poohdreaming

Trivia in the morning and in the afternoon.

Jogging / gym activities as well as other activities - it will be listed the night before for next day event.

Some other activities needed $$ - art classes, bingo, game shows.

At Bermuda - Horseshoe Bay and NCL free ferry to St. George- (make sure you line up in time for the first or second ferry to St. George).

At St. George - make sure you visit the unfinished church.

If you like to go shopping, most cruisers went to Hamilton.

You will need to pay for a ferry to Hamilton or take a bus there.

18 minutes ago, Northern Light said:

I am considering a solo cabin.  Is there a grab bar in the shower and where is the toilet. Thanks for posting photos.

The toilet is across from the shower, next to the tall mirror.

12 hours ago, KansasTexan said:

Helpful responses here. Thanks! I have a studio cabin booked on the Bliss in May. Still not sure if I'm actually traveling solo or not. (Friends are looking at booking on their own.) I'm used to traveling solo so I'm good either way but it sounds like my decision to book Studio was good if only for the use of the lounge and also for any possible coordination for dinners if I don't feel like eating alone. 

Just a head up - you do not need to be in a studio in order to hang out with solo travelers or meet up with other cruisers for dinners and shows. When solo travelers have their meetings- the studio lounge is opened up to anyone.

The studio is best if you do not mind the small cabin, having the shower in the same room, and wanted access to the lounge for drinks and snacks.

Yes, it will be opened in the evening as it docked at Bermuda for a few days.

It is usually to send you a treat to your cabin when they asked for your name and cabin number.

On my last cruise - I attended the meet and greet. When I came back to the cabin, desserts were in the room.

There are some activities that they could do on their own or partake in:

Aqua Park / Water Grotto / Spice H2O

Sports Complex

Hangout at the District Brew House / Waterfront

Join other cruisers at meetings like solo travelers

Join / go to the meet & greet on your cruise

Some needed additional $$ - Art Classes, Video Games, Game Shows

It should not be hard to meet new friends as you mentioned that it is a cruise during Spring Break.

If no friends or group of people near their age to hang out, they should still be able to enjoy themselves on the cruise.

Hello AlohaLivin, I just booked a cruise with a port stop in San Juan. No shore excursions or research done yet. I am interested in the tour that you shared with other cruisers. Thanks. Email address: yuzhenlu8@gmail.com

It would be best to call ahead of time to reserve for a party of 9 for the regular main dining as well as for any specialty restaurants and for shows. At the main dining room - the table can either be 1 big round table or 2 separate tables near each other.

Hi,

You can search on google for the menu as well as for ncl daily freestyle newsletters on a cruise.

If you wanted to see a preview of previous menus, go to this site:

https://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-gem-menus.html

You can then click around to see other things from that site.

Trivia in the morning, noon and in the evening.

A Movie shown, shopping events/sales/tastings/demos

You will not be bored. There are plenty of things to do.

It must be too late to fill out a form. NCL usually requested cruisers with allergies to fill out a form at least 2 weeks before the cruise so they can prepare. Since this is not like gluten free food, I would advise your friend or whoever the person that have the allergy to see the maitre'd once on board. Also to let the server know when sitting down for dinner at a dining room about the food allergies. If spoken to the maitre'd ahead of time, the food would be already prepared unless she/he wanted something else at the main dining rooms. For the buffet, they do not have control over this.

Haven on the GEM is not good compared to the newer cruise ships. If you wanted just the perks, book 2 balcony room. You did not mention your tier level with NCL. Are you or someone else in the group a platinum with NCL? If so, book a book in your name and the other room in someone else name.

Anytime before the cruise and when you are on the cruise ship. If you are a previous NCL cruiser, you get certain % discount for shore excursions. It depend on your tier level. Some of the shore excursions might be sold out before you are on board.

Usually needed at least 3 hours window for airport/flying. You would also need to be there early to go through the security and all that at the airport. Before that, you need to be able to get off quickly and then to go through the security at the cruise terminal. Even if you do the walk off or be the first in line to get off, you would not have enough time.

You need to factor other things:

What if there is a delay of docking/allowing cruisers to get off?

The traffic in the city

I believe on Deck 8 - Outside of the 5 o'clock somewhere bar or the sugarcane mojito bar. There are places all over the cruise ship that have some seats/chairs.

The district brew house - you can view the outside inside the bar.

Vibe passes - you need to arrive early to the cruise terminal to hope to be able to get in the first group that board the cruise ship. When boarded, you need to run/walk fast to where they sell these vibe passes. Only a limited passes.

Cartons of milk are available in the buffet. Same for apple juice and other juices. It will be switched after breakfast. Iced tea/flavored juices are available as well as coffee/hot chocolate/hot water. I usually use lemons and hot water. I do not remember seeing milk after breakfast so be sure to grab some & put it in the fridge later. On the first day, tell the cabin steward to empty of all drinks. Yes, there are comp. room service, it is only for specific items and you would need to fill out the form. Some people used room service to get their first cup of coffee as well as some goodies.

The snow room is in the spa area section. For people to go in if they wanted to after a hot steam/sauna. You can visit the snow room on the first day of the cruise when they do the spa tour. You would be able to see the snow room and have a feel of it during the spa tour. It is full of snow/very cold in there for sure.

This is not the ice bar/room where some cruises have them. The Escape do not have this.

Excuse me, but I am wondering why are you making this so complex? If you wanted to avoid having to carry any cash or a lot of cash, you can carry credit cards unless you do not have credit cards. You can prepaid the gratuities ahead of the cruise.

Another option is using gift cards.

No noises in the studio lounge. The TV in there does not have any sound and the only thing/event that probably be most active/have a lot of people is the solo travelers meeting for 1 hour at a specific time shown on the NCL freestyle daily newsletter.

There's a door to access to studio cabins and to the studio lounge. If your cabin is not in the studio, you would not hear any noises and if the studio cabin is near the studio lounge - wont hear anything either.

It really depends on different situations. Some would book now in case no more cabins/price would be increased/they wanted specific cabin/closer to the floor/area they wanted so they do not have to walk too far.

Last minute - if any cabins are available, it will be probably be at a sail away rate or at expensive rate like only suites available.

I heard from other people on CC Forum that having a balcony cabin on the Alaska cruise was so worth it. Go read other people reviews.

Are you first timers with NCL? Wanted perks?

Studio cabins are usually less expensive than an inside cabin on cruise ships that have them.

If you are not going to be in the room all day & it is just for sleeping and you do not need a lot of room, then it is the perfect size.

The solo group meet up - for those cruise ships that have the studio lounge - it is open during that specific time.

Other cruise ships - will meet up at bliss lounge for example.

The location will be shown up on the NCL freestyle daily newsletter.

Yes, the best thing about the studio lounge is the coffee machine with different espresso drinks. :)

Yes, exams can be taken earlier or a later date. All your son have to do is to let all his professors know ahead of time. This can be done when classes start. If you wanted to know the schedule early, he can contact his professors if he know the email address. However do not expect to have a response from the professor. I have contacted my professors before classes start due. This was not for a vacation but for personal medical/informing them of my situation. Some do reply and some wait til the first day of class.

Travel insurance options - yes you can purchase one with cancel for any reason. Just need to shop around and compare prices.

Exam Date:

If any of his exams is on Monday or fall on his vacation dates, just ask professors if he can take the exam early.

In order to connect, you will first register your free internet using a device. All instructions will be on that page and all you have to do is remember to click logout or type the website something like logout.com so you will not use up all minutes.

They will have some slots such as the Wheel of fortune, 777's, poker, etc. You will be able to find one that you like to play with. Just walk around when it is closed so you will be able to know which game you are interested in. When opened, you already know where the machine is located at.

Well for the first night, it is more casual in specialty restaurants compared to any other nights.

In term of food, the first night might not be so perfect or have good services.

To each restaurants, every day is the same but to guests it does make a different.

You can call NCL, the department that addressed to help people to reserve for these dinners if you cannot do so online. You can also do so once on board either at the guest service or go to that specific restaurant to ask.