Returning Gem TA Cruisers NYC to Barcelona

[gbcruise]

When you can catch your breath please post how your cruise went. DH & I will be bringing her back to NYC in November & are looking forward to hearing what your TA was like :)

[MLinFL]

When you can catch your breath please post how your cruise went. DH & I will be bringing her back to NYC in November & are looking forward to hearing what your TA was like :)

 

We are still in Barcelona, and I hope to write a full review when I get home, but in response --- it was WONDERFUL! We didn't want it to end. The weather was a little cool until the last few days. We didn't use our balcony as much as we had hoped. Loved the Gem. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

Mary Lou

[gbcruise]

A couple of questions that come to mind are what speciality restaurants did you visit if any? Did you visit them because they were being offered at special pricing? What type of activities on sea days were offered? Being that you were on the cruise when the global news of swine flu broke out what information was passed along?

[MLinFL]

A couple of questions that come to mind are what speciality restaurants did you visit if any? Did you visit them because they were being offered at special pricing? What type of activities on sea days were offered? Being that you were on the cruise when the global news of swine flu broke out what information was passed along?

 

Sorry for the delay in responding. We traveled home from Barcelona yesterday and it was a very tiring trip.

 

We visited Teppanaki (Japanese), Cagney's (Steak House), and Cucchina (Italian). As a matter of fact, we went to Cagney's for dinner twice. They were NOT offering any specials, we paid the full price each time. We just enjoyed trying something different and they are a nice, uncrowded, way to enjoy dining.

 

On the sea days, they had some talks regarding the areas of the world we were visiting, along with all the other money-making things like bingo, art auction, wine tasting, beer tasting, etc.

 

We did hear about the swine-flu. We had access to CNN on the TV in the cabin. They also made an announcement about it onboard, telling people to not be alarmed, but to use the usual cautionary methods of washing your hands, covering your mouth when you sneeze, etc. There were a lot of people onboard who seemed to have colds - there was a lot of coughing going on.

 

Anything else - let me know and I will try to answer.

 

Mary Lou

[ImADaneFan]

We are still in Barcelona, and I hope to write a full review when I get home, but in response --- it was WONDERFUL! We didn't want it to end. The weather was a little cool until the last few days. We didn't use our balcony as much as we had hoped. Loved the Gem. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

Mary Lou

We will be doing the Gem's TA next year as part of our 21 days cruise. You said you didn't get to use your balcony as much as you hoped. Where was your cabin located? We have an AFT AE and we hoped to be able to spend our sea days on our balcony.

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

We will be doing the Gem's TA next year as part of our 21 days cruise. You said you didn't get to use your balcony as much as you hoped. Where was your cabin located? We have an AFT AE and we hoped to be able to spend our sea days on our balcony.

 

It was too windy and too cool to be on your balcony, no matter where it was located. But once in the Med, it was mostly sunny!

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

We had an absolutely wonderful cruise. We were three couples in the Garden Villa and from our perspective, it was a beautiful ship with......

• fabulous service from everyone we encountered and I don't think that was just because we were in the GV. There were plenty of staff and crew who had no idea where our cabin was.
  
• Cagney's breakfast and lunch, a great perk for suite guests.
  
• Le Bistro had great ambiance and Dhuri, the assistant maitre'd was very engaging.
  
• smooth sailing for the most part - a couple of people in our group used the patch for the crossing, those days were windy and very cool.
  
• great weather in the Mediterranean, with mostly blue skies and sunshine.
  
• interesting ports where we got lots of exercise. Because there were 6 of us it was cheaper to book independent tours which gave us a lot of flexibility. If you need info about what we did in any particular port, just ask.
  
• an incredibly intelligent cruise director. Andreas spoke many languages, gave a lecture on quantum math, is a chemical engineer and put on astronomy shows in the night sky and he seemed like a genuinely nice man.
  
• the best butler and concierge imaginable (we miss those chocolate covered strawberries and cheese tray every afternoon) - Alex Forbes is the ultimate professional concierge and Aries was a fine butler.
  
• variety of entertainment, which isn't important to us - but two comedians, a singer, a multi instrument musician, one violinist, an opera singer, production shows - and the funniest was Hilby, billed as the skinny juggler from Germany.
  
• casino where we were very lucky plus they had the friendliest casino staff
  
• a great CC group - we enjoyed the meet and greet, the tshirts designed and ordered by Ron and Diane & our cabin crawl was fun. We appreciated all the effort put into each
  
• easy embarkation and disembarkation - weather in NYC was in the 70° range as we sailed past the Statue of Liberty
  
• freedom to do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted for 15 entire days with no phone calls, no emails, no stress!
  
• many relaxing days at sea followed by very busy port days
  
• and the most fantastic suite ever!
  

If you have specific questions, I would be happy to answer them.

Cathy

[mickeysgal]

Thank you to all for your impressions of your TA cruise. I'll be sailing on the Gem soon...can't wait!

[tdcjerry]

Did anyone save the dailies from this cruise? and can you post them. Thank you

We are also doing the 7 day Greek Island and 12 day TA next year and would like to know what to do on sea days, like all the tastings.

[MLinFL]

We will be doing the Gem's TA next year as part of our 21 days cruise. You said you didn't get to use your balcony as much as you hoped. Where was your cabin located? We have an AFT AE and we hoped to be able to spend our sea days on our balcony.

 

I agree with Cathy -- it was too cold and windy to be out on the balcony during the crossing. We had an aft balcony - 8132.

 

Also - thanks to Cathy and her group for letting us "crawl" to her Garden Villa! We really enjoyed seeing all the different types of cabins.

 

Mary Lou

[gbcruise]

Thanks to all posters who have answered many questions. I wondered myself what the weather would be like and that's why I went cheap & didnt get a balcony this time. I have had aft, balcony & inside. Both DH & I love to travel and the size of our cabin doesnt seem to bother us, we have more that way to book additional trips.

What seems appealing to me is all the loungers around the ship. Anyone take advantage of using the loungers and was it on a open deck or nestled inside where you were warm & cozy? Please tell me where your favorite spot was.

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

Thanks to all posters who have answered many questions. I wondered myself what the weather would be like and that's why I went cheap & didnt get a balcony this time. I have had aft, balcony & inside. Both DH & I love to travel and the size of our cabin doesnt seem to bother us, we have more that way to book additional trips.

What seems appealing to me is all the loungers around the ship. Anyone take advantage of using the loungers and was it on a open deck or nestled inside where you were warm & cozy? Please tell me where your favorite spot was.

 

There were many, many people in the common areas of the ship during the times we were at sea. The 7th floor lobby was always full. Many people sitting in the window seats. There were just a couple of days (in the Med) when it was crowded at the pool. We spent a lot of time in our GV and the casino! Loved them both! But there are plenty of cozy places to spend your sea days.

[odblnt]

We had an absolutely wonderful cruise. We were three couples in the Garden Villa and from our perspective, it was a beautiful ship with......

• the best butler and concierge imaginable (we miss those chocolate covered strawberries and cheese tray every afternoon) - Alex Forbes is the ultimate professional concierge and Aries was a fine butler.
  

 

 

• casino where we were very lucky plus they had the friendliest casino staff
  

If you have specific questions, I would be happy to answer them.

Cathy

 

One quick question and a comment...

 

First, good luck in the casino will improve any cruise, and then to be in a GV on top of that!!! :D

 

As to the question... Is this the Aires that was your butler? He was our butler on the Pearl Panama Canal repo last fall. He was great and I hope he made his way over to the Gem.

 

 

Pete

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

One quick question and a comment...

 

First, good luck in the casino will improve any cruise, and then to be in a GV on top of that!!! :D

 

As to the question... Is this the Aires that was your butler? He was our butler on the Pearl Panama Canal repo last fall. He was great and I hope he made his way over to the Gem.

 

 

Pete

 

That's our guy! He has made his way to the TOP of the Gem. I'm not sure how many cabins he had but I'm thinking our GV and all the Courtyard Villas on the port side - at least. He was outstanding!