Gem

[123veranda]

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2493296

 

 

 

Here's the link. I followed it obsessively as we had just signed up for our first cruise and his dates/itinerary/Gem were exactly what we signed up for in 2018. LOTS of photos, etc.

 

 

 

THANK YOU!! How nice of u 2 take time 2 find 4 me. I bookmarked it & will looking at with a cup of coffee later. I will also be showing it 2 my friend.

 

 

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[Sam The Cat]

I was on a Gem cruise leaving NYC on12/11/17 for eleven days to the Caribbean. I had a great time just like my other Gem/NCL cruises over the last several years. The first full day at sea I was having breakfast at the Modern (I had a suite so I had breakfast there every day) While having breakfast we got hit with snow pellets it really did not stick on the deck to the wind but if you looked quickly you would see it along with passengers in their shorts, I wore long pants for most of the cruise I did not want to show off my legs (LOL) But had a good time a bunch of us CC members got together for a few nights to have a few drinks and talk about different things. We left the bar any time from 10pm till 1am after everything was cleaned up and the bartender was ready to leave, I will not tell you when I left but I was not told good night to since it was "early" I ate mostly at the resturants that had a charge but I got the package of 4 free dinners and being a Plat, member I got two more one with a bottle of wine.

On closing I will say that I had a good time no matter where I went even though we skipped San Juan and I did not do much shopping in St. Thomas since I just walked around the stores near the ship.

 

Have a great time no matter where you are going and enjoy and you will

[mjkacmom]

We ate breakfast every morning in the buffet, but sat in la cucina with no crowds. The Great Outdoors is a great place to find some afternoon snacks (sandwiches, desserts) and always find a table, either in or out of the sun. Spinnakers loung was our favorite place for pre dinner cocktails, great spots to sit by huge windows and get waiter service (and some salty snacks). On the 8th deck, I believe, are back to back bars (maltings, shakers, and something else), there were also things going on there during the day to watch (DH had our own UBP martini tasting afternoon hiding from the kids who were always on the pool deck). We ate in the Grand Pacifica every night (mostly because we are 7 and they have larger tables), but loved the ambiance there. We ended up getting to shows a little late, and were given great seats on the side.

 

Definitely go to the Grand Pacifica for embankment day lunch.

[vince_g]

Scroll down, and on the right hand side of the screen you will see links to all the posts by ship. You will find more info there than you could possibly use.

[coldweather]

Hello. I have sailed on the Gem (April 2017) and RC Freedom of the Seas (Jan 2018). The Gem is a lovely ship. As others have mentioned I enjoy the seating/buffet/bar outside on the Great Outdoors.

 

Since you mention that you are a regular Royal Caribbean customer, I would highlight that your NCL experience will be very different. NCL is focused on a culture of "freestyle." In general they promote a culture of "doing your own thing" and adhering to your own schedule. This means the ship does not revolve around the 2 set dining times. There is no early or late seating. You go to the restaurant and get seating (or wait) just like a restaurant on land. Yes, if you know your schedule you can make reservations. Also, you need reservations at the specialty restaurants. ( I don't have experience with the specialty restaurants so I may be corrected.)

 

When I was on Royal Caribbean last month, even though I had their Any Time Dining (or whatever they call it) there was a great focus to have us sit with the same wait staff. On NCL you can ask for a specific wait staff but they will not try to funnel you to that wait staff team.

 

Also, in my experience on RC, the evening dress was more formal even on casual nights. For example, on my recent 3 NCL cruises I can't recall seeing a man where a dinner jacket.

 

Another difference is for the lunch buffet. NCL does a fantastic job cooking lunch on the deck. Be sure to check it out. It is not hot dogs and hamburgers. On Royal I missed having an outdoor dining area.

 

You picked a good ship but you may experience a bit of culture shock as the NCL experience is different (on purpose) than the more traditional cruise ships.

 

Enjoy and have a great, safe trip!

[annabug]

Hello!!!

 

We will be on this cruise with you!!! Its going to be great!!

 

It will be me and my husband and 2 children 13/9

 

This will be our 6th cruise, and our 2nd on NCL

 

We were on the much bigger breakaway last summer

 

I am looking forward to sailing on a smaller ship

[Letsgo 2]

Just booked Gem for June. No seeing much posed about her. Making me nervous. This will be my 1st time on NCL. Usually do RC. Anybody been her recently? Would love hear the good & bad. thanks

 

 

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Hi, no reason to be nervous, the Gem is our favorite ship to be on, we love her size and everything about her,She is beautiful inside and out and her crew and staff is great, You will have a fabulous time, the Pool side BBQ are great and so much fun. If you like it a bit more quite, go to the aft of the ship and enjoy the great out doors, or forward on deck 15 and enjoy the quite spot on a nice lounger .Bali Hai bar is great overlooking the Pool . Just relax and enjoy . We have sailed on her 5 times and are booked on her again in May. We don't even care about the Ports, we just enjoy being on the ship, and yes as others have mentioned no need to pack the Dinner jacket or Tie for the guys, you can get dressed up as much as you want or don't, its up to you. There is a dress code for dinner if you want to call it that, Pants and Shirt for guys in specialty Restaurant and no open toe shoes.

Marion

[PatJim]

Enjoyed reading some great responses to the OP's question re the Gem.

We've just finished our 16th cruise on her, and will be back on board in April. After that, we have 3 more Gem cruises booked. We just love her staff. They will do anything in their power to make your cruise enjoyable.

 

Here are 3 more suggestions:

 

1. Sign up for the Roll Call on your cruise, and attend the Meet & Greet (Royal Caribbean may call it a Meet & Mingle). It's usually held Day #2, about 11 am. You'll meet the Gem's top officers, and fellow Cruise Critic members. Even if you don't want to hang out with them, it's always nice to say hi in passing to those you've met at the M & G. And you may make new friends. It's also amazing how often the officers remember you and also say hi. The officers make a point of being all over the ship, and are very accessible.

 

2. If you get to the NYC Passenger Terminal early, get a copy of the Freestyle Daily. It lists all the places you can eat lunch after boarding, while waiting to access your cabin, by location and opening times. (Suite members are escorted to a special restaurant.) For a relaxing meal, try the main dining room with waiter service. Or the pool area/Garden Cafe/Great Outdoors on deck #12, as mentioned. And if you really want to get into vacation mode, bring your swim suit, change in a public rest room, and jump in a hot tub or the pool:cool: Towels are available at the towel station.

 

3. If you like your Gem experience, do consider buying a CruiseNext coupon while on board. It's the best deal going. You spend $250, and NCL charges you half that, but you still have the $250 deposit to use as down payment on another cruise within 4 years. They are also transferable/sale-able if you later decide not to cruise NCL. We just bought 4, and used them to make $500 deposits each on two future cruises, totaling $1000 in cruise deposits. Our cost? $500. And if we cancel a booked cruise before final payment, the cruise credit goes back into our account, available to use as deposit on another NCL cruise. Win/Win:D

[123veranda]

Enjoyed reading some great responses to the OP's question re the Gem.

 

We've just finished our 16th cruise on her, and will be back on board in April. After that, we have 3 more Gem cruises booked. We just love her staff. They will do anything in their power to make your cruise enjoyable.

 

 

 

Here are 3 more suggestions:

 

 

 

1. Sign up for the Roll Call on your cruise, and attend the Meet & Greet (Royal Caribbean may call it a Meet & Mingle). It's usually held Day #2, about 11 am. You'll meet the Gem's top officers, and fellow Cruise Critic members. Even if you don't want to hang out with them, it's always nice to say hi in passing to those you've met at the M & G. And you may make new friends. It's also amazing how often the officers remember you and also say hi. The officers make a point of being all over the ship, and are very accessible.

 

 

 

2. If you get to the NYC Passenger Terminal early, get a copy of the Freestyle Daily. It lists all the places you can eat lunch after boarding, while waiting to access your cabin, by location and opening times. (Suite members are escorted to a special restaurant.) For a relaxing meal, try the main dining room with waiter service. Or the pool area/Garden Cafe/Great Outdoors on deck #12, as mentioned. And if you really want to get into vacation mode, bring your swim suit, change in a public rest room, and jump in a hot tub or the pool:cool: Towels are available at the towel station.

 

 

 

3. If you like your Gem experience, do consider buying a CruiseNext coupon while on board. It's the best deal going. You spend $250, and NCL charges you half that, but you still have the $250 deposit to use as down payment on another cruise within 4 years. They are also transferable/sale-able if you later decide not to cruise NCL. We just bought 4, and used them to make $500 deposits each on two future cruises, totaling $1000 in cruise deposits. Our cost? $500. And if we cancel a booked cruise before final payment, the cruise credit goes back into our account, available to use as deposit on another NCL cruise. Win/Win:D

 

 

 

How do u sign up 4 the M&M?

 

 

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[steve50]

Just booked Gem for June. No seeing much posed about her. Making me nervous. This will be my 1st time on NCL. Usually do RC. Anybody been her recently? Would love hear the good & bad. thanks

 

 

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We just got back from an 10 day carribian cruise on the Gem and hated it, not so much ship but the food was lousy and the so was the service, they make u pay for tips upfront and u dont have a choice to pay cash it is already taken out. They also play this game called button button who's got the button except they do it with the food. If u r a late riser the buffet closes at 10.00am same with lunch and dinner and then u have to find where the put the left overs either on the aft deck or midships. I believe the reason for this is they want to pay extra for the pay per view restraunts. Also the entertainment was below our standards the best entertainer was Sean a one man band. We loved the cabin and steward was great but the rest of the crew didnt care because they knew they were going to get tipped. We will never do another NCL cruise

[Weluv2cruise2gether]

To sign up for your M&G (or M&M, same thing), go to the find your roll call tab at the top of the page. Put in NCL and Gem in the cruise line and ship areas. Then look for your sailing date. Once in your roll call, just read though the postings. If a M&G was arranged by someone in the roll call, you will find the info. Then submit a post asking the organizer to add you to the M&G list. Easy peasy!! You may also see that a cabin crawl, pub crawl, slot pull or sail away gathering is organized for your group.

[ace2542]

going on her next week - will let you know!

 

It's a good ship apart from DJ Kim in Bliss she is terrible. They played better music on the epic and the indy.

[jaja]

Been on the Gem 6 times since 2008. I have always loved the ship. Always great staff, ship well laid out and easy to navigate. Food good, nice bars with entertainment, Great Outdoors is a nice feature.

Only problem...I keep loosing in the casino LOL..

[mjkacmom]

We just got back from an 10 day carribian cruise on the Gem and hated it, not so much ship but the food was lousy and the so was the service, they make u pay for tips upfront and u dont have a choice to pay cash it is already taken out. They also play this game called button button who's got the button except they do it with the food. If u r a late riser the buffet closes at 10.00am same with lunch and dinner and then u have to find where the put the left overs either on the aft deck or midships. I believe the reason for this is they want to pay extra for the pay per view restraunts. Also the entertainment was below our standards the best entertainer was Sean a one man band. We loved the cabin and steward was great but the rest of the crew didnt care because they knew they were going to get tipped. We will never do another NCL cruise

You do realize that all the mainstream cruise lines have a daily service charge every day, right? And that NCL has a 24/7 restaurant for those very small gaps when they switch from breakfast to lunch, and lunch to dinner? Plus there is always food at the Great Outdoors? That’s not leftover food, there are options not even offered anywhere else.

[vince_g]

You do realize that all the mainstream cruise lines have a daily service charge every day, right? And that NCL has a 24/7 restaurant for those very small gaps when they switch from breakfast to lunch, and lunch to dinner? Plus there is always food at the Great Outdoors? That’s not leftover food, there are options not even offered anywhere else.

 

Sounds like the type that just looks for problems, and will make them up if necessary. The late breakfast at Great Outdoors does cover the gap. And as far as I know, buffets on all ships stop breakfast around 10:30 so they can transition to lunch. His review just appears to be a bitch-fest. Glad they won't be sailing NCL again.

[Quencups]

We are also on the June 9th sailing. The Gem is my favorite ship....you will love her.. :)

[Marine Mom]

Just sailed a 10 day/Caribbean on her February 3rd and absolutely love this ship. It was our 5th time and booked another one for August. The crew is the best and is by far my favorite ship! Enjoy!

[steve50]

We just got back from a gem cruise and we hated it. First NCL cruise and it will be the last, the only reason we chose this cruise was my wife had never been to NYC and we spent a week after we got back from the cruise. If u go out of a cold weather port expect it to be crowded in the buffet and common areas because it is too cold to be on deck. The food was lousy way below what we expected so was the service, i think they do it on purpose to drive u to the pay per view restraunts. The minisuite was great and so was the cabin steward it made the trip tolerable. They wont give ua choice of paying cash for tips at the end of the cruise they take it out of ur card and u dont have a say, that is why the service is lousy they dont care because they have already been paid and they know it. From now on it will HAL or RCL

[mjkacmom]

We just got back from a gem cruise and we hated it. First NCL cruise and it will be the last, the only reason we chose this cruise was my wife had never been to NYC and we spent a week after we got back from the cruise. If u go out of a cold weather port expect it to be crowded in the buffet and common areas because it is too cold to be on deck. The food was lousy way below what we expected so was the service, i think they do it on purpose to drive u to the pay per view restraunts. The minisuite was great and so was the cabin steward it made the trip tolerable. They wont give ua choice of paying cash for tips at the end of the cruise they take it out of ur card and u dont have a say, that is why the service is lousy they dont care because they have already been paid and they know it. From now on it will HAL or RCL

I think you are losing it Steve, second bad review on the same thread. Pay for view restaurants? I think you mean specialty restaurants, which are always full due to specialty dining being a frequent free perk.

[katiemylady]

My boyfriend and I will be on the Gem in April, can't wait! It will be our first time. I've been scowering the reviews these past few weeks since we booked. I wish we were leaving now!

[steve50]

I think you are losing it Steve, second bad review on the same thread. Pay for view restaurants? I think you mean specialty restaurants, which are always full due to specialty dining being a frequent free perk.

I know what ur talking about for first time cruisers NCL will probably work for those of us that have a higher standard they are lousy and i will continue to slam them to warn off experienceed cruisers

[mjkacmom]

I know what ur talking about for first time cruisers NCL will probably work for those of us that have a higher standard they are lousy and i will continue to slam them to warn off experienceed cruisers

Everyone needs a purpose...

[Brandi7240]

Have never sailed on the Gem, but am looking forward to it especially since I prefer smaller ships. The reviews seem fine. My thoughts are to make the best of whatever situation you have and make your own good time. As long as I don't have to row, I'll be a happy sailor.

[dexddd]

Everyone needs a purpose...

 

I think he has not found his "special purpose".

[LindaLa]

We were on the Gem last June to New England/Canada. It was our first time on the Gem but we have taken many cruises, mostly on NCL but also Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Carnival. We like the flexibility of Norwegian. We have also determined that we like the smaller ships (like the Gem, Dawn) as opposed to the larger ships like the Breakaway). It may have been our favorite cruise. We liked the ports and it helped that the weather was great. We also like leaving from NYC as we can drive to the port and start our vacation within a couple of hours after leaving home.