3 More weeks to Take Advantage of Bermuda: MY REVIEW

[yoyocruiser]

There are only three more weeks to take advantage of the Bermuda cruise, so I am not going to go into a lot of detail as not that many folks are researching it now. BUT--if you are one of the folks who is possibly considering the Bermuda cruise or a lower cost cruise--there are some things that I want to point out as a real advantage. I also feel that the difficult weather early on and other factors may have scared some folks off.

 

BIG ADVANTAGES:

 

• Costs are way down. I booked early and in the end I could have saved over $600. But for me I wanted to book early and get the room I wanted--which LOL I ended up changing but more on that later. Anyway you can pop on these cruises a get a balcony for around $500-600!! And they usually go at around $1000. If you are willing to go inside it is $399.
  
• Ship is not full: There are a lot of people for sure. But by and large you could always get a seat pretty much everywhere. Specialty restaurants was "walk-on" with a few exceptions. Didn't even see a lot of chair hogging. There were times when we could go to all sorts of places and NOT SEE ANYONE--wow!! Always places at the pool--maybe not the one inner circle by the pool, but pretty much everywhere else. Always tables at the buffet--inside and outside. Lines off ship were not bad. Honestly--few lines and little herding on--a big plus to me!
  
• If you cannot afford a suite but always wanted one now is the time: The new family suites on Deck 12 are amazing and without a balcony they are under a thousand. This is a solid wall of glass the width of the room looking out to sea--beautiful. With Cagney's and all the perks. Unbelievable for this price. These suites are so beautiful it is worth it whether you make it to Bermuda or not--just to float around somewhere and be in these suites.
  
• Low numbers of both kids and college kids: Hey, I actually am a big kid advocate and I love to be on the cruises with a lot of college age kids too. But i know that here at CC that is generally not the feeling. So these October cruises are perfect for you folks. We saw a couple of little kids. And there was an active group of younger couples--so the clubs still had late night dancing and a good energetic feel. But over-all the sedate quality may be perfect for many people.
  

As for a review I won't go day by day. But over-all I want to say that all my expectations were HUGELY exceeded. I guess I had just read so much bad stuff on here and so many complaints--I knew i would have a great time because we are pretty low key and roll with the punches. But everything from food to entertainment was really good:

 

FOOD NON-SPECIALTY: I am a foodie and a fabulous cook. So the thing is--I know good food and then I go in search of it. And there is lots of great food on this ship without ever paying extra. That does not mean I expect to have a 5 star meal in a buffet line or an MDR. However--yes, you can get a grand caesaer salad in the buffet line--the cheese is aged and is wonderful and the dressing has anchovies in it, and it is mixed individually for you. Superb. Wings at Blue Lagoon (not as good as on the Jewel) but still are wonderful at 1AM--LOL. Eggs benedict on the buffet still good, and great made to order omelets. Burgers by the pool for lunch were great. carving stations had very good meat. Fresh fuit and fresh cheeses and marvelous baked breads make for a gourmet lunch. And the smoked salmon and smoked fishes and accompanying condiments are delicious (red onion, tomato, capers, cream cheese etc.) I could go on and on. Both of our dinner MDR meals were in the wonderful category--seriously--wonderful!! (Other nights were at buffet or specialty)

 

FOOD SPECIALTY: Fantastic over the top service in all. Italian was very good. Le Bistro (which I have always liked fine but did not blow me away in the past) literally took both my husband and I into bliss. (We did not order the additional charge items--we had the lamb chops and the tenderloin). Cagney was I have to say a big disappointment. Very few people say this--but a few have. So maybe every once in a while something misses. My steak was overcooked and pretty tough--NOTHING like what i expected. It was pretty much the same steak they served at lunch and breakfast in Cagney's, only cooked way too much a lot tougher. Now yes I should have sent it back but frankly I was just too tired by this point. My fault I know. But forewarning folks here because this was the one place I was not prepared to be assertive--LOL. Now--I will say that the Cagney's oysters were very good and my husbands meal was good. I think it was just one of those rare things.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: I am not into cruise entertainment--never have been. Sorry--it is just always a little cheesy to me. So frankly I don't even LOOK at it ahead of time. But then I get on board and --okay I LOVE LOVE LOVE Second City and comedy in general and having them aboard and doing three shows and a workshop--well--honestly I can almost say I would do the cruise just for this. So then we did go to the shows and i have to say I was thoroughly entertained and I feel these dancers are just extremely talented. And the comedian wasn't quite my thing, but he busted his butt giving several shows and I liked a lot of his stuff. Then the around the ship talent was also good--excellent pianists and some good crooners (which is so much fun with a martini in your hand!!) I mean, it is kind of like the food, if you don't like the entertainment of the moment, walk down the hall and find something you do like.

 

CRUISE ACTIVITIES: All I can say is that there seemed to be more than usual for those folks who like to join organized activities--which I do not. But there were a lot of contests and folks having a great time.

 

CRUISE STAFF: Fantastic. I never pay attention tot eh Cruise Director and often find it funny that others do and write about it on here. But now I see--if you do have a good one it is really noticeable. Paul Scully was great--and maybe his "original Geico-gekko" voice has something to do with it--but he was everywhere and always getting folks into a great frame of mind.

 

Last word I'll say is just about the new family suites on deck 12. Generally in a review I skip the suite stuff--because if you are fortunate enough to be in a suite then you do get a lot of amenities that others don't have--so of course your cruise has a different quality. But these suites are brand new and beautiful. The huge windows, and the really large decks were just a total surprise to me. And the location--right on Deck 12 you go right out your room and right out to the pool deck. As some of you may know i had a thread here wondering about moving from my Penthouse AFT on Deck 8--I had always wanted an aft penthouse--and finally got one only to hear about the serious noise issues from the newly relocated Spinnakers on deck 7. I truly agonized--but two days before the cruise called up and made the change into the new Deck 12 suites. I made the perfect decision because those suites totally blew my mind.

 

And just a few random thoughts:

Deck 13 forward hot tub: No one ever up there--it was right up from our room and seemed like our private hot tub and deck.

Coffee from room service was fantastic and much better than coffee on rest of ship--go figure.

The wine bottle system of leaving your bottle and they'll pull it up from anywhere was just amazing.

When you go to those events--receptions, Latitudes etc.--they will gladly give you whatever drink you wish if you ask for it.

 

So in summary--if you are flexible and able to travel in the next few weeks--get yourself on this cruise--and if you have a little extra money--try out one of those new deck 12 suites!!

[DrFootball]

Thats why i'm booked w/DW on the Gem 4 weeks from tomorrow...:cool:

 

 

Bill(DrFootball)

"You Know, I joined the Army for the same reason you Did, That's to kick A$$ just like in the old war movies. You Know, Be a Hero. That's what i'm looking for in You. A First class All-American hero with his heart and brain wired together cooking full tilt boogie for freedom and justice"- Tommy Lee Jones to Nicholas Cage in the movie FIREBIRDS-1991

Bill's Brainiac Random Quote Generator V0.95 final beta for Mac

[yoyocruiser]

DrFootball,

You and your wife are very lucky!! Honestly this entire cruise we kept looking at each other and saying how incredibly fortunate we were to have this experience.

 

But I also realized (when you responded) that I left out one of the highlights of the cruise--on Sunday they put up like 40 foot screen in the Stardust Theatre and another one in the atrium (this was the Dawn not the Gem)--so that we could watch PATRIOTS football on Sunday afternoon. I mean it was incredible. Of course the game itself was rather--ahhh-painful from a Patriots perspective--but the expereince of watching it in that theatre and running out for the free Buffalo Wings (yes, rather ironic) and having the waiters bringing you beers through the game--LOL!!

[FuninWB]

Yoyocruiser... great review... and thanks! Did you notice if there was any kind of brunch onboard? We're leaving this Friday.:)

[fiftyguy]

yoyo, I remember how stressed you were about your deck 8 cabin, so I'm happy you moved to deck 12 and everything worked out. It sounds like you enjoyed a fantastic cruise.

[bermuda8553]

Thank-you Yo-Yo for the review. I have just a regular aft balcony room # 10730. The price has gone way down since I originally booked and NCL was going to give me a free upgrade to a mini, which I declined, because I felt it wasn't really that good a deal as I heard the Aft rooms had a fantastic view. reading your post though I was wondering for about an additional $250.00 I could go up to the new suites on 12 without the balcony, with the balcony would be about $900, and to be honest that's a lot more than I want to spend. It will be my sister and I taking our 78 year old Mom on this cruise. Do you think the extra perks , and space outweigh the balcony. I've been trying to decide if I should call NCL who I booked through, and see it they will let me upgrade at the price it is now and just pay the difference. Thanks for any input. Glad you had a great cruise.

[Turtles06]

YoYo, thanks for taking the time to post, and glad you had such a wonderful trip. We are on the Gem to Bermuda three weeks from tomorrow, so even though you were on the Dawn, it was good to read your experience cruising to Bermuda in the fall.

 

BTW, in terms of Cagney's, we thought our dinner there last October on the Jewel was one of the worst meals we've ever had, anywhere. Mediocre food, badly prepared, from start to finish. We will try Le Bistro on the Gem, but we won't waste another penny on Cagney's.

[gelo7]

Thanks for sharing, it was very helpful.

[mafig]

YoYo, What did your husband order at Cagney's (that was good).

 

:)

[carrie125]

Thanks for the review! You just made my husbands day with the information aboout the Patriots. We leave in 2 weeks and he was concerned he would miss the game!! LOL

[janetz]

Thanks for the review! You just made my husbands day with the information aboout the Patriots. We leave in 2 weeks and he was concerned he would miss the game!! LOL

 

We just got off on the 23rd and the previous Sunday, the game was ON. :)

[carrie125]

We just got off on the 23rd and the previous Sunday, the game was ON. :)

 

 

Great news for my husband!!! :)Thanks!!!

[yoyocruiser]

FuninWB: They did not seem to have any special brunches on board. I was watching as i had read about some wonderful brunch experiences--jazz brunch I believe and that was something we probably would have done. It is possible I could have missed it--there were so many things going on! However, the breakfast in the dining rooms did go until fairly late and it was excellent. But not the same as the special upcharge brunches I know.

 

Fiftyguy: I was indeed a little stressed about my aft suite. It had been my desire to have an aft for a long time. The closer I got to the cruise the more bad reports I was getting on the Deck Eight noise situation. I am sure we would have a great time in the aft suite. But I did talk with the Hotel Manager about it at the Meet and Greet and he acknowledged there had been a lot of issues. He noted that some people were fine and it did not bother--but others had been miserable. He noted that the two outside suites on Deck 8 did not have the same level of noise issues as all the others (that is the one we were in--and I can see how it would be true because from the footprint of the ship it appears those two rooms are not directly over Spinnaker's. Also, I saw your post that you had to cancel your cruises. Nice of you to give a heads up to those wanting a nice Deck 10 Aft! Very sorry to hear you had to cancel though. But I can assume that this is a good thing for your wife in starting this job. I am sure you will be able to make the time at another point. By the time I called to change my room to the Deck 12 family balcony suites they had dropped in price to way below what I paid for the aft suite!! They still called it an upgrade. And technically it was!!

 

Bermuda 8553: Oh my goodness that is a hard one. Before I saw these suites--even knowing how great the suite perks are--I would probably not have wanted to give up my regular balcony room, and especially an AFT BALCONY. However--now that I have seen these suites, experienced being on Deck 12 (perfect), and then add the suite perks in--I would say that for three people to be able to do this for $250 is a steal. Here's why I say this. I would do this because you are traveling with your 78 year old mother. The suite situation simply makes it sooo much easier for an older person. The aft suites--location wise--are not that convenient--takes a lot of walking. The family suites are forward, but not all the way. Also, they are on deck 12 which means you just walk right out and to the pool area. The breakfast and lunch dining at Cagney's is so lovely--your mother will just love it. The overall extra attention is just so special and makes life so much easier when traveling with an elder--they will get her anything at any time and treat her like royalty. Virginia, the concierge, will ensure that you get to eat at the times she needs to eat and where you wish, or your butler will bring in meals that you order. Frankly, we don't do a lot of that--as you could tell from my review--but had I been fortunate enough to ever have traveled on a cruise with my mother--this is what I would have wanted her to experience. From priority boarding, to priority disembarking, everything is so special. Then there is the beautiful LaVazzo coffee machine which also makes TEA--which was my mom's favorite thing. And they will bring in treats for afternoon tea. And as you mentioned there will be a lot of extra space--even the bathroom is double sinked and georgous with both bath and glass shower. For all of this you will have to give up the aft and the balcony--but it is unlikely you will ever get a suite for near this price or get to have this experience--this is a great opportunity. And finally, because the suites just opened a few weeks ago, everything is brand spanking beautiful shiny and new. I am sure they will let you upgrade and pay the difference--if they don't want to--call and talk to someone else. I am a resounding GO FOR IT--but not if you truly think you cannot live without a balcony. One other thing though--right out the door only a few steps IS a deck--and if you go up one floor to deck 13 there are great sun decks that are usually empty and also a HOT TUB--and no one is there. This is steps from these suites--so even if you have no balcony it is not like you have to go far to get outside.

 

Carrie: Oh my goodness, we were thrilled the game would be on--but I never expected it to be forty feel tall. They also showed it in the atrium on huge screen and you could go eat in Blue Lagoon and see the screen from your table. Way cool.

 

Mafig: About Cagney's--I'm not sure which cut of me he ordered, I believe it was the tenderloin. It was very good. But honestly, I think maybe it was a fluke, although Turtles 06 mentioned a bad meal there also. Le Bistro's steak was killer good.

 

Hope this is helpful, I got a lot of help here and actually that is what prompted me to move to the deck 12 suites and it was marvelous.

[FuninWB]

Your review is VERY helpful, yoyocruiser. Thanks for taking the time to respond to us all.

[bermuda8553]

Yo-Yo thank-you so much for your reply. I think I agree with you. For the amount of time on the balcony and with the suite you have the outside deck right there I think I will talk to my sister and make sure she's OK with it, but if she is I will call my NCL TA and see what she can do. I will let you know how I make out. You have actually made my decision easy. Now lets hope my sister is on board. I will show her your post. Thank-you again.

[yoyocruiser]

Bermuda,

It is sometimes daunting to give strong recommendations on here--because you know people are making important and sometimes costly decisions. But honestly, I am not hesitant on this one. I specifically asked our butler if I could see one of the suites that does not have the balcony. The thing is they have an ENTIRE wall that goes floor to ceiling-- of windows--so you get a real openness and wild view. I wish I had pictures but the one they show for booking is pretty accurate. You just can't see how large it is--or how nice the bathroom is. Also, there is a king bed--I think they say queen but I am pretty sure it was king. And a double Murphy bed, and a double pullout.

[cruitenn]

Very nice review! We are also avid fans of Bermuda, last cruise was in May on the the Gem. We will not be able to cruise for a while due to my husband's illness so I am going to be cruising through reviews here on cruise critic for a while.

 

Thanks for taking time to write one.

[yoyocruiser]

Cruitenn,

Thank you so much. I am glad you are able to get pleasure by reading the adventures here. I am very sorry to hear about your husband. But how wonderful it is that you were able to have the cruise on the Gem last May. I am sure you are keeping those happy memories close in your heart. And my heartfelt wishes for your husband's recovery.

yoyo

[cruitenn]

Thanks, for the recovery wishes. We have enjoyed cruising for a number of years (our 1st was on NCL's Skyward in 1986). We celebrated DH's 61st birthday when we were on the Gem last May. We had a wonderful time as we always do whenever we cruise. I don't think we have ever had one that we did not enjoy.

[chipsmom]

YOYO---Thanks so much. I am in a fam suite w/o balcony next may with mom 86yo, and son almost 20 by the cruise.

 

I was very happy to hear about these suites and think is long over due for something for families and larger groups. I can't wait!

Since it is a May cruise I think we managed a bit of savings.

 

Thanks again.

[sedbandmom]

Bermuda,

It is sometimes daunting to give strong recommendations on here--because you know people are making important and sometimes costly decisions. But honestly, I am not hesitant on this one. I specifically asked our butler if I could see one of the suites that does not have the balcony. The thing is they have an ENTIRE wall that goes floor to ceiling-- of windows--so you get a real openness and wild view. I wish I had pictures but the one they show for booking is pretty accurate. You just can't see how large it is--or how nice the bathroom is. Also, there is a king bed--I think they say queen but I am pretty sure it was king. And a double Murphy bed, and a double pullout.

 

Thank you for your wonderful review!!! We have an SJ suite booked for 21 Oct. I'm looking forward to the wall of windows! And the suite perks, too!!!

Sandy

[lgfromdg]

Thanks for posting. We're on the Gem 2 weeks from tomorrow and can't wait.

Hopefully, we'll make it to Bermuda.

 

Re: Cagneys - We also had a bad meal there; the ribeye steaks were flavorless & tough and the side dishes were much smaller. Since I'd loved Cagneys on the Jewel cruises, I was very disappointed. Don't think we'll try it this time.

[galleycook]

I'm not sure if I've missed something (wouldn't be the first time ;)), but I have been looking on NCL's website specifically at the deck plans and I don't see suites on the 12 floor. This is for the GEM right??

[cruitenn]

I'm not sure if I've missed something (wouldn't be the first time ;)), but I have been looking on NCL's website specifically at the deck plans and I don't see suites on the 12 floor. This is for the GEM right??

 

This cruise was on the Dawn, where new suites were added on Deck 12.

[yoyocruiser]

Galleycook, No very sorry--this is for the Dawn that leaves out of Boston to Bermuda. I realize the Gem leaves out of New York so I understand your confusion. My apologies. The Gem (and the Jewel) do not have these type of suites. They have two bedroom family suites which are also lovely--but are much more expensive.

 

To those of you booked in these suites in the future, you are in for a treat.Chipsmom--and others traveling with children/parents--you may be interested to know that there can be at least some partial privacy. The king size bed has a pullout/sliding wall beside it that separates it from the pullout sofa at night, as well as a pullout curtain at the foot of the bed. There is no privacy between the pullout sofa and the murphy bed that comes from the wall across from it. But at least that does provide some privacy that can be important when traveling with sons/daughters etc. I keep remembering more nice features of this room that I forgot to post.