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Quick Review of Gem 4/8 - 4/17

CasinoCruzGirl

By CasinoCruzGirl,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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CasinoCruzGirl

CasinoCruzGirl

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Made it back from a wonderful cruise on the 10 night Gem from April 8th until April 18th. Just going to give a few quick highlights.

 

I traveled with my friend Phyllis who I met here on Cruise Critic a couple of years ago while booking our Garden Villa Cruise.

 

This time we were in a regular balcony cabin 8540. Mind you this is my first time in a regular cabin on the Gem. My last cruise on the Gem was in the GV. No comparison lol. The cabin was very small the bathroom well lets put it this way if I had an inch longer legs I would be in big trouble sitting on the toilet. It was very hard to navigate in the bathroom just turning around when the door is shut. But hey its just a bathroom how long am I really in it? The cabin itself I felt was very tight also there was only 2 of us I have no idea how a third person would fit. And I did have a scooter there was NO way it would get past the beds into our cabin. I did make other arrangements and it worked out fine. Again how much time do we spend in our cabin? so both the bathroom and cabin no way is a deal breaker. Our Room Steward Roberto OMG he was fabulous. I have never had a Steward as personable and accommodating as he was. He was my Hero Card for sure. Our appreciation was also shown to him in a monetary way much more than any other Steward has received. Roberto went above any beyond. Not sure if anyone has stayed on deck 8 on the Gem. Its quite a strange layout with twists and turns every where. Even the comedian made fun of it during one of his shows.

 

We ate at the MDR, Cagneys, Le Bistro twice, Teppanyaki, Le Cucina and Orchard Garden and O'Sheehans. Le Bistro was twice because Phyllis is Platinum Plus and we were able to have dinner with an officer. She said it was usually in the MDR however this time it was in Le Bistro and the other couple that were supposed to dine with us cancelled. Phyllis and I had Amir a very young and handsome Assistant Hotel Director to ourselves. He was such a doll we saw him several times throughout the cruise and he was always so pleasant and nice. I had tried the Shrimp dish the first night it was ok not great but ok. The second night I had the filet which is my favorite. I also had the Mushroom soup and French Onion I cant decide which I like better they are awesome. O'Sheehans we had fajiatas WOW were they great and a HUGE portion. Cagneys again I had my standard Filet Phyllis ordered the Porterhouse and she said it was like a piece of rubber. Le Cucina We both ordered the same which was Veal Marsala and it was very tasty. Teppanyaki is always a hit with me one of my favorites always.

 

As for the Shows I don't do shows to much I am to distracted by the casino. But this time there was a comedian Tim Kaminski He was FANTASTIC we saw him 3 different times each show is different and each time I laughed so hard that I was crying. I would highly recommend seeing him. No other shows for me like I said I am in the casino a lot as a matter of fact I asked the host how many hours I played she said 57 hours lol. I do love it it is my entertainment.

 

Ports: San Juan we booked a tour privately which took us to a beach. It included transportation, alcohol beverages, Lounge Chairs, Umbrella and Lunch and it was $50 pp. Very nice day until the rain started.

 

St. Thomas was our shopping day. Spent a few hours at the pier shops bought my husband some alcohol and myself a few goodies. FYI The Virgin Islands will be getting the "SIN TAX" starting May 1st. That's for cigarettes and alcohol.

 

St. Maarten was by far the most beautiful place I have ever been to. Here we also had a tour booked privately for $40 pp and this included transportation to two beaches. Our tour guide Anthony was great told us storys the entire day. He had a cooler of beer, rum punch, water and soda for us. There was only myself, Phyllis and a couple total on this tour. We first went to Orient beach he drove past the right side which is a nude hotel and beach WOW WOW WOW lol that's all I am going to say. We were then taken to the left side which is where we were given great lounge chairs with very comfy cushions and an umbrella. No drinks or food included in this tour. As a matter of fact we had to pay $5 each for our loungers. If your not part of the tour they cost $20 each. The water was the bluest I have ever seen. Beautiful.

 

Tortola - I'm not a fan. Me being a smoker its not a place for me. Smoking is illegal on the Pier and shopping area. Smoking is frowned upon in the entire country I believe, and that is because they have free health care and lets face it they don't want people smoking and getting sick and dying when they are paying for it.

 

We had a total of 6 sea days 2 of them were extremely rocky one going and one coming back. the one on the way back they even closed the outside decks for the entire day.

 

Anyway we had a really nice time. Any questions feel free to ask.

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whenisthemidnightbuffet?

whenisthemidnightbuffet?

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Geri is not exaggerating about the comedian, Tim Kaminski, he was hilarious. His shows were so popular if you didn't get there early, standing room only!

 

Also agree Geri, St. Marten was so beautiful. I have visited the island before and liked it but never realized how much it had to offer. Our excursion was a highlight of the cruise.

 

Two thumbs up for the Fajitas in OSheehans!

 

Our cabin was very tight. I have sailed on the Gem 10 times but this is the first time in a balcony where the beds were separated and this I think contributed to the awkwardness of the room, since the foot of the bed came out more than a foot and was inches from the vanity area and right at the entry into the main part cabin.

 

Funny story speaking of vanity area. Each cabin has it's own hairdryer and it is on the vanity. You cannot unplug or move it, it is hardwired. I was drying my hair one morning and was smelling burning and then noticed smoke coming from the blow dryer handle. I immediately turned it off and looked for the outlet to unplug it and realized I could not. I placed it in the metal wastebasket just in case it decided to ignite again even though it was off and called front desk to tell them we had a potentially dangerous situation. They sent someone up and he confirmed it was an "issue" and said someone would come to repair. Our wonderful room steward, Roberto, heard about what happened and I guess while we were away from our cabin wanted to check it out for himself. He told me he went in cabin, turned on the "broken" hairdryer and it sort of exploded on him and set off the fire alarm and everything in the cabin!!!!! He had me laughing so hard. I was like, really, you didn't believe me, you had to go get electrocuted yourself, Hehehe!

 

Anyway, Geri and I had a great 10 days. I do love the Gem!

 

Phyllis

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CasinoCruzGirl

CasinoCruzGirl

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Also, what is the name of the tour operator you used on St. Maarten? Thanks.

 

 

I think it was viatour. And the tour was Amigo Tours. Phyllis can confirm that she booked that one.

 

I also forgot to say the 2nd part of that tour we went to was Maho beach. This is the place the planes fly right above you. We sat at the restaurant and had lunch. It was a great day and experience. We stayed at each beach for 2 hours. We met at 9 am and returned at 2 pm.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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luvbeaches5

luvbeaches5

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Thanks for the great review! Yes, big change from the GV to a balcony! I've seen the GV, but have never stayed there. I have stayed on the Gem in the haven, in a balcony, and in an inside. After the Haven, everything else seems so tight!

I hope Tim Kaminski is still onboard when we sail on June 3. I am looking forward to his show.

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Gershep

Gershep

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Thanks for your review and pictures. I agree those balcony rooms are small and so are those bathrooms. Amir is such a nice guy. I hope the SIN tax is not going to be too high, I guess it was a matter of time for this to happen. We were supposed to be on the Gem this week but something came up and needless to say we aren't sailing.

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mking8288 "Live from...." Rare

mking8288

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Orchard garden menu
Thanks, catching up with the GEM next Saturday as it's been a few years for us in sailing her - these info & pictures are very helpful ... our friends in the other stateroom would be dining in there often, I think.

 

They replaced lobster with shrimp & made it spicy Cantonese, a very "interesting" creation by the chefs on NCL ... our local ethnic restaurant here would be scratching their heads. Not sure if we want to pay a surcharge for a hybrid mix of traditional "Lobster Cantonese" & "Shrimp w. Lobster Sauce" ... Okay, I'm busting NCl's chops on this, maybe I will find some time to chat with F&B after our M&M on Sunday.

 

Thank you for posting the other info about senior officers & CD, etc.

Edited by mking8288
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luvs2beachit

luvs2beachit

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Thanks for taking the time to post your review. We were on the Gem in January and will be sailing again in May.

Like you, I also spend a lot of time in the casino and based on my past experience I would not be surprised to hear

that no jackpots were hit!:mad::mad: Hope my May cruise will have different results.

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CasinoCruzGirl

CasinoCruzGirl

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Thanks for taking the time to post your review. We were on the Gem in January and will be sailing again in May.

 

Like you, I also spend a lot of time in the casino and based on my past experience I would not be surprised to hear

 

that no jackpots were hit!:mad::mad: Hope my May cruise will have different results.

 

 

There was a few just not by me. I heard them announce about 5 or 6. A man next to me playing VP hit $2000 twice and a woman on fu de la hit $2200 that I personally saw. There also was a $20,000 hit on a $25 slot. And just FYI the man playing VP was playing $1 5 hand $25 per hand VP and the lady on fa de la (spelling?) played $8.88 per spin.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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whenisthemidnightbuffet?

whenisthemidnightbuffet?

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Thanks for the great review! Yes, big change from the GV to a balcony! I've seen the GV, but have never stayed there. I have stayed on the Gem in the haven, in a balcony, and in an inside. After the Haven, everything else seems so tight!

I hope Tim Kaminski is still onboard when we sail on June 3. I am looking forward to his show.

 

If I recall correctly, Tim said he was leaving the ship when it returns from it's current sailing for a 2 month vacation, so looks like June 3rd sailing will not be graced with his attendance.

 

Phyllis

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whenisthemidnightbuffet?

whenisthemidnightbuffet?

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Thanks for your review and pictures. I agree those balcony rooms are small and so are those bathrooms. Amir is such a nice guy. I hope the SIN tax is not going to be too high, I guess it was a matter of time for this to happen. We were supposed to be on the Gem this week but something came up and needless to say we aren't sailing.

 

The salesgirl was not exactly sure about the percentage of the tax but did say that a current bottle of liquor costing $19 would cost around $27. They said the sin tax will be applied to not only liquor and cigarettes but soda as well. They were also not completely sure of the implementation date and believed it would be @ May 1st.

 

Phyllis

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