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****Live from the Gem Garden Villa****

SuiteCruiser

By SuiteCruiser,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Day 5

 

Harriet, Geri and Arlene are sharing the master bedroom. Apparently Arlene talks in her sleep so Harriet and Geri kept sitting up and trying to listen to what she was saying through the night, so they didn't sleep. They blame it more on their nosiness, than Arlene. Apparently she was dreaming of being in a fight because she was cursing someone out. The girls knew they needed a nap later.

 

We had a very relaxing day, I was reading on the upstairs deck, then we all went to the Haven pool, but it was like a bathtub, so not the least bit refreshing, back to the Villa where we sat and chatted for hours. Some of the girls went into town, I stayed onboard. Some napped, some didn't, but it seems whatever is going on, there are always a few of us sitting around talking.

 

We left half an hour late, they were calling for 3 people, but I'm not sure if they made it or not. We didn't have a view of the pier. I don't understand it, how hard is it to plan to be back on time?

 

We went to Le Bistro for dinner, I had the onion soup and the lump crab appetizers, because I wanted room for the creme brûlée. The lump crab, was more of a lump crab salad with mayo and small pieces. I was hoping for chunks of lump crab, more like a shrimp cocktail, but it didn't matter, the soup filled me up anyway.

 

Off to the casino, where I was having zero luck. Across the room I could hear Phyllis laughing, so I headed to Let It Ride. I kept losing, but we had so much fun. Phyllis was keeping us all in stitches with her TMI talk and inappropriate but funny quips. One of the pit supervisors came over and said "Sally, it's the Captain for you" so I took the phone and said "Hi Baby, how are you? Then paused and said "Oh, I don't know" and looked down into my top and said "Double D's?" It brought the house down the supervisor was high-fiving me. It may be one of those had to be there things, but it was just a really fun night. It went on and on, and we headed out at 3:20. I woke up at 10:20 and finishing this up before heading out into the sun on this beautiful blue sky day.

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TheDougOut

TheDougOut

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3:20am has to be an admirable turn-in time, especially on the Gem. Was anything going on outside the casino at that time? Where could you still grab a drink at that hour?

 

Glad to see the captain is anxious to learn more about his guests! Too funny... those late night shenanigans.

 

Group travel is so much fun. :)

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Fpacifico

Fpacifico

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Day 5

 

Harriet, Geri and Arlene are sharing the master bedroom. Apparently Arlene talks in her sleep so Harriet and Geri kept sitting up and trying to listen to what she was saying through the night, so they didn't sleep. They blame it more on their nosiness, than Arlene. Apparently she was dreaming of being in a fight because she was cursing someone out. The girls knew they needed a nap later.

 

We had a very relaxing day, I was reading on the upstairs deck, then we all went to the Haven pool, but it was like a bathtub, so not the least bit refreshing, back to the Villa where we sat and chatted for hours. Some of the girls went into town, I stayed onboard. Some napped, some didn't, but it seems whatever is going on, there are always a few of us sitting around talking.

 

We left half an hour late, they were calling for 3 people, but I'm not sure if they made it or not. We didn't have a view of the pier. I don't understand it, how hard is it to plan to be back on time?

 

We went to Le Bistro for dinner, I had the onion soup and the lump crab appetizers, because I wanted room for the creme brûlée. The lump crab, was more of a lump crab salad with mayo and small pieces. I was hoping for chunks of lump crab, more like a shrimp cocktail, but it didn't matter, the soup filled me up anyway.

 

Off to the casino, where I was having zero luck. Across the room I could hear Phyllis laughing, so I headed to Let It Ride. I kept losing, but we had so much fun. Phyllis was keeping us all in stitches with her TMI talk and inappropriate but funny quips. One of the pit supervisors came over and said "Sally, it's the Captain for you" so I took the phone and said "Hi Baby, how are you? Then paused and said "Oh, I don't know" and looked down into my top and said "Double D's?" It brought the house down the supervisor was high-fiving me. It may be one of those had to be there things, but it was just a really fun night. It went on and on, and we headed out at 3:20. I woke up at 10:20 and finishing this up before heading out into the sun on this beautiful blue sky day.

Not sure how much time you have after the cruise but if you can, Go to the Bronx zoo, incredible day. Eat in the cafeteria , they have salads. Take the atrial ride.

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mking8288 "Live from...." Rare

mking8288

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Hard to believe that you are steaming northbound already & will be back sooner than you wanted to :D - how are sea conditions & the GEM maintain a good & steady speed ? There's supposed be a storm with gale force wind heading toward Bermuda & the Summit just sail from Dockyard a few minutes ago & winds coming in from the north @ 25 knots. I see a little bit of whites on the surface on GEM's webcam & Oceanweather forecast showing an area with 15' to 20' seas in the Altantic, but much farther out - should be okay.

 

Just read another post from those eager & waiting to board on May 7th. and NCL emailed the guests booked that they will be skipping GSC next week due to propeller maintenance, heading from PC to Nassau & arriving at noon on that day instead.

 

Aside from your post, haven't read/see anyone posting about news of 3 pax missing the ship, again - must be that long walkway out to the terminal ... was watching the Nassau webcam live, one of the ship blasted the air horn loudly around 4:30 PM so if they're in that area - couldn't possibly missed it.

 

Enjoy the GV life & go lucky and collect some down at the casino.

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cherylroslyn

cherylroslyn

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We need some big wins, I'm expecting more jackpots and handpays!!!!!

 

 

Never give up.....my last Gem Cruise I had a 2000 dollar hand pay at about 2:00 am as we were getting very close to NYC. They were racing to pay me and gave me 20 minutes to do a little more playing.....that was a great way the preserve my winnings:)

 

 

Can I ask if everyone in the Villa got the drink cards? There were rumors that CAS was no longer going to give the cards to everyone in the room.

 

 

Hope you guys have a great time for the last day!!!!!

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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3:20am has to be an admirable turn-in time, especially on the Gem. Was anything going on outside the casino at that time? Where could you still grab a drink at that hour?

 

Glad to see the captain is anxious to learn more about his guests! Too funny... those late night shenanigans.

 

Group travel is so much fun. :)

 

There really was nothing else going on then, they closed the casino bar at 3:00. For the non-gambler, there's not as much going on as the Escape, Epic or the Away ships.

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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We need some big wins, I'm expecting more jackpots and handpays!!!!!

 

 

Never give up.....my last Gem Cruise I had a 2000 dollar hand pay at about 2:00 am as we were getting very close to NYC. They were racing to pay me and gave me 20 minutes to do a little more playing.....that was a great way the preserve my winnings:)

 

 

Can I ask if everyone in the Villa got the drink cards? There were rumors that CAS was no longer going to give the cards to everyone in the room.

 

 

Hope you guys have a great time for the last day!!!!!

 

We all got drink cards, but almost all were HOT or above anyway, so had earned them.

 

I will ask Phyllis because her friend Sherry who is with us isn't a gambler and has the UBP, but I'll see if she got a casino card.

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cherylroslyn

cherylroslyn

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We all got drink cards, but almost all were HOT or above anyway, so had earned them.

 

I will ask Phyllis because her friend Sherry who is with us isn't a gambler and has the UBP, but I'll see if she got a casino card.

Thanks!!!

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whenisthemidnightbuffet?

whenisthemidnightbuffet?

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Sally love your "blog" what fun to see our week through your eyes.

 

Yes drink cards were given to both occupants of a comped CAS cabin.

 

Hi right back at you Stephen! Sorry you didn't join us but enjoy your Bday cruise. I'm sure we will share the seas again at some point.

 

Loved hanging with my Vixens and knowing that each of you own a special piece of my heart.

 

:)

Phyllis

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hpecorari

hpecorari

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I would like to thank Sally for being our story teller. You know these gals by their posts. I know these gals by spending a week with them. They are all wonderful and special! We have spent long hours just talking, we have spent time laughing, and we spent time crying. Throughout the 440 days we have waited to take his cruise I myself have received much support and love from these ladies, personally. We all have gone through certain things and have been there for each other. I have taken many many cruises and even putting aside the fact that we were in the Garden Villa this was by far the best cruise I have ever take simply due to the company! God willing… I'd love to do this again.

 

Harriet

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Day 6

 

I hung out on the deck for a while and read my book, then Harriet came by an we grabbed a couple of girls and headed to Cagney's for lunch. I had great plans to have something other than the French dip. When the waiter came for the order, somehow French dip came out of my mouth, so there it is. 3 times this week we went to Cagney's for lunch and 3 times I had the French dip.

 

Others had the seafood misto (very good), pork chop (very good) and linguine with clams (also very good).

 

I headed down to the casino and once again no luck, so headed back upstairs and hung out with everyone, then read my book for a while. I headed back to the casino before dinner and had a little better luck on 3 card and Let It Ride.

 

Dinner was at 8:15 at Orchard Garden. Harriet, Maria and Gretchen had planned for Moderno for 10 people and we started falling off. In the end not even the 3 made it. Maria and Gretchen just ordered in sandwiches to the villa and Harriet came with the the rest of us to Chinese.

 

The food was good, I had the spring rolls, which are no longer the small little rolls, they are the size of egg rolls. For me, I preferred the little ones. I then had the steamed pot stickers, which was my fault because they were super sticky. I should have ordered them fried, though they were still good. For my main I had the Kung Pao Chicken. It was a lot more food than I remember. Many people ordered lots of small plates and they were main course size. They food came very fast, too fast sometimes, we were looking for room to put the next plate down. It tasted good, but would have been nicer if it slowed down a bit.

 

After dinner we were going to the atrium to get our formal picture taken. Everyone was supposed to be there, but after dinner, people dispersed, so we had only Harriet, Geri, Arlene, Phyllis, Sherry and I. We missed Maria, Gretchen, Annie and Cathy. I'm not sure if anyone even went to look at it LOL.

 

Off to the casino for more up and down, then off to bed early. I was upstairs by 10:45 and visited for a while, then to bed, read and lights out by 11:30.

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Day 7 (how is it possible already!)

 

I woke late, around 10:30, which means I had 11 hours of sleep and really needed it. We hung out in the villa, it was really sunny out, but a bit cooler, but the lower level of the villa deck was nice and warm. I lay out there for some time, enjoying it and reading. Most of the girls were in the casino.

 

I have a casino credit due to my golden status and we were told it was going to rain today, so Harriet took my key card down to the spa and bought each of us a day pass for today. She had a face, hand, feet and scalp massage early, so I came out of my room and found the bracelet and pass info.

 

Geri, Arlene, Harriet and I headed to O'Sheehan's for lunch. I really wanted chicken fingers with buffalo sauce, which I was able to get on the old menu, and I figured chicken fingers must be on the kids menu. They said it would take about 20 minutes, and I said no problem. I ordered the Chicago style hot dog, but hardly ate any of it, it wasn't as good as the ones my husband makes. The chicken fingers arrived first, so nowhere near 20 minutes. They were fantastic.

 

Harriet and Geri ordered the cabbage soup, Harriet the Reuben, and Arlene had the shepherd's pie, which was just okay. I think Geri had the pub style hot dog with sauerkraut and really enjoyed it. Lots of different wings as well. Too much food, but everyone has eyes bigger than their stomachs.

 

After lunch off to the casino to check on our points, then Harriet and I went up to get ready for the spa. We went down and initially there was only one heated lounger, I made sure Harriet took it as she was having back and shoulder issues.

 

Eventually two heated loungers opened up together, so we moved over. Harriet got in the pool and used the waterfall feature on her neck. We stayed for a bit longer and then I went back to the Villa while Harriet relaxed.

 

I headed down to the casino and had a bit of luck for a change :) Saw the girls down there, and then we headed up for an early dinner in the Villa. I packed, I had an early walk off as I had an 11:00 flight out of Newark, so kept my case with me.

 

Our butler set the table up beautifully, with flower petals and it was gorgeous. We all either ordered from Le Bistro or the Main Dining Room and had our orders into our butler in the morning. I had the mushroom soup, Coq au Vin, and the creme brûlée. I never ate my dessert, but someone did, I was so full and glad it didn't go to waste. The food was fantastic.

 

Afterwards, final touches on packing and then back down to the casino for a bit. I knew I needed to make it an early night, so played a few games, played a QuickHits machine for about an hour and then headed up. A bit more chit chat and to bed.

 

Morning came early, I needed to meet Monica at 7:45 down in the Stardust on 7. Gretchen and Maria were also there, so we visited and waited and waited. The ship was finally cleared around 8:30, and I was starting to worry about my flight. I needed to get home because my twin sons turned 18 today, so I wanted to be there as early as possible.

 

It was a long walk around to get the escalator and then down to customs where there was no line at all, cleared through. Now I have a health issue that stops me from standing for long periods. It used to be 20 seconds, but I'm on meds but I can't go forever, even on the meds. I also need a lot of water. So I'm standing for an hour, which is not ideal, then practically running with a large suitcase for a fair distance and I'm parched. I took the two minutes to try to get a drink, but the machine didn't work.

 

Onward to the person directing NCL transfers who called the limo who watched my case for a minute so I could get a drink, and then someone came and walked me over to it. The Garden Villa gets a limo to one destination and since I had to go to the airport, the girls decided that I should get it. Everyone else already had people picking them up or they lived close by.

 

We left Pier 88 at 8:42 and he dropped me off at the Air Canada area of terminal A in Newark at 9:02. I didn't think a 20 minute trip was possible, so I was there in plenty of time, checked in, hydrated, rested and got on my flight at 10:30, took off at 11:00 and home to my family at 12:20.

 

Thanks so much for following along, sorry for the delay of Day 6 and 7. The last day we were trying to get as much jammed in as possible, so I thought I'd catch up on the plane. My keyboard for my iPad ran out of charge for the first time in 9 months, so I had to wait.

 

Final thoughts: I came in not having laid eyes on these women, I became friends with them all over a FB chat, and now we are all sisters. One of us is not well, and we're all sad and heartbroken over it. We tried to stay away from the topic and the reality while we were together. I love her so much and hope she'll let us continue to support her. I also hope we will be able to take more cruises with her, I will definitely go down visit.

 

Sisters love each other, and sometimes don't all get along. Kiss and make up, and keep going and keep loving. We had some moments of drama, but what happens in the Villa, stays in the Villa.

 

It was an amazing experience, everyone brought different things to the mix. I'm honoured to have been chosen to join up with these fantastic women.

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hpecorari

hpecorari

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Day 6

 

 

 

After dinner we were going to the atrium to get our formal picture taken. Everyone was supposed to be there, but after dinner, people dispersed, so we had only Harriet, Geri, Arlene, Phyllis, Sherry and I. We missed Maria, Gretchen, Annie and Cathy. I'm not sure if anyone even went to look at it LOL.

 

I *really* did want to get a good formal photo of all 10 of us but that just didn't happen :( I did go look at the photo and did purchase it, although it's the first photo I've every purchased in YEARS! I'm not crazy about being 'posed' and really wish the photo I requested be 'natural' came out good, however, that photo was terrible!

 

1504204222_PossedAtrium.jpg.5cea79ce65f7d68ac39b2f866703ae73.jpg

 

I much prefer the more natural, get close, smile, etc. photos!

 

 

Dinner.jpg.c007f9374b70348d872978e023531bd2.jpg

 

But, that's just me :)

 

Harriet

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hpecorari

hpecorari

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Final thoughts: I came in not having laid eyes on these women, I became friends with them all over a FB chat, and now we are all sisters. One of us is not well, and we're all sad and heartbroken over it. We tried to stay away from the topic and the reality while we were together. I love her so much and hope she'll let us continue to support her. I also hope we will be able to take more cruises with her, I will definitely go down visit.

 

Sisters love each other, and sometimes don't all get along. Kiss and make up, and keep going and keep loving. We had some moments of drama, but what happens in the Villa, stays in the Villa.

 

It was an amazing experience, everyone brought different things to the mix. I'm honoured to have been chosen to join up with these fantastic women.

 

 

Great final words Sally and you couldn't have said it better. Like the saying goes: "**** happens....then you have to flush the toilet and move on!"

 

For those who don't know.....I am the sick one. I have small cell lung cancer that is extensive as it has already spread. I was diagnosed with this the last week of February. Outlook for this type of cancer is not good - they say 9 to 12 months. However, I like being right and proving people wrong - so we shall see!

 

I'd cruise with any of these ladies again. I love them all for so many different reasons; before the cruise the support and strength they gave me along with my family and friends, on the ship, the love I felt from them, and I know it will only continue. I've told them on board and I'll tell them again......I have three empty bedrooms. All you girls are welcome any time. Just check with me to make sure it's not a chemo week or the week after as those weeks aren't good ones for me! :)

 

Harriet

::looking for another 3-8 sail free, Casino Deal in the GV again or even will settle for a few cabins close to each other in the very near future! LOL

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