Review: Ben the Bendy Man's Gem of an Adventure, Dec 13 - Dec 22, 2012

[sjnyc323]

Awesome review as usual Kyle. We must sail together again real soon

 

Suzanne

[kylenyc]

Day 9 - Friday, December 22, 2012 (Continued)

Rough seas, martini non-tasting, Cagney's

 

Filet minion cooked to perfection with mushrooms, onion rings, and bearnaise sauce.

 

The meal in Cagney's was very good and a wonderful way to end the cruise among friends. We had a pleasant evening with lots of laughs recounting our voyage. There was no loud band to give us an ear-splitting headache and we could carry a conversation without shouting.

 

My filet was very tender and cooked to perfection. On the other hand, my favorite way to have oysters is lightly batter fried or raw, so I felt the cheese and spinach dominated the flavor of oysters rockefeller; the mushrooms were tasty but very salty.

 

The next morning I woke up late as we pulled into port. I decided not to wake up early for the sail into the harbor. However, I highly recommend it for anyone who's never done it before. Sailing under the Verazzano Narrows Bridge, past Lady Liberty, and along the night lights of the New York City skyline before dawn is beautiful. Here are some pics of Ben sailing in to into New York in September. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1714937&page=6#119

 

It will be bitter cold out in the ocean during winter but on the Gem (and Jewel-class ship), the Sun Deck 13 forward is a perfect outdoor viewing spot with tall glass partitions that shields you from much of the wind. (Picture of the Sun Deck Deck 13 forward http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1754684&page=4#74)

 

Packing my bags as we sail into the cruise terminal

 

 

 

Disembarkation was very frustrating. The new york cruise terminal was damaged during Hurricane Sandy. As a result, immigration officials set up onboard inside the Bliss Lounge. This left inadequate room for people to queue in line. Lines snaked around Deck 7 and the atrium while the hotel director continued to call passengers and luggage tags despite the fact some people were cutting in line and others yelling at other passengers and crew with questions and complaints. Crew members dispassionately walked by ignoring complaints. Hopefully the situation will be improved soon with NCL listening to customer feedback and make changes to better instruct passengers on disembarkation until the terminal is repaired and back to normal operations.

 

Next month, I'll definitely be waiting out the crowd by having breakfast in the main dining room or sitting in one of lounges until the lines have shortened so I can have an easy less stressful walk off the ship. However this time, I braved the frustrated crowd (and a few rude passengers) and eventually made it through the odd snaking procession to exit the ship.

 

Despite the difficult disembarkation, Ben and I (grins) had a wonderful time on this cruise with our new Cruise Critic friends and enjoyed the Gem and her ports of call. We had a fantastic time and can't wait to do it all against next month as well as pick Ben up from his extended visit in Samana. :)

 

Thanks everyone for following along (most of) Ben's adventures and helping him relive his Gem of an adventure.

 

The End

[sjnyc323]

Bravo Kyle loved it.

 

Suzanne

[nvdreamer]

Thanks for the review and photos

[cruisin0504]

Thank you!! Bravo!!

[Highboy90]

Great review. Loved the photos!

[NYGoose82]

Fabulous review! I will definitely be saving your review to my favorites:)

[kylenyc]

Fabulous review! I will definitely be saving your review to my favorites:)

:D Thanks.

 

P.S. This was first time on this itinerary. Second time instead of heading back early from port in St. Thomas, I took one of the private mini-buses to Megan's Bay in St. Thomas which was fabulous. $12/pp plus a few dollars for the entrance fee. Wish I had done that the first time.