Gem Caribbean Cruise Review, 1/30/15 to 2/9 Part VI, Return to NY and Summary

[Carnac767]

We had two sea days remaining before we returned to New York. Saturday, February 6, featured fair weather and very calm seas in the morning, with a beautiful moonrise in the evening. It was perfect weather to lounge by the pool . . . if you got up at five am to snag a recliner. Otherwise forget about it. This is always going to be a problem on cruise ships. Marine architecture is always going to make it hard to have pools big enough to accommodate all the passengers. I did manage to get a lounge chair one time, though I was in a different time zone than the pool. Anyway, the pool water was pretty chilly and the hot tubs were chock full, as usual.

 

The day after Tortola began with breakfast in bed, which also came with the romance package. We had it at our dining room table, not in bed. Our butler brought it by and set it up. I had a bacon and cheese omelet, while Sarah had pancakes and bacon.

 

The seas starting building by early afternoon, and the motion of the ship became much more pronounced. We were taken on a Behind the Scenes Tour around noon, which is another Platinum Perk. We met in the Bliss Lounge and then were escorted by Raydon, one of the members of the CD staff. Our tour took us through the food handling and preparation areas, the recycling center, the butcher shops, the laundry, and the wardrobe behind the stage of the Stardust Theater. I would have liked to have seen the Engineering Plant, but that's even off limits to 95% of the ship's crew. It's a liability thing. We were told in the notice about the tour that photography was prohibited in certain areas, but I couldn't remember what areas it mentioned, so I just took pictures everywhere, figuring I'd be told not to if I was in a prohibited area. No one did. Pictures from the tour, plus many more from the cruise were posted on the NCL forum of Cruise Critic. If you do a search of my CC name, you can find them.

 

It's a great tour and very interesting. Every dining room has its own galley and each food preparation area has pictures in order to insure that every meal is assembled perfectly. The galleys are immaculate and all the galley workers have to be certified in food handling. They are also subject to random inspections by public health authorities. There are different butcher shops for beef, chicken, and fish to prevent cross-contamination and each type has its own colored cutting boards. I got a chance to talk to the butchers in the beef shop to compliment them on the great steaks I'd had and they explained that NCL only buys top quality Angus beef.

 

The recycling area is where all the trash is gathered, sorted, and compacted. No trash is thrown overboard and all food waste must be ground down to microscopic particles before it's discharged. It's quite a contrast from my first ship, when everything was just chucked off the port catwalk aft. The crewmen who sort through the plastic waste get to keep all the proceeds NCL receives from that recycled waste. That's because it's such a tedious and thankless job, because the crew assigned that task have to sort through every single plastic product, remove the caps, and ensure that it's recyclable. This is the perfect place for me to editorialize about plastic water bottles. I'm amazed at how many cases of bottled water cruisers bring aboard. The water produced by the ship has to meet a standard that is more stringent than any water bottling facility. The Jewel class ships produces fresh water from a mixture of reverse osmosis plants and evaporators. Steam ships needed evaporators to produce absolutely pure fresh water to convert to steam in the ship's propulsion system. Modern cruise ships have diesel-electric propulsion, and don't make steam, but the water the evaporators produce is still jut as pure. So leave that bottled water ashore and just bring a refillable water bottle along.

 

The laundry officer gave us a tour of his facility, which is quite big. That's no surprise, considering we're on a ship with over 2000 guests and 1000 crew. The washers and dryers are enormous. Our guide demonstrated the dry cleaning gadgets and the pressing machines. We saw two young women who did nothing all day but load the bed sheet folding machine. There were also machines for folding beach towels, bath towels, face towels and wash cloths. I asked the laundry officer if his crew rotated among the positions, and he said that they did. I wouldn't last one day loading that sheet folding gadget.

 

The last stop of the tour was up forward in the Stardust Theater. By this time the motion of the ship was quite pronounced and a couple of times we heard a very loud bangs up near the bow. That was just the ship taking some large waves head on. It did scare the hell out of a few of the people on the tour. The Production Company was rehearsing on the stage during this time. They weren't part of the tour but we caught a glimpse of them before we went backstage. It was fun watching the dancers trying to stay on their feet as they ship bounced. Backstage we met the two women who are the producers for the entertainment aboard the ship. One was also the wardrobe mistress, charged with maintaining all of the costumes for the shows. She's assisted by a cabin stewardess, who helps during the shows. She showed one costume that is featured in a fifteen-second wardrobe change.

 

Later that afternoon Sarah and I had our couples massage that was part of the Romance Package. This was pure nirvana. Relaxed as I was after the massage, I was a bit surprised when our masseuses presented with a $300 bill. I told them this was supposed to be part of the romance package. They left and then were back in a few minutes. They apologized, saying that they hadn't been notified about the package. We were supposed to receive a 25-minute massage and had gotten a 55-minute full-body massage instead. To be honest, I had no idea how long it was supposed to last. It does mention in the package that it's a 25-minute massage, but I'd bought the package six months earlier. The massage was fantastic and I offered to pay the difference, but they said it was the spa's fault and wouldn't accept any payment. I gave them a nice tip, instead.

 

For dinner this evening we decided to give O'Sheehan's pub a try. That's the dining facility that replaced the Blue Lagoon. It's on Deck 8 above the Atrium and reception area. O'Sheehan's is open almost 24 hours a day, closing for short while in the wee hours for cleaning. It also does not have a surcharge. We just wanted to check it out. Both of us had the chicken pot pie, which would have been really good if it had been hot.

 

The show this evening featured the Production Company in "Get Down Tonight," a compilation of songs and dance from the 1970s. Leisure suits live! Then the farewell show began, which featured members from every department of the ship coming on stage to receive well-deserve applause from the appreciate audience.

 

The White Hot Dance party was held in Spinnakers at 10:30. We usually attend but were just too tired to make it this time. For those who are wondering what the White Hot party is about, it's just a party in which most people wear white. But it's not mandatory that you wear white. It's just a good way to get everyone to go to the ship's store and buy a White Hot Dance Party tee-shirt. It's usually a fun party, no matter what you're wearing.

 

The only bad thing about going on a cruise is that it has to end. Our last day at sea found us in seas rougher than our first day from New York. According to the information on the navigation channel the steady wind speed was 55 knots and the seas were approaching 30 feet. We were taking spray over our balcony on Deck 11. I thought it was great fun but I'm pretty sure I was in the minority. It was highly entertaining running on the treadmill. Even our cabin steward said he was feeling sea sick. Needless to say, there would be no poolside barbecue today. The big excitement of the day was the final progressive trivia round, offering the chance to win some of those exciting prizes, such as NCL playing cards and plastic luggage tags. We had tea in our cabin at four, set up by hardworking Putu. This was also part of the romance package and included scones, clotted cream, jams, and an assortment of cakes and pastries, just what one needed before dinner. There was enough food for eight people. Speaking of the evening meal, our last dinner on this cruise was at Cagney's, with the always reliable Thomas as our waiter. This night I had the filet while Sarah had the sea bass again. We had to keep grabbing our plate and water glass to keep them from sliding off the table.

 

The final show of the cruise was a variety show. The Gem Production cast performed some selections from Mamma Mia . . . I could finally hear what I'd slept through . . . followed by the comedy of Noodles Levenstein. Following that was the Cruise Director Staff's version of Fountains. I won't say what Fountains is, because I don't want to spoil it for those who've never seen it. But it is hilarious. The show tonight hit on all cylinders, including the finale, when CD Dan Dan showed off his remarkable voice. I thought we were listening to a recording of Josh Groban. After the show we returned to the suite to finish packing. Our bags had to be outside the room by midnight. As a heads-up for rookie cruisers, don't forget to keep something to wear the next morning. There are many stories of cruisers departing the ship in a bathrobe.

 

We eased up the Hudson around seven am on Monday, February 7. The snow on the ground was a stark contrast to the sultry tropics we'd left behind, and it made everyone immediately start planning their next Caribbean cruise. We ate breakfast in Cagney's. By now Thomas didn't even ask us what we wanted. I probably won't have steak and eggs for breakfast until the next cruise.

 

The final suite perk is priority debarkation. The concierge has told us that we would meet in the Stardust Theater and would be escorted off the ship after the walk-off passengers had departed. These are cruisers who only had carry-on and no checked bags. This process took much longer to complete than anticipated and we weren't walked off the ship until about 9:45. From there the process went very smoothly. We had a separate line that took us right to our bags, which are color coded by departure time. For the guests in suites, this was a gold tag labeled priority. After collecting our bags, we snagged a porter, which is always the fastest way to clear customs in New York. After breezing through customs, our porter hailed a cab and we were on our way to Penn Station, arriving in plenty of time for our 11:30 train.

 

To summarize the main facets of the cruise:

 

Entertainment: Excellent with a wide variety for almost all taste. The Gem Production cast singers and dancers are very talented, and their musical accompaniment was spot on. The comedian, Noodles, demonstrated great timing and had a good read on his audience. Chip Romero is funny, too. We love Second City, though we missed their main performance. We did catch their Improvs in Spinnakers. Improv isn't for everyone and is tough to pull off consistently, but this troupe did a very good job. The ship's rock band, Kenosis, was very good and capable of a variety of styles. There was almost always music in the lounges and the Atrium. Both Billy Pando and Leo was quite good.

 

There was no lack of wacky games and audience participation events. There was also dancing classes, crafts, towel folding, trivia contests, art auctions and the like. Of course, there's the casino and the ever-present bingo. A movie was shown in the Atrium every day, and if all else failed, there was ship's television, which had some news channels, a few sports channels (with a mix of college basketball, NBA, Six-Nation Rugby, cricket (I have it on good authority that some people actually watch this), and Premier League and Bundeslliga Football (soccer)), and a movie channel. For those in suites, there is a menu of DVDs one can order from the butler.

 

Food: Always a matter of personal preference. We've always found the food to be good to great. It is plentiful and even better, we didn't have to prepare it or clean up afterwards. One gets really spoiled after two weeks of finishing a meal and just getting up and walking away. Wait, that describes me. So my wife really likes being like me for two weeks. Our favorite specialty restaurants continue to be Cagney's and Le Bistro. It would be hard to pick between the two. I really enjoy Teppanyaki, too, and Moderno. I wasn't overwhelmed by La Cucina or Orchid Garden, but that's just my preference. The Garden Cafe has a wide variety of foods available in its buffet and is very convenient. I particularly liked its salad bar. It was also perfect when you're in a hurry for breakfast before an excursion. A lot of cruisers get a room service breakfast on excursion days, but it's hard for them to deliver 1000 breakfasts all at the same time. Another suite perk is an enhanced room service menu, with several hot items available on the breakfast menu.

 

Ship's condition and cleanliness: Overall, the ship sparkled and there were always working parties scrubbing, polishing, and vacuuming. Our cabin steward kept our suite spotless. For the first few days our room wasn't made up until late in the morning, but that was because our regular steward was ill. I did notice that some of the upholstery on the Spinnaker Lounge couches were splitting at the seams. I'm sure that obese passengers plopping down on them repeatedly had nothing to do with that.

 

Staff: We didn't meet our concierge, Francisco from Chile, until the day after we sailed. He stopped by the cabin to introduce himself. We didn't make much use of his services, apart from asking him to make one dinner reservation. Putu, our butler, was first rate, as I've already mentioned; and Joemar, our steward was playing through the pain. Except for a couple of individuals, the ships' crew was incredibly friendly and outgoing, and that applies to everyone: stewards, bar staff, wait staff, cruise director staff, officers, engineers, deck gang . . . everyone.

 

Internet access: Some cruisers go into serious withdrawal if they have to go more than fifteen minutes without internet access. It's the world we live in. Internet is available but it is SLOW and not cheap. Two hundred fifty minutes will cost you $100. There are deals for extra minutes when signing up on the first day and periodically throughout the cruise there are internet specials. PC terminals are available in the Internet Cafe, located in the Atrium on Deck Seven. Wireless access is available throughout the ship. The speed, pretty slow at best, really slows down to a crawl when several people are on line. The best speeds are found early in the morning and late at night. If you plan on sending long messages, be sure to compose them offline first and then logon to send them. If you're planning to send a whole bunch of photo files, you might need to book the follow-on cruise so you can finish the upload. I usually just waited until port calls to get online. There are plenty of places ashore that offer free internet. One of the reasons I love cruising is that people can't get in touch with me. It's refreshing.

 

Suite: Fabulous. This is our favorite cabin and the fourth time we've a penthouse in this location. Even though there were just two of us, we like having the extra space and the price for this suite for this particular sailing was quite reasonable. I've posted pictures of the suite on the NCL forum. When one enters the cabin, there is a short hallway into living/dining area with a door to the children's/guests' bedroom on one's immediate left. This room has its own bathroom and two fold-up beds. There's also a television in the room, some drawers, shelves, and room to hang some clothing.

 

The dining area has a table for four, a china/crystal cabinet, a mini fridge, and a large coffee/espresso machine. The first machine didn't have a hot water dispenser, which my wife needed to brew her tea. Putu, our butler tracked one down that did and lugged it back to our stateroom. These gadgets are about the size of an old-fashioned cash register. Straight on past the dining area is the living area: a couch which contains a pull-out sofa, an easy chair, coffee table, and flat-screen television on the wall opposite the sofa. Beyond that is the glass slider leading out to the balcony. This time our balcony had two chairs and small table. Previously we've always had one chaise lounge.

 

Adjoining the living/dining area to the left are the bedroom and master bathroom. The bathroom features two sinks, a makeup table with hair dryer, a large storage closet, several drawers, and two safes. The WC has a clear glass door with some painted stripes, providing zero privacy, which explains why we dubbed the guest bathroom pooh corner. There is also a phone in the WC for some reason. It mostly served the purpose of getting knocked off the hook during last night visits. The shower is one of the great features of this suite. It's very large, features a floor to ceiling window against the side of the ship, and has spa features. The shower/spa has a rainfall head, a removable shower head, and four body nozzles. It was slightly disappointing that the body nozzles in this particular shower were tiny, as opposed to the very large ones on other ships. Also puzzling was the fact that all of the outlets couldn't be turned on at once. Instead of multiple valves, there was only one, which meant one could have the handheld head on or the handheld and body nozzles, or the rainfall head. Again, in this type suite on other ships of this class, it was possible for shower a deux, if you get my drift. Not so here. On the bulkhead (outside wall for you land lubbers) between the shower and the sinks is a large picture window over a bathtub. At the foot of the tub is a television, which is great if you can't bear to miss your show while bathing.

 

Opposite the bathroom is the bedroom. The bed is incredibly comfortable and you can lie in your bed and gaze out over the bathtub window, if you're so inclined. There is room underneath the bed to store your luggage. There is also another television in your bedroom, complete with a DVD player.

 

Prior to sailing we asked that the minibar be emptied, because we never use it. Instead, we stored our own things in the fridge, such as milk for Sarah's tea, bottles of champagne, and drink mixers.

 

Inside your cabin you can't hear the ship's announcements, unless you have one of your numerous televisions tuned to the ship's navigation channel.

 

Every day at four, Putu delivered snacks to the room. On some days it was canapes, sometimes it was chocolate-covered strawberries, and on others it was assorted chocolates.

 

On the whole, this suite was terrific, as usual. If you ever have an opportunity to sail in this category cabin, you won't regret and you'll be completely spoiled. You can fit four people in it but it's best if the second two are either children or munchkins, because the second bedroom is really designed for small people. I don't know how large or comfortable the pull-out bed is.

 

In summary: It's a trite and perhaps overused expression, but it's so true. The worst day of a cruise beats the best day at work. This was a fun cruise and Gem is a well-run, well-led, top notch cruise ship. She's a credit to NCL's fleet. The first and last at-sea days were a challenge for some, but hey, it's the North Atlantic in January. That's pretty much how the ocean rolls. There are plenty of tried and true remedies to combat sea sickness. Bonine works well for many, including my wife. Many morning sickness remedies almost help mitigate sea sickness, such as lemon drops, ginger ale, and Saltine crackers. For those seriously prone to motion sickness, you can get a patch from your physician before you sail. For the most part, we were enjoying warm breezes while our friends and family were stuck in a deep freeze. Crystal clear water, tropical breezes, boat drinks, and great food--this was ten days of paradise. We've already booked our next NCL cruise and the countdown has begun again.

 

If you're still with me, thanks for reading this lengthy review. I hope you found it worthwhile . . . and I do apologize for any typos and grammar mistakes. I'm the world's worst proofreader. Happy cruising to all.

[jjikids]

We have sailed on the Gem twice before. Thanks for reminding us how much we enjoyed it. This is a wonderful review.

[jkety19473]

Thanks so much for your great review of the Gem. We just booked her for an 8 night cruise in Oct, 16 for my wife's 50th birthday. We have been avid cruises for several years now, but this will be our first on Norwegian. We did Disney to start when kids were younger, and lately Royal Caribbean, but I wanted to try something new. We booked our very first suite too - 2 bedroom suite on deck 11. Told my wife this morning I booked it, and she was very excited. Thanks again

[Carnac767]

You're welcome. Have a great cruise. You'll love that suite.

[Educators2]

Loved reading your review. Now I'll search for the earlier segments. Glad you and Sarah had a fun time.

Susan

[Educators2]

Loved reading your review. Will search for the earlier segments. Glad you and Sarah had a fun cruise.

Susan

Edited February 22, 2015 by Educators2
Double post

[Carnac767]

Thanks, Susan.

[mommyto2girls]

I have read all parts of your review so well written😊 we have been on the Gen many times in the Hven and love it. We are boarding this coming Friday for our first Graden Villa Cruise. 10 days of bliss I am sure. We have frequently hit those rough seas but we agree the rest of the crusie makes it a distant memory.

[Carnac767]

Glad you liked it. Have a great time. The GV should be a memorable experience.

[crc825]

Hi,

Thinking of taking Gem in the fall and was wondering if anyone had photos of the spa and any of the renovated area's? Thanks so much!:)

[Carnac767]

I posted a bunch of them recently. Just search my CC ID and you'll find them.

[Carnac767]

I'll save you the trouble. Here's the link to the spa photos: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2165581&highlight=gem