8/15 Gem from Miami Waiting for a Report

[AKR2011]

@Seanair Thank you so much for the update and quick review. So many if us greatly appreciate it!

[davidnkim]

Wow!  Thank yo so much for all of the information!  Really looking forward to cruising again and to hear NCL has done it right!

We are in the DOS up in the Haven, do you recall who the butlers up there are?  Is Kadek possibly on board? The land concierge desk said Virginia is on deck right now.  We are looking forward to a really good time and the new menu's, not to mention the shows!

 

Appreciate your time!

[Seanair]

12 hours ago, davidnkim said:

Wow!  Thank yo so much for all of the information!  Really looking forward to cruising again and to hear NCL has done it right!

We are in the DOS up in the Haven, do you recall who the butlers up there are?  Is Kadek possibly on board? The land concierge desk said Virginia is on deck right now.  We are looking forward to a really good time and the new menu's, not to mention the shows!

 

Appreciate your time!

 

Virginia is the concierge.  She was amazing and was there whenever we needed her.  Our butler was Rex.  He handled our Garden Villa and several of the family suites.  Teddy was our outdoor attendant who took care of our patio / hot tub area.  I think he was doing the DOS outdoor areas as well.  John was our cabin steward and as expected, we never saw him and he kept our place spotless.  Malik is the Courtyard butler.  He will serve drinks and bring breakfast or lunch to you in the courtyard.  The other butlers were Helbert, Josephine, William and Reymante. I think William was doing the DOS above us.

 

 

[davidnkim]

3 minutes ago, Seanair said:

 

Virginia is the concierge.  She was amazing and was there whenever we needed her.  Our butler was Rex.  He handled our Garden Villa and several of the family suites.  Teddy was our outdoor attendant who took care of our patio / hot tub area.  I think he was doing the DOS outdoor areas as well.  John was our cabin steward and as expected, we never saw him and he kept our place spotless.  Malik is the Courtyard butler.  He will serve drinks and bring breakfast or lunch to you in the courtyard.  The other butlers were Helbert, Josephine, William and Reymante. I think William was doing the DOS above us.

 

 

Wow!  Thank you!  You are really good at names!  I know Malik as well, he is very nice.  Not sure on any of the others.  You know, I'm sure they are all just so thankful to finally be back and have guests who are avid cruisers and NCL supporters back.  The combination and the 60% capacity makes it a perfect time to be cruising! Win Win! We are in the DOS above and I know the butlers rotate, so no matter who we are looking forward to the trip.  We thought about bidding to get the Garden, but with only the 2 of us and knowing the suite we have, we decided to stay put this time.  GV is so big for just 2 of us. 

 

Silliness.... the 1st time we were in the Garden Villa (Jewel before they retro'd the upper section into rooms) we literally were going in circles calling out to each other between the master, the living area and outside.  We thought it was so comical when it happened and just laughed at the situation.  We lived in a 4k+ house at the time and never had that problem, but in the villa it is layed out so well and so roomy!  And yes, the extra special treatment when you have it is amazing. On a cruise that we had our family with us (mom in a motorized scooter) they escorted her around the ship at times, she loved bingo and the casino so they would make sure she got places she wanted to go easily and helped her so much! She really appreciated it!  As did we because we weren't night owls like she was.  Made for an amazing cruise for her!

 

Our Butlers and Concierge are always so awesome though, no matter what area of the Haven we are in.  Several of them we have seen over and over and it is such a fun surprise when we see each other.  Use to be hugs all around....probably just fist bumps now 🙂

 

Thank you again for the names and information!

[scar4711]

the waterslide was removed for the Sixthman charters in October/November... however, they removed the ones on the Jade and Pearl for the same reason in the past, and those never returned. The Gem still needs the pool deck renovation the other ships I named had.

[coffeebean]

22 hours ago, scar4711 said:

the waterslide was removed for the Sixthman charters in October/November... however, they removed the ones on the Jade and Pearl for the same reason in the past, and those never returned. The Gem still needs the pool deck renovation the other ships I named had.

 

What are Sixthman charters? Please forgive my ignorance. I just LOVE the water slides and am disappointed they have been removed.

[trivimp]

Sixthman is the company that does the full-ship music charters.  KISS Kruise, Outlaw Country Cruise, Keeping the Blues Alive, all kinds of genres.

 

We were on a cruise a couple years ago that had a heavy-metal charter boarding right after us, featuring Megadeth & Anthrax.  We had fun people-watching the crowd coming in to the port drop-off area as we were waiting for our ride to pick us up.  Not your usual cruise wardrobe 🤘☠️

[oteixeira]

5 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

 

What are Sixthman charters? Please forgive my ignorance. I just LOVE the water slides and am disappointed they have been removed.

When you see a music cruise, it is normally run by sixthman is the way I understand it.  Basically a company that buys out a whole ship and throws a big ole shindig of some type.

Edited August 25, 2021 by oteixeira

[All-ready2cruise]

Sixthman music cruises are affiliated with NCL - as in a partnership

https://www.sixthman.net/

[Carpe-Diem]

I was on this cruise and meant to do a daily update for everyone. Sorry I decided to leave my phone in my stateroom most days and just enjoy it. 
 

The new terminal is great. My arrival time was 930. I showed up around 9 and was administering my own covid test by 915. After sitting in the waiting area for my number to be called, I received my wrist band and could proceed to checkin. There was no wait to check in and I received boarding group 1. I was on board about 1030. I was directed to my muster station so they could scan my card and show me how to put on a life jacket. I then went straight to my stateroom where my luggage had already arrived. 
The terminal announcements kept saying lunch is only served in the buffet. Luckily the Grand Pacific was also having lunch. 
No masks were required once getting on the ship. The crew had them on which is just all for optics. They don’t wear them in their crew areas. 
I did four nights of specialty dining. Two in Le Bistro and two in Cagneys. 
Spa pass was only $150 for the week and it was usually very empty up there. 
I didn’t get off the ship except for HC Belize because I didn’t want to wear a mask. 
You know when you stay on the ship when I’m port and it feels like there is nobody on the ship? This is what the entire cruise felt like. Since capacity was so low there were always loungers by the pool. 
Sorry I’m not great at these things. If you have any questions, just ask. 
 

 

[JulieAF]

5 minutes ago, Carpe-Diem said:

I was on this cruise and meant to do a daily update for everyone. Sorry I decided to leave my phone in my stateroom most days and just enjoy it. 
 

The new terminal is great. My arrival time was 930. I showed up around 9 and was administering my own covid test by 915. After sitting in the waiting area for my number to be called, I received my wrist band and could proceed to checkin. There was no wait to check in and I received boarding group 1. I was on board about 1030. I was directed to my muster station so they could scan my card and show me how to put on a life jacket. I then went straight to my stateroom where my luggage had already arrived. 
The terminal announcements kept saying lunch is only served in the buffet. Luckily the Grand Pacific was also having lunch. 
No masks were required once getting on the ship. The crew had them on which is just all for optics. They don’t wear them in their crew areas. 
I did four nights of specialty dining. Two in Le Bistro and two in Cagneys. 
Spa pass was only $150 for the week and it was usually very empty up there. 
I didn’t get off the ship except for HC Belize because I didn’t want to wear a mask. 
You know when you stay on the ship when I’m port and it feels like there is nobody on the ship? This is what the entire cruise felt like. Since capacity was so low there were always loungers by the pool. 
Sorry I’m not great at these things. If you have any questions, just ask. 
 

 

 

Awesome pix!!!! I saw so many of my favorite dishes! Glad your embarkation went so smoothly. I sail on 9/12 so I think my experience will be different because they need to disembark the previous sailing and yours was the first, right?

[Carpe-Diem]

4 minutes ago, JulieAF said:

 

Awesome pix!!!! I saw so many of my favorite dishes! Glad your embarkation went so smoothly. I sail on 9/12 so I think my experience will be different because they need to disembark the previous sailing and yours was the first, right?

Yes we were the first. I got off the ship at 930 and had to wait a while for my ride. I think they were already boarding by 1030 but I’m not 100% sure. 

[DCGuy64]

Anybody know if the Starbucks onboard accepts gift cards or the Starbucks phone app? I believe @EllieinNJ wants to know. 

[logan25]

Yum!  Buttered drenched scallops!

 

Did you notice whether the Grand Pacific was serving Shrimp Arrabiata for lunch at any time during the cruise?  I’m afraid NCL dropped it from the menu.

Edited August 26, 2021 by logan25

[JulieAF]

1 minute ago, logan25 said:

Yum!  Buttered drenched scallops!

 

Did you notice whether the Grand Pacific was serving Shrimp Arrabitta?

OMG...those are my 2 favorite dishes! My lunch on embarkation day is always shrimp arribbiatta!!!!

[Carpe-Diem]

25 minutes ago, logan25 said:

Yum!  Buttered drenched scallops!

 

Did you notice whether the Grand Pacific was serving Shrimp Arrabiata for lunch at any time during the cruise?  I’m afraid NCL dropped it from the menu.

I don’t remember seeing it 

[logan25]

30 minutes ago, JulieAF said:

OMG...those are my 2 favorite dishes! My lunch on embarkation day is always shrimp arribbiatta!!!!

Faves!  I order the dish with double shrimp and spicy.  I want my nose to run.  But don’t want my eyes to bleed.

[mma__leanne]

Does anyone have copies of the Gem Freestyle Dailies they can share by any chance? Or at a minimum the party themes. Want to pack my party clothes accordingly! Haha

[Janicept]

I'm going to eat escargot everyday❤️🥳

[Yesimapirate]

2 hours ago, Janicept said:

I'm going to eat escargot everyday❤️🥳

Remember,  a lady or gentleman eats them at a snail's pace!

[Carpe-Diem]

I was handing out $20 to random staff who served me. I think I gave out about $360 in tips. They deserved some extra money due to being off work for so long. It was pretty obvious the crew talk about the passengers as even the guy making omelettes in the buffet called me by name 😂

[JulieAF]

2 hours ago, Janicept said:

I'm going to eat escargot everyday❤️🥳

 

I was thrilled to find out that the escargot serving dish actually had little scallops and NOT escargot! In each little compartment is clarified butter, some breadcrumbs, garlic and tiny scallops. YUM! Counting down the days.....17 to go......

[Carpe-Diem]

31 minutes ago, JulieAF said:

 

I was thrilled to find out that the escargot serving dish actually had little scallops and NOT escargot! In each little compartment is clarified butter, some breadcrumbs, garlic and tiny scallops. YUM! Counting down the days.....17 to go......

It was escargot 

[JulieAF]

33 minutes ago, Carpe-Diem said:

It was escargot 

OHHHHHHHH. When I have had it in the main dining rooms, it was scallops. 

[davidnkim]

17 hours ago, Carpe-Diem said:

I was handing out $20 to random staff who served me. I think I gave out about $360 in tips. They deserved some extra money due to being off work for so long. It was pretty obvious the crew talk about the passengers as even the guy making omelettes in the buffet called me by name 😂

That was my thought!  I went to the bank to make sure I was covered to be able to do this!  I appreciate how dedicated the crew and NCL in general is to it's cruisers!  I always enjoy talking to different crew and hearing their stories, where they are from, family, how long with NCL, what boats they've been on, how long their contract is and when they'll head home.  Should be some even more interesting life stories this time!  Thank you for sharing!