NCL Gem Review April 8, 2017 10 day sailing

[Tatka]

Our cabin was pretty close to O'Sheehans. Nice place to eat and watch a movie or listen a music.

We liked many dishes including desserts. The only thing not as good as previously imho were chicken wings. Sauces were to artificial.

 

BTW we loved Gem's new color scheme. Nice and cozy.

[nycfa]

Tortala BVI

Our final port on this cruise. This was the only port of the 4 our family had not been to previously. I did a lot of research before hand and while the Baths are the “thing to do” while here we felt our short port times (7 am to 1 pm) didn’t leave enough time to properly enjoy the baths and that because it was a long journey in a short time we would have to book thru the cruise ship to “be safe” for getting back to the ship on time which meant it was also more expensive.

So we decided to make it a beach day and head off to Brewer’s Bay first thing in the morning. We were off the ship by 7:30 and the first group to arrive at the beach at 8 am.

The restaurant and rental place was not open yet but the taxi driver said to just take the chairs and they will collect the money ($5 each) when they arrive which they did about 9:30 am

We enjoyed a few hours swimming and relaxing. The beach has chickens and roosters walking around on it. There were even baby chicks!

Around 10:20 we were done and wanted to head back. So we headed over to the taxis but they told us no rides were available until 11 when more people wanted to return to the ship. I have to say this was very annoying but what choice did we have? So we sat down at the restaurant and got the kids some ice cream and my husband a beer and waited.

While we were waiting our original taxi driver showed up. So my husband went to talk to him and us along with two other ladies got a ride back to the ship. Traffic in the town area was very busy as everyone was returning to the ship so it took a good 30 minutes to get back to port.

Brewer’s Bay was very nice but the taxi driver situation was a bit off putting. I didn’t like having to be dictated by everyone else decision on when to leave. I had read before that getting a taxi back wasn’t an issue was they were waiting which in the end was true, I just didn’t want to have to wait 40 minutes to get one.

[nycfa]

Soon we were heading back to NY

 

Here is the great sunset photo I got on the back of the Great Outdoors.

 

 

 

 

 

As we sailed north the wind and waves really started picking up. It was hard to walk and being in a forward cabin we were really feeling the waves and the banging of them on the ship. I actually had a bad nights sleep that night cause the crashing kept waking up me most of the night!

 

 

 

The girls and I all tossed on some Sea Bands and thankfully none of us got sick.

[nycfa]

So even with my crappy night of sleep I was still up and wide awake at 6:30 am....oh yay! :rolleyes:

 

I headed up to Deck 12 for the morning coffee and filmed the adult pool They actually kept it covered all day and never opened it. They did take the net off the family pool later in the morning.

 

[YOUTUBE]CgONs1Qip48[/YOUTUBE]

 

After my coffee I headed down to deck 7 to walk and was saddened to find this....

 

 

Sigh

 

So I went back up to deck 12 and just walked around the pool area since the upper outdoor decks were also roped off.

[nycfa]

So this windy rocky day was Easter Sunday and the ship was decorated when I got up in the morning....

 

 

 

 

Dyed hard boiled eggs on the buffet (her fingers were blue for two days LOL)

 

 

Other activites included an Easter Egg Hunt for the younger kids finishing up with pictures with the Easter Bunny. They also played the Easter Mass from Rome in the Stardust.

 

At the evening buffet I noticed the table I posed above was now filled with some left over jelly beans (I'm guessing it was full at some point)

 

Overall the ship was very quiet that day due to the rough seas. I saw the room service cart in the hallways a lot. A lot of guests stayed in there cabins.

 

By the evening the seas had greatly improved and more people were out and about.

[nycfa]

I'm not a big casino player but I do enjoy my Bingo but hadn't tried my luck until Sunday afternoon and during the second game I won.....

 

 

 

I was so excited. Paid off our on board account with my winnings so we went home bill free! LOL

[nycfa]

Monday as we made our way north the air was definitely getting chillier as you can tell by the smaller pool crowds.

 

 

 

They didn't even bother set out these chairs

 

 

 

They did have indoor activities here are some people playing Wii in the Atrium

 

 

My husband and I attended a Q&A w the ships officers which was interesting.

 

[nycfa]

Rainbow seen from our balcony

 

 

 

The decks were a bit wet from the ocean spray

 

 

Even our balcony on Deck 10

 

 

 

But no worries I still got in plenty of this...

 

[poona1]

Thanks so much for your prompt reply NYCFA....i see you made the most of every obstacle...good to hear you enjoyed the trip....goodbye

[goofy4mickey]

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

 

I feel the same way:(

[mking8288]

@nycfa - thanks for your update, very practical - unlike previous cruises, we aren't planning for need to use satellite internet, 30 free minutes set aside for emergencies while at sea. Previously, Dexddd (CC'er) also cautioned about slow speed & one of our own nephew was on the GEM in mid January, same conclusion - let's see when NCL's vendor partner will do some serious upgrade ... as advertised.

 

@Tatka - thank you for O'Sheehan's - we've asked for the sauce on the side for the hot wings and it worked out somewhat better, thinking it's also with the batter mix used. Previously, one could order takeout & they would have it ready, wrapped to go & lately, it's been "no, sorry" - we will just walk down the corridor ... being on deck 8, LOL.

[nycfa]

All too soon Tuesday morning arrived and we were sailing back into NYC....

 

 

 

Tug boat pushing us in as we docked....

 

 

View of the George Washington Bridge over breakfast

 

[nycfa]

We choose to walk off with our own luggage. After breakfast we headed back up to our cabin and at about 7:45 they announced Easy Walk Off Passengers could disembark so we walked down to deck 7 with our luggage and joined the line working it's way to the aft of the ship.

 

As we worked our way thru the Atrium they had someone walking thru offering breakfast breads in the line

 

 

We quickly made our way outside of Deck 7 and made our way back forward

 

 

 

Last stop for coffee and hot chocolate

 

[nycfa]

We made our way into the terminal and were quick thru customs. We could see them just then bringing the luggage off the ship to organize for pick up in the terminal.

 

We were cleared and completed off the ship and thru customs by 8:15. It was smooth and painless!

 

My FIL was picking us up and in order to avoid the massive crowds downstairs we went upstairs to the departure area (where we got dropped off for the cruise) and met him up there.

 

I got my last ship selfie

 

[dexddd]

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:

 

While underway, the wind is pretty strong - the balcony is kind of v shaped so it is especially bad in the back. There is a table up there with chairs and while sitting it is o.k. but behind that is a love seat that is the only place really covered from the sun. In port it is a great location to see what is going on in the pool area and listen to the band who played just in front of the bar on the stage.

 

The hot tub is kind of odd - it isn't like the ones by the pool or the ones in the GV or other ships where we've had one on the balcony - it doesn't heat. So they fill it in the a.m. and later in the day it is lukewarm.

 

Other than that, the room itself is quite nice and no noise once inside as it is well sound proofed.

[Clarea]

Very nice photos, thanks for the review.:)

[jacmo24]

I love your review! What a pretty ship. I love all the special touches NCL does like coffee as you leave. How nice is that? Love the cool towels when coming back on ship. We had them too.

[luvs2beachit]

Really enjoyed your review. We love the Gem. We did the 10 day in January and are sailing on the ship again in May.

[BabsinTX]

We're sailing on the Gem in October 2018; it will be our first Jewel-Class ship. Already looking forward to it, and more so since reading your great review. Thanks! :D

[BabsinTX]

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.

 

We're booked in a Gem aft penthouse in October 2018, but this suite looks very interesting. I'm guessing the noise from the pool area was pretty loud out on the deck, right?

[dexddd]

We're booked in a Gem aft penthouse in October 2018, but this suite looks very interesting. I'm guessing the noise from the pool area was pretty loud out on the deck, right?

 

It wasn't actually too bad. Maybe our trip was more low-key but they weren't blaring music by the pool. They did have a band and they were facing our side but DW and I could sit at the table right behind the balcony railing and talk at normal voice.

 

Note too that to get to one of these two rooms you have to go up about 18 steps.

 

The balcony doesn't have a ton of shade (i.e very little).

[boopsahoy]

Enjoying your review-bringing back memories of our many Gem cruises. So sad she will be leaving NY :-(

[Bobrunner]

Enjoying your review-bringing back memories of our many Gem cruises. So sad she will be leaving NY :-(

 

Where will Gem be going to if not NYC anymore and when?

[boopsahoy]

Where will Gem be going to if not NYC anymore and when?

 

New Orleans

[texastennis]

Thanks so much for this wonderful review! Makes me more excited than ever to get going in 31 days!:D