Back from the Gem Holiday Cruise

[lolane1]

So just to let you know where I am coming from, I have perhaps 40ish cruises under my belt, mostly from Princess, Celebrity, RCI, and only 1 Carnival and 1 former NCL cruise.

 

There is so much to like on the Gem, but there are areas that can’t rival the other girls in the beauty pageant. But we can get to that later. Here are some of the many great things on the NCL's Gem.

 

First, Freestyle cruising is fabulous. For once, I don’t need a vacation from my vacation. Honestly, I wore about one third of the clothing I packed and hardly touched the jewelry bag. How nice it was not to have to be dressed to the hilt all the time.

 

Words of advice that were given to me from former Gem travellers, (that I obviously didn’t follow) I will pass on. “Pack your bags. Then empty them. Take half the clothing and twice the amount of money and you’re set.” Retrospectively, it was good advice.

 

The next most fabulous thing is the Mandara spa. We bought the nine-day pass for $189. And, IMHO, it was worth every penny. I spent hours relaxing and reading there every day, besides using the hot tubs, thalassotherapy pool, heated tile beds, sauna, and steam room. The sauna on the women’s side has two glass walls that look out to the ocean. Cortisol levels drop rapidly. There are comfy loungers and spa music guaranteed to take the stress level down quickly. And the spa faces the front of the ship so the view is fantastic. They limit the number of passes, and to be truthful there were many times I was in there alone. What heaven.

 

Another pretty fabulous area, believe it or not, is the Garden Café. With all the other ships I have been on, the Gem takes the cake. (Literally and figuratively) The selection, quality, presentations, taste, flow, and cleanliness is superior for cafeteria-style foods. The coffee was good, as opposed to the "swill" on Princess. The lettuces were so fresh and crisp; the spinach, perfection. Fresh omelets and eggs benedict were actually done amazingly. There were always great Indian and Chinese selections, fresh sandwiches, salad fixings, stews, soups, crepes, even freshly roasted beef and chicken. You name it. They even did an amazing job on desserts. For breakfast you could have fresh vegetable juices blended for a fee. And there was always free ice cream. We witnessed the change between meals, and they were not kidding about cleaning and sanitizing. Nicely done, NCL,

 

Moving on, the staff was really friendly. For you looking for “washy, washy”, it appears to be said only by one staff member and I think she is a riot. NCL is really serious about cleanliness.

 

Another plus, no hard sell from photographers’. Wow, who knew!

 

I had a few issues with the smokers next door, non-posting of onboard credit, a malfunctioning toilet, which were addressed immediately and professionally. Not the toilet issue, but the other problems were followed up with personal phone calls. Don't think I would have wanted a follow up call about the toilet. Again, nicely done Norwegian.

 

Finally, I have never really thought too much about Cruise Directors but (Are you listening NCL?) give this guy a raise! – Matt Sole - always present, ever smiling, personable, genuine and had the guts to stand out on the freezing deck to say good-bye in New York. By the way, NCL and the Gem didn't hold back on the holiday festivities, decorations, and had the ship rockin' in the new year. Thanks, Matt.

 

So, in my opinion, while the GEM may not win the beauty pageant (more on that later), she definitely wins Miss Congeniality. You can decide with whom you would rather hang out with.

[Orleanscruiser]

Wow what a great review , we were on the Gem last June and now booked for the Oct 27 cruise

[smurfgirl06]

I was on this cruise, too! It was a lot of fun, and I agree with giving Matt a raise. He was my cruise director on the Pearl in March, and he was just as wonderful then.

 

I have never had an New Year's Eve quite like the one on the Gem. It was amazing! Kudos to NCL for throwing quite a party!

[lolane1]

OK, now some other aspects of the ship that were OK, just perhaps nothing to write home about. Remember, this is a personal view, my reality, and maybe not yours. It’s ok to disagree.

 

What stands out most in my opinion, is that the specialty restaurants take up the much of the common areas. On the days that were cold – first day and last day of the cruise, the common areas were overly crowded. It almost looked like debarkation with people crowded into small spaces. However, with outdoor space available as the weather warmed, this was alleviated. But, there are no nice and quite public spaces to squirrel yourself away with a good book. So, if that is your pleasure, get a balcony or sign up for the Mandara spa or plan some reading time in your room.

 

The pool area is crowded, crowded, crowded. Many people like this but it is not my personal favorite. Again, just a personal preference, I like adult only pools situated far away from the crowds. Not to be had on the Gem, but I had the spa, the port beaches, and the balcony for sun. So,no biggie.

 

I got a closed in feeling on the Gem. Much of that was a result of crowded spaces. While the atrium is open for two stories, I missed the tall, expanded atriums of other lines. Again, this is personal preference.

 

As for décor, I loved the Chihuly glass artpiece in the atrium. Spotted it immediately as I am familiar with the artist’s work. It took me awhile to figure out the crystal formation on the ceiling of the atrium, and think it could have been done better. The atrium looked gorgeous at night particularly with the holiday lights.

 

And then there is the flocked fabric all over Spinacker’s. It’s one thing to look retro and another when it actually makes you think it - is - genuinely -retro……… Perhaps too much overuse of flocked fabric on the ship.

 

The tables in the great outdoors are delaminating with eruptions from below the top layer. And the poor flag flying aft is fraying and ratty on the ends. Hey NCL, I could fix this with my sewing machine in about 10 minutes.

 

While I think the size of the cabins is slightly smaller than other ships I have travelled on, it is serviceable, nicely decorated, and functional. The beds are super comfy and the sheeting is crisp, totally delightful for sleeping. I really, really liked the bathroom. The faux wood paneling combined with the turquoise flooring and modern sink made it quite attractive.

 

I liked the décor, ambiance, and service in the Grand Pacific dining room but didn’t care for Magenta. For me the Grand Pacific was reminiscent of the grand days of sailing, like the Titanic – yeah, not a good analogy. The Garden Café was similarly decorated but what is with the giant vases that looked like malt glasses with phony calla lilies hanging out? Sorry, not a fan, but hey the food was great= keep your eyes on the plate of food.

 

As for the entertainment, the young singers and dancers put everything in to their high-energy productions. The comedian was so great; one could have wondered why he was on a cruise ship. Unfortunately, he is leaving to entertain the troops in Afghanistan, so you on cruises coming up won’t have to opportunity to enjoy his show. And you have your juggler and magician. You can judge here for yourselves.

 

As for the food in the Grand Pacific, it was hit or miss. Later in the cruise, I had more hits than misses. I ordered an excellent rack of lamb, and did experience a great steak. Earlier in the cruise, the steak was OK, more like the kind you would have purchased from a supermarket. But it was tasty. There was also a potato gnocchi done with toasted pine nuts in a béchamel sauce that was good. And a mushroom ravioli swimming in cheese whiz that was not so good, unless you like cheese whiz. The biggest miss was a piece of mahi mahi that was so dry, you couldn't cut it with a knife. No problem - there is more food upstairs. Don’t ask me how much weight I gained. I won’t be stepping on the scale for a week or two and wore stretchy pants off the ship.

 

As for the specialty restaurants, we were in such a relaxed mode that we could never plan it and were totally shut out on New Year’s Eve. Oh well, just guess I have to sail again.

[Rhea58]

Nice honest review. I have sailed her 3x and have always found the staff friendly & will greet you by name after a short while.

Jenny Lin, the current HD, is great and really enjoys her job.

Perchance was the comedian Jeff Harms who has been w/them for a while?

He is very good!.

[garycarla]

Gotta say.... if more people wrote reviews like this... well, it would be a great day. Thanks for time and well written comments.

[lolane1]

Nice honest review. I have sailed her 3x and have always found the staff friendly & will greet you by name after a short while.

Jenny Lin, the current HD, is great and really enjoys her job.

Perchance was the comedian Jeff Harms who has been w/them for a while?

He is very good!.

 

THe comedian was Sam Fedele.

[L3GWG]

What issue did you have with smokers next door? I am a smoker and exercise my right to smoke on my balcony without criticism

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Arzeena]

What a great review! Thanks for posting. Do you have pictures to post?

[mommyto2girls]

Great review we love the Gem and sail her quite frequently. I think that there is a much needed facelift for certain areas and it is my understanding that is being done Fall 2014. We think Jenny runs a great ship.

[lolane1]

What issue did you have with smokers next door? I am a smoker and exercise my right to smoke on my balcony without criticism

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Yes, you have a right to smoke but my neighbors were smoking IN the room because of the cold weather, and not on their balcony. They wouldn't even let the steward in to clean for two days. And when you passed by the door, you could smell the smoke. Unfortunately, the cabin had an internal door between our rooms and the odor actually came through. My room stunk.

I reported it and NCL actually immediately came up and sealed the door with tape. This was followed up by a phone call the next day to see how we were doing. As I said, nice action, NCL. How NCL dealt with the smokers, I am not privy too. The taping took care of most of the smoke, except for residual smoke in the closet (vents?) and the smoke pouring in from the balcony.

 

Anyway, yes, you have the right to smoke and being an ex-smoker, I had also defended my right to smoke, to the death. (pun intended) But, and I say this with all kindness, it is an addiction and it's like telling a drug addict he can't have his fix. Smokers are very caught up in their addiction. And I say that from experience. But, it's your life and your lungs. No criticism. And btw, giving up smoking was the hardest thing I have ever done.(worse than natural child birth) Now, I am aware of the smallest amount of smoke and it can trigger an asthma attack, so I am careful about what I breathe.

 

Unfortunately, due to wind currents around the ship (fluid physics) smoke accumulates the all surrounding balcony areas. So that when an adjoining cabin opens their balcony door, the smoke rushes in. I had to accommodate my balcony use to their frequent smoking. As you notice, I didn't complain about it in my review. And really not complaining about it now. You have the right to smoke, go ahead. Just have a bit of empathy for nonsmokers as some of us do for you, instead of staunchly defending your habit. But honestly, you won't because of the addiction. Long gone are my cigarette dreams and life without smoking is a blessing. Good luck.

[lolane1]

What a great review! Thanks for posting. Do you have pictures to post?

 

Gosh, having cruised so often, I really didn't take any pix - except of the spa area which I adored!!!!!! I just texted those to my kids, and to my friends to make them JEALOUS. Actually, one friend suggested that we do the two day CTN, on the Breakaway. She was specifically interested in the spa. See what jealousy can do; it got me another friend to cruise with!!!! Yippee. :)

[3DBeach]

Thank you for sharing such an enjoyable review.

[jdvmd]

Love your review! And the beauty pageant references!