Tralfie

Having sailed several times on the gym, I have to admit that I do not get the popularity of Dan Dan, the ship's cruise director. Jess, Lermie and other members of the CD staff , I saw all over the place. He, on the other hand, seemed to show up only at the " big ticket" events. I also don't get the persona. Anyone who has listened to morning announcements knows the accent and mannerisms are fake, and to me, they play to the worst stereotypes. In most other places, that kind if thing would cause people to be uncomfortable at the very least. (imagine, for example, if I as a white person, donned blackface in order to "entertain"? Pretty sure that would not go over well.) I'm sure he's a perfectly lovely fellow, but... Yeah, I dint get it. Is it just me???

Richard

Wow, I really love the look of Serenity. It very much reminds me of Vibe on the Breakaway (although, if I'm not mistaken, Serenity is free... right?) I agree, though, Gambee... it would be nice if the hot tubs were covered! I love the way they have them in Vibe on breakaway... perfectly positioned for sitting in while you look out at the ocean, and yet with those umbrella-like covers.

I've only sailed NCL so far. The Breakaway (in the infamous Gambee stateroom) and the Gem. I'm doing the Gem again in two weeks, and have already booked the Breakaway (the Gambee balcony again!) for September 2016. But more and more, I find myself wanting to try another line. I've been wary of Carnival for various reasons, but geez, this review really makes me want to try this ship. (Then again, EVERY review you write makes me want to try whatever ship you happen to have just sailed! It's like I'm stalking you, but a year later.)

And I'll agree with all the others: It's nice seeing your smiling face in the pics! As much as I rather enjoyed the "mystery" of Gambee, seeing you is much more fun!

Richard/Tralfie

What a truly lovely post. You have a way with words that really allows us to, in conjunction with the pictures, feel as if we're sitting right beside you in the Wheelhouse club... which is where I imagine I, too, would be.

So far, I've only sailed two ships, NCL's Gem and Breakaway, largely because I'm a very big fan of homeporting. Of the two, Gem is my favorite because, like the Princess Sea, it is a smaller, more intimate, older boat. I don't need the bells and whistles of water slides and ice bars... give me a couple of comfortable bars in which to sip cocktails and relax, a few beautiful locations from which to stare out at the sea, and I'm happy as a clam...

Thanks so much for sharing.

Richard

This is one of those posts you stumble upon that just happens to address a concern you've been having... and makes you feel at least a little better. I just booked a Disney Cruise (the magic out of NYC in October 2016), and, as a solo traveler, this has been one of several things I'm concerned about. Glad to hear everyone's feedback!

Richard

With Gem going to San Juan for a while, I've been curious about this as well. I really hope that they bring in another jewel class ship so that we have the option of sailing big (Breakaway) or smaller (Gem). I'm such a fan of the smaller ships!

Richard/Tralfie

What most fail to take into account is this: Folks get all up in arms because of changes after they have booked their cruise. They want "grandfathered" in. But most of the things that they are complaining about are not things that are actually part of the cruise contract/agreement they have entered into. Nowhere in the contract does it say, for example, "You will get free room service" or "there wont' be an 18 percent gratuity added." Those things may be IMPLIED based on what is happening on the ship at the time you make your plans, but they are not guaranteed in the agreement.

The McDonalds analogy someone made earlier is interesting, but also inaccurate because it doesn't take into account the time between when you place an order (or purchase a cruise) and the time when you receive the food (or board the ship). For it to be accurate, you would have to order your hamburger months or even a year or more in advance, and come back to pick it up at a much latter date.

Someone mentioned that the total price of their vacation had gone up 20 percent thanks to these changes. That seems... pretty hard to believe. Not saying it's not true, simply a bit skeptical.

In any case, the bottom line is that nobody forces anyone to go on a cruise. And once on board, nobody forces anybody to partake in anything they don't want to partake in. Don't like the $8 fee for room service? There are certainly plenty of free options available. Don't like that they're now adding a gratuity to the UDP? Don't buy the UDP.

I guess I'm just of the mindset that I don't let the little things bother me. Do the changes thrill me? Of course not. But I'm also not gonna get so worked up about it that I start having arguments on message boards or trying to start a revolution. LOL. At that point, the vacation stopped being fun and I might as well just stay home.

Richard/Tralfie

So I spent this entire lovely Saturday afternoon lounging on the back deck, sipping a banana rum and Dr. Pepper (or several, if anyone's counting) while enjoying this review. As a NY/NJ native who is VERY big on homeporting, I've been considering this ship, so was glad to see so many fantastic pictures. I'm a big believer that not every ship is for every person... it completely depends on what you're looking to get out of the ship. My first cruise, in March 2014, was on the Breakaway... a decision I came to after reading Gambee's review of his experience on that boat. (I actually wound up, coincidentally, in the same room he'd been in when he cruised!) I loved the Breakaway, but it was a little bit too "big ship" for me. My second cruise was on the NCL Gem... which I fell in love with. It was exactly the right ship for me, both size wise and as far as the types of amenities it offered. In a weird way, your review has helped me decide that this probably isn't the ship for me. The restaurants don't really appeal to me, the shopping area feels too much like a mainstream mall, etc. There are things that I love and/or am intrigued by (270 n particular), but not enough to spend as much as it would cost for me to do this ship as an "experiment." I still do what to try another line, and possibly RC (given that they have ships sailing out of my homeports), but at least for now, I think I've decided to take a pass on this ship. But I can't wait to see more of your review, which I'm enjoying immensely!

Richard/Tralfie

I've done two solo cruises on NCL (three if you count a one night cruise-to-nowhere), one on Gem and one on Breakaway. Both were amazing, probably the best vacations I've ever taken in my life. This November, I'm heading to Walt Disney World for the Food & Wine festival and have been considering adding a 3 nighter on the Dream. But I'm a little concerned for a few reasons, largely because Disney Cruises are SO family oriented. While on NCL, I've basically always eaten by myself without a problem in any of the specialty restaurants, I worry that wouldn't be possible on Disney in their rotating main dining rooms (and I'm not really big on being seated with strangers)

Has anyone cruised solo on Disney? What was the experience like? Highs? Lows? Look forward to hearing!

Thanks in advance...

Richard/Tralfie

Regal Princess has several 3 day cruises out of Fort Lauderdale with no single supplement. Balcony room was around $450.

Richard/Tralfie

Am I right that most supplement-free offers are for inside rooms? I suppose I should try an inside room at some point, although I'm SUCH a balcony lover. I find it hard to imagine not having one!

Richard/tralfie

While I don't necessarily book the same cabin, I always book the same cabin category: Aft-facing balcony. I just can't get enough of staring at the wake while I sit on the balcony having a cocktail or simply watch the world go by!

Richard/Tralfie

I'm checking everyday for your next installment! My hubby would like to know what TV channels did you get? Are there decent movies to purchase and what is the cost? Also, please give us details about the spa? Is there a lap pool there? Thanks so much!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I'm going to be rather useless to you, I'm afraid, Holly!

Why do I say that? Because I never turned on the TV once! I didn't even watch my beloved Rachel Maddow, which I try never to miss! (It's worth noting that as the editor of a soap opera magazine, I actually get paid to watch TV... but I even gave up my soaps for the week!)

The spa did not have a lap pool. I saw people, early in the mornings, swimming laps in the adults only pool on the pool deck, if that helps...

Richard/Tralfie

DAY 2

Sorry for the delay... my phone had to be replaced, and all my notes about the cruise were on it!

When last we joined our story, Richard was a sad little camper. He was a little bit tipsy, kinda homesick... fortunately, a good night’s sleep changed all THAT nonsense! Work up Sunday, fresh from a great night’s sleep, and immediately went out onto the balcony to soak in the fact that I was on vacation and at sea, two of my favorite states of being.

Did I mention that the bed was crazy comfortable? I am, it's worth noting, a pillow lover. Not in the dirty sense, but in the sense that I can’t ever have enough pillows on a bed. So the fact that there were four on the bed, just for little ol’ me, was heavenly.

Eventually, I roused myself and decided to go exploring. I wound up checking out the spa and, as a result, bought the Thermal Spa pass, which was $149 for the week. (You could also buy day passes on certain days, but I decided to just go ahead and splurge! I kinda had On-Board Credits burning a whole in my pocket. After all, I'd prepaid for everything — the drink package, the meal plan — and yet had about $200 bucks worth of non-refundable credits!). For those unfamiliar, the thermal spa is kinda awesome. There’s a changing room — one for men, one for women — which offers an herbal steam room, a regular steam room, an individual soaking whirlpool tub, showers, robes, towels and lockers. Once changed, the main, unisex room features showers, a hot tub (sadly, not overlooking the ocean!), a huge thermal jet pool, heated tile loungers and more.

A word of warning: In the big thermal tub, there are two faucet-like things, one on either side. They are activated by pushing a button. DO NOT stand under them when activating the faucets, as the water coming out of them is HIGHLY pressurized. It'll rip your dang face off. LOL. They are, however, GREAT for massaging your back. The best technique? Turn them on, and then approach, backwards, with your body completely submerged in the water. Let your back get used to the pounding!

I was concerned that my kindle might not like the warm, moist air of the spa, so I decided to swing by the library (conveniently located right down the hall) and find a paperback. A day or two later, after seeing many people with their kindles in the spa, I decided to return the book I'd borrowed and stick with my kindle. But the library had a decent selection. One thing I'll say: They really should have put a room BETWEEN the library and the game room. Why? Because the library is, as you'd expect, extremely quiet... while the game room, on the other side of the wall, can get a bit raucous. Apparently, Majong is a loud game!

Anyway, I hit the gym for an hour — which probably meant I worked off, like, one pretzel roll — then went to the spa to relax and read for a while. I thought the spa might be crowded, with it being a sea day, but it wasn't at all. That held true the entire week. They sell a limited number of passes, and it really seemed to keep things from feeling at all claustrophobic.

Now that I was all relaxed, it was time to head to the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet! The main reason I was psyched for this was that I knew Marc and Francis would be there. I hadn't yet met them, but he’d reached out to me after reading on our Roll Call board that I'd rented a cabana on Great Stirrup Cay. Via E-mail, he'd asked if I'd like to split the cost.

Now, if you happened to read my Breakaway review a few months ago, I met a lovely couple (Andrea & Harold) on that cruise and, knowing it was my 50th birthday, they invited me to spend the day with them in the cabana they'd rented. They wouldn't let me pay for it, and so I, on this trip, decided to pay it forward. I invited Marc and Francis (as well as her son, Ethan), to join me. But when you do something like that, you have to (at least in the back of your mind) wonder, "Uh oh. I don't KNOW these people! What if they're completely insane?" Fortunately, at the Meet & Greet, which was held in the Bliss lounge, I met them and discovered that while they are wild & crazy, it's the GOOD kind, not the "Oh dear, they're going to boil the bunny I don't even own" kind. It was here that I also met Diane and her husband Aldo, who would, over the course of the next week, be my regular partners-in-crime (especially Diane), save my literal hyde (more on that later), and wind up being people I planned to hang with on my NEXT cruise, which we're all booked on! Diane and I vowed that we were going to do what people on cruise ships are SUPPOSED to do: play shuffleboard! I've always wanted to, never had. So we promised we would... (let's see how that plays out, shall we?)

Now, I will say that from the beginning, the Roll Call on this particular cruise was not nearly as active as the one for my Breakaway trip. On that trip, by the time I got on the boat and arrived at the Meet & Greet, I was dying to meet the various folks I'd been laughing and joking with for weeks. This was a more sedate roll call. THAT SAID, get involved in your roll call's. They're SO great not only for keeping you excited about the upcoming trip, but also for making sure you'll have some fun, friendly faces to interact with during the trip!

A lot of officers put in appearances at our roll call, including Jenny (the AWESOME hotel director, with whom I interacted several times during the trip... never once about a problem, I'm happy to report) and the captain, who was downright affable and approachable.

Afterwards, I wandered around the ship a bit before heading to my room to sit on the balcony. As I mentioned in Day 1, it wasn't as large as my aft-facing balcony on Breakaway, and yet I was coming to realize that I kinda liked this one more! I felt closer to the water. Sitting there, gazing off into the distance, I saw an oil rig... now I suppose that shouldn't surprise me. I mean, I know we do a lot of deep-sea drilling. It just struck me as cool and odd to see something like that off in the distance!

We were hit by a rainstorm, and I was annoyed that I couldn't sit on my balcony until... hey, wait a minute. Why CAN'T I? It's only water! Slipping into my bathing suit, I went and sat on the balcony and it was AMAZEBALLS.

Realizing it was 1:15 p.m. and I hadn't yet had a cocktail, I set out to rectify that by heading down to "bar city." At Magnum's, I sipped a drink while folks (including Diane) played Trivia. I'd intended to play, but I wound up instead talking to Robin and Steve, two of the FUNNEST people I met all week. These two had me in stitches whenever we crossed paths. We were probably laughing so loud we disrupted the trivia players! Pretty sure we got a few glares... whoopsie.

I hit the casino for a bit and wound up winning $150. (Don't worry, that's not a trend that would last... the whole winning thing I mean!) After grabbing a quick bite at the buffet — and I loved the buffet, everything I had on it was delicious — I went back down to Shaker’s for the 4:15 p.m. Martini Tasting. I'd promised Francis I'd meet here there, and there she was, waiting! The Martini tasting costs $15 and features 6 different 3-ounce drinks. It's a really fun, fantastic way to sample a bunch of different speciality martinis without having to plop down 8-10 bucks for each. (Not that it mattered to me, as I was on the beverage package). By the time we'd finished sipping our cocktails, we were pretty buzzed!

Which of course meant I had to swing up to the Great Outdoors and have a couple more drinks with Adam The Awesome. Eventually, I wandered down to Moderno for dinner. I have to say, of all the specialty restaurants, this was my least favorite. Which is kind of surprising, given that I am a major carnivore. It wasn't bad — actually, the salad bar was the ironic highlight — it just wasn't great. I left full, but not necessarily satisfied. I can't put my finger on why, but it just fell kind of flat for me.

After wandering around for a while, having one more drink up at the Great Outdoors, I decided (for the second night in a row!) to make it an early night.

Apparently, that whole "23-year-old-trapped-in-the-body-of-a-50-year-old" thing was really proving true.

Stay tuned for Day 3...

Now, if you want a short-but-sweet version of this review, which is of my time on the Gem from September 6-13, here it is: Awesome sauce.

But chances are, if you're reading reviews, you're looking for something a tad more in-depth. Well, you came to the right place. (I'll be posting over the next few days as I cobble this review together; once it's done, I'll post the whole thing -- with the same title -- in the "Reviews" section, in case you want to read it in one sitting -- good luck! -- and sans interspersed reader comments/Q&A's).

First, a little info about myself: I'm a 25-year-old trapped in the body of a 50-year old who, in olden days, would have been referred to as "a confirmed bachelor." I only discovered his love of cruising a year or so ago. I'm a solo/single traveler, and wouldn't have it any other way. I've previously done an overnighter on the Gem (which was a whole different animal, about which you can read if you follow the link in my signature) and a week on the Breakaway. I'll tell you right off the bat, Gem is more my style. She's smaller, feels less crowded and simply feels more "home-y" to me. Breakaway's a great ship, and I really enjoyed my week aboard her, but Gem is the shining jewel of NCL in my (limited) experience.

So let's dive in, shall we?

DAY 1

From the start, it was an awesome experience. Got to the port around 10, was checked in by a very friendly guy with a fantastic attitude whose name I failed to get. Because I'd purchased both the Ultimate Dining Package and the Ultimate Beverage Package, both stickers were placed on my key as soon as I received it. As a result, I was ready to go! Around 11:30, they began the boarding process, and I was in the Grand Pacific dining room by noon with a cocktail in one hand and the menu in the other. This was the only time during the week I was in a MDR, but I have to say: the meal (calamari, an arugula-and-shrimp salad, and fish & chips) -- combined with the daily lunches I had at the buffet -- left me thinking I could cruise without the Dining Package.

Nah. I'm too spoiled. And I love my specialty restaurants far too much.

Anyhow, by the time lunch was over, the announcement had been made that our rooms were ready, so off I went to check it out. And this is the one area where I'm going to give the win to Breakaway over Gem. But not by much.

On both boats, I had an aft-facing balcony. On Breakaway, I was lucky enough to book what has become known amongst some of us as "the Gambee balcony." For those not in the know, fellow Cruise Critic member Gambee wrote one of the most impressive Breakaway reviews ever, featuring great photos from around the ship... including the aft-facing balcony. When I walked into that room on the Breakaway, I practically cried. The balcony is ridiculously huge. It's deep, holding several lounge chairs and tables easily.

The Gem aft-facing balcony (I was in room 9174) was awesome, but... well, it wasn't the Gambee balcony. It seemed, far as I could tell, about the same size as regular balconies aboard the Gem. Perhaps a little bigger. The other difference was bed placement. On Breakaway, I loved that the bed was placed right next to the sliding door leading to the balcony. On Gem, the bed and the doorway were separated by the couch/sitting area.

That said, while I preferred the Breakaway aft-facing balcony, there's still absolutely nothing better than sitting on a balcony, watching the wake go by. And sure enough, at some point during the trip, I caught that legendary scent: fresh, sugary breezes wafting up to my deck from the bakery! Because, you know, the one thing you need more than anything when on a cruise is something prompting you to eat even more!

Having settled into my room (and asked my great room steward, Freddie, to empty the fridge), I wandered up to the spot that would wind up being my go-to hangout for the week: The Great Outdoors bar. Not only does this bar at the very back of deck 12 have an incredible view, but bartender Adam was, as NCL likes to say, my "vacation hero." Adam is new to NCL, only a few weeks into his first contract, and he represents everything a great bartender should be. He's personable, and has a fantastic philosophy: "Don't ask me if I have something, tell me what you want, and I'll do my best to provide it."

Over the next seven days, Adam would develop something of a fan club; a group of us who would gravitate to the bar by late afternoon each day, and wind up staying there until either leaving for our dinner reservations... or missing said reservations in order to continue hanging out.

I should mention at this point that the boat did not feel at all crowded. Almost immediately, I noticed that -- unlike my time on Breakaway in March -- there were few children on board. This is likely because school had started the week before. While a lot of folks are willing to take their kids out of school for a vacation, not many seem to do it a week into the school year! Heck, this alone makes me glad that I'm already booked on this same cruise, with this same itinerary, NEXT September.

Eventually, I tore myself away from the bar and made my way to Cagney's for dinner. On Breakaway, this was one of my favorite specialty restaurants, so I knew I was in for a good meal. And it didn't disappoint! I started with a pretty standard shrimp cocktail, then moved on to the baked potato soup. Bar the door, we have a winner, kids! This soup is thick and creamy, with a dollop of sour cream, some chives and a little bit of bacon floating on top. Scrumpdillyicious. This was followed by a huge ribeye with Cajun seasoning that gave it a little bit of a kick and Cagney fries. Now, on Breakaway, I wasn't a fan of the Cagney fries, which seemed soggy and over-cheesed. I heard from several people this was NOT how they typically tasted/were served, so I gave them another try... and what a difference the Gem makes. These were meaty yet crisp, and with just the right amount of seasoning/cheese on them. All in all a fantastic meal. And as I did every night but one on this cruise, I walked away without dessert.

Because, you know, that legendary Oreo cheesecake was the only thing standing between me and gaining 20 pounds, right?

After dinner, I went back to my room to await a maintenance guy. It seems the previous occupants of the room left the safe locked. Obviously, I would need access so that I could store the millions and millions I'd be winning in the casino somewhere safe!

When the maintenance man left, and I sat on the balcony for a while, watching the wake, until I hit the sack early. Yes, it was barely even 9:30 p.m., and yet I'd been eating and drinking for hours! I also, no doubt as a result of the gluttony, was feeling a little blue, missing my best friends/housemates.

But surely, this was just the bourbon talking, right? I wasn't going to spend a week walking around boo-hoo-hooing because I missed my friends, was I?

Stay tuned...

Andrea: Not only did I think of you and Harold, but you inspired me. I met a great couple, Marc & Francis -- as well as her son, Ethan -- and invited them to spend the day at the cabana with me as my guest. So because of the generosity you showed me, I was inspired to pay it forward!

Toby: The food was fantastic. I ate all my dinners in the specialty restaurants, as I had the dining plan. But I ate most of my lunches at the buffets, and they were great. LOTS of variety, lots of different stuff. It was fun trying stuff I might not ordinarily eat, as well as favorites.

Show-wise, I didn't do many. but I will say this: DO NOT MISS the staff talent show. I don't want to give anything away, but do NOT miss it. The finale will... let's just say I laughed so hard I cried. I also did the Get Down Tonight show, which was basically music from the 70's... lots and lots of fun!

Welcome home.

Did the ship make it to GSC?

Looking forward to your review.

Happy Sailing!

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

We DID make it to GSC, and it was awesome. Working on the review, although my computer just ate all of Day 1's review. Sigh.

Richard/Tralfie

I feel exactly the opposite. Having done Breakaway and Gem -- and loved both trips -- I'm already booked to sail on the Gem again. I found the smaller, more intimate ship appealed to me far, far better.

Just spent a splendiferous seven days on the Gem in an aft-facing balcony. Had the drink package, the meal package... and had a beyond-fantastic time. I'm working on a review, but in the meantime, if anyone has questions, feel free to throw them my way!

Richard/Tralfie

This review made me want to cruise with you. LOL.

Seriously, everything about y'all was right up my alley, from the "knock-the-tokens-down" addiction to the belief that it's vacation, and it takes a LOT to upset me on vacation.

I'm getting on the Gem in 10 days, and hope to have every bit as awesome a time as you did!

Quick question: you mentioned having pre-ordered food for the cabana. How did you go about doing that? I've got a cabana reserved, but didn't realize you could pre-order drinks/food!

Richard/Tralfie

In this day and age, there really isn't much difference between published and self-published books. Actual publishing houses have cut down massively on both the amount of books they publish and the staff with which they do it, which is why so many mass market books have a wildly high number of typos and errors in them. I've self-published two books (working on the third and fourth), both of which I honestly think were better edited than many mainstream books. Why? Because my best friend and I are both editors (magazine) by trade, and since these were labors of love (I knew I wasn't gonna make a fortune off them, I just... wanted to write them), we were far more careful than might a publisher with no personal connection.

My books will never be on a best-seller's list (I like to joke that they've been read "for blocks and blocks by tens and tens of people"), but that doesn't make them any less worthy of publication, nor does it mean I worked any less hard on them.

tralfie/richard

Author, Crimes Against Civility (non-fiction); Homesick (horror)

Wow! Imagine, $60,000 on the last day! I won about $1,500 on my birthday during my cruise on the Breakaway in March. Heck, I was thrilled with that! LOL Can't wait... 17 days and I'll be in the casino...

Richard/Tralfie

Boarding the Gem in about 17 days... can't wait! I did an overnighter on her last year, but this will be my first full week on this gorgeous ship!

Richard/Tralfie

Wow, this is awesome! I'm sailing on her in 30 days. Didn't think there'd be renovations already underway... love Spinnaker, so I'm glad to see it'll be gussied up before my arrival! Can't wait to see what other changes are in store! I also just booked ANOTHER trip on her for a year from now, so I'll get her both before AND after dry dock.

Weirdly, I kinda hope they don't change the carpeting in the Martini bar area. I love, love, love that carpeting, with the cool martini glass pattern!

Richard/Tralfie

I"m currently reading Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and if it wasn't SO amazingly good, I'd keep it for my cruise in September. But I started it and can't put it down. Just a stunningly well written book.

If you like Nora Roberts (I'm not a big romance reader, but I like her supernatural-bent trilogies) I'd recommend either the Three Sisters Island trilogy (witches) or, for straight-forward, non-supernatural stuff, The Villa.

Biography wise, if you happen to be a soap fan, Not Young, Still Restless, the autobiography of Jeanne Cooper (who played Katherine on Young & Restless) is a fantastic read.

Another REALLY fun read is Early Bird, a book by Rodney Rothman, which is about a 30-year old who moves into a retirement home to see what it'll be like. REALLY funny book.

And for a "Get outta my head! Those are MY pet peeves!" read, you could always pick up MY book, Crimes Against Civility! LOL

Can't wait to see what others recommend... always looking for good books!

Richard/Tralfie

Thank God they don't do this crap outta New York City. We have few enough sailings/boats as it is. This would just mean fewer sailings... at least that I'd go on, because you wouldn't catch me within five miles of this type of cruise.

Richard/Tralfie