Superstar Gemini

[theotherbear]

Thanks Gayle

 

Gee all this planning - I'd wanna hope that it'll be relaxing when I get there! I need to remember this planning is supposed to be part of the fun or I'll get there exhausted and burned out!

 

Our normal holiday style is a little more laid back so I am pretty worried about having the right clothes, silly as that sounds - nothing worse than feeling out of place somewhere because you didn't get the dress code right. I have a feeling I'll end up with miles of unworn clothes. I'll look on it as practise for the next cruise! Although if anyone CAN give me really clear advice on what to wear and when on this cruise, please do so to put my mind at rest! Just pretend I'm an idiot and spell it out for me!

 

I got my cruise doco today and it said in one part "the gala night is elegant casual although you may want to dress up" then later it says of the same night that "an evening dress is recommended on gala nights". Hmph, I'll just take a fabulous dress then and if I'm overdressed I'll just think of it that I'm the most fabulous looking one there!!!

 

Eeeek - excited and nervous here! :)

[mummsie]

Hi, I have heard that the Gemini is more relaxed in their clothing requirements than some of the other cruise lines. On our cruise I will be taking shorts or capris and t-shirts for the day time. I will be taking 1 pair of long casual trousers that I usually wear the last night because you usually have to put all your luggage out except for your carry on bags when you go to dinner so they can collect it and get it ready for disembarkation. I wear the trousers the next day off the ship. I will be taking 2 dressy skirts (or 3 if I have room) - I like the crush style that are around now - they are great because you can just crunch them up in your bag and it doesn't matter. I will also be taking about 4 good dressy tops to wear in the evening that mix and match with the skirts and 1 good pair of shoes for the evening (I am a dancer so I just take one pair of dance shoes). I take one normal pair of shoes in case I walk outside and its raining, 1 pair of joggers and some thongs or sandals. I will also be taking a shawl for the evening. I usually also take a small evening bag to put my room keycard and tissues and lipstick in for the evening. Hope this helps. Anything else just let me know. Gayle

[theotherbear]

Thanks Gayle - will let you know how it goes! :)

[mummsie]

well just over a week to go now. This time next Thursday we will be somewhere between Brisbane and Singapore :-) Getting very excited now as you can imagine. My last day at work is tomorrow so I can get the house in order before we leave. Just hope my son keeps it that way.!!! :-) Gayle

[deck 9 001]

Hi Gayle, the time will fly, and before you know it, you will be aboard SuperStar Virgo.

 

I hope you have a fabulous cruise and all your expectations will come true.

Enjoy every minute of it, and upon your return, please let us all know your thoughts and experiences.

 

Bon Voyage,

 

Mike

[michele49]

Hi Gayle,

 

Glad that you did start a thread about SuperStar Gemini.:) I really feel that this ship does deserve a seperate thread.

 

Maybe my last review of Gemini which I did in May 2005 would be a good beginning to help with any questions that you and other future cruisers may have.

 

Click this link for the review: http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/yourfav/yfc_sr_gemini_18.asp

 

Also, I will post some links to photos of the ship and new photos after the refurbishment that Gemini had in October, in my next post, after I locate the photos.

 

I am also very familiar with all cabin categories onboard Gemini, as I have stayed in all of them. But I do have some favorite ones, that I always request.

 

Gemini is my "home away from home." The staff/crew are like my family and they are superb people. Their professionalism and true concern for the passengers complete enjoyment and happiness is their priority.

You will love SSG.

 

So, let's get this thread rolling. Fire away with any questions or comments.

 

Regards,

 

Mike--in Taipei

 

Hi Mike,

We are going on the Gemini in Oct. 06 for the back to back 7 night cruises from Singapore. Which cabins ( & which is the best deck ) would you suggest ... we have booked an inside twin on a special deal & would like to request a nice cabin?

Thank you,

Michele

[michele49]

Hi MIke,

Oops .. I filled in the wrong section ! which cabin would you suggest. We have booked an inside twin for the Gemini back to back 7 night cruises from Singapore 8th Oct. 06 and would like to know which deck & cabin is best,

ta,

Michele

[deck 9 001]

Hi Michele,

 

Glad that you are booked aboard Gemini. You will enjoy this little ship to no end.

 

As far as cabin selection is concerned, all the inside cabins are the same size, except for the two physically challenged cabins on Deck 7, #7118 and 7218, which are larger. You can request them, but please know, that if Star Cruises needs these cabins for a handicapped passenger, they will move you.

 

My other choices for an inside would be any of the forward cabins on Deck 6. But no matter which one you end up in, be assured that they are basically all the same and you will find them comfortable and adequately equipped. I only mention Deck 6 because they are more centrally located to the public venues. Even the cabins on the lowest decks will be fine.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Best,

 

Mike

[mummsie]

Hi Mike, Wow what a trip. You are right. The ship is wonderful. I have never met such wonderful staff on a cruise ship. The service was just fantastic. We were in cabin 4011 which was nice and close to everything. The cabins are smaller than other ships we have been on but as you only are there to shower and sleep this wasn't a problem. :)

The dance floors are also a little smaller but we made do. Everybody on the ship knew us as 'the dancers'. :p The food variety also wasn't as large as on the others we have been on but the quality was certainly much better. We were very happy with the food. And best of all I didn't get sea sick for the first time on a cruise. It was wonderful :D Gayle

[deck 9 001]

Hi Gayle, I am so happy that you enjoyed your time aboard Gemini. Yes, she is a sweet little ship and the staff are just wonderful.

 

Glad that you were able to dance often, in spite of a small dance floor.

 

So,,,,,,,when are you planning your next cruise?:D

 

My best,

Mike

[mummsie]

Hi Mike, Well next year is all booked up already. We have one booked in February on the Pacific Princess and later next year we want to do an Alaska cruise so maybe the year after. Too many cruises and not enough time :-) Gayle

[Deck10 007]

I was on the same cruise and was rooming in 4327. I thought of looking out for you on the cruise since your posting here says you will be on board but with 504 pax on board almost all Australian I did not know how to go about it.

Agree that the food on board is best described as a culinary exprience and others should go on the Gemini just to experience this. Variety on the small ship cannot be fastastic as it caters to the low pax figuires.

The ship did rock a little near Krabie because of the weather.That is why the ship had to skip the Krabie.

Service is quite fastastic maybe because it is a small ship with only 50% occupancy. But in my personal experience there I had to sent a business email to KL but was not familar with the ship internet. Asked receception about it but instead of telling how to go about it she accompanied me up to the Internet room and show me how to do it and stayed with me for about 20 mins and only left me when she knew I could carry on from there. How is that for service.

Glad you enjoyed yourself.

[mummsie]

what a shame you didn't. I didn't realise you were on the same cruise. I used the computers a few times as I use the internet to make sure my kids are ok and that the cat was still alive. :D They were quite slow but no better or worse than on any other ship I have been on. I didn't find the water that rocky near Krabi - not nearly as bad as doing Bass Straight :D and believe me I usually have to take sea sickness pills as soon as there is any movement. Gayle

[Kiwichook]

Mummsie I see that you are a dancer and have just recently alighted from Gemini - how did you find the floor space and music to dance to. Is there enough room, more than one dance floor, and what is the variety of music like ?? Would love to kno:) w your thoughts from a dancers point of view

Kiwichook

[mummsie]

Hi Kiwichook. Dance floors are smaller than other cruise ships I have been on but still big enough to do a shuffle or basic waltz. There are 2 floors - one in the main show lounge which is the same space that the entertainers use to do their dance shows. The other floor is one of the clip together ones that you have to be careful with if you wear dancing shoes as I have ripped soles off on them. Its slightly smaller but still ok to do latin on. There are a couple of bands. The big band they have in the main show lounge does a ballroom set which includes some latin and rock and roll. I found the band very good except for their waltzes - they are way toooo slow and their jives that are way toooo fast, but they only play one or two so we put up with it for the sake of the love of dance. The other band who usually perform in the other lounge do mainly slow stuff - latin cha's and rhumbas. We didn't find them until the last night which we were really disappointed about because they were very good. They also have another band that plays in the Gemini lounge but there is no dance floor there. Its a shame because they played some excellent dance music. It was good to listen too though. - anything else give me a holla - mummsie :D

[ChrisBNE]

What a great thread!

 

We are looking to cruise on Gemini in February, up the west coast of Thailand.

 

Can anyone tell me if there is much swell on these cruises? My wife does get a little seasick, and the Gemini being a smaller ship may exaserbate the seasickness.

 

Can someone give me an idea on the star rating too? I would guess it's around 3.5 star?

 

Cheers,

 

chris

[deck 9 001]

Hi Chris,

 

Generally speaking, the seas from Singapore to Phuket through the Straits of Malacca and into the Andaman Sea, are calm throughout the year. But as with any body of water, conditions can change and vary at any given moment.

 

On the "inner" west coast route of Thailand where you sail through the South China Sea then into the Gulf of Thailand the waters of the South China Sea can be choppy. But,,,I have never never experienced any movement that was uncomfortable. Actually I enjoyed it, because it made me know that I was indeed aboard a ship. The movement was just fantastic for sleeping.

 

If motion does bother your wife, I suggest that she take Bonine or similar, before you embark the ship. And remember, the reception desk always has motion sickness pills available should a passenger need them.

 

I wouldn't worry about motion on these routes.

 

Regarding *star ratings, the Gemini is generally considered to be a 4 star ship.

 

Hope this has helped.

 

Regards,

Mike

[ChrisBNE]

Hi Chris,

 

Generally speaking, the seas from Singapore to Phuket through the Straits of Malacca and into the Andaman Sea, are calm throughout the year. But as with any body of water, conditions can change and vary at any given moment.

 

On the "inner" west coast route of Thailand where you sail through the South China Sea then into the Gulf of Thailand the waters of the South China Sea can be choppy. But,,,I have never never experienced any movement that was uncomfortable. Actually I enjoyed it, because it made me know that I was indeed aboard a ship. The movement was just fantastic for sleeping.

 

If motion does bother your wife, I suggest that she take Bonine or similar, before you embark the ship. And remember, the reception desk always has motion sickness pills available should a passenger need them.

 

I wouldn't worry about motion on these routes.

 

Regarding *star ratings, the Gemini is generally considered to be a 4 star ship.

 

Hope this has helped.

 

Regards,

Mike

 

Thanks for all your helpful information Mike. Many thanks.

[mummsie]

Hi Chris, I agree with Mike. I am very suseptable to sea sickness - I am always the first one anywhere throwing up but on our recent cruise on the Gemini there was no movement at all. Evan the day they bypassed Krabe because they said it was too rough and not safe to tender I didn't feel any movement on the ship. It was wonderful as I didn't have to revert to drugs as I always normally do. I did take them though - I use KWELLS normally. Gayle

[Deck10 007]

If you cruise on the Gemini in Feb the sea conditions will be fine. The Virgo and the Gemini docks at the deep sea port between April and Sept due to the rough sea conditions and anchors off Patong Beach during the rest of the year. The latter is far superior as you are right in the heart of the Phuket attractions.

[BJC]

Hi there Gemini Fans,

By way of a quick intro, we are a couple in our late 50’s from Perth, Western Australia, and Gemini was our first Cruise, after many years of not cruising, about 10 years ago and we loved it.

Since then we have done a couple more, but of late on Celebrity, and we have just returned from the Galaxy’s Mediterranean Cruise in May / June, and also loved it, in fact Cruising would be our preferred holiday, if only we could win Lotto.:D

Anyway we are seriously looking at the doing half of the Gemini’s Asia Odyssey in May ’07, doing the section from Hong Kong to Singapore, mostly for the 2 day visit to Halong Bay and the day in Nha Trang in Vietnam.

I would be very interested in contacting anyone that has done this Cruise this year, and also from anyone that has recently travelled on Gemini, just wondering how she has faired, as she is getting “old” by comparison to other Cruise Ships?

Also from memory last time we were on Deck 4 with a square porthole, just wondered if anyone had experienced Deck 3 with the two round portholes, as there is a considerable cost saving to be had?

Any information would be very much appreciated.:)

Regards, BJ and Mrs C.

[Cinnabel]

Hello everyone,

 

"I would be very interested in contacting anyone that has done this Cruise this year, and also from anyone that has recently travelled on Gemini, just wondering how she has faired, as she is getting “old” by comparison to other Cruise Ships?

 

Also from memory last time we were on Deck 4 with a square porthole, just wondered if anyone had experienced Deck 3 with the two round portholes, as there is a considerable cost saving to be had?" Quote from BJC.

 

I am also interested in the present condition of "Gemini". She was our first cruise after many years of "non-cruising" in 1997 (5 day to Phuket) with a follow up 7-day cruise again to Phuket in 2001. We are interested in the Asian Odyssey legs also and would appreciate hearing how she is faring???

[deck 9 001]

Have no fears about the condition of Gemini. The ship had a major refit just before she entered service in Singapore in 2005.

 

A casino was removed and the space was reconverted back to its original configuration as a bar/lounge. Also the showroom, Galaxy of the Stars has been expanded back to almost its original layout.

 

The Gemini is in great shape and I am sure you will enjoy all that this ship offers.

 

Regards,

 

Mike

[BJC]

Hi Mike,

Did you do the May 18 Review I just read, if so thanks I enjoyed it very much and I got a lot of good info from it.

Sounds as if the “old” girl has had a bit of a make over, when we first cruised on her she was just a year out of a complete refit when Star took her over, and we enjoyed both her and the crew very much.

Have you ever experienced deck 3 and 4, just wondered as we were on deck 4 and appreciated the big “window”, just wondered about the twin port holes on 3, there is about $800 difference for us, which could be better put to use as spending money?

How did you find the South China Sea in May?

Any Info would be much appreciated.:)

Regards, BJ and Mrs C.

[deck 9 001]

Hi BJ and MrsC, yes, that is my review of the Gemini. Glad you enjoyed it and got useful info from it.

 

Regarding cabins on Decks 3 and 4, they are virtually the same. Only diference is window versus double porthole. Truthfully, I would save the money and go for the portholes. Enough light comes in the cabin, and just think,,,,,,,instead of just one big window, there are 2 portholes, one for each of you to look out of.:D Anyway, how much time do you really spend in the cabin looking out of the window?

The decor is identical. Midships or forward would be my choice, if I am on Deck 3. If you are not too concerned about motion, cabin 3006, although right at the bow is a slightly wider cabin than the others. I happen to like it.

 

The month of May should be lovely in the South China Sea. But then again, it is a sea and therefore can be unpredictable.

 

Hope this helps. If you need some more info, just ask.

 

Regards,

Mike