ImaGEMing - a long awaited cruise... August 2016

We are just a day away from boarding our plane away from Australia to start our trip, which will culminate in a week aboard the GEM! Hubby and I both finished up at work today (it's Friday here) and I'm now not due back at work until Thursday 1st September. "We" is myself, Jenn and hubby, Tony (both just over 50) and our 23yr old daughter (RJ). RJ has Down Syndrome and so lives life a little differently than other 23yr olds...

The bag/s are pretty much packed. Just need to put in the last minute stuff tomorrow, then we are off in the afternoon to stay at a hotel right at Sydney airport. We live way on the other side of the city, and our flight takes off at 6am on Sunday morning, so the overnight at the airport was a "no brainer".

We route up to London via Dubai. WOW - what a mess that was up there just a day ago. but it looks like they have now reopened the runway and so we should get through OK for our transit.

We have so many exciting things to experience before we get anywhere near the GEM. First up next Monday is a tour of Buckingham Palace's state rooms. And, we even get to see the Queen's dresses including her wedding and coronation dresses. Then, it's off up to a small village in Oxfordshire for our nephew's wedding, and of course a drive by the Mini factory in Oxford for hubby.

And, then onward to the next adventure after that. I've got a generous roaming allowance, so am hopeful I can update along the way, including some posts on board the GEM. But, I'm not promising too much from on board because I see from the board that there's no sign of that ultra-fast NCL wifi yet :confused:

Jenn

Have a great time, sounds like a great trip. Look forward to seeing and reading about the Gem. Taking her on a 10 trip in March and cannot wait.

Enjoy

And the sun has come out for your arrival in the UK.

Have an amazing trip, and then tell us all about it. I am on the Gem next year.

purepixie67: Glad to hear there is sun out for our arrival! Just need sun next Saturday in Chesham for the wedding we are going to.

DominicAUS: thanks for the best wishes. Hope I can provide some good hints for your trip.

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Enjoy your trip, we love the Gem.

And, we have left home to "hotel it" at the airport before our early early flight to Dubai-London in the morning. Here we are...

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Hope you have an amazing cruise.

Safe travels! We're on the Gem a week after you leave, and I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts on her.

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12 days to go! And we are adventuring on the other side of the world already.

We flew (for over 24hrs) with Emirates via Dubai to London. It was as bearable as 24hrs in planes can be. In other words we were desperate for a shower when we arrived...

Today was a long planned and pre-booked tour of Buckingham Palace's State Rooms. So amazing to be walking in places that so many statesmen and the famous and Royal have trod. Beautiful rooms and exhibitions, including a number of the amazing dresses / gowns that the Queen has worn over the years of her reign. No photos allowed in the Palace, so here's the outside and a painting from inside the Queen's Gallery where we were allowed cameras.

We are now relaxing in our hotel room (Park Plaza Victoria - recommended so far), and just about to go find a bar for a well deserved drink.

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Sounds like a fantastic holiday! How did RJ do with the long flights? I don't know if I could handle that much time on a plane feeling dirty.

She was OK. We are very blessed to be able to be doing this whole trip at all, and flights in business class. My mother died at the end of last year, and this trip is possible thanks to her legacy...

We suspect though that RJ may need to see a dr today. She's had a recurrent tooth abcess and after having a horrible headache last night we think she may need antibiotics (again) [emoji33]

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After a couple of lovely days in London we drove to Windsor this morning and stood in the line to get in the gates for 2.5hrs. I've got very sore feet this afternoon!

We are now checked into our English country hotel (Chartridge Lodge) until Sunday. Off to have dinner with our nephew and his partner and their new baby in a few minutes [emoji4]

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following along--looks like the beginnings of the trip of a lifetime!!

See you on the GEM-

Bob

After a great week in England finding ancestors gravestones, touristy things to do, and attending a wedding we have just spent a day in Milan. Now we are waiting to board our flight to NYC, and the adventure of the cruise is nearly here. But first some time in NYC and Washington DC...

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An early welcome to steamy, subtropical-feeling New York. You will certainly be acclimated to the climate for your cruise after spending a few days here and in DC. This has been one of the hottest and most humid summers we've had in years.

Have fun, stay hydrated and enjoy yourselves! Look forward to hearing about your adventures in my hometown of NYC and on the Gem.

PS -- isn't it amazing seeing the Queen's wardrobe? I remember leaving an exhibit of clothing at Kensington Palace years ago and being stunned by how tiny the clothes are!

Just taxiing into a gate at JFK. 30C at 7pm at night? Definitely warm...

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What a packed couple of days we've had. Top of the Rock, American Museum of Natural History, whole day trip to Washington D.C, Times Square at night, and... a trip to Macy's to buy a new suitcase for hubby, since his came off our flight from Milan with one less wheel.

We've had some amazing meals along the way, with a special shout out to Cafe Frida (Mexican) and Lilli & Loo (Chinese/Thai) who both had great gluten free options for RJ.

In terms of food for Tony and I, we had a steak meal last night at American Cut that involved great steak, great wine/beer, great service, and lovely surroundings.

So now it's nearly 7am and I need to drag my sore feet up out of bed and think about repacking the bags again. Making sure to keep our swimmers in our carryon bags so we can take a dip in a pool before our bags arrive at our cabin later today!

We have no meet and greet set up for this trip. The group on here just never got big enough... So if you are on our sailing and see us, be sure to say "hi" as we are friendly Aussie/Kiwis [emoji4]

Jenn

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So we are on board finally! Reasonably efficient boarding and we've already met two families from CC in the lounge (shoutout to B and his family and K and her family).

Time for lunch in Cagney's, and we've already had a meeting to talk about RJ's gluten free options - they are bringing her pasta [emoji1]. Oh, and Tony and I have already found a beer and a glass of Californian Chardonnay [emoji41]

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And into the cabin!

Tony is almost speechless. We had a balcony on the POA last year, but this 2bdrm is just so over the top!

If anyone was wondering... Here is the floor of the shower!

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And just for those who like aircraft (like Tony), here is the view from our balcony - Concorde!

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Enjoying your trip report.

Have a great trip!

Nice following your posts

Thanks cincicruisers, AussieExpats, and easyboy!

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We had a busy afternoon meeting our butler, Lea and cabin steward, Terrence, both of whom are really lovely. Terrence brought us an extra chair for our lounge/balcony, and we came back from dinner to find he had left us these happy new friends.

At lunch in Cagney's, and dinner in Magenta we also were visited by Bernadette who will be taking RJ's gluten free orders for each meal during the week. So far RJ has been able to order: pasta with tomato sauce for lunch; tuna and salmon salad for starter, bacon wrapped jumbo shrimp (prawns we Aussies call them) for dinner entree (we call this the "main"), flourless choc cake for dessert; and, for breakfast in the morning RJ will be having gluten free French toast!!!!!!!

We were a bit shocked to realise the artworks around the walls in Cagney's depict people being shot, mugged and stabbed. Weird...

The sail away was enjoyed from our balcony, with great views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on our way out, and then we adventures out to explore the ship. Tony explored a Bacardi mojito and I explored an Ultimate Margarita, while RJ fell in love with the water and ice. Since she developed celiac disease she doesn't like soda anymore and just drinks water or apple juice. I'm yet to find out if we can get apple juice onboard yet.

Here's a photo of my drink. Oops, it's gone [emoji9]

Anyway, after a dip in the spa (jacuzzi) and the little haven pool, and a trip to the shop for lanyards, we were all in bed by 9.30. Sorry, you'll have to rely on other people's trip reports for the late night info!

And, as a quick review of the wifi - which you'll notice I have: we had the promo with 250 minutes and decided to upgrade to the unlimited. Visited the very friendly wifi guru at the wifi desk, who stepped us through the process of upgrading. He was very honest in stating that we wouldn't be getting the same speeds we get on land, and he was right all last evening. But here I am uploading this at 5.30am, and the speed is really good. Is that because I'm the only crazy person awake at this hour?

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