Live from the Gem

Just some first impressions on our 8th voyage on the Gem.

We have always stayed in The Haven and we couldn't ask for anything better.

Or so we thought.

We have the dining and beverage packages.

Want a drink before sail away? You have to pay .84 cents tax for being in port.

Drink prices have gone up: $12.10 for a gin & tonic, $12.25 for a glass of wine.

Wow. Happy they added the beverage package to our booking for the Haven.

They took the DVD players out of the cabins so we can't use the disks we brought.

We've been told tonight, our first first night that if we don't figure out our dinner reservations for the entire voyage, we probably won't get into the specialty restaurants. It's February 11 and no room left in any restaurant for Valentines Day.

This has never been the case on any voyage in the past.

We just decided in the morning where we wanted dinner, called the concierge, and bingo, we had a reservation.

Not now.

We've been told by our concierge, Francesco, that over 500 dining packages have been sold and the restaurants are almost fully booked.

***?

There seems to be a big difference on this ship since we last sailed last February.....and it's not the nice new carpeting or furniture. We're getting the strong impression that cuts in staffing and increased prices are the new normal.

What is happening with NCL?

More later.

Yes you will always be taxed on anything when in US port. I grew accustomed to paying taxes on all my drinks until we sailed under the bridge. Agreed drink prices have gone up but majority now has some sort of package and most likely beverage package. So that won't matter. DVDs I don't bring I just enjoy going to all the shows and game shows and parties. I sailed a few weeks ago and specialty restaurants were a non issue even if I reserved the same day. Teppan-Yaki will always be tough as there is only a few seatings. Crew is still the same amazing GEM crew as always. Met all of them on my sailing and they seemed these. Moral a little lower due to lack of tips with the new beverage package. But they all still smiled and went above and beyond. GEM looks amazing since it came out of dry dock. Hope your cruise ends up fantastic. First day was a cold one today. Burrrrrrr. Good think you're leaving.

How about a romantic specialty dinner for two in your suite on Valentine's Day?

We have always stayed in The Haven and we couldn't ask for anything better.

The little things do add up, and NCL should be more aware of that given how many of the "little things" they are tinkering with.

How are the cabins in the Haven? Have they been redone in the big dry dock extravaganza?

The Gem came in this morning quietly, and departed the same, apparently without notice of the press, due to the circumstances that put the RCI Anthem of the Seas under the world's spotlight.

I was hoping to see some comments on this board from those that debarked today, re: the weather conditions that they experienced following not too far behind the Anthem, but haven't seen any, including from their roll call, which leads me to believe they fared at lot better than those on the RCI ship....

 

How are the cabins in the Haven? Have they been redone in the big dry dock extravaganza?

We returned from the Gem yesterday. We were in an aft-facing penthouse suite. Not redone during the dry dock, and quite shabby and in need of a facelift. Here are my specific comments re our suite:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2314292

Edited to add: I see you'd read my comments earlier. Obviously, I can't speak to the suites specifically inside the Haven, but the Captain said none of the suites had been redone.

The Gem came in this morning quietly, and departed the same, apparently without notice of the press, due to the circumstances that put the RCI Anthem of the Seas under the world's spotlight.

 

I was hoping to see some comments on this board from those that debarked today, re: the weather conditions that they experienced following not too far behind the Anthem, but haven't seen any, including from their roll call, which leads me to believe they fared at lot better than those on the RCI ship....

We disembarked from the Gem yesterday, and I addressed the weather question in post 3 on this thread, where the OP was wondering the same thing:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2314006

Enjoy the cruise.

Keith

The little things do add up, and NCL should be more aware of that given how many of the "little things" they are tinkering with.

 

How are the cabins in the Haven? Have they been redone in the big dry dock extravaganza?

The rugs are new and they removed the two club chairs . New TV's . CD/DVD player removed. All else remained the same in the two bedroom Haven Suites

Just some first impressions on our 8th voyage on the Gem.

 

We have always stayed in The Haven and we couldn't ask for anything better.

 

Or so we thought.

 

We have the dining and beverage packages.

 

Want a drink before sail away? You have to pay .84 cents tax for being in port.

 

Drink prices have gone up: $12.10 for a gin & tonic, $12.25 for a glass of wine.

 

Wow. Happy they added the beverage package to our booking for the Haven.

 

They took the DVD players out of the cabins so we can't use the disks we brought.

 

We've been told tonight, our first first night that if we don't figure out our dinner reservations for the entire voyage, we probably won't get into the specialty restaurants. It's February 11 and no room left in any restaurant for Valentines Day.

This has never been the case on any voyage in the past.

We just decided in the morning where we wanted dinner, called the concierge, and bingo, we had a reservation.

Not now.

We've been told by our concierge, Francesco, that over 500 dining packages have been sold and the restaurants are almost fully booked.

***?

 

There seems to be a big difference on this ship since we last sailed last February.....and it's not the nice new carpeting or furniture. We're getting the strong impression that cuts in staffing and increased prices are the new normal.

 

What is happening with NCL?

 

More later.

YES, there is a big difference on this ship since our two sailings last year.

Having just returned yesterday, I can attest to that. Cuts in staff, a lot of new staff (particularly in the casino), increased prices, and the more than usual yearly cutbacks in several areas are very noticeable. You will see more as the week goes on.

As a poster indicated a few weeks ago, "There is something missing on the Gem."

We are definitely rethinking as to our sailing with NCL in the future.

Thanks for the live update.

Thanks for the update...though not too happy about your observations...:(

Returned from Gem cruise yesterday. This was our first Haven experience and it was wonderful. Some dinner reservations were difficult to obtain, but we took the times that were available. I will comment on the lack of seating room in the living area...one sofa (which is old) is not enough especially if the cabin is at its capacity of six guests. As far as the second bedroom is concerned, I cannot picture three people being able to sleep comfortably in it. I slept on the sofa that opened to a bed to sleep two....very uncomfortable even with memory foam and egg crate mattresses added. For the price that we paid to be in the Haven, NCL should try to make this room more comfortable.

Other than that, all I can say is "once you go Haven, you can never go back" to general population!!!

Does this ship have iConcierge capability?

Does this ship have iConcierge capability?

Yes, but NCL doesn't use it very well. Many of the daily activities are not listed on it, which sort of defeats the purpose. Nor does NCL use it to post the daily menus in the MDR, for example. Good technology that could be far better utilized, imho.

Having done penthouse suites on NCL before, I am wondering about those DVD players being removed...are they on-demand movies now, and if so do you have to pay for them?

Yes, but NCL doesn't use it very well. Many of the daily activities are not listed on it, which sort of defeats the purpose. Nor does NCL use it to post the daily menus in the MDR, for example. Good technology that could be far better utilized, imho.

Wow didn't want to hear that!

Does it at least support messaging to family members?

I hope V 2.0 features way more such as

• Photo Gallery review and purchase
  
• Gambling (ok that's probably a stretch!)
  
• Up to date ship position with realtime weather, etc.
  
• Announcements, offers, etc. through push notifications (which can be turned off by the user!)
  
• Ordering drinks, room service, etc.
  
• Virtual tender tickets
  
• SOS feature to request in cabin service for different categories from a non working toilet to getting locked out of your cabin, safe, etc.
  
• Butler call on duty
  
• On call laundry and notification when laundry is done.
  

• Luggage tracking both embarkation and disembarkation through the use of RFID smart luggage tags.
  

I'm sure there's more I can think of at the moment but you get the idea. ;)

Wow didn't want to hear that!

Does it at least support messaging to family members?

 

I hope V 2.0 features way more such as

 

 

. . .

[*]Luggage tracking both embarkation and disembarkation through the use of RFID smart luggage tags.

You have to pay per device for the text/call communications feature. We didn't use it so I can't speak to that personally.

As for luggage tracking, we sailed on the Anthem of the Seas this past fall, which does have luggage tracking using RFID tags and Anthem's Royal iQ app. The luggage tracking did not work, either on embarkation or disembarkation. When we embarked, it told us our luggage had been delivered to our cabin several hours before it actually had been delivered. Others have reported similar issues. It's a gimmick and I'm sure it's fun when it works, but we didn't lose any sleep over it. :)

Thanks for that, I'll check this out soon enough. We're on 3/2 Gem.

Does it at least support messaging to family members?

In theory, yes. In our experience (just off the 2/1 Gem sailing), NO. Our phones would NOT stay connected to the wifi, so in order to check/send messages, you would have to completely shut down the iConcierge app, force the phone to connect to the ship's wifi (which our phones did not want to do because without an internet connection, why would you connect to wifi?) and restart the app. So if you are expecting it to work like a normal messaging app, it won't do that, because it won't stay connected to the wifi. It's more like a pile of old sticky notes that happen to be in your pocket. (We even went to speak with the wifi manager - who is located in the art gallery on the Gem, btw - and the settings he changed on my phone didn't help.)

By the third or fourth day, we had given up trying to use it to communicate with each other. I would not recommend paying the $7.95 per person to use it for that.

There's a lot of potential to the app, but as it is, it's sorely lacking in features. Even simple things like a map of the ship would have been very helpful.

What phones are you using?

Of course wifi has to work as it's technically an intranet.

I don't like connecting to open (non encrypted) wifi but that's the nature of the beast.

For internet over the ship we always encapsulate our traffic to our endpoints ashore to stop snooping, etc. That may in effect, cause iC to fail but I'm curious anyhow.

I'm an Apple developer and am curious to how this works.

I use all types of devices as well but primarily iOS for my work. Android more to tinker with the nuts and bolts and unlocked bootloaders and such.

Having done penthouse suites on NCL before, I am wondering about those DVD players being removed...are they on-demand movies now, and if so do you have to pay for them?

On demand movies are free to suite guests :)

The ship tracker has not been updated for the Gem. Anyone know their position? My sister is on the ship and I'm wondering if she's enjoying the warm weather yet.

The ship tracker has not been updated for the Gem. Anyone know their position? My sister is on the ship and I'm wondering if she's enjoying the warm weather yet.

They have been at sea since Thursday afternoon, they are certainly in warm weather now. They will be docking in PR tomorrow morning.

What phones are you using?

Of course wifi has to work as it's technically an intranet.

Two HTC Desire 816 and two LG Leon. The LGs do not have data plans so they are always WiFi only. It was more of an issue with the HTC phones ~ they refused to stay connected to the WiFi.