beachys

Been twice on the Gem. Once it was unbearable, next time I did not notice it.

As an asthmatic second hand smoke is quite harmful to me.

Thermal suite was VERY relaxing. Loved it. But keep in mind it is directly below Spinnaker and you hear all the bass and noise from that.

Parking at the pier, go online and print coupon to save money. Both times we left from Manhattan the pier was only half full and the ship was full. Cannot beat the convenience of parking right there!

The cabanas disappeared from our cruise in June several months before the cruise. I called up NCL and got the last one available. I recommend trying that.

Last cruise with family had 4 separate cabins on deck 8, you would think that they would have noise issues with amount of traffic to O'Sheehans, but they did not.

Worth it, definitely! We had a large cabana also and had family who did not. It ended up raining and all 12 of us hung out in the cabana, we just did not request the servers serve them also. Yes they sold out quite a bit before sailing.

When we were on the a Gem in June the photographer actually encouraged us to buy a package and split it amongst the 5 cabins. I don't recall the exact cost, but I also got all the photos on a usb key for no additional fee and used that to make copies for everyone.

I laugh every time I read this title. We were on the Gem in June and the coffee was horrendous! Which is odd because two years prior I raved how the coffee on the Gem was the best I've ever had! Tip though, the specialty coffee shop down in the atrium has excellent coffee.

I thought they all had great views! We were in cabana 4 and can tell you cabanas 1-6 all have the same view.

And interestingly enough, Belize's Prime Minister, in his New year's message just a few hours ago said

 

"And on that front the headline news for 2016 is twofold: NCL's Harvest Caye project becomes fully operational by April and brings with it two thousand jobs for Southern Belize;

 

http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=34787

 

So based on this, it could be a soft opening in February and fully operational by April

Hmmmm, who really knows

Wow, thank you for that article!

Also interested.

Yay! We love Shreta!

Sorry I have to ask for clarification ... did you say Shreta is on Getaway now? We love Shreta!

We stayed in Gem balcony. It would sleep two kids, not two teens or adults.

My favorite things about the Gem: the staff, the great outdoors, the trivia, bingo, bingo and more bingo, sailing out of NYC, Maltings, chocolate buffet, white hot party.

Restaurant was complimentary in June. Had to get there before opening to get seated at a decent time. We really enjoyed the food especially the dessert! It was in demand on our cruise.

We carried or drinks into the main dining room on several occasions, it didn't seem frowned upon

Was on the Gem in June. Many had the UBP, we found that the pool bar was always rather busy, found it better to go elsewhere for a drink to get more relaxed and less stressed service. Also we tipped the wait staff well and they always remembered us and our choices and came around frequently.

I was also surprised by this on our last cruise in June. There were twelve of us and we each wanted a nice quality NCL branded shirt, sweatshirt or jacket. Easily would have been an extra $500 spent.

Good grief I panicked reading Dan Dan was moving and didn't fully read the post. So sorry for being such an ass.

What ship did Dan Dan get moved to?

Gem played the Cavaliers NBA finals games last year, so I'd say it's a possibility. Games were on in O' Sheenan's and in the rooms.

Agreed, free also applies on the island. Also second the cabana! Was well worth it's cost.

Love the Gem! Please post updated photos...

We've gone out of NYC several times. Love sailing out past Ellis Island and the Statute Of Liberty. The way we do it isn't cheap, but it's very convenient, safe and easy. We stay at the Marriott Marquis Times Square. Thus everyone who wants to roam can roam all hours of the night and those who don't can sit in the room and watch the sights of Times Square. We then park at the pier. It's super close to the ship and easy to get in and out. If you want to save some money you can stay at a hotel just off Times Square, there is parking very near the hotel that you can prepay and save and there is parking that is about 0.6 miles from the pier that you can prepay that will drop you off at the pier.