First day action plan for the Gem with a suite?

[cruiseten]

This is the first time I am booking with a full suite on a cruise. I have sailed on once NCL before years ago (though unfortunately it was my worst cruise, Luckily I think the suite perks would have most likely mitigated most if not all of my issues on that trip so I am not too worried but that is another story).

 

So I would like to know how to go about the first day. I live in NY, so I have no airlines to worry about, just a simple car ride.

 

1) Should I worry about breakfast at home? Or will the lounge perk have me covered until I get on the ship?

 

2) When I get to the terminal, do I go through security first? Or do I take advantage of my suite perks for priority boarding as soon as I come in?

 

3) I know I get to board the ship early but how early? NCL suggests 2 hours before embankment time but if I want to get on the ship as soon as possible, what is the best time to come?

 

4) I want to get SPA passes (have over $800 of OBC so yeah), at what time would be the ideal time to go for them?

 

5) I have UDP as part of the promotion, how should I go about dinner on the first day? Should I reserve it pre-cruise using my conseirge? Or can I reserve it once I get on board? (During my last cruise with NCL which again was years ago, MDR was mostly a miss for me so I'd rather avoid it if possible). Is Teppanyaki an option on the first day? (It was the one we liked most on our previous cruise)

 

Anything else I should note on the first day?

[Got Tequila?]

This is the first time I am booking with a full suite on a cruise. I have sailed on once NCL before years ago (though unfortunately it was my worst cruise, Luckily I think the suite perks would have most likely mitigated most if not all of my issues on that trip so I am not too worried but that is another story).

 

So I would like to know how to go about the first day. I live in NY, so I have no airlines to worry about, just a simple car ride.

 

1) Should I worry about breakfast at home? Or will the lounge perk have me covered until I get on the ship?

 

2) When I get to the terminal, do I go through security first? Or do I take advantage of my suite perks for priority boarding as soon as I come in?

 

3) I know I get to board the ship early but how early? NCL suggests 2 hours before embankment time but if I want to get on the ship as soon as possible, what is the best time to come?

 

4) I want to get SPA passes (have over $800 of OBC so yeah), at what time would be the ideal time to go for them?

 

5) I have UDP as part of the promotion, how should I go about dinner on the first day? Should I reserve it pre-cruise using my conseirge? Or can I reserve it once I get on board? (During my last cruise with NCL which again was years ago, MDR was mostly a miss for me so I'd rather avoid it if possible). Is Teppanyaki an option on the first day? (It was the one we liked most on our previous cruise)

 

Anything else I should note on the first day?

 

Once you arrive at the pier building let the ladies know you are a Suite guest, they'll advise you where to go depending upon what time you arrive. If you arrive early they'll have you wait in the chairs and then send you through the suite line to go through security when that opens. If you arrive after they've started going through security they will show you with is the suite line to get in.

 

After security they'll be signs for the Suite/Haven guests, and generally another worker there who'll check you off the list and escort you in to the suite lounge. In there you'll be able to check in, and have some snacks...juice/coffee/pound cake/pastries/fruit while you wait until about 11:30 AM when they generally start boarding the ship.

 

You'll be escorted on the ship and right up to Cagney's where you can have lunch at that time.

 

 

If' you happen to be cruising on 1/30 the above information won't be correct since both the GEM and the BREAKAWAY will be in port at the same time. I believe the GEM will be down at the other pier, they have a different check in area and waiting area.....but the process is very similar.

 

*Norwegian uses both pier 88 and pier 90 when both ships are in at the same time.

[cruiseten]

Once you arrive at the pier building let the ladies know you are a Suite guest, they'll advise you where to go depending upon what time you arrive. If you arrive early they'll have you wait in the chairs and then send you through the suite line to go through security when that opens. If you arrive after they've started going through security they will show you with is the suite line to get in.

 

After security they'll be signs for the Suite/Haven guests, and generally another worker there who'll check you off the list and escort you in to the suite lounge. In there you'll be able to check in, and have some snacks...juice/coffee/pound cake/pastries/fruit while you wait until about 11:30 AM when they generally start boarding the ship.

 

You'll be escorted on the ship and right up to Cagney's where you can have lunch at that time.

 

 

If' you happen to be cruising on 1/30 the above information won't be correct since both the GEM and the BREAKAWAY will be in port at the same time. I believe the GEM will be down at the other pier, they have a different check in area and waiting area.....but the process is very similar.

 

*Norwegian uses both pier 88 and pier 90 when both ships are in at the same time.

 

 

Thanks, yes our cruise is the 1/30 one. Do you happen to know at what time the lounge opens?

 

And when I get on the ship and get left at Cagneys, I can go to get the SPA passes? Or the concierge/butler can take care of that?

[Got Tequila?]

Thanks, yes our cruise is the 1/30 one. Do you happen to know at what time the lounge opens?

 

And when I get on the ship and get left at Cagneys, I can go to get the SPA passes? Or the concierge/butler can take care of that?

 

I'm cruising on the 30th as well.

 

The lounge area is after security, and earlier this month and last month security didn't open until about 10:30. We are typically at the pier about 9AM, just because we prefer waiting there instead of at the hotel.

 

 

Once you get to the suite waiting area the Concierge will be able to get you those Spa passes, they also typically sell them out in the waiting area at the pier (past security after check in)...so you won't have to do it on the ship. Just ask in the Suite lounge, they'll handle it for you.

 

When you get on the ship you are free to go off an explore or go to Cagney's.

[Traveling Fools]

It won't hurt sending an email to pre-cruise concierge expressing your desire for the Spa package.

[garycarla]

Eat breakfast, or at least something. You NEVER know what issues might crop up - like late boarding, etc.

 

Plan for the day -go to Cagneys and get a nice lunch. Relax. By time you are done, your cabin will be ready.

 

Spa Pass - we have never done that. In fact, on the last three cruises we had 2 free days, and never used it. But - I am sure if you ask the Concierge in the Suite Waiting lounge, they will take care of it for you.

[cruiseten]

Does anyone know about the Dinner on 1st day question?

 

 

I'm cruising on the 30th as well.

.

 

On same GEM or Breakaway?

 

 

It won't hurt sending an email to pre-cruise concierge expressing your desire for the Spa package.

 

I'll give that a shot but I will probably double check at the lounge. From what I have been reading pre-concierge stuff is a hit or miss.

 

Eat breakfast, or at least something. You NEVER know what issues might crop up - like late boarding, etc.

 

Plan for the day -go to Cagneys and get a nice lunch. Relax. By time you are done, your cabin will be ready.

 

Spa Pass - we have never done that. In fact, on the last three cruises we had 2 free days, and never used it. But - I am sure if you ask the Concierge in the Suite Waiting lounge, they will take care of it for you.

 

But if we starve ourselves, we will appreciate the food more :D Well late boarding would not be an issue if we have the lounge food. But if there is an issue with security or the lounge is out of service for some reason I guess that could cause some issue.

 

In our last cruise we had SPA included in our rooms so we tried in and liked it so would like to have it, especially on the sea days which we have a bunch of.

[perkydebrajean]

We cruised on the Pearl and had the UDP and on the first night we ate at La Cucina. Didn't make reservations and I think there were maybe only 3 or 4 other tables being used when we got there. No problem whatsoever getting a table. We did an 11 day cruise and had dinner reservations 4 times, two of those were because a group of us from Cruise Critic were meeting up for dinner.

 

We were in a suite and did use the concierge a couple of times to make us dinner reservations at Cagneys and LeBistro. We asked her that afternoon for reservations that same night and got the times we wanted with both. Ran into our concierge one night while walking over to the Asian restaurant and she asked if we had reservations for it and when I told her "no" she walked over to the hostess and talked to her and next thing we knew we were escorted to a window seat.

 

Enjoy your cruise and your suite!

 

(We didn't bother with breakfast so that we wouldn't be too full for Cagneys lunch!)

[AEckhardt]

As far as Teppenyaki on the first night, because there is such limited table space, I wouldn't count on concierge to be able to get you a reservation. I would book it now on MyNCL.

[Got Tequila?]

Does anyone know about the Dinner on 1st day question?

 

On same GEM or Breakaway?

 

I'll be on the GEM on the 30th (for the 12th time), just got off the Breakaway last week.

 

I would send an email off to the pre-concierge office for the dining reservations you're interested in. If you're on the Breakaway consider the Cirque show the first evening since that performance is included in your UDP. For the GEM I have seen Teppanyaki listed on the website as an option the first night.

 

You'll probably get a confirmation with the pre-cruise Concierge, but still confirm them all on the ship with the Concierge when you meet them....since there have been a few times when things have been mixed up or missed.

 

The GEM on the 30th had the dining package pricing wrong when they switched from a 9 day cruise to a 10 day cruise several months ago. Quite a few people bought the dining package at that time because it was a nice bargain, and after a week or so the pricing went back up on it. This could affect how easy it is to get reservations, but typically the Concierge can work wonders in getting you into the restaurant you want.

Edited January 23, 2015 by Got Tequila?

[Va. Plumber]

Last time, I requested spa passes in e-mail to pre-cruise concierge.

 

When we met our concierge, the first thing she said was that our spa passes had been taken care of.

[my_crib_too]

 

Anything else I should note on the first day?

 

If there is a Cagney's Steakhouse on the Gem, I would have to have lunch and a piece of their carrot cake. The carrot cake was very good on our last suite cruise, still think about it today.

 

On our last NCL cruise there was a member of our meet and greet meeting that we noticed several times each day (their suite was near ours) that had ordered two carry-out pieces of carrot cake to eat in their cabin. Now we liked the carrot cake and had it a few times on the cruise but we didn't eat it multiple times each day. It's was that good though. I understand why others were eating it multiple times each day. It was kind of a cruise long joke, each time we saw this other guest, they always seemed to be carrying two covered plates (clear lids) and the plates contained carrot cake from Cagney's Steakhouse.

 

It's funny the things we remember from past cruises.

[Debde]

Once you arrive at the pier building let the ladies know you are a Suite guest, they'll advise you where to go depending upon what time you arrive. If you arrive early they'll have you wait in the chairs and then send you through the suite line to go through security when that opens. If you arrive after they've started going through security they will show you with is the suite line to get in.

 

After security they'll be signs for the Suite/Haven guests, and generally another worker there who'll check you off the list and escort you in to the suite lounge. In there you'll be able to check in, and have some snacks...juice/coffee/pound cake/pastries/fruit while you wait until about 11:30 AM when they generally start boarding the ship.

 

 

I'm doing my first NYC boarding and it is in December so I'm trying to get the jist of embarkation. I watched a video of people standing outside freezing in a long long. Trying to avoid this but it seems if you are in a suite and go early- you are waiting inside??? Yes-no?? :confused: Admit-confusion!! LOL

Edited January 23, 2015 by Debde

[Got Tequila?]

I'm doing my first NYC boarding and it is in December so I'm trying to get the jist of embarkation. I watched a video of people standing outside freezing in a long long. Trying to avoid this but it seems if you are in a suite and go early- you are waiting inside??? Yes-no?? :confused: Admit-confusion!! LOL

 

Since we always go to NYC a day before the cruise we are always at the terminal early, around 9AM, since it's just easier than waiting anxiously at the hotel. We've always been inside and they have chairs to wait in inside. They seat you according the the order you come in and as soon as the security people are ready with the scanners they line you up in the order that you arrived....except at this point there is a separate line for suite guests so they are sorted out then.

 

After security you do the check in, either in the suite lounge or at the regular lines, and then you are given boarding numbers for the regular non-suite guests. The numbers are based a bit on latitude level and on your arrival time at the pier. Then you have seats to wait in until your number is called....or for suite guests who go on first, until they escort you on the ship.

 

 

I've never had to wait outside, but I assume if large quantities of people all show up at one time there could/would be lines that extend out the door and into the cold.

Edited January 23, 2015 by Got Tequila?

[Debde]

Thank you!!!

[SuiteTraveler]

As far as Teppenyaki on the first night, because there is such limited table space, I wouldn't count on concierge to be able to get you a reservation. I would book it now on MyNCL.

 

I agree. The Teppenyaki is very small on Jewel class ships and usually full every night, so be sure to book it online ahead of time.

[Got Tequila?]

Thank you!!!

 

You're welcome, I forgot to mention that hubby and I will be on the 12/13 Breakaway cruise as well with you in a Haven suite. We've been booking that week out of NY for quite a few years since it's the most economical cruise of the season :)

 

I'll jump on that roll call once we get back from a couple other cruises on Norwegian.

[cb at sea]

You don't want the 1st thing you do to be to stuff your face! Eat at home...get there, and relax! I'm not sure why eating seems to be the 1st thing everyone wants to do....

Edited January 24, 2015 by cb at sea

[Debde]

You're welcome, I forgot to mention that hubby and I will be on the 12/13 Breakaway cruise as well with you in a Haven suite. We've been booking that week out of NY for quite a few years since it's the most economical cruise of the season :)

 

I'll jump on that roll call once we get back from a couple other cruises on Norwegian.

 

Sounds great!!!

[garycarla]

I'm doing my first NYC boarding and it is in December so I'm trying to get the jist of embarkation. I...

 

That is 11 months from now. Things will probably be the same, but they could easily change that far off.

 

Not to worry until November.

[Debde]

That is 11 months from now. Things will probably be the same, but they could easily change that far off.

 

Not to worry until November.

 

No worries at all. Figured embarkation was one thing that usually never changes so one less question while I have time to spend at the computer!!

One thing I've learned about CC any thing that changes.... we'll know!!!:eek: