NCL Newbie's Take on the Gem with Haven Upgrade

[mking8288]

it was amazing!!

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Well, well, well ... welcome home ! Up early this morning, sailing under the VZB before dawn at 6 AM, up the Hudson ... that's too early for many with rise-n-shine. Docking and very express (smooth) disembark ... hate to get "chased" off the ship on that last morning, we always "need" to go do our ritual & stop at the MDR for one more sit-down breakfast.

 

Looking forward to reading more about GSC & Nassau.

[morningstar4]

Well, well, well ... welcome home ! Up early this morning, sailing under the VZB before dawn at 6 AM, up the Hudson ... that's too early for many with rise-n-shine. Docking and very express (smooth) disembark ... hate to get "chased" off the ship on that last morning, we always "need" to go do our ritual & stop at the MDR for one more sit-down breakfast.

 

 

 

Looking forward to reading more about GSC & Nassau.

 

 

thanks! we took our time getting off and enjoyed a relaxing breakfast at moderno's before disembarking...

 

 

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[morningstar4]

here is the cagney's lunch menu

 

 

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[morningstar4]

Day 4:

 

As I woke up on Tuesday morning, I immediately wondered if we were going to be lucky enough to tender to GSC. From the bed, I could see what appeared to be a calm looking ocean, and the sun was shining through the bathroom window. When I looked in the mirror, to my surprise, the first thing I noticed in the reflection was another cruise ship. This didn't seem to make much sense since we were supposed to be the only ship heading to NCL's private island. We ventured down to Moderno's to eat breakfast and to find out if we were tendering. Priority disembarkation was scheduled from 9:15 to 11:30. Since we straggled out the door, it was already past 9, and there were many suite passengers waiting to tender. The 1st ticket numbers for tendering were called, and all waiting suite guests were escorted to the tenders. We weren't ready until the 10th and 11th tickets were being called, but we were still escorted down right away.

 

 

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[dexddd]

His name is Roberto...we loved him! Yes - Patrick was very quiet.

 

 

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Welcome home. Roberto wasn't the guy but glad he was as nice as the young man we ran across.

[dexddd]

Day 4:

 

As I woke up on Tuesday morning, I immediately wondered if we were going to be lucky enough to tender to GSC. From the bed, I could see what appeared to be a calm looking ocean, and the sun was shining through the bathroom window. When I looked in the mirror, to my surprise, the first thing I noticed in the reflection was another cruise ship. This didn't seem to make much sense since we were supposed to be the only ship heading to NCL's private island. We ventured down to Moderno's to eat breakfast and to find out if we were tendering. Priority disembarkation was scheduled from 9:15 to 11:30. Since we straggled out the door, it was already past 9, and there were many suite passengers waiting to tender. The 1st ticket numbers for tendering were called, and all waiting suite guests were escorted to the tenders. We weren't ready until the 10th and 11th tickets were being called, but we were still escorted down right away.

 

 

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Hmmm, that is a RCCL ship. I do believe they also have a private island in the area but I have stopped following RCCL since our one and done with RCCL.

[morningstar4]

We had rented two clam shells for the day and as we were leaving, I was a little concerned that we wouldn't be able to find two that were situated side by side since we had gotten a late start. Fortunately, when we got to the island there were many still available, including the ones with the vents in the back. The outdoor temperature was about 82 degrees, but it felt really hot in the sun so we spent every spare minute we could in the water. The ocean was crystal clear and calm as could be. My youngest son spent some time snorkeling, and we also rented a couple of floats. The boys had a great time in the water, playing with other kids that they met on the cruise, and we were happy to soak up the sun and the beauty of the island. This was our favorite day so far of our cruise.

 

 

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[morningstar4]

Hmmm, that is a RCCL ship. I do believe they also have a private island in the area but I have stopped following RCCL since our one and done with RCCL.

 

 

i'm impressed you figured that out....it was rccl :)

 

 

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[morningstar4]

By 4:00, we were more than ready to return to the ship. We were starting to sport sunburns, and we knew we would be baking in the sun again the next day. As soon as we got back to the haven, we noticed that the hot tub had a canopy and tarp taped around it, along with a sign stating that it was closed for maintenance. Our concierge called later to inform us that it would probably be closed for the duration of the cruise due to the need for "urgent maintenance." We were very disappointed since the hot tub was where we had been spending the majority of our time, and the haven pool was fairly cold.

 

 

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[morningstar4]

When we got back inside the cabin, our boys devoured the mini sandwiches that had been left for us again, and we decided to make it another buffet night. We had been really enjoying the buffet since the food was good, and everyone could always find something they liked. We ate outside at the Great Outdoors, where the seagulls seemed to be comfortably perched and hoping for some leftovers.

 

 

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[morningstar4]

After dinner, we headed to the family friendly Second City show in the Spinnaker lounge. Our boys enjoyed the comedy act. At that point, it was time for us to call it a night so that we could attempt to disembark early in Nassau the next morning. From our balcony, I could see another ship lit up in the distance, and I wondered if it was the same ship we saw that morning. Rumor had it that it was a Royal Caribbean cruise that had been tendering to their private island, which was seemingly right next to GSC. As we wound down for the night, my husband remarked that it was hard to believe that the fourth day of our cruise was already behind us.

 

 

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[morningstar4]

It was exciting to wake up the next morning in the port of Nassau. Looking out the window, I could confirm that a Royal Caribbean cruise ship had been sailing along side us the evening before. The Majesty of the Seas was docked right next to us on the starboard side. The crew appeared to be having a ceremony or drill as they lowered something resembling a barrel off the side of the ship.

 

 

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[morningstar4]

Views of Nassau from the Gem:

 

Still waking up...

 

 

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[morningstar4]

We had an exciting and busy day planned at Atlantis. I had pre-booked our day there through the Comfort Suites since it was half the price of the cruise excursion and included access to the water park, aquarium, beach and all of the Atlantis grounds. We continued our breakfast tradition of heading to Moderno's, where we enjoyed breakfast and a view of the Carnival Sunshine docked on our port side.

 

French toast at Moderno's

 

 

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[morningstar4]

After breakfast, we took advantage of priority disembarkation and avoided the lines getting off the ship. It was easy to find a taxi, which was only $4/pp. We checked in and then immediately checked out of the Comfort Suites, where they gave us the paperwork we needed to obtain our day passes at Atlantis. It was a nice walk to the concierge desk at the Royal Tower, where we picked up our bracelets and were quickly on our way. We all enjoyed the Rapid River, the Serpent slide and the jungle slide. My husband and youngest son survived the Leap of Faith and conquered the Challenger too. I am not that brave! The lines were very reasonable, with short wait times, and we were able to see and do everything we had hoped to

numerous times. We all had a blast. By 4:00, we started to feel the pressure of getting back to the ship so that we wouldn't be left behind in Nassau. Even though we had an hour and a half to spare, we were a little nervous about making it back in time and could see how some passengers unintentionally push the limit on returning. We booked it back to the Coral Towers to hail a taxi. The driver wanted to wait for more passengers, but when we said we were in a rush to get back in time, he reluctantly agreed to take us anyway. We made it with plenty of time to spare and were welcomed back by the crew with cool towels, refreshing drinks, music and dancing. It was a fun way to return to the ship after saying goodbye to our last port.

 

 

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[morningstar4]

 

Braving the Leap of Faith:

 

They survived!

 

 

 

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[morningstar4]

The serpent slide that goes through the shark tank was very cool...

My oldest ran into one of his cruise friends and they went on it quite a few times....

 

We also loved the River Rapids

 

 

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[morningstar4]

The Challenger was not for the faint of heart either...

 

But if you just want to chill, you can definitely do that too :)

 

 

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[morningstar4]

On the way back to the cabin, we made a pit stop on the 7th floor. As we passed by a doorway for crew members, we noticed that it was blocked off with caution tape....not quite sure what that was all about and it remained that way for the rest of the cruise.

 

 

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[morningstar4]

Sail away...

 

Our towel animal for the evening

 

Dinner for the boys was served in the room, while we prepared for an 8:30 reservation at Cagney's. We managed to squeeze in the hypnotist show with the boys, which involved audience participation and was quite humorous, before making our way to dinner. The hostess at Cagney's seemed to make an extra concerted effort to seat us next to a window, and she took the time to open the blinds so we could enjoy an ocean view while we ate. This time we both ordered appetizers, dinner and dessert since we had worked up an appetite after a full day at Atlantis. The crab cake appetizer and filet mignon entree were delicious, and the truffle mashed potatoes are not to be missed! My husband ordered the surf and turf with the lemon and pepper sauce, and he raved about his meal. Neither of us were particularly fond of our desserts - the apple crisp with ice cream and the chocolate brownie. They tasted as though they had just been thawed from the freezer, which is probably the case with most of the food on the ship, but normally we would never know. We took a couple of bites, and happy with our main meal, ended up leaving the rest behind. The service at Cagney's was impeccable, between the thoughtful hostess and our very attentive waiter, and we both left having really enjoyed our dinner and the whole dining experience. We headed back to our our boys to bed. We were hoping to head back out to see the adult Second City show, but our younger son needed some extra tlc so we called it an early night.

 

 

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[morningstar4]

Day 6:

 

It was a bit of a lazy morning, as the boys and I got off to a slow start. My husband headed down to the atrium to play some Big Screen Sudoku, while we lounged in our cabin for a bit. I called down to guest services to inquire about a charge added to our account at Cagney's. They must have missed that we had UBP because they charged us for our drinks. The guest services rep said he would speak to the manager to have the charge removed. I'm guessing that means that he wasn't allowed to just remove the charge himself. I also inquired about our airboat excursion refund, which was being displayed as onboard credit, rather than a refund to our credit card. I was told that the credit couldn't be altered, which wasn't a huge deal. We figured we would see what we spent by the end of the cruise, and if we still had a credit left over, we could use it to get chips at the casino and then cash out.....problem solved!

 

Given our late start, we opted to try the Garden Cafe for breakfast. It was packed! I mentioned before that I normally don't mind the crowds, but after being so spoiled in the haven for the better part of a week, I realized I really didn't miss them. This brings up another point, which is the notion that it doesn't make sense to book the haven if you don't spend much time in your cabin. I was totally on that bandwagon before booking this trip, having never really spent time in cabins we had booked before. It wasn't because we felt cramped in the past, but because we were always busy enjoying activities on the ship. The haven didn't take away from those experiences, but instead felt like a luxurious retreat.

 

After breakfast, I attended the disembarkation seminar for suite guests. It was quite informative, and I was glad I went. Whether choosing to disembark using self-assist or normal disembarkation, suite passengers would be meeting in the Stardust Theater. Moderno's would be serving breakfast from 6:30-9:00, and passengers needed to be out of their cabins by 9:30.

 

 

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[morningstar4]

My oldest son was really excited about the towel folding demonstration so we headed to the atrium to learn how to create the adorable creatures that were in our cabin each day. The demonstration was fun, and we even bought the towel folding dvd. I have high hopes that my son will be recreating the cruise atmosphere by providing us with towel animals at home each night. [emoji6]

 

 

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[morningstar4]

After the demonstration, we stopped by the photo area to purchase a couple of our favorite cruise pictures...

 

We also stopped on deck 11 to check out the bridge....very cool!

 

 

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[morningstar4]

We had reservations at Le Bistro for dinner. We were once again seated by a window with a beautiful ocean view, and the staff was incredibly considerate, lowering the shades in increments throughout dinner to ensure that the sun would not be in our eyes. Dinner for us included the cream of mushroom soup, the seafood medley appetizer, scallops, beef tenderloin and chocolate fondue for dessert. My husband's beef and seafood medley were excellent. I know that the mushroom soup is a very popular dish, but I can't say I was a huge fan. It was decent, but I just didn't love it, and I felt similarly about my scallops. Dessert was great though. I think my expectations were exceedingly high for Le Bistro after all I had read on CC, but as much as I really loved the atmosphere and service, I would have much preferred another meal at Cagney's.

 

 

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[morningstar4]

The boys decided they wanted to play shuffleboard after dinner. It was a great night to stroll around and just be outside. I thought about the many NCL reviews that mention how Norwegian ships stand out in that they make you feel connected to the ocean. You feel like you are on a ship, as opposed to feeling as though you are in a large hotel that happens to be on water. Whenever I walked around or spent time on the outside decks, I would definitely agree this was true and a notable difference between the Gem and ships from other cruise lines that we've been sailed on. It is amazing how unique each one can be.

 

 

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