Welcome back - Gem 5/31-6/7

[bonniboo1]

Reluctantly I got off the ship on Saturday. This is the 2nd time that my friend and I have been on the Gem. Last time was almost 4 years ago with a group of 16 in the Mediterranean. I was looking for a relaxing cruise this time with no agenda. This cruise met every promise.

We upgraded to a forward penthouse suite # 10502. Normally I either book a OV or balcony. What a cabin. My friend said that we never had to watch the "front of the ship show" because we only had to stand on our balcony to see it for real.

We had a huge bed and a comfortable couch that our wonderful steward Roberto Flores would make up for me each evening. We had tons of storage

[Kerflop]

Was on the same cruise, 9102... Good time. My only grip was the guest on this cruise were more impolite then the southern cruises I have been on. Maybe that is the difference of being in the north east. Being from the Midwest, what seems normal to some is rude to others.

[bonniboo1]

A lot of the storage I didn't notice until the end of the cruise. The was also a large closet which opened on both sides so two people can get ready at once. Outside of the bathroom there was a vanity table. On the table was a very good mirror (it showed more than I needed to see). The dryer was excellent. There were plenty of electrical sockets thru the room. The bathroom had a very deep shower/tub. The toilet was in a separate compartment in the bathroom. If u are in a suite you get upgraded bath products.

 

Shampoo, conditioner, loofah, shower cap, lotion, shower gel and wonderful bar soap. The towels are huge and soft.

We had a desk and a decent sized table with 4 chairs.

Behind the wonderful room darkening shades was a 208 square foot balcony with 2 lounge chairs, 2 chairs, end table and a large trunk. Plenty of room.

A lot of niceties including 2 safes, a complimentary water and sparkling wine.

[bonniboo1]

Was on the same cruise, 9102... Good time. My only grip was the guest on this cruise were more impolite then the southern cruises I have been on. Maybe that is the difference of being in the north east. Being from the Midwest, what seems normal to some is rude to others.

Oh Kerflop, I know what you mean. Some were unbelievable.

[bonniboo1]

Wow, I got ahead of myself. We had priority embarkation so we were thru in minutes and we were escorted to the priority area where beverages, sandwiches, pastries and cookies awaited us. There could have been some more chairs. GSLMOM who organized our Roll Call has a very nice son who insisted that we take his seat.

Within minutes we were wished onto the ship and went to Cagneys for lunch. Everything is great there and it's easy to eat healthy. Our wonderful hostess for our stay was the very hardworking Pamela Cruz who will be leaving in two weeks for a trip home to see her family.

As soon as we finished lunch we went to our

[bonniboo1]

Cabin and met Jason our butler and Roberto our steward and then Carlos our concierge. Every afternoon both Carlos and Jason would stop by to see what they could do for us. The entire week that we were on the ship we were greeted by every employee! Service was excellent. I have never seen a customer service department that was so friendly

After unpacking we went to the theater for a painless muster drill.

We had planned on going to leisure but on Saturday it wasn't opening until 8pm. We went to the Magenta and I had lobster which was quite good. Service was a little slow. Hey, that's expected on the first night and I had no where's to go.

Food: we had lunch one day in the Garden Buffet. It was quite good and fresh. I walked thru other times and there were always different items.

Grand Pacific - beautiful diningroom and excellent

[bonniboo1]

Service (sorry my phone keeps freezing).

Magenta was fine the 2 times we were there.

We ate @ LeBistro. I had their fantastic lamb.

Dinner @ the Italian venue twice. I had a huge rib eye. When I could barely eat half the waiter asked if I didn't like it. It was great, just way to big. The second time I had veal osso bucco. Why have I never had this before? Perfect!

Shows: we went to two production shows. The kids were very talented. They got off with us after an 8 month contract. A new group will be on so be patient with them.

Comedian Jeff Harms was very good as was magician Chip Romero who was very funny. We also went to 2 Second City unscripted shows. They are a hoot

In addition they performed at the latitudes party. By the

[bonniboo1]

Way there was a large selection of very large drinks at the latitudes parties.

One of the highlights of the cruise for me was the Murder Mystery lunch. This was an interactive event between the audience and Second City. This was well worth the price. I had fantastic salmon for lunch.

There were many activities thru the day and evening. The last say we did watch the fruit carving and cake decorating. Fun.

Jenny Lin is a wonderful Hotel director. That girl never sleeps. Very approachable. Dan Dan the CO is the best of all 9 Cruise Directors that I have seen. He is a very good director and entertainer. His assistant Nacho is quite good also.

Our first stop was Florida. We took the ship excursion for 14.99 to the Ron Jon and then to the boutique area. Well worth the price.

The private island was clean, pretty and the lunch was nice.

Nassau...I couldn't find a ship excursion that I wanted so I pre reserved a day pass at the British Colonial Hilton. Lovely, quiet well run property. A couple from the ship had their wedding there.

After our Meet and greet which had a great turn out by officers, I arranged a quick cabin crawl. We went to our suite, a 2 bedroom suite with a bathroom the size of Rhode Island and a handicapped inside which was huge. Jason arranged snacks for our group. Every day between 3 and 4 he would bring snacks to us.

I really don't have any complaints with Ncl. There were some self absorbed passengers but I would not let them ruin it for us. This was my 9th cruise and I am looking forward to returning to the Gem hopefully next year.

Many thanks Captain Stephan and crew, Daniel Cuasito, Tysons and Marck for all of the food, the other crew, Second City and all of the entertainers, the wonderful Carlos, Jason and Roberto and absolutely everyone else.

If you have any questions, ask away.

 

Bonni

[GSLMOM]

Hi Bonni,

 

Glad to "see" you made it home safely! It was so nice to meet you and Pat. Hopefully we will see you on a cruise in the future!!

 

Vicki

[bonniboo1]

I really enjoyed meeting your family. Thanks again for letting us see your sweet suite.

Wow, I was surprises to see anything negative regarding Carlos! When we said goodbye I thought that it was goodby. Next I see him on the escalator trying to move things along. He told Pat that our suitcases would be "right there" and they were. I think that he went down and got them for us because they were together away from the rest.

 

Hope to see ypu again.

 

Bonni

[bonniboo1]

A few nice surprises while getting back on board...wet washcloths to clean up with.

Getting back on in Nassau a large amount of the crew was there singing and dancing and of course they made us join them lol.

Twice while getting back on we were offered frozen fruit bars. It seems that Ncl knows what ypu need before you do.

I have read many comments about Ncl being annoying by trying to sell thongs. No one ever tried to push a drink on me. I heard only a few announcements regarding bingo. At the beginning of each show a very brief and low keyed announcement was made to sell tear off tickets.

 

Do not think of being late back to the ship. We had an all aboard for 5:30. At 6:15 we had already pulled away from the dock. 3 girls came up and missed the ship. One was swearing when the ship wouldn't return. They are serious about getting back on time!

[Briji04]

A few nice surprises while getting back on board...wet washcloths to clean up with.

Getting back on in Nassau a large amount of the crew was there singing and dancing and of course they made us join them lol.

Twice while getting back on we were offered frozen fruit bars. It seems that Ncl knows what ypu need before you do.

I have read many comments about Ncl being annoying by trying to sell thongs. No one ever tried to push a drink on me. I heard only a few announcements regarding bingo. At the beginning of each show a very brief and low keyed announcement was made to sell tear off tickets.

 

Do not think of being late back to the ship. We had an all aboard for 5:30. At 6:15 we had already pulled away from the dock. 3 girls came up and missed the ship. One was swearing when the ship wouldn't return. They are serious about getting back on time!

 

 

 

Lol bonni, I know you are typing on your phone but I've never had NCL try to sell me a THONG. Enjoying your review. We will be on the Gem June 21. Can't wait!

[Susie51]

Thanks for your uplifting review. The description of your suite sounds like the one we were in on the Pearl. Our balcony was a great way to view going under the Golden Gate Bridge as we came into San Francisco.

 

Glad you had a wonderful time.

[KirkNC]

Welcome home, hope you had a great cruise.

[bonniboo1]

Lol bonni, I know you are typing on your phone but I've never had NCL try to sell me a THONG. Enjoying your review. We will be on the Gem June 21. Can't wait!

 

Omg...This darn auto correct. I better read what I write. Thanks for the laugh.

[bonniboo1]

Thank you everyone for stopping by!

[spidybabe]

Our favorite ship and you mentioned our favorite hotel director Jenny, and Dan Dan best ever CD. My husband does the cake war with him(husband is a chef). Most fun ever!! You can't have a bad time on that ship--Jenny and Dan Dan won't allow it

Safe sailing

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Kerflop]

Dan Dan is single, and looking for a green card [emoji12]

[bonniboo1]

You are so funny😂