ImaGEMing - a long awaited cruise... August 2016

[TrixieBel]

TrixieBel.. is Vuk the Hotel Director? And is Monica your concierge?

 

And can you find out if they will be there October?

 

 

The concierge is Elvina and the Hotel Director is Sonja...

 

 

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[jaja]

The concierge is Elvina and the Hotel Director is Sonja...

 

 

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Thanks...! Just was wondering who would be there Oct.1st!..

[TrixieBel]

Last night's towel animal was a koala for our Aussie family!

 

 

And for those who are interested in what's available for gluten free options RJ yesterday had: blueberry muffins and bacon for breakfast; this sandwich and chips/crisps for lunch, along with chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream; and for dinner she had the lump crab cake, steak frites, and a banana split with ice cream and cream.

 

 

We met another lovely CC member yesterday while playing Win,Draw or Lose [emoji1]

 

And, RJ and I hung around the slide and the pool while hubby went on the Kennedy Space Centre tour. He said the first hour was interesting and then after that people felt like they were stuck out there with nothing to do. So, maybe one less hour out there might be better, since people were trying to figure out how to escape...

 

Today is Great Stirrup Cay [emoji41][emoji267][emoji484]

 

 

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[andychris]

Loving your review.

Have a terrific time!!

[TrixieBel]

Big beach day today! We tendered into the Great Stirrup Cay and spent our day relaxing, swimming and eating/drinking. Hubby did the jet ski tour and had a great time.

 

It's HOT and humid. So we all appreciated the cabana I had booked (with its outdoor shower). It was interesting that today there were only the small cabanas being used, as the large ones are already all closed off for the renovation.

 

 

You couldn't get any further around the island than the last small cabana today and there are already earth movers and workmen in that area.

 

RJ got to snorkel for the first time (with our help) and saw fish.

 

The gluten free options continue to be excellent. RJ enjoyed eggs benedict for breakfast and loved her shrimp cocktail at dinner.

 

Jenn didn't find the escargot en croutes terrible [emoji222], and Tony and Rach both enjoyed the creme caramel for dessert [emoji508]. Yes. It was gluten free. We ate in Magenta for the second night in a row.

 

 

Tonight's towel animal is an elephant [emoji208]

 

Tomorrow we are off ship early in Nassau. We've booked the Atlantis deep water dolphin swim. It's the thing RJ has been looking forward to our whole trip!

 

Oh, and for those interested in the drinks - there were indeed a few today. A beer and cocktail (margarita) on GSC, and a nice glass of Californian Chardonnay at dinner. Tried to persuade hubby a trip to the Mojito bar is possible before we turn in, but he's not so keen.

 

And, it's very very smokey outside anyway. The ship's stack smoke has been blowing forward and people had reported smoke. When we stepped into the Haven courtyard to check what was happening there was a ship's officer there checking out the situation and we were assured all is OK.

 

 

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Edited August 24, 2016 by TrixieBel

[TrixieBel]

Here that fourth photo that didn't show up above...

 

 

And our elephant courtesy of Terrence.

 

 

Also, there's a Haven courtyard valet. In all my reading I had missed that info. He's doing a great job and we will add him to our gratuities list, along with Bernadette the special diet assistant who comes to see us at EVERY mealtime!

 

 

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[andychris]

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. May I ask how much the cabana was?

Thanks and enjoy Nassau

[boopsahoy]

Here that fourth photo that didn't show up above...

 

 

And our elephant courtesy of Terrence.

 

 

Also, there's a Haven courtyard valet. In all my reading I had missed that info. He's doing a great job and we will add him to our gratuities list, along with Bernadette the special diet assistant who comes to see us at EVERY mealtime!

 

 

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What does the valet do for you?

[TrixieBel]

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. May I ask how much the cabana was?

 

Thanks and enjoy Nassau

 

 

Hey andychris, I booked it ages ago as I know they sell out fast. It was over $300... For that you get priority tendering, $50 credit to be used for ordering food. 6 bottles of water in the fridge. Towels and extras towels are in there. When you arrive there are corn chips and three types of salsa, and there are floating mats there for you. The cabana is shady and has a dining table and recliners. And there's a private outdoor shower at the back so you can rinse off.

 

For our fair skinned family who have skin cancers in both our family histories it was well worth it.

 

 

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[TrixieBel]

What does the valet do for you?

 

 

He's the one that sets up the chairs in the pool area, serves food for breakfast on that area, and puts out all the snacks and drinks on the buffet. So if you use that area you will see a lot of him/her...

 

 

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[andychris]

Thank you

Seems like money well spent. Enjoy!!!

[easyboy]

Very nice photos.

[TrixieBel]

Sorry for the gap in posting. What can I say - yesterday was busy and relaxing!

 

So yesterday was the day that RJ had been looking forward to for over 6mths. The day we were visiting Nassau, Atlantis, and swimming with dolphins... [emoji227] And, she woke feeling bad...

 

I will explain that RJ as well as being born with Down Syndrome, has over the past couple of years developed not only celiac disease, but also a couple of other health issues, and has been diagnosed with a panic disorder. Until about 8 weeks ago, it was very bad and she had panic attacks whenever she had to leave our apartment. Over the past weeks we have had the assistance of some mental health professionals that have helped get RJ to the point where she could come on this holiday with minimised panic attacks - but they are still there.

 

It was HOT yesterday, and she was on the trend for panic attacks but RJ was determined to swim with those dolphins, and she did just that. And, we even managed to get down the rapids river and the jungle slide!

 

Here's us in the water with the dolphins:

 

And the remains of the drinks we had to have to cool down:

 

Nassau was hot and busy and we really didn't see anything of it except the wharf and Atlantis. Sorry Nassau...

 

 

Dinner last night was in the larger main restaurant for our one and only night in there. It was good but too loud and crowded for RJ. I'm glad we didn't book there more than once. Magenta is much quieter and more manageable for us.

 

I'll be back with today, tomorrow!

 

 

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[TrixieBel]

Hers our towel animal from last night:

 

 

 

 

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[TrixieBel]

Very nice photos.

 

 

Thanks easyboy... They are all just iPhone ones.

 

 

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[TrixieBel]

And now for our at sea day, Thursday. I have to apologise about the lack of alcohol in this one. Our livers just could not face much today... [emoji17]

 

I started the day with an 8am spa massage session. It was my big treat for the week and was the 100 minute "marathon" with full body massage and facial. It was very relaxing and I floated out of there feeling very refreshed and with my face all plumped up. I need a new moisturiser anyway so grabbed one from them to give them a bit more income!

 

We relaxed by the Haven pool for a few hours before heading for lunch at Cagney's as per usual for Haven. From memory, RJ's gluten free option was the chicken caesar salad with no croutons and a couple slices of gluten free bread. I can tell you, the gluten free bread is very good onboard. Nice "real bread" texture!

 

For the afternoon we just hung around our cabin mostly although hubby did head off to the under $500 art auction - where most items seemed to be more like over $1000.

 

Then, I met him and took him on a mystery tour to the bridge viewing room that he hadn't known existed. As an engineer by degree he loved the bridge and the duplicates of the radar etc that were in there. All those numbers made sense to him! As a research manager for clinical trials and currently for dementia research, those numbers meant not so much to me [emoji849] Oh, and no photos allowed of the bridge.

 

Dinner last night was Teppanyaki. We turned up on time to find a very disorganised restaurant hostess at the entrance. Honestly, you'd think that with doing this EVERY DAY she'd be very efficient. But it was like it was her first time - weird.

 

Anyway, once we were all finally grouped and seated the service was good. Our chef was definitely the quieter and less outgoing of the four in the room, but we still had fun.

 

He cooked all of RJ's meal first before starting on food for all the rest of us. He kept saying I'm doing this for "the gluten free" out loud though. Might as well have just stuck a big red sign on RJ's head because it made her and me pretty uncomfortable. If any of our table mates ever read this, please accept my apology that your meal was slightly delayed by that process...

 

We all went to the 70's show in the theatre that we all enjoyed immensely. RJ knew a lot of the songs because the service provider she goes to back home does an annual show and quite often use music from that era for dance / performance pieces.

 

Hubby and I dropped RJ back at the cabin to shower and tuck into bed, and hubby and I headed out to the Spinnaker bar for the comedy session, and then back to the open air bar at the aft of the ship for a cocktail to finish off our night.

 

Terence excelled himself tonight in the towel department...

 

 

 

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Edited August 26, 2016 by TrixieBel

[TrixieBel]

Today is our last day at sea.

 

I've put together our gratuity envelopes and we'll be handing those out today. For those interested, I've apportioned them as $100 each for the butler and special diet coordinator; $70 each for the concierge and cabin attendant; and $25 for the Haven courtyard attendant. For us, with our horrible exchange rate that's a LOT of money, so I'm hoping no one gives me grief over these numbers. I thought long and hard about what was fair... Hubby doesn't really "get" the whole gratuity thing so was happy to go with what I suggested after I read all the gratuity threads on here.

 

It's after 9am and I'm still tucked in this comfy bed. No hurry to get up. Hubby delivered me a coffee and a couple of pastries from the courtyard.

 

We are off to the comedy / murder mystery lunch in Le Bistro at 12pm, so I've no need to be up before 11.00ish???

 

 

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[PatJim]

Vicariously enjoying your live reporting from the Gem, a ship we just love, with a great crew. Thank you so much!

 

We've also had a great experience with the Gem's special diet coordinators. Don't know how they do it--meeting with passengers at breakfast to go over lunch and dinner menus, showing up at dinners to personally serve special meals directly from the kitchen. Just amazing.

 

Our special diet experience at Teppanyaki was similar to yours. We were there because we thought one of our teenage guests (gluten free), would enjoy it. The chef prepared our sodium-free dishes first, including fried rice, grilled veggies and main course. Unfortunately for my DH (sodium free), the chef didn't understand what no sodium meant, and poured soy sauce over everything! DH ended up not eating anything but the salad :-( That was the only time the special diet request failed.

 

So glad you discovered the bridge viewing room. Not all ships have them. The Gem's mascot, the It-Girl Mermaid, Robbie, is there behind a glass case. She protects the Gem's crew and all who sail on her. Many of the trinkets around Robbie are from Cruise Critic passengers, often presented to the captain for her at Meet & Greets.

 

Hope you have a wonderful end of cruise (sob!), and great travels home.

 

Patricia

[TrixieBel]

Thanks for your input Patricia. It certainly does sound like the chef in Teppanyaki had no idea what sodium is!

 

I saw the mermaid and said "hi".

 

I've spent some quiet time on the top deck of the ship today after hearing that my Uncle died overnight in Australia. He was the last of my father's siblings: 6 siblings all born in India and England between 1916 and 1930, and named with names starting with H.

 

My uncle sailed the world, from India to England as a child, and then after finding the love of his life in the ruins of Germany after WWII, they sailed from England to Australia as $10 immigrants. He was a lovely man and we should be back in Australia in time for his funeral next week.

 

 

On another note, the Murder Mystery Lunch was very funny and a great way to spend lunchtime on the last day. It was $20pp additional and well worth it with the entertainment and the lunch. Here's me in Le Bistro enjoying it.

 

 

We are starting to pack our bags now. After admiring the towel creation waiting for us after lunch today.

 

 

 

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[jaja]

So very sorry for your loss..

[cincicruisers]

Sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing your review with us.

[andychris]

So sorry for your loss

[TrixieBel]

Thanks for your kind thoughts everyone...

 

We've had our last dinner - in Le Bistro. And, it was as brilliant as it should be. The signature cocktail in there had chambord and bitters and I had to have two...

 

The food was great - French onion soup for hubby and I, artichoke heart with roast veges for RJ; roast lamb for hubby, duck l'orange for me (sort of a "pulled pork" type version), and what RJ is now calling "monster prawn" for her. The monster was of course the lobster! And don't forget it's gluten free...

 

 

 

After dinner we wandered along to the final show which was two dancers - dancing, acrobatics, and a bit of magic.

 

Then back to our cabin to finish up the packing and to find this from Terence...

 

 

We are opting for the regular disembarkation for Haven travellers - between 9-10am meet the concierge on deck 7.

 

Then its find a cab / Uber to take us to the Sofitel for the last night of our holiday before flying back to Australia on Sunday.

 

In NYC tomorrow we are planning on seeing the 9/11 memorial, Times Square, and a show.

 

 

 

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[purepixie67]

Sorry to hear of your loss.

 

Thank you so much for your review. We are on the Gem early next year, and our cabin is close to the bridge viewing area. All the allergy information has been very helpful as DH has multiple allergies.

 

We will be in NY for my 50th (!), and on our return to the UK will begin planning our return to Sydney for the Ashes :)

[Monstica]

First off, so sorry for your loss. Thank you so much for your review I really enjoyed it, both me and my 12 year old son followed it closely since he has celiac disease. He is so excited to be able to eat worry free. We sailed on the Breakaway last year and had so much fun. One other thing, probably too late now but if you are down at ground zero you can ask for help in finding Australian nationals who were killed that day. it would be nice to find their names since they died so far from home and might not have frequent visitors.

 

On a lighter note, have a safe trip home and thanks again!