GEM SE Category Cabin: Penthouse with Large Balcony

[dongordon]

Has anyone had a SE category cabin (Penthouse with a Large Balcony) on the GEM? I believe it is in the front of the ship.

Is there a lot of wind on the balcony when at sea and/or cruising in the Caribbean?

 

Any opinions (positive and negative) about this category cabin would be greatly appreciated.

 

Photos as well.;)

 

Thank you.

[garycarla]

I am sure there are bunch of reviews out there and some videos.

 

Found this with a google search > https://www.cruisecritic.com/norwegian-gem-deck-plans/dp/penthouse-with-large-balcony-se/cc/

 

Of course, it would be pretty much the same on Pearl,Jewel and Jade

[Turtles06]

We sailed in an SE, 10500, earlier this year on the Jewel, which is one of the Gem's sister ships. We LOVED it. We were on a full transit of the Panama Canal, and the forward-facing balcony, right under the bridge, offered amazing views, not just during the transit, but for all the sail-ins. And it was an utterly relaxing and quiet place to hang out on sea days. We were not bothered by the wind when sitting down while the ship was underway.

 

An added bonus: the total darkness at night! Because you are under the bridge, there are no lights around, and you must have your curtains drawn at night. There was so little light pollution that the star-gazing was incredible. We could even see the Milky Way. We spent a ton of time on our balcony at night.

 

We booked early and had our pick of the SEs on Decks 9 and 10, and went with one of the two center SEs on Deck 10, 10500 as noted above, because the interior is larger than the interiors of the SEs on Deck 9, due to the bump out from the bridge. (10000 would be the same.) Note that great bay window seating area in the photo below. A wonderful place to sit. The balconies of the SEs on Deck 9 are larger than they are on Deck 10, but the latter are plenty big. We were on a 16-night cruise and happy with the larger interior.

 

If you have specific questions, I will try to answer them.

 

 

Gatun Locks, taken from our balcony

 

(photos by turtles06)

[emcelh]

We had 1000 on the Pearl and loved the cabin interior. We had been in aft penthouses a few times previously on the Jewel and the Gem and, even though the balcony was smaller, we found we used it more than the one on Pearl. There is also an outer door on the SE balcony that the steward always closed at night and it was heavy to open.

 

We booked an aft penthouse for the next cruise. There are definitely advantages having an SE cabin but we just preferred at aft location.

[c99camaro]

Was just in room 10500 on the Gem 12/2 sailing. This was our first cruise with NCL so we splurged on the room. Overall it was fantastic. While at sea the wind on the balcony can be quite strong and nearly impossible to use. But this is very dependent on the weather status. Make sure to close the outside bulkhead door to the balcony at night or the wind noise is significant. Having experienced the benefits, amenities and views from this room it will be hard to accept less of a room in the future.

[BirdTravels]

We have had SEs on multiple ships and loved them. The 270 degree views are spectacular. We had one last year on the Dawn sailing from Boston to Quebec. Sailing down the St Lawrence with the forward views was magical.

[nednrom]

Has anyone had a SE category cabin (Penthouse with a Large Balcony) on the GEM? I believe it is in the front of the ship.

Is there a lot of wind on the balcony when at sea and/or cruising in the Caribbean?

 

Any opinions (positive and negative) about this category cabin would be greatly appreciated.

 

Photos as well.;)

 

Thank you.

 

I don't have any pictures but we just got back from a Panama Canal transit in one of the SE suites on the Jade which is a sister ship to GEM. We booked it on purpose for the canal transit and loved it -- The balcony can get windy when the ship is going at a good clip and the seas are not calm which we encountered on two sea days. The nice thing is that the balconies are deep so you can sit back on a lounger and still enjoy the balcony even if it's windy. We were out there every day. The view from the front of the ship was spectacular! I had heard that you feel more motion up front but we didn't really feel that at all.

The one negative thing I can say is about the drawer space. There are a lot of drawers but they are not deep or long and you can fill a drawer practically with a couple for t-shirts. Ours was a long cruise so we had more than usual. If you have hooks or hang your stuff, it'll be fine. We had a wonderful concierge that took care of everything for us which was an added bonus --

[dongordon]

Thanks everyone for all the great information.

 

I can see how this cabin category would be great with the warm weather locations.

 

That being said, might be a bit chilly on the balcony heading down to the Caribbean from NYC..... but seems as though the views would be great.