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NCL Gem 12/13/2012 (December 13, 2012)

JackHamilton

By JackHamilton,
in LGBTQIA+ Roll Calls

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JackHamilton

JackHamilton

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I'll be on the Norwegian Gem out of NYC on December 13, 2012. Anyone else on board?

 

Prices are good right now and the ship isn't full, if anyone is pondering where to go. The itinerary is NYC - San Juan - St. Maarten - St. Thomas - Samaná - NYC, four sea days.

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MattNYC

MattNYC

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My partner (Wayne) and I just booked. His parents (and maybe his aunt) will also be aboard (we travel together a lot). New stops for us, fantastic price, and--best of all--no planes!!! :D

 

We have generally alternated between NCL and Celebrity (not really much in common). Our first cruise together was on the Dawn (NYC/Bermuda) and we really enjoyed it. The subsequent NCL cruises have gone a bit downhill in our view and we've never been able to figure out if it's the line, the ships (Dawn, then Pearl/Miami/W. Carrib., then Spirit/New Orleans/W. Carrib.), the ports of origin or the itineraries.

 

We are hoping that going back out of NYC may result in an experience that approximates that first cruise. We do love the Freestyle concept and NCL's prices are so great, we are really hoping that this re-enthuses our NCL spirit.

 

Look forward to meeting you on board!

 

Matt

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JackHamilton

JackHamilton

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We have generally alternated between NCL and Celebrity (not really much in common). Our first cruise together was on the Dawn (NYC/Bermuda) and we really enjoyed it. The subsequent NCL cruises have gone a bit downhill in our view and we've never been able to figure out if it's the line, the ships (Dawn, then Pearl/Miami/W. Carrib., then Spirit/New Orleans/W. Carrib.), the ports of origin or the itineraries.

 

I think it's the increasing amount of hard sell for onboard shops, art auctions, and so forth. They make the public areas unusable at times.

 

The crew and cabins have always been very good on NCL ships. The food may have gone downhill a bit, probably a result of cost-cutting.

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MattNYC

MattNYC

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I think it's the increasing amount of hard sell for onboard shops, art auctions, and so forth. They make the public areas unusable at times.

 

The crew and cabins have always been very good on NCL ships. The food may have gone downhill a bit, probably a result of cost-cutting.

 

That is very noticeable--on the Century they are (temporarily, at least) without an art auction company. And you would hardly ever know that there was Bingo on board unless you stumbled across it. They hardly mention the casino tournaments outside of the casino and daily bulletin. The most heavily-promoted events were the FREE ones. It makes for a VERY relaxing environment. On NCL, we quickly start to tune out the announcements because of the huckstering. NCL--by far--has the better entertainment.

 

The MDR menu was the same or at least nearly identical on all three of our NCL cruises. We just don't know if the quality is the issue, if we (so quickly) grow bored with it, or if just the novelty of cruise dining wore off. It seems industry-wide that there is at least a perception that the quality in the MDRs has gone down as a way to entice people to dine in the for-fee specialties. The cynic in me says that's probably true, but I can't imagine that's an intentional (or smart) strategy--if everyone diverted, they would never be able to handle the capacity. We're too frugal (cheap) to book those unless there's a 2-for-1 coupon involved LOL

 

If the MDR food doesn't meet our expectations, it's very likely that this will be our last NCL booking--we can live with most everything else, but eating well (but still smartly) is such a big factor.

 

Hope this board gets more attention towards the Fall. Are any of your traveling party also LGBT?

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MattNYC

MattNYC

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My partner and I (Joey & Larry ) and our friend Cris will also be sailing with you.

Just booked the last Haven (courtyard) Villa left. I really love the NYE cruise ,NCL does it right.

Lookig forward to meeting you all.

 

Larry

 

Larry,

 

Just to be clear, this is the December 13th Sailing--not the New Year's Eve sailing. Which are you on?

 

Matt

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ClubMichael

ClubMichael

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Hey guys - Ed and I are thinking about taking this Dec 13th cruise. We were just on the Gem Sept 30 for 10 days to Canada, so would really love to be back on the ship, but to warmer ports.

 

If we do book, we will let you know. The price is right for this saling, just have to move around some stuff at work and make sure I have the time off.

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MattNYC

MattNYC

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Hey guys - Ed and I are thinking about taking this Dec 13th cruise. We were just on the Gem Sept 30 for 10 days to Canada, so would really love to be back on the ship, but to warmer ports.

 

If we do book, we will let you know. The price is right for this saling, just have to move around some stuff at work and make sure I have the time off.

 

The more the merrier :) Hope we'll see you aboard. We've toyed with a Canadian cruise, so it would be nice to hear about that.

 

Matt

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MattNYC

MattNYC

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We booked - so we will see you guys on the Gem Dec 13th. I guess we can meet up at the Friend of Dorothy the first night. In the meantime, lets keep in touch....

 

Welcome aboard! (writing from nearby Haddonfield)

 

That was an amazing rate you got. We get too impatient and Wayne's scheduling is too complicated to do "last minute" deals, but we'd have done that in a heartbeat. There's more and more variety every year going put of NYC, so maybe we can do one of these like that down the road. Too bad Philly isn't hosting any cruise ships these days.

 

Matt

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JackHamilton

JackHamilton

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We booked - so we will see you guys on the Gem Dec 13th. I guess we can meet up at the Friend of Dorothy the first night. In the meantime, lets keep in touch....

 

Great! Are you signed up for the Meet and Greet?

 

I've never had any luck even finding the Friends of Dorothy meetings - they've always either been in very crowded bars where there was no way to tell who was there for the meeting and who was just there to drink, or the place has been completely empty.

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ClubMichael

ClubMichael

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Hello Neighbor - lol - yes, I wish Philly would get ships back, but for now, we just try and go out of NYC. We take the Megabus, so it's pretty cheap.

 

If you guys have facebook - look me up - we can chat on there too.

 

Welcome aboard! (writing from nearby Haddonfield)

 

That was an amazing rate you got. We get too impatient and Wayne's scheduling is too complicated to do "last minute" deals, but we'd have done that in a heartbeat. There's more and more variety every year going put of NYC, so maybe we can do one of these like that down the road. Too bad Philly isn't hosting any cruise ships these days.

 

Matt

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ClubMichael

ClubMichael

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Normally on NCL they have a good turnout for the Friends of Dorothy. Usually they will have a meeting the 1st day, and most sea days (sometime while in Port, but it's not all the time). Usually on the Gem they have the meetings at the Star Bar, which is nice because it's not in the middle of anything. Make sure you check it out the first night.

 

Also, if you have facebook, friend me. Can give you more info. We were just on Gem in October for the Canadian Cruise.

 

Great! Are you signed up for the Meet and Greet?

 

I've never had any luck even finding the Friends of Dorothy meetings - they've always either been in very crowded bars where there was no way to tell who was there for the meeting and who was just there to drink, or the place has been completely empty.

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JackHamilton

JackHamilton

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Also, if you have facebook, friend me. Can give you more info. We were just on Gem in October for the Canadian Cruise.

 

I sent you a friend request, assuming that the name I picked was the right one - it seemed obvious, but there might be 1000 people on Facebook with your name and a picture of a ship.

 

I'm traveling with four other people I met on the Gem a few years ago. We had a very rough trans-Atlantic crossing. A few of us were also on the Pearl last year, also a rough trip.

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ClubMichael

ClubMichael

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You got it, but I tried to accept on my phoen and it didn't work. So I refriended you. Make sure to check and approve.

 

I sent you a friend request, assuming that the name I picked was the right one - it seemed obvious, but there might be 1000 people on Facebook with your name and a picture of a ship.

 

I'm traveling with four other people I met on the Gem a few years ago. We had a very rough trans-Atlantic crossing. A few of us were also on the Pearl last year, also a rough trip.

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ClubMichael

ClubMichael

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Sounds like a plan - see you in two weeks !

 

My partner Joe and I are excitied to go back on NCL for another grand adventure! We love to cruise and do most of our trips with either Princess or NCL. Looking forward to NYC in December! Hope to meet new friends and have a grand time on the Gem!
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ClubMichael

ClubMichael

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Party at the Haven? lol

 

My partner and I (Joey & Larry ) and our friend Cris will also be sailing with you.

Just booked the last Haven (courtyard) Villa left. I really love the NYE cruise ,NCL does it right.

Lookig forward to meeting you all.

 

Larry

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JackHamilton

JackHamilton

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Only 6 days - wow - time is flying by fast. See you all next Thursday...

 

Yeah, how did that happen?

 

The same way I worked myself into the CDC's "near-elderly" category, I guess.

 

I will try to get on early enough to have lunch. Is there a FOD meeting that evening, do you know?

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MattNYC

MattNYC

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I will try to get on early enough to have lunch. Is there a FOD meeting that evening, do you know?

 

I cannot recall if they advertise a FOD gathering on the first night in the program.

 

Regardless, we're probably going to take it easy on Evening One. Maybe we'll pop by just to say hello.

 

Is everyone here signed up for the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet on the main Roll Call? If our gaydar is not functional right away, we can try to connect then, if not at the next FOD.

 

Matt

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