Seas2mountains

Following along as usual! I remembered your Encore encore live review and reread it since you included the link. Did you realize that whole review was a total of 4 pages long? This review will surely be at 4 pages or more before you embark on Monday. Wishing you and your Dad a wonderful birthday celebration cruise! 🎂🥳 I look forward to a summer of live reviews from you no matter the cruise line if you plan to keep writing about your adventures.

Thank you all for taking us along on your 15 day TA! I’m so jealous! We are exactly two months away from our Prima cruise in June from Southampton. Non-refundable OBC ideas: - Add a lobster tail to your dinner or order a Cagney’s steak when in the dining room. - Get a spa service. - Order a bottle of wine for the kind not offered by the glass. - Go to the shops to splurge on some items you need/want or get gifts for family & friends. We tend to use leftover OBC for expensive face or eye cremes. - Add some speciality dining. Have a wonderful cruise @mking8288, @Fogfog, @snorklinbarb, @Sugar Magnolia and anyone I missed. Looking forward to your updates!

Yes. It is $75/per person.

Thank you! We are booked on the POA in September and I appreciate seeing the dailies to get a feel for what is planned on the ship. Hope you had a wonderful cruise!

This was our experience, too. Each ship had their own process. It was not consistent.

I also think you are describing @TheDougOut I also found his live reviews were very entertaining.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner answer here! I confirm it is correct based on our experiences.

I’m so sorry to hear about the second broken pipe. I hope the repairs on this one don’t take as long as the last one. Thank you for another fantastic review! I look forward to following along in a few weeks if you do another live review. I hope all goes well as you return to school.

Yes. It is not published in the dailies.

My husband is an Air Force retiree and I’m an Army veteran so we both enjoy attending these receptions and have attended about seven of these since March 2023. While several have been uneventful and short as described, my favorite was on the Spirit in September where we each took less than a minute each to introduce ourselves with our branch and years of service. Several of us realized we may have served together and it prompted follow up conversations for the rest of the cruise. It made it more personal and special. That one lasted about 45 minutes or so. NCL - if you are reading, please allow each service member to introduce themselves at these receptions.

Thanks for doing another live review! I loved your last one on Virgin! Our P+ favorites: San Pelegríno at lunch, dinner and in the evening. Flow water for the room and especially when we do shore excursions. Starbucks teas for me and the drinks loaded with whipped cream for DH. NCL Gin ‘66 with club soda and lime. Can’t be too much club soda. Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio Veuve at Le Bistro - some say it’s available now at Cagney’s but we didn’t try asking Whiskey or tequila taste testing for DH. If I’m at the pool or a bar that doesn’t have my favorite P+ wine, my go to is the German Shades of Blue Riesling and I think it’s better than the P+ Riesling. If you like Riesling, you’ll have to try both. Since you like Veuve, I recommend the NCL ‘66 Prosecco or the Pommery Brut Rose Champagne. I want to try Ice wine on the next cruise. Looking forward to hear about your favorite P+ drinks. Enjoy your vacation in LA and have a wonderful cruise! 😎

Thank you so much for your wonderful and entertaining live reviews and I am also looking forward to the one on the Jewel with your Dad! We got off the Gem last Thursday and our next ship is... the Breakaway at the end of May so this is super timely. Can't wait to go to Howl at the Moon based on what you are describing. But do they make you feel uncomfortable with all the tipping requests? The last time we went, we did not expect them to be constantly asking for tips. We went one time and did not go back. Do you like any of the other musical entertainers in the lounges or atrium? We also experienced a few occasions of people speaking loudly in the spa. One time, a woman told her male partner in a loud teacher voice that there were no signs that said they had to be quiet. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️ What is it that people don't clue in? Like you described, we also have had long and fun dinners for the Dinners with the Officers on our last three cruises. Will you be doing another one this week? Hope you don't have to share the table with a woman like that one! That sounded awful. Have a wonderful cruise and I am excited to read more! 😎

We were on the Gem in February and just got off the March 12th-21st sailing. As mentioned by others, we did not experience what you described and know that everyone may have a different experience. YMMV 1. Cookies were found in the Great Outdoors. 2. Room stewards can make towel animals on request but I would not request it without providing a generous tip. 3. We rarely went to a bar for a drink with the exception of Maltings and Great Outdoors where we had a very limited to no wait. Bar servers were typically asking for our order within minutes at most lounges - Spinnaker, Atrium and Magnums. We do tip for drinks so that may have helped, too. We did see longer lines at bars on the first day after embarkation which is typical and we did see that some went to bars to get drinks in some lounges rather waiting for the bar server. 4. We constantly saw crew members cleaning common areas and restrooms. I really appreciated that one of the women cleaning the restrooms in the evening did not shutdown the restroom while she cleaned. We can report we experienced excellent food, service and entertainment. Many of the officers were available every evening in the Atrium at about 7pm and they also served some appetizers in the atrium at that time which was new to us. And they were also available when disembarking at ports. Our only complaint for us was how the band, Upgrade, was scheduled to play their first evening set at 10pm for two nights and we would love to have them play at 8pm or 9pm like they did on other nights. This was unique to the Gem as we experienced earlier times for the band on other ships. We had such a fantastic cruise that I booked another one after this one and may consider canceling a planned cruise on a competitor.

If you are in the Haven on a ship that does not have a Haven restaurant, breakfast and lunch will be served in Moderno or Cagney's. If you are in a suite (not Club Balcony Suite), you will get breakfast and lunch in Moderno or Cagney's. I believe the only exception is suites on NCL Joy.

Just got off the Gem last Thursday. They are serving Suite/Haven breakfast in Moderno and lunch in Cagney's. As mentioned by @UKstages, most of the suite/Haven staff works in Cagney's in the evening with some exceptions so you will be greeted by familiar faces. We had wonderful service at every breakfast and lunch and expect you will, too! The food was excellent and we had a fabulous cruise as was reported by all other guests we spoke with on the ship.