NCL Gem Review - With Pictures! 6/15 to 6/22

[auntierobin]

You're a better man than I am Jerry, I haven't even downloaded my pictures yet! And here you have them posted already. It was great meeting you and your mom, too bad Tom was still sleeping LOL.

 

Great review, keep it coming.

[YankeeFan4Ever]

Great start to your review! Please keep it coming! :)

[Brighton Line]

Great Outdoors is just Great, missed it on the Star.

Please continue, 5 months until I'm on the Gem and need a fix!!

[1witchydiva]

Great review !!!! I cant wait to read more. I havent been on the Gem yet, but with what you have wrote so far, I think the Gem is in my future...:D

 

Thanks so much.:)

[Fins2theleft]

Great review so far, keep it going.

[js17]

Day 1: Sailaway

 

Sailing away from NYC was simply stunning. It takes about 1 hour. Below are some of the photos taken.

 

View of Empire State Building:

 

View of the Standard Hotel and the NYC High Line:

 

View of Lower Manhattan and the new WTC:

 

The Statue of Liberty:

 

Going under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge:

 

The Pool with a Sailaway Party and a outdoor bbq buffet:

 

More to come in about 30 mins.

[js17]

A few more sailaway photos.

 

I find this so interesting. The way you can see straight through to the otherside of Manhattan:

 

The wake of NCL Gem in the Hudson:

[1stimecruiser]

Great review. Love all the pictures. Looking forward to sailing on the Gem in September.

[js17]

@NayRN - Glad I could keep you sane :p

 

@coka - Thanks. I hope I won't disappoint!

 

@Donna March - The Gem is a great ship! I always thought it would be interesting to do a Canada cruise. Especially to see the tides in St. John.

 

@kylenyc - Thanks! I miss the Gem already. Really a wonderful ship

 

@lalise - Thanks for the tips! I will have to sail in the Haven at some point in time.

 

@lenquixote66 - Thanks! I was worried about how they would come out because I was still getting to know my new camera at the time.

 

@Squangirl25 - We were worried about this too. When we got to the parking area they said Pier 88 was already filled, but there were plenty of spaces on the viaduct still. I don't know how they have spaces for both the Breakaway and the Gem. I know they say it is first come first serve, there is a half-valet parking company near by.(I think it was called "park right") The best idea is to get there as early as possible.

 

@Gambee - Thanks for taking the time to stop by and look at my little review here! I am really enjoying doing this, but it is very time consuming.(but I have a light work schedule so I have time! :D)

 

@auntierobin - Thanks again for holding the Meet & Greet. (I think I have one or two photos of it for the review) It was nice meeting you and the others that were on the roll call! Yeah well Tom did get up, but then fell asleep on a sun lounger(lol)

 

@YankeeFan4Ever - Thanks, I sure will!

 

@Brighton Line - I love Great Outdoors, personally I think they should have had it on the Breakaway.

 

@1witchydiva - Thanks! The Gem is a great ship, Its smaller than Epic and Breakaway, which I bet has its advantages. I definitely will be a repeat cruiser on the Gem.

 

@Fins2theleft - Thanks! Sure will.

 

@1stimecruiser - Thanks, have a great trip!

[boopsahoy]

I love sailing out of NY! Great pics! Hope theres more!:o

[BSR]

Enjoyed your review and hope there is more to follow. Going on the Gem for the second time in Oct and can't wait.:)

[kylenyc]

A few more sailaway photos.

 

I find this so interesting. The way you can see straight through to the otherside of Manhattan:

Cool! Great shot!

[callmebetty]

Jerry,

What are you using for a camera? I am looking into a new camcorder and a new still shot...

[andmad]

I found myself in the picture by the pool. I was sitting watching my kids play on the water slide during sail away. How I wish could still be on board!

[js17]

@boopsahoy - Thanks! I've got plenty of pictures and information to share

 

@BSR - There sure is, enjoy your cruise!

 

@klyenyc - It's one of my favorites. I have one of WTC with a yellow water taxi in the foreground that I like. That one had the sunlight just perfect, but I can't find the digital file of it on my skydrive, I'll share when I find it.

 

@callmebetty - I am using an Olympus E-P3 compact mirrorless camera. I have two lenses a 14-42mm kit zoom lens and a 17mm prime lens. Overall I really enjoy the camera, it actually has a OLED touchscreen on the back that can assist in autofocus(Which is the fastest I have seen - like point and tap and the photo is already recorded - no lag in focusing or taking the photo. But the manual focus works very well as well.) It has more physical controls than the newer mirrorless cameras, which I like, but some may not. So if you don't you could look into the similar Olympus E-PM1 or E-PM2. With the prime lens attached it is a very slim camera. The four-thirds system has a lot of choices, lens-wise. I believe I paid 374 for the camera and kit lens, and then 299 for the prime lens. Check out Adorama camera, I bought my camera and lens, a laptop, and my mother bought a point-and-shoot camera(Olympus VR-370) from there. We received it the day after the order, the items ship really quickly.

 

@andmad - In my photo? How funny!

[rmandmm]

This is great! I want to sail out of NYC so badly. Your pictures and writing are wonderful--I think you have a future in this! :)

[js17]

Day 1: Evening

I spent the afternoon walking around and exploring the ship.

 

Overall I found this ship never felt crowded and there were plenty of nooks and quiet areas to relax inside and out

 

Tip!

If your looking for a quiet area outside, take the midship elevators(or stairs) to deck 13. then walk out the door to the jogging track. Walk aft on the jogging track until the stairs that are at the golf net area. Go up those stairs make a right and walk forward a very short distance until you reach a door on your right at the end of the path. If it is closed pull on it(it was never locked - even when I went up there at night) then you go up those stairs and voila, a sundeck that's almost always empty. There are stacks of chairs there, not always ready for sitting though. Its also a great place to get a picture of the stack at night.

 

I'll go over a few public areas right now....

 

Trade Routes Boutiques

This is the area just forward of Orchid Garden and just aft of the Stardust Theater on deck 7, the main interior deck for public rooms. This is where you can find the gift shop, where you can buy your alcohol, and many jewelry and high end sunglasses, all tax and duty free. I didn't buy much of anything here. I bought one of the ship models, which is actually a model of the Norwegian Star with gems on the side instead. But it is cheaper than the one on Breakaway, at 29.99. Anyways the shops are cleverly placed as to be located in the passageway to the Stardust Theater, like the casino is on deck 6(right below the shops). Note: There is also a shop called Port-O-Call opposite of the shore excursion desk by the reception desk in the Crystal Atrium. There is also another small gift shop aft of the pool casino and loungers on deck 12 in the Tahitian pool area.

Trade Routes Boutiques:

 

After exploring It was time for dinner, for us anyway #freestylecruising :p

We decided to go to the Grand Pacific MDR. The menu on the first night was the best of the whole cruise. Tip: The lime marinated shrimp with tarragon dressing were amazing. Favorite thing I had on the whole cruise. The service was very good 5 of the 6 nights we ate there.

The Grand Pacific Dining Room:

 

The show that night was a welcome on board show, pretty typical for a cruise. We were introduced to Sinan, the Gem production cast, and the comedian that week Jeff Harms.(I think there is a new comedian starting 6/29) It was very enjoyable and not very long. That is the night where you learn the dance for the song "hey baby" which you will her a lot on the cruise!

Stardust Theater:

 

Usually our cabins are in the aft, but this was midship and you could feel very little motion, although the clattering of hangers in the closet was annoying at times. (we never unpack, just live out of suitcases for the week.) I'll go in more details with the cabin when the photos of it are ready. Lets just say the bathroom was extremely nice.

[NYGirl1002]

I am enjoying your review JS and I look forward to reading the rest of it. I LOVE your photos.

[Canadianweaselette]

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I896 using Tapatalk 2

[hp_slash]

Thank you for the great and detailed review! I am heading on the Gem on this itinerary in September and can't wait :D Keep the reviews coming!

[Livemad]

Very nice review. We are booked on the Breakaway and are due to leave in a couple of weeks and already I'm thinking of another cruise. I absolutely love leaving from NYC since I live in Brooklyn and its so close. The Gem may be next on our list and I love your perspective of everything. Your review may decide if it's worth it or if we wait for Quantum of the Seas leaving out of NJ. We travel with 3 teenagers and I always wonder what they are looking forward to most. It will be their first cruise. I am looking forward to the rest of your review!

[js17]

Numerous problems later I'm back!

 

Day 2: First Day At Sea

I woke up about 7:30 and about 8:30 I went to the Garden Cafe for breakfast. The breakfast menu there doesn't really change throughout the cruise. Even taking that into account the selection is pretty good. They have several omelet stations and egg stations. Garden also has a station with pancakes, waffles, and French toast.(with raisins - yum!) There is a selection of boxed cereals and bagels and bread available. There is a self serve toaster by the soft ice cream machine. The fruit is very good, never once did I have a fruit that was not fresh or ripe. The cantaloupe was especially good. Something that was slightly peculiar was a shrimp fried rice at the breakfast buffet, but it was very good. They have some pastries available, the chocolate croissants and biscuits were especially good.

 

After breakfast I went to relax and read a book for about an hour outside. Then I went inside and started working on my collection of photos of the ship until it was time to go to the meet and greet.

 

The meet and greet was at 11:00 am at the Bliss Lounge. I was a late comer to the roll call for this cruise. It was a very nice get together. We had cake, champagne, orange juice, and water. The officers and Sinan stopped by in the beginning as well. See the pictures below:

 

 

 

After that I went back to Garden for lunch. The food served at lunch varies slightly from one day to the next. But they have soups, pizza, some Asian dishes, fish and chips, hamburgers, hot dogs, fruit, and a large selection of deserts. The food was always hot, and the food was generally good in flavor, although the deserts were generally disappointing in flavor. The chocolate covered eclairs were very good. Again, there was never a problem finding a table, especially in the Great Outdoors, which is sheltered by the wind.

 

One thing I want to touch on is the wind. Which was horrible while underway. On deck 13 by the midship stair tower outside, it was pretty much a wind tunnel, making it difficult to walk at times. Unfortunately it was very hard to find a lounge chair away from the pool that was not extremely affected by the wind. I'm not sure why the wind was so bad, whether it was simply the weather, or the ship itself. It was more windy going down to Florida, then going to Bermuda.

 

Anyways we had dinner that night in Grand Pacific yet again. The second night is called "Norwegians Night Out" which is as close to a formal night on a regular cruise that NCL gets to. Its sponsored by Ultimat Vodka. Before dinner we went to have photos take, we got in line for the photo on the stairs in the Crystal Atrium, and right before he takes the photo, the Captain walks down the stairs and joins the photo. Good timing for us. At Grand Pacific we got a table right by the window in the aft of the ship, again more good timing. The food was good, but the menu not a spectacular one, like on a traditional cruise, but they did have the lobster the first night. Service was good again and the food was very good. Try the spring rolls for your first course, they are very good. After dinner we went outside and played shuffleboard before getting seats for the 9:30 production show, entitle "Pure Variety." It was entertaining, but not the best show I have ever seen on a ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Note, more people than I expected dressed up for "Norwegians Night Out, and they have a special party that night.

[callmebetty]

@boopsahoy - Thanks! I've got plenty of pictures and information to share

 

 

@callmebetty - I am using an Olympus E-P3 compact mirrorless camera. I have two lenses a 14-42mm kit zoom lens and a 17mm prime lens. Overall I really enjoy the camera, it actually has a OLED touchscreen on the back that can assist in autofocus(Which is the fastest I have seen - like point and tap and the photo is already recorded - no lag in focusing or taking the photo. But the manual focus works very well as well.) It has more physical controls than the newer mirrorless cameras, which I like, but some may not. So if you don't you could look into the similar Olympus E-PM1 or E-PM2. With the prime lens attached it is a very slim camera. The four-thirds system has a lot of choices, lens-wise. I believe I paid 374 for the camera and kit lens, and then 299 for the prime lens. Check out Adorama camera, I bought my camera and lens, a laptop, and my mother bought a point-and-shoot camera(Olympus VR-370) from there. We received it the day after the order, the items ship really quickly.

 

Thanks!

[Mrs. H.]

Loving the review and the awesome pics!!

[acruisingcouple]

I was so excited to see more of your review posted! Your photos are fantastic! Keep it coming!!!! :)