Any Complaints about the Gem..?

[uneamie]

We are going on our first cruise on the Gem in January. We've already sailed on the Dawn and loved her. Had no complaints what so ever.

 

The Gem is a newer ship with a few things more or less than the Dawn I hear....no movie but they have bowling etc.

 

My question is: What, if any, were the things you liked....and did you have any huge complaints...things we need to know or be aware of for this ship. We are booked in a "mini suite" in the front of the ship under the library. Thanks! :)

[BarbCT605]

The good:

The "Great Outdoors" located aft of the Garden Cafe is a wonderful getaway. Bliss & bowling alley is a "must try." :)

 

The bad:

The buffet has "stations" which is good, but seems much more crowded than the Dawn. Also, the Gem's pool area seems crowded and the stadium seating around the pool on the Dawn is absent on the Gem.

 

The ugly:

I hear that the pax on the 1/3/10 Gem roll call are a bit "quirky."

 

:D

[uneamie]

The good:

The "Great Outdoors" located aft of the Garden Cafe is a wonderful getaway. Bliss & bowling alley is a "must try." :)

 

The bad:

The buffet has "stations" which is good, but seems much more crowded than the Dawn. Also, the Gem's pool area seems crowded and the stadium seating around the pool on the Dawn is absent on the Gem.

 

The ugly:

I hear that the pax on the 1/3/10 Gem roll call are a bit "quirky."

 

:D

 

 

Stadium seating....I remember that on the Dawn. Not that I am much of a pool person, but what exactly do they have in place of that?

 

We don't do the buffet all that often...perhaps a few breakfast here and there...but, I don't know how much more crowed it could get....the Dawn's buffet was awful at breakfast. Had a hard time finding a table...guess that's why we didn't do the buffet much. LOL .....btw, this is not a complaint about the Dawn. That was like 5 years ago...and at the time it was no biggy for us. We are flexible.

 

So I take it the "ugly" ....quirky pax, is some dry humor thrown in....at least I hope so. Oh wait....I see you are one of "us" quirks! LOL

[Cubechick]

No huge complaints about the Gem from me (will be boarding as you leave on the 13th...our 3rd cruise aboard this lovely ship).

 

My only minor complaint is that I don't care for the "bar central" area. I much preferred the bars scattered around the Dawn. Really feel the lack of a sports bar on the Gem.

 

Certainly not a "major" complaint though!

 

BTW, it's been my experience that they do show a few movies in the central atrium area on the 2-story big screen. ;)

[time2cruise1]

Stadium seating....I remember that on the Dawn. Not that I am much of a pool person, but what exactly do they have in place of that?

 

 

Two full pools and a water slide. Far more open deck area and one pool set aside for adults. Having been on the Dawn 8 times and the Gem 3 I liked the pool area far better on the Gem.

[uneamie]

No huge complaints about the Gem from me (will be boarding as you leave on the 13th...our 3rd cruise aboard this lovely ship).

 

My only minor complaint is that I don't care for the "bar central" area. I much preferred the bars scattered around the Dawn. Really feel the lack of a sports bar on the Gem.

 

Certainly not a "major" complaint though!

 

BTW, it's been my experience that they do show a few movies in the central atrium area on the 2-story big screen. ;)

 

 

Wow..."central atrium big screen"...good to know. Thanks

I can see that some would be disappointed in the lack of "sports bars". They are so popular so I don't get that they did not include at least a nice small one tucked away in a pub or something.

 

As for the "central bar" area....guess I will have to see that to know what you mean. Personally, I liked discovering all the little places all over the ship one could pop in and have a drink at.....a central spot seems to take away the spontaneity of stumbling upon a bar here and there.

 

Thanks for your input. :)

[uneamie]

Two full pools and a water slide. Far more open deck area and one pool set aside for adults. Having been on the Dawn 8 times and the Gem 3 I liked the pool area far better on the Gem.

 

Great....then that's a plus for the Gem. I hope I get the courage to go down that "slide". LOL :D

[bakerintn]

Great....then that's a plus for the Gem. I hope I get the courage to go down that "slide". LOL :D

 

 

That's the kids pool

[KevinsCruising]

Hi,

 

I have sailed both the Dawn and Gem. They both have their better points.

 

On the Dawn, in my opinion....Better atrium with glass elevators, Blue Lagoon is faster and easier to take food to your room at night if you like, Pearly Kings Pub was missed on Gem.

 

 

On the Gem....Great Outdoors is the best place to have breakfast. I thought the buffet was better on Dawn, (especially the chocolate buffet) Blue Lagoon is set up like Salsa on Dawn. ( more of a sit down and I actually had a problem trying to take some wings to my room) The Bliss lounge is a must along with the bowling there.

 

I LOVE BOTH SHIPS... sailing the Dawn again this coming Sunday. Sailed the Gem this past March.

 

Can't loose on either ship. ;)

[uneamie]

Hi,

 

I have sailed both the Dawn and Gem. They both have their better points.

 

On the Dawn, in my opinion....Better atrium with glass elevators, Blue Lagoon is faster and easier to take food to your room at night if you like, Pearly Kings Pub was missed on Gem.

 

 

On the Gem....Great Outdoors is the best place to have breakfast. I thought the buffet was better on Dawn, (especially the chocolate buffet) Blue Lagoon is set up like Salsa on Dawn. ( more of a sit down and I actually had a problem trying to take some wings to my room) The Bliss lounge is a must along with the bowling there.

 

I LOVE BOTH SHIPS... sailing the Dawn again this coming Sunday. Sailed the Gem this past March.

 

Can't loose on either ship. ;)

 

So you are saying that the "Blue Lagoon" is more like a sit down then a fast food place? Can't imagine why it matters to them if you take your wings to your room....why should they care? We always took things to our room....if they give me hard time I will just have to bring my own take out containers. Can you take things off of the buffet to take to your room? I know they don't have trays anymore so that makes it more difficult...wonder if that is why they don't have trays? Hmm

[Cubechick]

I had the same experience at the Blue Lagoon on the Gem (forgot about that!). I wanted to order some wings "to-go" and they really gave me a hard time. Said it would be at least a 30 minute wait, they were too busy, etc. As if where I choose to consume my wings makes a difference? At any rate, they refused to let me order them to go, but did offer to deliver them to my stateroom. As though that was a more efficient option? I'd barely gotten back to my room and told DH of my odd experience, and there was a knock on the door and a nice lady with my plate of wings. Couldn't have been more than 10 minutes after I left the restaurant.

 

So odd...

[RoosCruise]

So is it that you do not tell them where you are eating your food and just take a plate of wings? Or is it asking them for a to go box the issue?

[uneamie]

I had the same experience at the Blue Lagoon on the Gem (forgot about that!). I wanted to order some wings "to-go" and they really gave me a hard time. Said it would be at least a 30 minute wait, they were too busy, etc. As if where I choose to consume my wings makes a difference? At any rate, they refused to let me order them to go, but did offer to deliver them to my stateroom. As though that was a more efficient option? I'd barely gotten back to my room and told DH of my odd experience, and there was a knock on the door and a nice lady with my plate of wings. Couldn't have been more than 10 minutes after I left the restaurant.

 

So odd...

 

Wow...that is very odd. Wonder if they just don't want you walking thru the restaurant with food on a plate? This can't be the first time someone requested to take something out..........so why not just provide passengers with "take out cartons" or something like that? Maybe they are trying to discourage people from eating in odd places on the ship. People can be slobs sometimes.....perhaps people leave their garbage all over the place.

 

I don't know....I mean they let you take food off the buffet and you can take food away from the outdoor BBQ area so I am not sure why they do this at the Blue Lagoon.

[Cubechick]

So is it that you do not tell them where you are eating your food and just take a plate of wings? Or is it asking them for a to go box the issue?

 

Going forward I would just order my food then take it to my room once delivered. I wasn't asking for a "box", just indicated that I wanted an order to go (and wasn't looking to take up a table when I didn't intend to eat there).

[euro cruiser]

We were on the Gem in the Western Med in July. One of the worst things about our cruise won't be a problem for you - over 800 wild kids, many unsupervised (or only lightly supervised) by their parents.

 

The best things, some of which I simply took for granted until I read about other people's experiences, included very easy embarkation and disembarkation. We were among the first on the ship (in regular balcony rooms, not suites) and spent a pleasant couple of hours sipping champagne and watching the kids play wii on the big screen. At the end of the cruise we had a nice breakfast in the main dining room then sat on our balcony until it was time to leave. Very easy and pleasant. Even at the port stops, getting off and on wasn't a trial. The only time I remember waiting was the stop in Cannes where there was a tender, and then only about five minutes.

 

Breakfast in the main dining room was always enjoyable. I'm sorry I didn't even discover the upper deck aft dining until the last days - I probably would have liked that as well. Going to eat when we felt like it was nice.

 

On the downside, I didn't like being solicited to reserve a specialty restaurant whenever we sat by the pool. I also found the quality of the service to be very spotty, some quite good but not all. I just said this on another thread, I wonder if it's even possible to achieve consistent, high quality service on such a large ship with so many employees. Particularly among the bartending staff, there was a lot of variability.

[uneamie]

We were on the Gem in the Western Med in July. One of the worst things about our cruise won't be a problem for you - over 800 wild kids, many unsupervised (or only lightly supervised) by their parents.

 

The best things, some of which I simply took for granted until I read about other people's experiences, included very easy embarkation and disembarkation. We were among the first on the ship (in regular balcony rooms, not suites) and spent a pleasant couple of hours sipping champagne and watching the kids play wii on the big screen. At the end of the cruise we had a nice breakfast in the main dining room then sat on our balcony until it was time to leave. Very easy and pleasant. Even at the port stops, getting off and on wasn't a trial. The only time I remember waiting was the stop in Cannes where there was a tender, and then only about five minutes.

 

Breakfast in the main dining room was always enjoyable. I'm sorry I didn't even discover the upper deck aft dining until the last days - I probably would have liked that as well. Going to eat when we felt like it was nice.

 

On the downside, I didn't like being solicited to reserve a specialty restaurant whenever we sat by the pool. I also found the quality of the service to be very spotty, some quite good but not all. I just said this on another thread, I wonder if it's even possible to achieve consistent, high quality service on such a large ship with so many employees. Particularly among the bartending staff, there was a lot of variability.

 

When dealing with so many employees and so many passengers I am sure it would be next to impossible for any ship of that size to receive a score of (10) in the customer service department. In the few cruises I've taken I've never had any serious service issues....that said, there was always one in the bunch who seem to just not like their job or hated people...one or the other or both. LOL

[trish1c]

We thought the decor on the Gem was garish -- too much purple & lime green. Yuck. The Dawn is simply more elegant, IMHO.

Other than that, it was great ship.

Fair warning -- I felt every rivet on that water slide. Ouch. It was still fun to be on a water slide on a ship though. That was a 1st for me.

We loved all the funkly chairs & couches in the Spinnaker lounge. We went up there one day just to take goofy pictures.

[wahine56]

We just love the spa on the Gem, didn't care much for the Dawn spa.

 

Pat

[Sandyshore]

So you are saying that the "Blue Lagoon" is more like a sit down then a fast food place? Can't imagine why it matters to them if you take your wings to your room....why should they care? We always took things to our room....if they give me hard time I will just have to bring my own take out containers. Can you take things off of the buffet to take to your room? I know they don't have trays anymore so that makes it more difficult...wonder if that is why they don't have trays? Hmm

 

Blue Lagoon on the Gem is totally a sit-down restaurant and not a fast food place. Wait for the hostess to seat you, just like any other restaurant on board. We ate there several times but didn't try to get it "to-go." (As an aside, we found the service there painfully slow, unlike any other restaurant on the ship.)

 

We saw many people carrying plates of food from the buffet to their cabins. In fact, we took with us those interlocking paper plates that lock to give you a top and a bottom -- way less potential for spilling on the way to your cabin. :rolleyes:

[European_CruiseGirl]

We had the same take out issue on the Gem last week. We were having lunch at Cagney's when my DD became fussy and I decided to go to my cabin and have my dessert there (I would have waited for my dessert and taken it to my cabin). They said that I couldn't take the dessert out of the restaurant myself but that they'd call my butler who could deliver it. It was delivered to me in 15mins. I thought it was really strange too. I wonder if they would have stopped me by the door if I had just tried to leave with the dessert in my hand. :D

 

Ps. We were also below the library. It was a very quiet and wonderful location but boy does the corridor seem long when you are walking from Garden Cafe to your cabin with a couple of plates in your hand. ;)

[uneamie]

We had the same take out issue on the Gem last week. We were having lunch at Cagney's when my DD became fussy and I decided to go to my cabin and have my dessert there (I would have waited for my dessert and taken it to my cabin). They said that I couldn't take the dessert out of the restaurant myself but that they'd call my butler who could deliver it. It was delivered to me in 15mins. I thought it was really strange too. I wonder if they would have stopped me by the door if I had just tried to leave with the dessert in my hand. :D

 

Ps. We were also below the library. It was a very quiet and wonderful location but boy does the corridor seem long when you are walking from Garden Cafe to your cabin with a couple of plates in your hand. ;)

 

Thanks for the info on the location......I was wondering about that front to back walk....the exercise will really help since I am on Weight Watchers...6 months now and doing well..."till the cruise that is". ;)

[uneamie]

Blue Lagoon on the Gem is totally a sit-down restaurant and not a fast food place. Wait for the hostess to seat you, just like any other restaurant on board. We ate there several times but didn't try to get it "to-go." (As an aside, we found the service there painfully slow, unlike any other restaurant on the ship.)

 

We saw many people carrying plates of food from the buffet to their cabins. In fact, we took with us those interlocking paper plates that lock to give you a top and a bottom -- way less potential for spilling on the way to your cabin. :rolleyes:

 

Hmm.....the interlocking paper plates is a very good idea. Someone also mentioned that you can ask someone for a "tray" to carry your food back to your cabin.

 

Now as for taking food from other restaurants if you do not have a "butler"....someone also mentioned they would deliver it to their cabin. Seems sooo unnecessary when you can takeit there yourself. Since they allow you to take food from the buffet....I wonder if this rule for the other restaurants is to "discourage" people, for what ever reason, from doing this but, ....seems to me that they are just starting a new habit of people getting food delivered to their cabins.

[LoisGriffin1]

Are there any bars that show sports?

 

We will be going at the start of the World Cup so I would love the chance to watch a little football on sea days.

[uneamie]

Are there any bars that show sports?

 

We will be going at the start of the World Cup so I would love the chance to watch a little football on sea days.

 

I think I remember someone on this thread saying that there are no "sports bars"......not sure if that means no "TV"'s for it.

[LoisGriffin1]

I am hoping there will be somewhere. I didn't realise there wasn't a sports bar. I loved the bar on the Sun.