 days during the meet.

 

Regards,

 

Vinegarjoe

[dexddd]

Day 4 St Maarten

Breakfast again in the MDR. I ordered a ham, bacon, sausage, and cheese omelet. What I got was a ham and bacon omelet, sausage on the side, and no cheese. Oh well, at least it was hot

 

.

St Maarten has changed quite a lot since the last time I was there. The whole tourist area around the pier is new to me.

 

We grabbed a water taxi to Phillipsburg ($7 per person round trip) for the 5 minute ride to town. The town has changed a lot since my last trip there. Way more stores, and Most of them a Diamonds International. Gone are most of the mom and pop type stores, replaced by Corporate chains with their hustlers handing out cards on every street corner.

 

 

Here is where I’m going to put in my shopping rant. I fully understand the relationship between the stores in port and the Shopping Guru (Jake for this trip) on board. But if you watch his shopping talk, it’s almost all Jewelry, and of course, Diamonds international, with maybe a small plug for Effy Jewelers and Little Switzerland. Even a small mention of the little shops selling local goods wouldn’t kill you. Rant over.

 

 

 

When you get off the water taxi in Phillipsburg, straight ahead you will see the Court House. At the courthouse the main street both right and left. The coin flip came up right, so that’s where we headed. Like I mentioned before, all down the street are people handing out cards for various stores, most of them jewelry or watches, and not on the “approved” list from NCL. A few blocks down and on the left is Old Street, where you will actually find some smaller, general merchandise shops. When we made it to the end of the main shopping area, it was time for a couple Daqueries at a beachfront bar, then down the other direction for block after block of nearly identical merchandise. We finally reached the end of the shopping district, about 2 blocks past an Elementary school, and on the left side of the street, discovered a small shop full of local handcrafted items. I don’t recall the name of the shop, but inside it we found a very nice hand painted Christmas ornament for a decent price. Every other place sells the same pre-packaged stuff we weren’t interested in.

 

On the way back, there was a choir in front of the Elementary school singing Christmas music. It was pretty nice.

 

Back on board, I just hung out by the pool until the Blackjack tournament qualifying round.

 

We had an all aboard time of 5:30, and at 5:35 there was a general announcement calling for 5 passengers to contact Guest Services as soon as possible. I knew what this meant, and since I was just waiting in the casino for my Blackjack Tournament qualifying round to start, I walked over to one of the windows that was right above the gangplank and looked out. The crew guys standing on the pier were looking back and forth rather intently. There was a second, and third announcement calling for the same 5 people. At about 5:45 two came running up the pier and boarded. Between 5:50 and 6:00 thgere were 3 announcements calling for 3 people to contact Guest Services. At 6:00, our scheduled departure time, some guy rode up on a golf cart, the crewman in charge pointed to his watch, and the guy took off for the security gate. About 6:05 and golf cart guy comes back, shaking his head no. The crew boss throws his hands up in the air, walks on board, and they pull the ramp. The next morning when getting off in St Thomas, I asked the guy checking room cards, and he confirmed that we left 3 behind in St Maarten. Sucks to be them.

 

 

For Dinner I had the Crab & Cheese Souffle, which was very good, and the Flounder Milanese, which looked like a couple pieces of breaded fish out of a Gorton’s box. It tasted fine, it just wasn’t what I expected.

 

 

Lava Cake again for desert. You can never go wrong with chocolate.

 

The Stardust had Travis Cloer, which didn’t interest us much, so we just hung out by the Atrium and Watched the Weakest Link game show, then up to poolside for the Caribbean Tropical Party.

 

The interesting thing about St Maarten is the Capt extended the original port time by an hour and people still missed it.

[dexddd]

DAY 6 TORTOLA

 

 

 

The MDR got my omelet spot on again. The Gem’s batting average is much better than the Epic was last year.

 

 

Having never been to Tortola before, we didn’t have any idea what to expect, so we couldn’t really be disappointed.

 

As you exit the pier in Tortola, straight ahead is a small building, open through the center, with about three or four shops on each side. They weren’t all open yet, so we just passed through to the mains street. Anybody have a guess what the first and most prominent store is? That’s right, Diamonds International. We quickly made our way down the street, about a two block walk, where you have to turn left to go to Road Town. The moment you leave the port area, there is a gauntlet of hustlers pushing their $20 Island tour. So I decided to try the whorehouse line again, and the guy I said it to, without batting an eye, said “I can help you with that too.” Now it was my turn to shake my head and walk away.

 

 

From the port area it’s about a 3-4 block walk to a stop light, turn left at the light, walk another block and you are at a market area full of little huts where the vendors are set up. We found a hand painted ornament, and a coffee mug the woman in the shop claimed was locally made. I’m not sure if it was or wasn’t, but at least there wasn’t a “Made In China” sticker on the bottom of it. Shortly after noon we were back on board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About an hour or so prior to departure, Staff from different areas of the ship lined both sides of a red carpet laid down, welcoming passengers back to the ship. There is music playing and everyone is dancing, including Cruise Director Drew, who was on stilts. Our balcony was on the same side of the ship as the pier, so we were able to sit out and watch the festivities. This is one of the things NCL does that I really like. We shared the pier with the P & O Lines Azura, and the looks on their passengers’ faces walking past the Gems reception line was priceless. They were stopping to watch and take pictures. The people sitting on their balconies were also paying close attention. A few were even getting a close up view with binoculars. You could almost see the wheels spinning in their head thinking “I wish our crew did that.”

 

 

 

Bucking the trend, everyone was aboard with time to spare.

My overall thoughts on Tortola are that it is probably better than what little bit we saw, and a return trip with plans to see more of it should be part of my future.

 

For Dinner I once again made my own Surf & Turf by ordering the Wok Fried Shrimp, and from the everyday side of the menu, the New York Strip. Everything was very good.

 

 

The show in the Stardust was Second City, which we have seen twice before, and both times didn’t like it at all, so we didn’t bother giving them a third chance. We did go watch the Perfect Couple game show, which was very entertaining.

 

We didn't have anything planned for Tortola either. We walked a bit towards town and past the hustlers and finally asked one where his tour went and how much. $20 each for a 3.5 - 4 hour tour. First time we've taken the hustler's tour and I have to say it was fantastic.

 

The gentlemen we had was Ned Phillips. He took us to his open air, canopy covered truck while he hustled more. Then came a couple from England now living in Spain who were on the Azura. She said it was her 70th birthday and was hoping not to die on her birthday in a rickety taxi. Then a couple from Canada, a couple guys from our ship. We ended up with a dozen and took off for the tour.

 

The driver and other pax were a hoot. Everyone was joking. I kept thinking Ned's name was Nell as he was a bit hard to understand. He took us all around the island and we had a 1 hour beach stop. He took his time explaining things and said the other drivers just drive fast (we had a couple jump on from one of the other trucks at our first stop who confirmed this). Ended up being a little over 4 hours and the best $20 each we've spent.

[dexddd]

You didn't miss much with the aerialist show - it wasn't very good. I've seen similar shows, like on Spirit a year ago and it was much better. The show was about 40 minutes and I think they spent around 10 minutes doing a biography of each person and how they met, all the other cruise lines they worked on (why would NCL allow that).

 

The juggler/comedy guy would just make comedy out of himself dropping whatever he was juggling.

[bonniboo1]

Very much enjoyed your review! Glad that you were able to get such an incredible deal...Wow. I'll be on the Gem again in June for my fifth time. I would be thrilled if Drew was our CD.

 

Thanks again.

[clean1owner]

Cal,

 

Thanks for taking the time to write the review.

 

It was a pleasure to meet you (albeit briefly) at the Slot Pull.

 

If you and the Mrs. ever get up to Saratoga for flat track season, let me know, we are usually there about 10-15 days during the meet.

 

Regards,

 

Vinegarjoe

 

 

Joe

 

Thanks to you for organizing the slot pull. Even though we didn't hit it big, we still had fun.

Should I ever get to Saratoga, I will certainly look you up.

[clean1owner]

We didn't have anything planned for Tortola either. We walked a bit towards town and past the hustlers and finally asked one where his tour went and how much. $20 each for a 3.5 - 4 hour tour. First time we've taken the hustler's tour and I have to say it was fantastic.

 

The gentlemen we had was Ned Phillips. He took us to his open air, canopy covered truck while he hustled more. Then came a couple from England now living in Spain who were on the Azura. She said it was her 70th birthday and was hoping not to die on her birthday in a rickety taxi. Then a couple from Canada, a couple guys from our ship. We ended up with a dozen and took off for the tour.

 

The driver and other pax were a hoot. Everyone was joking. I kept thinking Ned's name was Nell as he was a bit hard to understand. He took us all around the island and we had a 1 hour beach stop. He took his time explaining things and said the other drivers just drive fast (we had a couple jump on from one of the other trucks at our first stop who confirmed this). Ended up being a little over 4 hours and the best $20 each we've spent.

 

 

We almost took the bait, but Esther's foot was in a boot, and we didn't want to be too far from the ship should anything happen.

 

Glad it worked out for you. We have had similar luck in the past.

[craiginoregon]

What a great price on your cruise. I loved the review and the pictures. I have never had a problem with cabs in Puerto Rico. You mentioned some rude people. I meet them on the cruise trips too. It always surprises me when people are rude while on a great vacation. Also you mentioned people arriving late. I'm always extra careful to return to the ship a few hours early. It always surprises me to see people getting on the ship after the closing time. Great review!

[clean1owner]

You didn't miss much with the aerialist show - it wasn't very good. I've seen similar shows, like on Spirit a year ago and it was much better. The show was about 40 minutes and I think they spent around 10 minutes doing a biography of each person and how they met, all the other cruise lines they worked on (why would NCL allow that).

 

The juggler/comedy guy would just make comedy out of himself dropping whatever he was juggling.

 

 

 

dexddd

 

I just noticed your signature showing the Skyward as your first cruise in 1984. It was mine too! You never forget your first time.

[luvs2beachit]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review. We will be on the Gem in 3 weeks, going to the same ports, so was really happy to read your comments.