First-Time Cruiser - When to Board!?

[roger001]

We always have a carry on or two and yea, kinda a hassle carrying or rolling them around. But we just usually go up to the pool deck and hang out there until rooms are ready. Then as someone else said, one of us can sit while the other goes into the buffet or wherever to grab some food. I'm having an adult beverage by then anyhow. And as others mentioned, only the bigger main dining room (for dinner) and Le Bistro have a dress code beyond just casual (casual meaning something over your bathing suit at least). For me, I always take one pair of khakis, regular shoes, and a collared shirt (all Walmart stuff), and then I'm covered wherever I might wish to go. Otherwise shorts and tennis shoes type dress. I guess I'd choose Cagneys for my first try at specialty restaurant. Although La Cachuna has a good ossobuco (I think still) that I really like. And of course I really like Le Bistro. Good four mushroom soup and a beef tenderlion that I really like. I'm getting hungry. But as another said, lots of food to be eaten that is included in your cruise price already. Just have a great time and relax and enjoy it all.

[Bitterman]

Thanks again for all the replies. As someone new to cruising, I have a couple of other questions, if anyone would like to share thoughts on either of the below:

 

1. We aren't sure if we will go to any of the specialty restaurants or not. Guess it depends how happy we are with the complimentary options, which all look good to me! Plus we like to save money when possible. But Cagneys and La Cucina both look interesting to us. If we do go to a specialty restaurant, is pre-purchasing a meal package a "must?" What are the a la cart prices like, if we just go for one night? I noticed that the pre-purchased package of 2 meals ends up being $35 per person, per meal - would we end up spending that much or more if we just go and pay a la cart?

 

2. Being our first cruise, I'm new to the idea of a dress code on vacation. DH and I are usually pretty casual on vacation - jean shorts, t-shirts and flip flops are our go-to's. I like getting dressed up a little bit, DH not so much, so this will be an adjustment for him especially. Am I correct in saying the only time our "usual" clothing wouldn't be appropriate is for dining in the main dining room or specialty restaurants? Just want to make sure we are packing the right amount of each "type" of clothing, especially since we're doing a 7 night cruise.

 

Thanks again all!

 

Welcome and congrats on your first cruise!! We love the Gem and I'm sure you guys will too.

 

We've gotten to the port very early before, yes you're some of the first to get checked in and are in the first boarding groups but then you end up sitting around the terminal for quite a while waiting to board. Personally I like getting there 10:30 - 11:00. That worked out well on our last cruise. Yes you will have to wait in the line to get checked in, but it moves pretty quickly. They started calling boarding groups to board while we were close to getting checked in. By the time we got checked in they weren't even boarding by groups anymore and you could get on as soon as you were checked in. We were onboard by a little after 12:00.

 

Dress is very casual. The only two restaurants with a dress code on the Gem are Le Bistro (the French restaurant) and the Grand Pacific main dining room. Dress code from their website:

SMART CASUAL

 

Dress smart casual in our more formal dining room or in our more upscale specialty restaurants. For women, it includes slacks or jeans, dresses, skirts and tops. For men, it's jeans or slacks with a collared shirt and closed-toed shoes.

 

Both main dining rooms offer a wide variety of meals. The buffet is ok too. There is enough variety that you can easily do the whole cruise without going to a specialty restaurant. If you do Le Bistro is our favorite. Cagney's and La Cucina were excellent on our last cruise as well.

 

Remember to pack a carry-on bag with a bathing suite and any meds, etc., you may need. They called rooms ready at 1:30 on our last cruise but we didn't have all our luggage until probably 6:00 pm.

 

It's also good to get there a little earlier as you can have some lunch right when you board without it being too crowded. Lots of people head to the buffet but you can also go to the Magenta main dining room, O'Sheehans bar and grill, and they also have burgers, dogs, fries, salads, etc., by the pool area. That's where we ended up on embarkation day as we had nice weather.

 

Enjoy!