Surfsup2017

2 hours ago, cruisekitty22 said:

We got the same notice for our Feb 24, 2021-March 1, 2021 cruise on the Encore. Specialty dining is open for reservations but not the main dining room yet.  Online it says to come back on the 27 of October to book all dining. Savor and Taste and Manhattan dining rooms.  We usually eat at the specialty dining rooms if we can.  We eat dinner super early, when restaurants open.  I am optimistic this cruise will sail in February 2021.  It's a 5 day cruise from Miami.

I actually believe that you have a chance of sailing on your 5 day cruise,  I am on the Gem's 10  day February cruise out of NYC and am convinced that it will be canceled for a myriad of reasons, including surging rates of infection, lack of ability to sufficiently address port excursions and social distancing even if the ports allow us to enter, and the fact that the Gem does not meet the criteria established in the CDC-cruise industry report of limiting cruise occupancy and controlling port visits and such.   That can be accomplished by your short Miami-Nassau-private island stop. 

I think I will start to make book on when NCL will resume sailing.  I am going with an over/under bet of Spring 2021 for the earliest US sailings.  Better safe than sorry!  Although it will also depend on when ports outside the US will open to us.

8 hours ago, siestatom said:

I’m on board as well and wasn’t aware of it.  However, with virtually everyone having the premium beverage package I’ve observed LOTS of “happy” passengers.  A few are bound to go too far, and turn not so happy.

 

Having a great cruise so far from our perspective.

 

 

Enjoy!  Sea days are always the worse with amateur drinkers and free booze.  I have never seen so many drunk people in my life than on those days.

That is why the ship also has a medical center, a morgue and a jail. 

On ‎2‎/‎25‎/‎2020 at 10:38 AM, Two Wheels Only said:

When the limit is 60 minutes, people complain.

When the limit is 30 minutes, people complain.

When the limit is 15 minutes, people complain.

 

When NCL staff moves items after the allotted time, people complain.

When NCL staff doesn't move items after the allotted time, people complain.

 

When NCL offers VIBE, people complain that they couldn't get a pass.

When NCL offers a larger VIBE with triple the number of passes, people complain that VIBE takes up too much space.

 

When VIBE doesn't cost much, people complain that the demand is too high.

When VIBE cost more, people complain that the price is too high.

 

A question for everyone..."If you could, what changes would you make...knowing that some people will still complain?"

 

I would bag the Breakaway Plus class ships, as NCL is doing going forward.  Nice that we still have the Jewel class ships that have 1/2 the passengers, FREE open air deck space, good entertainment and food.  As others mentioned, to each their own, but having recently spent 23 days on the Bliss, and the 10 days on the Gem, its Jewel Class all the way for me.  Sure the ship is a little long in the tooth, but you can't beat the service and free public open areas, including the Great Outdoors and the 7th deck walkaround.  Give me the classic ocean liner and save the mega ships for the masses who suffer and complain.

Just now, PortFees45 said:

Thanks for the feedback

You are going to be fine.  While I usually book balconies and mini suites, I once booked a cruise that had only one cabin left on the ship and it was an inside.  Super quiet, and I had to set an alarm to make sure I got up in time for my excursions!  The price alone would make me happy!!! I cruise twice a year, and this year I will be spending two weeks in an inside cabin on the holiday cruise out of NYC.  (BTW, this is my 32nd cruise on NCL).  Being single myself, I rarely sit in my room and would rather grab a book and head to an outdoor bar for a cocktail as opposed to sitting on my deck.  Enjoy, and I think you will have a  great time in Bermuda! 

On ‎6‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 11:37 PM, perditax said:

OP here. I am really grateful for everyone’s comments, but I’m running into a few sticking points, one of which I touched on in the original post.

 

I travel solo, and I really enjoy my solitude on these trips and being able to follow my own schedule. That makes the all-day buffet on the away classes very appealing to me. It sounds like Gem closes down the buffet for a few hours before meal times.

 

I usually avoid MDRs because they take so long, but it also sounds like the dining rooms on Gem don’t have a lot of two tops, and thus solo passengers will often be asked to share a table. (Again, have a high stress job, and cruises are a way for me to be alone with my own thoughts for a precious few days.)

 

Anyway, still mulling it over (and roundtrip airfare to Boston is much cheaper for me right now that NY), thanks again.

I am smiling at the responses:  you were looking for the cons and all you got were the pros!  I am also a Gem fan, love the convenience of travelling out of NYC, and have travelled both solo and with a companion so maybe I can address your question.  As an alternative to the 24 hour buffet (I didn't realize that there was such a thing), there are two 24 hour options.  One is O'Sheehan's and the other is the lobby bar.  I love eating breakfast by myself at O'Sheehan's in a both by a window.  There are plenty of tables for 2 in the MDR's, and I have never felt uncomfortable.  I also have a high stress job and went away on the Christmas/New Year's cruise, and had to constantly decline offers from groups to join them (I did occasionally and had fun).  The best thing about the Gem is the plentiful deck space around and above the pool, which is the focal point of daytime activity.  The adult pool is actually somewhat swimmable.  My perfect day is breakfast at O'sheehan's, daily walk, day on deck 14 overlooking the pool with a good book and sunscreen, cocktails on the back deck (the great outdoors), maybe another before dinner cocktail, dinner, and either some cards in the casino or lounge entertainment.

58 minutes ago, Minoushka said:

I.m not happy with new rules for Cas players ...now need to pay double for anyrhing but an inside ..ridiculous prices plus expect you to gamble even more ....

i think they are going to lose lots of players to other companies 

i went on Cas cruise on Holland ..wow ..so much fun and very well treated with free play and free slot tournaments 

come on ?nCL get smart 

I was hoping that this thread was on its last breath, but Minoushka, you have piqued my interest.  What new rules for CAS players?  Its always been per person port fees and taxes (no double charges for singles).  What has changed????

BTW, I am getting a kick out of some of the griping. The only thing that worries me is when the room steward forgets to leave another roll of toilet paper....

I find the towel animals annoying, particularly when one of your dedicated towels is used to make it (has happened). Its like "bring to child to work day" where you have to acknowledge and comment on how cute the kid is that is distracting the work day, same when you see the steward and pretend how much you loved that monkey hanging from the ceiling that startled you when you woke up.   My next cruise will be the first spent inside, instead of in a balcony or a mini-suite, so it will be interesting to see if there is a noticeable difference in service or amenities.  Since this  will be my 30+ time cruising on NCL and it is the Gem's 14 day super expensive holiday cruise, I didn't think the balcony was worth twice the price of a cabin "across the hall".  Travelling by myself, the inside will be an interesting change as I rarely sat on the balcony, would rather grab a book for a cocktail out back on the aft deck of the Great Outdoors.  Would rather spend the money saved on the balcony room for good wine and other cruise amenities like upgraded excursions.

28 minutes ago, lysolqn said:

 

There’s nothing about Celebrity that’s making us look elsewhere. X  remains our cruise line of choice but cruising out of NJ/NY is a great plus, considering we live less than an hour from both piers. However, options for ships and itineraries are limited, so we usually go local only when we decide to book last minute.  Since we haven’t sailed NCL in decades, we thought we might try something new.  We’re a bit skittish about NCL, thus, my post. 

You can't underestimate the benefit on not having to get on a plane and worry about making the cruise, or having to spend the night in a hotel waiting to start your vacation with your luggage still packed. Travelling to some distant port is a waste of time and added stress to start your vacation IMO.  Conversely, once I started sailing out on NYC (on NCL) I have vowed never to cruise any other way.  Once you pull up to the ship's curb, hand your luggage over, and check in, you are almost on vacation.  Once you climb the gangway and enter the ship, you are on vacation. 

I head into the main dining room and open one of the bottles I have brought on board.... if you are a wine drinker, there is no limit to how many bottles you can bring with you, as long as you pay a corkage fee of $15 per bottle.  Since that is all that I drink, that is another reason why NCL will always be my ship of choice.

Give it a try and enjoy the freedom of free style sailing out of NYC!!!

6 hours ago, Newleno said:

Yeah information, algorithm,  website, etc...  Any usable data would be very benefiical to make this determination.  We have had it go all ways, to price drop, to price increase to sold out.  We just bought a cruise 5 days out (10 day new york inside room ($449) april 18 ncl gem, got back yesterday) a few hours later it was sold out, then we received an invitation to bid on a balcony of a sold out cruise.  Boy if some insider had info on how to project this, gee i might even pay for the app

You can have empty cabins on a sold out cruise.  Capacity is based upon number of seats on the life boats, so if you have a ship which has many multiple occupants in a room (like many family vacation cruises), you will have empty cabins that then are available for upgrades prior to sailing for NCL to squeeze that last nickel out.

5 hours ago, Redsky5292 said:

We brought a case on the Breakaway two years ago, we carried it on.  There is a little table as you go through security were you can check the wine in (i.e. have them write down how many bottles you are bringing so you can get charged the right amount 😉)  They checked the bottles, put stickers on them and our room was charged $15 per bottle on the credit card we have them at check-in.  It took a few days for the charge to show up.  My husband carried the case on the ship, if we had known we could keep the wine with us we would have brought a trolley or packed it in a backpack, the box got heavy after a while! 🙂  Every morning we would put the white wine that we wanted to drink in the mini fridge and it was ready to go by the time we wanted to drink it!  Our room steward was able to give us a wine opener that we kept in the room for the week.  Enjoy!

I also bring my own wine (I don't bother with the UBP).  I have a hard sided cooler on wheels from Coleman that I use to bring my wine aboard:  on the last day, when the cooler is empty and I have put my luggage out the night before, it very readily handles all of my toiletries and clothes for day of disembarkation!  I also have the steward empty the refrigerator of the ship's stuff (which I never buy) so that I can store my wine. (Of course I tip the steward for their efforts!)

Would it be a surprise to anyone on this Board to know that the menu in the MDR changes with each NCL cruise, and may be reflective of the price one pays for the cruise?  I travel twice a year on the Gem, once at Christmas/New Year's (premium prices) and the other in February/President's weekend (still higher than normal per person but no where near the holiday pricing).   During the Holiday cruise, the MDR has Chateaubriand, Steak Diane, Rack of Lamb (you get the picture).  Everyone wonders why the Gem seems "off" food wise when we get back on in February and I believe this is the reason.  The MDR even has Souffles most nights during the Holiday Cruise!  Same ship (NCL Gem), same itineraries, but at least you get something for the premium pricing.  This has been my experience for at least three years in a row.  Looking forward to my 12/21/19 Holiday Cruise where everything on the ship is so special!!! And bracing for the February letdown (haha).

2 minutes ago, Pens fan said:

Question about bringing on wine and paying the corkage - I know you can do this at the initial embarkation point, but can you also bring on wine at ports of call?  We will be sailing on the Jade in Italy and Greece this Fall and would love to pick up some nice wines in the cities we visit to enjoy on board.

 

Pretty sure you have the option of sending to storage without a corkage fee for last day pick up, or can pay the corkage fee for on board enjoyment (or both) at ports of call.  So jealous!!!

1 hour ago, AdoraBelle said:

 

"I don't know why anyone would go on a cruise and expect good seafood anyway."

 

How was that?

haha I agree with you!  I ordered the Oysters Rockefeller and it was so odiferous I had to have it removed.  What makes you think that any fish or seafood remains "fresh" by just refrigeration on 7+ day cruises!  BTW the upcharge on the shrimp is ridiculous.  I had a horrible experience with Cagneys on three separate nights on my 10 day cruise on the Gem in February, and it was not just me, but everyone that I travelled with and spoke to.  Now that is adding insult to injury.  Everything was off from the wait time for food to the temperature and preparation. By contrast, my experience in Cagneys on the Gem during Christmas/New Years was stupendous.  How does this happen????

3 minutes ago, jdvmd said:

This is why we always bring our own wines and pay the $15 corkage fee.

As stated above, totally agree. NCL is one of the only cruise lines that do not limit how many bottles you bring aboard, and for this reason alone, NCL is my cruise line of choice (even though I have been offered comp trips on RC).  For someone like me who does not drink hard liquor and is allergic to beer, this is a fantastic value proposition.  I hate to tell you how much I bring, but with the lively responses to this topic, I  realize that I am not the only one.  My challenge for the 12/21 Gem cruise is that it is 14 days with Christmas and New Year's to boot!  Starting to research a way to transport aboard:  Have you ever brought wine to be "checked" at the curb?  How is that handled, and is it difficult to retrieve or will they help you get it to your room? I have always just "wheeled" it aboard....

Hi Ella2! There is no limit to the number of bottles, just need to pay $15 per bottle. I actually have a small cooler on wheels that I bring. Once get them tagged I wheel them with me to the dining room for lunch where I open a bottle, stare at the Hudson River as I relax with lunch. Room is usually available after lunch. Helpful hint: stores bottles is the fridge: have the steward clear out the ships stuff (also slip them a tip). I like my reds at 58 degrees so chilling works for me. Also bring a wine bag for transport to dinner, no different than any byob. At the bars, I slip the bartender a buck or two when they open , they great me warmly every night. Hope you come on the 12/21 Gem cruise, we can do a wine tasting

Just now, Surfsup2017 said:

I never get the beverage package option which is not "free" once they add the charges.  Since I only drink wine, I bring my wine aboard and pay the $15 per bottle corkage fee.  The math works in my favor. A bottle of wine that retails, sometimes on sale, for $40 a bottle costs around $100 on board plus 18% service charge.  So simply $118 minus $55 equals $63 in savings for a bottle that you probably couldn't buy on board anyway!  By the way, this really only works out well for those of us who travel to the ship from home without getting on an airplane (e.g. New York area). 

But I totally agree with you about the quality and availability of wines by the glass on board.  They used to have different wines available by the glass in the premium restaurants including Le Bistro and Cagney's but appear to have done away with that. 

Just a further note:  if NCL ever eliminated its corkage wine policy, I would also eliminate NCL as my "go to cruise line" and opt for another line that features better wine selections.

I never get the beverage package option which is not "free" once they add the charges.  Since I only drink wine, I bring my wine aboard and pay the $15 per bottle corkage fee.  The math works in my favor. A bottle of wine that retails, sometimes on sale, for $40 a bottle costs around $100 on board plus 18% service charge.  So simply $118 minus $55 equals $63 in savings for a bottle that you probably couldn't buy on board anyway!  By the way, this really only works out well for those of us who travel to the ship from home without getting on an airplane (e.g. New York area). 

But I totally agree with you about the quality and availability of wines by the glass on board.  They used to have different wines available by the glass in the premium restaurants including Le Bistro and Cagney's but appear to have done away with that. 

I had both the internet plans and the phone minutes that were given to me promotionally.  I found the phone useful for extended calls, particularly on days at sea.  We were delayed coming into port, and I lost internet service (at some point you just forget to log out and there goes all of your remaining minutes).  You are given "calling card" type numbers that you enter into the phone, they let you know how much time you have left.  I doubt that they will give you the internet minutes in exchange.  In terms of the internet, I found the first few days were impossible to access the internet as everyone else was also trying to get on line.  So kind of a useless benefit in the beginning of the cruise, or during prime hours.  Better to try to log into the internet early in the morning when everyone else is still sleeping!

37 minutes ago, markf said:

My  idol --

just  curious  if  you are  going for  82 days, have  you considered an around  the world cruise -I  realize NCL  doesnt offer one--

I  suppose it is more  cost effective  to cruise  than maybe go to florida  for the winter  months--

You said it:  my idol as well.  When I retire, I will be booking on a cruise ship from January through March.  The Gem has an interesting society:  the longer cruises do tend to be a bit older, but when they have the 7 or 10 day legs thrown in, you get a real mix of ages and such.  I would never live in a retirement community with just old people complaining, nice to be around all ages, including children and teens on vacation!  My relatives were on the Gem from 1/2 through 2/26 this year, 4 different cruise segments.  Said it was like living in Fantasy Land (they are both retired school teachers).  A couple more years and I hope to be joining in!!!  they are already booked January through March on the Bliss next year!

Was just on the last cruise of the Gem 2/15 to 2/25 (actually we had a bonus day to 2/26).  The lounge entertainment was Leo on the guitar, the Webb band  who are awesome and was there at Christmas, a reggae/soul band who name I can't recall) but were terrific, and Brad who was on the piano also great. I don't know when you are sailing (I was on the Christmas cruise of the Gem as well this year) so entertainers are contracted and are routinely replaced.  I thought the entertainment in the lounges across the board was very good on both cruises.

34 minutes ago, jcann4444 said:

Curious about a few things;

 

1- Were the specialty restaurants able to be booked?

2- Was the casino open all day?

3- Were the shops open all day?

4- Did the Ultimate Booze Package stay open/ and if so were you taxed for each drink.

 

Thanks

 

I was one of the passengers who had the extra day on the Gem.  The Captain and crew on this ship were fantastic, noting that the storm was developing changing our northward course to hug the shoreline. I was sitting next to a window when I saw the ship do a 360 after the Verrazano Bridge and head back under the bridge and out to sea.  We overnighted out in the ocean somewhere, little impact from weather on the ship.  The specialty restaurants were open, they reopened the casino where I was able to recover my "losses", they had another day of sales in the shops, the UBP package was not only honored, but so many flocked to the bars that they double the bartending staff in the open bars!    In all, everyone made the best of it, the lounges were stocked with entertainment, the food in the main dining room featured the menu that was planned for the next cruise's first sea day (that morning I wistfully looked at that evening's menu and lamented that I was leaving before the turn of events).  Full breakfast this morning, for the most part it was a total party.

Now back to work! ugh.

3 hours ago, de6259 said:

Thank you all for your thoughts, I really don’t know where I heard this from.  I feel much better hearing from you all. 

You heard it on the CBS news report when the network covered Lin Manuel Miranda's  San Juan Hamilton run, and the new crew interviewed a local official who said crimes and gangs were a very big problem.  Old San Juan is relatively safe, just like Staten Island is relatively safe or any other area of NYC is relatively safe.  Just stay out of the 'hoods!  I am heading out on the 2/15 Gem and doing a walkabout with other cruise critic members:  did the same at Christmas and it was delightful.  Plus, sunset is getting later (6:30 or so) and twilight extends now well into the evening.

4 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 The Jones Act has nothing to do with passenger cruises. You are thinking of the Passenger Vessel Sevices Act.  But you do know that San Juan is in the U.S., right?

HAHA very funny, of course I know its the US.  And somehow the Jones Act does apply, I once asked if I could jump ship off a cruise  that started in New York when I got to Key West, and NCL told me no, that it was an issue with the Jones Act.   Just thinking US port to US port (Puerto Rico), cruise the Caribbean, last port US port (St Thomas), back to US being somehow advantageous to NCL from some tariff standpoint or whatever.

I don't know anything about maritime law,  but I wonder if the port stop has anything to do with the Jones Act (US port).