Courtyard Villa on Gem Review

[lolakat]

I was in an A3 CV on the Gem last week and I thought it might be helpful to post a few of my thoughts here since I may never get around to writing a full review. I (30) was traveling with my mom (60) my grandmother (93) and my DD (18 mo). This was our 3rd NCL cruise in a suite but our first in a CV.

 

 

Check in:

The suite check in was quick and easy. The lounge was more crowed than I remember but we weren't there long. We were escorted on board and taken directly to Cagney's for lunch. Our cabins were supposed to be ready at 2:00. There was some delay but we needed to change the baby so we went up around 2:15 and nobody gave us a problem.

 

Room:

 

We were in 14510 which was directly across from the enterence to the Courtyard. The layout of the room is exactly the same as the AB. There is a common enterance way with a small bedroom that has a pull out couch and upper berth directly off the enterence. There is a small bathroom in that room. There is a common room with a couch that pulls out to a bed for 1 person. Then there is a seperate master bedroom with a big bed ( a queen I think) and a very impressive bathroom with large tub, double sinks and seperate shower. There is TV in the living room, the small bed room, the master bedroom and over the tub. There is a coffee maker and minifridge.

 

We put the baby in the ship's pack n play in the smaller bedroom. It was great to have her in that seperate space so she could sleep while the rest of us were still active around the cabin. I slept on the sleeper couch in the living room. I was concerned that the pull out would block the balcony door but it does not. It is basiclally the smae size as the couch or only slightly wider. I found it a little hard but was fine for a week. Mom and grandma shared the master which is a great comfy bed. There was tons of storage even with all the baby gear. The car seat and stroller both fit in the closet. It was more than enough room for our 3 adults and 1 baby.

 

CY Food Service:

 

The same menu that is available in Cagney's for breakfast and Lunch is available in the Courtyard. Not all buffet items that are layed out in Cagney's are in the CY. There was some fruit and pasteries along with juices and coffee. Cheeses, cured meats/fish, cereals, grapefruits were not layed out (B/c they would rot in the heat) One day I asked for a grapefruit from the Cagney's buffet and it was no problem. We ate breakfast in the CY most mornings and the food was just as tasty as it is in Cagney's. However it takes a LONG TIME to get it. The timing was a lot like room service and sometimes it would take up to 90 min to get our order out. For us this wasn't a problem since we were relaxing in the CY anyway. For faster service we could have gone directly to Cagney's but with the baby it was easier to let her run around while we waited for food than to struggle with her in the resturant. There is an all day "comfort food" menu available btw. breakfast and lunch and cookies, juice and ice water are always layed out on a buffet in the rear of the CY. Lunch was served from Cagney's as well and again the food was good and the service was friendly but SLOW.

 

On our last night we had dinner from Cagney's served in the CY area. It was wonderful and I wish we had done it more during the cruise. The ambiance of the CY at night cannot be beat. We ordered from the regular menu ( you could order from any of the resturant menus) Each course was brought seperately.

 

We never wanted to order pool side drinks so I can't comment on that. I'm sure the CY assistant could get them for you but it might be hard to catch him between meals.

 

Service:

The concierge, Alex, seemed very nice but we didn't really use him for much. He was available and visable around the courtyard area each day but he didn't really come over to make small talk with us like some others do. This is fine by me.

 

Our Butler, Aries, was very good. We used him a great deal b/c I was often ordering food for the baby in the room. He was friendly and attentive. We never asked for anything that he couldn't get us.

 

There is an "assistant" in the CY who takes most of the orders and brings the food for breakfast and lunch. He was a very nice man who really tried to take care of us but I'm just not sure the job was a great fit for him. He seemed to struggle a bit with English and I often had to point to the item on the menu that I wanted. Several of our orders were incorrect. I thought at first maybe it was a new job for him but I later found out it was the last week of his contract. Anyway, it wasn't a big deal and like I said he was VERY nice and seemed to really try hard.

 

The CY area:

 

The CY has a small pool and a hot tub. There are about a dozen louge chairs and 2 larger double loungers. There are 4 tables with 4 chairs each. There is a small excercise area with a treadmill and a bike plus a steam room and ?sauna with a shower.

 

We spent almost everyday in the CY. I really like the atmosphere and for me it was perfect b/c I felt safer with my daughter toddling around there than with the crowds on the main pool deck. It was a crowded "spring break" cruise and I was glad not to have to struggle with the masses around the main pool. The CY seemed serene in comparison. I really liked the ambiance too. The only down side is you cannot see the ocean as you lounge but we had our balcony for that. There is an upstairs sun deck where you could see the water. It was likely quieter up there too as most of the kids were in the pool. We didn't venture up there much but there were several loungers and a couple of those rounded double loungers plus a hamock.

 

In retrospect I wish I had brought a wireless baby monitor b/c I would have spent more time in the CY at night after my daughter went to bed. It was about 6 paces from our door to the pool and it would have been closer than my bedroom is to hers at home.

 

All in All:

 

I think they fall a bit short on the "boutique" hotel experience I believe they are trying to create. For example the Four Seasons has a hotel within a hotel in The Mandalay Bay in Vegas. For similar cost one could vacation there. The service in the CY on NCL pales in comparison to the experience there.

In spite of that I really enjoyed the CY experience and I think it is likely the best suite option in cruising. (except maybe the Garden villa which I have yet to experience :rolleyes:) Having the option of spending the day and having meals in the CY made traveling with my daughter a lot easier (this is her 3rd cruise). We will absolutely book a CV for our next NCL cruise.

 

Sorry this got so long, if you have any particular questions I do my best to answer them.

[Why Knot Me]

Do you know how long Alex will be on the Gem?

[nyflush]

Thanks for the review we stayed in an A3 last year we loved it too!

 

What we did was order breakfast the night before we knew we wanted the french toast and eggs benedict delish! We found the service in the CY to be fast on that cruise but all cruises are different. When we ate at Cagney's for dinner that was slow.

 

Glad to hear they have a sofa that opens in the living room now:)

[lolakat]

Sorry, I'm not sure about Alex. I didn't get a chance to speak to him to much b/c we didn't have much to request from him. He seemed to be very friendly and ready to help if you had any needs.

[javamum]

I think we had ALex when we went in 2008.

Just curious...are you the same lolakat that used to be on the BB board, if you are..lots of people are looking for you on http://beautybling.yuku.com/

Thanks