Live Review NCL GEM 11/6-11/13 Lots of Pictures Plenty of Random Thoughts Pre Cruise Adventure in Venice

[BennyBrun]

Day 5 Messina

 

After I got back from Taormina I walked around Messina on my own to explore the town.

[BennyBrun]

[BennyBrun]

Day 5 Messina

 

Back to the ship I go

[BennyBrun]

Day 5

 

Garden Cafe

[BennyBrun]

Day 5

Cagney

 

Best Cagney experience EVER on NCL … bye turning Platinum after this trip!

[BennyBrun]

Day 5

 

Pool deck at night and then off to see the singers sing Broadway tunes 

[BennyBrun]

Day 5

 

Acrobat Show

 

Not a fan of the cruise director at all… but then again I am not a fan of NCL’s cruise director.  You really don’t see them very much and they are not very friendly and in my opinion don’t do enough to engage the cruisers.

[BennyBrun]

Day 6

 

Naples Hop on Hop Off Tour.

 

Only buy this if you have an excursion credit!!!!  The retail price for hop on hop off is $24.00.  NCL charges $79.00.  You get an escort to walk you out to the bus, a slice of pizza and a walking tour but not worth the extra $55.00 that NCL charges!!

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, BennyBrun said:

The figures on the bell tower are mechanical and every day at midday they all move while the clock chimes. We saw it purely by chance the one time we stopped in Messina. It's quite a show.

[65Mommy]

Despite our 10 years of cruising and retirement, we have never been to Venice.  Many people say that they treat America tourists badly in Venice and over charge for everything in restaurants. Is that true?

[AstoriaPreppy]

24 minutes ago, 65Mommy said:

Despite our 10 years of cruising and retirement, we have never been to Venice.  Many people say that they treat America tourists badly in Venice and over charge for everything in restaurants. Is that true?

 

It's not just Americans. Venice has a love/hate relationship with tourists like few other places in the world. Also, Venice is expensive because everything has to be brought in from the mainland or lagoon, and there's finite space. It's not a gouging dopey tourists thing... locals deal with the same issues. 

 

It you keep that in mind, you'll probably have an amazing time. I'd recommend reading or watch Rick Steves' content on Venice (and most other places in Europe). He offers very realistic perspectives on the city.

[GreenFamily]

28 minutes ago, 65Mommy said:

Despite our 10 years of cruising and retirement, we have never been to Venice.  Many people say that they treat America tourists badly in Venice and over charge for everything in restaurants. Is that true?

We had a wonderful experience in Venice on a land vacation. The restaurants were fabulous and one even gave my son a second helping of spaghetti for free (his face was covered in sauce so it was probably great advertising). I bought beautiful glass bead necklaces for about $50 each. I’m not a jewelry person, but when I go out, this is all I wear. My daughter bought beautiful  decorations for her room. We are not shoppers but we went crazy (for us) in Venice. It’s a beautiful city and so much fun to walk around.  Watch the movies The Wings of the Dove and Effey Grey for inspiration.  

I hesitate to book a cruise to or from Venice because of the hassle. I also don’t think Venice would be fun with mobs of people. However, I haven’t experienced a cruise, yet, so I don’t know.

[mapleleaves]

19 hours ago, BennyBrun said:

Day 5

 

Acrobat Show

 

Not a fan of the cruise director at all… but then again I am not a fan of NCL’s cruise director.  You really don’t see them very much and they are not very friendly and in my opinion don’t do enough to engage the cruisers.

 

 

I was on the Gem last month and the Cruise Director was Richard something. He was terrific !  very engaging, danced with pax wherever B12 was playing.  I was told he was just recently hired.  Perhaps he was moved to another ship.

BTW, I thought the Ukranian acrobats were great.  The other shows were so-so.

You're certainly lucky with the weather.  Ours was grim .. downpours and wind. Our stop to Kotor was cancelled due to the weather. Dubrovnik was a wonderful surprise, despite the rain.

Thx for sharing your cruise with us !

[mapleleaves]

2 hours ago, 65Mommy said:

Despite our 10 years of cruising and retirement, we have never been to Venice.  Many people say that they treat America tourists badly in Venice and over charge for everything in restaurants. Is that true?

 

I've been to Venice several times and have always found people to be quite helpful and pleasant, esp at hotels and restaurants. The only exception are staff at the vaporetto. But I guess they're tired of being asked the same questions over and over. 

Venice is magical. I'm glad I had the experience of sailing out of Venice.  We cruised out of Trieste last month ..... simple process.. Certainly not as dramatic as a Venice departure tho.

[BennyBrun]

20 hours ago, FionaMG said:

The figures on the bell tower are mechanical and every day at midday they all move while the clock chimes. We saw it purely by chance the one time we stopped in Messina. It's quite a show.

It did move while I was there as well.  Quite a show!

[BennyBrun]

4 hours ago, 65Mommy said:

Despite our 10 years of cruising and retirement, we have never been to Venice.  Many people say that they treat America tourists badly in Venice and over charge for everything in restaurants. Is that true?

I have not encounter that problem but I stay away from tourist traps and do a quick review check before I go.  I had dinner at two restaurants and they were reasonable and delicious!  I love Venice but they really don’t like cruise ships!

[BennyBrun]

3 hours ago, GreenFamily said:

We had a wonderful experience in Venice on a land vacation. The restaurants were fabulous and one even gave my son a second helping of spaghetti for free (his face was covered in sauce so it was probably great advertising). I bought beautiful glass bead necklaces for about $50 each. I’m not a jewelry person, but when I go out, this is all I wear. My daughter bought beautiful  decorations for her room. We are not shoppers but we went crazy (for us) in Venice. It’s a beautiful city and so much fun to walk around.  Watch the movies The Wings of the Dove and Effey Grey for inspiration.  

I hesitate to book a cruise to or from Venice because of the hassle. I also don’t think Venice would be fun with mobs of people. However, I haven’t experienced a cruise, yet, so I don’t know.

I had an amazing time in Venice.  Everyone I met was helpful and lovely.  I spent 3 days before the cruise and I highly recommend the city and do planning before like buy tickets to major attractions and you will have a better time.  ACTV pass was amazing to get around!

[BennyBrun]

1 hour ago, mapleleaves said:

 

I was on the Gem last month and the Cruise Director was Richard something. He was terrific !  very engaging, danced with pax wherever B12 was playing.  I was told he was just recently hired.  Perhaps he was moved to another ship.

BTW, I thought the Ukranian acrobats were great.  The other shows were so-so.

You're certainly lucky with the weather.  Ours was grim .. downpours and wind. Our stop to Kotor was cancelled due to the weather. Dubrovnik was a wonderful surprise, despite the rain.

Thx for sharing your cruise with us !

The weather has been fantastic … I couldn’t believe it!

[BennyBrun]

Day 6 Naples

 

Hop on Hop Off Tour

[BennyBrun]

Day 6 Naples  Hop on Hop Off

[BennyBrun]

Day 6 Naples

 

First part of the hop on hop off is all around Naples to take in the scenery 

[FionaMG]

We did the hoho bus in Naples on our Odyssey OTS cruise back in May. I really the scenic part but wasn't very taken with the city centre bit. I wish we'd had a better option but it was a last minute thing when our independent walking tour fell through. 

[BennyBrun]

8 hours ago, FionaMG said:

We did the hoho bus in Naples on our Odyssey OTS cruise back in May. I really the scenic part but wasn't very taken with the city centre bit. I wish we'd had a better option but it was a last minute thing when our independent walking tour fell through. 

I highly recommend going to Sorrento / Amalfi Coast tour.  That was beautiful.  Naples is fun to walk through to check out the old town section where the streets are narrow with lots of shops to browse through.

[BennyBrun]

Day 6 Naples Hop on Hop Off

[BennyBrun]

Day 6 

Naples  Hop on Hop Off 
all the lines finish at the same place by the port.