Gem 1/22 - some practical lessons and a little encouragement

[formerjar]

Just wanted to put a few more thoughts out there on the Gem 1/22 10 day run.

 

I am a former crew member -- worked as an entertainer on NCL, RCI, and Cunard through the 1990s and 2000s.....my husband, daughter and I have cruised together 4 times as passengers -- all out of NYC, 3x on the Gem. Even so - I learned some VALUABLE lessons on this cruise that I hope can be of encouragement and help.

 

Yes. There was a giant storm. We threw snowballs on a cruise ship, and I'd never done that. It was awesome. It was rocky the first 2 days -- like my old transatlantic days on the QE2 rocky -- I LOVE that! My husband and daughter, not so much...so they wore sea bands. We were fine. If you cruise in the winter, be prepared for storms. Roll with it. (hah hah - see what I did there?)

 

Yes. The Yeshiva group was awful. Horrible people - an entitled, rude, nasty group that challenged every liberal open-minded value I hold dear - but it was just that group, I know, and not an entire population of people. Made for good conversation about stereotypes with my 11 year old. Another plus -- when my ADHD child is shocked by other childrens' behavior and ability to get banned from the kids club for the entire cruise before the second day? I feel just a little better about my own parenting skills. 🙂

 

Okay -- the nuts and bolts of what this haggard sea hag actually learned on her third trip on the Gem:

 

UDP -- we chose the UDP over UBP because my husband doesn't drink. We considered trying to switch that back after we did the math, knowing that we didn't NEED to eat in a specialty venue EVERY night. But given the affect the aforementioned group had on the main dining rooms, it turned out to be the best choice ever. We had UDP for all three of us, and my daughter now has a steak and lobster palette, for sure. With the new a la carte prices we ate well over $1000 worth of fantastic food, in delightful ambiance, with excellent service. MUCH more than my bar bill....although I will hold out for that "pick two" perk before I book again, because I was jealous of the people who had both. Five out of ten nights would have been fine though; sometimes you just want a burger and beer out in the Great Outdoors while you watch the stars. 🙂

 

iCONCIERGE -- this was THE DEAL! My daughter was able to check herself in and out of the kids club, which saved us the 45 minute drop off/pick up experience that was only thus because of - you guessed it -- the aforementioned Yeshiva group. That for some reason had to drop of their children as a family herd, pushing in front of anyone waiting, and then spending 15 minutes berating the staff before bustling off. But I digress -- my daughter loved this first shot at independence. She proved herself well -- texting us where she was, and when she got there. Being able to converse with one another freely across the ship proved vital for my husband and I later in the cruise....

 

AFT BALCONY - BEST MONEY SPENT EVER. We had a balcony aft on 10 (10668), which became our haven from the chaotic pool deck. It was not only overcrowded and terrorized by Yeshiva, but honestly, got too windy and cold to really enjoy yourself up there on the first and last days. We had 80 degree sun all day, both final days at sea. My tan is awesome! The aft balconies on 10 have 2 loungers, 2 chairs, and a table. The sail aways, too, were glorious, and sunsets and views magnificent. I sailed quite happily in inside cabins for a decade, and questioned spending the extra dough; I will never question that again.

 

ALWAYS BUY THE INSURANCE AND ALWAYS TAKE AN NCL TOUR. This was the biggest learning I had on the trip - and counter to everything I believed I knew about cruising. We always book tours privately - they are the same tours for less money and usually very well run. We never buy the insurance because...we spent the money on the aft balcony. But this time we did, knowing that job issues could have caused us to cancel after the cancellation date. And in Tortola, we took the ship sponsored tour to Virgin Gorda and The Baths because of the short time in port and the guarantee that we would not be left behind.

 

My husband was "that guy" who broke his foot at the bottom of the Baths, mis-calculating distance between rocks. We are young and healthy -- but stuff happens. And the tour company (Speedys) was useless in helping him. They had no medical kit, no triage plan, no CLUE how they were going to get him off of the rock at the bottom of the hill and back to the ferry/back to the ship. They left us stranded. BUT (and more on this in moment) God sent angels in the form of our fellow cruisers and three random tourists from Canada. One fellow passenger, a nurse, was beside my husband (on the top of a very scary rock!) triaging and stabilizing him before I could find the so called tour guide. When the tour guide could not produce any kind of medical kit or tape to help stabilize what we thought could be a snapped Achilles or broken ankle, this God-sent fellow passenger (and several others) set out to carry my husband up the rocky hill. They were met halfway up by the three Canadian tourists, one of whom was a paramedic. They got my husband up the hill, made a stabilizing boot out of cardboard and toilet paper, and set us off to the ferry in the car of a now very relieved Speedy tour guide. When we got to the ship, we received ex-rays, cast, and crutches. And chocolate covered strawberries. 🙂 THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART -- HAD WE NOT BOUGHT THE INSURANCE, THIS WOULD HAVE COST US THOUSANDS. HAD WE NOT BEEN ON AN NCL SPONSORED TOUR, THE INSURANCE WOULD HAVE BEEN MOOT. As it was - they could have airlifted us to Puerto Rico (if it was warranted) and put us up there until the injury was stable, then fly us home - and all would have been covered. His medical bills on land, now? Covered. Lesson SO learned - and we are SO grateful.

 

A FINAL LESSON - and perhaps this actually was the most important. Humanity is good. We encountered some of the nastiest, ugliest individuals and groups of individuals we have ever met on this cruise. But. We also met some of the kindest, self-less, classiest people ever as well. And that's the lesson, isn't it? Cherish the good. From the roll call peeps we shared slot pulls and balcony sail-aways with, to the kind and attentive staff, to the ANGELS who carried my husband up that hill while I tried to keep our daughter calm, to the random people on that Baths tour who sent my husband drinks (which I happily consumed) and gave us well wishes. I have more faith in humanity than I ever had before.

 

OKAY ONE MORE LESSON -- crutches? Will get you disembarked seamlessly. And you can find a porter easily in the baggage claim. And they will take you upstairs to arrivals, where you can catch a cab without having to cross the West Side Highway.

 

We will sail NCL again. But not on Yeshiva week. 🙂 And we hope to sail again with some of you wonderful people who helped teach us, this trip, about what's really important.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Host Star
Putting group of people down

[ColinIllinois]

That was a good read. Thanks for posting.

[sparks1093]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[hansolosmom]

So sorry about your husband, but thankfully you got help from some angels.

 

Also great attitude!

[MsTabbyKats]

Thanks for your review. I always buy insurance and use ship sponsored tours....I can cruise without worries.

 

As far as the group....as a Jew, I am totally embarrassed that people would lump us "regular people" in with them. They are certainly not representave of anything other than their own tight knit community. Besides the fact that I'm a Zionist, that my husband was almost killed while he was in the Israeli army etc....my dear brother...who is in "that community" has told us that we aren't Jewish. So, please people....don't condemn us because of those rotten apples.

[jaja]

Thanks for your post ! (And wishing your DH a speedy recovery.)

[Harvey130284]

How is your husband recovering now? Very good lesson indeed, and thank god you had insurance! Cruise ships have amazing medical departments!!

[NLH Arizona]

Thanks for your review and thankfully there were some very kind people there to help your husband.

[sparks1093]

Thanks for your review. I always buy insurance and use ship sponsored tours....I can cruise without worries.

 

As far as the group....as a Jew, I am totally embarrassed that people would lump us "regular people" in with them. They are certainly not representave of anything other than their own tight knit community. Besides the fact that I'm a Zionist, that my husband was almost killed while he was in the Israeli army etc....my dear brother...who is in "that community" has told us that we aren't Jewish. So, please people....don't condemn us because of those rotten apples.

 

No worries here MsTabby!:)

[mizLORInj]

Thanks for your review. You have quite the history on both sides of cruising! :)

 

I have seen people get hurt at the Baths before. One woman banged her head as she walked over a moss-covered rock and slipped. OW! It's a place to be exercising extreme caution and I don't think the cruise line or the tour people emphasize that enough.

 

Due to the short time in Tortola on Gem we do ship-sponsored excursions too. The other ports we do on our own with reputable companies who don't charge if the ship doesn't port (as Breakaway had happen this week--skipped San Juan).

Edited February 4, 2016 by mizlorinj

[khaide612]

Amazing story OP!! Glad that you shared - the negative reviews from people who have been on 20 cruises but have only found CC the day after a bad experience always bother me.

 

 

So, please people....don't condemn us because of those rotten apples.

 

No condemnation here. There are bad apples in every bunch.

[formerjar]

Thanks for your review. I always buy insurance and use ship sponsored tours....I can cruise without worries.

 

 

 

As far as the group....as a Jew, I am totally embarrassed that people would lump us "regular people" in with them. They are certainly not representave of anything other than their own tight knit community. Besides the fact that I'm a Zionist, that my husband was almost killed while he was in the Israeli army etc....my dear brother...who is in "that community" has told us that we aren't Jewish. So, please people....don't condemn us because of those rotten apples.

 

 

Goodness no MsTabbyKats! That was the awesome conversation we got to have with our daughter. That no matter how tempted we are to stereotype, you must never do so. And that was the impression I got from everyone on board. That this was an isolated...albeit infamous...specific group. :)

[formerjar]

How is your husband recovering now? Very good lesson indeed, and thank god you had insurance! Cruise ships have amazing medical departments!!

 

 

He's doing fine -- just slowed down. We have another round of X-rays on Monday to confirm, with decreased swelling, that it's a hairline fracture in his heel. Fingers crossed!

[Coastalbreezes]

Thank you for posting such a lovely and heartfelt review. So sorry about your husband and glad you found amazing angels to help when you needed them the most.

 

Tracy

[njmomof2]

I'm so glad that you had such wonderful people step in and assist your husband at what was obviously a very stressful and frightening time. Sad that the tour operator was so ill equipped to deal with an injury that might reasonably have been anticipated at some time on their tours.

 

As for Yeshiva week...I, like Ms. Tabbykats, am appalled at the behavior of such groups. I fall into the Reform group (as one of my orthodox co worker's tells me, I take Reform to a whole new low!), but I grew up in a Conservative shul and we lived near an Orthodox shul and a Yeshiva as well.

 

I've also been told that I "wasn't Jewish" because I wasn't like them. I'm glad that you were able to use this not as a chance to bash, but as an opportunity to teach your daughter about tolerance and not stereotyping because of the behavior of one group.

 

I didn't know about this group sailing on Freedom, and I was initially surprised that they did it, knowing that there are specific sailings for Kosher groups, but then I remembered the cost when I was researching them for the above mentioned Orthodox co worker. The cost of those specific cruises are probably double to triple the cost of a standard cruise. I guess with a large group chartering, they can have a section of the kitchen set aside for Kosher food, or they bring on all of the pre-packaged Kosher food for the guests. Must still be cheaper than the specialized cruise.

Edited February 4, 2016 by njmomof2

[Sauer-kraut]

A lovely review and thank you for writing it.

[geegee1]

... (as Breakaway had happen this week--skipped San Juan).

 

Haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else, why did BA skip SJ?

[SuiteCruisin14]

Thanks for a very insightful review of your cruise. We have always tried to find the best in every cruise and the people on it but sometimes you have to look past a lot.

 

I like that you made this trip a lesson in humanity for your daughter. It is always good to be able to explain things when it happens in front of you.

 

I did not know about this group and MLK week so I will never book it out of NYC.

 

Happy cruising.

Lynda

[Kellydollblue]

This same group used to sail carnival when they were year round out of New York

[vince_g]

Another article from a couple years ago about an entire group being thrown off a plane.

 

http://libertynews.com/2013/06/non-compliant-student-group-ejected-from-plane/

[NLH Arizona]

Another article from a couple years ago about an entire group being thrown off a plane.

 

http://libertynews.com/2013/06/non-compliant-student-group-ejected-from-plane/

Sounds like some of these children have never been taught manners or how to respect others. Seems like some of the parents were just as disruptive on the cruise, so I guess we know where the teens learn their behavior from.

 

Just wondering if this school is in a wealthy area, because that could explain their thinking that they are entitled to do and act however they want.

Edited February 4, 2016 by NLH Arizona

[Sauer-kraut]

Sounds like some of these children have never been taught manners or how to respect others. Seems like some of the parents were just as disruptive on the cruise, so I guess we know where the teens learn their behavior from.

 

Just wondering if this school is in a wealthy area, because that could explain their thinking that they are entitled to do and act however they want.

 

Its not a single school and many of these are private schools in low-income areas of Brooklyn.

From the NY Times July 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/01/nyregion/new-york-city-questions-english-math-and-science-taught-at-yeshivas.html

"There are roughly 250 Jewish day schools in the city, which range from secular to ultra-Orthodox. The ultra-Orthodox schools, many of which are in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park, Williamsburg and Crown Heights, prioritize religious studies, particularly for boys."

 

" More children attend Brooklyn’s Jewish parochial schools than attend Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens combined, and unlike their Catholic counterparts, yeshivas are growing. In just four years, the borough’s Jewish parochial schools have seen an enrollment increase of more than 12,000 pupils, according to state records."

Edited February 4, 2016 by Sauer-kraut

[MsTabbyKats]

Sounds like some of these children have never been taught manners or how to respect others. Seems like some of the parents were just as disruptive on the cruise, so I guess we know where the teens learn their behavior from.

 

Just wondering if this school is in a wealthy area, because that could explain their thinking that they are entitled to do and act however they want.

 

No....not weathy areas. As a mater of fact...a large per centage are on public assistance.

 

in my family, the fathers don't work, at least in the traditional sense. Yet, the mothers wear designer clothing.

[Sauer-kraut]

No....not weathy areas. As a mater of fact...a large per centage are on public assistance.

 

in my family, the fathers don't work, at least in the traditional sense. Yet, the mothers wear designer clothing.

 

The girls are 'luckier' if you want to call it that, as their studies include more secular education as they are looked on to be the family breadwinner while the male children devote their time to the study of the Talmud and religious education.

[NLH Arizona]

Its not a single school and many of these are private schools in low-income areas of Brooklyn.

From the NY Times July 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/01/nyregion/new-york-city-questions-english-math-and-science-taught-at-yeshivas.html

"There are roughly 250 Jewish day schools in the city, which range from secular to ultra-Orthodox. The ultra-Orthodox schools, many of which are in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park, Williamsburg and Crown Heights, prioritize religious studies, particularly for boys."

 

" More children attend Brooklyn’s Jewish parochial schools than attend Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens combined, and unlike their Catholic counterparts, yeshivas are growing. In just four years, the borough’s Jewish parochial schools have seen an enrollment increase of more than 12,000 pupils, according to state records."

Well hopefully the schools are becoming aware of how these children behave when out in public and if they parents won't teach them manners, the schools will. There is only hope, because if their parents act this way and their children act the same, most likely these teens' children will act the same. What a shame.