Laszlo

3 hours ago, slidemaster5 said:

 

If you are in a full suite then you will have the Moderno's for breakfast and Cagney's for lunch options along with priority embark/disembark. We enjoyed that and got to know other cruisers and the staff since it is a smaller group.

 

From a price standpoint I agree that on the jewel class ships the suite may be a better value. I disagree, however, with those that say it's no good because it's too small:

 

(1) The jewel class does not have a Haven dedicated restaurant, but we have the same menu in the private restaurants. Granted we lose the dinner option. I enjoyed the change of venue.

(2) Sure, the Haven pool and area is small but there are only 18 Haven suites. Also, the Haven sun deck has enough cabanas and loungers for a small army. That was one perk I didn't expect. We basically had the pool and whirlpool and cabanas to ourselves. To each their own. Once we go on a larger ship we can compare firsthand. 

I confused you sorry, when I said small area I meant the size of the Haven and Suite check in area at the pier in Boston, not the size of the Haven on the ship

On our cruise the cheapest Haven cabin was almost twice the price of the suite we have. Been in the Haven on the Escape and GA and really like them

58 minutes ago, slidemaster5 said:

 

Shows

Day 2 was Blazing Boots. My wife is into country and liked it. I am not into country so for me it was meh. 

 

Day 3 and Day 5 was Music and Comedy of Tom Franek. We missed Day 3. He does a few standup bits but mostly plays piano and sings with the band. Some songs are comical some are straight. He is classically trained so he can play. If you have ever seen Victor Borge (before my time but I have seen him on YouTube) he is similar. Enjoyed this show - especially when he took requests similar to "Whose Line is it Anyways" show.

 

Day 6 was Whitney Houston Everlasting. Brand new show on any ship (we were told). This is basically an avatar show with Whitney avatar singing actual vocals mixed with live singers and band. I was hesitant going in but actually enjoyed it. Weird seeing people giving a standing ovation to an avatar but the live singers and band made it feel "real" at times.

 

Day 7 was Get Down Tonight. I was looking forward to this show being familiar with 70s music and I thought it was bad. The issue I had was you don't have to imitate the original artist, but you need to emote the song. Most of the songs were like "Glee meets the 70s" - bland. A few singers can actually sing and emote; the other singers were ugh. The post show parade of crew members was better than the show, lol. 

 

For all shows I thought the Gem Orchestra was solid. We thought the house band "Upgrade" was ok. We mainly saw them at Sail Away.

 

 

Food

 

We were in the Haven so I will discuss Dinner. We did two meals in Cagney's and several in MDR, O'Sheehans,  and tried the buffet. Cagney's was a bit disappointing since they overcooked my steak on the first attempt. (I also wanted to eat fish, but the fish option is gone - see new thread on new menu). The sides we had were ok. The deserts were very good. MDR - I found to be a hit or miss. I recommend trying the daily specials as they seem to be better than the fixed menu. Buffet seemed average at best. We did go there once when they had rotisserie chicken special and that was very good. We occasionally did "run-ins" to grab something over the course of the day - especially sea days. O'Sheehans pub food was what I expected it to be, and we enjoyed it.

 

We found the actual service to be good and consistent between Haven meals in Moderno/Cagney's and MDR. We used Grand Pacific for all MDR.

 

 

Thanks!

               We are in a forward suite, not Haven but that's OK since the Gem doesn't have a dedicated Haven restaurant. Never cruised out of Boston but I have heard the Haven / Suite area is very small?

22 minutes ago, slidemaster5 said:

 

Got off the Gem this morning. Pleasantly surprised how good she looked. The motif is the older wood finishes which gives a darker look, but I did not see any worn-out common areas.

 

 

 

Will be on her in three weeks. I hope she looked good they just did a refurbishment about two years ago. How was the food and shows? I've heard the shows are lacking

4 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Try the Jade.  She is a renovated  classic ship without the bells and whistles.  I would recommend getting at least couple nights specialty dining.

Same with the Gem

Fantastic Start!!

6 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

For those who are unfamiliar, @Laszlo does excellent cruise vids.  Worth checking out.  Just one example.  

 

 

Thank you!

Will be docked in Bermuda for two nights in a few weeks. We have a forward cabin on the Gem with a huge balcony. I was hoping to do some night time lapse of the stars with my GoPro. I've done them from home and they turn out very nice. If the stars are bright I do a 20 second exposure. Has anyone tried this before? I wondering if the moment from the ship will be too much?

3 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Amen to that.  Then, there were always the people who felt they shouldn't be bothered with the Muster Drill and refused to find a seat, and as you point out, be quiet for 5 minutes to listen to the drill.  Then, there were the drunks who were the worst.  How can someone get that drunk, that quickly, from the time they boarded until the Muster Drill?  Never understood that.

 

Anyway. I like the muster drill procedures as they are now.  

 

Have looked at those Forward Suites a lot.  Never pulled the trigger on one.  Be interested in hearing your thoughts when you board.

 

Are you going to do a review here on CC?

I do plan to do a review, not sure if it will be live or not. One thing I will absolutely be doing is a cabin tour of our cabin on deck 10. I'm looking forward to the large deck. My wife is worried about her hair blowing around Lol. I also plan to do a bunch of time lapse videos. Another video I will be doing is on the Thermal Spa, in fact I just booked my pass. $199... ugh... but we got rid of our hot tub a year ago and I miss not having one. Our friends who we are sailing with bought the pass also. I don't plan to spend much time in there is the weather is nice but it will be nice to have and will be a very short walk from our cabin

13 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Interesting point.  Come to think of it, this is the first time my photo uploaded without a hitch when I checked in, either.  At least one thing is working on the NCL WEB site. 😉

 

I figure I've watched the safety video once.  Probably hit me up again the day before the cruise.  Hit me up again once I board and get to my cabin.  That's the very least.  Could be 2X that.  LOL!

 

You have to be getting suited, too!

Yes, we are in a forward suite. Our last cruise on the GA in the Haven I remember they had someone right their as we walked onto the ship from our muster station to scan our cards. I don't miss not going to the muster drill. It was always a cluster trying to get out of the area once it wrapped up. It was also burn me up with about 25% of the people not being able to shut up for 10 minutes while it's going on and causing delays

20 hours ago, graphicguy said:

She sees me packing.  She is not happy!!!!😃 

 

Just did our online check in for our cruise in three weeks. I think this is the first time our photos uploaded without a hitch. Last cruise I must have spent a half hour trying to get them to work (same photos as the cruise before). Finally worked, we arrived at the pier to check in and get our cabin cards. The woman said we need to take your photos again. I wanted to say no you are not I spent a half hour doing and you are using them Lol

I watched the safety video, I wonder how many emails we will get to watch it again, and again lol

5 minutes ago, julig22 said:

My thoughts exactly. And I've never been asked for my DOB, email address only when confirming where to send the confirmation.

 

Unless the "scammer" has some sort of inside access (TA/PCC), they really couldn't count on being able to book the upgraded room when it opened up. Since I'm not privy to how the bid process works at that point, I can only speculate that a vacant room goes into the open-for-purchase pile first, before it's available. So grudge/revenge jumps to mind, or a random prank.

 

@Laszlo no, they do not keep your passport info on file. Or at least not in a place where an agent would have access. It's been debated whether or not they keep it at all.

There is no requirement to even have a passport in order to make a reservation - and if you are a first-time cruiser, that info is only entered when you check-in at day 21.

I am only assuming its kept somewhere. Before our last cruise two years ago I had to call because of a problem. One of their customer service people asked if my passport ended it XYZ. Maybe thats all they had maybe they had the whole thing

Yup.... Escape all the way

15 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

How would you propose that they verify that the person on the phone is in fact the person holding the reservation?

Very easy, NCL has my birthdate and passport number on file. Along with my cell number, home number and address

21 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Oh WOW...that's the shiznit!!!!!!  Very nice!

 

Before my S6, I had the S4....my '98 Cobra convertible. who I bought from a Ford Engineer (transmission plant locally) who bought it new for his 60th birthday.  Only had 38K miles on it.

Quick story of my teens. A family friend, a wealthy family friend owned a wholesale auto dealership. I worked for him for 5 summers 82-87 in HS and college. We went around to car auctions buy cars, detailing them and moving them out. Dave the owner had a stable of vintage race cars. On the weekends he would race at tracks like Watkins Glen, Lime Rock, Mid Ohio. Not only did I get to drive at these tracks he paid for some race classes. It was a freaking blast. One of the perks of the job was I got a car to use 7 days a week. I drove everything from pickups to Triumphs and everything in-between. At that time he had about a dozen cars in his collection. My favorite was his 1969 Lamborghini Miura with a V12 side winder engine its still the most beautiful car I have ever seen. I always joked to him about how he was going to leave me that car when he passed. I never did get the car but in those four years I learned a huge amount about cars and have had a blast. I was also the envy of every single one of my guy friends. I made a point of getting a photo of myself next to every cool car I drove. I one point I had over 100 pictures. Unfortunately those pictures were lost in a fire in college. I saw a 69 Miura go up for sale last year, it sold for 1.4M

Now back to the cruise......

Will be leaving on the Gem on the 28th. Let me know if their are any photos or video you want to see. As of now they only two video walk thru I have planned are the Thermal Spa and our forward suite on deck 10. 

I love the Jewel class ships. However if you are staying in the Haven I would be on the Escape

15 hours ago, graphicguy said:

You are/were at the top of the “cool” hill with a 900 ‘vert.  

 

Had a mid ‘80s 900 16v that was ratty.   But it was fun.

 

Such cool, innovative cars! 

 

Couldn’t believe…

 

A)  GM bought them

B)  GM totally mismanaged them

 

I keep hearing there’s a warehouse in the EU somewhere that is just filled with brand new SAABs.  

 

Not sure I believe that but have seen old shuttered dealerships with new cars sitting in old showrooms untouched!

 

A few weeks ago I went to look at 2010 93 Areo with 16K miles on it at a dealership here in PA that specializes in Saab's. It was dam near mint condition. They were asking 25K which was behind my budget for that car.

My 2008...

16 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Ummmm.....pretty fast.  Sleek?  Probably not!

 

Would love sleek and fast, though.

 

Corvette would work. But having test driven one (which was a blast), and then having to "push" myself up out of it, not really a "thing" for me.  Funny, every person I've ever seen driving a Corvette has had trouble getting in and/or out of it, not because it's an ergonomic catastrophe, but because they are way older when they first dreamt of buying one.  LOL!

 

I had an Audi S6..fast as greased lightening.  Nightmare for upkeep on it.

 

 

Had a Mustang Cobra Convertible.....fun car.  But sold it as I was garaging it idle for 8 months out of the year.

 

Love fast cars.  Kind of leaning into being more comfortable these days, though.

I hear you, my nice weather ride is a 2008 Saab 93 convertible. I absolutely love it. 100K issue free miles. I was heartbroken when Saab shut down

29 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I'll get over it.  I wasn't hurt.  

 

Just got info from the other guy's insurance.  I went to their local office and the local agent had a check waiting for me AFTER I signed their paperwork and MEDICAL WAIVER (insurance companies always are afraid the medical issues).

 

Did a lot of shopping over the last few days.  Getting inundated with sales voice and emails.

 

Think I've settled on one.  

 

All's well that ends well.

Something sleek and fast? Lol

12 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

While shipyards are equipped to provide shore power to most commercial vessels while in dry dock, the amount of power needed (and the voltage) for a cruise ship is just too much for yards to provide.  As with nearly all diesel powered ships, the engines on a cruise ship have a three level cooling system.  There is a fresh water cooling system that is just for each separate engine (this is the "high temp" system), and this system is cooled by another fresh water system (this is the "low temp" system), which also cools things like air compressors, AC chillers, etc, and then this system is finally cooled by sea water.  In drydock, there is a connection to the sea water cooling system, where the shipyard connects a hose and provides sea water (from their pumps that fill and empty the dock), which after it cools the engine, the overboard of the sea water system also has a connection and a hose is connected here and led to the dock's drains, which the dock's pumps keep emptying.

Interesting, thanks for the info

On 6/2/2024 at 5:45 AM, chengkp75 said:

I wouldn't worry yet.  It is only 16-18 hours from Brest to Southampton, so if they flood the dock anytime before Wednesday morning, they would be on schedule.  Typically, rather than interrupt services and access for workers while flooding, only to have to re-establish these things after the ship is afloat for the last couple of days of work, they will put off refloating until the very end.  It also gives the bottom paint more time to cure before immersion.

Off the topic question....

How is the ship powered when they are in dry dock? I'm assuming all of ships internal engines are water cooled from the sea

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

hey laszlo, yes, but (1) would your recognize the songs (2) what if you anger travis kelce?

IDK about Travis but Jason is a nice guy

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

i would just like to address your comment on "songs people know" please consider that people of different age groups "know different songs" i know doo wopp songs from the 50's and early 60's, sung by some groups people have never heard of. I'm also 76 and even if she's probably the most visible entertainer in the universe right now, i wouldnt know a taylor swift song if she were sitting on my lap and serenading me. in 1972, when i was 22 and my nephew was about 11, we were discussing one of his school projects involving music, and he had no idea who the DOORS were.

also, i understand many people around the mid 70's had no idea paul macartney was in a band before WINGS (hard as that may be to believe). consequently, it's probably impossible for any musical act to play songs all "people know" . With a few thousand people on board, im sure any cruise line will have to  select many of their offerings to  appeal to the largest amount of passengers.  as rick nelson once sang "you cant please everyone"

we were on the star this past april and it was our 30th ncl cruise. out of all of them, this was the most disappointing, the food was horrible, although i cant complain about the service

probably unlike most cruisers, the onboard entertainment is completely  irrelevant to me.

as for 2+ hour dinners, 1st off, im not in any particular hurry, and trying to feed a few 100 people in specialty restaurants, or even greater numbers in the mdr's will take some time.

so while i am truly sorry you were disappointed i the above, i hope the itinerary, your cabin choice, and the price you paid offset the -  aspects

Taylor Swift can sit on my lap and serenade all she wants LOL

15 minutes ago, Nowcruise5 said:

Just off the NCL Star cabin 6970. FYI this cabin has one American plug, one UK plug and one French plug. Also two USB plugs. The USB plugs are on the under side of the two bed lights. I purchased adapter plugs from Amazon they worked great

These adapters work great. Been using them for years on cruises and when we travel abroad

https://amzn.to/4aLecEj

We ran into the same issue in St Lucia on the Getaway. We were there with the Epic and a Carnival ship. All of us docked about the same time. We made the mistake of signing up for a beach excursion. The beach was 5 miles away. It took us over 90 minutes to get to the beach with traffic, this after the busses were already 45 minutes wait due to traffic. So our excursion which was supposed to give us 4 hours on the beach turned into less than two hours. While back on the ship so many people complained about it we all got a full refund