PART 2 - 1/18/2013 Gem: Carnival Cruisers New to NCL

[Cambrensis]

OK … so our big question was … when does it get warm? Southbound, it really did not warm up until second sea day – but by then is was comfortable enough to lay out on Deck 13. A little windy though.

 

Weather navigation notes, day 2: 5:45 a.m. – 50 degrees F – 250 nautical miles (NM) from NYC (about at the NC/VA line). It just passed 60F by day’s end and we knew the best was yet to come!

 

I made coffee in my French press (got hot water on in Garden Café, very convenient) and then watched the horizon brighten from our balcony (SB side, so faced west). I am picky about coffee so brought my own – but the in-room coffee maker probably would have worked fine. Remember filters if you do this.

 

 

DW and I took a brisk walk on Deck 13 jogging track – 5-1/2 laps to the mile. You can also walk on Deck 6 (or is it 7?) entire perimeter of ship – and you won’t annoy the joggers. Fewer laps per mile, too.

First breakfast in Garden Café – lots of choices.

 

I leaned towards omelettes (very good), salmon (can’t get too much of the stuff) and fresh fruit (melons and pineapple very flavorful). Some of the food on the buffet was not very warm … a pattern that unfortunately persisted thru the week. Nonetheless – I found Garden Café favorably comparable to Lido deck on Carnival, but once again, DW favored Carnival.

 

 

We read and read and read at sea .. 4 books each by end of cruise.

 

 

We decided to do Cagney’s early in the cruise so went there Day 2 (Sat. nite) and it was just awesome. Took our own bottle of wine – a luscious full bodied red called “Petit Petit” because it is a blend of Petit Syrah and Petit Verdot – SO GOOD with those amazing steaks – NY strip, prime rib, and T-bone between the 3 of us. All prepared to perfection. Tasty sides, lovely waitstaff. If you are wondering about it … do it. You won’t be sorry.

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Every bit as good as Carnival. DW and DS went to a bunch of shows. I only went to a couple. The Man from Mars/Cirque Journey show with Dizzy and Janna (husband and wife acrobat/magic team were fantastic. They greeted us as we exited theater and all I could say was -- WOW! Wish I had pics but here are a couple (I snapped the second one of the Gem Production Company just before DW hissed "YOu can't take pictures!" oops. At least I didn't use flash):

 

 

Gradually it got warmer and soon we were at our first port: San Juan. We did a private Night Walking Tour ... very nice, very informative. We also had time to see the Fort (or one of them). More on ports next post.

[PACRUISINNANA]

We were on the cruise the week before you and we were able to lay out in the sun the first day but it was windy.

 

Also we used the walking deck but it seemed to took forever to walk i mile.

 

We also were on carnival before but haven't found the food any better or any worse at times than ncl.

 

Really enjoying your report i feel like i'm on my cruise again.

 

We also found the entertainment excellent.

 

Only issue we had were the people saving chairs for hours before they showed up.

[Demonyte]

Thanks for taking the time to write the review, I really appreciate your comparison with CCL, we have sailed only NCL but since we become platinums in the middle of our B2B starting next week, I'm wondering whether to explore other lines too.

 

One suggestion though: why wouldn't you put all the parts in the same thread so that everyone wanting to read the whole thing later wouldn't need to hunt down the separate pieces (threads)? Even now the first part was almost outside from the first page when this thread was at the top. :)