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What do you love/not love about the Gem?


klo0315
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We are considering the Gem for our next cruise, have only cruised Breakaway class before with 1 Haven stay.

Obviously the Gem is smaller, that we know. But tell me your likes and/or dislikes about the Gem. Not sure Haven is an option financially right now so Haven aside we are trying to decide if we will like the Gem. We are early 40’s and have 2 girls, ages 9 and 12.

Thanks to all of you ncl experts out there!

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I love the Breakaway, and she is my favorite ship. But I also like the Jewel Class very much. Nice layout, cabins are large, balconies are bigger. Nice non-crowded pool area, also!

The Jewel Class is very easy to navigate!

 

 

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We love the Great Outdoors area at the back. Peaceful, quiet area to sit outside if the buffet area gets crowded.

 

 

We have been on the Jewel class ships 3 times and have used this area every cruise.

Edited by INDIANA JOE
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The Gem was a beautiful ship. The only thing it was missing (at least I didn't see one) was an outdoor movie screen. A few of the Carnival ships I went on had it, lovely to sit outside, watch a movie, and people watch at the same time.

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I haven't been on the Gem since refurb, they used to have a nice little sandwich and fries place overlooking the Atrium, many people walked right thru it not even realizing it was there, it was on a mezzanine type floor. Is it still there?

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I haven't been on the Gem since refurb, they used to have a nice little sandwich and fries place overlooking the Atrium, many people walked right thru it not even realizing it was there, it was on a mezzanine type floor. Is it still there?

 

Are you talking about Blue Lagoon which is now O'Sheehans? If so yes it was still there in January. We love the Gem and have been on her for approximately 10 yrs in a row.

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We love Spinnaker Lounge and the Great Outdoors. Both offer relaxing atmospheres and great views. On other NCL ships we've been on, those have been the most missed and noticeably absent.

 

 

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I haven't been on Gem in years but as i read here, i'm remembering all these great spots.

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Yeah, that's it Blue lagoon.So is it now strictly O'sheehans menu? I only know osheehans from bway, same thing? I think it was a nice mozzarella and prosciutto sandwich Blue lagoon had.thanks

 

They have a different menu than Blue Lagoon. They still have wings but they have stuff like shepherds pie...

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Love the Gem. Bigger balconies, love the Great Outdoors (best area on the ship) and Spinnaker Lounge. Good shows (not broadway type) and food. Nice relaxing ship, with wonderful service. Less energy than the Breakaway. Missing at nighttime -- dueling pianos and Jazz club, plus outdoor area by Maltings. I

Safe sailing

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I love the Breakaway, and she is my favorite ship. But I also like the Jewel Class very much. Nice layout, cabins are large, balconies are bigger. Nice non-crowded pool area, also!

The Jewel Class is very easy to navigate!

 

 

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I love THE GREAT OUTDOORS area aft in the afternoon and evening for a quiet spot away from crowds. Gem is one of my favorite ships. I prefer the theater on Gem too.

One thing I hate on Breakaway is using their atrium area for demonstrations that are better in the Spinnaker Lounge. The Breakaway atrium is always noisey unlike Gem.

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I love THE GREAT OUTDOORS area aft in the afternoon and evening for a quiet spot away from crowds. Gem is one of my favorite ships. I prefer the theater on Gem too.

One thing I hate on Breakaway is using their atrium area for demonstrations that are better in the Spinnaker Lounge. The Breakaway atrium is always noisey unlike Gem.

Great Outdoors is great, they are always putting food out, breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks... always available tables. Spinnaker Lounge up front. I prefer it over the Breakaway.

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Great Outdoors is great, they are always putting food out, breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks... always available tables. Spinnaker Lounge up front. I prefer it over the Breakaway.

 

 

 

I also love the Great Outdoors! Very nice area!

 

Robbie

 

 

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We are considering the Gem for our next cruise, have only cruised Breakaway class before with 1 Haven stay.

Obviously the Gem is smaller, that we know. But tell me your likes and/or dislikes about the Gem. Not sure Haven is an option financially right now so Haven aside we are trying to decide if we will like the Gem. We are early 40’s and have 2 girls, ages 9 and 12.

Thanks to all of you ncl experts out there!

 

 

We love, love, love the Gem. If Haven is out you might check on the two bedroom suites on 11. Still get the suite perks (butler, priority boarding, breakfast and lunch in Cagney's or Moderno. etc.) Just not the Haven itself. We usually get the aft balcony on 10, but would not work for 4. We actually prefer that over the Haven. We did a two bedroom suite on 11 with 4 adults and had no issues.

 

 

Love the staff, since smaller ship able to interact with them more and they get to know you better. I don't have kids, but have see many happy ones with the kids club, etc. They won't have the extra slides as on the bigger ships, but still plenty of family activities. As others have mentioned, Spinnaker lounge and Great outdoors are great places to chill and relax.

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We are considering the Gem for our next cruise, have only cruised Breakaway class before with 1 Haven stay.

Obviously the Gem is smaller, that we know. But tell me your likes and/or dislikes about the Gem. Not sure Haven is an option financially right now so Haven aside we are trying to decide if we will like the Gem. We are early 40’s and have 2 girls, ages 9 and 12.

Thanks to all of you ncl experts out there!

The only thing I love about the GEM is the staff singer LEO .

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The Gem feels bigger than the Breakaway. Much better designed ship. Has a sense of "flow" to it, and it feels more like something that was designed to be a comfortable cruise ship and not a floating mall.

 

Great Outdoors is just a wonderful space. Only crowded during peak breakfast times, otherwise always open and quiet and beautiful, unless some a-hole brings their own private speaker to play music (which I'm unfortunately seeing happen more and more).

 

Front of the ship is lovely, too. It's a designated "quiet zone" unlike on the Breakaway. Many more quiet places to relax on the Gem, including the Spinnaker lounge during the day if its cold and you still want nice views. I also love the promenade deck on the Gem.

 

Only drawback would be somewhat limited entertainment, and the bathtubs in some of the staterooms are kind of a pain to step into and out of. The ship is older than the breakaway, so there's a little more wear and tear (some rust on the balconies, cracks in the sinks, etc) and smaller TV's.

 

Overall the Gem is a great ship. There's a reason it's so many people's favorite.

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We love Spinnaker Lounge and the Great Outdoors. Both offer relaxing atmospheres and great views. On other NCL ships we've been on, those have been the most missed and noticeably absent.

 

 

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100%....most definitely the best two venues on the GEM!:D

 

Can't think of what I did not like about the GEM....I always considered it one of my favorite ships.;)

 

Don:cool:

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I've only been on the Gem once, but will be sailing on it again this December. It's the only NCL ship we've been on but we loved everything about it when we went. The size is perfect and after walking around for a day or two, I knew where things were for the most part. I went on one of the newer Disney ships recently and I was always so lost and running into dead ends. This boat definitely has a nice floor plan. I loved the outdoor lounge area on the bow. It was a nice quiet place to take a book and relax that most people didn't seem to know about.

 

I keep reading all over CC reviews that people don't like the food on this ship, but I thought everything was great maybe with the exception of the buffet. Cagney's was our favorite and the food was delicious and every meal we had in the MDR was good too. We also tried Moderno, the asian restaurant, sushi, and Le Bistro. My bf and I loved getting the wings and a basket of fries from O'Sheehan's late night haha.

 

There are two pools that were more like wave pools because of how rocky the boat was (it was a January sailing) and depending on the time of the day the deck could get pretty crowded but we were always able to find chairs and the hot tubs filled up fast, but I find that happens on most cruise lines.

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The Gem and the entire Jewel class is our favorite NCL ship(s). Never feels really crowded like Breakaway (all over).

The dedicated dancing/showroom/demonstration Spinnaker is great, as opposed to Atrium on BA.

The Great outdoors for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just relaxing in the shade during the day.

Aft balcony, on the same deck as O'Sheehan's was nice. Actually had lunch and snacks there quite often instead of heading to other areas. On BA, it's cramped, crowded, dark, and noisy.

 

Can't comment about the kids program since we haven't cruised with children on NCL, only RCCL, which has an excellent program and activities for children.

 

But comparing to BA... I choose Gem by far.

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