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Gem Renovations

pixiedustdawn

By pixiedustdawn,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Stuffy8

Stuffy8

Posted
Posted
Please try and get some intel on the slide. Thanks and have a great time :)

 

The slide wasn't working for out cruise and no one knew when it would be fixed yet. The new cruise director I think they said his name is Allan?

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jmcookiemonster25

jmcookiemonster25

Posted
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I just got off the Gem yesterday. Some changes I noticed were:

 

The ceiling in the atrium is gorgeous. Instead of the gems on the ceiling (looked tacky), there are a bunch of hanging light bulbs that light up in pretty patterns. I want that for my house. :)

 

The bowling alleys in the Bliss are gone. Yay! It was a cool idea, but not practical. They only let you bowl when the ship was moving, which was a problem because the ball would just roll into the gutters all the time.

 

New chairs in the Garden Cafe (actually replaced at the Puerto Rico stop), they are nice.

 

The water slide wasn't working at all, which was disappointing.

 

Some new things Fleetwide:

 

Many of the specialty restaurants are no A la carte. This could be good or bad depending on your eating habits. Ended up being nice at Cagneys since I don't like steak but love the appetizers and sides. I got to pick what I wanted and not spend $35 for a steak I didn't want.

 

They no longer do the Fountains show at the end of the show. Drew, the Cruise Director, said it was because of sanitation issues. Too bad that people get so worked up over that, it's hilarious.

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Mr ncl

Mr ncl

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New CDs name is Alvan. He was asst recently on breakaway. Seemed fun as ACD. I will miss Dan Dan. That was his ship the past 2 years but I know they're trying to make breakaway as outstanding as gem so they must've sent him on a mission. I communicate with him time to time and he said this was coming sooner or later. ACD luz was a lot of fun too. Did a mean Tina Turner performance. Guess I'll see how the ship is running next week with all new entertainment leaders. There are plenty of pics of the gem refit on this site. Can't wait to see it in person. Looks like a new ship. Agreed. Atrium ceiling was tacky and this new LED looks amazing in the pics. SO happy that the purple carpets are long gone. Bliss looks gorgeous as well. Can't wait to see how opened up it is with bowling removed.

Not too smart to place bowling right next to osheehans on breakaway class was it. Any atrium show is distracted by bowling pins falling. Hope they bring back some sort of spinnaker lounge on new ships. I love nothing more then to sit on a couch in spinnaker for a late night show. Happy Gem everybody :D

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Turtles06 Great Review Rare

Turtles06

Posted
Posted
Thank you all...I haven't been able to find it on their website. Glad to hear we will be able to utilize it on our trip. Does anyone know the charge to use the app to text or call home?

 

Tina, you need to download the iConcierge app from the App Store if you have an iPhone or iPad, or from the equivalent for non-Apple devices. Do this BEFORE boarding. While I can't yet speak from personal experience, I'm virtually certain you can't use iConcierge for non-shipboard communications, as it's connected only to the ship's internal wi-fi, not to the internet or any cellular system.

 

Looking forward to meeting you very soon!

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Turtles06 Great Review Rare

Turtles06

Posted
Posted
Tina, you need to download the iConcierge app from the App Store if you have an iPhone or iPad, or from the equivalent for non-Apple devices. Do this BEFORE boarding. While I can't yet speak from personal experience, I'm virtually certain you can't use iConcierge for non-shipboard communications, as it's connected only to the ship's internal wi-fi, not to the internet or any cellular system.

 

Looking forward to meeting you very soon!

 

It was either .79 cents or .89 cents per minute. We tried calling home and the connection was very poor. Not worth using in my opinion.

 

Thanks for correcting my supposition about non-shipboard communciations. And I see now that NCL says on its web site that you can call home for a "nominal per minute fee."

 

https://www.ncl.com/downloads/iconcierge

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AlexandNessa

AlexandNessa

Posted
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johnql, thanks for the photos. How utilized was Bliss on your cruise? I'm hoping the renovations invigorated some new interest in the venue. No one was ever there on our last cruise. It was the Spinnaker or bust. We'd always try Bliss first, but it was never well attended.

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Mr and Mrs C

Mr and Mrs C

Posted
Posted
johnql, thanks for the photos. How utilized was Bliss on your cruise? I'm hoping the renovations invigorated some new interest in the venue. No one was ever there on our last cruise. It was the Spinnaker or bust. We'd always try Bliss first, but it was never well attended.

 

 

It was mostly college ages kids there on the Jan. 2 sailing. I went with my girls one night, no one really dances until after 11. On a plus side most of them where too young too drink so it was easy to get a drink at the bar!

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johnql

johnql

Posted
Posted (edited)
Are the electronic Blackjack and roulette machines still there?

If you're referring to the machines that used to be in Spinnaker, no. However, there are some slot machines.

 

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Edited by johnql
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johnql

johnql

Posted
Posted
johnql, thanks for the photos. How utilized was Bliss on your cruise? I'm hoping the renovations invigorated some new interest in the venue. No one was ever there on our last cruise. It was the Spinnaker or bust. We'd always try Bliss first, but it was never well attended.

Sorry, can't really say. I only went there once when it was in use for trivia.

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AlexandNessa

AlexandNessa

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Posted
It was mostly college ages kids there on the Jan. 2 sailing. I went with my girls one night, no one really dances until after 11. On a plus side most of them where too young too drink so it was easy to get a drink at the bar!

 

Sorry, can't really say. I only went there once when it was in use for trivia.

 

Thank you both. We'll give it another shot in April to see how it is. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
pixiedustdawn

pixiedustdawn

Posted
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johnql, thanks for the photos. How utilized was Bliss on your cruise? I'm hoping the renovations invigorated some new interest in the venue. No one was ever there on our last cruise. It was the Spinnaker or bust. We'd always try Bliss first, but it was never well attended.

 

 

Just got off the Gem and Bliss was packed quite a bit!

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