LIVE ON THE GEM - 04.05.08 - Saturday - Long

Read at your own risk. I do tend to ramble on. ( :

We left our friends' house in New Fairfield around 10:30 AM and arrived at the pier about 11:30 AM. DH dropped me off with the luggage and a porter immediately took all but our carry ons and DH's guitar. DH went to park and we proceeded inside the terminal. There was a very long line and another space marked for GV, OS and PHS's with no line, so we were directed right to check in, which was quick and painless. We got our key cards, gold for DH and green gold for me. We were instructed to get a photo taken and then proceed in the terminal. We walked to the end and asked an NCL employee where we should wait and he said right where we were. I then asked if there was an area for Owner's Suites and he said there wasn't. I asked someone else and she was bringing us there and then said to wait in a certain spot because they would pass by there and we could join them. She didn't know how long it would be, so we said we'd like to go to the VIP lounge to wait.

This is our fourth time in an OS and we had never been in the VIP lounge and wanted to check it out. It's just a room with chairs (none in the terminal where we were waiting), coffee (I think) and some cake and cookies. We did see our friends getting in line while we were waiting and greeted each other. We weren't there too long and Lisa, the concierge, who we haven't seen or heard from since, came in and had us follow her on the ship. We were greeted with a glass of champagne and proceeded to our room a little after noon.

Surprise!!! We arrive at our room and there are about 20-30 people there. I guess there was a party and we weren't invited!!! Turns out they were travel agents touring the ship, but not staying on for the cruise. This did not sit well with me, but I joked with the group leader and thanked them for the welcome party. They were very pleasant and I guess this is just how it's done to show the cabins.

The suite had already been cleaned, and here were all of these people in our clean room. I'm not a germaphobic, but I didn't think other people should be allowed to wander through our accommodations without it being cleaned after their visit, especially during high flu season.

They left and we looked around and did a quick comparison with the Dawn OS. The suite is very nice, but it does seem smaller to us. We're on deck 10, starboard and have only been in the deck 9 OS's, port on the Dawn. Both suites are great, just different. I'm not complaining about either.

Our butler, Putu introduced himself, and we immediately liked him. He is warm, pleasant and eager to please. He did suggest we go to the Grand Pacific for lunch. We were given a list of liquor to choose our 3 bottles and we asked for something that wasn't on the list. Putu said he would check to see if he could get it. We tried making coffee with the espresso machine, but it turned out to be tea, so we tried again and we were successful in getting a cup of espresso.

We had discussed meeting with our friends at the Grand Pacific for lunch, and I had the phone in my hand to call them when it rang. We made plans to meet at the entrance in 5 minutes. Great to see our friends who we met on one of our Dawn cruises in 2005. This is our 3rd time cruising together and we really look forward to seeing them and cruising together.

We had a very nice lunch, with Eugene as our waiter. The Grand Pacific was pretty crowded, so I'm guessing that more people are aware they don't have to eat in the Garden Cafe. I had the chicken finger app, Mexican corn chowder, salad and a pork chop over black beans in a spicy BBQ sauce. Others had Vichyssoise, the Putanesca and the Grouper or the same choices I picked. Dessert was Opera for all and one piece of butterscotch pie with cappuccino.

We returned to our rooms and proceeded to the Muster Drill. Ours was in the Stardust Lounge and the man who did it was very entertaining. He made some jokes, and it was the most entertaining drill I've ever attended.

Our friends came to our room for sailaway and we cracked the bottle of champagne as we passed Lady Liberty on a beautiful, sunny day. I'm guessing the temp was at least 60º and the forward balconies were full. We had a great sailaway and then decided we would walk the ship and check things out.

The Gem is a beautiful ship and we'll explore more as the week goes on. We went to the shops and I did buy cigarettes for $24.95 a carton. For those interested, they have a special on red Marlboro or Marlboro lights, buy 4 get 1 free. The 100s are not included in the special, and usually sell out early on all of the cruises I've sailed. The first night there is a raffle where you can win half off any liquor you buy in a drawing held later.

There weren't any menus in the room and we did ask Putu about that. They were instructed to remove them from the OS's. Not sure why, but I will ask about it at the CC meeting.

Tequila is now a surcharge restaurant, and the free restaurants are in the minority. It is $10 per person, and we also heard the Blue Lagoon is also going to have a surcharge. Sorry, they can keep that glass of champagne and take away the recent surcharges. We don't mind paying extra for some of the restaurants, but for tomato soup and Mac & cheese & chicken wings!!!! Will it stop us from cruising or eating there? No way, and I guess that's what NCL is counting on.

We decided to split up for dinner last night since we were tired and planned an early night. DH and I went to the Garden Cafe and the food was excellent with many choices. The action stations seem to work very well, and we didn't have to wait for anything. We had the pasta cooked to order and tried a few other items. One nice addition for us are the spicy dishes they've included. I watched them making a crepe for someone, but I was too full for dessert. You can bet I'll save room for one today though. There is also a NY Deli in the Great Outdoors and I'll check to see if they have those delicious Pastrami sandwiches.

We stopped in the casino after dinner, had a drink and played the slots for a while. DH went off to the room and I followed him a short time later. It has been a long day, and that bed sure looks good.

I haven't seen any sign of $1.00 per item pressing, no top sheets on the bed yet, toiletries are still Francis Denney. I've heard complaints about the product, but they seem fine to me.

LIVE ON THE GEM - 04.06.08 - SUNDAY

I woke up at 4 AM and had some espresso while typing up my first report. The machine is very easy to use, but I sure do wish I had some Anisette for my espresso. Maybe I'll just have Kahlua in it. DH woke up when his Danish was delivered and then we relaxed with a Bloody Mary. Hey, this is vacation and the first day at sea is always a drinking day for us! ( :

It rained again during the night and early morning, but the sun came out and turned it into a beautiful day with many hanging out poolside.

Our room stewards are Athena and Joelix, who are doing a tremendous job keeping the suite looking as if each time was the first time we walked in. Athena has a 6 year old boy and a 9 month old girl. She is working hard to make sure they have a good future while her Mother watches her babies. She was very excited to be going ashore in Florida to talk to them on the phone. She said it is $5 for 30 minutes in the states and $10 in the Bahamas.

We went to Cagney's for breakfast and I had the filet and scrambled eggs, DH had the Tahitian Vanilla Challah French Toast with cinnamon scented macerated berries and mascarpone. My filet was fantastic and cooked perfectly rare. DH was not thrilled with the amount of French Toast, but it was excellent. He could have ordered more, but decided not to get an additional order.

We had a great turnout at the Meet & Greet in Le Bistro. Coffee, juices and pastries were set up for all, and the room looked very pretty. It was great to finally meet so many of the people we had been talking with for so long. We also had a good showing from the staff, with Staff Captain, Matko Candric, Hotel Director, Prem Kainikkara, Assistant Hotel Director, Julian Brackenberry, Misa, Food & Beverage Director, Shilin, Restaurant Manager, Julie Valeriote, CD and Christina, Group Services Coordinator. Prem introduced all and included their extensions in case we needed to get in touch with anyone. He stressed that we should bring any complaints or suggestions to them before airing them here. They prefer a chance to rectify matters first.

He was asked about the surcharges on the restaurants and said it was a financial decision and NCL still has more free restaurants than other lines. This is going to be fleetwide. It's not good news, but it is what it is. The food in the Garden Cafe and main dining rooms has been excellent, so there isn't a need to pay extra unless you want to try something different. Putu did bring menus to our room and I did see quite a few items available in the Garden Cafe from the different pay restaurants.

About 12 of us came back to our room to check it out and chat, and then we went to lunch.

We went for a quick lunch in the Garden Cafe and the only seats we could find were in the Great Outdoors, which was fine. It's a very nice place to sit and eat. The food has been consistently good and the crew very pleasant and friendly. I haven't met the rude crew and staff members that were mentioned in some other reviews. (I'm typing this on Wednesday, April 9)

The Latitudes party was in the Spinnaker Lounge and the Captain spoke and introduced his staff. We went with our friends and all had a drink. The Captain said to please have another drink on him, but they weren't offering any more. It's a quick party and they did have some raffles, but we didn't win any of them.

We went to the Martini Clinic at 4 PM with our friends and some of our new CC friends also showed up. It was a good turnout with about 25 people. Armando made us the Classic Martini (with vodka), the French Cosmo, the Forbidden Fruitini and the Chocolate Raspberry Martini. I liked the Classic and the Chocolate Raspberry the best, but others liked the French and Fruitini also. Just not my cup of vodka. Armando also made a Sexy Alligator and a few of us tasted it. A little too sweet for me, but it was good.

We attended the Captain's Cocktail party this evening after cocktails in our room and dinner somewhere. ( ; I should have typed this up sooner. I'm sitting on the balcony in Nassau, so I'm a few days behind.

We tried to go to the Courtyard, but our keys wouldn't work and we didn't reallly know how to get there. If you're staying in a suite with Courtyard access, make sure you ask how to get there and what is offered. There isn't any written information that we could find in the suite. If I hadn't read that we had access to the Courtyard, we wouldn't have known it. You can also have breakfast or lunch in Cagney's or in the Courtyard.

We played around in the Casino for a while and then headed home for a nightcap and then dreamland after a great, but busy day.

LIVE ON THE GEM - 04.07.08

We had a quick breakfast poolside before meeting my childhood friend, Barbara and her daughter, Jessie. Jessie has been working at Disney as a lifeguard since 2005 and is now part time and works as an EMT and firefighter at the cruise pier. She can take 3 other people into Disney, no charge, so we went to Epcot and the Magic Kingdom.

We had a nice visit and a lot of fun together. I hadn't seen Barbara in 5 years and even longer for Jessie, so it was good to see both of them.

We got back around 8 PM, so we went to The Blue Lagoon for something quick. We had a big lunch at Epcot in Mexico along with some Margheritas.

We received an invitation to dine in any of the specialty restaurants and a bottle of wine. We also received tickets for Friday to watch the taping of the show they have been doing on board this week. I believe it's called How Not to Dress.

We hit the Casino again for a while and then to bed.

LIVE ON THE GEM - 04.08.08 - TUESDAY

We arrived at GSC early and it was another beautiful day with smooth water. We decided to stay on board since we've been before and just wanted to relax. Plenty of very red people coming back. I guess they forgot their sunscreen and will be hurting later. DUH.....

Again we tried to access the Courtyard without luck.

Putu delivered filet and eggs for me and a 3 egg omelett for DH from Cagney's. Excellent again! We told him about not being able to get to the Courtyard and he said he would take us when we wanted to go to see why we couldn't access.

We invited our friends over for Bloody Mary's and Kahlua Cappuccinos. Putu came by and took all of us up there. It turns out they gave us the wrong room cards at check in. Your keys need to be red and ours were gold and greenish gold. He left us there to explore and went and had our keys corrected.

The Courtyard is really a nice area to sit and relax away from the crowds and I would have liked to have been able to get there before today. Oh, well.... Stuff happens... I do think they should have guidelines for all of the things we can and can't do though.

We went to the Grand Pacific for lunch and it was very good. There were only 2 or 3 tables with people, including ours. I tried the beet soup and it was very good. I wanted a hamburger for lunch, but they only cook them well done, so I had a hot dog. Fancy lunch, but it sure hit the spot. I haven't had a hot dog in a very long time. I ordered caramel ice cream for dessert, but they didn't have any so she brought me vanilla with butterscotch sauce.

Cheryl and I went to the casino while the boys went off on their own for a while. We met up later and went the the Orchid Garden for dinner. We went and watched some very bad and some pretty good Karaoke, stayed for The Perfect Couple Show which was funny and then went to the 70's show. They did a good job performing and we all enjoyed it.

A nightcap and off to bed again.....

LIVE ON THE GEM - 04.09.08 - WEDNESDAY - part one...

We arrived early in Nassau today and forgot to put out our breakfast order last night, so we had a couple of cups of espresso and went to the Garden Cafe for omelets, bacon, corned beef hash, etc.....

Back to the room to catch up on some typing and then head in town for an hour or two. We're in Starbuck's right now. We never bothered signing up for internet since we've been so busy. We figured we would come here and check email today instead of on the ship. Saving some $$$ for those espresso martinis. ( :

There is another Martini Clinic today at 4:30 PM, also a Margherita Clinic. I'll be back later.

Bon Voyage to all who are leaving Saturday!!!

Hope I'm not boring everyone with my lengthy posts.....

Jackie

Thanks for posting, Jackie!

I also wouldn't be happy finding strangers in my cabin after it had been cleaned. I'm not Monk, but try to be careful about these things.

That's interesting about not having menus. Did you find out why, yet?

A charge for Blue Lagoon? Geez, that one takes the cake. I can understand the other two restaurants, but charging in Blue Lagoon doesn't make sense.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Hope the casino is good to you.:)

What is the charge for Blue Lagoon? What the heck do they expect people to eat 24 hours? Room Service? You still have to tip them as it is....so no matter what you have to put out money. This is ridiculous.

Hi Barb,

I asked about the menus and I was told they want it to be 'freestyle'.... I do have the menus for the specialty restaurants now, but not the main restaurants. The OS always had a book with all of the menus until now.

There is NOT a charge for the Blue Lagoon yet, but they're thinking about it and I'm guessing it will happen eventually, not sure when though.

We ate there the other night and the Mac & Cheese was gritty, but I tried it in the Garden Cafe the next day and it was delicious. I'm guessing it was just that batch and whatever they use didn't dissolve enough. Just a guess.

We're having a great time, calm seas and fantastic weather.

Casino has been okay, not great... ha ha

Great connection in Starbucks and it's free. Well, you do have to buy coffee, but it's the deal of the day! :D

Jackie

Nice of you to take the time to post on your cruise. Not happy about the Blue Lagoon and the thought of putting a surcharge on it.

Thanks Jackie for taking the time to post. I really hope your enjoying your vacation. We are leaving 4/19 on the transatlantic, so were keeping an eye out on everythign thats written about the Gem.

Disappointing to see that they are thinking of charging for the Blue Lagoon. I just think its a shame that NCL has gone to the point of charging for all the specialty restaurants. Even more disappointing to me that they just started the changes way after I booked the cruise. Would have been nice to know it prior so i could have decided on another cruise line.

I understand that making money is what they care about but to what point are they willing to go?

When we booked the cruise we had 2 specialty restaurants that were included and now they have decided to charge for those as well.

Keep us posted I love reading your reviews.

Jackie,

It sounds like you are having a ball. I can't wait until Saturday! Did you give your charm to an officer? I have to remember to do that!

Everything sounds wonderful and I hope they don't do the surchage at the Blue Lagoon until after our cruise! I keep telling my DD that she can get food 24 hours there and it's all the stuff she likes!

Hope you had fun in Nassau. If you have a change to write about Freeport I would like to hear that. I just have no desire to go there.......

Travel Agents are often invited on the ships in port to get a tour. Unfortunately they have to look at somebody's room and they chose yours! :eek: Someobdy wrote a thread about that a couple weeks ago.

Enjoy!

Sandy

There is not a charge for the Blue Lagoon yet, and hopeful there won't be. Could just be a rumor, so we'll have to wait and see.

It is still a free restaurant and much different from the one on the Dawn.

There is not a charge for the Blue Lagoon yet, and hopeful there won't be. Could just be a rumor, so we'll have to wait and see.

It is still a free restaurant and much different from the one on the Dawn.

It is just an unsubstantiated rumor which you just spread all over cruise critic.

It is just an unsubstantiated rumor which you just spread all over cruise critic.

Your absolutely correct, I should have waited to say anything, and I do apologize for that.

I did just checked with my husband and he said we heard it at the CC meeting and not from one of the CC members. I'm going to check with others who were there to confirm this.

It is just an unsubstantiated rumor which you just spread all over cruise critic.

I have to agree. This is a big deal if it's true. The Blue Lagoon is the only place other then room service to get something to eat when all other places are closed. If this becomes a surcharge restaurant, it's a big deal. Much bigger then the increase in surcharges on the speciality restaurants.

Even if 2.0 brings about a much wider room service menu, it's still not going to appease people as many times they are sharing a cabin with someone who is asleep at 3 am or they want to sit down somewhere with newly made friends and grab a bit before retiring in the evening.

I really, REALLY hope this is just a rumor.

I agree that it would be a big deal for many and I hope it does not happen. Maybe people need to voice their opinions after I confirm whether it is in the works or not and it won't happen.

Thanks so much for posting. I was just taking a break from packing and came across your post. You just got me so excitied!! I can't wait. If you think of it could you tell me if there is any big change in the main menus from last year. The embarkation lunch sounds different from last year.

Thanks for the post im so jealous! You should have lunch one day in the courtyard its so nice and dont forget to go up to the private sundeck sorry no one told you about it when you first got onboard, it really is a nice perk. Enjoy the rest on your cruise can't wait to hear more:)

The TV show being taped is "What not to wear"

Love the review!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to post it!!

missty

Thanks for taking the time to post on your vacation! We are off to the Gem on Saturday. Hope we have as good of a time as you are having.

Jackie,

Thanks for all your info.

Did you ask when the Gem will be 2.0 complete? (You mention no top sheet yet and some other stuff) I am curious about the "Gigantic" salad bar that is supposed to be added.

We take the Gem on 14 Sept. Can't wait!

Joy

The TV show being taped is "What not to wear"

And what a perfect venue for the taping-lots of examples-freestyle so often equals nostyle:p

Enjoy the second half of your cruise!

Hi Jackie, thanks for taking the time to post! Did you wave when you passed by Danbury?:p