Gem ?

[babba]

My apologies if this question has been asked.

 

What are the differences (mainly dining) between a Suite or Haven on the Gem. I know things have changed within the past year but I am out of the loop. I realize the Haven areas are exclusively for Haven guests (and rightfully so) but what are the perks of being in a Suite ? Thank you in advance.

[Turtles06]

The perks of being in a non-Haven suite on the Jewel-class ships are the same as those for Haven suites except for access to the Haven area (sun deck, small courtyard, tiny pool).  There is no dedicated Haven restaurant on these ships: all suite guests (Haven and otherwise) have breakfast and lunch in specialty venues used during those meals for that purpose (typically Moderno for breakfast and Cagney’s for lunch). 

[Av8torcrj]

We were in an aft facing suite on the Gem a while back. There was priority boarding and special private breakfast and lunch seating as well as butler service. I’d have hard time springing for haven on a jewel class ship with no dedicated haven restaurant.The suite perks were more than adequate. At 50% capacity we felt the ship was ours. Very mixed feelings about the coveted aft balcony suite. Staff was wonderful.

Edited September 4, 2022 by Av8torcrj

[complawyer]

the major difference (if you havent already noticed ) is the price. the "suite" rooms (not club balcony) and the haven "suites"  are almost identical.  the difference can be anywhere from 1000-3000 . not really worth the difference if all youre getting extra is the pool area.

 

the ships with a dedicated haven restaurant and bar, might be worth the difference, as only haven guests have access to these.

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, Av8torcrj said:

Very mixed feelings about the coveted aft balcony suite.

 

Just curious as to why

[Av8torcrj]

16 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Just curious as to why

Nothing to do with being aft but it was an accessible room. I found the raised footings clumsy and easily tripped over. The additional awkward “space” was no bonus for us.  As for the aft location itself, there was a lot of soot from the stacks that would whirl within seeming reach at times if the wind was right. I’ve subsequently read an article that the aft portion of the ship can possibly be considered quite unhealthy.  Otherwise, I honestly didn’t enjoy watching the black filth that we were leaving behind as it settled to the ocean surface. Conversely, views could be lovely at times.  I can go either way with this observation: there was lots of engine and sea noise. It could either be soothing or an annoyance. It was a constant rumble n roar. That being said, human noise from the hallway was essentially nonexistent aside from the hicks next door that liked to drunkenly scream at the dock workers over their balcony. In the end, I personally found no significant premium in the location that would push me to pay extra for it in the future. I have a bid in for a forward facing haven penthouse in December, something I’d like to try. 

[vtgumby]

3 hours ago, Av8torcrj said:

I have a bid in for a forward facing haven penthouse in December, something I’d like to try. 

We love the aft suites and luckily have never had soot but we’ve also done the penthouse forward and my only thought with that is to consider the cruise you are on. Our forward penthouse was for the Panama Canal and it was perfect but we usually do transatlantic’s and the people that were in the forward penthouses never used their balcony because the wind was so brisk, a couple of the women said they couldn’t even push the door open.
So just a consideration.

[Av8torcrj]

5 minutes ago, vtgumby said:

We love the aft suites and luckily have never had soot but we’ve also done the penthouse forward and my only thought with that is to consider the cruise you are on. Our forward penthouse was for the Panama Canal and it was perfect but we usually do transatlantic’s and the people that were in the forward penthouses never used their balcony because the wind was so brisk, a couple of the women said they couldn’t even push the door open.
So just a consideration.

15 day Panama Canal therefore the bid. Thanks. Additionally, I believe most of the forward penthouses on the bliss have a side balcony under the bridge with a forward facing window. Regardless we can tolerate any briskness for the potential view through the canal and not fighting the crowds on deck. Been there done that. 

[emcelh]

4 hours ago, vtgumby said:

We love the aft suites and luckily have never had soot but we’ve also done the penthouse forward and my only thought with that is to consider the cruise you are on. Our forward penthouse was for the Panama Canal and it was perfect but we usually do transatlantic’s and the people that were in the forward penthouses never used their balcony because the wind was so brisk, a couple of the women said they couldn’t even push the door open.
So just a consideration.

Same experience for us.  Much prefer aft for the same reasons.

[latebloomer56]

Been in an aft suite twice on the Gem my favorite cabins, been lucky I think about the soot issue. The rattle of the closet doors at night was fixed with a bandaid holding them together 😊. Was also given the opportunity to sail in the DOS but never again once and done for that, way to noisy for us over the pool area.

I love the Gem, going on the Pearl in the spring hope we enjoy this as much as the Gem.

[Av8torcrj]

Gem, pearl, jade, sun and dawn have definitely been my favorites. I hope these smaller ships don’t get booted from the fleet in favor of the newer offerings. Walked many a mile on promenade deck 7. 

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, latebloomer56 said:

Been in an aft suite twice on the Gem my favorite cabins, been lucky I think about the soot issue

 

We've also sailed in aft-facing penthouses, and did not have a soot problem. 

 

2 hours ago, latebloomer56 said:

The rattle of the closet doors at night was fixed with a bandaid holding them together

 

On the Gem some years ago, the closet door actually fell off in the middle of the night, scaring us awake and shattering the mirror that had been attached to it.   (Not fun to have shards of glass on the floor in the middle of the night.)  The closet, like the other really dated furniture, had exceeded its useful life.

[vtgumby]

11 hours ago, Av8torcrj said:

15 day Panama Canal therefore the bid. Thanks. Additionally, I believe most of the forward penthouses on the bliss have a side balcony under the bridge with a forward facing window. Regardless we can tolerate any briskness for the potential view through the canal and not fighting the crowds on deck. Been there done that. 

YES for the PC! I sat on the very sturdy table with my arms leaning on the railing for most of the crossing, it was the ideal place albeit hot and sunny but yay for you and I hope you get to see one of the Supermax ships going into the still new wider canal. I had to put the binoculars down because the ship was so wide that it wouldn’t even fit into our super magnifying binoculars, absolutely amazing to see that cargo ship, I’m still grinning in delight.

YAY!