Gem review(Jun 8th-15th)Pretty long(winded)

[marlin1518]

Ok, so here I go !! Hope I remember everything !!

 

I went on the Gem June 8th through the 15th with my wife and 2 kids. My wife and I are 44 and my kids are 17 and 12. We have been on 5 cruises with the last 3 on NCL.

 

We left Orlando airport on Saturday night at 5pm and went to Atlanta, then a direct flight landing in Barcelona at 11am their time. We flew Delta and had no problems at all, even with luggage !! Let me now go into some info that all people taking this trip should know<< I will try to let you know more when I get to the home part of my review. Barcelona airport is absolutely crazy >> People << when you get there just relax !! If you have never traveled out of the U.S. and went to an airport outside of this country you are in for an eye-opening experience !! It is very crowded, even more so then say Atlanta or New York. And of course not all speak your language !!

 

Once we went through customs and got our luggage we headed through the masses of people and headed outside to the taxi stand. Taxis were plentiful and moved very quickly. They have these very small cars and although they have a lot of trunk space for your luggage there is no people space. I am of average height 5'10" and I was literally eating the dashboard of this car !! They do have mini vans but we did not get these.

This next bit of info should also be helpful>> The taxi drivers do not speak english at all or they are just playing stupid !! Either way if you have your e-docs with you and show the driver the front page with the port info he will know where to go . Eveyone on CC who said that the taxi costs 30 Euro from airport to port was correct !! It was 30.25 Euros with the 4 bag allowance added to the meter. The trip took approximately 20 minutes from airport to port.

 

Once at the port we were met immediately by porters who took your bags from the taxi.

 

We then went inside the terminal and went directly up to the counter as there were no lines when we checked in(this was at approximately 1pm) The check-in process was very smooth and we were heading on board in about 5 minutes.

 

When you get on board the Gem you are met by an employee who takes you into the atrium and gets you a glass of champagne and will escourt you to the Garden cafe. However, since reading these posts I asked him to take us to the Grand Pacific for our first lunch, which he did with no questions asked !!

 

Once inside the Grand Pacific we were immediately seated and ordered lunch. My wife had the Tilapia and the kids and I had the BBQ ribs. All items served were good.

 

We then went to our cabin(mini suite 11016) and as for the room, it was very clean, nicely appointed and we loved the balcony.

 

The Gem is a beautiful ship with amazing decor. The public rooms are all easily accessible. There is plenty of things to do if you want to and nothing to do if that's what you want to do !!

 

The next thing I would like to mention is that we walked by the pool area many times and there was always chairs and loungers available. My son and I did finally use the pool and hot tub on the last evening of the cruise. The pool is heated, however getting out of the pool when it is approximately 75 degrees and there is a 40 knot wind blowing is pretty interesting at best !!!

 

Let me hit on the food now. We ate at the Grand Pacific D.R. once for lunch, once for breakfast and once for dinner. All meals were good to excellent, service was very good and the atmosphere was nice. All 3 times we were seated at the back window !!!

 

We did go to the Garden cafe often as it is just more convieient timewise for us. The food was very good all the items that we chose to eat was cooked properly. And we did not have any trouble finding a place to sit except for one morning and that wasen't a problem you just have to walk a little further down food the food area.

 

We did go several times to the great outdoors when the garden cafe was closed and although they have a limited food selection all was good and sitting on the back of the ship outside was breathtaking !!!

 

We ate at Tequilas once and this is a no cost specialty restaurant. They have chips and salsa on the tables and the food was very good and the service was also very good. My 12 year old son does not like Mexican so the waitress went across the ship to the Blue Lagoon and brought him some chicken tenders and fries . Just a quick note for people with kids, my son loved the fries, said they were like Mcdonalds fries but better >>>

 

Now I saved my best restaurant for last !! We ate at La Cucina twice. There is a $10 dollar per person cover charge but please note that children are half price. So for the 4 of us it was $30 dollars to eat there.

The table has different types of bread, they bring out trays of olives and a diced tomato dip, the waiter brings out an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing for dipping the breads in. The restaurant is very Olive garden looking in appearance. My wife had the lobster ravioli and would still be eating it today if we were still on the ship. She absolutely loved this dish !! I had the chicken parm. and I still want to know how they get a piece of chicken to be so moist !!! Food and service in this restaurant was very good.

 

Now for the ports of call...

 

Malta is a small island town that is very old and picturesque. We did not take a excursion here. We got off the boat and followed the masses up,up, up all the hills to the main shopping area !! I guess this is a good time to tell all that Europe is expensive !!! I will just hit on 1 detail here. We were thirsty and found a Burger King there and went inside and bought 3 fountain sodas and it was $6.30 Euros so about oh $12.00 U.S. for 3 cokes !!

 

Next onto Naples were we did the Flavors of Sorrento and Pompeii tour. The tour was very nice and informative. Do bring some extra water with you to pompeii. There is alot of wlking there and it does get hot >>>

 

The next stop is Rome !! And in our opinion I wish the ship would cut out either Malta or Villefrenche and do extra time in Rome !! Rome is amazing and there is too much to see in 1 day.. We did the tour Rome the classic city tour and was very good !! The vatican is an amazing place and very breathtaking..

 

Next onto Pisa.. We took the tour visit to Pisa, it is a short tour which takes you directly to the tower. People this is where you need to watch your property !! This is the worst by far area for pickpockets and thieves !! Do not be scared to go, just be aware of your surroundings. The tower is an amazing site and one not to be missed.

 

Last stop was in villefranche. no tour here so after breakfast we got off the ship( this is the only port that you have to use a tender boat) and went into town. Once again it is up,up,up to the center of town. Personally I did not think that much of the town. It is pretty but not much to do there.

 

Getting off the ship is a snap and once off the ship it was a taxi ride back to the airport and then here is what I was trying to tell you earlier. Please give yourself some time to get through the check-in process. Unlike in the U.S. where there are many ticket counters for all airlines, here in Barcelona there are many different airline(booths) all in the same area. It took a while to find the Delta booth. Once in line it moves slowly because there are no self sereve kiosks. Once you get through the line it is then upstairs to the next security checkpoint and then onto the customs checkpoint. Then onto your gate area. All I am saying is give yourself some extra time to not get so stressed out !!!

 

If anyone has questions just ask I know I am forgetting alot of things but have more info if needed !!! And oh by the way I would sail NCL and the Gem again in a heartbeat !!!! Hope some of this helps

[Travel Nymph]

Thank you for the review. It was informational and not long winded IMO.

 

When you say "give yourself some more time at airport" do you mean like 2 hours? 3 hours? The night before?:D

 

Were reservations at the restaurants a problem?

Were there long lines or everything pretty smooth?

 

Is 2.0 now totally in effect? Did you get fruit bowls and cookies?

 

Do you recommend the Pompei trip? Did you hear anyone talk about the Herculem vs Pompei tour?

 

Did you go to any shows and how were they?

Spa?

 

We are on Gem in Sept. Don't want to wish my summer away, but hope the days hurry up.

 

Thanks, Joy

[iliveforvacation]

Thanks for the review, I am leaving for the Gem in 23 days and am excited!! I too am taking the Visit to Pisa tour-can you give more info? Thanks!

[marlin1518]

Thank you for the review. It was informational and not long winded IMO.

 

When you say "give yourself some more time at airport" do you mean like 2 hours? 3 hours? The night before?:D

 

Were reservations at the restaurants a problem?

Were there long lines or everything pretty smooth?

 

Is 2.0 now totally in effect? Did you get fruit bowls and cookies?

 

Do you recommend the Pompei trip? Did you hear anyone talk about the Herculem vs Pompei tour?

 

Did you go to any shows and how were they?

Spa?

 

We are on Gem in Sept. Don't want to wish my summer away, but hope the days hurry up.

 

Thanks, Joy

 

We used the purple luggage tags off the ship which is at 845 am by the time we got our bags and went for the taxi it was a little after 9am. After the ride to the airport and checking in we were at our gate aprroximtely 11 am so I would say about 2 hours !!!

 

We stayed in a mini suite and were able to reserve dinner reservations 48 hours in advance. When we booked there was never a problem gettint the exact time that we wanted.. No waits once there either. All very smooth.

 

2.0 is in full effect and yes there was a fruit bowl and 2 chocolate cookies on the last night also !!!

 

I do reccommend the Pompeii trip and heard nothing about the other sorry no help for that one <<

 

No shows or spa << played shuffleboard,ping pong and basketball with the kids !!

 

Hope this helps !!

[marlin1518]

Thanks for the review, I am leaving for the Gem in 23 days and am excited!! I too am taking the Visit to Pisa tour-can you give more info? Thanks!

 

We took the visit to Pisa tour in the afternoon. You get off the ship at 115 pm and go directly to the tour buses waiting there at the port. It is approximately a 25 minute ride to a parking lot the a 15 minute walk to the tower. Once there a guide will take you around the property telling you about the area then you will have about 2 hours to take pictures and by trinkets and stuff >>

[marlin1518]

Thanks for the review, I am leaving for the Gem in 23 days and am excited!! I too am taking the Visit to Pisa tour-can you give more info? Thanks!

 

We took the visit to Pisa tour in the afternoon. You get off the ship at 115 pm and go directly to the tour buses waiting there at the port. It is approximately a 25 minute ride to a parking lot the a 15 minute walk to the tower. Once there a guide will take you around the property telling you about the area then you will have about 2 hours to take pictures and by trinkets and stuff >>

[doglover3]

Thanks for the review. It was very helpful. We'll be leaving for our trip in two weeks, so we're getting very excited. We have BA balcony cabins, one which will have three adults in it. I know the minisuites are a little bigger, but wonder how you felt about the space in the cabin? Was there room once they pulled out the sofa bed and how comfortable was that bed? Thanks in advance.:)

[marlin1518]

Thanks for the review. It was very helpful. We'll be leaving for our trip in two weeks, so we're getting very excited. We have BA balcony cabins, one which will have three adults in it. I know the minisuites are a little bigger, but wonder how you felt about the space in the cabin? Was there room once they pulled out the sofa bed and how comfortable was that bed? Thanks in advance.:)

 

 

The space in the cabin for 4 was a little tight but not bad. My wife and I had plenty of room in the main bed and the kids stayed on the sleeper sofa. The main bed was amazing !! Very comfortable !! As for the other bed it was a little hard for my liking but it did serve it's purpose !! Hope that helped !!

[doglover3]

Marlin1518, thanks for the quick reply. Yes that helps put my mind at ease. I think we'll manage!

[tentola]

Ok, so here I go !! Hope I remember everything !!

 

 

 

The taxi drivers do not speak english at all or they are just playing stupid !!

!! I guess this is a good time to tell all that Europe is expensive !!! I will just hit on 1 detail here. We were thirsty and found a Burger King there and went inside and bought 3 fountain sodas and it was $6.30 Euros so about oh $12.00 U.S. for 3 cokes !!

 

 

Hi

 

Thank you for a nice review, and we look forward to our trip on the Gem in August. I would like to know why you feel that the taxi drivers in Barcelona should speak English? Normally taxi drivers are not likely to be highly educated and therefore can not be expected to be multilingual.

I have lived in Spain for 5 years and I have great difficulty in communicating, but this is due to my laziness and do not expect everyone else to speak English. Did you try speaking Spanish to him?

 

Also Europe would be more expensive when 6.3 euro's = $12. It actually = about $9.5. Europe is only expensive due to the current US financial crisis leading to an extreme weakness of the Dollar.

Sorry to be picky Europe is not the USA an have to expect differences. After all, that is why we travel.

[northanstar]

Thanks for your trip report. We're off on the Gem in few weeks time and very much looking forward to it. I'd just like to add one thing though if I may. When visiting a foreign country, is it not customary for the locals to expect you to speak their language, and not for them to speak yours?

[cynbar]

We are just off the Gem and spent 2 days in Barcelona. In the city, most everyone we encountered spoke at least some English, so we had no problem although we don't speak a word of Spanish. The taxi drivers, however, did not. I had read a tip from a previous cruiser re writing the name and address of your destination on a piece of paper and giving it to the driver --- this worked great for us, I'm not sure if we would have reached our hotel otherwise! Our guide book had some Spanish phrases in it along with proper pronunciation but we never had to use it.

[marlin1518]

I do not want to get bashed here so I will tread lightly on this subject. I do speak some spanish and was able to get where I needed to go, however, since these taxi drivers go from the airport to the cruise ship terminal on a daily basis I thought that they should have some english in their vocabulary. The cab rides that I had to and from the port were nice(no problems) But as I know a little spanish I just thought they might know a little english !!!