Fabulous trip on the Beautiful Gem!

[Rhea58]

I too love the Gem and Jenny Lin is a fabulous Hotel Director...always interacting with the public.

[hateswaterloves2cruise]

We too had Carlos and he didn't bother with us either. We had an aft penthouse and the only time he talked to us was when we were with the OS people. I even had to call him to find out how to get priority tender tickets. Not impressed.

[GSLMOM]

DAY 3. PORT CANAVERAL

 

 

We had breakfast at Cagney's and I had the Tahitian Vanilla French Toast which was very good. Cagney's is open for breakfast from 7:00 - 10:00 and we went around 9:30. They start to break down the buffet around 10:00, so if that's important to you, you should try to go earlier. Our waiter, Dinoh, was friendly and pleasant.

 

We decided at the last minute to go to Cocoa Beach Village so after the crowds got off the ship, we made our way down and paid for the shuttle tickets and off we went. We mostly spent time at Ron John's Surf Shop. My son bought a watch, which was surprisingly priced well. We went to Starbucks, walked around a little and went back to the ship. Our shuttle broke down on the highway and luckily another one arrived within a few minutes to transport us back to the ship. That was unnerving for a few minutes.... We hit the buffet for a quick bite and then went back to our wonderful cabin to relax and read on the balcony.

 

We went to Magenta for dinner at 7:00 and there was a very short line. It was a little slow but we made it to the show which was Second City. Great comedy troupe. Afterwards, we went to Magnums for a drink and to listen to Paulo, who we thoroughly enjoyed listening to!

[sparks1093]

We were on May 17-24. There were 49 signed up for our Meet and Greet and only 16 showed up. It was a shame since we also had the Captain and Jenny of course.

 

FWIW I counted the unused name tags and we only had 8 CC members not show up, the remainder of the no shows were traveling with the CC members.

[GSLMOM]

DAY 4. GREAT STIRRUP CAY

 

We had breakfast delivered to our suite so we could get to GSC early. One of the perks of being in a suite is priority tendering. So we went to the Star bar a little late - 9:15, and nobody was there. However, our butler, Jayson saw us and quickly escorted us to a crew elevator and down to the gangway. We just missed a tender but the next one was right there. When we got to GSC, we made our way to the Bacardi Bar Beach, which is where we reserved our clam shells. This was a great spot as it was close to everything - the music, the food, the activities, the bar, the tenders, and the straw market. I would stay there again. If you are looking for a quiet spot, this is not it. Lunch was open from 11:30 to 2:00. It was typical BBQ. Hamburgers, chicken, ribs, corn.... Great day on the island.

 

We went to La Cucina for dinner at 7:00. Great meal. We ordered salads and pizza as appetizers. That could have been our meal! I had the Osso Buco, which was tender and delicious. I can't remember what the rest of my family had but we were all happy with our choices.

 

After dinner we made our way to the theater for Jeff Harms, comedian. He is hysterical. My husband and I have seen him before. He made me laugh so hard, I couldn't stop and I had tears in my eyes. Do not miss him. He joined the cruise the same time we did, so he will probably be there for a while.

 

My husband and I were tired from the long day at the beach. You know, all that laying around makes you tired, lol. So we went to bed, but the kids went to Dancing With The Gem Stars and Joker's Wild with Jeff Harms, which I'm sorry we missed. They said it was really funny.

 

I also want to say that there were so many activities and parties going on that I can't imagine anyone being bored. If anything, it's a reason to go back - to see what you missed!

 

My kids had also participated in all the trivia during the week and they had a blast with the cruise staff.

[Susie51]

The games shows are fun, but after a day at the beach, I'm ready to relax. Thank you for continuing to post.

[NJBill]

Can't wait to read more! I'm on the Gem the first week in September.

 

Richard/Tralfie

 

US Too..Did you join the roll call?

[GSLMOM]

DAY 5. NASSAU

 

We went to Cagney's for breakfast about 9:00. I finally had the Crab Cakes Benedict - very good. Would recommend them. We hadn't booked an excursion but wanted to snorkel so we asked Carlos if he could see if that would be possible and he called the excursion desk and arranged for us to meet someone on the pier to purchase the excursion. We were supposed to be at the pier at 11:15 and each person signed up for the excursion has to sign this sheet. That took forever. I'm sure there is a better way to do that! Shortly after we were on the boat. I just love being on the water!

 

When we got back to the ship (around 2:00) we quickly went to the buffet since it closed at 2:30. After showers, we went to Magnums for trivia and a drink. I wasn't interested in the show - which was a magician, and my husband wanted to watch the hockey game in the atrium at 8:00, so we went to dinner at 6:45 at Orchid Garden. I must say, I really enjoyed it. My daughter got sushi which she really liked and my son went to dinner with some friends. The kids went to the show - one liked it, one didn't. Then they went to the Caribbean Deck Party and the Liar's Club Comedy Game Show. They really had a great time. I retired early to read a really good book!

Edited June 9, 2014 by GSLMOM
Typo

[jjikids]

We too had Carlos and he didn't bother with us either. We had an aft penthouse and the only time he talked to us was when we were with the OS people. I even had to call him to find out how to get priority tender tickets. Not impressed.

 

We started to think it was us. We had heard such good things about Carlos. It is a shame that people in the aft suites are not treated the same by him. He didn't have to walk all the way back to us. He could have just called us.

Our butler Jayson made up for it. He either called us or stopped by each day

( besides the daily snack delivery). He also escorted us off the ship at GSC. He is an asset to NCL.

Last year the concierge said we didn't give him anything to do since we made our own reservations.

[jjikids]

FWIW I counted the unused name tags and we only had 8 CC members not show up, the remainder of the no shows were traveling with the CC members.

 

Still a shame with all the work NCL does with the Meet and Greets. We are cruising Celebrity in the fall and will see how they compare.

[medsed]

Thanks for the wonderful review, can't wait to read more. We are on thenGem in October, our first NCL adventure...we are in a forward penthouse.

[NJBill]

DAY 5. NASSAU

 

We went to Cagney's for breakfast about 9:00. I finally had the Crab Cakes Benedict - very good. Would recommend them.!

 

CAn anyone eat breakfast at Cagney's or only Suite Level guests?

[GSLMOM]

CAn anyone eat breakfast at Cagney's or only Suite Level guests?

 

That is one of the suite perks. So only suite guests can dine there.

[GSLMOM]

Thanks for the wonderful review, can't wait to read more. We are on thenGem in October, our first NCL adventure...we are in a forward penthouse.

 

Thanks for reading. I will try to finish up today but have a very busy morning!!

[Susie51]

Looks like everyone in your group is finding something they like to do on the ship. Flexibility is one of the things I like about cruising. One of the other things I like about cruising is going from place to pace without having to unpack.

 

I am looking forward to more.

[bonniboo1]

Hey Vicky,
Pat and I have been thinking of going again next year on the same cruise.

[cpcanuck]

GSLMom: You mentioned the Great Outdoors as being one of your favourite spots. I was wondering what it was like during the day for activities and noise levels... Sometimes it's nice to find an outdoor area that isn't near the pool and live music where you can sit, read and have a drink. Did they have activities here in the evening or is it simply a sitting area/overflow for the buffet?

Thanks!

[spidybabe]

We love the great outdoors also. Our favorite spot for breakfast. There is a buffet out there also. No activities normally held there. Once I remember a "German" type band for a few minutes.. Great quiet, relaxing spot. Love to sit and watch the wake.
Safe sailing


Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[barb-ottawa]

Been on the Gem many times and love the Great Outdoors for breakfast. Tell me, have they replaced the toaster yet? It's been on its last legs for a couple of years and every time we go on the Gem, it's the same old toaster.

[GSLMOM]

[quote name='bonniboo1']Hey Vicky,
Pat and I have been thinking of going again next year on the same cruise.[/QUOTE]

Good to know! I'll keep my eye on that week also. We also cruised last year, the same week - on the Breakaway. I think it's a great time to cruise. Now if only they would change up the itinerary!

[GSLMOM]

[quote name='cpcanuck']GSLMom: You mentioned the Great Outdoors as being one of your favourite spots. I was wondering what it was like during the day for activities and noise levels... Sometimes it's nice to find an outdoor area that isn't near the pool and live music where you can sit, read and have a drink. Did they have activities here in the evening or is it simply a sitting area/overflow for the buffet?

Thanks![/QUOTE]

It's a quiet spot to read, relax and have a drink and watch the wake of the ship. Activities have never taken place while I was there. It can be used as overflow for the buffet and it actually has it's own smaller buffet when the larger buffet closes.

[GSLMOM]

[quote name='barb-ottawa']Been on the Gem many times and love the Great Outdoors for breakfast. Tell me, have they replaced the toaster yet? It's been on its last legs for a couple of years and every time we go on the Gem, it's the same old toaster.[/QUOTE]

That's funny! But, sorry, I didn't use the toaster so I can't say!

[GSLMOM]

DAY 6. SEA DAY

I love sea days. I can't remember where we ate or what we did during the day. We had dinner back at the Grand Pacific around 5:30 so we could get to the 7:00 show. It will be nice to see the new menus they are rolling out in July.

Then we went to Get Down Tonight, which I was really looking forward to. It was ok. The music was good. It brings me back....

After the show we ran up to Spinnaker for Second City Scriptless (Family Edition). It was packed! We all found seats - the two of us and the kids with their friends. We really like Second City and the show was pretty good, for the PG version.

This night was the Chocoholic Buffet which we had given up going to many years ago. However, since we were in a suite and had priority entrance, we went. It was actually very impressive. NCL has really improved on their desserts. There was a small variety but they were beautifully arranged. If I could figure out how to upload pictures, I would.

We went to Magnums to listen to Paulo and have a drink. We stayed pretty late. The kids went to The White Hot Party and they said they ended up hanging out with some of the Second City troupe and also the singers and dancers from the production cast.

Just a note: White Hot Party (where everyone wears white) and Chocoholic Buffet should be on different nights. Especially for those of us who spill and stain their clothes! :eek::eek:

[GSLMOM]

DAY 7. SEA DAY (Last Day) :(

Another relaxing day at sea. We actually went to Cagney's for lunch. I had the swordfish burger which was supposed to be sesame crusted with a ginger slaw. It was just a piece of swordfish on a bun, although it was steaming hot, so freshly cooked. My husband got a burger which he thought was the best burger he had all week. And the fries are AMAZING!!! I'm glad we didn't eat there all week because I would have definitely indulged!!

We skipped the Farewell Show. The kids saw it and said we should have gone.

We saw Prism in Spinnaker - they are really good. You have to see them at least once. I believe they perform every night.

We went to the Second City Scriptless which was very entertaining. The room was packed like sardines. It's too bad there isn't a bigger venue to host these shows. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Spinnaker but it just isn't big enough for some of the shows hosted there. I haven't been on the ships where the Spinnaker was moved and I don't believe I will like that!

Anyway, that's all folks! Had a great time and would love to be right back on.

I must mention the one glitch to this fabulous trip. The internet! It is extremely slow but on top of that, my husband had a hard time logging off which would eat into his minutes. He went to talk to the internet manager about it and this manager was extremely rude. Unfortunately, this left a really bad taste in our mouths as it was on Thursday afternoon and nearing the end of the cruise. The problem is, in our case, you can't just not purchase the minutes because my husband needs it to check in with work. After all the crew and staff that try to make your cruise special, it's a shame that they have to have one really rotten member. Edited June 11, 2014 by GSLMOM

[spidybabe]

[quote name='barb-ottawa']Been on the Gem many times and love the Great Outdoors for breakfast. Tell me, have they replaced the toaster yet? It's been on its last legs for a couple of years and every time we go on the Gem, it's the same old toaster.[/QUOTE]

As of April---same toaster.....
Safe sailing