Questions about Gem

[Santyclaws]

Hello!:)

 

I imagine that bowling on the Gem would be extra, yeah? Also, what is your take on anytime dining vs. fixed? I've read that there are line ups. What was your experience and would you do it agian?

 

Star Princess or N. Gem ship for Western Med. itinerary?

 

Signed a slightly confused Santy:confused:

[Got Tequila?]

Hello!:)

 

I imagine that bowling on the Gem would be extra, yeah? Also, what is your take on anytime dining vs. fixed? I've read that there are line ups. What was your experience and would you do it agian?

 

Star Princess or N. Gem ship for Western Med. itinerary?

 

Signed a slightly confused Santy:confused:

 

 

Bowling is extra, I think it was about $5 per game, including the shoes...but don't quote me on that.

 

Never had a wait in the main dining rooms, but we don't eat at peak times. There are signs around the ship (near the elevators) that show you how full the restaurant are. Pager type devices are given out if there is a wait time, so you can relax some where while waiting.

 

The GEM is an awsome ship, and one of our favorites. :)

[tripgrl]

Hi, I was on the Gem in August and yes we were charged $5 per person for bowling but I thought it was worth it. We didn't encounter any line ups for dining during our trip and very much enjoyed the freestyle concept. More than fifty percent of the passengers on this trip were European and they tend to eat later (after 9:00 pm).

[Derek King]

I'm going on the Gem in a few weeks weeks, but i was on the pearl last year and did the bowling on the ship.

 

I think it was $5 or $6 per game. It was a lot of fun. They had some special pricing while in port. But the fun is doing it when the boat is moving.

 

You never know which way the ball is gonna go.

[CinAndTheCity]

When we were on the Gem last December, I could swear they wanted $10 per game for bowling. We thought that was outrageous for bowling on a cruise ship and we are from NYC (where bowling is very expensive). Maybe they lowered the price, which would be nice.

 

Also, we never waited too long to eat.

[cruzinaway]

Bowling was $5 last week on the Gem (shoes included).

 

We didn't see long lines at at any of the restaurants.

 

Freestyle dining works very well on the Gem. There are quite a few dining options on this ship so I don't think you'll find any long lines or overly-crowded dining rooms. We found the food and service to be excellent.

 

Have fun with whatever you choose!

[johnql]

Loved my cruise on the Gem. Never encountered any lines at the dining rooms. Didn't try the bowling.

[sfsoma]

I was on the Gem in Sept sailing from Barcelona. About 60% of the passengers were from Europe mostly Spain. They dine much later than North Americans, so there were long waits from about 8:45PM until closing. The menus are the same in both, I believe. One MDR has about 200 seats the other about 600 seats, can't remember the names. They give you a pager so you can walk around or go to one of the bars for a pre-dinner cocktail. Once we just gave up and went to La Cucina, the Italian resto, which had mediocre food and abysmal service. Cagney's was great and worth the upcharge. We never had trouble making reservations for the special up charge restos. Great Fish and Chips served with English style mushy peas in one of the free specialty restaurants. Check the menus for which.

[Got Tequila?]

I was on the Gem in Sept sailing from Barcelona. About 60% of the passengers were from Europe mostly Spain. They dine much later than North Americans, so there were long waits from about 8:45PM until closing. The menus are the same in both, I believe. One MDR has about 200 seats the other about 600 seats, can't remember the names. They give you a pager so you can walk around or go to one of the bars for a pre-dinner cocktail. Once we just gave up and went to La Cucina, the Italian resto, which had mediocre food and abysmal service. Cagney's was great and worth the upcharge. We never had trouble making reservations for the special up charge restos. Great Fish and Chips served with English style mushy peas in one of the free specialty restaurants. Check the menus for which.

 

Fish and chips was probably from the Blue Lagoon....which is free, no reservations, and open 24 hours a day. :) They have excellent pound cake at the blue lagoon...yummmmo!

[mijim]

Just got back from the Gem 3 days ago. The main dining rooms are Grand Pacific and Magenta. If there is a line they give you a pager and a coupon for 2 for 1 drinks in the closest bar to either one. Never had to wait longer than 10 minutes. Our ship was full. Freestyle is fabulous. Will never go on another cruise line unless they offer the same thing.

[Santyclaws]

Thank you for your replies. My parents are now booked into a mini-suite on the Gem for next year!

 

This will be their first cruise (Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Italy) 14 days. At this point, I may be even more excited than they are!

 

My dad loves to bowl, so bowling on the ship should be interesting......and how many people can say they've bowled a game on the Mediterranian Sea? LOL!

 

I think they will LOVE the anytime dining!

[Mississippi1]

I can't add anything that hasn't already been said, but I can agree with all the previous posters! We enjoyed the Gem so much in May that we have already booked a second NCL cruise aboard the Spirit in February. I hope your parents enjoy her as much as we did!

[pixiedustdawn]

Fish and chips was probably from the Blue Lagoon....which is free, no reservations, and open 24 hours a day. :) They have excellent pound cake at the blue lagoon...yummmmo!

 

You are too funny!!!

 

 

We also enjoy then Gem and never had any problems with dining.

 

As far as the bowling goes we have also bowled on the Gem while we were waiting to get off in port. It was much cheaper then here in New York.

 

Dawn