My Review of the Gem - 1st Cruise Ever!

[Ace2012]

:D Okay - I'm going to try to write a LOT. Partly because I spent so many hours scouring these boards for every bit of information leading up to my cruise that I feel I owe it to all CC members & first-time cruisers, and partly because I just want to relive every moment of my wonderful vacation!

 

So my boyfriend Mike and I booked the February 19th cruise back in the beginning of November, about 2 months after moving in together. I had been desperate to go on a tropical vacation for a LONG time, and while I flip-flopped between an all-inclusive resort and a cruise, we ultimately decided that a cruise would give us the most value for our $.

 

DAY 1

 

The morning of Sunday, February 19th was sunny and mild. We took the Metro-North down to Grand Central Station, stopped in a Chase Bank to take out some cash, and then hopped in a cab to the pier. I spotted the Gem from a few blocks away and jumped up in my seat when I realized how TOTALLY HUGE it was. I think Mike was in shock as well (he'd never been on a cruise either). Of course...he might have been more taken back by the cabbie asking him if we were going on our honeymoon.... Ha.

 

Anyways, we dropped our luggage off with the baggage handlers outside the pier (I was a liiiitle skeptical that our bags would ever actually arrive on the ship. Thankfully I was proven wrong). We decided to carry on Mike's backpack and my beach bag, and check our two suitcases. I would reccommend to "carry on" as little as possible - you really won't need anything other than your purse/wallet/camera for thsoe first few hours on the ship, and anything extra you have will just be annoying to carry around while you're exploring.

 

I should mention that we arrived at the pier around 11:30 - and I was happy we arrived early, because there were already a few hundred people milling around. I didn't know what the boarding process at the pier would be like - but I thought it was so cool to be inside a place that felt and looked like an airport terminal, with a ginormous ship parked right outside (which you could see through all the windows), which we were preparing to board. We got on line, and it only took about 5-10 minutes to get up to a desk, where they checked out eDocs and identification, took our photos, and set up our onboard accounds. Mike and I decided to each use our own credit cards on our cruise cards, which was necessary because 1) We like to place many bets (i.e. Winner of this ping pong game buys the next round of drinks.) and 2) Because I wanted to treat him to a few special things for his birthday, including a dinner at Cagneys.

 

To Be Continued soon....

[jasperess]

Yay for your first cruise! Looking forward to the rest of your review :)

[mizLORInj]

It is always exciting to spot the ship! (even after many cruises!)

cabbie's question was cute LOL

[libertyschool]

Looking forward to the rest of your review! How was the Metro North train? I'm planning on doing this for my cruise in May. We will most likely drive to Poughkeepsie and take the Metro North train in to Grand Central.

[SuiteCruiser]

I'm all excited for you, can't wait for more! There's nothing like that first cruise, the only next best thing is cruising with someone who's never cruised before, it's so fun seeing it all through their eyes.

 

Tick Tock, where's the rest ;)

[Ace2012]

After checking in and recieving our boarding group number, we sat down and waited for our number to be called, while looking through the first Freestyle Daily. There wasn't too much planned for the first day, but it was still so exciting to get a peek at what was in store for us. After waiting maybe 20 minutes, our number was called, and we jumped on line to board the ship. The line moved quickly, and before I knew it, we were walking onto the ship!!! We entered on the 7th floor, right into the Atrium. The coffee bar was in front of us and we were all directed to our left. We walked past the duty free shop and the reception desk , and then people began to head in different directions. Mike and I agreed that we would sit down to lunch in one of the main dining rooms, and then explore the ship. Crew members directed us to the Grand Pacific, and we were seating within a few moments.

 

The Grand Pacific wasn't as large as I expected it to be, and had a much cozier atmosphere than I anticipated. Still, it was elegant - white tablecloths, flowers on each table, etc. I ordered vegetable summer rolls as an appetizer and a salmon and shrip salad sandwich with sweet potato chips. Mike ordered a club sandwich with french fries.

 

Even though the ship wasn't going anywhere yet, I could sense it moving ever so slightly, and I took some Bonine to head off any potential motion sickness. I can't even remember what we talked about at lunch, and think I just wanted to inhale my food as quickly as possible in order to get out and explore even more! Our lunch was pretty good. I didn't really like the summer rolls, but I thought my shrimp and salmon salad sandwich was surprisingly delicious, and Mike said his sandwich was "okay". We didn't bother with dessert. After that, we went up to Spinaker Lounge (13th Floor, Bow) - which would prove to be one of my favorite venues on the ship. Then, we went out to the pool deck. Although I knew we'd be in Florida in 2 days, and the Bahamas after that, I just couldn't believe it would ever feel warm enough to be walking around on that pool deck in shorts and a bathing suit. With the pools drained and the hot tubs covered, I just kept my fingers crossed that we would get to use them soon enough. From the pool deck, we walked up the stairs to the Bali Hai bar. I got a pina colada, and Mike went with a mai tai. I thought the pina colada was TERRIBLE - I'm not sure if it was too strong, or if the bartender mixed up my order with someone elses, or if the pina colada mix was bad - but it tasted nothing like any pina colada I had ever had before. It wasn't sweet or coconut-y or anything good, but I sucked it down anyway because I was on vacation-dammit! That was the only pina colada I tried on the ship (didn't want to risk paying $9 or so for another bad one, in case thats just how they made them). Mike's drink was better than mine,but he didn't love it either, and mostly steered clear of the frozen drinks from then on.

 

Next we, dropped our carry-on bags off in the Bliss Ultra Lounge, so that we wouldn't have to carry them around outside during sail-away. While meandering back to the top deck, we peeked into the Stardust Theater (impressive), walked through the casino (Yay!), and located Cagneys. Mike knew that I wanted to treat him to a Cagney's dinner for his birthday (the 23rd, Thursday), but when we saw a sign advertising a free bottle of wine with dinner in either Cagneys or Le Bistro for that night only, we knew we had to get in on it. We made reservations for Cagneys that evening at 6:45. Next, we went back to Spinnaker so that Mike could grab a beer to take up to the top deck.

 

We opted to hang out on deck 13 at the bow, where there were about another 100 people, waiting for the ship to set sail. Finally, we felt the engines start to rumble and the ship slowely backed away from the pier.

[Ace2012]

The Metro-North is quick and easy. I live right across the street from a Metro-north stop that's only 25 minutes from Grand Central, and take it almost every weekend. I've never had a problem with delays or anything (you shouldn't as long as there isn't a freak snowstorm). There will be plenty of room for you and your luggage, and since Grand Central is the last stop, you won't miss it!

[jdvmd]

Thank you for your very concise review! Keep it coming!

[libertyschool]

The Metro-North is quick and easy. I live right across the street from a Metro-north stop that's only 25 minutes from Grand Central, and take it almost every weekend. I've never had a problem with delays or anything (you shouldn't as long as there isn't a freak snowstorm). There will be plenty of room for you and your luggage, and since Grand Central is the last stop, you won't miss it!

 

Thank you so much! This has eased my mind a lot. BTW - Enjoying your review! Keep it coming!

[JerseyGrl85]

we leave on the GEM in a few days, Cant Wait! Your review thus far is wonderful!!

[Ace2012]

After getting several pictures of the statue of liberty, and staying outside for the exciting pass under the Verrezano Bridge, Mike and I headed back inside to warm up. Before long, we heard the announcement that our rooms were ready. We picked up our carry on bags from Bliss and hurried down to our cabin.*

 

For Money-saving purposes, and the fact that this was our first cruise ever (& we didn't want to set the bar too high) we chose the cheapest type of cabin - guaranteed ("GTY") inside. We ended up on deck 4, forward.*

 

Upon first walking into the cabin, it was pretty much exactly what I expected. Not a lot of room to maneuver, but no different than a very tiny hotel room at a decent hotel. It was perfectly clean and well maintained, and that opinion did not change throughout the week. There were only 2 issues right off the bat: 1) they had set up the room with 2 twin beds instead of with a queen, and 2) for the bottle of wine included with our reservation through Expedia, they left a bottle of red (we only drink white). The first was remedies by leaving a post-it for our room steward (the beds were combined by the time we got back to the room around 10pm); the second by asking someone at reception, who told me that I could exchange it for a bottle of white at any of the restaurants.

 

After settling in and changing for dinner, if I remember, we went to Magnums Champagne Bar for OSA (onboard staff activity) trivia. Although our trivia knowledge was embarrassingly limited, it was fun, and Natalie, the cruise director staff person leading it, was energetic and funny.

 

After trivia, we went straight to Cagneys for our 6:45 reservation. The restaurant wasn't too busy, about half the tables were full. Once we were seated and the waitress went to get our free bottle of wine, the restaurant manager stopped by to introduce himself - it was unnecessary but a very nice touch. That evening, we had the shrimp cocktail (perfect), crab cake (meh), steak (amazing - and I don't even like steak) Cagneys fries (just tasted like regular fries this time - I think they forgot the truffle oil- but fantastic the second time we went), creme brûlée (Mikes favorite dessert of the whole cruise), and mini dessert sampler (very cute, and everything was yummy). Altogether this meal was COMPLETELY worth the 25$ cover - which is why we also went back later in the week.

 

(apologies for any typos - Trying to do

This on my phone during my commute!)

[jints07]

...and Natalie, the cruise director staff person leading it, was energetic and funny...

 

Totally agree, Natalie was very entertaining. Her friendly sarcasm that comes through whenever she speaks, was hilarious.

 

Great Trip Report btw, keep em coming! I was on this trip but cannot write anywhere near as well as you do, so thank you for helping me re-live this a bit! :)

[Davechipp74]

We took the Metro-North down to Grand Central Station.

i lived in n.y. most of my life, and had no idea that metro-north stopped at the post office.

sorry i could not resist. congrats on your first cruise, and i love your review so far

:D