GEM Sat.thru Sat. / JEWEL Sun. thru Sun.???

[RedSox5]

Hi everyone-

 

Cruised several times but not on Norweigan. We are just about to book a cruise the second week of April.

 

There are 2 identical trips:

 

1. Saturday through Saturday on the Gem

2. Sunday through Sunday on the Jewel

 

... both leave from NY, both go to the same ports, both are within a few bucks of the same price.

 

So, all things are equal... any suggestions on which trip to take? Is one ship favored more than the other? Any other reason to make a decision either way? ...should we just flip a coin??? :p

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Got Tequila?]

Hi everyone-

 

Cruised several times but not on Norweigan. We are just about to book a cruise the second week of April.

 

There are 2 identical trips:

 

1. Saturday through Saturday on the Gem

2. Sunday through Sunday on the Jewel

 

... both leave from NY, both go to the same ports, both are within a few bucks of the same price.

 

So, all things are equal... any suggestions on which trip to take? Is one ship favored more than the other? Any other reason to make a decision either way? ...should we just flip a coin??? :p

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

The ships are more alike than they are different....

 

GEM has a bowling alley, and rock climbing wall.

 

JEWEL has NICK characters and activities for the kids, and private karaoke rooms.

 

They are sister ships with the GEM being slightly newer. I would go with the one that fits your schedule the best, or has the better price. :)

[Crusin6]

do you want to go to the port on a Saturday or a Sunday?

[RichNY]

Sunday is a better choice......less traffic....:D

[edawn]

We chose the Gem because it returns on Saturday and my husband likes to have Sunday to recover from vacation.

[Staci0615]

Also liked getting back on Sat....as DH has to work that weekend nights and better to use only one vac day up than two...Leaving on the 9th...maybe will see you there...

 

Staci

So many cruises...forgot them all :(

[block]

We are leaving on the Jewel April 17th. Myself,Dh and DD4....

We picked the Jewel because of the Nick characters.

Also, we figured there would be more kids on the ship...I'm noticing families with YOUNG children will be aboard the Jewel. SO if you want there to be less children or older kids take the Gem. If you are okay with the toddler group take the Jewel If you want to see even less kids ...pick another week. NY state schools are all off that week.Week before Easter and week after.

Have a great time either way !!!

[RedSox5]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'm a teacher, so I prefer to be far, far away from children on my vacations- I spend enough time with them all day, every day! :p

Looks like we'll be booking the Gem... how exciting! :D

[juliecious]

We also came across this question when we wanted to book our first cruise with NCL. It has the same itinerary, just different days.

 

However we chose Gem over Jewel for a couple of reasons:

1. Sat-Sat itinerary gives us Sunday to drive back up to MA.

2. Jewel has the Nickelodeon theme (not all-access) which means that there are more kids on the ship (we've no kids)

3. Price difference - Gem was a lot cheaper for the mini-suite

 

We didn't care for the additional features on Gem like the bowling and rock climbing.

[Beyondships]

I was just on Gem last month and I was quite impressed. The crew seemed to be happy and that makes for good service. The ship was in very good condition.

 

I like the Jewel but have not been on her recently.

[mking8288]

We compared and choose the Jewel to sail last month on its 1st. 7 day Bahamas run from NYC with "only" 500+ children onboard. The following week, the Jewel sailed with the special "All Access" Nick. theme and 1,500 children - just go back a few pages and search for those reviews. :eek:

 

In contrast, not seeing much "comments" from the Gem cruisers doing the same itinerary. There will always be children onboard since different school districts from different cities, towns & states (and countries for that matter) have different spring break schedules - their ages vary too, and sometimes it's the young adults (college "kids") that set the "tone" late into the nights in the open upper deck, bars & lounges - which we saw 2 years ago doing the MR out of Los Angeles. :D

 

It depends on what's important to you, happy planning for the cruise. :)

[RedSox5]

Thanks!

 

I'm also looking for information about what we should plan on bringing as far as outfits for dinner go... we're used to bringing the standard 2 formal, 2 semi-formal, 2 smart casual that go with "traditional" cruising, but I know that Norwegian is "free style" cruising.

 

I'm sure this topic has been asked and answered many times on the boards, but I haven't been able to find it... if anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it!

[RichNY]

Thanks!

 

I'm also looking for information about what we should plan on bringing as far as outfits for dinner go... we're used to bringing the standard 2 formal, 2 semi-formal, 2 smart casual that go with "traditional" cruising, but I know that Norwegian is "free style" cruising.

 

I'm sure this topic has been asked and answered many times on the boards, but I haven't been able to find it... if anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it!

 

You can go with resort/smart casual any time for any restaurant no jackets required..have a great time.

[Crusin6]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'm a teacher, so I prefer to be far, far away from children on my vacations- I spend enough time with them all day, every day! :p

 

Looks like we'll be booking the Gem... how exciting! :D

however, if you are a teacher, when are you cruising in April? The week before Easter is spring break for public and some private schools and the week after Easter is the Easter break for parochial and also some private schools:D

[jjjct]

Thanks!

 

I'm also looking for information about what we should plan on bringing as far as outfits for dinner go... we're used to bringing the standard 2 formal, 2 semi-formal, 2 smart casual that go with "traditional" cruising, but I know that Norwegian is "free style" cruising.

 

I'm sure this topic has been asked and answered many times on the boards, but I haven't been able to find it... if anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it!

My husband wears dockers and polos or button down short sleve shirts. I wear sun dresses or dress slacks and dressy tops. No need for suits or ties unless that is what you prefer. You can dress up if you like, it's up to you. There are two nights that are "dress up or not" nights. Those are the nights they take photos.

[cresx]

We will be on the same cruise.

[SASA13]

We also came across this question when we wanted to book our first cruise with NCL. It has the same itinerary, just different days.

 

However we chose Gem over Jewel for a couple of reasons:

1. Sat-Sat itinerary gives us Sunday to drive back up to MA.

2. Jewel has the Nickelodeon theme (not all-access) which means that there are more kids on the ship (we've no kids)

3. Price difference - Gem was a lot cheaper for the mini-suite

 

We didn't care for the additional features on Gem like the bowling and rock climbing.

 

Same here---we also chose the Gem.

[ussenterprise]

We chose the Gem because it returns on Saturday and my husband likes to have Sunday to recover from vacation.

 

Same with us. I am in school and cruising over spring break and didn't want to have to fly back to Chicago and go to school the next morning. Gives me time to do laundry, get my photos uploaded and start my cc review :)