Family trip on the Gem 3/22: Had a gem of a time :)

gikkeroo · April 19, 2016

Sorry for the delay, real life hit us very quickly once we returned. I had such an enjoyable time, I can't wait to go back.

About us: mid 30s, married, traveling with our 2 boys, 6 and 4, and my husband's parents, late 60s. Life has been a bit hectic lately and we were so ready for the break. We only brought 1 cell phone and no “devices” of any kind. We couldn’t wait to relax, unplug and just reconnect.

Cabin: 9524 & 9526, adjoining family balconies. 1 large bed plus a double pullout couch (and 1 pull down bunk that we didn't use).

Our booking promo choice was UBP. I would've loved UDP but we weren't sure how our kids would be in the specialty restaurants. The last thing I wanted to do was disturb other passengers. Turns out I could've done UDP because they were angels, but we were more than happy with the main dining rooms.

We live on Long Island, but due to the terrorist attacks in Brussels the morning of 3/22, NYC was on high alert. The traffic was terrible AND our limo was stopped and checked before we entered the tunnel. Our ride to the pier took nearly 3 hours! We got to the terminal at 12, checked our bags curbside, and got on line to check in. The check in process was smooth, I was surprised how fast the lines move, and that's where we were told that due to the extra sanitization, boarding would be delayed. The time escapes me, but I want to say we boarded around 2pm. At one point after we were checked in, an announcement was made that the terminal was full and those that had not yet entered and checked in had to wait outside until boarding began and the terminal emptied out a little bit. I felt badly for those people, but we were seated and comfortable and I had packed snacks for my kids so all was fine.

Once we finally boarded, rooms were not ready yet so we headed to Grand Pacific to eat something. Chicken Nachos...amazing. While we were at lunch, there was an announcement that rooms were ready and we could proceed. We liked the location of our cabin - just a few cabins forward of the FWD elevators. It was very convenient for my in-laws because they spent a lot of time in the casino. We also frequented the Magenta dining room for dinner, as it was a closer walk for them. We loved the ship, it was just the perfect size for the kids and the grandparents.

I thought this was pretty strange - our cabins (we had 2 adjoining) had little red dot stickers on the top of the door frame. No other cabins on either side of us had the stickers. This had me wondering if people had been quarantined with the noro virus in our rooms on the prior sailing... eek. Before my family walked through the door, I wiped down every flat surface with hospital-grade germicide wipes, and I repeated the wipedown process after Puerto Rico and Tortola as well.

My kids had every meal in the dining room with us and often ordered from the adult menu (we preferred Magenta over Grand Pacific, the service was faster) and attended all of the evening shows with us too. I had UBP and all drinks were great. I stuck mostly to bellinis at breakfast, bahama mamas in the late morning, frozen melon coladas or Miami vice in the heat of the afternoon, wine at dinner, crown & ginger for the shows, and baileys & Kahlua as a nightcap. (Now you all think I have a drinking problem!)

After reading so many mixed reviews about the food, I was pleasantly surprised with how good it was. I had one less-than-stellar meal, it was a strip steak that wasn't trimmed well and difficult to eat... but the appetizers were all amazing. Did anyone else try that chorizo & potato cold salad appetizer? I loved it so much, I'm trying to recreate it at home. The dessert was nothing spectacular, except for the bread pudding. That was SO good.

We enjoyed the shows and my 6 yr old took a liking to Chloe, the blond singer. He was on stage with her at one point and that pretty much made his life. One of the singers caught us after one of the evening shows to say how they all noticed that we never missed a show and we were always together as a family, and how nice it was to see that. I thought it was really sweet that he took the time to say something, and that was really the underlying theme of our whole trip. We spent time with each other and it was everything.

Overall, the staff was really great to the kids. They had extra special surprise desserts every night and napkin animals. One of the Magenta servers learned that my son liked red jello and brought it over before he even had the chance to order it.

I'm not going to get into the islands, I'm sure there is already tons of info out there about PR, St Thomas, St Maarten and Tortola.

Puerto Rico: We just explored old san juan on foot. My husband and kids had never been there and the kids were really into the gate and the history of the island. We walked the along wall and read them all of the historical info signs. Stopped in Starbucks for a clean bathroom and a taste of home. ;) Facetimed our family back home. My in-laws stayed on board.

St. Thomas: (Easter Sunday) Took a cab into town with the in-laws, hit a couple of the stores. They went right back to the ship, but we hopped in another cab to Magen's Bay and stopped by an outdoor church service on the way. Spent the next 5 hours floating around, drinking the amazing rum punch, enjoying my family in our beautiful surroundings. It was one of the best days of my life. The beach wasn't crowded at all, as we were the only ship in port. Just incredible.

St. Maarten: In-laws booked an excursion for us - the SeaWorld Explorer glass-bottom boat. Nothing too exciting, I probably would not have booked that myself but they seemed to enjoy themselves. They went back to the ship, and we took a cab to Maho Beach so the kids could see the planes. SO COOL. Definitely something to do once in your life. They didn't enjoy this beach as much as Magen's Bay, because they're still young and the waves were too much for them. I did some snorkeling right off the beach and saw lots of great things off to the left on the rocks. Sting rays, a sea turtle, lots of fish, urchins, etc.

Tortola: We did the dolphin discovery excursion. The kids loved it, again, something to do once in your life. The trainer was very nice and extremely patient. My kids didn’t need his patience, my in-laws did. They were nervous and couldn’t follow directions! LOL The place is a fortune but we were able to get some photos without being yelled at. I was in Tortola almost 15 years ago and can’t believe how much has changed there! The pier is going to be great once it’s all done.

Note to anyone that forgot to buy duty-free in St Thomas: buy it in St Maarten because there’s nothing in Tortola. A duty-free shop is due to open at the pier but they don’t have a date yet.

SPLASH ACADEMY: We kept very busy on sea days and the kids only went to Splash Academy for 80 minutes the whole trip. My 6.5 yr old is never bored, he brings the party with him. He made friends but was happier hanging out with us vs. going to Splash. The 4.5 yr old was bored. They Turtle group is 3-5 yr olds and there happened to be more 3 yr olds than 5 yr olds. He didn’t want to sit around and color. He wanted to go to Splash on circus day but they were at capacity and he was wait-listed. In my opinion, a max capacity of 25 in the 3-5 age range is ridiculous. I didn’t feel like there were a lot of kids on the ship so I was surprised it reached capacity.

We participated in all of the family events on the ship (scavenger hunts, intensity, the Easter Hunt) and even caught some of the movies.

We spent plenty of time on the pool deck and have a couple of tips: Deck 13 is very windy and makes reading a paperback difficult. We preferred deck 12. DON’T sit near the ping pong tables (deck 12 FWD, port side) because let’s be real, no one is very good at ping pong and the balls go flying. We were stuck there 1 day and I counted 69 rogue ping pong balls in a 90 minute period. People were smoking in Bali Hai so we avoided that area too. On the nice warm sea days, you better be out there by 7:30am to reserve chairs, otherwise you’re going to have to deal with ping pong balls or wind. LOL The chair hogs are early birds. Our travel agent gave us towel clips and these came in handy to keep our chairs marked. The towel clips also double as clothespins for drying bathing suits out on the balcony chairs!

It went WAY TOO FAST. This was the 1st cruise for my kiddos and only the 2nd cruise for my husband. A great time was had by all. I didn’t take too many photos – less than 200 – and I didn’t take pics or save the menus or dailies.

I want to thank everyone that set up and had a hand in the M&G, the prizes were so nice but the people were nicer. We really appreciate you taking the time to get everything all set up, and thank you for including my kids.

We couldn’t have asked for a better trip and I owe all of you a big thank you for preparing me so well.

Pics to follow.

gikkeroo · April 19, 2016

Once I figure out how to upload the pics ... just tried from my phone and it didn't work. :eek:

gikkeroo · April 19, 2016

Tim Kaminski. Funny guy and overall good person.

Niffernay · April 19, 2016

Thank you for the review. Looking forward to our cruise on the Gem in December. :D

pathubia · April 19, 2016

Tim Kaminski. Funny guy and overall good person.

We LOVE Tim Kaminski!! I wish he would come back to the DAWN!!

Clarea · April 19, 2016

Nicely written, thank-you.

gikkeroo · April 20, 2016

On line to check in!