Fleece-style Cruising on the Gem

[Ides of March]

Just returned from the March 8 sailing of the Gem to Cocoa Beach and the Bahamas.

NCL is the McDonalds of cruise lines INHO. No class. Cheap and you get what you pay for.

The Gem is brand new and sparkling if a little gaudy for my taste. It reflects the new style of cruising which is crowded. The boat is 1000 feet long for 2300 pax. Pack in more sheep for the shearing. Our BA balcony cabin felt so small you couldn’t turn around without getting in your own way.

On boarding which went smoothly, we went to the Garden Café for lunch. Pandemonium. No trays are provided during the entire cruise so each meal requires numerous trips from table to buffet for coffee, desert, etc. No trays to wash for NCL. Seating was impossible with the crowds so you balanced a plate in the jostling crowd. Food was good but the same all 7 days so it got boring.

Proceeding to the cabin we were greeted by two notices that our bags had been impounded as each contained an “intoxicating beverage”. Great way to start a vacation. Had to pick them up from a small room at the back of the casino at 5 pm and of course there was a delay in their arriving no doubt to allow more slot time for the herd. After wasting an hour, they impounded a half filled bottle of Irish in one of my bags but I grabbed my second unsearched bag on leaving so we salvaged a full liter of Scotch .

We got to retrieve all confiscated liquor at 4 pm on the last day of the cruise and they showed up at 4:20 after numerous heated calls from the pissed off waiting pax.. Even then the booze was unsorted in three large plastic wheeled bins and as they unloaded in a haphazard manner, many taped on labels fell off the bags and bottles causing greater confusion, delay and frayed tempers. I rooted around and found mine which I left with without checking out with “Dumb and Dumber” who were ineffectually running the show. For the balance of the cruise we brought our rum and other local delicacies on in plastic water bottles without problem. At $16 for two drinks at their bars, we went self serve as much as possible. It’s not the actual money I resent as much as felling that you are constantly being taken advantage of. I didn’t pay to be a captive sucker.

Dinner at the Teppanyaki was very good, the only meal of that caliber the whole week.

The Texas Hold’em tourney was another lesson in exploitation. The buy in was $60 for 1000 chips but with unlimited re-buys in the first hour. One fellow re-bought twice. At the end of the hour you could buy 5000 chips for another $60 which almost everyone did except me. I went with the 4500 I had and was quickly wiped out by the heavy blinds as I waited for some decent cards. Clearly a tactical error not to top up but I had committed $60 for the day which meant I really had little chance and had wasted my initial investment. NCL skimmed 25% off the top so they tailored the rules to maximize profits.

They had less than half the players on the last day tourney as most like me were put off.

At Cocoa Beach they parked us in an industrial sewer and then charged $15 per head for the 5 minute shuttle to town where they dropped us at the Ron Jon big box where they received kick backs no doubt.

At Nassau, I went on the America Cup boat NZ 12 for the “race” with NZ 10 which unfortunately was in for repairs. We had a great sail and it was a thrill to helm such a thoroughbred but the boat owners felt bad we didn’t get what we paid for and offered half priced coupons on future races which didn’t do us much good, especially as they were charging half the NCL tariff. My wife took the $39 city tour which she said was a rip as they went but a few blocks from the pier and were taken to schlocky venues such as the pirate museum. NCL dosn’t give you an overview map of the port area in advance as does HAL, but only shopping maps with their “approved” vendors. If one had access to such a map, you would know if a tour is necessary or not. No refunds from NCL for complainers so we were glad we didn’t bother as we had decided to vote with out feet wrt future outings with them. Do Nassau on your own.

Freeport now Lucaya requires a $5 pp cab ride from the industrial port into town which for the 10 plus miles is worth it although a free shuttle would be appropriate if they can’t place you near the advertised destination. At least deserving cabbies got the fares this time. Where is Sterns when you need them?

Signed up for the murder mystery dinner at the Pacific Lounge and had the tasteless lobster and beef Wellington. Same mystery as ever year by all accounts so repeaters were disappointed. Good meal at the Oriental (Fajitas) which broke the food boredom and their tapas are good but you have to buy drinks..

The last night we went to Cagney’s for $25 pp. Another rip off. A chewy $6 T-bone for $25. Give this place a pass.

The balance of the cruise was a barrage of bingo, tacky art, and sales give away and raffle promotions which were hard to avoid but we tried. The crew was essentially all Indonesian so the service was prompt and excellent. As a protest against NCL’s booze policy we cancelled on of the $10 per day “service charges” but not wishing to punish innocent parties, gave a like amount to those who served us directly.

The sun was warm and the seas calm so with a balcony, plentiful ice, contraband booze which tastes sooo much better and good books we had an enjoyable cruise notwithstanding NCL. Not nearly in the same league as HAL or Celebrity but unfortunately the latter don’t sail from NYC when we need them. From now on we will suffer the longer flights to get a better return on our vacation time investment.

So adios NCL. As long its not me, I hope you keep packing them in and wringing them dry until cruising is banned as an being too environmentally costly for the pursuit of hedonism.

Ides.

[Chrislynn55]

So sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your cruise. It's always disappointing when things do not go as hoped. We (DH, DS, and I) were also on the March 8 sailing of the Gem and it sounds like our experience was entirely different. We had the best of service almost everywhere and thoroughly enjoyed our week in every way. The Gem compares very favourably with many of the cruises we have taken, even our cruise on the Queen Mary 2. Hopefully your next vacation is more to your liking.

[slotaddict]

I try very hard not to judge anyones posts or cruise experiences. However there are three areas here where I feel I have to comment. One being the pandemonium because of all the people on the ship, could it be because it was spring break??

If you choose to cruise during this time, then I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

 

I was on the Pearl in a BA cabin, I assume they are identical in size and layout and not one time did I trip over or run into my husband. I had a CC class balcony on Celebrity Century and the difference in room size was miniscule.

 

 

Lastly, it is no secret that NCL has the strictest rules regarding bringing on your own liquor. What made you think you would be any different when it comes to this issue. If you thought enough to come to this board and write a review then you had to read about bringing liquor onboard.

 

I hope your future cruises on whatever line you choose are better for you.

[lel5344]

While I am no longer the ardent NCL supporter I once was, I kind of want to come to their defense on this one.

 

I'm not too sure you did your homework for this cruise.

 

You have lots of criticism for their booze policy, but it's very clearly documented. It seems like everything went downhill for you after the confiscation.

 

Losing your stack at Texas Hold'em - that's called gambling.

 

Sounds like you may have had lunch every day in the buffet. Your choice.

 

Lots of information about ports in this forum and tons of other websites as well as at your library and bookstore.

 

But to me, your most telling remark is: "Cheap and you get what you pay for"

 

If you got what you paid for, why so many complaints?

 

I won't sail NCL again either, but it has nothing to do with my cruise experiences with them, but rather with Customer Service at the home office.

 

If we're going to badmouth cruise lines, let's not do it because we haven't down our homework.

 

Just my opinion.

[Garn]

As a protest against NCL’s booze policy we cancelled on of the $10 per day “service charges” but not wishing to punish innocent parties, gave a like amount to those who served us directly.

That'll teach all of the other folks who served you "indirectly". Serves them right for setting NCLs alcohol policy that way. Oh, wait, they aren't the ones who set it....

 

I'm also curious how you decided who are the lucky few to earn your money... somehow I suspect a lot of people who did serve you were left out.

[newbe dave]

Thanks for the response. However, it sounds to me like you could have had a wonderful cruise with a little preparation and patience. Choosing to get mad and dislike your cruise because NCL took some of your smuggled booze is an interesting reaction.

[dino2067]

Ides-

 

Here are two posts of yours from April 2007...based on these, why didn't you take your own advice rather then continue with this wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth over a cruise you willingly chose to take knowing what your previous experience was and how you felt about it then??

 

Kathleen

 

 

 

Godfather XII

All three in the trilogy were excellent and I actually preferred III to II but to my taste NCL Freestyle was what I would imagine XII would be like.

 

It is very subjective and NCL was inexpensive compared to HAL so I guess ya gets what ya pays for. I will pay more hereafter.

 

 

No-Style Cruising on NCL

I just completed an 8 night cruise on the Spirit out of New York to the Virgins and Samana.

The food was awful except in the Teppanyaki restaurant ($20 pp), even in the free Italian bistro that had no veal and served what tasted like canned spaghetti. The crew were polite but detached.

I found it stressful not to have a confirmed place to eat each night that you can bypass if you like and we did not meet anyone as we were usually ushered to a table for 2 without being asked.

The ship itself was beautiful and well maintained but the overall experience even with a balcony cabin was mediocre. Constant sales pitches.

NCL calls it Freestyle Cruising but I prefer the above descripter.

I didnt appreciate HAL (or Celebrity, my second favourite) until I sailed NCL.

 

Ides

[newmexicoNita]

Of course as everyone knows I am an NCL loyalist and don't try to hide it, but sometimes complaints pop up that are legit in this case, NONE!!!

 

I am not going to respond to every comment, just a couple: No trays: Princess has started the same policy, why I don't know but have heard it has to do with sanitation.

 

NCL charged you $5 to get to town: are you sure they did that. The port is where it is, no one can control that.

 

Booze: this has been NCLs policy for years now. Too bad you didn't check prior to sailing or maybe you did and you thought you would beat the system. Especially during the beginning of spring break you could have figured things would be pretty tight.

 

$6.00 T-bone: Holy cow, give me the secret to where you can find a $6 T bone; around here it is running closer to $10 a lb.

 

And last but not least the $10 per day tips. First you try to smuggle booze, then you withhold the tips from those who have no control over the policy; do I smell cheap here?

 

enjoy your next cruise, whatever line you choose.

 

Nita

[snorklinbarb]

You flaunted the well known booze policy and then to protest it you took it out on the crew?:eek::rolleyes:

 

The few who you rewarded, in case you didn't know, are required to put that $ back into the pool. If you left the daily charge on and wanted to reward a particular crewmember, he/she would be allowed to keep the extra.

 

Other than using words like horrible you did nothing to detail the poor food and service you experienced.

 

I met another poster Chrislynn55 on the QM2 last Sept. When she told me she would be on the Gem this March, I hoped she would love it as much as I have twice now. Happy to see her here saying that she had a great time. Personally I found NCL's service superior to what we experienced on QM2.

 

Sorry you didn't experience that at all. Hopefully you will find a line more in line with your tastes and needs.

[mbisson]

Normally, I can at least feel badly for a person if they don't enjoy a cruise...

 

BUT NOT THIS TIME! That's the most pathetic excuse for a review I've ever read.

[lovesublime]

The fact that you smuggled liquor and then spited the crew by withholding the $10 a day service charge tells me who the real cheapo is here :rolleyes:

[lil buddy]

Your attitude and rudeness speaks volumes about you.

I am sure that NCL didn't like you anymore than you liked

them.

Your complaints are totally insane and inaccurate and to all you

future GEM or NCL cruisers, just ignore this one. The Gem and crew were outstanding.

[freestylecruizer]

All I can add is Boo-Hoo.

It's a cruise. Enjoy.

Some people just go on a cruise to find fault.

[LemurCat]

It's a cruise ship, not a royal freakin' yacht.

 

I swear, sometimes people just expect w-a-y too much out of life ...

[petesweet]

" . . . and we did not meet anyone as we were usually ushered to a table for 2 without being asked."

Sounds to me as though your reputation preceded you. Who would want to sit with you and hear you rant for the entire meal?

[ohioNCLcruiser]

I feel sad for people like you. I bet you have one sad life. Taking the crew's tips off because you got caught breaking a rule of the ship...wow

[taxmantoo]

" . . . and we did not meet anyone as we were usually ushered to a table for 2 without being asked."

 

 

Sounds to me as though your reputation preceded you. Who would want to sit with you and hear you rant for the entire meal?

 

That's why we love freestyle...can you image sitting with him/her for 7 dinners? Well, really 6 dinners in fact as they probably would not have showed up on "tip" night...

[mbisson]

That's why we love freestyle...can you image sitting with him/her for 7 dinners? Well, really 6 dinners in fact as they probably would not have showed up on "tip" night...

 

ROTFLMAO!!!

 

touché!

[chrisbd1]

That's why we love freestyle...can you image sitting with him/her for 7 dinners? Well, really 6 dinners in fact as they probably would not have showed up on "tip" night...

Tee-hee :D

[JohnIreland]

cancelled on of the $10 per day “service charges”

 

sad, just sad......:mad:

[carontori]

ROTFLMAO!!!

 

 

I'd love to know what this means, but I assume it can't be said on the boards:D

[Kingmaker_inc]

ROTFLMAO!!!

 

Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off.

[carontori]

 

Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off.

 

Awesome,:D Thanks!

[mbisson]

ROTFLMAO!!!

 

 

I'd love to know what this means, but I assume it can't be said on the boards:D

 

I try to control my language on the boards :D

[S&S Cruisers 1983]

Wow, you sound like a joy to cruise with! :rolleyes:

We will be on the Gem in November and I know we will have a great time. How do I know this you ask? 1. We would never try to sneak booze on and therefore there would be no need to get mad over losing half a bottle of booze. 2. We will know our $10 per day tip will be well deserved since the crew really does work hard. 3. Since you did not like the Gem, you will not be on it with us!