GEM 12/22 Review

[Xelcaz]

Let me begin my review with a little about who we are:

Family of 5, w/ 3 kids 14, 12 & 7 (all boys)

 

Day 1 Embarkation:

The new terminal was very nice compared to last year! Latitudes/Suites were given their own embarkation line. When we got there, we found that NCL.com had neglected to send our tickets. We weren't alone, as it seemed to be about 100 or so other people who had the nice little folio NCL sends AND no tickets. At any rate, a nice lady walked us over to the counter and hand wrote tickets and in no time, we were on the line for Latitudes members. That was great, as there was almost no one on that line!! We walked passed everyone who was not latitudes members - once you sail NCL you get that "perk", we went through the security check point 1-2-3, no big deal.. Then to the line for room keys.

 

We did not want the kids to have open charging privileges so we had to go to the cash deposit line to put money on their room keys. That was the only complication in our check-in, and even that wasn't so bad. Then we were off to our first of many NCL pictures (more on pictures later)

 

Once we got on board we were greeted by champagne and the Crystal Atrium, which, as colorful as it was, is just barely "over the top". The 20 ft. x 20 ft. video screen was impressive and they were playing the Nintendo Wii on it for the passengers who had not been granted access to their rooms. At this time we purchased the unlimited soda stickers for our room keys. ($67.00 per Adult for 7 days, included gratuity). Then we went to get the kids soda packages @ the kids clubs - Teen passport(13-17) $34.50 for 20 non-alcoholic smoothies or sodas & entry to the teen party last sea day (DON'T LOSE the book, they wont give you another one), Kids (2-12) you had a choice of $16.50 unlimited soda only or $34.50, unlimited soda, backpack, cup, sunglasses and NCL t-shirt.

 

Almost immediately, we felt the vacation begin (or was the stress of daily life melting away?) so with that, off we went to check out our cabins.

 

11578 Mini Suite - (Larger then the balcony rooms on the Dawn)

- There is a small wall-table immediately inside the cabin. There were nice fresh flowers in a small, stylish vase, and below a shoe-rack.

- The balcony is a nice size, with 2 chairs and a small table and still has ample leg room and room for a kid or 2. The balcony is very private.

- The bathroom is small-ish, but not too small. The toilet is in it's own "stall" with a sliding glass door. The sink/vanity area has 3 glass shelves that offer ample storage space for 2 people's worth of toiletries. The sink is large and deep and the faucet is well placed, and swivels. The shower/bathtub was nice if you take baths - our 7 year old was a happy bathing camper (sailor?). The shower was nice with temperature and pressure controls rather than just hot and cold controls. The only downside of the bathroom was that NCL only provided one bath towel per person.

- The bed was very comfortable, and the linens were new and thus very clean. I couldn't feel the seam between the 2 beds, and I am confident that it was a queen size bed, not 2 twins. Nice pillows too.

- The cabin has quite a nice amount of storage for a week-long cruise, and even a 14-day cruise - but only for 2 people. There is 5 large, deep drawers and a roomy, wide closet, which has 3 shelves off to one side. All our luggage fit under the bed. (note: the closet has a light in it - nice touch) There are also 3 drawers by the desk if needed.

- There is a 21" Flat screen LCD in bedroom, there are many NCL channels (including a cool navigation-based channel), one on-board movie channel and one satellite movie channel as well as Fox News, CNN, ESPN, and Cartoon Network made up the channel line-up. With rough seas, the satellite channels would fade out, but Fox News was the most reliable.

- The couch is nice, it provides a place to sit with kids/other pax.

- Fridge/Minibar is well stocked mostly with alcohol, but few snacks. There is also a coffee maker, but that seems redundant with the ease of getting coffee onboard.

- The desk area is small, well tucked away and quite useful. The added storage on and under the desk came in handy for daily-use items such as cameras, snack trays, and so on.

- There is a curtain that separates the bed and the couch. While we never used it, it could be nice for someone who likes to read at night, or if a couple brings their kids.

- NCL provides these Blue/White striped pool/beach towels. These are new, and as a result, are somewhat "linty", and they carry the warning: these are your pool/beach towels. Lose them, and pay $25 each.

- Only downside to this cabin or any on this side/section: we were right under the kids club. We didn't mind, as our kids bedrooms are above our bedroom, so we are used to some noise from above. Other folks might be bothered by that. The kid's club staff know there are cabins below, and do try to keep the kids quit after about 10PM. But kids will be kids.

 

11577 - Inside stateroom (where we stuffed the kids)(We have never stayed in an inside cabin so our feedback may only mean so much.)

- The cabin seemed small, yet had a decent closet and some other storage. This cabin was well suited for 3 kids, but I can't see 3 normal sized adults in those cabins.

- the drawers barely fit the kids underwear and socks, closet had open shelves and there were more shelves next to the closet as well. Overall the storage worked, but again, it was 3 kids. I say perfect for kids/teens etc..

- There is a Flat LCD tv here as well. The kids complained about channel selection. Cartoon Network was the only kids channel there, and often the satellite service was searching for signal.

- Beds were 2 lower beds, and 1 upper fold-out bunk. This worked well for our 3 sons.

- The Bathroom was small, and didn't have the toilet stall, but the vanity/sink area was similar to our cabin, and suitable for 3 kids.

- There was a small desk area, and 2 small night tables.

 

11th floor Penthouse/family suite (5-6 people?)

- We took a gander at this suite. It was open and cleaned up on disembarking day, so we just couldn't resist giving ourselves a tour.

- the smaller bedroom has a large 2 person bed and a bunk bed. There was also a small closet and a few drawers as well. The bathroom for this room, was fairly close in size and layout to the inside cabin bathroom. This room has a LCD TV, desk and small table.

- The master bedroom was very nice. It had a great natural wood decor. The room was rather sizeable, and had quite a complement of storage. There was a small desk area, and an LCD TV.

- The master Bathroom, however, was great! Jacuzzi tub, separate shower, large vanity area with 2 sinks, even an elongated toilet bowl. It reminded me of home, except this was bigger, better, and it had a view!

- There is a common living room that had a large (32"?) LCD tv, a bar area, a small table with 4 chairs, an ample desk area, and a nice cozy couch.

We are going to try and book one next trip. I would pay the extra thousand or so for this suite.)

 

After visiting our cabins, we headed up to the Garden Cafe' and so the review moves on to...

 

Food:

 

Garden cafe - Buffet style

Breakfast opens at 6:30am - for early risers

- 8am - 9am is a zoo. It takes speed and luck to find a table. You'd be better off waiting until later in the morning when it settles down. Fresh fruits, omelette station, scrambled eggs, waffles, pancakes, danishes, breads and bagels, smoked salmon (with capers!), you name it for breakfast, it was there!

Lunch - Opens at 12pm - Rotisserie Chicken, vegetarian/indian section, pasta station, pizza, fruit, salads, sandwiches, cold cuts, rices, vegetables and hot signature dishes (changed daily), burgers, dogs, grill section, dessert section.. Again, you think of it for lunch and chances are its here...

Dinner -- Similar to lunch except more hot foods which change daily, more desserts, and some interesting stations: Pasta dishes with a dozen add-ins, and this "hawker soup" section where you choose the add-ins for soup. pretty cool, and very tasty.

 

Grand Pacific (Main Dining room) and Magenta (smaller dining room)

Breakfast - 7am-9am All the same except you can get eggs benedict (2 ways) and other breakfast items like poached eggs, normal sides (bacon, ham, hash browns, etc) pancakes, scotch kipper, and much more. The service is nice, they walk around with bread trays and the orange marmalade is amazing!

 

Lunch -12:30-2pm (I never ate here for lunch, so I cant give you a menu sample)

 

Dinner - Can choose from 3 or 4 appetizers, 3/4 soups, a ceasar salad and a funky salad. There are usually 4-5 main courses each night, always including a vegetarian choice as well. The courses were very complimentary of each other, and there is always the option to mix it up with multiple appetizers, soups or even 2 main courses. Eat as much as you want - taste them all if you want. There always was a beef, chicken, fish, pork and vegetarian selections for main dish. Desserts also were yummy. I always found something I wanted when I had dinner here. Presentation was excellent, dishes were always served hot and with a smile. It was here that we found our favorite waiter (from Last Year's cruise on the Dawn), a fine Indonesian man named ASMUI. It was a very pleasant surprise to see him on the Gem, and we enjoyed his excellent service and wonderful manner whenever we dined with him. Very much worth asking for...

 

Magenta (smaller main dining room - also where you can make reservations for specialty rest's) **(same food as GP dining room)

Breakfast 8am-10am (where I enjoyed breakfast, as there was never a wait and they were open later then GP)

Lunch -12-1:30

Dinner 5:30-10:30

 

Blue Lagoon - open 24 hrs -- variety of food and snacks. (where DH and DS went for late night snacks) We only ate there once during normal eating hours - for a mid-day snack after an excursion - which wasn't bad. However, the late-night ventures were another story. Here was -undoubtedly- the worst service on this ship. You had to ask for attention just to get menu's, drinks, place an order, or get any condiments. It's a shame that your only choices are slow room service (slow but friendly) or slow with an attitude...

 

The other dining choices were more than suitable for us, but one time, we chose to eat at Le Bistro - Wonderful staff, wonderful food, worth the extra $15 pp, Dh said they had THE BEST CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP EVER! I loved the Duck Flambe' it was out of this world. The Creme Brulee' was amazing. Dh had the Mushroom soup again for dessert, so if you love cream of mushroom soup or creme brulee, here you will find 2 "best-ever's"

 

There were other places to eat but we were not food driven.. so if your looking for variety, there is way more then we could try out in 1 week..

Orchid garden (chinese) $10 cover

Sushi bar $15 cover

Teppanyaki (cook on the table) $20 cover

Cagneys (we tried this on the dawn) $20 cover

Tequilla (tex/mex) (which many people said was amazing) no charge

La Cucina (italian) no charge

Great outdoors - BBQ - no charge

 

There IS a dress code after 5pm, does everyone adhere to it? No. I don't think some people know what Resort casual is, they specify NO jeans. So my son wanted to see if he could push the envelope and came into the main dining room with a button down shirt and pajama pants and guess what? They said nothing! So those of you who demand everyone dresses up for dinner, NCL doesn't discriminate. Then again, there were so many other things to enjoy, if your too busy looking at what everyone else is wearing, too bad.

I found it amusing.

 

Back to pictures: We found the pictures to be over priced and not worth it - we purchased the embarkation pic for $25. the rest of the pictures that they take of you during the cruise are $15 per print. Even worse, if you want them on CD, they are $75 for the disc, but you own the copyright (??) Forget about all that.. We know what we look like, and we took plenty of our own pictures.

 

Stuff to do:

 

Considering we are not "joiners" and vacation to us is loafing on the balcony and just doing whatever, whenever -- Freestyle is perfect for us!!

7 y/o loved the kids club, teen participated late night, Tween spent time relaxing in cabin.. and we also did not join much but I figured an ex of a day of whats to do for you "joiners" would be nice

 

Small Example of kids clubs:

6-9's

Sea day

9am-12pm - beach ball, poison(? not sure what game this is), time ball, dodge ball, & gaga ball.. Jungle gym, coloring... etc..

2pm-5pm - party time, prizes and presents 4pm fire fighter training from a real fire man

7pm-10pm - under cover - real spy training & under cover mission

10pm-1am late nite party zone $5 per hour per kid (must sign kids up at 7pm session)

Port days-

9am-5pm $$5 per hr per child

7pm-10pm they take the kids to the shows.. have special kids dinners..

games and fun and then they have the late nite party zone again..

 

Tweens 10-12's

9am-12 --2-5 & 7-10 and 10-1 late nite party zone -- Lounge w/ wii, ps3, manicures, music, bingo, insanity, outburst &b acting out, hip hop dance classes, pre-teen partys..fear factor -- prizes and fun....

Port play 10-5$5 per hr 7-10 free and $10-1 late nite ($5 per hr)

Tweens can not sign themselves in and out of the club!

 

Teens 13-17

Can sign themselves in and out of the club

10am - morning munchies

11am bowling

11am outburst, truth or dare, teen feud

12:15 Wii, ps3, manicures, music & more

2pm hip hop dance class

4pm rock wall challege

5:15 gorilla on the loose challenge

6pm - scene it

9:15 stardust showtime

10:30 teen quest

11:30 -1am pirate party

 

Adult stuff to do freestyle daily 12/28 Sea Day

7:30 early am stretch

8am aerobics

8:30 body conditioning

8:30-10:30 Tennis

9am - Catholic mass

9:30 - coffee club w/am trivia

10am - yoga

10-12 texaz hold em torn

10-12 rock wall challenge

10-closing $5 per game bowling

10:15 ammolite presentation

10:30 art auction

11am detox for health

11:15 bingo

12-2 2 for 1 margaritas

12:30 slot & bj tourns

12:45 renew vows

1:30 towel folding

2pm cruise presentation, & bridge play

more rock climbing

Matinee showtime (comedy act)

Body waves - cycling (spinning)

3pm - Wii on big screen kids vs adults bowling

knitters & needles crafts,lecture about memory, football & soccer tourn

4pm - bingo

5pm - pilates (fee)

5:45 Cha Cha dancing

6pm - dart tourn, Sabbath service, Casino @ sea points,

7pm, Karaoke, Show w/ Duck cameron, Talent show,

9pm - Adult disco, Country night w/ staff, mardi gras celebration,, adult improv, bliss PJ party, witching hour bliss party 2/1 drinks

 

PORTS:

Port Canaveral Fl : We did kennedy space center... Ok for you space nuts

 

NCL GSC island - Fun fun fun, santa even showed up!! Bring your towels from your cabin.. they don't have any on the island.. food and soda are available on the beach, basic BBQ choices such as chicken, ribs, burgers etc.

 

Nassau - Pirate is ok, cute tour

 

Freeport - Sea & Sail snorkel catamaran (the one with the water slide) Fun fun fun.. They had snacks on board too. Great staff, great snorkeling for all experience levels and even for those too chicken to get in the water, they are very accomodating.

 

7 day was TOO short...Itinerary .. was ok.. Need longer cruises out of NYC

[coka]

Wow, thank you for posting so much information! I am sure all the kids-crew info will benefit future cruisers with children. When I toured the kids-crew area, it seemed NCL took their needs in mind when building this ship.

Coka

[andreamarc]

Thanks for all this info. We are leaving this Saturday for the 11 day cruise, so they do have longer cruises out of NY. Last year we did 10 day s.carrib and it was a nice length. We're in the cabin you liked, the one with the little inner cabin. Did you try the no charge Italian restaurant? Is it part of the Garden Cafe blocked off or a separate location? How long did it take to get into weather where you wanted to be on deck?

 

Your review made me look forward to this trip more than ever, if that's possible!!!!

 

thanks

[nyflush]

Great review thanks:)

 

Did you have to sign up for bowling in advance? Also how many nights did the kids club take the kids to see the show was it only on one port day more than one day? My son and friends are 9 and 12

[KarmaElectra]

Awesome! I hope I'm able to sail on the Gem...she sounds terrific. You said they sent you a nice packet but forgot the tickets...they only send the packets now, with the luggage tags and shore excursion booklet...you must print the e-docs yourself (or your travel agent can do it for you). Did you forget to do this? (This is how I am understanding it...if I am wrong, I apologize.)

[SLMS]

Thanks for all this info. We are leaving this Saturday for the 11 day cruise, so they do have longer cruises out of NY. Last year we did 10 day s.carrib and it was a nice length. We're in the cabin you liked, the one with the little inner cabin. Did you try the no charge Italian restaurant? Is it part of the Garden Cafe blocked off or a separate location? How long did it take to get into weather where you wanted to be on deck?

 

Your review made me look forward to this trip more than ever, if that's possible!!!!

 

thanks

 

La Cocina is a separate restaurant on the Gem and not a blocked off portion of the Garden Cafe (like on the Spirit). It is very popular, without an extra charge and very good, so make reservations. You should also try the El Popo at Tequila's (it has both steak & chicken and, if you ask, they'll substitute shrimp for the steak). If you go to Tequila's ask for Thomas as your waiter. We met him on the Spirit and he is now working on the Gem (OP of this thread not the only one to find a favorite waiter from another ship on the Gem).

[Cosmopolitan]

[quote=Xelcaz;

7 day was TOO short...Itinerary .. was ok.. Need longer cruises out of NYC

 

Enjoyed your review...very informative.

 

I agree..7 days is too short;)

[dongordon]

Thanks for the great review!

 

What time did you arrive at the terminal and what time did you finally get onboard?

 

Was the restaurant open (not the buffet) and if so, do you remember til what time it remained open for lunch on the day of embarkation?

 

Did you use the concierge for dinner reservations?

 

Thanks.

 

Don

[Xelcaz]

I'll answer as many questions as i can...

andreamarc - the family didn't try La Cucina, but DS (14 and the family foodie) did - he said it was good, but some of the others are better (Le Bistro and Cagney's were the best) LaCucina is it's own space, not a section of the Garden Cafe, however, during breakfast LaCucina is additional seating for Garden cafe. As for the weather, the first night is sure to be cold, and the second day wasn't too bad. My kids are brave, and hit the pools the on the 2nd day - the pools were warm, its the getting out into the cold air that gets ya... I enjoy the balcony no matter the weather .

 

nyflush - we didn't bowl on the ship, but you did need to sign up for a waiting list. The Bliss ultralounge is just about the coolest place you'd ever want to wait in though. There are TV's everywhere (even the ceiling over some loungers/beds). It's a different show every night, and one night, the kids are in the show, the kids went a total of 3 times. Duck Cameron was very good from what I hear. DW and I just loafed most of the time ;-)

 

KarmaElectra - I think you are correct. We did get that email containing our tickets, but we neglected to print it out, thinking we had the tickets in the packet NCL sent us... Our bad...

 

SLMS - It makes sense for NCL to take the best staff from a variety of ships to man their new ship. There were a good many crew from the Dawn that we remembered. Kids Club, Main Dining, and a few other places had transferred staff, but ASMUI in the main dining stood out as he was awesome on both cruises.

 

Dongordon - We didn't use the concierge for reservations - but in hindsight, we should have. I don't know if the main dining room was open for lunch on embarkation day. It was open for Breakfast on Disembark day.

We arrived at the terminal at about 12:00, and we were onboard before 1:00. That includes offloading luggage, parking, and adding money to the kid's roomcards. Check-in was a breeze overall, and our cabins were ready when we checked in, as our cabin stewards (Edwin and Adi) were excellent thru the whole cruise.

 

To all: Except the late-night crew at Blue Lagoon - by that time, I am sure they were just tired and run-down after what must be a very long workday, EVERYONE on the crew was EXCELLENT! The ship is awesome indeed, and a fun time will be had by all.

 

I strongly recommend: Le Bistro - for the Cream of Mushroom soup if nothing else; Table games at the casino as the slots seem to be set fairly tight; the Sail and Snorkel tour at Freeport - very nice snorkeling, almost as good as Roatan, Honduras; A visit to Atlantis at Nassau - great place, we stayed there a few years ago; ANY dolphin encounter; and the Space Center tour for any space fans (like me).

 

Have fun everyone and tell ASMUI that Paul and Melanie say HI! ;-)

[trish1c]

Thanks for the review. It was most informative!

I laughed at your self guided tour of the penthouse. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who can't resist a peak on disembarkation day. :)

 

BTW, they do have longer cruises on the Gem out of NYC; we're leaving for 11 days on Saturday.

[Jack1234]

We just booked 12/20/08 on the Gem in a suite (2 rooms) for myself, wife and 2 children (13 and 9) so really enjoyed your review. Glad to hear the pools are heated as my children will brave the cold if there is a warm pol waiting for them. I know your children didnt spend much time in kids club but would welcome any feedback. My 13 year old daughter isnt into "hanging out with older kids" so was not sure what she would find to do. Is the Space center trip good for family or should we just hang out on ship? I agree 7 days is not long enough but that is our only option in December if we don't want to fly.

Thanks!

[Xelcaz]

We just booked 12/20/08 on the Gem in a suite (2 rooms) for myself, wife and 2 children (13 and 9) so really enjoyed your review. Glad to hear the pools are heated as my children will brave the cold if there is a warm pol waiting for them. I know your children didnt spend much time in kids club but would welcome any feedback. My 13 year old daughter isnt into "hanging out with older kids" so was not sure what she would find to do. Is the Space center trip good for family or should we just hang out on ship? I agree 7 days is not long enough but that is our only option in December if we don't want to fly.

Thanks!

Actually, our little guy (7) spent every minute he could in the Kid's club, and our middle man (11) was there a few nights and a few late nights too. The Space center trip would be good if your kids are into that. My kids were into it, but got bored after a while. DW was bored the whole time, except when we walked into the space where they have the Saturn Rocket, which should be impressive by anyone's standards. However if none of you are interested in space, than you should go to Universal or Seaworld. Avoid Disney during the X-mas break, as the lines are LOOOOOOONG and the crowds are unbelievable.

 

We also didn't want to fly, but after this 7-day we are already willing to fly next year, in exchange for a longer itinerary.

Maybe Panama Canal or even better... Straits of Magellan with an Antarctic excursion...

[andreamarc]

Actually, our little guy (7) spent every minute he could in the Kid's club, and our middle man (11) was there a few nights and a few late nights too. The Space center trip would be good if your kids are into that. My kids were into it, but got bored after a while. DW was bored the whole time, except when we walked into the space where they have the Saturn Rocket, which should be impressive by anyone's standards. However if none of you are interested in space, than you should go to Universal or Seaworld. Avoid Disney during the X-mas break, as the lines are LOOOOOOONG and the crowds are unbelievable.

 

We also didn't want to fly, but after this 7-day we are already willing to fly next year, in exchange for a longer itinerary.

Maybe Panama Canal or even better... Straits of Magellan with an Antarctic excursion...

 

Thanks for your answer re: Italian restaurant and cold deck. There are quite a few longer itineraries out of NY. Saturday we are on the 11 day on Gem.

Watch out for the icebergs in the antartic, though.

[Jack1234]

Actually, our little guy (7) spent every minute he could in the Kid's club, and our middle man (11) was there a few nights and a few late nights too. The Space center trip would be good if your kids are into that. My kids were into it, but got bored after a while. DW was bored the whole time, except when we walked into the space where they have the Saturn Rocket, which should be impressive by anyone's standards. However if none of you are interested in space, than you should go to Universal or Seaworld. Avoid Disney during the X-mas break, as the lines are LOOOOOOONG and the crowds are unbelievable.

 

We also didn't want to fly, but after this 7-day we are already willing to fly next year, in exchange for a longer itinerary.

Maybe Panama Canal or even better... Straits of Magellan with an Antarctic excursion...

 

Thanks for the info. My daughter (will be 13 on cruise) knew and "loved" many of the activites you listed for the teen group which made her feel good. SHe is just a little worried about being 13 with a group up to the very old age of 17! Glad to hear swimming was available by day 2 in a warm pool. We are booked into one of the suites you mentioned on 11th floor and that sounds perfect for the four of us. I too wish there were an 8-9 day trip but will take what they offer! Wife doesn't want to fly at that time of year and can't say I blame her so this is an easy drive from Boston.

 

Thanks for your help!

[dongordon]

Ayone have any experience with teens on the cruise and how they enjoyed the teen club and the cruise?

 

Don

[Britt23]

Xelcaz - Thanks for the great review. One quick question. Can you tell me if the Texas Holdem table contained an actual dealer? We were on a cruise the first week of December on the Carnival Freedom and the Texas Holdem table was completely electronic with no live person dealing the cards. It was all video. We're sailing on the Gem in February and are hoping it's not a video table.

[Xelcaz]

Thanks for your answer re: Italian restaurant and cold deck. There are quite a few longer itineraries out of NY. Saturday we are on the 11 day on Gem.

Watch out for the icebergs in the antartic, though.

 

We really cant take off unless the kids have no school and we love the xmas/new years break as a get away, our buisness is dead slow these 2 weeks and its a good time for us to break away without having to worry about the "mice" left behind, there is only so much damage that can occur hehehe while the cats are away when its slow so.. we are limited to the travel dates 12-15ish - 1/4ish.. Enjoy your 11 day (I'm envious, give our best to Asmui)

[Xelcaz]

Ayone have any experience with teens on the cruise and how they enjoyed the teen club and the cruise?

 

Don

 

Teens will be teens, there is no mandatory "sign in or out" 13-17... typically the TEENS that are in the group are 13-15 the 16s and 17s really don't participate in the daytime activities.

(14)Teen LOVED PM activities, last year on the Dawn when he was 13 - he was more into the stuff to do, they were great on the GEM, a few nights when the pools/slide was closed the Teen group got to have supervised swims!! THEY LOVED IT!!! They felt special that they were the only ones allowed on the slides :)

 

Give your teen a curfew for sure.... the teen dance each night usually ends at 1 and after 1am, the teens wind up in the blue lagoon sometimes cause trouble and well again board teens do the math :)

 

I have the full teen schedule still if you want it... let me know Id be happy to list it all for all 7 days.. it should be very similar if not the same...on a 7 day..

[Xelcaz]

Xelcaz - Thanks for the great review. One quick question. Can you tell me if the Texas Holdem table contained an actual dealer? We were on a cruise the first week of December on the Carnival Freedom and the Texas Holdem table was completely electronic with no live person dealing the cards. It was all video. We're sailing on the Gem in February and are hoping it's not a video table.

 

 

Yepp its a dealer and check this out:

They do a few Hold em Tournaments also :)

We did the BJ one, $15 buy in... 7 hands to move to the next round LOL we were out right away ehehhehhehe

[Xelcaz]

Thanks for the info. My daughter (will be 13 on cruise) knew and "loved" many of the activites you listed for the teen group which made her feel good. SHe is just a little worried about being 13 with a group up to the very old age of 17! Glad to hear swimming was available by day 2 in a warm pool. We are booked into one of the suites you mentioned on 11th floor and that sounds perfect for the four of us. I too wish there were an 8-9 day trip but will take what they offer! Wife doesn't want to fly at that time of year and can't say I blame her so this is an easy drive from Boston.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

If you want the full list let me know... Id be happy to give the full info... just felt that with the other stuff in my review it would have been way to much to list it all ... for all groups... Mini suites are very nice... :)

I don't blame wifey we don't want to fly either but... we are looking to explore ... (parking fyi is very safe @ the peir we parked our 2007 Aspen there - not a scratch!! ) 7 day cost $160 ($22 per day I think)

 

Ohhh and we are pricing that one out of South America/ Antartica - 2008 EIK.. very pricey with the flights... $8000+ for air alone (yipes!!) so I'm leaning towards the Jewel 14 day cruise out of Miami.. Barbados Turks etc!!! oohhh ahhh hehehhehee :o)

 

ANyone have any info on the Jewel??

[chrisbd1]

If you want the full list let me know... Id be happy to give the full info... just felt that with the other stuff in my review it would have been way to much to list it all ... for all groups... Mini suites are very nice... :)

I don't blame wifey we don't want to fly either but... we are looking to explore ... (parking fyi is very safe @ the peir we parked our 2007 Aspen there - not a scratch!! ) 7 day cost $160 ($22 per day I think)

 

Ohhh and we are pricing that one out of South America/ Antartica - 2008 EIK.. very pricey with the flights... $8000+ for air alone (yipes!!) so I'm leaning towards the Jewel 14 day cruise out of Miami.. Barbados Turks etc!!! oohhh ahhh hehehhehee :o)

 

ANyone have any info on the Jewel??

 

I've cruised the Jewel twice. It was the first of the Jewel class ships. The Pearl, Gem and Jade are the others. The difference between the Jewel and the Pearl and Gem is the Jewel doesn't have a bowling alley (or Bliss)or the rock wall. Other than that, it shouldn't be too different from the Gem.

[Britt23]

Yepp its a dealer and check this out:

They do a few Hold em Tournaments also :)

We did the BJ one, $15 buy in... 7 hands to move to the next round LOL we were out right away ehehhehhehe

 

 

Do you know if there was more than one table for Texas Holdem? Also do you remember if it was a limit or no limit table. ---- DH wants to know.

Thanks,

Britt23

[Xelcaz]

Do you know if there was more than one table for Texas Holdem? Also do you remember if it was a limit or no limit table. ---- DH wants to know.

Thanks,

Britt23

 

We did not pay very much attention to poker BUT, I think there was 1 if not 2 tables and I remember seeing a lot of the table games were $10 or $15 minimums (I think DH was playing craps and Now I'm quoting dh " the craps table wasn't very busy most of the time, so you can roll for yourself for hours...$10 minimum"

 

DH is into craps :o) - I play the hungry video games hehehe (aka: slots)