Gem 6/27 - 7/4/15 quick review

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

DH and I just returned from the Gem/Bahama sailing on Saturday. We had a great time and met some wonderful fellow cruisers. We have sailed on the Gem several times before this cruise and are looking forward to sailing the Gem again next year. We were told at our M&G that they were rolling out their new menus this week and found that we enjoyed some of the new selections they offered. Our Meet and Greet was a bust. Only 6 showed up, there were more NCL officers in attendance than CC members. We did not encounter any long lines or waits for dining or for bar beverages (we had UBP). The Orchid restaurant was always very busy, we expected this since they removed the fee, but enjoyed a very nice dinner there one evening w/o much of a wait (maybe thanks to the concierge helping us out). The portions are on the small side but we ordered so many different dishes to share and were quite stuffed when we left. Never sailed with Captain Lars before and found him delightful with an awesome sense of humor.

 

Our weather was not "great" but it was not a bust either. However one evening there was an insane storm and our boat listed I don't know maybe 20 degrees. We were on a lower deck at the time but it was quite obvious. The captain announced that the winds were hurricane strength and that he was going to turn the ship head on into the wind to stop it from causing us to "tilt". Seemed to have worked! Heard from others on the higher decks that things were falling and breaking. We made it to GSC with no problems and enjoyed a somewhat cloudy but lovely day. This is my favorite port on this itin. since I am not a fan of Nassau nor Pt. Canaveral. We stayed on the ship in Pt. Canaveral as did so so many others. The weather did seem a bit threatening when we arrived and heard from others who ventured out to Cocoa Beach that when they arrived there they were turned away because they were closing the beach because of the thunder/lightning. They were a littled pissed after spending money on cab fare to and from. Can't say I blame them but it was clearly not a great beach day when we arrived in port and it was their decision to head on out.

 

Found the service in the MDR, and all of the specialties that we went to, to be excellent. Bar staff very friendly and attentive. They had many tastings on sea days wine, beer, martini etc. and had a decent turn out from what I could see.

 

Spent most of our evenings in the casino and did not get to many of the shows. Saw Second City and as much as I enjoy them do wish they would roll out some new material. It was pretty much the same old, same old and observed many audience members walking out on the show. Saw magician and his show was enjoyable. However, he did way more talking than magic tricks but his magic was awesome.

 

All in all we had a great week and are looking forward to our next voyage. Any questions I'd be happy to respond, if I can.

[Kingmaker_inc]

Never sailed with Captain Lars before and found him delightful with an awesome sense of humor.

 

He is hilarious, and quite a "chatty Cathy"!!

[minutemanmom]

Do you know if the climbing wall was open? Thanks!

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

From what I gathered from other passengers, because of the rough seas and winds wall was closed for the first half of week, not sure about latter part.

[4gomez]

I always ask so I will ask again; does 1 pool have salt water and the other have fresh? AND is 1 warmer than the other? This is a question I ask for the queen bee.

 

Joe

[mizLORInj]

Hi. I love the Gem. If Lars was captain on our recent March cruise, he could be amusing but sometimes his humor was at the expense of others. Is he the Swede?

 

Interesting about new menus. I agree that Second City needs new material!

 

Was Maurice the host of the martini tastings? We had some fun tastings with him.

 

Happy cruising everyone! :)

Edited July 8, 2015 by mizlorinj

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

I always ask so I will ask again; does 1 pool have salt water and the other have fresh? AND is 1 warmer than the other? This is a question I ask for the queen bee.

 

Joe

 

According to the Captain both pools are sea water. He came on the loudspeaker one day and announced the ocean water temp was 86 degrees and the air degree was 82, so he said pool was warmer than air and he didn't want to hear anyone complain that the pool water was cold! LOL:):)

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

Hi. I love the Gem. If Lars was captain on our recent March cruise, he could be amusing but sometimes his humor was at the expense of others. Is he the Swede?

 

Interesting about new menus. I agree that Second City needs new material!

 

Was Maurice the host of the martini tastings? We had some fun tastings with him.

 

Happy cruising everyone! :)

 

 

:

Yes his humor was many times at the expense of others, but not as outrageous as Don Rickles (if you're old enough to remember him) but funny all the same. I appreciated the fact that he didn't take himself too seriously, his is an important job to say the least, but I like it mixed with some "funny". :D

[luv2swimwdolphins]

I adore captain Lars. His son also works ncl and on our last cruise got to tell him how funny he was !!

[monkeybone]

Thanks for the review.

 

Sounds like you had a good time :)

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Glad you had a great time. Welcome home

[Juvesgirl]

Thanks for the review! Do you happen to recall (or perhaps check on the dailies if you still have them, by chance) the price of the spa day-pass when the ship was in port at Port Canaveral? I don't want a week-long pass, just a day-pass (and I know that they are subject to availability).

 

Thanks!

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

Thanks for the review! Do you happen to recall (or perhaps check on the dailies if you still have them, by chance) the price of the spa day-pass when the ship was in port at Port Canaveral? I don't want a week-long pass, just a day-pass (and I know that they are subject to availability).

 

Thanks!

 

I believe it was $40 for the day. I know I read it somewhere and will check my paperwork that I brought home to see if I have it.

[hpecorari]

Nice review......welcome back!

 

Harriet

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

Thanks for the review! Do you happen to recall (or perhaps check on the dailies if you still have them, by chance) the price of the spa day-pass when the ship was in port at Port Canaveral? I don't want a week-long pass, just a day-pass (and I know that they are subject to availability).

 

Thanks!

 

Okay checked the dailies. The first day they advertised a week pass for $149.

On Day 3 in Freestyle they advertised $40 per day. Hope this helps.

[pixiedustdawn]

Wonderful review. Also a fan of Lars and his sons that also work for Norwegian. Just sailed with one on the Pearl.

 

Rock wall as far as I know is still out of commission. :(

 

Can't wait to sail on her again.

 

Dawn

[mostlylurker]

In '08 we sailed on the last sailing of the Dream. They had this amazing chocolate buffet night. Does Norweigan still do that?

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

Chocolate buffets are now gone. In its stead they have a "chocolate night" where the restaurants offer special chocolate desserts. Though I always found their chocolate buffet display beautiful never really cared for the taste of their offerings, they all were bland and all tasted pretty much the same, in my opinion of course so not really a major loss in my view, lol.

[Turtles06]

Chocolate buffets are now gone. In its stead they have a "chocolate night" where the restaurants offer special chocolate desserts. Though I always found their chocolate buffet display beautiful never really cared for the taste of their offerings, they all were bland and all tasted pretty much the same, in my opinion of course so not really a major loss in my view, lol.

 

I totally agree with you. The stuff looks like chocolate, but doesn't really have much taste. It was true of the chocolate buffet and I have found it to be true at "chocolate night" as well, including on the Gem in May. Lots of visually appealling stuff, but blech in terms of taste. (And I am someone who loves chocolate, and desserts in general!)

[coyote144]

We will be sailing on the Gem in Sept. up to Canada/New England. So it was good to read your review. Hopefully we won't have your weather issues.

 

Do you know what drinks cost a la carte, i.e. a glass of wine at dinner, a beer? a mixed drink? We've heard anywhere from $9-11 for mixed drinks, but not sure about wine and beer. We have been offered several promo package: the most enticing are the unltd beverage package and the Ultimate Dining package. We're not big drinkers, no soda, maybe wine with dinner, or a beer or mixed drink after dinner, so we're trying to guestimate what it will run us.

 

I'm also wondering if we should book our room now for Sept, where we will have to pay in full, or wait to see if the prices drop any further and then jump on it. Also not sure whether to book thru NCL directly or our Liberty travel agent. Prices don't seem that different between the two. if the price does drop (and we're not sure it will - these cruises tend to be popular), is there a chance of getting a rebate or onboard credit, and thru whom?

 

Thanks

Wendy

[Juvesgirl]

Okay checked the dailies. The first day they advertised a week pass for $149.

On Day 3 in Freestyle they advertised $40 per day. Hope this helps.

 

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

We will be sailing on the Gem in Sept. up to Canada/New England. So it was good to read your review. Hopefully we won't have your weather issues.

 

Do you know what drinks cost a la carte, i.e. a glass of wine at dinner, a beer? a mixed drink? We've heard anywhere from $9-11 for mixed drinks, but not sure about wine and beer. We have been offered several promo package: the most enticing are the unltd beverage package and the Ultimate Dining package. We're not big drinkers, no soda, maybe wine with dinner, or a beer or mixed drink after dinner, so we're trying to guestimate what it will run us.

 

I'm also wondering if we should book our room now for Sept, where we will have to pay in full, or wait to see if the prices drop any further and then jump on it. Also not sure whether to book thru NCL directly or our Liberty travel agent. Prices don't seem that different between the two. if the price does drop (and we're not sure it will - these cruises tend to be popular), is there a chance of getting a rebate or onboard credit, and thru whom?

 

Thanks

Wendy

 

I love the Canada/New England Itin. and Sept. is such a nice time of year to sail there. I'm sure you will love your cruise.

 

As far as booking now and with NCL direct or TA, that is entirely up to your preference. Once you book if there are price changes after final payment, technically you are entitled to nothing. However, there are occassions that have been reported and I experienced personally, where if you contact NCL they may give you an upgrade or some OBC for the price difference, depending on how much of a difference and how generous they are feeling. There is no set formula and they are not required to. For this reason alone, I would prefer to book direct with NCL. That is not to say that if you contacted your TA and told them about the price change that they could not contact NCL on your behalf and request some sort of "not required to do so" compensation. However, some TA offer some enticing additional incentives, and again this would be your personal booking preference. I just like to deal with things immediately and not have to go through a "go between"

 

Drink prices can vary (soda not included of course) to as low as $5.95 to as high as your top shelf brands can fetch. But generally speaking $6 to $11 will get you pretty much any popular beverages (martinis, wine by the glass, frozen drinks, mojitos, etc.)

 

Hope this helps.

[4gomez]

This is a new one for me. What is a day pass to the spa? What does it include and exclude? Thanks

Joe

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

This is a new one for me. What is a day pass to the spa? What does it include and exclude? Thanks

Joe

 

instead of purchasing the weekly pass to the spa's amenities, you can purchase a day pass (at a fraction albeit sometimes high fraction) to have the ability to use it's amenities just for the day.

[Juvesgirl]

instead of purchasing the weekly pass to the spa's amenities, you can purchase a day pass (at a fraction albeit sometimes high fraction) to have the ability to use it's amenities just for the day.

 

Yes, exactly, and they are more likely to be offered on port days and sometimes aren't offered at all.