spacewoman

Once you notify NCL they wlll keep in in your records. After the first contact, my Mom has not had to advise them further. We board the ship, hit the main restaurant for lunch, and the person in charge of special diets (for our two cruises since she has been gluten free, Jeph) comes to see you and has you choose your dinner.

They are excellent at telling you what they can and cannot make gluten free and will tell you what to stay away from should you decide on the buffets for any meals.

Be absolutely sure, though, that you double check (if they do not bring the dish and ask who is gluten free) which plate is gluten free if someone else orders the same meal. We had an issue with an appetizer that an assistant waiter gave mine to Mom and hers to me. Once we started eating it (sushi) the waiter said the dishes were wrong but Mom and I knew the soy sauce was the only thing on the plates that had gluten.

Kathy

Hotel in Jersey or New York where they may let you leave your car, then a car service to the pier?

Just a thought, I live upstate in Orange County, so do not know if an offer like that is out there

Kathy

Did they take Blackstone's Merlot off the list?

Same here--without knowing what you like to give you suggestions.

How about trying a wine tasting or two while on board? Great way to try a variety and see what you like

Kathy

We had always vacationed in Florida, most of the time Disney. Vacations pretty much went by the wayside when we opened our business.

In 2002, the DH had a terrible chainsaw accident. It was a wake up call to enjoy life while you have the opportunity to do so. In 2003 after he healed he said he wanted to go on vacation and wanted to do something other than Florida. He was intrigued by cruising and said see our TA. I did. It just so happened that Carnival was bringing Pride to NYC to do 7 day cruises to Bermuda for the summer. July was normally a too busy to go on vacation but we booked it anyway. Several people told us to book a balcony, which we did. As the weeks got closer to cruise time, our TA kept calling and asking if we wanted free upgrades. Newbies we were, we were like "why are they calling so often and what is the difference in cabins?"

Long story short is we were upgraded to a junior suite. I do not know if it was because we were celebrating our 20th anniversary or because our TA mentioned very first cruise to Carnival. Our TA did say "you will never like another cabin" after sailing that category.

The cruise was so terrible that we will be sailing on cruise number 14 this year:o

Kathy

I think the reviews here are great. This forum certainly would not have lasted as long as it has if we all were not checking in and posting all these years.

Some can give you a heck of a chuckle or a are they nuts response.

Some days the flame throwing alone is the best entertainment here ;)

Been flamed myself. The one time I deserved it as I led with my temper instead of asking many of the kind folks here how to resolve my issue.

Kim gives some of the best reviews I have seen on these boards. Mike and Tracy give some of the best on the Carnival boards.

Most people here will provide what they saw, did and ate and you glean from it what you will.

I chuckle when people say there was absolutely nothing edible on the ship. My DH is one of the fussiest eaters I have seen in my life. He may eat a lot of repeat meals but he has NEVER been unable to find something to eat.

Even reviews with photos do not give you the glory of how beautiful some areas really are. BUT - they most certainly give you an idea of what you are in for.

The only thing one has to always remember - vacation is what you make of it. Be flexible because SHIP happens. If a meal gets screwed up so what, they'll bring you what you want and will go out of their way to see that you are happy.

Kathy

One thing to add

The port at Tortolla is tendering. We were there in October and were told they are remodeling the pier. It looked like a bit of a project so I would not be surprised in October of this year when we sail again that it will be temdering

I'm with you on the eggs Kim.

We were on the Gem in October. First time in all 8 cruises with NCL that I have ever complained about food. Wrote a letter to corporate about it (in addition to raving about our favorite crew members), but got a generic thank you back.

Jeph had advised my Mom to only ask for "fresh" egg anythings to ensure they were gluten free. I asked the same way since I do not enjoy eggs from a carton. The chefs this trip do not have a clue on how to make an omelet This was in the MDR. They would take two eggs, fry them hard then fold them over the ingredients we asked for. I gave up on that and asked for two fresh eggs scrambled. They came out runny and not scrambled much. I can eat a runny egg but runny whites in the egg is salmonella asking to happen. YET the eggs Benedict were delicious. Go figure. One of the hardest dishes to pull off and I thiught they were great. All our other meals were fine. I missed some items no longer offered, but I did not starve:)

Kathy

Thank you folks for posting this!

I just called our TA (one recommended by crusie critic) to see what could be done with our Gem booking for Oct 10 of next year. They are cancelliing and rebooking. While the rate is higher than we booked, we will save over $700 by getting the UBP

Whoooo hoo!

Kathy

Kim I so feel for you with the the ring. I really hope a jeweler can assist you with it.

My DH gave me a gorgeous ring for our 25th. Gold band with 11 diamonds in it. Totally left me speechless (he says first time in all the years we have been together:D). Several months later I happened to be out in the garden and noticed I had forgotten to take the ring off. It was getting full of dirt and it had turned on my finger. I thought the poor diamonds would be caked with mud. I was horrified when I turned the ring and noticed it was broken. It had cracked next to a diamond right through the whole ring. While Littman jewelers made good on this ring it had to be replaced (it was engraved as well). It took a very long time for me to get over the fact that this ring is not the one he gave me. Sometimes things are just beyond our control. I so hope you will be able to get some type of diamond to fit your ring. Just remember it is a "symbol" of your love for each other and nothing will deter it.

For your Bermuda trip------ you could easily wind up with fantastic weather. We have sailed there in July and 4 times September. 2 times in September not so nice weather. Just never know. Since Sakari is a water rat ( much like me at that age), she'll live it no matter cloudy or sunny.

Love your reviews. Any newbies in the boards with benefit so much from them

Good luck with your ring

Kathy

I would like to make one other suggestion. Ask for the same table every evening. It will give you the same server. Our recent Gem cruise in October I saw a lot of disconnect and misunderstanding when my Mom mentioned gluten Free or special menu. No risk of this happening using the same wait staff every evening

Kathy

pS. Sorry for the similar post. Just saw I already said something. Oopsie!

On the Gem this past March they had an assistant waiter who coordinated all special meals for all passengers on board. When my DW, who is Gluten intolerant, arrived at each dining venue for the meal, they would call in the assistant. The assistant then conferred with our waiter to ensure we received the proper pre-planned meal. Later in each meal he would return with the next day's menu for my DW to pick her meal . The assistant also gave us his ship board cell number to call him at anytime we had any questions about what she could and could not eat. Wonderful service.

That would be the wonderful Jenipher "Jeph" Augustin who has taken great care of my gluten sensitive Mom for two cruises now

Who knew if "Shakira" had been Sharing her royalties on her albums with you, she could have saved you all those college tuition fees :)

Kathy

I've done the beverage package once on Norwegian, and once on Carnival.

 

I really enjoyed the experience on both, but doubt I'll do them again at the current pricing structures, and attached rules.

 

The challenge for me on Norwegian was the numerous beverages at the Martini Bar (Shakers) that were exempt from the package . . . but I figured that would be the case even before purchasing. It is what it is.

 

.

Was this on an NCL cruise this year?

I ordered and got a Cosmo, an apple, a chocolate, and a Pomegranate one on our recent Gem sailing

If I'm not mistaken, if you order ahead, you must actually "pay" for it.. If you want to use OBC, wait til you are on the ship

Yes, that is fact

We have done the UBP last three crusies, our recent October Gem cruise with the new pricing. Worth it for us.

I enjoyed having my martinis again. A martini ran just over $11 with gratuity. I was also drinking Estancia Pinot Noir at $9.75 a glass before gratuity and a California Cabernet that was $10 before gratuity. The DH would have CC and soda which ran around $7 I think and Coors Light at $5.50 before gratuity. The bushwackers ran $9.75 as did most of the frozen concoctions (banana daiquiri, frozen margaritas, etc.).

I noticed while checking receipts at home, that the bushwacker drink went up from $7.50 to $9.75 and I suspect that of all the frozen and drink of day items. Something to keep in mind if you are doing a price comparison from your last cruise.

I do enjoy not having to worry about checking my bill every few days to make sure we are staying within our budget. I pay this and the DSC long before we sail. Nice having a one page bill at the end of the cruise!

I know land vacations like Sandals resorts, etc., are all inclusive. Many can give the pros and cons of these types of vacations with alcohol beverages included as to whether you broke even or not. At the end of the day only you can determine if this package is worth the money for it. Just remember you are on vacation and probably up many more hours in a day then when you are home. Two or three drinks at lunch, one in the afternoon, two at dinner and maybe three before you stop having fun around 1 AM add up quickly.

Remember one thing -- I enjoy Absolut vodka. If I ask for a vodka tonic I will get bar brand. Same said for my martinis. If you prefer a premium spirit covered by the package, make sure you specify that brand when giving your drink order.

Hope some of this helped.

Kathy

We headed back to the room to finish the little bit of unpacking I still had left to do and daddy fell asleep watching t.v.

 

For some odd reason, I decided I didn't like what he was "not" watching at the time and switched the channel. What did I see?????? THE FRICKEN BRIDGE IN THE FRONT CAMERA!!!! OOHHHH EEEMMMM GEEEEE!!! I completely forgot about passing under the bridge in approximatley 2 hours after departure. What was I thinking. I started up my panic mode, grabbed my camera and told Sakari "LET'S GO!!!" We raced up to the pool deck and right as well walked out the doors, this is what I seen:

 

 

 

We were already passing right under it!! D*(&%^@!#*)*&^%!!!!!! Grrr, I couldn't believe it.

 

I was able to get some pictures after we passed under, but still, not what I was wanting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was officially hitting myself in the forehead now for not remembering this.

 

After returning to the room, Sakari found us a little present under the bed:

 

 

Yes, that's exactly what you think it is...boys underwear left behind! Glad to know they clean so well.

 

Also, this is the first time that we have came to our room and didn't have ANY ice in our ice bucket. I really needed some caffeine and of course my soda wasn't cold yet since it was only day 1. I called housekeeping and they did not answer. I called customer service and ask them about getting some ice and they said they don't fill ice buckets until the evening. Now I know I have had ice in my bucket before the evening on the other cruises.

 

I also told customer service about the dirty underwear left in our room. They sent a manager to our room and he ask where it was, I pointed on the floor and he reached down and picked it up...without gloves. I wanted to puke a little in my mouth, but hey, his hands not mine.

 

I might also add that if I can't get something done, I'll do it myself. I located a cart with a cooler filled with ice and went in and got it myself!!!

 

 

 

 

Kim we were on the Gem Oct 18 and, in searching for my aunt's keycard and lanyard she lost somewhere in the cabin, I came out from under her bed with a pair of black undies that were neither hers or my Mom's.

Anyone know why she is sitting away from the pier?

We were told on our Gem cruise that the pier had been repaired from the hurricane damage

Kathy

I spoke woth a woman on board who has a special needs child. She brings a doctor's note with her and buys the UBP for she and her husband. She told me she has not been able to get it before the sailings, has always had to bring the note and purchase on board.

Kathy

Thanks for the link

I am thinking g my birthed in law must have been the uninvited guest with you

:D

Boy do I hate autocorrect

Try this again---

It sounds like your uninvited, unwanted, pain is my brother in law!

I am thinking g my birthed in law must have been the uninvited guest with you

:D

We just got off Gem. My Mom is gluten sensitive and dealt with the wonderful Jeph as well (she did last year as well). She no longer needs to advise NCL prior to cruising as it is part of her permanent records with them.

SO here is the problem------ we were told many servers had just been promoted to these positions. There was an extreme amount of disconnect with them. Mom would mention gluten free and we got the deer in headlights look. Breakfast she managed on her own since Jeph told her to only ask for fresh eggs (that is for another whole thread) and she would ask for gluten free bread. EVEN with the special order assigned to her a server gave me her appetizer and she got mine. We did not know this until I had already eaten hers and she had half eaten mine (why they were not all served together I know not why). While not a critical issue for her, someone with Celiac's could be seriously ill from this type of error. This happened in Magenta.

I would suggest this -- if you find a server who is familiar with allergies and you find them extremely attentive to this and very careful to serve what was ordered for you, ask to reserve a table each night that they are assigned to. I would hate to see someone terribly ill for their cruise because of a serving error.

Kathy

We heard conflicting info while on board.

Told several times it is postponed until Oct/Nov next year, yet the cruise consultant said they were going to convert blue lagoon and Moderno while at sea without the need to dry dock.

Kathy

We just got off the Gem.

They tendered to the island. The pier is under construction. I do not know if this was hurricane damage or just an upgrade. We knew we would have to be back on board by 12:30 so chose not to get off. I suspect others felt the same way.

Do not forget, if it is very windy or the seas are choppy, the do not stop so maybe all this factored in

We saw you all doing your slot pull. From the hooting and hollering we were hoping you hit it big!

I did see a man hit the poker machine for $4,000 and a lady hit the 2 cent slot machine for $15,000! Lucky them!

Glad you had fun (and I hope despite that wicked afternoon and evening coming back). We did as well. One of our most relaxing cruises

Kathy