Gem Review 6-9-12

[srjdreamer]

So disappointed.....disappointed that we had to disembark! My boyfriend and I had both cruised previously, but never together. We had such an amazing time! Can't wait to cruise again.

 

Day 1 - Embarking

This was easy peasy. We arrived at the NY port around 11:30 am - were there lines? Yes, but it went so incredibly smoothly, we were processed and on our way within 30 minutes. It was very organized and efficient. As soon as we boarded, we went to the MDR and had lunch - it was simple, but good. We then spent the next hour or so exploring the ship until we were able to go to our balcony room - when we arrived, my bon voyage gift to my boyfriend for his 50th birthday was all set up and he was surpised. The cabin was exactly as we expected - we were in cabin 8530 - yes, close to the front of the ship and the balcony was coved, but we loved the privacy it afforded. After checking out the cabin, we went back out to explore the ship some more. We went to drill and then went out on deck for the sail away - incredible to sail out of the harbor in NY. It was amazing - weather was perfect. After sailing under the ship, we headed to Teppanaki for our celebration for my BF birthday. Let me say, this was a terrfiic experience. There was only one other couple there with us since is was the first day, but the experience was great. The food was very good - we ordered a bit of everthing. My only negative is the dessert wasn't very good - none of the 4 of us enjoyed it. Green tea cake is not my cup of tea! But, no worries, because they brought us another cake for my BF birthday and we shared that! The entire wait staff was friendly and attentive. After rolling out because we were so full, we went to our cabin to see if our luggage arrived - it did so we unpacked and got settled in. Saw our Cabin Stewart and requested 2 robes - he said he would bring them the next day. We then were off to the show in the main theatre - again, a sampling of the acts to epect for the week. No complaints - they were great and very entertaining!

 

Day 2 - at sea

Slept in a bit. Went to the buffet for breakfast. Buffet was better than I expected - I'm not a buffet fan, but there was everything you could ask for and everything was presented in a clean and efficient manner. Sometimes throughout the week, the omlet station and drink station became back up, but these were minor issues. I can't imagine anyone not finding something to eat here. Were there some items that weren't the greatest - yes, but there were plenty of other options. After breakfast we wondered around the ship, made some inquiries at the shore excursion desk for snorkeling on GSC and just explored. At lunchtime we went to the bbq on deck - one word - awesome. The food was great at the bbq! Staff was so friendly and entertaining - music was good (a bit loud, but good). After this I went back to the cabin to take a nap and BF went out to an art auction (I think). After my nap we went to the dress up dinner - we chose to dress up and take a photo in the atrium area. It was a special memory for us, but I so like the concept of dress up or not. This is such a refreshing concept and we enjoyed it - up to each individual to decide their own comfort level. Afterwards we went to MDR for dinner - the food was awesome! Service was great. Throughout the week, we ate dinner every night at the MDR - we only paid for dinner the first night. And we were very happy with our choice of MDR - the food was very good - a couple of the items weren't necessarily to my liking, but there were plenty of other items to choose from. Service was good, too. After dinner, we again went to a show. It was very good - enjoyed it. We then went and made our deposit in the casino :) We had purchased the coupon from slot play and matched our funds. Although our money didn't last long :(, we never expect to win - just there to have fun. We also signed up for the slot tournament. After that, we were down for the night.

 

Day 3 - Port Canaveral

Having never been to Port Canaveral, I wasn't sure what to expect. I got up early and let BF sleep in - went to the buffet for breakfast. Went to the Great Outdoors and watched us sail into Floriday - saw a few small sharks, fish and turles. Boy was the sun intense! BF showed up just as we were almost into the dock - wow! Can I say Wow - how does the captain and crew do it? Moving a ship that size with such perfection - all I can say is wow! It was like watching a dance. We went from side to side to watch the ship manuver. It was so facinating - literally turning on a dime. After we docked, we had time to go back to our cabin to prepare for our shore excursion - we didn't book with the ship. We actually booked with a small company called Wildside Tours. We took a taxi - bad idea - to Cocoa Beach to a predetermined spot to meet up at a park to board our excursion. Taxi ride was a disaster - the cab driver got lost and had to adjust our fare because she was so confused. But, we kept it together and looked forward. We finally made it to our destination and took our tour. I would recommend this tour to anyone - it was AMAZING! Small and personal - terrific and knowledgable guides. We saw dolphins, all kinds of birds, wildlife galore - it was a once in a lifetime experience for us. Absolutely worth it! Would book again in a hearbeat - a great way to start our off shore adventures! After our tour was over, we took the bus to Ron Jon's Surf Shop. Not sure what I expected, but I was disappointed. I guess I was expecting more of a shopping experience - I really didn't care for Cocoa Beach - I found it to be a bit "dirty". Not what I was expecting. We walked around for a bit and decided to ride the bus line (what an adventure - locals on the bus got into a fight!) back to the port - at least as close as we could get to the port! After exiting the bus, we had to walk about a mile to the ship - it was great exercise and another adventure. When we got to the ship, we took a shower and went to MDR for dinner. Again, another great dinner - too much bread pudding again! We played a bit of shuffleboard and then went to a show - great entertainment once again! Afterwards we went back to the room for the night.

 

Day 4 - GSC

We took our time getting up and around and let the masses crowd the tenders - hey, we're on vacation, why rush? Let me just say, I don't know how the process can be improved, but it is a bit hectic. Even though we waited until the masses were off, the directions on the lower deck levels were a bit lacking - some people had tickets, some didn't, etc. Staff was helpful, but a bit overwhelmed I think. Tender ride over was easy. Once we got on the island, we headed over to the shack to get our snorkeling gear - I do have a suggestion - they need more signage - wasn't sure where to line up, etc. By the time we got there, they were out of my size for fins - but, after putting on my water shoes I was able to accommodate a larger size - problem solved, but they should really see about getting more supplies to avoid this in the future. We found lounge chairs fairly easy - we didn't get a clamshell because we knew we wanted to spend our time in the water - it was hot, hot, hot! After we got settled, we made our way out and snorkeled for a couple of hours - it was great fun. There was an awful odor on shore, but we didn't stay around long enough to be affected by it. After we were done snorkeling and hauled our out of shape bodies back to shore, we went to the bbq. Again, signage would help. It was confusing and not a lot of information was given - after getting up there we discovered there were 4 lines. This was probably my least favorite experience with NCL - the bbq was lacking. Too many flies, not enough direction and the food really wasn't that good. But, hey, we weren't going to let that bother us. After eating a bit, we decided to explore a bit. Walked around the island for a bit and then after getting very hot decided to go back to the ship. Tender took a bit took long and they jammed a LOT of people on it, but finally we were back on the ship - again, more signage is needed about how to get back up onto the upper levels. Kind of a bad system to walk through the cabin hallways trying to figure out the right pathway. GSC was a very pretty island, and we enjoyed our time there, but they could improve a few things. We then took a shower and went to dinner at MDR. After dinner we played in our Slot Tournament - lost but had fun. We were tired and decided to call it a night.

 

Day 4 - Nassau

 

Once again another beautiful day - a bit cloudy, but hot! We got into port early. We booked another private excursion - BlueHole Watersports - a snorkeling trip, but it wasn't scheduled to leave until 10:30. We decided to get up and walk around port before heading over to our excursion. We located the Starbucks and sat and relaxed a bit. We then headed to our boat for our adventure. BlueHole Watersports was AMAZING!!! Small snorkeling adventure - guide was so incredibly attentive and the sites he took us to were the best! This was the highlight of our trip - it was so much fun. We had an absolute blast. Couldn't speak highly enough about this excursion - we plan on going again in December and will book with him again. The fish were in the hundreds - swimming all around us. Equipment was clean and worked great. Our guide was GREAT! Can't wait to do it again. After a couple of hours, we had to leave and come back. We then decided to go back to the ship - had a late lunch, showered and then got off the ship to explore. We took a short walking tour to the Queens Staircase - worth the short hike! The views from the fort were wonderful. We then puttered around in a few of the shops and bought our little trinkets and headed back to the ship. Sat on our balcony and relaxed until dinner time. After dinner we walked around the ship, played shuffleboard and then called it a night - swimming sapped our energy! We watched a few movies from our room and then went night night.

 

Day 5 - Sea day

 

Awoke to beautiful sunrises every day on our balcony. A couple of times we ordered room service for coffee, tea and toast. Enjoyed the relaxing time of waking up this way. After getting it together, we went to an art auction - I found this to be increbibly boring, but my BF enjoyed it. Lunch time we ate at Blue Lagoon. Confession - we also ate at the bbq on the deck later :) Can't beat the bbq - the veggies were awesome! This day was a day of relaxation for us. My BF won an entry into the black tourney from the auction so he entered and played - lost but it was entertaining. We played shuffleboard and really just enjoyed our relaxing time on board the ship. Dinner at MDR - show after dinner was terrific. I can't remember, but one of these sea days we went to a special show by the singers where they sang their favorite tunes - it was very entertaining. We enjoyed it. After the show we went to bed.

 

Day 6 - Sea Day

 

Rough seas - swells around 14-18 feet. BF was a bit queasy so I left him and went to have breakfast at the buffet. He showed up feeling a bit better later. Spent a lot of this day on the balcony watching the waves and flying fish! I think it was disappointing to some of the families because the pools were emptied, but for us it was a minor issue. We decided to go to the bingo session and put in our tickets for the free cruise give away. We would have liked to have played bingo more throughout the cruise, but found the cost to be a bit prohibitive - I mean 3 games for like 39 bucks? Really? Anyway, they offered a $20 card at the very end for the final game - my BF decided to play. Low and behold he split the pot with another player - what a great way to end our cruise - couldn't believe it. Then, afterwards off to dinner and the final show. Cruise director Sinan and staff - can't say enough. How entertaining they were - shows all week were so much fun. Only negative is we did go to the Newlywed game - I'm not a prude, but the antics some of the couples used to be picked I found to cross the line. But, all in good fun I guess and the audience seemed to enjoy it. Just not something I would be willing to do.

 

Day 7 - Disembarkation :(

 

So sad to leave. We chose the walk off option - it was so easy. Caught a cab to the car rental company and began the second part of our vacation, but so so so so so sad to see the end of our trip.

 

Overall, this vacation exceeded our expectations. We payed for a deposit on a future cruise while on board and plan to take our children in December on the Epic - can't wait. Loved the freestyle concept - the food was great and the entertainment was enjoyable. Almost all of the staff went above and beyond. The only thing lacking was our cabin stewart - although he serviced our needs, it was done grudgingly and without much enthusiasm. We only asked for a bar of soap and the robes, but it did seem as if we were imposing upon him for these items. Our room could have used a better cleaning, but overall our room was great. Good storage and really plenty of room for the two of us. Loved the balcony and didn't mind our room being over the showroom - we rarely heard any noise from it because we were usually at the show :) Crew and staff were so friendly. Can't wait until our next cruise - let the countdown begin!

[callmebetty]

Thank you for taking the time to post a detailed review. Can't wait until the 28th of July for our turn!

[www3traveler]

Thank you for your wonderful review. I loved your description of docking at Port Canaveral. Sometimes docking a ship becomes very interesting especially in very tight spaces or in bad weather. Earlier this year The Star had a difficult time docking in New York City because of the currents in the Hudson River and the winds blowing at the time. Having been on 16 Norwegian cruises, I have come to appreciate all staff members not just the Bridge staff.

[purrfect007]

Thank you, great detail. WHY would they drain the pools?

 

Sounds like you had a great time!!

[cruisers04]

SJR: Do you have any pictures of your room and balcony. Friends just booked a room with the coved balcony and would love to see it in advance.

[srjdreamer]

They drained the pools because the sea was too rough - pools were unsafe to swim in - sloshing too much!

[auducky2]

Thanks for the great review! We're counting down until we go in September!

[Kinyc]

Thank you for the review. I will be in the same cabin you were in 8530 September 2013. I can't wait to cruise again!!:D

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review of your cruise. Glad you had a great time.