Almost Live From The Gem NYC To San Francisco

[mking8288]

Turtles & Bob, look ... off-duty crew members got it right, staying on the ship.  

[herdingdogmom]

2 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

We will soon be wrapping up our short visit to Zihuatanejo, 7am-2pm, with the last tender at 1pm.   For those not aware, Zihuatanejo, in the Mexican stare of Guerrero, falls under the U.S. State Department’s “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory because of widespread “crime and violence,” and indeed there was a very visible armed police presence in town. Zihua is a little beachside town, and we walked around for an hour or so, but given the short day, the amount of time taken up by tendering, and the “Do Not Travel” advisory, I’m really not sure why NCL calls here (few cruise lines do); there are certainly more desirable ports in Mexico imho.  Well, at least today was a first for my wife and me: we’ve now visited someplace on the “Do Not Travel” list! 

Zihauat is better than Puerto Chiapas, right?

[Turtles06]

5 minutes ago, herdingdogmom said:

Zihauat is better than Puerto Chiapas, right?

LOL, you have a good memory. 😂  I do miss Huatulco.

[Novastar]

We will be on the Gem 1/24 sailing and will be visiting the same ports as you so I have a currency question. Can we get along with just US dollars and credit/ATM card? Is it necessary to get local currency at any of the ports? Thanks!

[bob brown]

Puerto Vallarta pilot’s aboard...😎

[bob brown]

21 hours ago, Jancruz said:

Bob Brown,

Now I have posted in three places..we will meet you in the lobby on the 23rd at 11:am

Look forward to meeting you and hugging your BW

Jancruz1

We’re looking forward to seeing you, as well!🙂

I’m sure you’re aware, you’ll have to tender over to our ship...

[bob brown]

9 hours ago, Novastar said:

We will be on the Gem 1/24 sailing and will be visiting the same ports as you so I have a currency question. Can we get along with just US dollars and credit/ATM card? Is it necessary to get local currency at any of the ports? Thanks!

I haven’t done any shopping, but I’m pretty confident you can get along without local currency.

[bob brown]

Now that I am using shore wifi, here’s a few more photo’s...

[bob brown]

The photo in the Spinnaker, was a Black Forest Cake making “contest”, between our pastry chef, CD Luz, a passenger, and comedian Jeff....hilarious😅

 

The list of retired ship’s is longer than I had thought...file it away for future reference in case you play “Cruise Next” NCL trivia...😉

 

Here’s another tip... if you camp out in the Spinnaker all day to view the Canal, and you want to plug in your device, get an adapter to fit these outlets, for pins and voltage.

I put a watch in for scale...

[Jancruz]

1 hour ago, bob brown said:

We’re looking forward to seeing you, as well!🙂

I’m sure you’re aware, you’ll have to tender over to our ship...

Yep..we will get there early to take the time to tender

Jancruz1

[Turtles06]

10 hours ago, Novastar said:

We will be on the Gem 1/24 sailing and will be visiting the same ports as you so I have a currency question. Can we get along with just US dollars and credit/ATM card? Is it necessary to get local currency at any of the ports? Thanks!

 

Not for most things, but it really depends on what you intend to do. For example, you would not have been able to have the fabulous lunch we had in Antigua at a place mostly frequented by locals unless you had quetzales, since they take only their own currency and no credit cards.  But if you are willing to use your ATM card at a safe location, you should be okay. 

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, bob brown said:

😅 ... another tip... if you camp out in the Spinnaker all day to view the Canal, and you want to plug in your device, get an adapter to fit these outlets, for pins and voltage.

I put a watch in for scale...

 

Great reminder, it's the same round 2 pin 220 volts adapter,  used in the stateroom outlet.  Upper right plugs in the pix below.

 

 

Nice watch ... I only travel with a 35 years old plain Air King. 

Edited January 19, 2020 by mking8288

[nn07_bh871]

On 1/13/2020 at 4:37 PM, Turtles06 said:

Our transit of the Canal yesterday was

A tip: this morning on the big screen in the Atrium (unannounced) they were cycling through a several minute long time-lapse video of our transit yesterday. It was fun to watch and easy to record on your own phone or other device. 

 

FYI, the canal transit video is also playing on channel #29 (Activities). I recorded it yesterday and feel it is better quality than from the big screen in the atrium (and noone walking in front of the screen).

[Turtles06]

32 minutes ago, nn07_bh871 said:

 

FYI, the canal transit video is also playing on channel #29 (Activities). I recorded it yesterday and feel it is better quality than from the big screen in the atrium (and noone walking in front of the screen).

 

Thanks for that info, I’ll check it out. (It’s kind of funny to have a server suddenly walk into the video in the Atrium, but it would be nice to have an unobstructed recording.) Given that NCL tries to make a buck from just about everything, I’m surprised that this video is not for sale. 

Edited January 20, 2020 by Turtles06

[AlanaJ]

8 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Not for most things, but it really depends on what you intend to do. For example, you would not have been able to have the fabulous lunch we had in Antigua at a place mostly frequented by locals unless you had quetzales, since they take only their own currency and no credit cards.  But if you are willing to use your ATM card at a safe location, you should be okay. 

Do you recall which restaurant you had the fabulous lunch in Antigua?

[Turtles06]

Just now, AlanaJ said:

Do you recall which restaurant you had the fabulous lunch in Antigua?

 

Yes of course. Rincon Tipico. Simple, local food. No English menus and no English spoken. Disregard the meal of the day and order the chicken being cooked in the flames of a huge old-fashioned rotisserie.  30 quetzales for the meal, including two sides and a non-alcoholic beverage. 

[AlanaJ]

10 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Yes of course. Rincon Tipico. Simple, local food. No English menus and no English spoken. Disregard the meal of the day and order the chicken being cooked in the flames of a huge old-fashioned rotisserie.  30 quetzales for the meal, including two sides and a non-alcoholic beverage. 

Thank you! We need to get some Quetzales (assumed we could use US$ !), never assume!

[MsMaybelline]

8 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

Great reminder, it's the same round 2 pin 220 volts adapter,  used in the stateroom outlet. 

Are there US/120 outlets in the staterooms?

[cmh]

OMG.  My husband, who has 49er season tickets since 1970,  would never have let me book this cruise if he had any idea the 49ers would be in the Super Bowl.  I sure hope they show the game on the ship!!!

[bob brown]

9 minutes ago, MsMaybelline said:

Are there US/120 outlets in the staterooms?

Yes... two  in the room and one in the bathroom...

[MsMaybelline]

6 minutes ago, bob brown said:

Yes... two  in the room and one in the bathroom...

Thanks, and I'm wondering what camera have? Your pictures are amazing! Love all your posts, thank you for taking the time to share.

[Turtles06]

Just now, cmh said:

OMG.  My husband, who has 49er season tickets since 1970,  would never have let me book this cruise if he had any idea the 49ers would be in the Super Bowl.  I sure hope they show the game on the ship!!!

They’ve been showing the playoffs, I can’t imagine they won’t show the Super Bowl.  I’ve been on other NCL ships when the Super Bowl was being played, and it’s always been shown.   

[Koali]

On 1/15/2020 at 11:04 PM, Turtles06 said:

This was our second visit to Corinto.  The ship docks in a very small commercial port.  The town itself looks exceedingly impoverished.  On our first visit, three years ago, I went to Leon, which I recommend. Today, we walked off the ship around 11am just to wander in the town; folks who had done the same were already coming back, and I think plenty of people had a total ship day.  There is very little to do or see in Corinto itself; mostly, there are a few blocks of stalls set up right near the entrance to the port (and some right on the pier) where the local folks are selling cheap crafts.  I doubt that Corinto will be on anyone’s list of top ports ever visited. 
 

Sailaway was pretty though, with a beautiful sunset. 

We have been to Corinto on another cruise line and did the same. Walked over to the “town”, spent 10 minutes at the craft stalls and then headed back. Not too much and spent the day onboard the ship. 

[AlanaJ]

This is a wonderful blog, so informative, thank you for taking the time!  Can you tell me which ports were tendered please? TIA

[Turtles06]

Just now, AlanaJ said:

This is a wonderful blog, so informative, thank you for taking the time!  Can you tell me which ports were tendered please? TIA

Zihuatanejo was a tender port.  We will tender today in Cabo, and Thursday in Santa Barbara.