Gem dry dock?

[fstuff1]

5 hours ago, Diana68 said:

I'm onboard now, in a club balcony, and no, they didn't change the shower/ tub combination. 

Palm trees 🌴 are gone.

Fish 🐟 on the carpets are gone.

 

The ship does look beautiful. Here's a few pictures. 

Can you take pics of the casino?

Want to see if they installed newer slots?

[Buford T Justiice]

It looks like they took the slots out of Bliss Lounge.

[Laszlo]

4 hours ago, Birdnutty said:

I'm so sorry to hear the carpet fish are gone!  I know it sounds stupid, but I loved those little guys.

 

Thanks for all the pix.  She really does look beautiful, altho I always thought she did, no matter how "vintage" she may have become.

 

I, too, was hoping that the cabins would get some updating.  That is the one place where they need to keep up with the times, with USB hubs and the like.  I don't remember any of the cabins I had been in having a tub, but I certainly would not like one now.  We'll be on her in a short while, And I look forward to seeing her new look.

 

I agree, the new blue carpet has a strange design. Looks like someone spilled bleach on it Lol

Edited December 8, 2022 by Laszlo

[AstoriaPreppy]

TBH, I'm impressed they did as much with the redo of the "bar central" area." That space has always been weird for passenger flow and bar seating. This seems much better than the past refit attempt at pulling out the high-top tables and just plopping chairs in the middle the a corridor. 

 

Also, 10/10 on the redo of Le Bistro, which feels much less heavy and stuck in the past. The old decor always had a sort of cut rate Russian Tea Room vibe for me...  I'm not sad to see those ridiculously framed French impressionist Gauguin prints get tossed.

[AstoriaPreppy]

1 hour ago, Buford T Justiice said:

It looks like they took the slots out of Bliss Lounge.

 

I never could figure out how/why those made it past the bowling alley removal. They did an amazing job refitting the entire lounge, but then kept some random, old slot machines in the corners? It was a head-scratcher. 

[craig01020]

7 hours ago, Birdnutty said:

I'm so sorry to hear the carpet fish are gone!  I know it sounds stupid, but I loved those little guys.

Me too! Especially since I'm directionally challenged.

[Christophene]

What is the change to the itinerary Feb 17-27? I’m booked on that cruise and have not received any notification of a change. 

[AwesomO]

36 minutes ago, Christophene said:

What is the change to the itinerary Feb 17-27? I’m booked on that cruise and have not received any notification of a change. 

check the roll call, it has the image of the full change posted. But short story-- they dropped Grand Turk and St. Maarten and added San Juan and Bermuda 😑

[Christophene]

Wow, nice of NCL to let me know (not). We are taking our kids and grandkids, ten of us in all. I wonder when we will be officially notified. I’m not too impressed that I’m finding out this way, but thank goodness for these boards and those of you that keep us all up to date. 

 

 

 

 

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, Christophene said:

What is the change to the itinerary Feb 17-27? I’m booked on that cruise and have not received any notification of a change. 

By any chance are you booked through a TA?  If so, I believe the notification will go to them. 

[snorklinbarb]

Thanks for the photos!

No matter how many times I go on NCL, I always rely on the "fish swim forward" motto.  

 

One time upgraded to a "mini suite" and we got that tub/shower.  I was much younger then and found that tub too high a step!

 

Never got a mini suite again after that.  (Later ships have regular showers in some of the categories).

 

Later met a British woman who raved that her cabin had a tub and how it's hard to find that on ships, lol.  She also liked the "proper wash rags."

 

Those tubs are not fun in bad weather, either!

 

 

[Christophene]

Yes, booked through TA, however, I was notified quite promptly regarding the daily service charge increase recently, both via TA and NCL directly. 

 

 

 

 

[pookel]

Why do people hate the tubs so much? I've never cruised before but we just got upgraded to a mini-suite and the tub/shower combo looks nice in the photos. Same sort of thing I'm used to in hotels and at home. I don't know that I actually want to take a bath on a cruise ship, but I like having more room to shower instead of just a tiny stall.

[Turtles06]

19 minutes ago, pookel said:

Why do people hate the tubs so much? I've never cruised before but we just got upgraded to a mini-suite and the tub/shower combo looks nice in the photos. Same sort of thing I'm used to in hotels and at home. I don't know that I actually want to take a bath on a cruise ship, but I like having more room to shower instead of just a tiny stall.

Very different climbing over a high tub wall just to shower when you are on dry land than on a moving ship. For short folks, and people with knee problems or other mobility issues, the tub/shower combo on those ships is a genuine hassle and can be dangerous.  And the tub is too narrow really to be used by most adults; I think it was meant for kids. 
 

You will not really have more room to shower in that narrow space than you would in a stall shower, especially as you are trying to keep your balance in the slippery tub, and particularly when there’s the motion of the ocean. 
 

There’s a good reason NCL has removed these from the other Jewel class ships. 

Edited December 9, 2022 by Turtles06

[pookel]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

Very different climbing over a high tub wall just to shower when you are on dry land than on a moving ship. For short folks, and people with knee problems or other mobility issues, the tub/shower combo on those ships is a genuine hassle and can be dangerous.  And the tub is too narrow really to be used by most adults; I think it was meant for kids. 

 

Well I have short and have knee problems, so I will report back at the end of January and let you know how it went. Thanks for the answer

[pookel]

1 hour ago, pookel said:

 

Well I have short and have knee problems, so I will report back at the end of January and let you know how it went. Thanks for the answer

 

I mean I AM short. Why is there no edit button lol

[Red-Sol]

16 minutes ago, pookel said:

 

I mean I AM short. Why is there no edit button lol

 

😃

 

Actually there is an edit button. But you need to be very quick...I think you may have 10 minutes? to be able to edit a post until you are locked out.

[CruisinMaterial]

On 12/8/2022 at 8:20 AM, Diana68 said:

I'm onboard now, in a club balcony, and no, they didn't change the shower/ tub combination. 

Palm trees 🌴 are gone.

Fish 🐟 on the carpets are gone.

 

The ship does look beautiful. Here's a few pictures. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for these wonderful photos! I was wondering if you could take a picture of one of the FreeStyle Daily programs page with all the events and activities listed on it. Just one will do! I am trying to figure out dinner reservations and looking at the show times as well as social gatherings! Thank you in advance if you can!

[Diana68]

8 hours ago, CruisinMaterial said:

Thank you for these wonderful photos! I was wondering if you could take a picture of one of the FreeStyle Daily programs page with all the events and activities listed on it. Just one will do! I am trying to figure out dinner reservations and looking at the show times as well as social gatherings! Thank you in advance if you can!

I can, but so far there hasn't been a set time for shows, 8, 8:30, and tonight there is no show. There's only been one show the last three nights. Tonight we are in port until 10 pm. This is a Transatlantic, and I've heard that we are at about 60% capacity. We have ports every day at the beginning, maybe once we hit the sea days we'll get two shows at regular times?

 

Here's today's, I haven't kept the others.

[pcakes122]

On 12/8/2022 at 3:48 PM, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

I never could figure out how/why those made it past the bowling alley removal. They did an amazing job refitting the entire lounge, but then kept some random, old slot machines in the corners? It was a head-scratcher. 

It was the non-smoking casino and my fave place and if it's gone I'm going to cry 😭.

[CruisinMaterial]

11 hours ago, Diana68 said:

I can, but so far there hasn't been a set time for shows, 8, 8:30, and tonight there is no show. There's only been one show the last three nights. Tonight we are in port until 10 pm. This is a Transatlantic, and I've heard that we are at about 60% capacity. We have ports every day at the beginning, maybe once we hit the sea days we'll get two shows at regular times?

 

Here's today's, I haven't kept the others.

Hi Diana,

This is very helpful. I was looking for the timing of the social events. Solos specifically so this was quite helpful. If the time changes for the solos during the voyage, could you let me know? Much appreciated you taking time out of your holiday to help!

[Antimony]

Silly question, but do the tub/showers in Club Balcony suites have a non-slip surface or a bath mat in them? I've taken a nasty fall in a slippery shower before and I really don't want that to happen on my vacation, especially since I'm travelling solo.

[AwesomO]

I was wondering the same about the bath mat, or if one can be requested. My kids need one at home. I'll pack one if we really need it, but would be great if they could provide one

[mking8288]

Post in passing along a tiny bit of info from our CC friends (both Sapphire & this is their 3rd NCL cruise for 2022) currently onboard the GEM also on the 14 nights T/A, en route to NY (6 sea days) - arriving back here next week.   Disclosure: [verbatim, edited or snipped only for clarity & easier read.   Please hold your questions for others, wait for others onboard this crossing and/or OP to help respond & further comment, TIA ... ]

 

[from Wed. 12/14]  Today is day 7 of our 14 days cruise and our first sea day. 6 ports in the past 6 days and they became a blur. We had decent weather except for Malaga ( heavy downpour all the way to Gibraltar) and Lisbon ( they had bad weather all week with heavy rain and flooding).  Our stops at two ports in the Azores had been canceled as well (like the Epic that just got into NY early this morning) due forecast of inclement weather. Instead we will sail to Funchal, Madeira then 6 sea days back to NYC for the 22nd.

 

Gem just got off a 3 weeks mini refits in Marseille. All deck 6 is brand new. New carpets throughout the ship. No changes to the stateroom at all so no additional plugs or USB ports.  Food on board is below NCL standard in our opinions and many crew members had an indifferent attitude. Having (Haven't ... I believe they meant to say) seen or heard from the GM or Cruise Director at all ( M&G is in two day’s time with the cruise more than half over ).  return on board in Lisbon was done through face recognition technologies ( no need to show keycard). 

 

[from Thu. 12/15]  Funchal is in sight but Gem is 2 hours late arriving due to very strong headwind overnight. We were only able make 14 kts instead of 20+. All shore excursion delayed but no mention of late departure ( scheduled for 5pm ). Indeed many new environments on the Gem except the stateroom.

 

If you look carefully at the photos *** on deck 6 you will notice all the chairs and sofa are quite low ( design over function). We see lots of passengers struggling to get up ( we just avoided them completely).  *** (comment added for 2 photos below) This is the bar/lounge area just outside Le Bistro, behind/near the casino ... starboard side.  

 

One good news is that NCL arranged for EU Customs to be at the pier from 2-4 to process and stamp VAT refund ( normally only available at departure airport ). Our friends on the Epic reporting worsened weather conditions in very high wind and rough seas. Something that we are not looking forward to. 

 

We believe that the last of the contractors got off in Lisbon. It was a three weeks refit in marseille and the work continues.  We had dinner at Le Bistro and the “ special “ wine menu for us had been further downsized. The food portions were smaller as well. 

 

 

 

 

Maritime forecast on sea state and waves for a large area of the North Atlantic, not looking pretty ... hold on to those hand rails.  

Edited December 16, 2022 by mking8288

[scaaty]

On 12/14/2022 at 2:10 PM, Antimony said:

Silly question, but do the tub/showers in Club Balcony suites have a non-slip surface or a bath mat in them? I've taken a nasty fall in a slippery shower before and I really don't want that to happen on my vacation, especially since I'm travelling solo.

They have non slip surfaces, but if concerned, just put a wet towel down for extra security. I've done that on days when the ship is rocking.