MaryLS

How late is the dining room open for lunch on embarkation day?

Trust me...I would love nothing more than to unplug during vacation time; however, my boss has instructed that I have internet access while on vacation!!!!

Does anyone know when the internet package becomes available for purchase prior to the cruise? I am booked for a cruise in early January but the purchase of the package isn't available yet. In the past, I've been able to purchase it prior to the cruise.

We were on the Breakaway in 2015 and saw Burn the Floor, Second City and Rock of Ages. Does anyone know if these shows will be on the January 2017 Caribbean itinerary?

Can anyone tell me if there is Mass or any kind of religious service on the Dawn? Thank you.

I have organized several group cruises for my parish. Our Pastor always came along and NCL was most accommodating in providing an area for Mass, providing we gave them ample notice. They would also publish it in the Freestyle Dailies. One time they gave us a room and as the people began pouring in, there wasn't near enough room. The staff scrambled and ended up putting us in the theater. Happily, it was two thirds full for Mass. The Pastor had to end up breaking the hosts into thirds to accommodate everyone going to Communion. Many of the crew also attended.

Just wanted to put a few more thoughts out there on the Gem 1/22 10 day run.

 

I am a former crew member -- worked as an entertainer on NCL, RCI, and Cunard through the 1990s and 2000s.....my husband, daughter and I have cruised together 4 times as passengers -- all out of NYC, 3x on the Gem. Even so - I learned some VALUABLE lessons on this cruise that I hope can be of encouragement and help.

 

Yes. There was a giant storm. We threw snowballs on a cruise ship, and I'd never done that. It was awesome. It was rocky the first 2 days -- like my old transatlantic days on the QE2 rocky -- I LOVE that! My husband and daughter, not so much...so they wore sea bands. We were fine. If you cruise in the winter, be prepared for storms. Roll with it. (hah hah - see what I did there?)

 

Yes. The Yeshiva group was awful. Horrible people - an entitled, rude, nasty group that challenged every liberal open-minded value I hold dear - but it was just that group, I know, and not an entire population of people. Made for good conversation about stereotypes with my 11 year old. Another plus -- when my ADHD child is shocked by other childrens' behavior and ability to get banned from the kids club for the entire cruise before the second day? I feel just a little better about my own parenting skills. :)

 

Okay -- the nuts and bolts of what this haggard sea hag actually learned on her third trip on the Gem:

 

UDP -- we chose the UDP over UBP because my husband doesn't drink. We considered trying to switch that back after we did the math, knowing that we didn't NEED to eat in a specialty venue EVERY night. But given the affect the aforementioned group had on the main dining rooms, it turned out to be the best choice ever. We had UDP for all three of us, and my daughter now has a steak and lobster palette, for sure. With the new a la carte prices we ate well over $1000 worth of fantastic food, in delightful ambiance, with excellent service. MUCH more than my bar bill....although I will hold out for that "pick two" perk before I book again, because I was jealous of the people who had both. Five out of ten nights would have been fine though; sometimes you just want a burger and beer out in the Great Outdoors while you watch the stars. :)

 

iCONCIERGE -- this was THE DEAL! My daughter was able to check herself in and out of the kids club, which saved us the 45 minute drop off/pick up experience that was only thus because of - you guessed it -- the aforementioned Yeshiva group. That for some reason had to drop of their children as a family herd, pushing in front of anyone waiting, and then spending 15 minutes berating the staff before bustling off. But I digress -- my daughter loved this first shot at independence. She proved herself well -- texting us where she was, and when she got there. Being able to converse with one another freely across the ship proved vital for my husband and I later in the cruise....

 

AFT BALCONY - BEST MONEY SPENT EVER. We had a balcony aft on 10 (10668), which became our haven from the chaotic pool deck. It was not only overcrowded and terrorized by Yeshiva, but honestly, got too windy and cold to really enjoy yourself up there on the first and last days. We had 80 degree sun all day, both final days at sea. My tan is awesome! The aft balconies on 10 have 2 loungers, 2 chairs, and a table. The sail aways, too, were glorious, and sunsets and views magnificent. I sailed quite happily in inside cabins for a decade, and questioned spending the extra dough; I will never question that again.

 

ALWAYS BUY THE INSURANCE AND ALWAYS TAKE AN NCL TOUR. This was the biggest learning I had on the trip - and counter to everything I believed I knew about cruising. We always book tours privately - they are the same tours for less money and usually very well run. We never buy the insurance because...we spent the money on the aft balcony. But this time we did, knowing that job issues could have caused us to cancel after the cancellation date. And in Tortola, we took the ship sponsored tour to Virgin Gorda and The Baths because of the short time in port and the guarantee that we would not be left behind.

 

My husband was "that guy" who broke his foot at the bottom of the Baths, mis-calculating distance between rocks. We are young and healthy -- but stuff happens. And the tour company (Speedys) was useless in helping him. They had no medical kit, no triage plan, no CLUE how they were going to get him off of the rock at the bottom of the hill and back to the ferry/back to the ship. They left us stranded. BUT (and more on this in moment) God sent angels in the form of our fellow cruisers and three random tourists from Canada. One fellow passenger, a nurse, was beside my husband (on the top of a very scary rock!) triaging and stabilizing him before I could find the so called tour guide. When the tour guide could not produce any kind of medical kit or tape to help stabilize what we thought could be a snapped Achilles or broken ankle, this God-sent fellow passenger (and several others) set out to carry my husband up the rocky hill. They were met halfway up by the three Canadian tourists, one of whom was a paramedic. They got my husband up the hill, made a stabilizing boot out of cardboard and toilet paper, and set us off to the ferry in the car of a now very relieved Speedy tour guide. When we got to the ship, we received ex-rays, cast, and crutches. And chocolate covered strawberries. :) THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART -- HAD WE NOT BOUGHT THE INSURANCE, THIS WOULD HAVE COST US THOUSANDS. HAD WE NOT BEEN ON AN NCL SPONSORED TOUR, THE INSURANCE WOULD HAVE BEEN MOOT. As it was - they could have airlifted us to Puerto Rico (if it was warranted) and put us up there until the injury was stable, then fly us home - and all would have been covered. His medical bills on land, now? Covered. Lesson SO learned - and we are SO grateful.

 

A FINAL LESSON - and perhaps this actually was the most important. Humanity is good. We encountered some of the nastiest, ugliest individuals and groups of individuals we have ever met on this cruise. But. We also met some of the kindest, self-less, classiest people ever as well. And that's the lesson, isn't it? Cherish the good. From the roll call peeps we shared slot pulls and balcony sail-aways with, to the kind and attentive staff, to the ANGELS who carried my husband up that hill while I tried to keep our daughter calm, to the random people on that Baths tour who sent my husband drinks (which I happily consumed) and gave us well wishes. I have more faith in humanity than I ever had before.

 

OKAY ONE MORE LESSON -- crutches? Will get you disembarked seamlessly. And you can find a porter easily in the baggage claim. And they will take you upstairs to arrivals, where you can catch a cab without having to cross the West Side Highway.

 

We will sail NCL again. But not on Yeshiva week. :) And we hope to sail again with some of you wonderful people who helped teach us, this trip, about what's really important.

Is Yeshiva Week the same week every year? I've read several horror stories recently and want to make sure I never encounter the same.

So you cannot use Stockholder benefit if you use free at sea?

What is free at sea? And what is the stockholder benefit?

Besides LeBistro and LaCucina, the voucher is also good at Moderno's....the voucher states that it will be honored at any restaurant with a cover charge of $20. or less....not sure how that will work with the new ala carte pricing....

 

Also, in the past, the voucher would not be honored at any restaurant with a cover over $20, such as Cagney's, Teppenyaki, Ocean Blue, etc., even if you offered to pay the difference, although people say they have done it at times.

Perhaps that will change as well...they'll just give Platinum cruiser's an additional dining OBC to spend at will.....

 

We don't drink, so took our wine home as gifts. Even was able to trade our welcome aboard "champagne" for a bottle of red wine, though of lesser quality than the ones on the comp. list in the restaurants...

 

Another nice Platinum welcome aboard perk is a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries, and a box of four Godiva chocolate truffles.:)

Just off the Gem on January 22nd. We have always used our Platinum dinner in Moderno's. However, this time we were told NO....only LeBistro or LaCucina.

Thanks for the review. I guess leaving from NY is risky as far as rough seas. We are sailing her in 3 weeks and hoping for the best, but no airfare x 4 people and no stress of flying in the winter made it worth it. Too bad about the weather in Caribbean. I thought this was considered dry season. How were the chair hoggers ?

The chair hogs were out in full force! Simple solution....just go up one deck and there are plenty of chairs.

Mary, I was on that cruise and I watched the whole rescue from my balcony. This whole trip I have thought about the person/people who were affected by this situation. All week I have been hearing rumors and stories. Any idea if the person is ok? Prayers sent to the family,

Cathy

One of the poker dealers told me on Thursday night that an elderly woman broke her hip. Like you, I also heard rumors.

Thanks to the crew of the NCL Gem and the US Coast Guard, the passenger is safely off the ship

It does look delish!! :D

 

I wish this new menu was on the GEM. :)

 

Don

When do the new menus come out on the Gem?

Has anyone else had this happen?

 

I am within 100 days of my upcoming cruise and have already PIF. I went on-line to book dining and entertainment but I am not able to reserve anything in those categories yet. I called NCL and was told that, "Yes, should be able to book them now but that sometimes NCL's computer system is slow and so it may take a few more days. Was told to call back if I can't yet book 95 days out.

 

Is this normal? I have never had this problem before.

Haven can book 100 days out. I'm not sure about suites. All other cabins can only book 90 days out.

It will absolutely fit you. People go 4 to a room all the time. One bed will pull down from the ceiling and the other will be a pull out couch. My 5'10" son thought it was great. You'll have to rotate bathroom schedules, but big deal. Too much to do on the ship to spend time in the cabin. Have a blast and enjoy!

There is a pull down in a mini-suite? Mmm....never saw this; but again, I haven't been on the Escape.

We are staying in the haven for our upcoming sailing on the Getaway & I completely forgot our cruise documents back home. I have our luggage tags but not the cruise docs, can we board without them?

Yes...no worries.

Hello fellow cruisers. Currently we (a family of 4, 2 kids aged 15 and 13) are booked on the Escape in Dec 2016. We have booked a midship mini suite. We have never sailed NCL and are looking forward to it. My question is, will this stateroom sleep us all comfortably? It says it will accommodate 4, but looking at the stateroom plans, I'm unsure. Have any other families sailed in one stateroom on the Escape? What would be our most comfortable option? The Haven option is out as it will be too expensive. Also, any reviews out there for stateroom 14788? Any help and/or advice would be much appreciated as NCL is completely new to us.

I was never on the Escape but have been on the Dawn, Gem, Pearl, Jewel, Spirit and Breakaway. The extra bed on all these ships has been a pull out sofa. It is rather small and very uncomfortable.

We have been on seven straight cruises with NCL and are first cruise was with Holland America. We have a eight NCL cruise coming up in March on the Spirit. We would like any recent feed back about Celebrity from NCL cruisers who have tried Celebrity. This is my first post, Thanks

I was on the Constellation in 2009. While I would never consider myself a "party person", I found the ship pretty much rolled up the carpet around 9:00pm including food venues. I wouldn't return to Celebrity.

Once you have paid the final amount go on the NCL website and make reservations for dinner. Ignore the fact that for ala carte restaurants it shows $0 since the website has no idea what your intention is: ala carte or fixed price (the traditional approach). When you show up at the venue just tell them your preference. It works out smoothly once you are on board.

There's a choice between paying a la carte or fixed price???? This is the first I'm hearing this.

I suggest the insurance! Was on a cruise in October and came down with bronchitis. The infirmary bill was $800+ and my health insurance only covered $200. The travel insurance will pick up the balance.

After waiting 2 months, I got word that my health insurance is covering no part of the $800 bill. I submitted my bills to my cruise insurance on Monday and on Friday I received an email they would send me a check for the full amount within 2 business days. I'll never travel without insurance!

Do you mean normal cover charge or normal SDP charge?

 

 

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2 of us paid the normal cover charge and 1 has the SDP.

Because Cagney's, Le Bistro and La Cucina are going a la carte fleetwide next year, already now on Escape. They simply can not know what your bill will be in advance so they can not precharge you.

Looks like the Gem rolls out a la carte in early January. We sail on Jan. 12th. We pre-booked and paid for specialty restaurants at the normal cover charge. Do you know what this means for us?

Well, he showed himself as very involved from the beginning, when after seeing a few trays in the hallway he instituted the no food to your room rule. Andy Stuart made no bones about that. That sort of "knee jerk" reaction and change has been happening ever since.

 

Why would Andy Stuart who's been around for a long time suddenly go crazy and start making all of these unplanned and quick changes, when he'd never done that before?

It is a mute point now, however, I always thought it strange that him finding trays in the hallways resulted in punishing the passengers, who were on vacation, instead of assuring there were enough staff available to clean them up.

My cruise leaves Feb 29th. I have been thinking allot about weather delaying our flight as we booked it for the same day (we fly in to miami at 1030am).

 

Does anyone recommend getting travel insurance just in case or should we roll the dice?

I suggest the insurance! Was on a cruise in October and came down with bronchitis. The infirmary bill was $800+ and my health insurance only covered $200. The travel insurance will pick up the balance.

I am not trying to second guess anyone who claims there is nothing served in the way of food at Bali Hai...but here's another claim on cruise critic that there is something there:

 

"Enjoy chili con carne, stir-fried veggies or grilled sausage with a front row view of the waterslide at Bali Hai Bar and Grill. The kid-friendly hot air balloon-themed buffet overlooks the Tahitian pool and its dozens of lounging sunbathers."

 

As seen here:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-5/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=385&pgtype=dining

 

Maybe they did serve something at one time but have stopped. It wouldn't be the first time there was erroneous information on the NCL site :D

We were just on the Gem from Oct 10-20, 2015 and there was no food at Bali Hai.

I have been on her 5 or 6 times and never knew they served food there. Unless I have the wrong place in mind! :o:eek:

Bali Hai doesn't serve food. It is a smoking area and there can't be smoking around any food venue. It is just a bar.