Gem Review 7/19-7/26 Owners Suite

Hi all..after last year's Breakaway cruise with eight family members, this was a birthday present for my bf so it was just the two of us. We sailed in an OS on deck 10, so while a Haven suite it was not located in the Haven.

First and foremost, we had excellent weather and sailing conditions throughout the cruise! Our cabin was fabulous, with two balconies and almost too much room for just the two of us. The bathroom is wonderfully huge, with two sinks, a tub, and separate shower with lots of different jets. We sailed in an OS on the Jewel for a two nighter due to an upsell last February, but to have the space for a week was a dream!

Butler and concierge service was perfectly on target; everything we asked for (which wasn't a great deal) was dealt with efficiently. Our concierge was going on vacation following this cruise, so he may have been counting the days, but he did do several great things; we reserved the Chef's dinner, but he informed us that there wasn't enough interest...we were sorely disappointed but surprisingly we were comped a dinner with a bottle of wine at any specialty restaurant of our choice. I was very impressed and thankful for this unexpected 'gift'! As a result, we dined at five specialties and only paid for one due to the 'pick your perk' promo that was offered at time of booking. He also reserved an Atlantis excursion at the last minute (more on that later!). Our butler was sweet but somewhat tentative. We liked him a lot though and he scored getting me a Haven bathrobe when it wasn't in our cabin. It's the best bathrobe ever so I bought it and can now enjoy it at home! He also tracked down our ship's pin which was not in the cabin.

As for food, we enjoyed Cagney's twice, Bistro once, Orchid

Garden once, and La Cucina once. The only 'complaint' I had was that the lobster dish at Le Bistro was too salty for my taste but everything else all week was terrific. I also really enjoyed the Indian food in the buffet, and I loved sitting in the Great Outdoors to enjoy it! I also went to the buffet once for breakfast while bf was sleeping and it was very good. The buffet has exactly the same items as Cagney's suite breakfast buffet! I loved the banana pancake desert in the Orchid Garden and the Bistro's fondue is one of my favorite deserts ever!

Entertainment for us consisted of the casino (Christy ? is a fabulous person and employee there!), the White Hot Party (we felt a little old dancing but had a blast), and seeing the band Prism at the Lattitudes party as well as Bandaroake. Bandaroake was a hoot with some super talented passengers singing. The one singer who tried really hard had a great time with the band and we laughed a lot! It was all in good fun!

Ports are what they are (Port Canaveral, GSC and Nassau). We rented a car and met friends in Vero Beach in Florida. That was great for us! We also loved GSC!! We rented a large cabana and had fun and friendly service from the cabana staff. The buffet lunch was great and swimming was so much fun. We opted for the Aqua Adventure in Atlantis in Nassau. I've always wanted to see the place and now I have. It's a hefty wait (half hour or so) from the time you leave the ship to when you're on the bus to get there at the pier with some confusion and disgruntled passengers due to the sun and heat. Once on the property, there is a tour you can take but we ditched it fairly early on and relied on the map we were given. The place is huge and reminded me somewhat of a theme park!! Eleven pools (we swam in none of them), water slides (we took none of them...long lines and hot sun), the casino (we went for 20 minutes...very beautiful) and the beach. We did go to the beach and enjoyed it, but there are some things to know. There are vendors that move through the crowd offering everything from Cuban cigars to trinkets etc. They are not aggressive but definitely present on a continuous basis. My bf and I did not feel comfortable leaving our things on our chairs to swim together so that was a disappointment. We also went through the aquarium (the DIG) and enjoyed that. We had lunch in the Cave restaurant near the beach; with two drinks and two sandwiches it was well over $40 so bear that in mind. Good food though! All in all, I think kids of all ages would love Atlantis but it wasn't quite for us especially for the price. Next time, we would do a resort day pass in Cable Beach or the People to People program. If you do go to Paradise Island, I recommend the ferry back to the terminal. $4 and another boat ride!!!

Embarkation took longer than on my previous three NCL cruises but no biggie. Disembarkation was a breeze.

Random observations:

We were in a Haven stateroom but not 'in the Haven' as we were on deck 10. I sometimes wondered if service was less personalized due to that, but it was still very good.

There was no Haven bathrobe in our cabin and I figured maybe only the new ships get the awesome ones. I finally asked the butler on day 5 and he appeared with the bathrobe. I missed having it the first few days (first world problem to be sure:D).

As noted above, no chef's dinner, but the comped dinner with wine at Cagney's was an unexpected and much appreciated gesture.

Our concierge only visited with us once or twice during breakfast and lunch at Cagney's. We didn't see him the last night which really surprised me (it's tip night after all!) so we settled up with him leaving the ship.

We only went to the Haven once to try and swim. There were five or six kids in the pool so that was the end of that. I totally respect that there are tons of family suites up there, but it was a little disappointing. They weren't loud or anything...there was just no pool for us to use.

We had a fun meet and greet and I highly recommend attending one. The officers really go out of their way to solicit comments and feedback there as well as the Lattitudes party, the Captains party in the Haven and elsewhere. We really felt like NCL continues to do an exceptional job in their efforts to appreciate their passengers and work to please them as best they can.

This was our forth NCL cruise. We've been on the Dawn, Jewel, Breakaway and now the Gem. I am now a believer that I personally prefer the smaller ships even though I sailed in the DOS on the BA. It never felt crowded or hectic, we boarded with no reservations for anything and it was so much more relaxed for how we like to sail.

Please feel free to ask any questions. I would post pics, but I left my camera at Atlantis so I don't think I have any chance of getting it back! :o

Happy cruising!:)

Hi all..after last year's Breakaway cruise with eight family members, this was a birthday present for my bf so it was just the two of us. We sailed in an OS on deck 10, so while a Haven suite it was not located in the Haven.

 

First and foremost, we had excellent weather and sailing conditions throughout the cruise! Our cabin was fabulous, with two balconies and almost too much room for just the two of us. The bathroom is wonderfully huge, with two sinks, a tub, and separate shower with lots of different jets. We sailed in an OS on the Jewel for a two nighter due to an upsell last February, but to have the space for a week was a dream!

 

Butler and concierge service was perfectly on target; everything we asked for (which wasn't a great deal) was dealt with efficiently. Our concierge was going on vacation following this cruise, so he may have been counting the days, but he did do several great things; we reserved the Chef's dinner, but he informed us that there wasn't enough interest...we were sorely disappointed but surprisingly we were comped a dinner with a bottle of wine at any specialty restaurant of our choice. I was very impressed and thankful for this unexpected 'gift'! As a result, we dined at five specialties and only paid for one due to the 'pick your perk' promo that was offered at time of booking. He also reserved an Atlantis excursion at the last minute (more on that later!). Our butler was sweet but somewhat tentative. We liked him a lot though and he scored getting me a Haven bathrobe when it wasn't in our cabin. It's the best bathrobe ever so I bought it and can now enjoy it at home! He also tracked down our ship's pin which was not in the cabin.

 

As for food, we enjoyed Cagney's twice, Bistro once, Orchid

Garden once, and La Cucina once. The only 'complaint' I had was that the lobster dish at Le Bistro was too salty for my taste but everything else all week was terrific. I also really enjoyed the Indian food in the buffet, and I loved sitting in the Great Outdoors to enjoy it! I also went to the buffet once for breakfast while bf was sleeping and it was very good. The buffet has exactly the same items as Cagney's suite breakfast buffet! I loved the banana pancake desert in the Orchid Garden and the Bistro's fondue is one of my favorite deserts ever!

 

Entertainment for us consisted of the casino (Christy ? is a fabulous person and employee there!), the White Hot Party (we felt a little old dancing but had a blast), and seeing the band Prism at the Lattitudes party as well as Bandaroake. Bandaroake was a hoot with some super talented passengers singing. The one singer who tried really hard had a great time with the band and we laughed a lot! It was all in good fun!

 

Ports are what they are (Port Canaveral, GSC and Nassau). We rented a car and met friends in Vero Beach in Florida. That was great for us! We also loved GSC!! We rented a large cabana and had fun and friendly service from the cabana staff. The buffet lunch was great and swimming was so much fun. We opted for the Aqua Adventure in Atlantis in Nassau. I've always wanted to see the place and now I have. It's a hefty wait (half hour or so) from the time you leave the ship to when you're on the bus to get there at the pier with some confusion and disgruntled passengers due to the sun and heat. Once on the property, there is a tour you can take but we ditched it fairly early on and relied on the map we were given. The place is huge and reminded me somewhat of a theme park!! Eleven pools (we swam in none of them), water slides (we took none of them...long lines and hot sun), the casino (we went for 20 minutes...very beautiful) and the beach. We did go to the beach and enjoyed it, but there are some things to know. There are vendors that move through the crowd offering everything from Cuban cigars to trinkets etc. They are not aggressive but definitely present on a continuous basis. My bf and I did not feel comfortable leaving our things on our chairs to swim together so that was a disappointment. We also went through the aquarium (the DIG) and enjoyed that. We had lunch in the Cave restaurant near the beach; with two drinks and two sandwiches it was well over $40 so bear that in mind. Good food though! All in all, I think kids of all ages would love Atlantis but it wasn't quite for us especially for the price. Next time, we would do a resort day pass in Cable Beach or the People to People program. If you do go to Paradise Island, I recommend the ferry back to the terminal. $4 and another boat ride!!!

 

Embarkation took longer than on my previous three NCL cruises but no biggie. Disembarkation was a breeze.

 

Random observations:

We were in a Haven stateroom but not 'in the Haven' as we were on deck 10. I sometimes wondered if service was less personalized due to that, but it was still very good.

 

There was no Haven bathrobe in our cabin and I figured maybe only the new ships get the awesome ones. I finally asked the butler on day 5 and he appeared with the bathrobe. I missed having it the first few days (first world problem to be sure:D).

 

As noted above, no chef's dinner, but the comped dinner with wine at Cagney's was an unexpected and much appreciated gesture.

 

Our concierge only visited with us once or twice during breakfast and lunch at Cagney's. We didn't see him the last night which really surprised me (it's tip night after all!) so we settled up with him leaving the ship.

 

We only went to the Haven once to try and swim. There were five or six kids in the pool so that was the end of that. I totally respect that there are tons of family suites up there, but it was a little disappointing. They weren't loud or anything...there was just no pool for us to use.

 

We had a fun meet and greet and I highly recommend attending one. The officers really go out of their way to solicit comments and feedback there as well as the Lattitudes party, the Captains party in the Haven and elsewhere. We really felt like NCL continues to do an exceptional job in their efforts to appreciate their passengers and work to please them as best they can.

 

This was our forth NCL cruise. We've been on the Dawn, Jewel, Breakaway and now the Gem. I am now a believer that I personally prefer the smaller ships even though I sailed in the DOS on the BA. It never felt crowded or hectic, we boarded with no reservations for anything and it was so much more relaxed for how we like to sail.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions. I would post pics, but I left my camera at Atlantis so I don't think I have any chance of getting it back! :o

 

Happy cruising!:)

Thanks for the review and I understand the feeling of forgetting your camera. Although we didn't forget our camera, we lost our SD card in Hawaii so lost all the pictures (this was at the end of the trip unfortunately;().

We have a cruise coming up in Sept on the GEM. Did they offer the Jazz Brunch on your trip? What about the chocolate buffet?

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

Hi... I didn't notice a jazz brunch but I'll check my dailies. No chocolate buffet but a chocoholics night with tons of stuff in the buffet dessert section and one chocolate carving of a swan.

About the camera...I'm not at all upset about the camera itself (a very seemingly heavy Cannon underwater one) but I am peeved about the SD card so I can feel you pain! I'm not even sure what was on it prior to the cruise. Rats!

Have a great time! She's a really nice ship with a great crew!

Thanks for the review and I understand the feeling of forgetting your camera. Although we didn't forget our camera, we lost our SD card in Hawaii so lost all the pictures (this was at the end of the trip unfortunately;().

 

We have a cruise coming up in Sept on the GEM. Did they offer the Jazz Brunch on your trip? What about the chocolate buffet?

 

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

They offered the Jazz Brunch in May but not enough people signed up for it so it was canceled. They offered us a bottle of wine to make up for our disappointment. Unfortunately they never sent the wine. We made one phone call after another. Many hours late a bottle was in our room. Don't know if it was worth the aggravation,

Chocoholic buffet is no more I have heard. Now it is just one night with a lot of choices for chocolate desserts in the MDR.

Now that I think of it , the chocoholics night has chocolate deserts in every restaurant along with the other choices. It somehow feels different than the chocolate buffet but if you want chocolate you'll be sure to find it! :)

They offered the Jazz Brunch in May but not enough people signed up for it so it was canceled. They offered us a bottle of wine to make up for our disappointment. Unfortunately they never sent the wine. We made one phone call after another. Many hours late a bottle was in our room. Don't know if it was worth the aggravation,

Chocoholic buffet is no more I have heard. Now it is just one night with a lot of choices for chocolate desserts in the MDR.

I'm sorry about the aggravation with the wine. As noted above, our chef's dinner was canceled and we were very disappointed, but our comped dinner made up for it. The hostess at Cagney's even apologized when we showed up for our free dinner. I wish NCL had handled your wine as quickly and professionally.

Jazz brunches are great!

We had the OS on the Jewel and certainly lots of room.

You mentioned that your lobster from Le Bistro was too salty. My DD ordered the coq au vin at Le Bistro and found it much too salty. I tasted it and it really was salty. Coq au vin is one of my specialty dishes and it's served at our home several times during cooler weather. The dish requires very little salt.

Thanks for the feedback! I hope they have the Jazz brunch. We missed It on our last NCL cruise. I'm not sure what it is but in my opinion, they always seem to have a better quality of food at the brunch. Maybe the jazz makes it seem better :D

We are bringing a couple of first time cruisers with us so I thought it would be cool if they were able to see the chocolate buffet (especially if we could get an early escort in via the concierge).

On what night is the white hot party?

Thank you for posting your review. Next March I'm in OS 9004. Not being in the actual Haven doesn't really worry me, the last 3 years I've stayed in the Haven on the Epic & only ever walked through the Haven Courtyard. My first 2 cruises on the Epic I quite enjoyed Posh but this year even though I had a fractured knee (skidoo accident just prior to the cruise) & I did tip the bartender when I went for my first pop I still each drink had to slap on my full leg immobilizer & hop over to the bar :( I has planned on doing a cruise this summer but I've just had reconstructive surgery to repair the ligaments & I'm back in a leg immobilizer & figured one cruise wearing this thing was enough :p

On what night is the white hot party?

As per the dailies I brought home it is held on the 6th night in Spinnakers. Lots of people and lots of fun! Enjoy! :)

On what night is the white hot party?

Not sure if you are traveling with kids or not - There are actually 3 different white hot parties also - adults, family and teens, each held in different locations on the same night.

I was also on the same cruise in a non-haven suite (11th floor 2 bedroom penthouse). I didn't feel like our service was any less personalized because of the location. Overall I thought the Butler (Maurice) and Concierge (Carlos) were great. As you said, I did know that Carlos was one week away from his vacation so maybe a little less service that our prior cruise on the Gem when we had Kadek for a Concierge but overall I was please with the level of service from both. Glad you enjoyed your cruise - we did also!!

I was also on the same cruise in a non-haven suite (11th floor 2 bedroom penthouse). I didn't feel like our service was any less personalized because of the location. Overall I thought the Butler (Maurice) and Concierge (Carlos) were great. As you said, I did know that Carlos was one week away from his vacation so maybe a little less service that our prior cruise on the Gem when we had Kadek for a Concierge but overall I was please with the level of service from both. Glad you enjoyed your cruise - we did also!!

We did truly enjoy our cruise and really loved the ship overall! I think I was forever spoiled by the service we got from our first concierge on the Dawn. he appeared at every breakfast and dinner and was always waiting for suite guests in the theater before shows. Of course, the Dawn doesn't have a Haven area, so that has to change the dynamic for the concierge in some ways to be sure. I miss the cruise already!:)

Thanks for the report!

Sorry to read about the camera, thanks for the review!

Thank you all for your kind words about the lost camera. If only I had the SD card I wouldn't care at all! Oh well....we have to move on and be thankful for the wonderful stuff right? Like a week long terrific cruise on a great ship!!! :)

I actually have another question if I may ask. What is the current gratuity per per person per day. I've seen $12 and I've seen $12.90. I'm not sure which is correct.

Thanks again

Thanks for your nice review, glad you had a good cruise.

I actually have another question if I may ask. What is the current gratuity per per person per day. I've seen $12 and I've seen $12.90. I'm not sure which is correct.

 

Thanks again

This comes directly from the NCL website:

"How much is the charge? Onboard Service Charges are additional. A charge of $12 per person per day will automatically be added to your onboard account. Are service charges across the board for all guests? All guests 3 years or older."

This comes directly from the NCL website:

 

"How much is the charge? Onboard Service Charges are additional. A charge of $12 per person per day will automatically be added to your onboard account. Are service charges across the board for all guests? All guests 3 years or older."

Thanks. I can't find it now that I'm looking for it, but I saw $12.90 on the NCL website as well. Possibly in a Suite/Haven link??? This is why I thought it better to ask someone who just finished a cruise (in a suite).

OP here...last week it was definitely $12 pp/pd. I hope you have a great cruise!

OP here...last week it was definitely $12 pp/pd. I hope you have a great cruise!

Thanks! I trust a recent cruiser to my memory any day ;)

Looking forward to the trip.

Thanks for taking the time to write about your recent cruise on the Gem. Brings back recent memories!

The concierge, Carlos, left the ship for vacation and home to South Africa at the end of your cruise. Maybe that's why you felt he wasn't quite as attentive. We saw him in May on the Bahamas cruise, and he was great. Just found out that Virginia will be the Gem's concierge until Carlos returns in October, so we'll see her in September and Carlos again in December. (You can guess that we, too, like the just-right-size-for-us Gem and her crew.:))