Are you excited about the Gem and the Mediterranean?

[YTZ123]

Bannda

Have a wonderful time. Thank you for posting from Barcelona. I love it when people take time out to do that. Now go and ENJOY! :)

[Why Knot Me]

I'll try to provide some port by port information too. Might take me a few days but here goes.

 

Barcelona –

We arrived early Friday morning pre-cruise. The plane landed, the pilot parked the plane on the tarmac and we climbed down the stairs to be greeted by airport employees wearing face masks. It was quite apparent they were being cautious considering the swine flu. We were handed paper pamphlets which described symptoms of the flu and to get medical help should we develop any flu or cold like symptoms. We boarded a bus and easily went thru immigration. We said a quick goodbye to Mickeysgal and her DH… coincidentally we were on the same plane from the states to Barcelona. MG and I had talked a fair amount both by email and Cruise Critic pre-trip which was great. It seemed a friendship was developing and eventually many good times were had on-board the Gem, sharing wine, cheese, crackers, dinners and a tour in Malta.

Since DH and I were traveling alone and we were light on luggage, we decided to be brave and take the train to our hotel (Hotel Avenida Palace). The directions seemed simple; I had researched it online and our hotel internet site describe similar directions with a note that the hotel was a short, one minute walk once getting off of the train. All went well in buying our tickets and getting on the train. Once on the train we guarded our luggage like only a Brink’s truck employee would do. We’d been to Barcelona before with no problems of pick-pockets but we were being cautious and had read the recent accounts online. In addition, a customer of ours who had recently been in Barcelona and is well-traveled got caught himself with the typical spraying of water on him. This of course caused a distraction, and he lost (well, sort of lost) his wallet all in a matter of seconds to the thieves.

We sat on the train guarding our luggage and focused on the train map plastered on the wall. We could not help but wonder if we were on the correct train, and if not, where we might be headed. But, in time we felt we were okay despite never totally figuring out the map on the wall. Finally, our destination of Passeig de Gracia is reached, we step out of the train to discover that there are several exits to this stop; they are marked well but with nothing that makes remotely any sense to us. We played all kinds of childhood games to help us pick which door and stairs to take (you know the one, my mother says to pick the very best one and you are IT). We figured any one of them couldn’t be too wrong. We walked up the stairs and viola, there is the city that we’d come to love two years ago. However, we were totally turned around. Maybe it was jet lag, the lack of sleep, the 16 plus hours it took for us to arrive, or maybe we were just the dumb non-speaking Spanish tourists, but our hotel was no where in site. Once again, we were forced to play childhood games to decide which direction to go. After walking one direction for more than a minute… remember those simple hotel directions, we decided we must be going the wrong way. However, we decided we must be in the right area as the shopping that was described to us was definitely before us. Yet, we were feeling extremely out of place. After the long travel, rumpled clothes, sleepy eyes, and luggage trailing behind us, we are walking by beautiful Rolex stores, Burberry, Gucci and countless others. Barcelona residents dressed to the hilt are becoming frustrated with us as they had to walk around our luggage to gain access to their favorite designer stores. Being that DH is like many other ummmm men, asking directions was out of the question. Street signs were non-existent but occasionally we’d find a building with a street name on it. After yet another block, I stopped a woman who spoke a tiny bit of English but in all reality it was her wild hand gestures that said what direction we had to go. Then, she counted in Spanish which I took to mean how many blocks. We turned, confident that we were now going in the right direction. Upon completing the number of blocks which I understood from my limited Spanish, there still was no hotel. About now, we’re thinking a taxi might have been a whole lot easier.

We continue to stand on the street corner tired and weary. I look up and just slightly down the block I see the name of our hotel perched in neon type lights on the roof top. Ahh yes, there is hope for us tourists! A short, one minute walk for us was actually 35 minutes.

Moral of this story….Would I take the train again from the airport to hotel?

Well, we saved a ton of euros. The train was super cheap compared to the taxi. Had we been able to complete that “short, one minute walk” to the hotel, it would have been ideal. If it was just the two of us, I would take the train again. If we had a ton of luggage, no way would I do it. If we had our kids along, I would not consider it.

Taking the train for us required a sense of adventure, going outside of our comfort zone as taxis have been the norm for us. I guess this trip we were feeling rather adventurous because the next day… we took three trains, a bus and a cable car to go to Montserrat.

[daring]

and find all these neat stories of where you are, where you have been, and what you have done. So nice to be sharing all that excitement again.

 

MG, Did you arrange your guide at Pompeii ahead of time and if so, what do you think about me finding one, once I get there?

 

Bannda, So nice to hear from you so soon, thank-you. I would like to visit La Sagrada Familia. Can you tell how far it is from the port. Are we talking blocks or miles? The other place I want to visit is the fresh market on Las Ramblas. Do you know what I'm talking about? Have you been there and is it easy to find?

 

Why Not, thank you too for your post. You and MG may also be able to help me with the above questions. I'm excited about getting to hear from all of you again.

 

If you are green in color, please give me a break. I consider these people my new friends and I'm anxious to hear from their fresh prospective.

[mickeysgal]

and find all these neat stories of where you are, where you have been, and what you have done. So nice to be sharing all that excitement again.

 

MG, Did you arrange your guide at Pompeii ahead of time and if so, what do you think about me finding one, once I get there?

 

Bannda, So nice to hear from you so soon, thank-you. I would like to visit La Sagrada Familia. Can you tell how far it is from the port. Are we talking blocks or miles? The other place I want to visit is the fresh market on Las Ramblas. Do you know what I'm talking about? Have you been there and is it easy to find?

 

Why Not, thank you too for your post. You and MG may also be able to help me with the above questions. I'm excited about getting to hear from all of you again.

 

If you are green in color, please give me a break. I consider these people my new friends and I'm anxious to hear from their fresh prospective.

 

Daring - the Mercat de la Boqueria is very easy to find. Walking down Las Ramblas toward the sea, it will be at an intersection (can't remember the name of the street) on your right. You will see it easily from Las Ramblas. We walked through it, bought some cheese and fruit and ate as we walked. It is closed on Sunday.

 

Our guide at Pompeii was arranged ahead of time I believe. From what I understand you can get one at the gate.

 

Had to laugh...with all the talk about missing toilet seats on this board, I believe it was at bathrooms at Pompeii (at the gate) where it was missing. I thought of this board when I saw it. It was the only time I saw a missing toilet seat the entire trip.

 

La Sagrada Familia - we took the Hop On Hop Off bus tour. This was one of the stops on tour. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour. They give you headphones and you select your language. We also transferred to one of the other lines but did not get a chance (ran out of time) to transfer to the line that runs along the beaches. Maybe next time...

 

Hope that helps.

[mickeysgal]

I am sitting in my hotel room now trying not to fall asleep!

 

What a beautiful city! We arrived at 8:45 a.m. and only managed to sleep a little on the flight. Fortunately, our room was ready at the hotel so we were able to check in right away. We both felt better after freshening up a bit.

 

Then we decided to walk, walk, walk! We walked up Passage De Gracia and saw Casa Batlo and Casa Mila. We didn't tour them. We may chose one tomorrow and do it then. We were both too tired to really take it all in.

We also walked to Sagrada Familia. Gaudi's work is truly magnificent. What a treat!

We also walked a little ways down La Rambla. The crowds reminded me too much of Time Square and that makes me claustrophobic. We walked just a little around the Barri Gotic, but will do more of that on sunday.

 

What I have seen so far has been fabulous and I am so looking forward to tomorrow and doing the Bus Turistic.

The weather is incredible. Nice temps with a breeze blowing.

 

I'm going to try to read MG's report now. DH has gone in search of food, but should be back soon.

 

Bye for now.

Bannda

 

Bannda, you're a better traveler than I. We failed miserably at trying to shake the jet lag and stay up all day.

 

Enjoy, enjoy. Have a great time...the Barri Gothic was our favorite area.

[mickeysgal]

Pisa/Florence:

 

Another beautiful day and another RomeinLimo tour. This time our guide was nothing short of an encyclopedia of historical information. This man knew his history. Quite impressive and never dull or boring. He was fantastic.

 

A quick stop in Pisa - yes, it is worth it in my opinion, then onto Florence. Florence is simply beautiful. More upscale than Rome, more artsy. For me, the David was my art highlight of the day. It is simply amazing and has to be seen in person. Pictures just don't do it justice. The Duomo is so impressively large. As we were walking, the church bells were ringing.

 

Tip: As we were crossing over to a hall in the Uffizi Gallery, there are windows that overlook the Ponti Vecchio. Took some excellent pictures from those windows.

 

This is another city where you have to spend a few days to explore and savor. Tons of little streets filled with shops, cafes, and gelatto, gelatto, gelatto. Florence is known for it's leather. Bought my mother a purse...I have no clue whether it was a deal or not. Regardless, I bought it in Florence, Italy for her and she's thrilled with it. Actually I bought two - one for me and one for her. I let her pick the one she wanted. I also bought a bottle of Chianti and olive oil to take home.

 

The day flew by in lightening quick speed. Next thing we knew we were headed for the port.

 

I'm starting to love the Romeinlimo thing. Wish they can cart me around each day here at home. :)

[mickeysgal]

Cannes:

 

Romeinlimo, where art thou?

 

By now I was thoroughly spoiled by private tours. Nope, no private tour here. This port we opted for the Highlights of Nice through NCL. Very clean, charter bus. Problem was the seating was tighter than coach seating on a plane. DH's is 6' and he couldn't sit straight in the seat as his knees were smashed against the seat in front. To be honest, I'm only only 5' 6" and I felt the spacing was just enough to be comfortable. Easy enough fix, DH sat across from us and was able to twist to have enough leg room. Luckily our bus was not full and we had plenty of space.

 

This tour we took with the our DriveAmalfi/Naples rollcall family. Hi Myrna and Warren if you're reading. Hi Peter and Lauren.

 

The tour guide talked the whole time pointing out sights in Cannes and then throughout Nice. We had about 1 1/2 hours in Nice to wander the market and beach. We bought a loaf of French bread (bagette) and split it amongst us. I also bought a mix of olives from a vendor (there were so many varieties - like jellybeans - that I let the vendor pick and choose for me).

 

We walked and walked. We each bought some watercolor prints from a vendor - quite pretty and a good deal. We found ourselves out on the promenade by the beach. Myrna and I went down to the water's edge to touch the water. I didn't come halfway across the world and not touch the Mediterranian in some way!

 

Ok - here's what I don't get. The beach wasn't sandy, it was rocky. Like really rocky. What I call pool rocks about the size of a small egg only flattened. Difficult to walk on, and in my opinion, very uncomfortable to lay on, yet there were people sunning themselves on these rocks. I'm used to fine, baby powder sand of Florida. Wow- those rocks would take some getting used to.

 

We returned to the bus area, found a little cafe, and had a few drinks - cokes and cappucino. Thanks Warren! DH bought a shirt for our youngest - an official Grand Prix tshirt. I guess that was going on while we were there? I don't follow that stuff, so I can't tell you.

 

We returned to Cannes and spent some time wandering there as well. Thanks Myrna for putting up with our wandering. Saw the red carpet that the Cannes festival was using for the night's events. Bought some postcards and a Cannes Film Festival t-shirt for DD (wow was it expensive). I'm done buying the kids gifts.

 

Lots of cafes in Cannes. Not sure about any other shopping, but you will not go hungry in Cannes that's for sure.

 

Had a good time looking at all the yachts in port due to the Cannes Film Festival. What I want to know is who owns the one with not ONE, but TWO helicopters?? And do they need someone to do any light housekeeping for them? I'm not a good cook, so I'll have to fall back on my supreme vacuuming skills. I have a black belt in vacuuming (have to with two dogs that shed) and come with my own collection of vacuums. Sad, but true. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[daring]

I collect round flat rocks! Oh no :eek: I better take an extra suit case. Ugh, that could cost me. Better warn my hubby so he can hold me back. I can see myself on the beach stuffing my pockets. I love the way they feel. Round, smooth, flat, like river rocks except smaller? Ocassionally I find them at our beach but I have to look really hard. I then like to keep it in my pocket all day so I can rub it between my fingers. I could lay in them: I'll have to get a picture.

[mickeysgal]

I collect round flat rocks! Oh no :eek: I better take an extra suit case. Ugh, that could cost me. Better warn my hubby so he can hold me back. I can see myself on the beach stuffing my pockets. I love the way they feel. Round, smooth, flat, like river rocks except smaller? Ocassionally I find them at our beach but I have to look really hard. I then like to keep it in my pocket all day so I can rub it between my fingers. I could lay in them: I'll have to get a picture.

 

I think they were river rocks. They were large, smooth, oval shaped rocks. I think it would be ultra uncomfortable to have to lay on them.

[daring]

I think they were river rocks. They were large, smooth, oval shaped rocks. I think it would be ultra uncomfortable to have to lay on them.

 

Well I may just have one, because most of mine are from the rivers in the mountains but I do have my most treasured one from the Virgin Gorda. I rub it, smile, and go to my happy place because it is the most beautiful place I've very been so far. Now I'm going to have one from the Mediterranean. Surely they can spare just one. :cool:

[Bannda]

I love this city!!! I wish I could stay longer because there is so much I would like to do and see. I guess that means we have to come back!

 

I will say this....they key to overcoming jet lag is to stay awake as long as possible the first day! It was hard and dh and I were both falling asleep talking to each other while sitting up. But, we stayed awake until 8 pm and then slept 12 hours straight! We woke up feeling so refreshed and ready to go! And go we did! We took the Bus Turistic for both the red and blue routes. We also toured Casa Batlo. Loved that! Between routes we ate at a sidewalk cafe on Passage de Gracia. The people watching was fabulous!

I'll write a more detailed report when we return. DH is falling asleep now. LOL.

 

Daring, it is definitely a bit far to walk. From where we were on Passage De gracia (we were a long way from the port even then), it was about a 15 minute walk. I'd take a taxi or do the Turistic Bus. The lines at Sagrada Familia were massive both yesterday and today. We were content to see it from the outside.

I did not see the market yet. That will probably be tomorrow when we walk around Barri Gotic.

I really do not care for La Rambla at all. It was even more crowded today.

 

I want to point out that we have felt safe everywhere we have gone. The only time I felt strange about something is when someone picked us out to take their picture. The guy jumped up as we approached and asked me to take a pic of him and his girlfriend. He appeared to be Spanish. I took the photo for him and wondered if he would offer to take our photo with our camera (which I would have refused), but he didn't. But, like WhyNot (I'm cracking up over your account of guarding your luggage), you feel paranoid after reading all the post about pickpockets. I had my money in my bra-stash pouch and dh had his security pouch under his clothes, so we relaxed and just enjoyed ourselves. Our cameras stayed securely attached to our bodies.

 

I do have a question for anyone that has been on the cruise. Where do we go in the port?? Port Vell? LOL, I can't believe this is one thing I forgot to be certain of before we left. I don't want to tell the taxi driver to just drive around until I see our ship.

 

I have so much I want to go back and read on this forum. I just read through super fast.

 

We'll be checking out in the morning, so I will chat with you all when we get back! Daring, have a great time!!!

 

Thanks to everyone for their comments. I've been so excited to be here that I just had to share now!

[mickeysgal]

I do have a question for anyone that has been on the cruise. Where do we go in the port?? Port Vell? LOL, I can't believe this is one thing I forgot to be certain of before we left. I don't want to tell the taxi driver to just drive around until I see our ship.

 

Did you print out your cruise documents from NCL? It should be on the first page. When we sailed, our documents said:

 

Pier location Moll Adossat (Breakwater of the Port).

 

Does this help? I just showed my taxi driver my cruise summary documents. I think just seeing the NCL logo on the documents helped.

 

Have a GREAT time!

[cruisin' judi]

Mickeysgal, Why Knot Me and Bannda, by reading your posts, I am getting more and more excited about the trip to Spain and the Gem cruise. Even though we have several more months, it is becoming more real. I really never thought that I would ever get to Europe.

 

Judi

[daring]

Mickeysgal' date=' Why Knot Me and Bannda, by reading your posts, I am getting more and more excited about the trip to Spain and the Gem cruise. Even though we have several more months, it is becoming more real. I really never thought that I would ever get to Europe.

 

Judi[/quote']

 

I know exactly what you mean. I made this trip a goal in my Franklin Daytimer 10 years ago but didn't really think I would make it. But I am making it and 10 years earlier because it was a 20 year goal. This was supposed to be my retirement trip. I feel very blessed. However, I do fear I may drop dead before the week is out for some strange reason. Oh well, I've had a great time planning with you guys even if I did. :D

 

Bannda,

You are such a sweetheart!

[mickeysgal]

Ok...let's continue with the Restaurants:

 

We ate at the Latin Restaurant with Why Knot Me and her DH. We had a great time with them...laughing, sharing dinner and wine. This had a $10 pp cover charge. I liked it, not sure if I'd return as there are other places to try.

 

Blue Lagoon - stopped here for a quick bite after our day in Malta. Had the fish and chips and tomato soup. Very happy with the food. No complaints. DH had the wings and he said he had better.

 

The Latin Restaurant and the Blue Lagoon overlook the atrium and the big screen. Sort of odd layout as any noise from the level below drifted into the restaurants. Often they were doing a trivia contest and it was noisy.

 

Cagneys - Ate there the first night. I had crab cakes, lobster bisque (which was sort of a beefy flavor), and the filet. DH had the t-bone. Strangest t-bone I ever saw since it was cut so thin. I enjoyed the meal however the cover charge is now $25pp. The Cagney fries were as good as everyone said they were.

 

Le Bistro - Loved this restaurant. Went there twice - once for our 25th anniversary dinner and once with our friends Myrna and Warren. Both times I had the same thing...french onion soup and the filet. For our anniversary package they had a cake which they encouraged us to have sent back to our room and just order multiple desserts. We had the creme brulee and the chocolate fondue. Our waiter insisted on us trying both, so we did. $15 pp cover charge and worth it.

 

Teppanyaki - $25 pp cover charge and in my opinion, not so worth it. I had the shogun - steak and chicken. The steak was not filet level, some lesser cut of beef and very very chewy. DH had scallops and filet and liked it. We both decided it wasn't a place we'd return to.

 

Buffet - Happy Happy! Loved this guy. You can hear him all the way to the elevators and you couldn't help but smile. This place seemed to be always packed and we tried to avoid it if at all possible. You can certainly find something to eat - it wasn't bad, it wasn't over the top good. Somewhere in between. The decor was very pretty, NCL did a great job of clearing tables quickly, you found a table with a little effort, and the tables and floors were clean.

 

The Great Outdoors - Loved it out here. We never made it for breakfast but we did like to end our day here. About 11pm or so, we'd grab a finger sandwich and a drink and watch the stars.

 

Grand Pacific - Ate here twice. Excellent company made for an excellent dinner. We ate once with Why Knot Me and her DH. I don't think we could have laughed any more than we did. Thank you for the wonderful evening. The second time we ate there was the last night of the cruise. We got together with our entire Naples tour group for one big family dinner. There was 8 of us and they made us feel like family. Lots of food, and lets just say, LOTS of wine. I think we closed the place.

 

The food quality was fine - not sure why it gets the complaints it gets. The service was top notch as well. I wouldn't hesitate to eat there again. The decor was very, very sophisticated.

 

Cagneys for Breakfast - Loved this suite perk. Perfect service and excellent food. Real eggs, tender filets, pancakes, crisp bacon, french press coffee and delicious country potatoes. Ah...life is real good in those suites. We made sure we ate there as much as possible. Even if we had only a 1/2 hour before having to meet our tour group, we ate there. Magically they had cooked, made to order breakfasts in mere minutes giving us ample time to relax and eat.

 

There you have it...the restaurants as we experienced them.

 

Hope this helps.

[daring]

I found this very helpful and copied some of it over to my notes to take with me.

Questions.

How cool was it out on deck at night or early morning?

Was it cool or windy at the Great Outdoors?

When are restaurants least crowded?

[1greencar]

These reviews are all making me want to be there, RIGHT NOW.......

How will I ever contain myself for the next 4 months?

[mickeysgal]

I found this very helpful and copied some of it over to my notes to take with me.

Questions.

How cool was it out on deck at night or early morning?

Was it cool or windy at the Great Outdoors?

When are restaurants least crowded?

 

Never cool enough to have to have a sweater. I get cold fast and I never had a need. I think I may have put my robe on when we were pulling into Malta...it was early but it wasn't too chilly. Never needed one at night in my opinion.

 

We only went to the Great Outdoors and some of the outermost tables were breezy and chilly, if you stick to the ones closer to the buffet area, you were fine.

 

From what we saw the restaurants - the specialty ones - were never crowed (except Teppanyaki of course due to it's limited seating). In fact, we found them to be rather empty. The main dining room each time we looked at it or ate there, was packed. Same with the buffet. We tend to eat late...8pm or so and the main dining room was very busy/crowded. Yet we were seated almost immediately. Never were we given a beeper that I can remember.

 

Hope that helps.

[mickeysgal]

Ok - another note about possibly chilly nights. We attended the star gazing up on deck 14 (or was it 15?). Being naturally always cold, I grabbed one of my jackets. It's more open air up there and there is a potential for getting a bit chilled.

 

Let me say, the star gazing was fascinating. It was held by the cruise director - he said it was a personal passion of his. He was extremely knowledgeable and it was very much worth the effort to attend. I think there were two sessions. We attended that later session ...10:30 ish?

[mickeysgal]

Mickeysgal' date=' Why Knot Me and Bannda, by reading your posts, I am getting more and more excited about the trip to Spain and the Gem cruise. Even though we have several more months, it is becoming more real. I really never thought that I would ever get to Europe.

 

Judi[/quote']

 

Now I have the bug to go back. Yes, I'm looking at itineraries, but we need that money tree to grow.

[daring]

These reviews are all making me want to be there, RIGHT NOW.......

How will I ever contain myself for the next 4 months?

 

I know, I was the same way but you know what? I'd do it all again because I have enjoyed and learned so much! 6 MORE DAYS!

 

Never cool enough to have to have a sweater. I get cold fast and I never had a need. I think I may have put my robe on when we were pulling into Malta...it was early but it wasn't too chilly. Never needed one at night in my opinion.

 

The main dining room each time we looked at it or ate there, was packed. Same with the buffet. We tend to eat late...8pm or so and the main dining room was very busy/crowded. Yet we were seated almost immediately. Never were we given a beeper that I can remember.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Yes it helps. I may only take one jacket. Also, I like to eat earlier so it will be interesting to compare notes on that one.

 

By the way, Clint and I decided that it would be nice for you to do a little light cleaning for us on the yacht while we roll around in the rocks or fly down the coast. :D

[cruisin' judi]

Ok...let's continue with the Restaurants:

 

We ate at the Latin Restaurant with Why Knot Me and her DH. We had a great time with them...laughing, sharing dinner and wine. This had a $10 pp cover charge. I liked it, not sure if I'd return as there are other places to try.

 

Blue Lagoon - stopped here for a quick bite after our day in Malta. Had the fish and chips and tomato soup. Very happy with the food. No complaints. DH had the wings and he said he had better.

 

The Latin Restaurant and the Blue Lagoon overlook the atrium and the big screen. Sort of odd layout as any noise from the level below drifted into the restaurants. Often they were doing a trivia contest and it was noisy.

 

Cagneys - Ate there the first night. I had crab cakes, lobster bisque (which was sort of a beefy flavor), and the filet. DH had the t-bone. Strangest t-bone I ever saw since it was cut so thin. I enjoyed the meal however the cover charge is now $25pp. The Cagney fries were as good as everyone said they were.

 

Le Bistro - Loved this restaurant. Went there twice - once for our 25th anniversary dinner and once with our friends Myrna and Warren. Both times I had the same thing...french onion soup and the filet. For our anniversary package they had a cake which they encouraged us to have sent back to our room and just order multiple desserts. We had the creme brulee and the chocolate fondue. Our waiter insisted on us trying both, so we did. $15 pp cover charge and worth it.

 

Teppanyaki - $25 pp cover charge and in my opinion, not so worth it. I had the shogun - steak and chicken. The steak was not filet level, some lesser cut of beef and very very chewy. DH had scallops and filet and liked it. We both decided it wasn't a place we'd return to.

 

Buffet - Happy Happy! Loved this guy. You can hear him all the way to the elevators and you couldn't help but smile. This place seemed to be always packed and we tried to avoid it if at all possible. You can certainly find something to eat - it wasn't bad, it wasn't over the top good. Somewhere in between. The decor was very pretty, NCL did a great job of clearing tables quickly, you found a table with a little effort, and the tables and floors were clean.

 

The Great Outdoors - Loved it out here. We never made it for breakfast but we did like to end our day here. About 11pm or so, we'd grab a finger sandwich and a drink and watch the stars.

 

Grand Pacific - Ate here twice. Excellent company made for an excellent dinner. We ate once with Why Knot Me and her DH. I don't think we could have laughed any more than we did. Thank you for the wonderful evening. The second time we ate there was the last night of the cruise. We got together with our entire Naples tour group for one big family dinner. There was 8 of us and they made us feel like family. Lots of food, and lets just say, LOTS of wine. I think we closed the place.

 

The food quality was fine - not sure why it gets the complaints it gets. The service was top notch as well. I wouldn't hesitate to eat there again. The decor was very, very sophisticated.

 

Cagneys for Breakfast - Loved this suite perk. Perfect service and excellent food. Real eggs, tender filets, pancakes, crisp bacon, french press coffee and delicious country potatoes. Ah...life is real good in those suites. We made sure we ate there as much as possible. Even if we had only a 1/2 hour before having to meet our tour group, we ate there. Magically they had cooked, made to order breakfasts in mere minutes giving us ample time to relax and eat.

 

There you have it...the restaurants as we experienced them.

 

Thank you for the restaurant review. We will let this guide us as we sail on the Gem.

 

We were on the Pride of America last year and your restaurant review was much the same as ours was then.

 

I have already put this in my notes to take with me to Europe.

 

Judi

[Mississippi1]

I know, I was the same way but you know what? I'd do it all again because I have enjoyed and learned so much! 6 MORE DAYS!

 

6 more days? I am so excited for you, daring! You are going to have a blast! And, don't overpack on the sweaters/jackets, as you probably won't need them, unless there's a freak weather incident or something.

 

Now I have the bug to go back. Yes, I'm looking at itineraries, but we need that money tree to grow.

 

That bug is on my back too, MG. We put the $250 deposit down on a future cruise, and are looking hard at 2 itineraries, probably in early 2011. If this recession of ours would hurry up and go away, I could catch up, be even, then pull ahead by then! :D

 

 

Sorry I've been MIA lately. Life has a way of getting in the way sometimes - I still haven't had the time to completely unpack! :eek:

[Mississippi1]

I forgot to mention, we are early diners and ate in the MDR (Grand Pacific) both lobster nights, and although crowded, we were able to walk right in, both times with groups of 8. HTH!

[daring]

Glad to see you back. I had almost given up on both you and Rich.

 

 

MG,

 

Make sure you read my message a few posts back. :D