Gem B2B, August 23 thru September 6 review from Boston at $57* per person per day

[PammyMouse]

7 hours ago, Red-Sol said:

 

Hi Jim,

 

I'm in a similar situation as you with regards to cruise pricing. NCL has always been our favorite cruise line and we have always made generous donations in the casino knowing CAS would take care  of us with our next booking. Their last offer to us though was an insult and we seriously started looking around. We have never sailed on Carnival but they have a program where you can upload other casino cards you might have and they will determine what they might offer you. In our case they offered us a Balcony Comp on pretty much any sailings they have (remember we have never sailed on Carnival) So we chose a 10 day cruise on the Venezia out of NYC in October. For us the total cost will be about ~$500.00 each. I'm not sure I can even stay home for that amount! 🤣

For anyone interested their casino match program is here:

https://www.carnival.com/Registration/Promotions/casino-funmatch

 

And I know may people will poo poo Carnival (I was one of them even without having sailed) but this ship appears to be something we would like It was originally built for Costa:
 

Anyways I will very much enjoy following you on your Gem journey. Maybe some day we can all sail together again on some ship somewhere! 🙂

I've just been on Venezia for a 10-day, I thought it was very nice, the food was good - we especially liked the Italian Specialty, Il Viaggio.   No wildness at all.  We also went to bed at 10pm, and had an out of the way cabin, so maybe that is a factor.  But she's a very pretty ship.  PM

[mking8288]

9 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

First and maybe the last attempt to post, yesterday the Wi-Fi was slow, here is the best speed test, the cabin signal is mia, best area is in the local.  

Lordy, NCL's ship satellite WiFi got issues ... not just Jewel as reported, Gem joining.  Not cool. 

 

Let's see what we got:   31ms ping time, excellent for satellite relays, Starlink or otherwise - comparable to cable ISP on land.  20MB "upload" speed is excellent but that kind of bandwidth mostly not fully utilized - wrong way with the flow.  2.2 MB download speed is not good, "usable" for web browsing & email as long as it's not graphics intensive, certainly unusable for video streaming - not at 720p, let alone HD/1080p.  Congestion probably as well, too many users signed in to squeeze the overall cached trunk line for data traffic ... and if I.T. actively throttled and restrict = frustrations, pretty sure onboard systems servers can be tweaked to allocate & re-prioritize downloads and trim upload.  Yes they can and should, but will they ?  Dunno as that is on their front lawn.  Paid users cancelling and requesting refunds cannot possibly boost the corporate treasury's financial bottomline, nor assure the remote/work from "home" young workforce.  

 

Prior to Starlink becoming "live" - download speed onboard were not great, better than now and latency was much higher.  Data traffic dropping to lower speed is going against the flow.  

 

Thankfully, BTC (local Bermuda ISP's towers at Dockyard put out a decent 4G signal ... paid WiFi signals (1, 2 and 3-day passes) can be ping from the waterfront & outside decks/balconies, except it's prone to drops on the higher floors ... balconies and pool/sundeck and buffet - that's been our experience over the last few years.  

 

Jim, good luck.  Focus on enjoying the ship and onboard experience. 

[Red-Sol]

1 hour ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

Now picture it with drunks, fights and pax getting sick in the halls…

 

Hopefully none of that will happen...but if it does it isn't anything different than those same things I have seen from time to time on NCL.

[EllieinNJ]

We were on the Carnival Venezia last February and enjoyed it very much.  But there were so many gamblers that probably had their cruise comped that you could never get a machine.

[Red-Sol]

1 minute ago, EllieinNJ said:

We were on the Carnival Venezia last February and enjoyed it very much.  But there were so many gamblers that probably had their cruise comped that you could never get a machine.

 

If it turns out that way for us I might save some money! 🙂

[mking8288]

@EllieinNJ  Hi, there.  Now you got some of our attention, DW said you ("me") got work to do after these next 2 cruises to look into the Venezia ... the mixed "reviews" and "feedbacks" then, suffice to reasonably conclude, are on par with MSC Merv unless it's their YC ??   Our LOS roll call is just as lively as yours, I think - best wishes for a great cruise, fair weather and all that good things.  

 

And, they keep their Lido / buffet open past 9 to 9:30 PM nightly ?  A lighter selection would work for us.  Regards 😉

Edited August 24 by mking8288

[JIMESOPUS]

Found a hot spot, so here is where we are.

Embarkation was fast, car drop off at 0945,  and aboard by 1045.

First drink at 1100

O'Sheehans opens at 1130, MDR 1200 and the buffet was already open

 

[JIMESOPUS]

Cabin 8592, sideways 

Let them eat cake

Real short posts, its getting slow again

 

Edited August 25 by JIMESOPUS

[JIMESOPUS]

What have you done with my ship, bar central on deck 6 bright and neutral colors, part 1

[mking8288]

3 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

What have you done with my ship, bar central on deck 6 bright and neutral colors, part 1

Have a great stay in Bermuda 😎 

 

Pictures uploading and you got working internet, short of a miracle or using your own data/port's WiFi ... there's no "free" WiFI except for a handful of hotspots in town and those signals don't go very far, easy to find - look for off-duty crew ashore (pirate ship was/is one of them)   Clocktower Mall has 1 to 2 hotspot, free for 15 or 30 minutes with a quick & simple registration (email address required ... san marketing & sponsored by local merchants)

 

Comment/question - might be my eyes / impressions but our CC friends that're on the Sky after her drydock 2 years ago and sail her TA back to NY, felt and believed that all the new furnitures, chairs & sofas were at a slightly lower height, once you sit down ... sort of difficult to get up & out of them.  Perhaps, designed to be more accessible friendly.  

[Sugar Magnolia]

6 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

 

 

 

What a nice note. I also noticed they left some money on your bed to celebrate your special day. Have a great cruise Jim and Carol!

 

[JIMESOPUS]

What have you done with my ship part 2

Spinnaker Lounge, that wooden door is gone, the blinds are all working and everything is stuck in neutral. As you can tell it,s really bright up there

Today's speed test from the local, everyone is still sleeping 

Edited August 26 by JIMESOPUS

[Laszlo]

Water looks smooth as glass today!

[mking8288]

Good 😊 morning 

 

Maybe this as a personal item, stationary set-up from Dockyard ??  /JK 😜 

 

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Where are you @JIMESOPUS? 
 

@mking8288 is a good CC friend but I don’t want to hang out at the Cunard board. 
 

[mking8288]

@Sugar Magnolia  Go hang out and split your time with the semi / live Dawn review - seemed like their onboard satellite WiFi is, at least, working ... for now, photos being uploaded for the timing being.  

 

I dunno what has NCL done with their Starlink services on the GEM and the Jewel, both with reported "issues" lately.  

 

Hey, Miami HQ - you "got problems" or what ...

 

If all else failed, do consider yours truly being "lonely" over there - cruising on the QE this Friday for 10 nights ... news about rock/landslides and mandatory emergency evacuations in one or two of the port of calls ahead.  Afterall, we can use a little bit of "emotional support" as I haven't worn the monkey suit in years.  

 

Don't you (and others) want to hear about cookies, hash browns, smoked salmon, and afternoon tea, free breakfast and all day/night room service delivery at no charge.  I haven't declare "abandon the (NCL) ship" yet or sounded the general alarm.  

 

And, I have no idea how they run their muster stations and emergency drills b/c none of the email reminders mentioned anything about it, should I also hit the "panic" button or dial 999 onboard via their house phones ?

 

Maybe, CC'ers should fundraise together, a portable Starlink mobile backpack kit to be passed along to do semi / live reports, as a backup ... just in case.  Maybe Jim, Carol & others are having a blast at the Calico Jack Pirate Ship / Floating Bar - dancing, eating & drinking up a mini storm - someone posted that the ship has returned & open for business again - and, off-duty crew members hang out there for their free WiFi.  

[Red-Sol]

2 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Where are you @JIMESOPUS? 
 

@mking8288 is a good CC friend but I don’t want to hang out at the Cunard board. 
 

 

Henry...can I get a touché? 😉

[Sugar Magnolia]

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

If all else failed, do consider yours truly being "lonely" over there - cruising on the QE this Friday for 10 nights ... news about rock/landslides and mandatory emergency evacuations in one or two of the port of calls ahead.  Afterall, we can use a little bit of "emotional support" as I haven't worn the monkey suit in years

No worries @mking8288…I won’t abandon you. I just need to take a deep breath and adjust my head and humor (or humour as @schmoopie17 would say) before I jump on the other board. 
 

[debenson0723]

15 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

No worries @mking8288…I won’t abandon you. I just need to take a deep breath and adjust my head and humor (or humour as @schmoopie17 would say) before I jump on the other board. 
 

I think you need to wear your tiara and sequins, as I do, when reading over there.

 

And @mking8288, it's been mentioned several times on 'lives' that Jewel isn't getting starlink until 9/9 (so just a few weeks away). Not sure what the issue is on the Gem. 

[mking8288]

@Red-Sol  No problem ... done.  We rather hang out with the usual crowd around the neighborhood but it's sad lately reading the reports trickling in, everyone seriously putting a positive spin on things.  

 

The "Cuny" forum as "someone" referred them as ... didn't slam the door against us and offered insights, ideas, suggestions, tips and helpful advice as we tread water carefully - stay tune for the good, not and the scoop on the rest - first "impressions" matter and we hope to be pleasantly surprised by the food, services, the itinerary for the ports and times ashore, and of course, the ship itself as a future destination to return to.  

 

Then, we will take a brief break in between (dentist wanted to see me ... arrrrrrh, open wide & relax the tongue) and hop over the Hudson to catch a Royal cruise to Canada/New England - we have no desires this year to attempt Bar Harbor again and will roll the dices or spin the dials to spend a day at Sydney, NS for a change.   NCL is currently on our "suspension list" until next Spring - we'll cross that "bridge" this Fall when final payment/cancel dates pop-up as alerts.  

 

@debenson0723  Starlink or not, I lumped both together b/c the user experience for satellite WiFi is just not acceptable from my corner.  We know the Gem pretty well and for years prior, pre-Covid days, onboard WiFi was usable & acceptable - just bad to watch things going the wrong way, wrong directions - especially if NCL is investing and upgrading.  How on high seas can they convince millennials to cruise when some want to, others need to, and prefer to be connected over reliable & consistent satellite networks.  

 

If the I.T. people onboard, and the ship's communications officer aren't aware of the problems, or worst, ignoring and not reporting it up the chains-of-command for resolution & mitigation, they got issues and it is not for us to try to figure out.  Bottom line, NCL - wake up & fix them ... /rant done for this month.  

 

Overdue for proper afternoon high tea at sea  😆 😁

[schmoopie17]

@mking8288 I should probably know this, but does the Escape have Starlink? My experiences are solely on ships sans-Starlink and the internet experiences haven't been pretty. Can't even ever access the "free" CC page. I spend more time at the Internet "Manager" desk than I actually do online.

 

Just wondering if I need to adjust my internet expectations upward or downward in a couple weeks.

[Sugar Magnolia]

23 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

@mking8288 I should probably know this, but does the Escape have Starlink? My experiences are solely on ships sans-Starlink and the internet experiences haven't been pretty. Can't even ever access the "free" CC page. I spend more time at the Internet "Manager" desk than I actually do online.

 

Just wondering if I need to adjust my internet expectations upward or downward in a couple weeks.

@schmoopie17 I was on the Escape in May with Starlink. However, I upgraded to unlimited wifi so am unable to vouch for the viability of the free websites like CC without using the FAS minutes or paid internet. 
 

[schmoopie17]

3 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

@schmoopie17 I was on the Escape in May with Starlink. However, I upgraded to unlimited wifi so am unable to vouch for the viability of the free websites like CC without using the FAS minutes or paid internet. 
 

Okay...so I guess I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that it works (which will make typing even more difficult than usual).

[JIMESOPUS]

Last day here in Bermuda, guess everyone is online

Laundry special is now $34, no deals for the Internet only the $100 off special.

Weather has been great except for that thunderstorm during the sunset cruise

 

[JIMESOPUS]

Somewhat earlier than yesterday, Bermuda was a blast these past few days and now we're heading north to Portland at 21 knots.

Unlike are last experience on the Jade almost everything has been the normal NCL experience.

Some information about the PAX

98 percent full

Average age for this cruise 53, next cruise 67

1 Ambassador and a handful of Diamond, 53 percent returning latitudes

Current Senior Officers