Live from the Gem - March 10-21, 2023 NY to Bermuda to Caribbean to NY

[mbrusyo]

I’m loving your review!!! We are on basically the same cruise, also a 2br suite (11018), in about 3 weeks. Your pictures are making me absolutely giddy! And I swear I searched high and low but this is the first I’ve seen it confirmed that the living room area couch can also be a bed! That’s going to be a huge improvement over having both our kids in the second bedroom. 
 

 

[Turtles06]

12 hours ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

Awww I actually liked the over-the-top baroque french restaurant gaudiness of the old Le Bistro decor. 

 

I really dislike the new decor in Le Bistro.  It's monochromatic, cold, sterile, too bright, and there's nothing to absorb sound.  Also, eating in those two little side rooms on either side of the entrance way just makes you feel like you're not even in the main restaurant.  

[goldmom]

10 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I really dislike the new decor in Le Bistro.  It's monochromatic, cold, sterile, too bright, and there's nothing to absorb sound.  Also, eating in those two little side rooms on either side of the entrance way just makes you feel like you're not even in the main restaurant.  

I agree about the two side rooms, especially with the bars on the sides on the entrance.  My DH and I both said we felt like we were in jail or eating at the children's table!  Lol!

This is always a pet peeve of mine.  I make the reservations as soon as they are available pre-cruise.  And yet everytime we go to Le Bistro, we are seated at the worst table available.  This last cruise we were going to Le Bistro a second night and spoke to both the Maitre D and the concierge to request a window table for our second night.  No luck with the window, but at least we made it into the main area.

[Turtles06]

11 minutes ago, goldmom said:

This last cruise we were going to Le Bistro a second night and spoke to both the Maitre D and the concierge to request a window table for our second night.  No luck with the window, but at least we made it into the main area.

 

We were on a 23-night B2B in Jan./Feb.  We had one reservation at Le Bistro for each leg.  After being seated in the "side kids' room" the first time, we did speak to the concierge about being seated in the main room the second time, and we were.   Unfortunately, we had the worst service that night of any night on the cruise.  So bad that we skipped dessert and walked over to Magenta for that.  It was a good decision. 

[goldmom]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

 

We were on a 23-night B2B in Jan./Feb.  We had one reservation at Le Bistro for each leg.  After being seated in the "side kids' room" the first time, we did speak to the concierge about being seated in the main room the second time, and we were.   Unfortunately, we had the worst service that night of any night on the cruise.  So bad that we skipped dessert and walked over to Magenta for that.  It was a good decision. 

I hear you.  They punished you for asking for something "special"  LOL!

Luckily we had great service both times.

[Seas2mountains]

Photos from Teppanyaki.  
 

While the food and show were excellent as usual, the portions continue to be too much for most adults. Not a single person at our table was able to finish their meal. We would not mind if the portions were reduced as we have not ever been able to eat all food provided. 
 

This was the first time we had the NY Strip steak prepared for Asuka instead of filet mignon. It was challenging to chew the strip steak so we had a lot of food waste since it was so tough. 
 

We will go back to Teppanyaki as we do like the show and other food served. Next time we will order shrimp and scallops or shrimp and chicken. 

[Seas2mountains]

Treats from our wonderful butler. 
 

He is kindly accommodating our requests for preferred treats/snacks and did slow them down as he could see we could not keep up with consuming them fast enough. Lol. 

 

Not shown was veggies and dip (crudités) and some berries which also were appreciated, too. 
 

 

[Seas2mountains]

Some favorite lunch items. 
Mushroom flatbread is soooo good! 
Shrimp Louie has been wonderful, too. 
 

The staff has been working so hard and we have yet to have a bad meal. Other than not carrying for the strip steak at Teppanyaki which was prepared as requested but the meat quality was not great. They could provide a tiny amount of filet for better quality but similar expense. 
 

Dessert 

Banana Banoffee 

Macadamia nut  ice cream 

[cruiseny4life]

YUM!!!! Everything looks so good. I'm glad it's mostly meeting with your approval.

[Seas2mountains]

Yesterday after a nice long nap, we had dinner back at Cagney’s again. It’s always a cruise favorite. 
 

I had the lamb chops which were very well prepared and tasty. DH had the 5 oz filet mignon which he said was excellent. 
 

The Sangiovese with P+ is really nice and a favorite of ours. 
 

The lobster bisque had more lobster than I expected. 

[Seas2mountains]

Last night we enjoyed a set by Nathaniel in Magnums.  He is very talented and we look forward to listening to him play a variety of music over the next few nights. He is off tonight. 
 

We made it to the wonderful performance of Blazing Boots in the theater. We appreciated being directed to the Haven/Suite area by the fantastic concierge, Leo.  The show should not be missed if you are a country music fan as we are. The singers and dancers have an impressive and engaging show.  The young adults or teens in the front row were also entertaining to see how much they loved the show. 
 

For the 10pm hour it was back to Spinnaker Lounge for an Abba set by Sea Shakers. Once again, the place was packed and it was tough to find available seats. The dance floor was also packed for all songs. 
 

We are really enjoying the suite and like the space and extra comforts.  Not sure if we can go back to a Club Balcony Suite after being spoiled like this. Last night we started another movie as we wound down before bed. 

[Seas2mountains]

[Seas2mountains]

Today was our first port stop in Puerto Rico after three at sea days. We went down to the atrium for 10am trivia and got there about 9:50am to find the game to be almost over. We checked the online schedule and Freestyle Daily to see that both listed morning trivia at 10am. As we were about to ask the cruise staff member why it started before the listed time, another couple and a family asked the same question. Apparently, someone who had a shore excursion convinced him to start sooner than planned. We were happy that a second trivia game was conducted for those of us who expected it at 10am. The winners got 10 out of 20 and we got 7 answers correct. 
 

We got off the ship shortly after and attempted to make a purchase at Walgreens with the 6000+ passengers from Carnival Mardi Gras and another 6000+ from Carnival Magic. The line wrapped around the perimeter of the large store. We gave up waiting as we really didn’t need the item that bad for the wait. 
 

We were supposed to do a walking tour but quickly lost patience with the crowds everywhere and trying to find our very low key tour starting point with the crowds in the area. We were supposed to meet in the terminal area but couldn’t get in as we were told Carnival Mardi Gras parked in our spot. The NCL rep did point to where we were supposed to meet but we decided to return to a mostly empty ship where the thermal spa had only one other person. It was way more relaxing than a tour and we don’t regret changing our mind. 
 

My husband has a good memory of faces and insisted we had been on a recent cruise with the Spa Manager. He was correct as we were realized we were all on the Jewel in early June 2022 in Alaska (Seward to Vancouver) with Marko. 
 

The morning started with clear blue skies and now in the afternoon is is overcast with light showers.  Carnival Madi Gras has departed but had a lot of runners in the last half hour after blaring.  
 

We had a very nice lunch in Cagney’s as we continue to be spoiled by the wonderful staff members. 
 

Dinner tonight is at Moderno. 

[Seas2mountains]

I think I am caught up with dailies and updates. 
 

There were people who appeared to be boarding the ship this morning as they must have missed getting on in NY. 

[Seas2mountains]

On 3/13/2023 at 8:15 PM, mbrusyo said:

I’m loving your review!!! We are on basically the same cruise, also a 2br suite (11018), in about 3 weeks. Your pictures are making me absolutely giddy! And I swear I searched high and low but this is the first I’ve seen it confirmed that the living room area couch can also be a bed! That’s going to be a huge improvement over having both our kids in the second bedroom. 
 

 

Thank you. Here are some additional photos to show doors and curtains for privacy. 
 

There is a pull out bed in the LR couch.  

[Seas2mountains]

We were docked next to the Carnival Magic in Puerto Rico. When it was their sail away time, we noticed a few officers from their ship kept looking out while talking on phones as if they were watching for missing passengers. It turns out they were waiting for an ambulance for one of their passengers to use to be taken off the ship. 
 

Fast forward one more day (last photo) and the same thing happened on our ship when waiting to depart from St. Maarten and it delayed our sail away slightly. 
 

Trip insurance is definitely a great idea as you can’t predict when things like this might happen. We don’t have any information on what happened or the condition of those taken to hospitals but hope they are okay. In both cases, all their luggage appeared to be taken off the ship with the passenger and a second person assumed to be their travel partner. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

My husband loves Moderno.  It has typically  been one of his top two favorites but it has been my least favorite specialty dining restaurant as in the past as I thought the meats were too salty.  We thought this was one of our best experiences at Moderno.  The meat did not taste too salty to me. 
 

Husband’s favorite meat are the chicken legs. I liked the filet mignon and bacon wrapped chicken breast.  The salad bar did not disappoint and had plenty of great choices.  For the sides, we only requested the garlic mashed potatoes and mushrooms as we knew we wouldn’t eat the other sides. 
 

We skipped the desserts as we were not wanting to feel too full. 
 

 

[Seas2mountains]

On Tuesday night, we enjoyed listening to the Sea Shakers again along with the very talented guest who plays the saxophone and has been joining them for their performances.  

[Seas2mountains]

[Seas2mountains]

It was a beautiful but slightly windy day in St. Maarten. We have been here before on other cruises and know traffic can be bad when several cruise ships are in port. Maho Beach can be neat to see but we no longer care for the crowds at that popular beach or the traffic to and from the beach.  We enjoyed being on an almost empty ship and especially the thermal spa. 
 

Later in the evening, several guests reported that their excursions were extended due to traffic. One couple said their 2.5 hour bus tour became a 4.5 hour bus tour even with skipping the final stop. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

Here are some photos of the rock climbing wall and sports court. 

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

After another excellent lunch at Cagney’s, we walked through Garden Cafe to enjoy the great weather and views at the Great Outdoors. We love the Great Outdoors area on the Jewel class ships especially on warm weather cruises. I did not take photos of the outdoor buffet which we would eat here often when not in a Suite. 
 

We think the recent updates in Garden Cafe look really nice. 

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[montecarloss]

We will be on this ship for the first time next January.  Appreciate your trip reporting. I have always loved the Great Outdoors.

[Seas2mountains]

We ate at Le Bistro for the second night and ordered most of the same items as night one such as Escargot for both of us and Dover Sole for me and Sea Bass for my husband. All were delicious and hot.  This time I ordered the scallop appetizer instead of a soup or salad. My husband ordered the endive salad. I knew from previous visits to Le Bistro to expect tiny scallops.  I was a little puzzled when the waitress took away my small salad/appetizer fork and placed a soup spoon.
 

When the scallops came out, the server wanted to pour some creamy soup over the scallops. I stopped him as I did not want the creamy soup on the tiny scallops and mini cauliflower. Ah ha, that’s why she gave me a soup spoon. I used the only fork to eat them. When the waitress returned, she was surprised to see that the creamy soup was in the gravy type of container and that I used the fork to eat them. See photos below.  I think this is a recipe change but it’s been awhile since I have ordered the scallops. 
 

The dinner was excellent but as @Turtles06 and @goldmom mentioned, it’s an odd setup for seating. We also did not get a window for either seating and it felt a little claustrophobic not to be able to see outside. 

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

The new le Bistro decor is so bland and boring. And calling that scallop thing an appetizer is generous. That's barely a canape.