Kristall

Ending notes and going off the ship Well, the last days are the best - like every holiday. We had a good evening in bliss and spinnaker, again. Got a godly Caipirinha in spinnaker and even some "try drinks" from a bartender who just wanted to try new cocktails. What bugged me the last day - at disembarking day many people started getting rude. At the buffet and later in the process. We were in the self carry group - 8:00 to 8:30. Well it didn't start until 8:45 und so the ship was clogged with a giant crowd on Deck 7. People started to try go ahead, around the crowd. Because we talked to the shore excursion manager, we got a refund of 15% for all three excursions we made a complain. My last note is - first and last holiday cruise, never again an inside cabin. We lost the time feeling without the sun 🙂 @ellewoods A question about haven. At noticed that some "vioet keycard" holder were able to priority control the elevator. Call it, let it go from one level to another without a stop. Is this a haven benefit?

That's insane... our water is that tight monitored, they instant tell while cities not to drink the water if even one parameter does not match.

In Germany we have a clear tipping culture. After we experienced the tipping culture in the states (sometimes they just demand 20% ?!) we were a bit shocked. The NCL daily service charge seems to be okay for me. I would prefer to give cash to those I demand worthy after a good service, but I understand that they need the charge because their loan is really low. But anyways, NCL should inform you better. How it works, can you cancel it - or not. Anything.

I see many people refill bottles at the buffet - they use cups, but will it's not permitted. My thought to the water is, the ship water got chlore added, you can smell and taste it. I don't know what limit NCL uses here (USA? ..) - but it's way more than the European countries permit. Even enough that our authorities recommend not to drink water to pregnant woman. The bottled water you buy, has a high pH value, but it's in normal borders - so I would recommend using this. Edit: if someone is interested in the topic of drinking water, Google translate a few German articles. No country got the drinking water under so much control and laws, like Germany.

Last day of the year Well after the worst breakfast we had on the cruise, we started the maybe last warm day. We tried to gar breakfast at the garden Cafe - what was not really a good idea. We got there around 9:05am - sat at our table at 9:45am. Almost no space, some even arguing over tables. The buffet empty, every refill it gets just emptied by people who put half of a pan on their dish - chaotic. After that, we just sat around - talking, at different locations. The people started to get dressed like they go into a fine dining restaurant - photoshoots and so. After a little lunch near the pool, a miracle to get a table there, we enjoyed the last warm sun for this winter. New York will be winter and Europe too. We then started a small bar journey till midnight. Pool bar, bliss and end in the spinnaker. My opinion, the spinnaker got the best bartender on the ship, with the nicest at the pool. The Cocktail Thing This is something I noticed all over this cruise - something I didn't had on the Jade. Some bartender seem to be really new to their job, even don't knowing standards like a Pina colada (one bartender) or just doing it wrong (pool bar). Just a bit curious, if someone else noticed this? Was looking " what they do" with the cocktails you order. So even the cocktails differ from bar to bar. You the same cocktail with complete different rum in different bars, but every bar got the same rum on their shelf. The spinnaker Lounge here just showed how a bar works. They created everything we ordered not only right, it was just delicious. They even did some custom changes to our drinks, remove and / or add something, to get a compete different drink. Another guy with us, just ordered his custom drink, telling the bartender what to do, how much to add. The last warm day comes to an end, later the night with some drunken teens in our floor. Loud shouting, even a small fight and someone vomit on the floor. Good to see that they just behave on ship, like they do for normal 🙂

Tortola Today was a bit - uneasy. Just woke up and we saw that our Shore Excursion will depart in 35 minutes. So fast breakfast and go. We went together with several other groups on a small shop to virgin Gordo. The ride was uneasy, but okay. After our arrive and two short rain showers we gut two hours time for everything at the baths. We went to the devil's bay, then the cave and last the baths. Really amazing nature location, made many good pictures. At last you are at a small beach with two stores and a little food corner. We were at the baths for around an hour then went back to the top, looked around - till we went back to Tortola. Visiting some shops - and the little stop was done. Back to the gem. For dinner we went to the orchid garden - like last time, nice waiter and good food. After this a nice evening in the bliss Lounge. Yes internet seems so much better now, I don't know what they did.

That's what I also think - a buffet on a mass cruise should think a bit more.. well, intelligent? Economic? I try to explain why I think the Italian evening was just not as good as it could have been. - they serve every day focaccia at the great outdoors. Exchange the pizza with two different focaccia, place one pizza Margherita next to it and add a small paper shield explaining how the famous Margherita got its name - pizza corner, done. - kick out the mozzarella tomato salad, make a caprese with the material. They have everything on the ship. - just offer some Bruschetta. - exchange the two tuna salads and the beef that got nothing to do with mediterran kitchen with a vitello tonnato. - pizza bread with olive oil and salt, or add any Italian cheese. - maybe add a lasagna? They got the material in the kitchen - so could have done it. Now you will have an Italian evening, you will remember. Just combine the things you have in an other way. Most of these things are offered in other places of the ship, so not really new things. No high end food, not General and not in Italy. Just the things you imagine when thinking about Italian evening. Hope this explains a bit better? @ellewoods Did you made it in time to the baths? Our ship departed short after 7am.

Day - Antigua Lunch today at the Irish restaurant - was great. At around 7am no one got stress.. Everyone just friendly and fast there. Great. Then we went to the pier. Today the organisation of excursion was better. One tent, several guys with a sheet and excursion name on it. Easy to find, nothing to miss. We went on the "Antiguan Experience" tour - nice to see the small villages - from the bus. After the first stop - an old farmers home with a few parrots and nice plants, you head to the "pineapple farm". A small area in the middle of nowhere with a few dry pineapple plants and five guys digging holes for coconut plants. After that disappointing experience the bus got us to the beach. Well a beautiful beach - still not better than Jamaica, but not many people and good water. After 2 hours of time, spent in the water or in a wooden shack they call bar, you get the "west Indian food experience". Something you can barely call food. They wait with the food, till around 5-6 tourist groups are there, so you have to wait additional time for the bus - because economically ... well. After that experience we visited the local food market near the port. Our guide told us on the excursion that the Antiguan pineapples are rare, you don't get one that easy - maybe he should visit the food market? Enough for a cruise ship. A few visits in local shops, good talks with the people later, we went back to the ship. The dinner was again in the garden Cafe, where I have to say - as an European that knows the Mediterranean kitchen very well, NCL should send their cooks back to school for a "how to cook like an Italian". Nothing for us - but I think the most will like this food, because they don't know the original and how it tastes. We had a short talk with the excursion desk about today's experience.. They will notice us when they talked with the company that organized the tour. Now we are ending the evening with a Caipirinha in the bliss.

Day 7 After an easy night and a short breakfast at the garden Cafe, we went to St. Martin. The harbour are was still, like sleeping. We made a few pictures and started on our shore excursion. The excursion was a bit strange - wet visited 978 - a bar on the other side of the island. Got a few information about the historical background of the island, but again the excursion war cut short about an hour. Not only that - they even cut the program. Back at the harbour, we saw that the two giant oceanliner (wonder of the seas and one sister ship) had docked - additional to the already docked Britannia. So the harbour was full - everything exclusive (like guava berry things) already sold out, except one Rum store. After a short lunch on the ship, more empty because of the city we docked - we walked around, watched the disembarking process. For dinner we tried the grand Pacific, I was positive shocked. Good wine tips, good food - excellent waiter. Just a really good evening. At the evening we went to the excursion desk - who now will contact the two provider for excursion, what happened and why they changed their program. Now the day comes with fast steps to an end. It was funny to see our small Gem compared to giant ships at the harbour.

Day 6 We also got s rough night with the sea. At morning, we ate something at the great outdoors. Waiting to get the information when we can off the ship. Around 8:15 we heard then, that they opened up and we went down the stairs to deck 4. We needed to wait for around 15 minutes to get off, the crowd already filled some areas of deck 4. We booked a standard excursion with NCL. The downtown Shopping experience with Magens Bay. Start should be 9:15, then 5 hours fun. Because they got so many people for this excursion (around 7-8 full taxi cars) we waited in the sun till 9:30. A short drive to Magens Bay with a nice driver - and 24 other people in his taxi, we reached Magens Bay. Well. We already know some Caribbean beaches - so this one was like I expected it. Full of people, good music, okay. The only real downside - no working toilets. The one they had, got water problems and stopped working. After 2 hours (exact) we went to downtown. Nice area, expensive and good shops - but my next problem. According to the booking text, we get 2 hours, but according to our taxi driver they only pay him one. So after a hasty walk through the downtown, we were back at the ship, after short 4 hours. Short meal at the great outdoors, were we observed the same food wasting like yesterday. Later, dinner in the teppanyaki restaurant. An nice experience - funny and you are entertained for over an hour. But my advice, order shrimp. The meat, chicken and cow is really not the best quality. The other 5 guests on our table side, didn't even eat the meat. Today was also the first day - wet noticed how different the crew reacts when they see you card. This is okay for me - if you book a more expensive room, or suite, you expect that behaviour. I only ask myself now - if this is the point, why our steward on the Jade (balcony cabin) was so much better than now (inside). Tomorrow, another NCL booked excursion awaits us.

Would really like to post pics, but no way with the ships WiFi. You got some dance classes, language classes. So that's okay. But don't expect to much - most of them are in full lounges. The people have fun, but with a overcrowded dance floor, the risk of hurting someone rises.

About the question from @ChutChut. Well there are some positive things about the cruise - but if your compare this one, to our last on her sister ship, well then.. Day 5 The laundry machine now seems to work, our steward not. We had a talk with the information point, that here still does ignore the laundry bag, forget too look after the room (make over sign). There seem to be some Ill crew members and with a full ship, even one missing member gets a big problem here. We are really looking forward for the next day - an end of the three sea days journey. The WiFi is as good as it's get on the sea. But I got the complains about it, about NCL handling it: 1. Some of the repeater are not working. I tested a bit around deck 8, deck 12 and even deck 4. You really got some areas without WiFi, since the start - no WiFi in small patches. 2. NCL blocked some protocols, in their effort that one internet package should support social media, one not. For me - is okay. If you need better, wait till we are in port. Skipped breakfast, we slept a bit longer. So just a lunch at the big outdoors. Was okay, but if you see the "sustainable cruise" shield and then how they throw burger patty's away, just to make some new for the dinner, after 15 minutes, okay. Dinner was in orchid garden. Nice restaurant, good waiter. Well the food quality is the same like in the garden Cafe and everywhere on the ship. The guests, were not really able to behave like they are in a restaurant. Flying knifes and forks.. About the food quality - it's okay on the ship. The worst is the meat - compared to our home. I can just compare the food to Germany, our restaurants. What I get there - what I get here. The ship still crowded. Atrium not even usable. Spinnaker always so full, people start to verbally fight about seating places. Well some look like they live there - sitting in pj, eating, playing games. Tomorrow we have Booked excursion on St. Thomas.

About the washing bags I can only write what steward and info point tell me. It was the same with the toilet problems. Clogged pipe - needed to wait for around 6 hours. We will talk with the steward later today, if he sees any option for our bag.. it's not even full, maybe half.. Clothes from our NYC visit and new shirts. They have 3 nurses total. They also work in shift system. Ellewoods mentioned an medical evacuation on day one or two, the one who looked after that patient was the same we had last night. Because we came in around shift change, we met every three (the first one - was the best, nice, you could understand her English and.. will she started singing when she worked on the PC). They have something like a rotating shift system. So that two are on duty, one can sleep. But because they have several crew and guests in bed, they need to work overtime - crossing shift. They tried their best, but you could see - they were tired.

Well what I see today, the first real warm day at sea: - the understaffed crew, again. Cleaning on Deck 12 the pools. The stairs. Even or steward, does have no time.. - the washing service stopped, according to our steward the got a malfunction. So our washing bag stands.. - I hate those people who just put a towel on their chair and then leave... Another report about the medical staff: We were down on Deck 4 last evening, because my wife went even more sick. After three hours (2500$) later she got the medication I asked for. That you need to go to their doctor and they don't sell or give away over the counter medication is hilarious. Good that our insurance pays for this. About the staff - they got three nurses and two doctors down there, for staff and guests. In my opinion this is not enough.

Day 4- At Sea Sea got a bit more rough this evening. But weather gets better each hour. Around 10pm you got warmer air on Deck, than in the ship. Because of the better weather, some even went into the half filled pools and the old "reserve a chair with a blanket" thing started. Most people were in Christmas mood - saw good to strange clothes today. Breakfast at the Irish - seems like they run out of hash browns. But everything else was good. Lunch at the buffet then was chaotic. Food was several times empty, for me it seems they forget to plan the day. Paper instead of plastic glasses for water today. Dinner at orchid garden. Well the guy was nice - but told us they close soon. Would definitely recommend the restaurant. The shows are okay - but this guy gets boring. Every show the same jokes. Seems like they are not really prepared for so much sea days.