Just off the Gem 7/26 – 8/2: VERY LONG review

[jend**]

I just returned from the 7 days Gem Mediterranean cruise. Here is a quick review, and I am happy to answer any questions. This was my first cruise and first trip to Europe.

Pre-cruise planning: We got Capital One credit cards to use in Europe, because they have no foreign transaction fee (which is normally 3% for most credit cards). We got Euros through Wachovia Bank, because their rate was better than Bank of America, and Wachovia had a flat $15 fee regardless of the amount of Euros you purchased. Also, Wachovia lets you specify the denominations you want. If you are a member of AAA Auto Club, they will give you a free, large book on European cities. Also, I highly recommend the "Streetwise" brand of laminated maps, available at amazon.com (we bought these maps for every port). The Streetwise maps provide an alphabetical listing of all of the streets in the city, along with a citation to where on the map the street can be found. Finally, we got Pacsafe brand travel accessories (the small sling purse for me, which held my passport, cell phone, and credit cards/Euros; and the small backpack for my husband), because we heard that there was a lot of pickpocketing in the ports we were visiting.

Regarding cell phones: If you have a T-Mobile Blackberry, call Tmobile and add the international email plan, which costs $20 for a month, but they will prorate the cost depending on the number of days you need plan. You can email as much as you want from anywhere you want (on ship or land) under the plan at no additional charge beyond the $20 (or prorated) fee. However, texts are not included in the plan - only email is included. If you have Verizon, do not even bother bringing your cell phone. My husband has Verizon, and we paid them to send us (rent) a global blackberry to use on our trip, so that my husband and I could communicate if we got separated, and the phone NEVER worked for email or Blackberry messenger.

My husband and I arrived in Barcelona a day early, because many places are closed in Barcelona on Sundays, the day the ship returned to Barcelona. The taxi from the airport to our hotel, which was located on Las Ramblas, was about 30 Euros. We stayed at the Hotel Royal Rambla: http://www.royalramblashotel.com/en/home/ . The location was great, the price was reasonable, and the room was nice.

The next day, we boarded the cruise. Our hotel offered a late 3pm check-out for an additional 10 Euros, and we took it. We took a taxi from the hotel to the port, which cost about 20 Euros, and we arrived at the ship around 3:00pm. There was absolutely no line, and check-in took about 10 minutes. So easy!

We stayed in a minisuite on Deck 11 (room 11634), and it was great. Prior to getting on the ship, I was worried about the room, because everyone on cruisecritic talks about how great the full suites are, and I was worried that I had made a bad decision with the minisuite. However, the room size, bathroom size, closet size, and location were all perfect. As this was my first cruise (and I am a woman), I totally overpacked. We had 4 large suitcases and 2 carryons, yet we were able to completely unpack with plenty of room in the closets and drawers.

Some of the best packing advice that I received on the cruisecritic website is the following: (1) Buy an over-the-door shoe organizer to put on your bathroom door to store your toiletries. My husband originally mocked me for getting this, but he later admitted that it was a good idea. (2) If you are from the US, bring a power strip and an extension cord, because there is only 1 US plug in the room, and it is located on the desk. We were able to charge all of our electronics at night by bringing the powerstrip (and the extension cord allowed us to plug in our dvd player and watch dvds in bed at night). (3) If you are bringing a travel clock, make sure that it runs on batteries. If you plug a travel clock in, it will not keep the correct time (something to do with an electrical current or something).

After we saw our room, we went to the spa. I had read on cruisecritic about the spa pass, which on the 7 day Gem cruise is $99 per person. There are supposedly a limited number of spa passes available, and the passes give you access to a kid-free pool, sauna, steam room, private jacuzzis, and best of all, these wonderful heated tile lounge chairs. The use of the chairs alone was worth the $99. Everyday, after we returned from our day in port, I would come to the spa and fall asleep on one of these chairs for an hour. Other people loved these chairs too, so if I got to the spa too late in the evening, they were all taken. Also, if you like spa services, wait until the first day in a port, and then they offer deals every day on spa services and packages.

Once the ship set sail, I got seasick. I had packed and taken Dramamine, but it did not work. However, if you go to the Reception desk on the 7th floor of the ship, they will give you free Meclazine. It works really well, but it makes you tired.

Unfortunately, the food on the Gem was not very good. My husband and our 2 friends that were with us agreed. I do not have gourmet tastes, but the food really wasn’t that good. In fact, the pizza was downright bad (and really, how hard is it to make good pizza?). We ate in the Garden Café (free buffet dining), the Magenta (free sit-down dining), room service for breakfast on the days in port, Cagneys, and La Cuccina. I don’t mind going to the pay restaurants if the food there is good, but I was not really impressed with the food at Cagneys or La Cuccina. Others may disagree with me.

My husband took pictures of all of the menus on the Gem. I am not technologically advanced, so I don’t know how to post the pictures somewhere and then provide a link. However, if you would like the pictures of the menus, you can shoot me an email, and I will email them to you. My email address is jendeeb@yahoo.com , and type "Gem menus" in the subject line (because I do not open emails when I do not know who they are from).

A little tip if you buy bottled water on the ship: Go to the Garden Cafe at lunch or dinner, and go to the register that is in the dessert area opposite of the soups. In the evenings we were able to buy very large bottled water for the same price as the smaller bottles of water sold everywhere else (a little over $5, including the automatic gratuity). The guy at this register appeared to be the only guy that knew about the larger waters, and his nametag indicated that he was like a supervisor or senior something.

Also, a tip about the chocolate buffet: Don’t go, and if you do, don’t go the minute it begins. It was an absolute madhouse, and the desserts were not good. They don’t tell you that all of the desserts repeat a few times, and everyone is pushing and shoving trying to get more and more dessert. It really was crazy, and my husband even saw a lady take a dessert, take a bite of it while in line, and then she put the dessert back (yes, you read that correctly!).

In Malta, we did not do an NCL excursion. When we got off the ship, we were very lucky in that we happened to get a fantastic taxi driver that took my husband and our 2 friends to Mdina. I believe that the cost for the 4 of us roundtrip (total) was $64. Mdina is a very neat place that is enclosed by walls, and it is about 30 minutes from the port by car. There is some beautiful blown glass for sale there. We also spent a little time walking around Valletta.

In Naples, we hired a private driver to take us to Sorrento. Our friends went to Pompeii and took the train, which they said had no air conditioning and was kind of dirty. If you are looking to arrange a private driver, we used Autoservizi De Martino: http://www.autoservizidemartino.com/. Our driver was Allesandro, and the cost was 35 Euros per hour, for a minimum of 5 hours. That price covered transportation for 4 people in a late-model air-conditioned Mercedes. The driver was nice and knowledgeable, and he spoke perfect English. He stopped at several scenic places on the way to Sorrento so that we could take pictures. The drive to Sorrento took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Once in Sorrento, we took a tour of a mozzarella cheese factory, and it was great: http://www.caseificiomichelangelo.com/index.php. We got to see how the cheese was made, and we even got to braid some cheese ourselves. After the tour, we were given a delicious homemade lunch that included a tasting of 6 different cheeses that they make, some meats, olives, pasta, bread, and wine. After we left, we walked around Sorrento and then returned to Naples. Before we went back to the ship, we stopped at Brandi Pizzeria, which claims to be where pizza Margherita was invented in 1889, in honor of Queen Margherita.

In Rome and Florence, we did NCL’s Rome/Florence on Your Own excursions, since those cities are about an hour and a half from port, and you are guaranteed that the ship will not leave without you if the bus encounters traffic or has a breakdown. The bus is large and air-conditioned, and a tour guide drives there and back with you and gives you good information about the cities. Once in Florence and Rome, the tour guide leaves you, and you are on your own. One important thing to note: the time stated on the NCL website regarding when the bus leaves the port is not accurate. The NCL website said that the bus left at 7:45am for Florence and 8:00am for Rome. However, when we got on the ship, we learned that the bus left at 8:30am for one city and 8:45am for the other. Our friends had arranged a tour of the Vatican on their own (not through NCL) based on the earlier leaving time indicated on the NCL excursion website and almost did not make it there in time.

Florence was our favorite port, and the food in Rome and Florence was absolutely amazing! The last port was Cannes. We did not really enjoy that port.

The next day we returned to Barcelona. I’m so glad that I had read postings on cruisecritic, because the ship did not explain the process of leaving the ship. Basically, you go down to the 7th floor of the ship near the Reception desk and choose new luggage tags. The color of the tags indicates the time you want to leave the ship (starting, I think at 7am and ending at 9:30am). You attach the colored tags to your luggage, and you leave your luggage outside your door before a specified hour the night before. Then, the next morning, your color gets called, and you can get off of the ship without carrying any luggage, as it is waiting outside for you. We chose the 9:30 time slot, and it took about a half hour to get off of the ship (the halls were crowded) and to get our luggage. After that, I learned the following lesson the hard way: Arrange ahead of time for transportation to pick you up from the port. Trust me, that was the worst part of the whole trip. We waited outside in the heat (it was about 104 degrees F) for an hour in a line of cranky people, pushing and shoving, waiting for a taxi.

Well, I hope that this review is helpful. Feel free to ask me any questions.

[mapsmom]

Thanks for the great review! We are leaving in a few days, and the one burning question I have is about getting off the ship at the end. We have a 10:30 flight, so we will self disembark, which I believe means that you carry your own stuff off. Tell me, do you think that there will be a really long taxi line if we leave at 7 AM?

Also, while I am thinking of it, we have ATT service, and they told DH that we can text for 50cents outgoing and free incoming because we have a plan. We do not have a data plan, but maybe it would be worth it if I do not have to use the ship's internet. Do I have to get a special sim card or anything else? I have heard stories that the phones don't automatically work in Europe.

Did you try the cooking light cuisine in the main dining room? I would be interested in knowing if that was good. How was the lobster night (we love seafood)?

Thanks again.

[SeaWatch]

We had planned a Med cruise this summer on NCL but after our last two expereinces and the food review here, there are just too many other lines with good food.

[snorklin'barb]

Thanks for your review about your first cruise - good choice! I've spent nearly 3 weeks on the Gem and really liked the ship and also the food.

You said the food "wasn't very good" in the DR's and not even in Cagney's or the Italian. Could you tell us what you ate that led to your opinion? There are so many restaurants and it sounds like you tried quite a few but couldn't find food to your taste. Since it was your first cruise, what kind of food were you expecting? Did you discuss your disappointment with anyone?

Did you go to any of the shows? What did you think?

How about the music around the ship?

Did you have a Meet & Greet? One of my fondest memories on the Gem (and Pearl) was our CC bowling tourneys & group dinners. Did you do anything like that?

[dfwguy62]

Originally Posted by mapsmom

...the one burning question I have is about getting off the ship at the end. We have a 10:30 flight, so we will self disembark, which I believe means that you carry your own stuff off. Tell me, do you think that there will be a really long taxi line if we leave at 7 AM?

I can comment on this one. We were on the Gem on the July 12th sailing. When we arrived at the ship after our overnight flight on the 12th around 10:00 am, we were planning on dropping off our bags and then catching a taxi back into the city to explore some before departure at 7:00 pm. However, at 10:00, the lines for the taxis was very long and it was already very hot. We weren't smart enough to keep our taxi that had brought us in from the airport. Since we were also fairly tired from the overnight flight, we abandoned our plan to go back into the city. Seeing the long taxi line, which I suspect was very similar to what the OP says they were greeted with above, I was already thinking about one week later when we returned to Barcelona at the end of the cruise. I really did not want to wait in a long line and I was regretting that I did not pre-order transportation.

However, upon our return to Barcelona at the end of the cruise, we decided we were going to use the 7:30 am time slot to leave the ship since we were early risers. I was dreading a long taxi line. But, much to our surprise when we left the building after getting our luggage, we walked right up to the taxi stop and there was no line. We simply got in the first of many cabs waiting there.

So... the moral of this story appears to be all about the time you decide to leave the ship. The OP left ship at 9:30 and found the long lines. We were there around 10:00 and saw the long lines. But there was no line at 7:30. I suspect that most people target the 9:00 to 10:30 timeframe and that's when the lines build up.

So if you're doing the 7:00 checkout with your own bags to make a flight, I suspect you'll be just fine.

[euro cruiser]

I was also on the Gem for the July 12th sailing. We were sitting on our balcony all morning on departure day and noticed the same thing as the previous poster. The taxi lines weren't bad until the last couple of departures - 9 AM and later. We were in that 9:30 group and it was awful. If I had it to do over, I would absolutely pre-arrange pick up.

[Don Haynes]

I really do wish the OP describes the food situation better. Just saying its not good, that the pizzas weren't good, leaves alot of information out.... If you didn't like the food, say why.....

About the pizza, did the pizza have a lot of ingredients? Tomato paste? Enough cheese? Enough meat? Was the dough too thick? Too thin?

What did you eat? Why didn't you like the food? Was the food too cold? Did you not like the sauces? Was the steak too tough? Was the food too salty?

[wants2fly]

Thank you for the very informative review. So many good information I will be using as we just booked on Gem for the 11/08/09 cruise.
The hotel listed has a cruise package which is what we want. It provided transportation from airport and to the cruise port for $340 Euro which is about $480US for 3 adults.
Any thoughts on this deal? Any other hotels have this type of service?
Also, some replies indicated pre-arranged pick up for the post cruise to airport, any recommendations?
Thanks in advance.

Wants2fly

[jend**]

I cannot comment about the line at 7am, but it appears, according to other posters, that you will be fine. Their responses make sense.

With regard to your question about AT&T, I do not know the answer. However, my brother also did an NCL cruise on the Jade recently, and his solution to the email/text problem was to get a new gadget called the Peek. It is a small device, about the size of your cell phone, that gives you email capability without a contract. You buy the device (I think it was $60 for the model that also works in Europe) and then you pay a monthly fee to use it (I think that it's $20 per month, but I'm not sure). However, the best part is that there is no monthly contract, so you can buy it to use for a European cruise to stay in contact with people nack home and not have to worry about getting back home to a large and unexpected cell phone billl. Also, the device works in the US and Europe, although the use in Europe is supposed to be very new (like less than 2 months). Here is the link: http://www.getpeek.com/purchase.htm

I did not have any of the cooking light entrees, nor did I have any lobster, so I cannot comment on those questions - sorry!

[jend**]

Because I was seasick, I was constantly on the Meclazine meds, so I was drowsy a lot. Combine that with waking up early to tour the ports, and walking around all day when it was 104 degrees outside, and I was wiped out. So, we only got to see one show, which was a Second City comedy show. It was funny. I do not recall the music on the ship, and I was not able to make it to our meet and greet.

With regards to the food, I'm sorry that I was not very specific. I guess I'm just not sure how to explain, so I'll just give some examples. For breakfast, I tried pancakes and french toast. The pancakes were ok, and the french toast looked delicious (real thick pieces), but the french toast was hard as a rock. I tried a few othert pieces of it, hoping that I had just picked a bad piece, but it was all the same. I do not eat eggs, so I cannot comment on them. The muffins were good, so that is what I had for breakfast most days. I did not eat lunch on the ship.

For dinner at the free restaurants: I tried some of the soups, and they were just ok. I did not eat the burgers, but my friend ate them almost every day and liked them. The fries were good (tasted like fries from Wendy's), and they were always very fresh. The asian stir fry dishes were incredibly oily. The one pasta dish that I tried was very bland. My huband had the escargot appetizer at Magenta and loved it. The pizza was disappointing, because I love pizza, and my motto is that bad pizza is better than no pizza at all, and that just did not hold true on the ship. I do not know how to describe it other than to say that it just didn't taste good. It was not the thickness of the bread or the amount of sauce or cheese, I just didn't like it (and that is pretty rare for me). The prepared desserts all looked great, but they just didn't taste that great, except for the cookies, which were very good. The pound cake was also good. The ice cream tasted kind of gritty.

At the pay restaurants: At Cagneys, my husband and I got steaks, and they were ok. My husband and our friends all got fish appetizers and liked them. Our friends ordered fish entrees and liked them. We tried most of the side dishes and found the mash potatoes and augrautin potatoes to be very greasy. The food was not bad at Cagneys, but it was not exceptional either. At La Cuccina, my husband got the antipasta sampler and really liked it. I got pasta with meat sauce, and it was ok, not nearly as good as the pasta that I got off of the ship (not even in the same league). My husband got the lobster ravioli and liked it. Again, the food was good here, but not great.

[jend**]

I hope that I did a better job explaining my opinion regarding the food in my response to Snorklin'Barb.

[jend**]

If you got a quote for 340 Euros for one room for one night at the Royal Ramblas Hotel, with transportation from the airport and to the port, I would say that your quote is a bit high. I don't know that there is a need to arrange for transportation from the airport to the hotel ahead of time - we had no trouble finding a taxi (although we did arrive a day early). We paid 128 Euros for our room the first night (King, Superior Ramblas view), and we paid 130 Euros the second night. We had no problem getting a taxi from the hotel to the port, as you will likely find one waiting right outside of the hotel. Since we paid 30 Euros for the taxi from the airport, and we paid 20 Euros for the taxi to the port, it seems to me that a package for one room for one night with 2 taxi rides should not cost much more than 180 Euros.

[tv77]

[/quote] It is a small device, about the size of your cell phone, that gives you email capability without a contract. You buy the device (I think it was $60 for the model that also works in Europe) and then you pay a monthly fee to use it (I think that it's $20 per month, but I'm not sure). However, the best part is that there is no monthly contract, so you can buy it to use for a European cruise to stay in contact with people nack home and not have to worry about getting back home to a large and unexpected cell phone billl. Also, the device works in the US and Europe, although the use in Europe is supposed to be very new (like less than 2 months). Here is the link: http://www.getpeek.com/purchase.htm

Did the Peek work at every port? Did it work on the ship at all?

Thanks,
-tv77

[Mar y Sol]

"I had read on cruisecritic about the spa pass, which on the 7 day Gem cruise is $99 per person. There are supposedly a limited number of spa passes available, and the passes give you access to a kid-free pool, sauna, steam room, private jacuzzis, and best of all, these wonderful heated tile lounge chairs. The use of the chairs alone was worth the $9".

Thanks so much for your ship's review. I am looking forward to our Spring 2010 cruise out of Venice and have been reading everything and anything I can get my hands on about the GEM. I am very interested in this spa package and where you got the information. Since our trip will be in May, I doubt whether the pools will be open however in looking at the deck plans I believe there is an indoor pool in the spa? Am I right or are my eyes deceiving me? Thanks.

[lost in translation]

Originally Posted by jend**

Regarding cell phones: If you have a T-Mobile Blackberry, call Tmobile and add the international email plan, which costs $20 for a month, but they will prorate the cost depending on the number of days you need plan. You can email as much as you want from anywhere you want (on ship or land) under the plan at no additional charge beyond the $20 (or prorated) fee. However, texts are not included in the plan - only email is included. If you have Verizon, do not even bother bringing your cell phone. My husband has Verizon, and we paid them to send us (rent) a global blackberry to use on our trip, so that my husband and I could communicate if we got separated, and the phone NEVER worked for email or Blackberry messenger.

Did your husband sign up for the international data plan for email on the verizon blackberry? We have also arranged to rent verizon global blackberries so are trying to figure out what went wrong. I have read other posters who used their own verizon global blackberries after paying for this data plan (which according to one was $65 a month which seems expensive).

[lupe lu]

Thank you for your very interesting review. We will be on the Gem in October Both my husband and I have been to Rome before and we plan to take the "on your own"-tour. My question is: Where in Rome did they drop you off? Street or piazza? I suppose you were picked up at the same place on return to the ship? How many hours did you spend in Rome? What about Florence - same questions there?
Thanks.

[happy cruzer]

Originally Posted by mapsmom

Thanks for the great review! We are leaving in a few days, and the one burning question I have is about getting off the ship at the end. We have a 10:30 flight, so we will self disembark, which I believe means that you carry your own stuff off. Tell me, do you think that there will be a really long taxi line if we leave at 7 AM?

Also, while I am thinking of it, we have ATT service, and they told DH that we can text for 50cents outgoing and free incoming because we have a plan. We do not have a data plan, but maybe it would be worth it if I do not have to use the ship's internet. Do I have to get a special sim card or anything else? I have heard stories that the phones don't automatically work in Europe.

Did you try the cooking light cuisine in the main dining room? I would be interested in knowing if that was good. How was the lobster night (we love seafood)?

Thanks again.

you can get more info about international cruise air over on the cruise air board.

My experience departing Barcelona was that if your ship does dock on time then there are taxis available at 7. Then it can take up to 1 hour to get to the airport. Then there can be a line to check baggage, in my case around 30 minutes, some were much longer. Then another line to get through security, again in my case another 30 minutes. So that is two hours that may be best case. The ship can be late and the lines can be longer. Plus they can give your tickets away if you are not present at the gate a certain period of time before boarding. You can do more research to be sure of your plans but they sound a bit tight to me.

Good luck.

[Bulldog3777]

Originally Posted by Mar y Sol

"I had read on cruisecritic about the spa pass, which on the 7 day Gem cruise is $99 per person. There are supposedly a limited number of spa passes available, and the passes give you access to a kid-free pool, sauna, steam room, private jacuzzis, and best of all, these wonderful heated tile lounge chairs. The use of the chairs alone was worth the $9".

Thanks so much for your ship's review. I am looking forward to our Spring 2010 cruise out of Venice and have been reading everything and anything I can get my hands on about the GEM. I am very interested in this spa package and where you got the information. Since our trip will be in May, I doubt whether the pools will be open however in looking at the deck plans I believe there is an indoor pool in the spa? Am I right or are my eyes deceiving me? Thanks.

I was on the Pearl in Alaska and the pools were open and heated. Don't know about the Gem but will find out Oct 4.

[uneamie]

Great informative review...good job.

That said.....we are staying in cabin # 11546 mid ship..a mini suite on Gem too. I was wondering how you liked your "balcony". From what I can see there is an "over hang" that extends further out on the "mid ship" mini suites then it does any where else. Was this "over hang" OK for you....we are not happy with it being there for we like our balcony being completely open etc. Thanks for your input.

[steviek49]

Originally Posted by euro cruiser

I was also on the Gem for the July 12th sailing. We were sitting on our balcony all morning on departure day and noticed the same thing as the previous poster. The taxi lines weren't bad until the last couple of departures - 9 AM and later. We were in that 9:30 group and it was awful. If I had it to do over, I would absolutely pre-arrange pick up.

Can you tell me how one pre arranges a taxi pick up at the end of the cruise.
We will be on the 8/23 Gem cruise and will be staying another night at a hotel after the cruise on 8/30
So- we would be interested in information and recommendations for the pick up from cruise ship to hotel.
Thanks for any and all information.