NCL Gem Review April 8, 2017 10 day sailing

[nycfa]

We took a stroll around the ship.

 

Basketball Court

 

 

Pool Area you can see they are setting up for the BBQ Lunch later

 

 

Giant Chess anyone?

 

 

Looking down towards Le Bistro and above that is the Orchid Garden

 

 

Then back to the cabin to do what I did every sea day...

 

[nycfa]

San Juan

 

The Pilot Boat meeting us coming into San Juan

 

 

Officer watching from the Bridge

 

 

Making our way into port

 

 

Originally both us and Carnival's Magic pulled into port and up to the main cruise terminal. BUT for some reason we both had to pull back out and park at the dock next door. This made us about an hour late getting off the ship so the Captain extended our sail away to 6 pm from 5 pm.

 

[nycfa]

We didn't have any excursions planned so the delay had no effect on us. My husband wanted to visit the forts again but myself and the kids had no interested in doing that so he went off to see them while the kids and I walked around Old San Juan.

 

Getting off the ship

 

 

You can see our room in this photo, See where the ship jets out? We are the deck below and one over the the right. Part of our balcony was enclosed on the one side.

 

 

 

 

Magic and Gem

 

[nycfa]

If you go left you can walk down the Visitor's Center and they give out free maps. You can follow the walking tour listed or just do what we did and use the map to see what we were looking at...

 

 

 

Walking thru the gardens

 

 

 

Down towards the water

 

 

It's very easy to walk around in Old San Juan. Plenty of shops and places to eat. Lots of cats milling about by El Morro. We had a nice morning.

 

But soon it was getting cloudy and it begun to sprinkle. Nothing crazy but we decided to hit up Walgreens for some supplies and go back on board the ship for lunch.

 

The kids weren't interested in going back off again So I just stayed on board and enjoyed the quiet and people watched off our balcony.

 

The rain did get somewhat hard at times. I love how NCL meets the returning passengers with Umbrella's. Even the Asst. Cruise Director was out there as well as the Hotel Director.

 

 

This was taken about 4:30 pm....

 

[YOUTUBE]c-yujwRiXm0[/YOUTUBE]

[nycfa]

My Husband took this from the Cristobal Fort You can really see the difference in the size of the ships

 

 

We waited and waited to see Pier Runner's for the Magic but none came so soon they departed.

 

 

Before you know it, it was also our turn to depart. El Morro as we are sailing up the coast

 

[Kattus]

Enjoying your review! Takes me back to when we did the Eastern Caribbean on the Gem in 2015 (when it was a 9 day trip).

[nycfa]

St Thomas

 

Woke up to us pulling into port in St. Thomas

 

 

Today we planned a Beach Day at Sapphire Beach. We got off the ship and took a safari taxi w a few other guests The cost was $10 per person.

 

Arriving at Sapphire Beach

 

 

When you first pull in the parking lot don't think OMG what was I thinking? The drop off area looks a bit run down BUT once you walk to the beach you will see how beautiful it is....

 

 

It never got very crowd (Only one ship in port). We rented two beach chairs for $9 each. The guy drags them down to a spot for you. There is quiet a bit of shade so that's where we put ours. We stayed until about 1:30 before we got a taxi back to the ship. Taxi were waiting in the parking lot to take people back to the ship.

 

After dropping us at the port we headed back on board. NCL was handing out ice cold clothes Delightful! My youngest cooling off with hers. LOL

 

 

While the kids were showering I saw the crew practicing safety drills with the lifeboats

 

[nycfa]

A few ship shots that evening as we sailed to the next port...

 

 

 

[Tatka]

Thank you for a nice review. I am reliving our cruise. It was great.

[nycfa]

St. Maarten

 

Here we decided to do a Sightseeing and Shopping Tour w Bernard's I would highly recommend Bernard's for touring SXM Our Driver was DJ Dave and he was very friendly and informative. I would also point out that we were there on Good Friday. It's considered a holiday in SXM so many businesses were closed. However for the tour we were doing this had no effect on anything we were suppose to see on the tour.

 

The tour was as follows: (from Bernard's website)

 

• Pickup at the cruise pier
  
• Iguana's
  
• Stop at the French and Dutch border [2 mins]
  
• Brief stop at Oyster Pond over looking the island of St Barths [5-10 mins]
  
• Photo opportunity at Orient hilltop
  
• Marigot - open market (French Capital) [60 mins]
  
• Maho Beach - see low flying planes[45 mins]
  
• Drive through Simpson Bay marina
  
• Harold Jack Hill (View of Simpson Marina,Airport & Anguilla)
  
• Return to Philipsburg depends on tour departure time; all guests will be returned in time to meet their ship's sail time
  

Getting off the ship. Royal Serenade of the Seas was in port with us that day. In fact in our Van our family was the only one from the Gem.

Bernard sends you an email with directions and what time to meet. The white tent was easy enough to find and everyone is port is helpful so just ask if you feel lost!

The White Tent we checked into and waiting for the others to arrive

This is the exit we went thru to get to the White Tent (View looking back towards it from the opening of the tent)

[nycfa]

We got a sticker when we checked in to show which tour we were on (Only one and my oldest wore it )

 

 

 

Soon we loaded up our van and were on our way.....

 

 

There was a total of 10 on the tour. We all fit in comfortably in the van. My husband sat up front and was the "bartender" of the van. There was free water, soda, beer and rum punch available at any time. DJ Dave wore a headset that broadcasted over the van's speakers so it was easy for everyone to hear him.

 

Here we are crossing the border to the French Side

 

[nycfa]

Stopping at Oyster Pond

 

 

 

DJ Dave said there use to be a gentlemen who was there and had some of the sea animals to look at however he took ill 3 months ago and passed away. His funeral was set for Saturday. Just thought I'd let anyone who had done the tour in the past.

 

Next we stopped to see the Iguana's

 

 

 

My kids feeding them leaves

 

 

We did a few other photo opts before heading to Marigot's Open Market for an hour. Lot's of tents/tables set up with people selling things. Our first stop was here....

 

 

 

We went for the mini donuts

 

 

Next up.....

[nycfa]

Maho Beach

 

We stopped here for 45 minutes to watch the plans land and take off. It was NOT a swimming stop so other then getting our feet wet we did not go in the ocean. Bernard does have a tour w a beach break for swimming if that is something you would prefer.

 

 

 

We were lucky enough to catch the Delta's 757 as it landed from JFK.....

 

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And a nice picture of it....

 

[nycfa]

We then headed our way back to the ship....

 

 

We said Good Bye to DJ Dave along with a nice tip for such a nice day touring SXM and headed back on board.

 

 

Putting in new buildings. Not sure exactly what they are for?

 

 

 

We were back onboard by 2 pm. My husband did a little port shopping there but otherwise we just spent the rest of the day relaxing on board.

[nycfa]

Thank you for a nice review. I am reliving our cruise. It was great.

 

Thanks! I'm still sad and missing the ship!! :')

[dexddd]

I went for a stroll and saw these folks checking out their cool cabin with a private hot tub. Lucky them!

 

 

Walking along the jogging path towards the back of the ship

 

 

Soon they made the announcement our cabins were ready so off we went to look....

 

We had a Balcony on Deck 10 Forward. 10010 I will admit when we first got in there I was like wow this is tight but honestly it ended up being just fine! I loved the side cubicles by the door for our clothes. I was able to use one for myself and each kids stuff. I gave my husband the closet and the drawers. I used the suitcases under the bed for dirty clothes as the cruise went on. It helps we do NOT bring dress up clothes. We had shorts/t shirts/capris/jeans/swimsuits. Easy. After 11 cruises I do not have ANY desire to dress up. BTDT.

 

I will also say while yes I have teenage daughters neither one are high maintenance when it comes to clothes or hair etc. So four of us to one room works out just fine. We have a system and it works. The balcony helps to give us some quiet space if needed.

 

 

The bathroom is small.....I always did my make up in the main room (so many mirrors to choose from!). Basically everyone was in and out as far as the bathroom went. You could close the door to the toilet area if you wished but it made it very small. Never really a need to do that anyway when you travel with close family. ;)

 

 

Check out our view from our balcony.......we could see into the bridge and it was very interesting as we often saw the Captain or other staff members in there.

 

 

We had that room with the hot tub in December on the Gem. Worst thing we had to deal with was the torture of the great smell coming from the BBQs they did.

 

I'm surprised you didn't eat at O'Sheehans more. The food for us was always good and hot. The fajitas were great and I really liked their reuben and they made the artichoke dip great again.

[nycfa]

We had that room with the hot tub in December on the Gem. Worst thing we had to deal with was the torture of the great smell coming from the BBQs they did.

 

I'm surprised you didn't eat at O'Sheehans more. The food for us was always good and hot. The fajitas were great and I really liked their reuben and they made the artichoke dip great again.

 

 

LOL I never thought about all the yummy BBQ smells coming up there!! How was the wind? My husband and I were wondering if that was an issue with those rooms?

 

Honestly I thought I would have eaten at O'Sheehan's more myself. I wanted to go back and try some more things....just never seemed to happen!! What we got was very good. Wings, Fish and Chips for hubby and a Burger for me! Fries were on the money! :cool:

[Bobrunner]

Great review nycfa. We are going May 20th. Can you tell me what was the pier # the Gem was docked at? Also was Leo still playing in the lounge area?

[callmebetty]

Bobrunner...I am being a thread stealer since I can't focus on anything but the cruise we just left. Leo and Barry were both by Magnums...every night :)

[nycfa]

Great review nycfa. We are going May 20th. Can you tell me what was the pier # the Gem was docked at? Also was Leo still playing in the lounge area?

 

 

I believe it was pier 88. It was right next to the Interpid.

 

Yes Leo was still playing in the lounge area. We didn't see him but he is listed in the Dallies :)

[nycfa]

Bobrunner...I am being a thread stealer since I can't focus on anything but the cruise we just left. Leo and Barry were both by Magnums...every night :)

 

 

LOL This is probably the saddest I have ever been after a cruise....I miss it so much!! :')

[Kattus]

We got a sticker when we checked in to show which tour we were on (Only one and my oldest wore it )

 

 

 

Soon we loaded up our van and were on our way.....

 

 

There was a total of 10 on the tour. We all fit in comfortably in the van. My husband sat up front and was the "bartender" of the van. There was free water, soda, beer and rum punch available at any time. DJ Dave wore a headset that broadcasted over the van's speakers so it was easy for everyone to hear him.

 

Here we are crossing the border to the French Side

 

 

 

We loved DJ Dave! My husband was also the bartender, and everyone kept referring to him as "Bartender" even after we got back on the ship ;p

[Bobrunner]

I believe it was pier 88. It was right next to the Interpid.

 

Yes Leo was still playing in the lounge area. We didn't see him but he is listed in the Dallies :)

Thanks nycfa. Helps when we take that cab ride

[mking8288]

Very nicely done report on the GEM, lots of time & efforts, plus selecting the pictures. Thank you & very much appreicated. I'm sure those on our Roll Call are probably reading it. The photos of your balcony sleeping 4 with the beds are excellent illustration as a reference for others booked & sailing ... with question.

 

In contrast, we've sailed both this class of NCL ships as well as the *Away - BA's "regular" balcony sleeping 3 or 4 actually is more functional in moving around, I.M.O. - despite the impression that it is "smaller" - the micro balcony on that is a different story. The sofa/daybed layout & setup made a big difference.

 

Seemed like they did a great job refurbishing her recently - we leave next Saturday & always happy to be cruising, worried-free for 7 days as DW said since I run "housekeeping" (not her). We had the last M&M on the GEM in Bliss Lounge, doing that in LeBistro is nicer & more convenient.

 

How was O'Sheehan's as we would be very close & nearby ... deck 8 is our favorite location.

 

Anyone visited the Mermaid in the Bridge Viewing Room? Any feedback, info & update about ship's satellite WiFi internet - will likely only use the "free" iConcierge App + the free 30 minutes.

 

Well done review, much obliged. Thanks !!

[nycfa]

Very nicely done report on the GEM, lots of time & efforts, plus selecting the pictures. Thank you & very much appreicated. I'm sure those on our Roll Call are probably reading it. The photos of your balcony sleeping 4 with the beds are excellent illustration as a reference for others booked & sailing ... with question.

 

In contrast, we've sailed both this class of NCL ships as well as the *Away - BA's "regular" balcony sleeping 3 or 4 actually is more functional in moving around, I.M.O. - despite the impression that it is "smaller" - the micro balcony on that is a different story. The sofa/daybed layout & setup made a big difference.

 

Seemed like they did a great job refurbishing her recently - we leave next Saturday & always happy to be cruising, worried-free for 7 days as DW said since I run "housekeeping" (not her). We had the last M&M on the GEM in Bliss Lounge, doing that in LeBistro is nicer & more convenient.

 

How was O'Sheehan's as we would be very close & nearby ... deck 8 is our favorite location.

 

Anyone visited the Mermaid in the Bridge Viewing Room? Any feedback, info & update about ship's satellite WiFi internet - will likely only use the "free" iConcierge App + the free 30 minutes.

 

Well done review, much obliged. Thanks !!

 

O'Sheehan's was good but we only ate there once.....just never seemed to have worked out to eat there again!

 

 

Wifi was "okay".....I bought 250 minutes since the unlimited package was very expensive ($30 a day!). It was at it's best at 6:30 in the morning since it had the least amount of users on it. Sometimes I couldn't get on at all or it was so slow it wasn't doing anything other then burning up my minutes. Most I messages wouldn't go thru for some reason. I was pretty unimpressed with it especially after having used RCL Anthem of the Sea Zoom Wifi package which was fast fast fast and half the cost.