Fabulous trip on the Beautiful Gem!

[tel2]

We have been on three cruises on which Carlos was the Concierge. Sorry to say it, but I am now 100% convinced that the level of service he provides corresponds directly to the level of suite you paid for. First time, we were in an aft penthouse suite -- never heard from him after the first day. Had to call him to get priority tender meeting point/time information. Walked passed us almost every day in Cagneys, never said hello. Also told us he couldnt get MDR menus (Our butler did it....). We tipped him appropriately anyway, mostly because my husband insisted, but it was against my better judgment.

Next trip, we were in the Haven. He showed up or called every day- sometimes multiple times a day - to see if we needed anything. Always stopped by our table just to say hello. Called with reminders about priority tendering, choc buffet etc. I initially concluded he must have just been having a bad week the last time. Tipped him very well.

Third trip, in a forward penthouse. Same as first time. DIdnt even act as though he remembered us, even though it was barely 2 months earlier and we gave him a big tip. Then pretended as though he remembered. Called him for a last minute excursion, never even returned our call. Had UDB and amde all our own reservations. Called to have dinner reservations changed once because we were late getting back to ship, went to restaurant at new requested time, they told us it had never been changed. Recd a letter in cabin saying to meet in lounge for choc buffet at a designated time -- we got there 5 minutes early. He had already left - Was told he escorted a large garden villa group who wanted to get going. Another couple showed up a few minutes after us and they were very annoyed. We waited about 15 minutes thinking he was escorting them down and coming back for the rest of us. Never came back. We still were planning to tip him, but then we went to lounge at the specified time for priority disembarkaction when we got back to NY, and again, he had already left with the garden Villa group. Two other couples who we didnt know also were standing there - at the appointed time - and he never came back for us. He also never got his tip from any of us - one guy opened the envelope as we were making our own way down in the elevator, took out what looked like a couple of hundreds, and put them back in his wallet. Other guy said, good idea. My husband probably would have still given him his tip had we seen him, but we never saw him on our way out.

Terry

[GSLMOM]

[quote name='tel2']We have been on three cruises on which Carlos was the Concierge. Sorry to say it, but I am now 100% convinced that the level of service he provides corresponds directly to the level of suite you paid for. First time, we were in an aft penthouse suite -- never heard from him after the first day. Had to call him to get priority tender meeting point/time information. Walked passed us almost every day in Cagneys, never said hello. Also told us he couldnt get MDR menus (Our butler did it....). We tipped him appropriately anyway, mostly because my husband insisted, but it was against my better judgment.

Next trip, we were in the Haven. He showed up or called every day- sometimes multiple times a day - to see if we needed anything. Always stopped by our table just to say hello. Called with reminders about priority tendering, choc buffet etc. I initially concluded he must have just been having a bad week the last time. Tipped him very well.

Third trip, in a forward penthouse. Same as first time. DIdnt even act as though he remembered us, even though it was barely 2 months earlier and we gave him a big tip. Then pretended as though he remembered. Called him for a last minute excursion, never even returned our call. Had UDB and amde all our own reservations. Called to have dinner reservations changed once because we were late getting back to ship, went to restaurant at new requested time, they told us it had never been changed. Recd a letter in cabin saying to meet in lounge for choc buffet at a designated time -- we got there 5 minutes early. He had already left - Was told he escorted a large garden villa group who wanted to get going. Another couple showed up a few minutes after us and they were very annoyed. We waited about 15 minutes thinking he was escorting them down and coming back for the rest of us. Never came back. We still were planning to tip him, but then we went to lounge at the specified time for priority disembarkaction when we got back to NY, and again, he had already left with the garden Villa group. Two other couples who we didnt know also were standing there - at the appointed time - and he never came back for us. He also never got his tip from any of us - one guy opened the envelope as we were making our own way down in the elevator, took out what looked like a couple of hundreds, and put them back in his wallet. Other guy said, good idea. My husband probably would have still given him his tip had we seen him, but we never saw him on our way out.

Terry[/QUOTE]
Wow!

I don't think Carlos ever called us but we always received our priority "notices" and instructions from our butler, Jayson. For GSC, Jayson escorted us from the Star Bar to the gangway. For Chocoholic Buffet, the meeting place was outside La Cucina and Jayson was there to greet us and let us in. At disembarkation, we were to meet at the Stardust Theater and Carlos was there.

He stopped by a few evenings to our cabin and he did say hello when we saw him in a restaurant. He helped us with an excursion and with our rotten experience with the internet manager. He made reservations for us every night. Honestly, he did whatever we asked.

[tel2]

We had jayson twice and agree he is one of the best butlers we ever had.

Terry

[jjikids]

[quote name='tel2']We have been on three cruises on which Carlos was the Concierge. Sorry to say it, but I am now 100% convinced that the level of service he provides corresponds directly to the level of suite you paid for. First time, we were in an aft penthouse suite -- never heard from him after the first day. Had to call him to get priority tender meeting point/time information. Walked passed us almost every day in Cagneys, never said hello. Also told us he couldnt get MDR menus (Our butler did it....). We tipped him appropriately anyway, mostly because my husband insisted, but it was against my better judgment.

Next trip, we were in the Haven. He showed up or called every day- sometimes multiple times a day - to see if we needed anything. Always stopped by our table just to say hello. Called with reminders about priority tendering, choc buffet etc. I initially concluded he must have just been having a bad week the last time. Tipped him very well.

Third trip, in a forward penthouse. Same as first time. DIdnt even act as though he remembered us, even though it was barely 2 months earlier and we gave him a big tip. Then pretended as though he remembered. Called him for a last minute excursion, never even returned our call. Had UDB and amde all our own reservations. Called to have dinner reservations changed once because we were late getting back to ship, went to restaurant at new requested time, they told us it had never been changed. Recd a letter in cabin saying to meet in lounge for choc buffet at a designated time -- we got there 5 minutes early. He had already left - Was told he escorted a large garden villa group who wanted to get going. Another couple showed up a few minutes after us and they were very annoyed. We waited about 15 minutes thinking he was escorting them down and coming back for the rest of us. Never came back. We still were planning to tip him, but then we went to lounge at the specified time for priority disembarkaction when we got back to NY, and again, he had already left with the garden Villa group. Two other couples who we didnt know also were standing there - at the appointed time - and he never came back for us. He also never got his tip from any of us - one guy opened the envelope as we were making our own way down in the elevator, took out what looked like a couple of hundreds, and put them back in his wallet. Other guy said, good idea. My husband probably would have still given him his tip had we seen him, but we never saw him on our way out.

Terry[/QUOTE]
Thanks for letting us know that what we saw about Carlos is correct. He caters to the larger suites thinking they will tip him better. We did tip him but probably too much for what he did do. We gave Jayson much more since he was the greatest. We plan on cruising on the Gem in the future and will definitely hope to have a different concierge.

[jjikids]

[quote name='GSLMOM']Wow!

I don't think Carlos ever called us but we always received our priority "notices" and instructions from our butler, Jayson. For GSC, Jayson escorted us from the Star Bar to the gangway. For Chocoholic Buffet, the meeting place was outside La Cucina and Jayson was there to greet us and let us in. At disembarkation, we were to meet at the Stardust Theater and Carlos was there.

He stopped by a few evenings to our cabin and he did say hello when we saw him in a restaurant. He helped us with an excursion and with our rotten experience with the internet manager. He made reservations for us every night. Honestly, he did whatever we asked.[/QUOTE]

Jayson was the one who did all the escorting. Carlos only showed up the last morning. Tip time.l

[jjikids]

[quote name='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.[/QUOTE]
We actually had fast internet service May 17-24. Who was the Internet manager? Last year we had someone who was too busy on his own cell phone to help us. This year the man was phenomenal. He showed us ways to save minutes.

[GSLMOM]

[quote name='jjikids']We actually had fast internet service May 17-24. Who was the Internet manager? Last year we had someone who was too busy on his own cell phone to help us. This year the man was phenomenal. He showed us ways to save minutes.[/QUOTE]

My husband has his name and I don't want to ask him since he was really miffed about it! It can't be the same person - this person was really rude and wanted to blame my husband for not knowing how to log off. Or, maybe the guy was just having a really, really bad day.

[jjikids]

[quote name='GSLMOM']My husband has his name and I don't want to ask him since he was really miffed about it! It can't be the same person - this person was really rude and wanted to blame my husband for not knowing how to log off. Or, maybe the guy was just having a really, really bad day.[/QUOTE]

The man we had was Jacques. He was so good we wrote a glowing hero card on him. Best internet manager we have dealt with in 11 cruises we have been on. At least the rest of your cruise was great.

[GSLMOM]

[quote name='jjikids']The man we had was Jacques. He was so good we wrote a glowing hero card on him. Best internet manager we have dealt with in 11 cruises we have been on. At least the rest of your cruise was great.[/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure it wasn't Jacques. And yes, the other 99% of the cruise was great!

[PathfinderEss]

[SIZE=4][COLOR=darkred]Thanks for your review.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[djslate]

Very interesting reading about Carlos. I was thinking "No No No! He was wonderful!" and then someone mentioned the suite level. We were in the Garden Villa and he was A-L-W-A-Y-S there.

He sat and talked with the kids each morning after breakfast and showed them pictures of his home in South Africa, etc.

Sorry to hear that he doesn't seem to spread his time to all guests the same... seems we were taking up your time with him. :( That actually makes me sad. I just assumed that everyone got the same treatment.

Now that you mention it, I did see him talking to the Haven guests in the dining areas and the lounges etc. Hmmmmmmmm......

That's really not a good way to be... but at the same time, I can't complain because everything we needed (or didn't even know we needed) was taken care of.

[GSLMOM]

[quote name='djslate']Very interesting reading about Carlos. I was thinking "No No No! He was wonderful!" and then someone mentioned the suite level. We were in the Garden Villa and he was A-L-W-A-Y-S there.

He sat and talked with the kids each morning after breakfast and showed them pictures of his home in South Africa, etc.

Sorry to hear that he doesn't seem to spread his time to all guests the same... seems we were taking up your time with him. :( That actually makes me sad. I just assumed that everyone got the same treatment.

Now that you mention it, I did see him talking to the Haven guests in the dining areas and the lounges etc. Hmmmmmmmm......

That's really not a good way to be... but at the same time, I can't complain because everything we needed (or didn't even know we needed) was taken care of.[/QUOTE]

Just to be clear, we didn't feel like Carlos ignored us at all! He helped us when needed and he did stop by a few times (maybe he also stopped when we weren't there). We didn't get personal with him, but I don't expect that and it's certainly not a part of his job!

[cv322]

[quote name='tel2']We have been on three cruises on which Carlos was the Concierge. Sorry to say it, but I am now 100% convinced that the level of service he provides corresponds directly to the level of suite you paid for. First time, we were in an aft penthouse suite -- never heard from him after the first day. Had to call him to get priority tender meeting point/time information. Walked passed us almost every day in Cagneys, never said hello. Also told us he couldnt get MDR menus (Our butler did it....). We tipped him appropriately anyway, mostly because my husband insisted, but it was against my better judgment.

Next trip, we were in the Haven. He showed up or called every day- sometimes multiple times a day - to see if we needed anything. Always stopped by our table just to say hello. Called with reminders about priority tendering, choc buffet etc. I initially concluded he must have just been having a bad week the last time. Tipped him very well.

Third trip, in a forward penthouse. Same as first time. DIdnt even act as though he remembered us, even though it was barely 2 months earlier and we gave him a big tip. Then pretended as though he remembered. Called him for a last minute excursion, never even returned our call. Had UDB and amde all our own reservations. Called to have dinner reservations changed once because we were late getting back to ship, went to restaurant at new requested time, they told us it had never been changed. Recd a letter in cabin saying to meet in lounge for choc buffet at a designated time -- we got there 5 minutes early. He had already left - Was told he escorted a large garden villa group who wanted to get going. Another couple showed up a few minutes after us and they were very annoyed. We waited about 15 minutes thinking he was escorting them down and coming back for the rest of us. Never came back. We still were planning to tip him, but then we went to lounge at the specified time for priority disembarkaction when we got back to NY, and again, he had already left with the garden Villa group. Two other couples who we didnt know also were standing there - at the appointed time - and he never came back for us. He also never got his tip from any of us - one guy opened the envelope as we were making our own way down in the elevator, took out what looked like a couple of hundreds, and put them back in his wallet. Other guy said, good idea. My husband probably would have still given him his tip had we seen him, but we never saw him on our way out.

Terry[/quote]

Wow, I'm so sorry for your experience :(...it seems to be [B][I]polar opposite[/I][/B] from mine!

AND ;)...the funny thing is, I didn't even have a suite that cruise (4/5 -4/14) ...I was in regular balcony cabin 10538...but I was the Meet & Greet organizer. Upon embarkation there were strawberries & wine in my cabin + a note from Carlos saying I could enjoy Cagney's at breakfast & lunch for the duration of the cruise. I immediately called his extension & said "thank you, but I think you've delivered these things in error...I'm not in a suite". He said there was no error & "welcome back home to the Gem". I was flabbergasted & didn't understand at all...until my friends, who were in an aft penthouse[I], [/I]said it's likely because of the Meet & Greet. I never knew M&G organizers get perks like this!

I was [I]so impressed[/I] with the level of service & perks afforded to suite guests :), & because now I'm spoiled lol, that I booked an aft penthouse for my upcoming October Gem cruise. So, this time we'll see what happens! Edited June 12, 2014 by cv322

[cv322]

GSLMOM - thanks very much for sharing your thoughts with us...I enjoyed reading your review!

[jjikids]

[quote name='djslate']Very interesting reading about Carlos. I was thinking "No No No! He was wonderful!" and then someone mentioned the suite level. We were in the Garden Villa and he was A-L-W-A-Y-S there.

He sat and talked with the kids each morning after breakfast and showed them pictures of his home in South Africa, etc.

Sorry to hear that he doesn't seem to spread his time to all guests the same... seems we were taking up your time with him. :( That actually makes me sad. I just assumed that everyone got the same treatment.

Now that you mention it, I did see him talking to the Haven guests in the dining areas and the lounges etc. Hmmmmmmmm......

That's really not a good way to be... but at the same time, I can't complain because everything we needed (or didn't even know we needed) was taken care of.[/QUOTE]
We didn't expect him to fall over us. We just expected courtesy. The first day we asked him about the Jazz Brunch. He said he would check. We stood in front of him while in made reservations for four other passengers and completely ignored us. We finally just walked away and went to the reservation desk to do it ourselves. He came into Moderno and walked past us to a big party. We waved and waited for him to just say hello. He walked out after talking to them for over twenty minutes. We did not let it upset us but made us realize where his priorities were. When we cruise again we hope to have another concierge. Glad he helped you out.

[GSLMOM]

[quote name='cv322']GSLMOM - thanks very much for sharing your thoughts with us...I enjoyed reading your review![/QUOTE]

You are very welcome!

[bonniboo1]

We were just in a forward Penthouse. We didn't ask for much however Carlos was friendly, attentive and helpful. If we book for next May we are hoping that Carlos will be there!

Bonni

[khaide612]

We upgraded from SF to SC but our friends were in an SF and Carlos was always around to greet us and see if we needed anything. This was the 5/24 sailing with suites sold out. He stopped by our room and their room. We were gold and our friends were new to NCL - unlinked reservations. Carlos was great without being overbearing. My only other time in a suite we were lucky enough to be in a Haven 2-bedroom on the Jewel and the concierge (female) was overbearing & seemed a little snotty.