Just back from the GEM 71-7-8

[nj356]

Hello

 

I wanted to give my review of the GEM that my family and I just from 7-1-7-8. This was our first time on NCL so we were not sure what to expect. Our past cruises have been on RCCL and Celebrity. After reading reviews about the ship and ports we decided to give it a try and since we are from NJ and NYC and it is only 50 minute drive even better. I picked a std cabin 9544 with a balcony knowing that it was going to be tight for the three of us.

 

I read about the bid upgrade and I through if I get the email I will give it a try. I received the email about 60 days out and took a look at what might work. I put in a bid for a mini suite for $100.00 total thinking there is no way I would get it since were are new to NCL and the amount was low. I received the email saying they took by offer and we moved to cabin 11504. I saw that the cabin was under the spa so noise was not going to be an issue and it was one deck down from the pool.

 

Check in was quick and waited for our boarding number to be called, we were 7. If you want to get on early try and get to the port as soon as you can. After our number was called we were on within 10 mins. We went to the Garden Café and got a table on the Great Outdoors and had lunch which was ok, nothing special about it.

 

We got into our cabin about 1:30 and I was very happy I bid for a mini. There is more room to walk around, the couch is double the size then what is in the std cabin, it has a tub which helps with elbow room when you take a shower and the desk is a lot bigger. The downside, are the end tables next to the bed are very small and the closet is in a bad spot, but we managed.

 

We meet our cabin steward Serigo Reyers, who is very nice. He takes care of 14 cabins my himself, no assistance to help him. If there was something we needed he would get it. If you are in a cabin he takes care of you are getting a first class person.

 

An fyi, if you have kids and want to get them the soda pkg wait until you are onboard. When you get the pkg at the bar on the atrium, no need to bring your kids with you, just need their sea pass card. If your kids are 13 plus tell the person they are 12 and you will save $20.00.

 

A little about the food. We only eat in the Garden Café and Grand Pacific which were ok, nothing to write home about. In the Café for breakfast it was the same offerings everything day, nothing different. I talked to a cook and he said on every ship it is the same for every breakfast so for anyone who has been on another ship you know what you be getting, the same for lunch. What I did notice is lack of breads at lunch to make a sandwich. My guess it is a cost savings to limit what is offered.

 

In the Grand Pacific, it was hit or miss. Do not have the fried flounder, it come with nothing and is not good. The other offerings were ok. We are not that picky and everyone will have their own opinions on what they like.

 

For the stops, we went to NASA with was very interesting but there was not enough time to take it all in. There was suppose to be a rocket launch on Monday evening but with 10 seconds to go it was cancelled, it went off Tuesday but we were long gone. An fyi, if you go their island. You will need a tender ticket which are handed out at 8 by the towel exchange on deck 12. If you want to get to the island early get in line. People were lining up at 7:30 and if your number is low, it makes a difference when you get on the island. I saw on a post that after number 12 it was free for all to get to a tender, not sure about that.

 

There are no umbrellas to rent, it is either rent a clamshell for $35.00 which are to the far right by the beach. The other is to rent a cabana which I think start at $400.00, bring your own protection or as you enter to your right there is a large tree with big branches. This was a great spot for us, close to everything and out of the sun. My daughter and I swam with the sting rays and we had a great time.

 

A downside for me was smoking as allowed in the casino. Who at NCL corporate thought this was a good idea. Be prepared to change your cloths if your are there for a while. And what about the workers who are there all day and the second hand smoke, over time that cannot be good. To me it is all about profits and how much NCL can make from if passengers and forget about the employees.

 

These are some of my opinions on this cruise and being on NCL. Overall it was a good vacation with hits and misses, and we are not sure if we will be back on NCL. I hope some of my fyi's will help anyone who is taking the same cruise.

 

Good cruising to everyone

[Arzeena]

Thanks for posting. I love to read reviews.

We have been on the Gem many times and it one of our favorite ships in the NCL fleet.

[Gershep]

Thanks for posting!

[BirdTravels]

Thank you for taking the time to write about your cruise!

[fshagan]

We were on the GEM out of NYC just over a year ago and enjoyed her a lot. We liked O'Sheehan's, a pub style restaurant, more than the buffet. We had good luck in the MDR with what we ordered.

[dexddd]

Hello

 

I wanted to give my review of the GEM that my family and I just from 7-1-7-8. This was our first time on NCL so we were not sure what to expect. Our past cruises have been on RCCL and Celebrity. After reading reviews about the ship and ports we decided to give it a try and since we are from NJ and NYC and it is only 50 minute drive even better. I picked a std cabin 9544 with a balcony knowing that it was going to be tight for the three of us.

 

I read about the bid upgrade and I through if I get the email I will give it a try. I received the email about 60 days out and took a look at what might work. I put in a bid for a mini suite for $100.00 total thinking there is no way I would get it since were are new to NCL and the amount was low. I received the email saying they took by offer and we moved to cabin 11504. I saw that the cabin was under the spa so noise was not going to be an issue and it was one deck down from the pool.

 

Check in was quick and waited for our boarding number to be called, we were 7. If you want to get on early try and get to the port as soon as you can. After our number was called we were on within 10 mins. We went to the Garden Café and got a table on the Great Outdoors and had lunch which was ok, nothing special about it.

 

We got into our cabin about 1:30 and I was very happy I bid for a mini. There is more room to walk around, the couch is double the size then what is in the std cabin, it has a tub which helps with elbow room when you take a shower and the desk is a lot bigger. The downside, are the end tables next to the bed are very small and the closet is in a bad spot, but we managed.

 

We meet our cabin steward Serigo Reyers, who is very nice. He takes care of 14 cabins my himself, no assistance to help him. If there was something we needed he would get it. If you are in a cabin he takes care of you are getting a first class person.

 

An fyi, if you have kids and want to get them the soda pkg wait until you are onboard. When you get the pkg at the bar on the atrium, no need to bring your kids with you, just need their sea pass card. If your kids are 13 plus tell the person they are 12 and you will save $20.00.

 

A little about the food. We only eat in the Garden Café and Grand Pacific which were ok, nothing to write home about. In the Café for breakfast it was the same offerings everything day, nothing different. I talked to a cook and he said on every ship it is the same for every breakfast so for anyone who has been on another ship you know what you be getting, the same for lunch. What I did notice is lack of breads at lunch to make a sandwich. My guess it is a cost savings to limit what is offered.

 

In the Grand Pacific, it was hit or miss. Do not have the fried flounder, it come with nothing and is not good. The other offerings were ok. We are not that picky and everyone will have their own opinions on what they like.

 

For the stops, we went to NASA with was very interesting but there was not enough time to take it all in. There was suppose to be a rocket launch on Monday evening but with 10 seconds to go it was cancelled, it went off Tuesday but we were long gone. An fyi, if you go their island. You will need a tender ticket which are handed out at 8 by the towel exchange on deck 12. If you want to get to the island early get in line. People were lining up at 7:30 and if your number is low, it makes a difference when you get on the island. I saw on a post that after number 12 it was free for all to get to a tender, not sure about that.

 

There are no umbrellas to rent, it is either rent a clamshell for $35.00 which are to the far right by the beach. The other is to rent a cabana which I think start at $400.00, bring your own protection or as you enter to your right there is a large tree with big branches. This was a great spot for us, close to everything and out of the sun. My daughter and I swam with the sting rays and we had a great time.

 

A downside for me was smoking as allowed in the casino. Who at NCL corporate thought this was a good idea. Be prepared to change your cloths if your are there for a while. And what about the workers who are there all day and the second hand smoke, over time that cannot be good. To me it is all about profits and how much NCL can make from if passengers and forget about the employees.

 

These are some of my opinions on this cruise and being on NCL. Overall it was a good vacation with hits and misses, and we are not sure if we will be back on NCL. I hope some of my fyi's will help anyone who is taking the same cruise.

 

Good cruising to everyone

 

Guess they have to make up for their losses somewhere else.

[mskaufman]

Hello

 

I wanted to give my review of the GEM that my family and I just from 7-1-7-8. This was our first time on NCL so we were not sure what to expect. Our past cruises have been on RCCL and Celebrity. After reading reviews about the ship and ports we decided to give it a try and since we are from NJ and NYC and it is only 50 minute drive even better. I picked a std cabin 9544 with a balcony knowing that it was going to be tight for the three of us.

 

I read about the bid upgrade and I through if I get the email I will give it a try. I received the email about 60 days out and took a look at what might work. I put in a bid for a mini suite for $100.00 total thinking there is no way I would get it since were are new to NCL and the amount was low. I received the email saying they took by offer and we moved to cabin 11504. I saw that the cabin was under the spa so noise was not going to be an issue and it was one deck down from the pool.

 

Check in was quick and waited for our boarding number to be called, we were 7. If you want to get on early try and get to the port as soon as you can. After our number was called we were on within 10 mins. We went to the Garden Café and got a table on the Great Outdoors and had lunch which was ok, nothing special about it.

 

We got into our cabin about 1:30 and I was very happy I bid for a mini. There is more room to walk around, the couch is double the size then what is in the std cabin, it has a tub which helps with elbow room when you take a shower and the desk is a lot bigger. The downside, are the end tables next to the bed are very small and the closet is in a bad spot, but we managed.

 

We meet our cabin steward Serigo Reyers, who is very nice. He takes care of 14 cabins my himself, no assistance to help him. If there was something we needed he would get it. If you are in a cabin he takes care of you are getting a first class person.

 

An fyi, if you have kids and want to get them the soda pkg wait until you are onboard. When you get the pkg at the bar on the atrium, no need to bring your kids with you, just need their sea pass card. If your kids are 13 plus tell the person they are 12 and you will save $20.00.

 

A little about the food. We only eat in the Garden Café and Grand Pacific which were ok, nothing to write home about. In the Café for breakfast it was the same offerings everything day, nothing different. I talked to a cook and he said on every ship it is the same for every breakfast so for anyone who has been on another ship you know what you be getting, the same for lunch. What I did notice is lack of breads at lunch to make a sandwich. My guess it is a cost savings to limit what is offered.

 

In the Grand Pacific, it was hit or miss. Do not have the fried flounder, it come with nothing and is not good. The other offerings were ok. We are not that picky and everyone will have their own opinions on what they like.

 

For the stops, we went to NASA with was very interesting but there was not enough time to take it all in. There was suppose to be a rocket launch on Monday evening but with 10 seconds to go it was cancelled, it went off Tuesday but we were long gone. An fyi, if you go their island. You will need a tender ticket which are handed out at 8 by the towel exchange on deck 12. If you want to get to the island early get in line. People were lining up at 7:30 and if your number is low, it makes a difference when you get on the island. I saw on a post that after number 12 it was free for all to get to a tender, not sure about that.

 

There are no umbrellas to rent, it is either rent a clamshell for $35.00 which are to the far right by the beach. The other is to rent a cabana which I think start at $400.00, bring your own protection or as you enter to your right there is a large tree with big branches. This was a great spot for us, close to everything and out of the sun. My daughter and I swam with the sting rays and we had a great time.

 

A downside for me was smoking as allowed in the casino. Who at NCL corporate thought this was a good idea. Be prepared to change your cloths if your are there for a while. And what about the workers who are there all day and the second hand smoke, over time that cannot be good. To me it is all about profits and how much NCL can make from if passengers and forget about the employees.

 

These are some of my opinions on this cruise and being on NCL. Overall it was a good vacation with hits and misses, and we are not sure if we will be back on NCL. I hope some of my fyi's will help anyone who is taking the same cruise.

 

Good cruising to everyone

 

We were on last month and had similar observations. We were less concerned about getting to GSC early as it is a long day there and many folks headed back to the ship long before final boarding. We were pleasantly pleased in the breakfast buffet in that there was a good variety and short lines (even for made to order omelets). We rated it as better than "good" and even though it was our first NCL we would have no problem using them again.

[nj356]

Hello

 

I forgot to mention on my first posting that lounge chairs by the pool under the shade are limted in what you can get. On the first day when we went to the pool the first thing I noticed was a lack of lounge chairs that are under the upper deck. I did see lots of table and chairs. I asked a crew member and he told be that because of the barbecue they have people were complaining they had no place to sit, so out went most of the lounge chairs.

 

What I did and most everyone else did is if you wanted to sit under the shade you have to save your spot by 6-6:30, by 7:00 you are out of luck. I think there maybe some on deck 13 over the spa, but I am not sure about that.

[mskaufman]

I can concur that lounge chairs in the shade were at a premium. I do not know about what time you had to get there as getting up at 6:30 to reserve a lounge chair is not on my vacation do list.

[easyboy]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. $100 more for a mini-suite was a good bid!

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your review/trip report.

 

Keith