Gem has very few threads!

I am getting a little anxious since I see so few posts about the Gem. I know its an older ship so I am a little worried. Our last cruise was on the Epic and while it was brand new and huge, I hated our stateroom. I am hoping that going back to the older style ships we will get the kind of room that works better for us. Its our first time going to Mexico so I am not sure what to expect. We tried to book after Christmas Holidays but before Spring break because we don't care very much for children and have none of our own. Anyone have any stories or advice about the Gem?

I got off the Gem on July 28th. It's a great ship and was recently refurbished. I had no complaints apart from BINGO being extremely slow. First world problem, right?

As for kids - if you don't care much for children, the best bet is to book an all-inclusive adults only. There will always be kids on the ship.

I got off the Gem on July 28th. It's a great ship and was recently refurbished. I had no complaints apart from BINGO being extremely slow. First world problem, right?

 

As for kids - if you don't care much for children, the best bet is to book an all-inclusive adults only. There will always be kids on the ship.

But most school aged kids are at school! ;p;p;);)Haha! I can always find a way around it. The babies and toddlers don't bother me but the older ones drive me nuts.

Gem is great! We sailed last year for our honeymoon. I love the layout of the ship. Those big mega ships don't appeal to me since I have a metal ankle. We are sailing on her again this October. We always found plenty to do and found the food to be great. We get the UBP and SDP as our perks. This time we are going to skip Moderno and Teppanyaki to do Le Bistro and go to Cagney's twice! Our favorite spot in the evenings before dinner was the sugarcane bar (in Moderno's). It was rarely crowded and the bartender there last year was fantastic! O'Sheehan's is also a fun place to get drinks in the evening!

But most school aged kids are at school! ;p;p;);)Haha! I can always find a way around it. The babies and toddlers don't bother me but the older ones drive me nuts.

Yes...most are, but not all. ;)

People must be satisfied with the GEM, otherwise there'd be a ton of negative reviews..... ;p

GEM was perfect. I enjoyed the Great Outdoors, and liked how they opened up La Cucina for more seatings during breakfast from the Garden Cafe.

We were on the GEM twice .The first time was very good and I booked another cruise .This time we had the Cabin Steward from Hell and never booked the Gem again.There are people who loved the ship .We met a couple who have been on the ship about 30 times.

We sailed the Gem a couple of years ago out of NY and really enjoyed the cruise. We were in an OS and used the Haven quite a bit. My DW and I will sail her again in March 2019 out of Boston. We’re really looking forward to welcoming a new ship in Boston. I think you’ll enjoy the ship and crew.

GEM was perfect. I enjoyed the Great Outdoors, and liked how they opened up La Cucina for more seatings during breakfast from the Garden Cafe.

We usually avoid buffets, but we LOVE the Great Outdoors!

My review from a few months ago below......

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2632274

We cruised on the Gem late summer of 2017. We loved it!! Wonderful happy crew members, food the best we have had on an NCL ship, and very, very clean.

Here's one from late April/May of 2018, it's more of a "Semi Live" blog with pictures, not a review per se, useful tips & ideas, etc. - brew a large cup of coffee/tea & sit down, get comfortable & hopefully, enjoy the reading. You might want to split it up and/or skip portions not of interest to you.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2629097

Under signature link, there's a Gem review from 2017 - where we stayed in an obstructed OV, deck 8, midship, portside, great location overlooking one of many lifeboats with plenty of natural lights ... not far from O'Sheehan's 24/7 for comfort food, easy to get everywhere. This Spring, we had a great deck 5, midship OV - ideal for anyone afraid of motion/seasickness. Excellent refurbishment, some/not all the staterooms got USB bedside plug integrated into the new LED reading lamps. We also did a cabin crawl, including #1500 in Haven and 2 BR suites both non/Haven - with pictures. Dailies linked inside, aside from who's performing & the rotation of butler, conciege and CD (which do not matter much to some of us ...) are all there, as well as the senior ship officers.

Here's one from late April/May of 2018, it's more of a "Semi Live" blog with pictures, not a review per se, useful tips & ideas, etc. - brew a large cup of coffee/tea & sit down, get comfortable & hopefully, enjoy the reading. You might want to split it up and/or skip portions not of interest to you.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2629097

 

Under signature link, there's a Gem review from 2017 - where we stayed in an obstructed OV, deck 8, midship, portside, great location overlooking one of many lifeboats with plenty of natural lights ... not far from O'Sheehan's 24/7 for comfort food, easy to get everywhere. This Spring, we had a great deck 5, midship OV - ideal for anyone afraid of motion/seasickness. Excellent refurbishment, some/not all the staterooms got USB bedside plug integrated into the new LED reading lamps. We also did a cabin crawl, including #1500 in Haven and 2 BR suites both non/Haven - with pictures. Dailies linked inside, aside from who's performing & the rotation of butler, conciege and CD (which do not matter much to some of us ...) are all there, as well as the senior ship officers.

LOVE the Gem, she is our favorite ship!!!...Read Mking's semi live...he always goes above and beyond and will tell you everything you may want to know :)

Here's one from late April/May of 2018, it's more of a "Semi Live" blog with pictures, not a review per se, useful tips & ideas, etc. - brew a large cup of coffee/tea & sit down, get comfortable & hopefully, enjoy the reading. You might want to split it up and/or skip portions not of interest to you.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2629097

 

Under signature link, there's a Gem review from 2017 - where we stayed in an obstructed OV, deck 8, midship, portside, great location overlooking one of many lifeboats with plenty of natural lights ... not far from O'Sheehan's 24/7 for comfort food, easy to get everywhere. This Spring, we had a great deck 5, midship OV - ideal for anyone afraid of motion/seasickness. Excellent refurbishment, some/not all the staterooms got USB bedside plug integrated into the new LED reading lamps. We also did a cabin crawl, including #1500 in Haven and 2 BR suites both non/Haven - with pictures. Dailies linked inside, aside from who's performing & the rotation of butler, conciege and CD (which do not matter much to some of us ...) are all there, as well as the senior ship officers.

Wow! Thank you so much! It took me awhile to get through but I love your review style. I feel much better about our choice. Question about early check in. We need to be out of our hotel by noon and won't have a car with us. Are we able to get early check in? Im fine with not having my room ready as I always take a small bag with me and have my swimsuit and book ready to go.

We also loved the Gem. It was our first cruise, and we liked it so much we're going on our second in a couple of weeks, this time on another smaller ship, Dawn.

Our only problem was that we, too, had a poor cabin steward, though I’d hardly use the exaggeration of saying he was “from hell.” I can't even understand that unless he actively sabotaged you. Ours just didn't keep the cabin clean, even on the first day. But NCL responded well to our complaint after the cruise.