Hold the phone, the front of the ship is off limits on the GEM now TOO?!?

[PortFees45]

Someone in another thread mentioned there is "no forward deck access due to the Haven." 

 

Can anyone confirm if this is accurate? I recall the Gem ALREADY HAD a private sundeck for the Haven on the port side. Is the entire front part of the ship on Deck 14 really off limits to general passengers now? It's not clear from the current deck plans. 

 

If they're closing off the front parts of Jewel ships to non-Haven pax, I am officially finished with Norwegian. Done. That is a firm red line with this platinum cruiser. 

[Son of a son of a ...]

Vitamin D supplements are now part of the UBP

[PortFees45]

Okay just looked at the current Gem deck plans on NCL.com. 

 

Haven clearly has a "private sundeck" port side on deck 15 like I remembered. 

 

If they've closed off the front of Deck 14 in ADDITION to that, then Royal Caribbean just earned itself a new customer. 

Edited June 27, 2019 by PortFees45

[don't-use-real-name]

Deck Map LINK:

 

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Norwegian-Gem

 

Click on Deck 15 -

 

The public sundeck is on the starboard side

the same for sister ship PEARL

 

The JADE and JEWEL both port and starboard decks are reserved for Haven guests.

 

The STAR and DAWN the deck 15 space is reserved for the Garden Villa guests.

 

These sun decks are NOT Forward but at mid-ship above Cagney's and Moderno !

 

Dry dock renovations in the future may change all this one way or another.

 

But the theme appears to be no frontal forward deck or observation areas EXCEPT on -AWAY class ships.

Mid-ship is being used exclusively for high end category cabins Havens and Villas (ship within a ship concept).

[PortFees45]

1 minute ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Deck Map LINK:

 

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Norwegian-Gem

 

Click on Deck 15 -

 

The public sundeck is on the starboard side

the same for sister ship PEARL

 

The JADE and JEWEL both port and starboard decks are reserved for Haven guests.

 

The STAR and DAWN the deck 15 space is reserved for the Garden Villa guests.

 

These sun decks are NOT Forward but at mid-ship above Cagney's and Moderno !

 

Dry dock renovations in the future may change all this one way or another.

 

But the theme appears to be no frontal forward deck or observation areas EXCEPT on -AWAY class ships.

Mid-ship is being used exclusively for high end category cabins Havens and Villas (ship within a ship concept).

Right, I saw the deck 15 port and starboard sun decks. I'm familiar with those from past cruises, but it sounds like they've now closed off the front of Deck 14 IN ADDITION to those existing private areas. 

 

Now look closely at that tiny forward deck 15 sundeck. It's basically a small little platform with room for like 5 lounge chairs, but it's technically part of Deck 15.

 

It's still listed as a "freestyle sundeck" on the Gem plans, but on the Pearl and Jewel deck plans that little deck 15 forward platform is labeled a "Haven sundeck." 

 

There's no way to limit access to that little platform without also limiting access to the surrounding Deck 14 sundeck with the forward access.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/pearl/deck-plans

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/jewel/deck-plans

[don't-use-real-name]

1 minute ago, PortFees45 said:

Right, I saw the deck 15 port and starboard sun decks. I'm familiar with those from past cruises, but it sounds like they've now closed off the front of Deck 14 IN ADDITION to those existing private areas. 

 

Now look closely at that tiny forward deck 15 sundeck. It's basically a small little platform with room for like 5 lounge chairs, but it's technically part of Deck 15.

 

It's still listed as a "freestyle sundeck" on the Gem plans, but on the Pearl and Jewel deck plans that little deck 15 forward platform is labeled a "Haven sundeck." 

 

There's no way to limit access to that little platform without also limiting access to the surrounding Deck 14 sundeck with the forward access.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/pearl/deck-plans

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/jewel/deck-plans

On the JEWEL class ships Deck 15 mid-ship is or has been adapted converted to H2 class Haven suites

with stairway access ONLY.

Some of these ships had a Concierge Lounge formerly in that space - I did not see if there was a (public)

sun deck before that time - it could very well have been since the Haven concept is new within the recent

past few years.

The Haven concept on the JEWEL class ships is no where near the -AWAY class ships with its private

restaurant bar. I would appear that NCL is making changes on the fly seeing what works for the best or the worst !

[PortFees45]

Just now, don't-use-real-name said:

On the JEWEL class ships Deck 15 mid-ship is or has been adapted converted to H2 class Haven suites

with stairway access ONLY.

Some of these ships had a Concierge Lounge formerly in that space - I did not see if there was a (public)

sun deck before that time - it could very well have been since the Haven concept is new within the recent

past few years.

The Haven concept on the JEWEL class ships is no where near the -AWAY class ships with its private

restaurant bar. I would appear that NCL is making changes on the fly seeing what works for the best or the worst !

Here's some video of that little deck 15 forward sundeck that is labeled "freestyle sundeck" on the Gem plans, but "haven sundeck" on other Jewel ships. 

 

There's only one way to get up to that little platform...the stairs on the port side of deck 14. I doubt they put a keycard reader on that little staircase, which means Deck 14 has to be blocked off too.

 

Someone please tell me I'm wrong about this. The Gem was/is my favorite ship, and the only way I'd continue sailing out of NYC since I wont' set foot on the Bliss. I'm pretty upset about this. 

[shof515]

15 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

Here's some video of that little deck 15 forward sundeck that is labeled "freestyle sundeck" on the Gem plans, but "haven sundeck" on other Jewel ships.

 

where is the video, it is not posted

[PortFees45]

Just now, shof515 said:

 

where is the video, it is not posted

Sorry, I'm so upset about my favorite ship in the fleet being ruined I forgot to post the link. 

 

 

[don't-use-real-name]

Hold the hold the:

 

Hold the phone, the front of the ship is off limits on the GEM now TOO?!?

 

It should be noted that the area in question is still mid-ship aft of the pool area and is not in the FRONT of the GEM..

There would be indoor viewing forward from the Spinnaker Lounge and Dance Floor.

 

Pictures LINK:

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/pictures.php?ship=Norwegian-Gem

 

Browse down to Deck 15 sun deck pictures for more

 

That video is an area forward of the pool area so it would appear that it is above the Spinnaker Lounge

There is a PRIVATE adult zone sun deck here

Is this perhaps the one in question being taken away from the Non-Haven guests ???

Doesn't appear to have any connection with the Haven complex doesn't make sense.

 

The video did not show much of the area of this Private Sun Deck - I guess it would be

"Viewer Discretion Advised"  LOL !

 

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by don't-use-real-name

[PortFees45]

11 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Hold the hold the:

 

Hold the phone, the front of the ship is off limits on the GEM now TOO?!?

 

It should be noted that the area in question is still mid-ship aft of the pool area and is not in the FRONT of the GEM..

There would be indoor viewing forward from the Spinnaker Lounge and Dance Floor.

 

Pictures LINK:

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/pictures.php?ship=Norwegian-Gem

 

Browse down to Deck 15 sun deck pictures for more

 

That video is an area forward of the pool area so it would appear that it is above the Spinnaker Lounge

There is a PRIVATE adult zone sun deck here

Is this perhaps the one in question being taken away from the Non-Haven guests ???

Doesn't appear to have any connection with the Haven complex doesn't make sense.

 

The video did not show much of the area of this Private Sun Deck - I guess it would be

"Viewer Discretion Advised"  LOL !

 

 

I'm not talking about the mid-ship areas on deck 15. 

 

The "freestyle sundeck" forward on Deck 15 is now labeled as a "haven sundeck" on the plans for 2 jewel-class ships. There is no way to restrict access to that freestyle deck without restricting access to the deck 14 area around it. 

Edited June 28, 2019 by PortFees45

[jmh3791]

2 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

Just got off the Jewel at the beginning of the month and Deck 14 forward is still a sundeck accessible by stairs to anyone.  Tho in Alaska hardly anyone was using it.  

 

2 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

It's still listed as a "freestyle sundeck" on the Gem plans, but on the Pearl and Jewel deck plans that little deck 15 forward platform is labeled a "Haven sundeck." 

 

There's no way to limit access to that little platform without also limiting access to the surrounding Deck 14 sundeck with the forward access.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/pearl/deck-plans

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/jewel/deck-plans

 

[don't-use-real-name]

2 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

I'm not talking about the mid-ship areas on deck 15. 

 

The "freestyle sundeck" forward on Deck 15 is now labeled as a "haven sundeck" on the plans for 2 jewel-class ships. There is no way to restrict access to that freestyle deck without restricting access to the deck 14 area around it. 

 

I am not seeing the forest for the trees (whoops none of that at sea) but I have heck of Bloody Mary mess mixing

Apples and Oranges in figuring WHY NCL would make that Private Area a Haven when the Haven is a ship within

a ship mid-ship above Cagney's and Moderno and to get to that area in the front of the ship the Haven guest would

have to travel in a bathrobe in the common areas of the ship to get to this adult area.

The video shows no key card access to this level 15 - NCL what am I missing here ???

There is something rotten in the state of Norway about all this !

[PortFees45]

2 minutes ago, jmh3791 said:

Just got off the Jewel at the beginning of the month and Deck 14 forward is still a sundeck accessible by stairs to anyone.  Tho in Alaska hardly anyone was using it.  

 

 

Thanks for the response!

 

The Jewel is one of the ships with that little Deck 15 forward freestyle deck as a "Haven sundeck" - still so curious what that's all about. 

[jmh3791]

I think it's considered "forward," but the 15 deck was located behind the 14th forward deck (more over the Pit Stop maybe?)  I didn't explore that area, but I didn't notice any stairs to get to it on the outside, so maybe there's stairs "inside" the Haven area to get to it? 

 

The Jewel is one of the ships with that little Deck 15 forward freestyle deck as a "Haven sundeck" - still so curious what that's all about. 

[Wedgie23]

If I'm not mistaken isn't the 'freestyle' sun deck on top of the ship at 15 the nude part of the deck? And isn't Gem one of (if not the last) remaining ships to allow public nudity on one of their decks? If so I can't say it's particularly surprising to see it gone. I haven't sailed on Gem but I have been debating it so my research on the ship is not first hand and could be incorrect. 

 

Hey I'm not saying if that's your thing theres anything wrong with that, you do you. You and anyone else can still tan in the buff on your balcony if you desire not really sure there was a need for people to do it with strangers. I think the majority of people were staying away as is for their own reasons. Zero judgement if that was your thing but if there wasn't enough demand for a nude deck it makes sense not to have one. 

 

It is disheartening to see it go right to another Haven area though. Seems like it would have been a good place for a mini Spice/H20 style area all passengers could have enjoyed. Perhaps they didn't want to just remove the 'freestyle' placard and leave it public as it could lead to confusion with prior guests believing nudity was allowed there and either still avoiding it or still birthday suiting it not understanding the rules were changed?

[PortFees45]

5 hours ago, Wedgie23 said:

If I'm not mistaken isn't the 'freestyle' sun deck on top of the ship at 15 the nude part of the deck? And isn't Gem one of (if not the last) remaining ships to allow public nudity on one of their decks? If so I can't say it's particularly surprising to see it gone. I haven't sailed on Gem but I have been debating it so my research on the ship is not first hand and could be incorrect. 

 

Hey I'm not saying if that's your thing theres anything wrong with that, you do you. You and anyone else can still tan in the buff on your balcony if you desire not really sure there was a need for people to do it with strangers. I think the majority of people were staying away as is for their own reasons. Zero judgement if that was your thing but if there wasn't enough demand for a nude deck it makes sense not to have one. 

 

It is disheartening to see it go right to another Haven area though. Seems like it would have been a good place for a mini Spice/H20 style area all passengers could have enjoyed. Perhaps they didn't want to just remove the 'freestyle' placard and leave it public as it could lead to confusion with prior guests believing nudity was allowed there and either still avoiding it or still birthday suiting it not understanding the rules were changed?

LOL, no offense taken but I'm not a nude sunbather. That's not the issue. The issue is the little "freestyle sundeck" forward on Deck 15 has been reclassified a "Haven sundeck" on some updated plans for Jewel ships. The million dollar question is...how do they make that work logistically? You can ONLY access that little freestyle sundeck on deck 15 via the big spacious forward sundeck on Deck 14 (up the stairs from the bar overlooking the pool and right over Spinnaker). I don't care if they close off that little tiny platform on Deck 15...I'm concerned that access to the deck 14 area is now restricted, too. 

[Wedgie23]

9 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

LOL, no offense taken but I'm not a nude sunbather. That's not the issue. The issue is the little "freestyle sundeck" forward on Deck 15 has been reclassified a "Haven sundeck" on some updated plans for Jewel ships. The million dollar question is...how do they make that work logistically? You can ONLY access that little freestyle sundeck on deck 15 via the big spacious forward sundeck on Deck 14 (up the stairs from the bar overlooking the pool and right over Spinnaker). I don't care if they close off that little tiny platform on Deck 15...I'm concerned that access to the deck 14 area is now restricted, too

Ah roger that. Though it is another space taken from the public. Was the existing Haven area too small for haven guests? Anytime I see pictures of the Haven areas they always look like a ghost town. 

 

I do understand more with this one why there may be a need to change it entirely if they are going to change it. Just removing the sign could lead to some interesting misunderstandings. 

 

Could it be possible they have put a door at the top of the stairs to restrict access to 15 leaving 14 unrestricted? I suppose you wont really know until someone comes back from the ship but all hope may not be lost for your spot. 

[WickedRed]

I was on the Gem for the first time last month and don't recall a forward facing deck that I could access being a non-haven person.  Usually got my forward facing viewing via the Spinnaker Lounge.  There did seem to be some awkward ending to one deck going forward, but I'm so used to the Dawn that strange deadends seem fairly normal to me.  Plus it was pretty chilly most sea days that the Spinnaker was the better way to go for that view. Could be I missed the access, but I find that unlikely.  Not even sure I saw a way to Deck 15 sundeck.  Again it was chilly on sea days and I tend to avoid the sun so the sundeck isn't something I look for.

[TSUmom]

14 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Deck Map LINK:

 

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Norwegian-Gem

 

Click on Deck 15 -

 

The public sundeck is on the starboard side

the same for sister ship PEARL

 

The JADE and JEWEL both port and starboard decks are reserved for Haven guests.

 

The STAR and DAWN the deck 15 space is reserved for the Garden Villa guests.

 

These sun decks are NOT Forward but at mid-ship above Cagney's and Moderno !

 

Dry dock renovations in the future may change all this one way or another.

 

But the theme appears to be no frontal forward deck or observation areas EXCEPT on -AWAY class ships.

Mid-ship is being used exclusively for high end category cabins Havens and Villas (ship within a ship concept).

I just looked at this link and yes it shows the Jewel, the Gem, the Pearl and the Jade freestyle sundecks as Haven sun decks in Sept, Oct and Nov 2020.  I don't care about too much as long as they don not take 14 forward away from the rest of us.

Edited June 28, 2019 by TSUmom

[PortFees45]

1 hour ago, WickedRed said:

I was on the Gem for the first time last month and don't recall a forward facing deck that I could access being a non-haven person.  Usually got my forward facing viewing via the Spinnaker Lounge.  There did seem to be some awkward ending to one deck going forward, but I'm so used to the Dawn that strange deadends seem fairly normal to me.  Plus it was pretty chilly most sea days that the Spinnaker was the better way to go for that view. Could be I missed the access, but I find that unlikely.  Not even sure I saw a way to Deck 15 sundeck.  Again it was chilly on sea days and I tend to avoid the sun so the sundeck isn't something I look for.

To get to the forward Deck 14 sundeck you'd need to take a small staircase right between the bali bar and the entrance to the forward elevators where you go in for to access the spinnaker lounge. Did you notice doors or barriers on those staircases? 

[PortFees45]

26 minutes ago, TSUmom said:

I just looked at this link and yes it shows the Jewel, the Gem, the Pearl and the Jade freestyle sundecks as Haven sun decks in Sept, Oct and Nov 2020.  I don't care about too much as long as they don not take 14 forward away from the rest of us.

Yeah but that's the million dollar question...how do you restrict the "freestyle" deck (more of a platform) without limiting access to Deck 14. 

[no port @ dfw]

14 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

Yeah but that's the million dollar question...how do you restrict the "freestyle" deck (more of a platform) without limiting access to Deck 14. 

My recollection is there has always been a door on the small staircase to the "freestyle deck" on 15 where it leads up from deck 14. It was usually secured open, however, the would secure it when the weather was bad or they were working on the superstructure directly in front of the "freestyle deck." An updated card reader on that door would solve the problem of securing that area for Haven guests only without impacting the rest of deck 14.

[WickedRed]

5 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

To get to the forward Deck 14 sundeck you'd need to take a small staircase right between the bali bar and the entrance to the forward elevators where you go in for to access the spinnaker lounge. Did you notice doors or barriers on those staircases? 

I don't recall a staircase there.  Sorry I 'm not more helpful.  Went through my pictures and they made me remember that a lot of the time upper decks  were roped off due to high winds.  Could be I saw it, but it was blocked off for that reason so I didn't make a mental note of it. 

[PortFees45]

14 minutes ago, no port @ dfw said:

My recollection is there has always been a door on the small staircase to the "freestyle deck" on 15 where it leads up from deck 14. It was usually secured open, however, the would secure it when the weather was bad or they were working on the superstructure directly in front of the "freestyle deck." An updated card reader on that door would solve the problem of securing that area for Haven guests only without impacting the rest of deck 14.

It's such a tiny platform! It literally can hold maybe 5-10 people and it would be crowded with 10. 

Edited June 28, 2019 by PortFees45