Just off the Gem. Not sure 'bout Freestyle.

[ConnCruise]

Just got off the Gem a few hours ago. This was our second NCL cruise. (The first we took on the Dawn back in 2003. Since 1998 we've also sailed on RCCL tree times and Celebrity once.)

This review is not organized in any particular order. Just stuff I've been thinking about.

 

 

The Gem shares all the attributes of most new ships. Nice modern design, tons of staterooms with balconys, a full spa and gym. We had a mini suite on deck 11, midship, port side. Well designed, lots of storage, flat screen TV, full tub in the bathroom. Great stateroom.

 

As I remember, the Dawn had lots of very cool public art throughout, but the Gem, while benefiting from a variety of design types from public room to public room, seemed to be without much of that very interesting art we enjoyed on the Dawn. (I could be mistaken about the Dawn, as it was back in 03. Maybe I'm thinking of the Jewel of the Seas, on RCCL) One other observation on appearances. I just don't get the bow art that NCL uses throughout its fleet. Just doesn't work for me.

 

Anyway, enough of the art critic stuff. What I really wanted to write about is the "Freestyle" cruising concept. My girlfriend and I talked about this alot this week and we've come to the conclusion that, while wonderful in concept, Freestyle is not all that NCL would like it to be. We we're mostly happy with what we experienced on the Dawn in 03, but this time we felt less "free." Here's why: We traveled with a party of six. If you want to eat at 6.30 or 7, you really needed to make reservations. (full disclosure: I haven't been participating on this board for a couple of years. I'm guessing others have made the same points I'm making here.) I spent about an hour on the phone Sunday evening, before I found a NCL restaurant manager who was nice enough, throughout our cruise, to take care of our reservations, both in the main dinning rooms and the upcharge speciallty eateries. My point is if you need to make reservations, then you need to be at dinner at a preplanned time, with all the accompanying arrangements around that dinning time. So, is this so much different\better than having to eat at a 6.pm. or 8 p.m. seating? We're not sure.

 

My other issue is the upcharge restaurants. While I don't necessarily have a problem with an additional charge for real value added, I did not feel that the dinning experience in the Asian restaurant, Teppanyaki (twice, once for hibachi-style "Japanese food") or the Tex-Mex place were all that much better than what you would find at your local shopping center. I generally don't go for the hibachi experience, but had such a great time a couple years back at a place in Epcot in Disney World, that I was really looking forward to this place. Our chef, a pleasant guy, made lots of noise with his cleaver, fork, salt and pepper shaker, but his show was not all that entertaining. (At least in comparison to what I had seen in Epcot) Since I'm a vegetarian I got the stir fried vegetables and udon noddles. This greasy mess, served along with a bowl of really average fried rice, (Rice-a-Roni?) was not all that tasty. More full disclosure; The other 5 folks in my group got steak and shrimp or just steak and all enjoyed. At Tequila, the food was about as good as you get Chilli's. (Not that there's anything wrong with Chili's. But since we were getting charged extra I would have expected more) Service at both places was good, but not great. I was a bit put off that they were asking for our desert order while were were eating our main meal at Teppanyaki. I know, a small thing, but not characteristic of a fine dinning experience. On our Dawn trip, and again I might be wrong about this, I thought some on the specialty restaurants were upcharge free?

 

Our cabin stewards were outstanding. These guys were always smiling and greating us whenever we passed them by. We asked for an extra bath towel and a second bucket of ice on day one. Without asking again, we recieved those items daily. I know tips are included in a daily service charge, but both our guys got $30 extra for their efforts.

 

On a positive note, we found the service at the Grand Pacific and Magenta, the "traditional" dinning rooms to be excellent. I would urge all to enjoy a really mellow breakfast at the Grand Pacific. If you have time, it really beats the Garden Cafe.

 

I did not go ashore at Great Stirrup Cay, but the others in my group report that NCL still has some work to do on their tendering procedure. The wait to get on the tender was long and the wait to get off was longer. (From my balcony I could see the tenders unloading folks at the end of their day. I can confirm that from the time the tender got to the ship, until the last person was off, was almost 30 minutes!) NCL needs to do better on this.

 

What really amazes me, it that NCL (or for that matter RCCL) cannot solve the chair-saving behavior problems around the pool. NCL has sighs up saying that they'll remove your belongings after 30 minutes. Don't you believe it. At 9 A.M. every non occupied chair (about 70%) around the pool had some sort of personal item, saving that lounge for its absent owner. I even witnessed a woman speaking to a NCL supervisor. She was telling him that beach towels had been on three chairs since 7:30. He shurrged his shoulders and suggested she get a chair on the deck above. Why bother putting up signs? Do they want to have their customers get into fist fights?

 

 

As far as the weather goes, I'm guessing we lucked out. While departure day out of NYC was fogged in, by Sunday you could easily be in shorts. Some rain and some clouds, but lots of sunshine, too, in both the Bahamas and Florida. On Friday, we had at least 10 foot seas around Hatteras, but these big new ships can really handle it. It was surprisingly smooth, at least to me. This morning, the day was cool, but crystal clear, so we really got a great view of NYC.

 

If you're into checking out the bridge, all the way forward, on Deck 11, port side, is an observation window that lets you look over the shoulders of the guys driving the bus. Really cool too, are monitors in this area that show you their working navigation software,

 

One tip: If you're traveling on a big kid week, (we had about 650) don't book a room under the childcare center (I think its called the Jungle something), which is located mid ship, port side on deck 12. Lots of kids jumping all over makes for a moderate racket coming from above, especially out on the balcony.

 

Entertainment was very good, and price included. We especially enjoyed the Second City Folks. Very very cool.

 

We didn't order room service. When you have a stateroom on deck 11, the Garden Cafe is a really easy walk to bring stuff back to the room. More full disclosure. Due to my proximity to the french fries in the Garden Cafe, my clothes aren't fitting that well today.

 

On and off the boat in NYC was very well organized.

[alexkrn46]

We were on the Gem the week before and my husband and noted about the art work not being the same as RCL. Glad to hear you had good weather and smooth seas.

[NevadaHiRoller]

I also have given NCL a try twice and truly was not impressed. I felt it was difficult to get to eat when you wanted. I felt the ones you had to pay for were basically what you got in the dining room on other lines for free and that the dining room food was completely sub par to anything else. Not good. The whole freestyle concept for dining just made it chaos. The main dining room food was usually cold and steaks were dried up and over done.

[CanadianTwosome]

Freestyle isn't for everyone. :) I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise otherwise!

 

I just thought I'd share my opinion about a couple of the things you mentioned... The idea that being in a party of six made you less 'free' than when in a party of two just makes sense to me. It tends to make a difference anywhere, really. I was looking for tickets to a show the other day but I had heard about the program late and found that it was very difficult to find three seats together in the nearly sold out show. I'm travelling with a group of 13 next week. I expect to eat some meals with some members and some without. Most will probably want to join us on my birthday. Depending on how many of us choose to eat together at any given time, I will expect it to be more or less easy to get seated. I'm just happy that on NCL I have the choice. :) What I mean to say is that I think NCL offers the same basic product to everyone, but by increasing the number in your party, it is actually you that has limited your freedom. I agree that it makes a difference, I just see it a bit differently.

 

You ask at one point:

 

So, is this so much different\better than having to eat at a 6.pm. or 8 p.m. seating?

 

My answer is a resounding YES, because you can eat at 7:30... or 5:30... it's true that once you make a reservation you have a 'set time' to eat that day, but it's still YOU making that choice. It's not dictated to you by anyone else's schedule and if you decide to change it, you can still eat in a dining room. :)

 

I absolutely agree with you about the quality of the food in the specialties. I actually made a similar comment on another thread earlier today. I think some of the food is a better quality, such as filet mignon vs. sirloin for example, but to me the reason I eat at the specialties is the variety they offer. Because they're offering the specialty menus in a limited capacity, they can afford to have dishes that would be prohibitive to offer in the main dining room. Personally most of the specialty menus don't appeal to me, so I'm glad those dishes aren't on the main menu in lieu of ones I enjoy. :) (especially since it might affect my base fare!)

 

I really enjoyed your review and thought it was absolutely fair and informative. My comments are in no way meant to suggest anything else, I just wanted to share my own perspective. I think one of the great things about this site is that when someone like yourself is able to express what you didn't enjoy without exaggerating or being nasty, people can decide for themselves if those things would be negative or positive for them.

 

Thanks for the review! :)

[ConnCruise]

Thanks Canada!

 

Going with a 6 is a bit tougher than a duce. I didn't really detail it in my original reivew, but in working the phones on the Gem Saturday night, I needed to really press to get someone to help me. I just lucked out getting a manager who just wanted to ease my frustration. Since we had been on the Dawn back in 03, I knew we would need reservations.At first I left word with the concierge, (back on the Dawn, she was really helpful) but never heard back! Not sure if the concierge still services the mini-suites, or just the more traditional, higher priced suites?

 

I listening around the boat, I know there were lots of frustrated people Saturday night. While we are all adults, I think NCL needs to do a better job communicating the ins and outs of the Freestyle dinning experience.

[newmexicoNita]

I also have given NCL a try twice and truly was not impressed. I felt it was difficult to get to eat when you wanted. I felt the ones you had to pay for were basically what you got in the dining room on other lines for free and that the dining room food was completely sub par to anything else. Not good. The whole freestyle concept for dining just made it chaos. The main dining room food was usually cold and steaks were dried up and over done.

 

did the OP say they were not impressed with NCL? I guess I missed that part.

 

To the Op, I am surprised at your overall view of Tappanakis, though I don't think it was any different than say, Kobi's i do think it was certainly far above any garden variety restaurant. Maybe being a vegetarian didn't help you. I know you probably didn't have as many options. I also disagree about the sur charge dining rooms, we feel the food on NCL is similar to all mass marketed lines. The upscale dining rooms are equal to Celebrity and HAL with the main dining rooms being just a level below. Of course we all know food is subjective. On HAL there was a couple at our table who thought the food in the specialty dining room wasn't even as good as the main dining room. We all have our ideas.

 

Thanks for an objective review, you were honest and pointed out the good and the bad as you saw it. I will add, just one more thing which you touched on, kids everywhere. This also can affect the entire cruise. I say this because we have never gotten cold or tough steaks on any cruise, maybe not always cooked to perfection, but not dried out. I did send one back years ago on the Jewel because it was overdone.

 

Oh and Nevadaroller, it amazes me when someone suddenly shows up all over the place, this thread and others only to blast a particular line. You have done this on NCL board as well as on others. If you really don't like NCL why do you want to waste your time reading what others are saying???

 

Nita

[Hockey19]

Finally- a review that doesn't complain but makes reasonable assessments about expectations met or missed with fair comments. We are NCL fans but your comments on the pay restaurants have validity. Our group ate in each pay restaurant on the Pearl (it just worked out that way- there was no reason that we did not hit the main rooms) and they have a mixture of highs and lows. We frequent hibachi style restaurants locally and Teppanyaki was not up to the task. It's not that the food was not good it's just that it was just average at best. I felt a little rushed as opposed to the pace we normally enjoy. We have had conssistently good meals at Le Bistro and this was no different. Cagney's served well prepared steaks. We had a blast at La Cucina sitting at family style tables, kibbitzing with other guests. Great staff, tons of freshly prepared food. Mambos was nothing special and really does not warrant an upcharge.

What the pay restaurants can provide is an intimacy and should offer a level of service that the main dining rooms often do not have.

 

Regarding groups and reservations, freestlye does not mean there will always be accomodations when you want it. 2500 people cannot all eat dinner at 6:30 so it may take planning-whether you are 2 or 20. The expectation that you can dine where you want when you want in a Freestyle envirionment is unrealistic.

[ConnCruise]

Thanks to all.

 

Nita!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember sparing with you on this board years ago. I guess were both getting older. Hey Nita, on my last major vacation, we did the southwest. I'm assuming you live in N.M. (duh) We loved it down there. You are a lucky duck to live there!

 

As far as the food and comparability to Celebrity, IMO there is no contest. Now granted, I haven't been on Celebrity in a while, but they had a special vegan menu for me.And the food was really good. And the service was uniformly great. Not to say that NCL and RCCL do not offer a super vacation experience

 

Up here in Connecticut got tons of independent Asian restaurants, so maybe I'm just spoiled, but really the stuff I had was pretty bad.

 

To Hockey: Actually, once I found that manager, I was able to get what I wanted, when I wanted it. Not sure why she jumped in like she did. But I think the problem is that 75% of folks want to eat dinner between 6.30 and 7.30 and thats a problem. I think. I'm not rejecting the freestyle concept, but for me, it was as stressful (not like work stress but you know what i mean) as the fixed seating style. I guess I was just surprised that in the 5 1/2 years since our last NCL cruise, they did not seem to be all that much better at pulling off this part of Freestyle.

[ConnCruise]

Nita:

 

Now I know we're getting old. You mentioned kids. This was my first experience with lots of kids on a cruise. So as not to sound cantankerous, I'll just say that we had to go during school vacation because one of our traveling mates is a school teacher.

[3rdtimecruising]

Hi Conn Cruise,

 

This is Ann and Bernie from Boston and we will be on the Gem on the 28th of March (no school vacation kids with us) to Bahamas and Florida!!! I was wondering if you parked at the Port Authority Parking lot? I am interested in finding out how crowded it gets. We will probably arrive by 11am and hope it will not be full by then. Please let me know if you used it.

 

Your review was good. Yes there are some definate advantages to Freestyle We have sailed on the Magesty and Spirit since Freestyle has been implimented and most recenbtly on RCCL Vision and Explorer who only have 2 seatings at 6 and 8 pm. We both agree we preferred the Freestyle. You can still have your favorite waitstaff if requested and the service was wonderful. Having a large group of 6 is never easy when you need a table and reservations is Bernie's middle name....

 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Ann and Bernie

[NevadaHiRoller]

Thanks to all.

As far as the food and comparability to Celebrity, IMO there is no contest.

quote]

 

Yes, I would definitely have to agree with that. :D

[OceanDreaming2]

 

I spent about an hour on the phone Sunday evening, before I found a NCL restaurant manager who was nice enough, throughout our cruise, to take care of our reservations, both in the main dinning rooms and the upcharge speciallty eateries.

 

Hi ConnCruise,

 

Did you use the reservations phone number or try making dinner reservations in person at the reservations desk? We were recently on the Star, and you could make your reservations either way. If you had a balcony or higher stateroom, reservations could be made 48 hours in advance; otherwise 24 hours. The concierge services to mini-suites was eliminated about a year ago.

[punkmuse]

thanks for your very HONEST review.

we are going to be on the Pearl in March and have only sailed with RCCL before.

 

i was kind of thinking of going to Teppanyaki but i am a veggie as well so maybe i will just stear clear.

do they have sushi there as i do eat seafood occasionally (i know bad veggie!)

 

and i think i would rather eat in the dining room than pay for "chilis style" mexican food.

i have heard numerous people say that the food in the speciality resteraunts arent really that special so mayube i will just save my pennies! :D

[CanadianTwosome]

thanks for your very HONEST review.

we are going to be on the Pearl in March and have only sailed with RCCL before.

 

i was kind of thinking of going to Teppanyaki but i am a veggie as well so maybe i will just stear clear.

do they have sushi there as i do eat seafood occasionally (i know bad veggie!)

 

and i think i would rather eat in the dining room than pay for "chilis style" mexican food.

i have heard numerous people say that the food in the speciality resteraunts arent really that special so mayube i will just save my pennies! :D

 

Teppanyaki on the Star was my favourite meal, so I'm looking forward to it on the Pearl as well... but I eat meat. :) I had a different rice experience, since they did a whole rice frying show for us that I quite enjoyed, and the vegetables were good, but I go to hibachi restaurants for the meat and seafood. I would absolutely give it a pass if I was a vegetarian. If you're going to try the seafood, though, I can tell you the shrimp and scallops I had were delectable. :)

 

Also, they definitely have sushi, and as far as I know, it's available on sea days for lunch.

[ConnCruise]

To Ann and Bernie,

 

We hired a van and driver from a limo company.

We were traveling from New Haven and the cost of the van was only slightly more than parking two cars in NYC.(6 in our party) I didn't make the arrangements, so I'm not sure of the cost of parking, but round trip I think the van was about $450. Now, if it had just been the two of us, we would have driven. The ride on a Saturday is really no problem. My impression is that parking is a relatively (for NYC) easy task by pier 88.

 

To Ocean:

 

I tried the reservations hot button on the phone and got no answer. I left word twice for the concierge and received no answer. Got an operator finally, and her excuse was they were very busy! That's when I insisted on speaking to a manager, any manager. Two calls later I hit paydirt.

 

Now that you tell me they discontinued concierge service, I'm sorry I spent the cash on the mini suite. An outside room with a balcony would have been fine. Kind of reaffirms my impression that they have slipped since we were on the Dawn in 03. What the heck. At least they didn't charge me for daily the extra bucket of ice. :-)

[CanadianTwosome]

I listening around the boat, I know there were lots of frustrated people Saturday night. While we are all adults, I think NCL needs to do a better job communicating the ins and outs of the Freestyle dinning experience.

 

This is a tough one. I walked on to my first NCL ship with no particular information other than I didn't have a set dining time and have never had a problem. It just seemed really straightforward to me. Some people, based on some pretty nasty posts I've seen over the last couple of years, never understand it - or just can't accept it for what it is. So where's the 'happy medium' on information - it's probably safe to say more than now, right? ha ha ha

 

You know what they could do? They could have a 'Freestyle Workshop' the morning of that first sea day. It would be too late for packing, but that's actually addressed on the FAQ on the ncl website. It would certainly better prepare people for a much lower stress cruise. :)

[ConnCruise]

Hey Punk,

 

Its not really a vege-friendly menu. Lots of "upscale" cheese and macaroni selections, but I'm a vegan. On my past cruises, I've had mixed luck, except for Celebrity, where they had a lunch and dinner vegan menu, and desert, too. The buffet had plenty of vegetables, but as far a vege protein, forget about it. The home made hummus was pretty awful. They did have some Indian curries at the buffet, but, sadly, I'm not a big fan of curries.

 

And the deserts were pretty lame. Melon, however, was in ample supply. I like melon. Ate alot of it.

 

I've been a vegan for years and years so I'm very used to it. I just make due.

Since we were traveling with other people, I went sort of low key this time.

[welove2cruise232]

Thanks for the review! We're looking forward to our upcoming Gem cruise!

 

Can you tell me about the entertainment on board? Not the shows, but the lounge acts?

 

Do you recall the name of the concierge? Just curious...

 

BTW, mini-suites, as far as I recall, have never had concierge service...

[newmexicoNita]

Nita:

 

Now I know we're getting old. You mentioned kids. This was my first experience with lots of kids on a cruise. So as not to sound cantankerous, I'll just say that we had to go during school vacation because one of our traveling mates is a school teacher.

yep, sometimes we have to cruise during times we would rather not like when we did the Connie 4 years ago; grandkids were in college, no choice but to cruise during Thanksgiving break. LOL

 

Food compared to Celebrity, we have done Celebrity 3 times, once the food was really great, once so so and the last time it was very good as for the entrees, the rest standard. I would rate it above NCL, but not Ruth Chris for sure.

 

as for living in NM we really don't anymore. We did for 7 years but have moved to AR to be nearer our kids; yes, we are really getting old: holy cow:; Again, I may not agree with your review totally but it was honest and objective. That is what these boards are all about.

 

Thanks,

 

Nita

[ConnCruise]

Good Idea, Canada,

 

folks who been familar with NCL's Freestyle for years get the system, but NCL's been running those great television ads, bringing in lots of new customers. They could put more info on one of their shipboard TV channels. They did have electronic "scoreboards" all over the ship, listing wait times at all their restaurants. I thought these boards, though informative, were sort of like the traffic delays ahead signs on urban interstates. You know what you're up against, but you ain't getting there any faster.

[cruise4kicks]

Hey Punk,

 

Its not really a vege-friendly menu. Lots of "upscale" cheese and macaroni selections, but I'm a vegan. On my past cruises, I've had mixed luck, except for Celebrity, where they had a lunch and dinner vegan menu, and desert, too. The buffet had plenty of vegetables, but as far a vege protein, forget about it. The home made hummus was pretty awful. They did have some Indian curries at the buffet, but, sadly, I'm not a big fan of curries.

 

And the deserts were pretty lame. Melon, however, was in ample supply. I like melon. Ate alot of it.

 

I've been a vegan for years and years so I'm very used to it. I just make due.

Since we were traveling with other people, I went sort of low key this time.

Just for future reference, in case you don't want to go "low key" next time, NCL will be happy to accomodate vegetarian diets. From their web site:

 

Diet

NCL offers breakfast, lunch and dinner menus that include low-calorie, haute cuisine recipes from Cooking Light magazine. Our top-rated chefs can also prepare vegetarian entrees (nutrition information provided), as well as low/no sodium and low/no cholesterol entrees. Sugar-free and fat-free desserts are also available.

 

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=GuestsSpecialNeeds

[cruise4kicks]

Do you recall the name of the concierge? Just curious...

Current concierge is Irina Ionita. Alex Forbes will go aboard on 1/14.

[ConnCruise]

To Nita:

 

AR=Arizona? We were there, too. Sedona was a most incredible place.

 

To We Love:

 

Yeah, we had concierge service back in 03. And since the concierge never returned my calls, I have not a clue what her name was/is.

 

I don't know the names, except for Second City.(they were great) I'll check with my group and get back to you on other names. The "house" singers and dancers were good, talented kids. The Cruise Director reminded me of John Lovitz.

[ConnCruise]

To Becky:

 

Some times you just get tired of trying. Especially with the language problems. But thanks for the link.

[OceanDreaming2]

ConCruise - NCL changed the concierge service at least year ago and it was well-publicized. Too bad you haven't been in touch. Everyone at CC is so helpful when planning vacations! ;)

 

We've had minis on both the Star and the Jewel. To me, a balcony seems a little small; especially on the Pearl. (Haven't been on the Gem yet.)

 

AR= Arkansas.

 

OD2 - from the Land of Enchantment (NM)!