LIVE aboard the Gem 12/22-1/2 Holiday Cruise

[ellewoods]

Day 9- Antigua 

We have been getting off the ship as soon as the ship is cleared each day and arriving back to the ship very close to all aboard time. Today, we decided to have a more leisurely start to the morning. Therefore, we did not take advantage of the concierge escort off the boat .

 

We got off about 9 AM and wandered around the port a bit. We then grabbed a cab/tour guide and asked for a one hour tour and then to drop us off at Sheer Rocks. We had an 11:30 reservation at Sheer Rocks.  It’s easy to grab a cab and tour guide right at the end of the Pier (a short walk from the boat). The tour guide was very friendly and showed us a good bit of the Island for the short time we gave her. It remains consistent throughout the Islands that the locals are very happy to have visitors back since the Pandemic and they are so helpful and friendly. 

 

Sheer Rocks. We had made a reservation here a month or so ago based on recommendations from this board. Wow! This place is gorgeous. We only made reservations for lunch, but I recommend you book a pool for the day, as they were gorgeous and private but already booked for the day when we arrived. We arrived early and were shown to the bar where the wonderful bartender made us drinks while we waited. Promptly at 11:30 we were shown to our table overlooking the water, it doesn’t get more beautiful than this. It is expensive which we knew going in. The food and drinks are so good and you absolutely cannot beat the atmosphere. Definitely worth a visit. Tapas style so be careful by the time you order a bunch of tiny little plates you will be stuffed way quicker than you expect. 

 

As all beaches are public we decided to just head down to the resorts beach after lunch. There aren’t many amenities for non resort guests but it was quiet and close. The beach itself is beautiful, as I am sure most are on the Island. 

 

There was a great local woman giving massages at the beach which was fantastic. When we were ready we asked her to call us a taxi and we got back to the ship in time for dinner. 

 

Dinner in the buffet again. Food was all very good again. We were again exhausted after a long day and tomorrow we dock at 6 am and have a 6:15 meeting time for our excursion to the baths. Very excited for this excursion but sad to know this means the last port and that this cruise is coming to an end. 

[Kristall]

Day - Antigua

 

Lunch today at the Irish restaurant - was great. At around 7am no one got stress.. Everyone just friendly and fast there. Great.

 

Then we went to the pier. Today the organisation of excursion was better. One tent, several guys with a sheet and excursion name on it. Easy to find, nothing to miss. 

 

We went on the "Antiguan Experience" tour - nice to see the small villages - from the bus.

After the first stop - an old farmers home with a few parrots and nice plants, you head to the "pineapple farm".

A small area in the middle of nowhere with a few dry pineapple plants and five guys digging holes for coconut plants. 

After that disappointing experience the bus got us to the beach. Well a beautiful beach - still not better than Jamaica, but not many people and good water. 

After 2 hours of time, spent in the water or in a wooden shack they call bar, you get the "west Indian food experience". Something you can barely call food. 

They wait with the food, till around 5-6 tourist groups are there, so you have to wait additional time for the bus - because economically ... well. 

 

After that experience we visited the local food market near the port. Our guide told us on the excursion that the Antiguan pineapples are rare, you don't get one that easy - maybe he should visit the food market? Enough for a cruise ship.

 

A few visits in local shops, good talks with the people later, we went back to the ship. 

 

The dinner was again in the garden Cafe, where I have to say - as an European that knows the Mediterranean kitchen very well, NCL should send their cooks back to school for a "how to cook like an Italian". 

Nothing for us - but I think the most will like this food, because they don't know the original and how it tastes.

 

We had a short talk with the excursion desk about today's experience.. They will notice us when they talked with the company that organized the tour.

 

Now we are ending the evening with a Caipirinha in the bliss. 

[scaaty]

On 12/27/2022 at 5:15 PM, ellewoods said:

 

 

Before bed yesterday we received information from the Concierge to meet him at 8:00 to be escorted off the ship.

@ellewoods who is the concierge? Will he be on for the next cruise or heading home for vacation?

[tokidoki]

enjoying your live review!  Wondering if the Kosherica group made it onboard?  They would probably have a piece of one of the MDR's.   Its a kosher food group. thx

[ellewoods]

8 hours ago, scaaty said:

@ellewoods who is the concierge? Will he be on for the next cruise or heading home for vacation?

Leo is the Concierge, he will be staying on. He was just brought on during dry dock. 

[ellewoods]

7 hours ago, tokidoki said:

enjoying your live review!  Wondering if the Kosherica group made it onboard?  They would probably have a piece of one of the MDR's.   Its a kosher food group. thx

Yes they made it on! We spoke to some of them the first evening when we were looking for the Hanukkah candle lighting. They did indicate they would have their own kitchen and dining area, although I didn’t ask where specifically. We see the Rabbi often around the ship, very nice group. 

[ellewoods]

8 hours ago, Kristall said:

 

 

The dinner was again in the garden Cafe, where I have to say - as an European that knows the Mediterranean kitchen very well, NCL should send their cooks back to school for a "how to cook like an Italian". 

Nothing for us - but I think the most will like this food, because they don't know the original and how it tastes.

 

 

It’s a buffet on a mass market cruise line. They have to feed a ton of people, quickly. If you’re looking for high end food, rethink a cruise buffet. 

[scaaty]

5 hours ago, ellewoods said:

Leo is the Concierge, he will be staying on. He was just brought on during dry dock. 

Thanks

[meyermtacmj]

Anyone else chuckling at the dueling reviews? 

[KP@Sea]

1 hour ago, meyermtacmj said:

Anyone else chuckling at the dueling reviews? 

It does make me wonder who’s review it actually is… seems like the second is stepping on the toes of the first.
I was also thinking how different passengers have different points of view on the same cruise. 

[njkate]

36 minutes ago, Winky7650 said:

It does make me wonder who’s review it actually is… seems like the second is stepping on the toes of the first.
I was also thinking how different passengers have different points of view on the same cruise. 

Ellewood is original poster and Kristall jumped on board. Don't know where Ellewood is from but Kristall mentioned he is European, which may explain the different perspectives

[ellewoods]

56 minutes ago, njkate said:

Ellewood is original poster and Kristall jumped on board. Don't know where Ellewood is from but Kristall mentioned he is European, which may explain the different perspectives

I am from NY. We are also seasoned cruisers, not loyal to any particular cruise line, we have cruised most of them. We have had other cruises impacted by weather, we’ve had land based vacations affected by weather as well. All this to say, we are not complainers. we won’t let a couple changes get in our way of having fun. We also truly appreciate the staff who makes these vacations amazing, we do not feel they owe us anything. I think if you go in with this mindset you can’t help but have fun. 

[Kristall]

7 hours ago, ellewoods said:

It’s a buffet on a mass market cruise line. They have to feed a ton of people, quickly. If you’re looking for high end food, rethink a cruise buffet. 

That's what I also think - a buffet on a mass cruise should think a bit more.. well, intelligent? Economic?

 

I try to explain why I think the Italian evening was just not as good as it could have been.

 

- they serve every day focaccia at the great outdoors. Exchange the pizza with two different focaccia, place one pizza Margherita next to it and add a small paper shield explaining how the famous Margherita got its name - pizza corner, done.

 

- kick out the mozzarella tomato salad, make a caprese with the material. They have everything on the ship.

 

- just offer some Bruschetta.

 

- exchange the two tuna salads and the beef that got nothing to do with mediterran kitchen with a vitello tonnato. 

 

- pizza bread with olive oil and salt, or add any Italian cheese.

 

- maybe add a lasagna? They got the material in the kitchen - so could have done it.

 

Now you will have an Italian evening, you will remember. Just combine the things you have in an other way.

 

Most of these things are offered in other places of the ship, so not really new things. No high end food, not General and not in Italy. Just the things you imagine when thinking about Italian evening. 

 

Hope this explains a bit better?

 

@ellewoods

Did you made it in time to the baths? Our ship departed short after 7am.

[JGmf]

4 hours ago, meyermtacmj said:

Anyone else chuckling at the dueling reviews? 

 

Props to @ellewoods for kicking this off, but yes, I'm enjoying the dueling reviews and differing perspectives.  It's quite interesting, especially given the horrible start to their trip. 

 

As for  @Kristall, it seems they're not having a decent time.  I hope it turns around for them.

 

Most on us on this message board are seasoned cruisers and know how to tailor our expectations, whether food, drink, passenger behavior, excursions, etc.  That said, yes @Kristall, I've been disappointed here and there about all of those things....but I've learned to just roll with it....it's better than being at work.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

11 hours ago, ellewoods said:

It’s a buffet on a mass market cruise line. They have to feed a ton of people, quickly. If you’re looking for high end food, rethink a cruise buffet. 

 

Completely agree. There are other places to visit and eat if one wants authenticity.

I won’t even go into how creative the chefs can be lumping 50 different national cuisines into Asian night at the buffet.

 

[ellewoods]

Forget what day we are on (sign of a great cruise 😂). We docked early in Tortola. We had an early, quick breakfast in the buffet again, then headed down to the Concierge meeting area to be escorted off the ship. We did the snorkel excursion to the Baths. We have previously done the one where you walk down. The Baths are gorgeous. The swim/hike is at least a moderate difficulty level so Be warned if you choose the snorkel one. If you have weak swimmers or poor mobility do the one where you walk down. The group who ran our tour were a lot of fun. We had a good time. Bring some cash as there is a restaurant/bar and souvenir shop on the beach. The boat ride was very choppy, they did say the seas were rough so it’s not always like this. It was fun for me but some people did look Green. 

 

We arrived back to the ship close to all aboard time. There were very long lines to get on the ship but all of the Haven Butlers were waiting to escort us to the front the line. 

 

Quick lunch in the buffet since we were still in the same swimsuits/outfits we wore on the excursion. 

 

Relaxed a bit this afternoon and then Dinner in Orchid Garden. This is an Asian style restaurant with no cover charge. Dinner was excellent. Our waiter was amazing he was very friendly,. He was part of the crew who remained onboard during the pandemic and he had stories to share. 

 

Went to the show which was a circus act. So good. Amazing to see what the acrobats can do with their bodies and bodies he clown was hysterical. 

 

Internet seems much better since we left Tortola this morning. 

[Kristall]

Tortola

 

Today was a bit - uneasy. Just woke up and we saw that our Shore Excursion will depart in 35 minutes. So fast breakfast and go.

We went together with several other groups on a small shop to virgin Gordo. The ride was uneasy, but okay.

After our arrive and two short rain showers we gut two hours time for everything at the baths.

 

We went to the devil's bay, then the cave and last the baths. Really amazing nature location, made many good pictures.

At last you are at a small beach with two stores and a little food corner. 

 

We were at the baths for around an hour then went back to the top, looked around - till we went back to Tortola.

Visiting some shops - and the little stop was done. Back to the gem.

 

For dinner we went to the orchid garden - like last time, nice waiter and good food. 

After this a nice evening in the bliss Lounge.

 

Yes internet seems so much better now, I don't know what they did. 

[LouChamp]

Aloha Ellewoods and family! Loving your posts. We have been fortunate to sail many times over thanksgiving and Christened Hanukkah and New Years with our families. They are truly special voyages.  On one cruise which coincided with Hanukkah and Christmas and of course New Years (we are a mixed marriage) the rabbis son was smitten with our daughter so she was involved in all the Hanukkah events especially the candle lightings. it turns out as fate would have that his name was the same as the gentleman she wound up marrying lol. Enough of us. Have a blessed new year!

[LouChamp]

sorry typo. I meant Christmas not Christened!

[ellewoods]

4 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha Ellewoods and family! Loving your posts. We have been fortunate to sail many times over thanksgiving and Christened Hanukkah and New Years with our families. They are truly special voyages.  On one cruise which coincided with Hanukkah and Christmas and of course New Years (we are a mixed marriage) the rabbis son was smitten with our daughter so she was involved in all the Hanukkah events especially the candle lightings. it turns out as fate would have that his name was the same as the gentleman she wound up marrying lol. Enough of us. Have a blessed new year!

We sailed once before on Hanukkah and had wonderful lightings each night. There is a Kosher group on board hosting their own events and I think because of this, the regular menorah lightings were kind of forgotten about. However, it is still very nice to sail during the Holidays and have sunshine every day of the Holiday rather than the bitter cold that awaits us at home! I hope you get to experience another Holiday sailing soon. 

[Turtles06]

12 hours ago, ellewoods said:

Relaxed a bit this afternoon and then Dinner in Orchid Garden. This is an Asian style restaurant with no cover charge. Dinner was excellent.

 

Happy to hear that.  While we've always enjoyed the appetizers there, we've never enjoyed the entrees.  Sounds like they've improved. 🙂 

[Kristall]

Last day of the year

 

Well after the worst breakfast we had on the cruise, we started the maybe last warm day.

We tried to gar breakfast at the garden Cafe - what was not really a good idea. We got there around 9:05am - sat at our table at 9:45am. Almost no space, some even arguing over tables. The buffet empty, every refill it gets just emptied by people who put half of a pan on their dish - chaotic.

 

After that, we just sat around - talking, at different locations. The people started to get dressed like they go into a fine dining restaurant - photoshoots and so.

 

After a little lunch near the pool, a miracle to get a table there, we enjoyed the last warm sun for this winter. New York will be winter and Europe too.

 

We then started a small bar journey till midnight. Pool bar, bliss and end in the spinnaker. My opinion, the spinnaker got the best bartender on the ship, with the nicest at the pool.

 

The Cocktail Thing

This is something I noticed all over this cruise - something I didn't had on the Jade.

Some bartender seem to be really new to their job, even don't knowing standards like a Pina colada (one bartender) or just doing it wrong (pool bar). Just a bit curious, if someone else noticed this? Was looking " what they do" with the cocktails you order.

So even the cocktails differ from bar to bar. You the same cocktail with complete different rum in different bars, but every bar got the same rum on their shelf.

The spinnaker Lounge here just showed how a bar works. They created everything we ordered not only right, it was just delicious.

They even did some custom changes to our drinks, remove and / or add something, to get a compete different drink.

Another guy with us, just ordered his custom drink, telling the bartender what to do, how much to add.

 

The last warm day comes to an end, later the night with some drunken teens in our floor. Loud shouting, even a small fight and someone vomit on the floor. 

Good to see that they just behave on ship, like they do for normal 🙂

 

 

[ellewoods]

End Notes:

Finally home and happy only because I come home to my four legged child! 

 

Overall a great cruise, as always. 

 

I didn’t end up posting daily recaps for the last two sea days as I feel like sea days are always far less exciting, as well the internet continued to be spotty for the final sea days. I had enough service to check in on my dog periodically which is really my only “necessity” while on vacation. 

 

The first day we spent in the Haven courtyard relaxing. Took advantage of moderno for breakfast again since we didn’t have to hurry to get anywhere. We asked for Racquel any chance we got and she was superb. She is a waitress in moderno in the AM and Cagneys for lunch and dinner time. 

 

Quick lunch in the buffet again. The selection seems to be getting more limited towards the end of the cruise, but the quality remains good so no complaints. The clothes are starting to fit tighter which is a good sign that there isn’t a shortage of food. 

 

We had received a notice to go to Bliss at 2:00 pm for a Presentation regarding Debarkation. Would have preferred a letter with the details but off I went to the presentation. Appears that debarkation will be much quicker for us as we can take advantage of priority debarkation. 

 

I had prebooked a month ago for NYE in Le Bistro. If you are sailing on a Holiday I highly suggest you make reservations ahead of time as the restaurants get quite full on the actual holidays. The food was very good. 

 

Tonight’s show was the one I was most excited for blazing boots. I love country music so this was my kind of show. It was very good, fast paced and lots of greats songs. The Gem has a really good performance crew, it was nice to get to see them show off what they can do. We also saw the perfect couple show tonight which was absolutely hysterical. Obviously this is an audience participation show so depends some what on who is chosen so we were lucky to watch a good group. I will say that the way this ship chooses their participants (by random draw) is the most fair way I have found a ship do it and I think it resulted in more participation. 

 

 

Second sea day 

We grabbed a quick breakfast in the buffet this morning and had lunch in Cagneys. One more chance to enjoy the French dip which is delicious. 

 

Grand Pacific for dinner. Food was great, service was quick as well. This was our first time here this trip. The dress code was not followed, I know this is a common question. We did follow it, but I saw shorts at other tables. 

 

Debarkation. We were advised to arrive at the theater between 8:30 and 9:00 for a priority escort off the ship. I had purchased knives in St. Maarten and needed to retrieve them from security. Someone walked me to the opposite side of the ship to get them. Once they announced we could leave, we were off the ship and to our car in less than 20 minutes. Getting on and off the ship is really where Haven benefits shine. 

 

Some general thoughts regarding the Haven. On a small ship like the Gem I think the value is greatly reduced. No separate dinner restaurant or bar. We had done the research and knew this going in, therefore it was no surprise. Having the Haven sun deck on sea days and having the spot to have breakfast was worthwhile still. The question really becomes how worthwhile? 

Concierge: I booked all my reservations myself. I had a reservation for 6pm one evening and the VIP cocktail party had been scheduled for 7:00 pm. I went to him in the morning to see about moving the reservation to 5:30, he said the restaurants were all crowded and he couldn’t make that happen. I went to the restaurant myself at 5:15 and spoke with them, they seated us almost immediately and had us out to make the cocktail event. Had we been seated at 6, there is no way we would have made it. The only other time we asked for help with dinner was for a reservation for orchid garden. We asked two days before we wanted it and he said he asked and it’s first come first served.I honestly didn’t see much value in the Concierge. He did escort us off the ship each day which was a nice perk and he was very nice, however, I didn’t see the real benefit. Maybe others who are more demanding get more attention. 

 

Butler: we saw our Butler basically once a day when he would drop off the tiniest plates of canapés. They were generally 5 1 bite tastes total for the cabin, most of them did not look great and we generally left the plate untouched. We also had the one time escort after Tortola. I did see our same Butler escorting other guests to dinner and other places. So again if we were more demanding maybe we would get more. However, as it was, I don’t see the point in the Butler either. 

 

Cabin steward (Juvin): he was superb. He was always around and met each of our requests quickly. He kept the room ready and clean at all times. He would literally run down the hall to open our door if he saw us coming. We couldn’t have asked for a better cabin steward. 

 

Courtyard attendant (Teddy): as mentioned earlier in the cruise, Teddy was truly a step above. From the first time we met him (without introducing ourselves) he always greeted us by name.  Despite him being responsible for the courtyard and not our rooms, he frequently was the only person visible in the Haven. He would attempt to handle any request or issue we had. I’m unsure the hierarchy of those within the Haven but he needs to be promoted higher. 

 

I said in the beginning I would compare the Haven to RCCLs star class. The room on NCL was perfect size. On RCCL we felt the room was far too large and a waste. The 2 bedroom Haven was perfect for the three of us. It provided plenty of space and privacy without feeling like we were wasting. The Haven experience however doesn’t come close to the level of service RCCL provides with Star Class. Besides the room size and separate sun deck, I really didn’t feel like we had any benefit over a regular room. We asked for next to nothing and the two things we did ask for were brushed off. 

 

We will be back to NCL. I think I would choose a regular 2 bedroom suite without the Haven name unless I was sailing on a larger ship with a true Haven. 

 

Despite the early weather delays it was a fantastic cruise. I don’t think I will cruise on a holiday again. The fact that the ship was at capacity and had an abundance of children would deter me from this timeframe. 

 

Please let me know if you have any specific questions and I can try to answer them for you. The only thing I absolutely will not be any help with is questions re:kids/teen clubs. We have no children sailing with us and therefore had no use. 

[Kristall]

Ending notes and going off the ship

 

Well, the last days are the best - like every holiday. We had a good evening in bliss and spinnaker, again. Got a godly Caipirinha in spinnaker and even some "try drinks" from a bartender who just wanted to try new cocktails.

 

What bugged me the last day - at disembarking day many people started getting rude. At the buffet and later in the process.

We were in the self carry group - 8:00 to 8:30. Well it didn't start until 8:45 und so the ship was clogged with a giant crowd on Deck 7. People started to try go ahead, around the crowd.

Because we talked to the shore excursion manager, we got a refund of 15% for all three excursions we made a complain.

 

My last note is - first and last holiday cruise, never again an inside cabin.

We lost the time feeling without the sun 🙂

 

@ellewoods

A question about haven. At noticed that some "vioet keycard" holder were able to priority control the elevator. Call it, let it go from one level to another without a stop. Is this a haven benefit?

[ellewoods]

10 minutes ago, Kristall said:

🙂

 

@ellewoods

A question about haven. At noticed that some "vioet keycard" holder were able to priority control the elevator. Call it, let it go from one level to another without a stop. Is this a haven benefit?

No it is not. The Haven key cards were white with a starfish, not violet. The only control out keycards had in the elevator was the ability to access the 14th floor, we had to stop on every floor just like everyone else 😂 Would be a cool feature.