Loved the Gem!

[BellaBeauBean]

This is my second attempt at a review, my first (which of course I did not save) got lost in the cosmos. Anyhow, here is another shot at it.

:eek: Background: My husband and I live in New Jersey. We are in our late 40s and have no kids.

Arriving at the port: We drove in and parked above the terminal for $160. Super convenient!!!

We arrived at about noon, but had to wait until about 2:30 before we actually got on the ship.

:) The Ship: She is gorgeous! First thing we did was get a glass of complimentary champagne and head down to level 6 to make dinner reservations. We booked la Bistro and Cagney's. (They were letting people book for New Years Eve a day early). Then we headed to our room.

The room: I had heard that the balcony rooms were small, but we thought it was fine. A bit snug perhaps, but definately manageable. We booked an aft so that we could watch the dolphins frolicking in the wake (And we did!!! Twice on day two!). I really enjoyed reading and having coffee on the balcony - very civilized.

Food & entertainment: Mornings we ate at the Cafe Buffet on 12. They make a great omlette and hubby enjoyed the salmon, capers, onions and cream cheese with his bagel.The first night we ate at the Latin Tapas restaurant and had a delicious meal. Dinner at La Bistro was fantastic. Dinner at Cagneys was good, but not quite up to our expectations. Then we discovered the main dining room The Grand Pacific. My husband described the room as exactly the way he imagined a ship's dining room should look. The food was super - beautifully presented and delicious. Sometimes I would see more than one entre that I wanted to try and would order that as an appetizer (which was absolutely no problemo). On the second last night they had a seafood dish to die for...with lobster, scallops, shrimps, mussels and oysters. I did room service once, it arrive quickly and was okay. We also had fish and chips at the Blue Lagoon (not so good)

We went to three of the shows: World, Second City and Colors. All were very, very good.

:D The crew: Johnson and Susanna were our stewards and they were fantastic. Everything was kept spic and spot and bristol clean. Ice was delivered twice a day and we got a towel animal every night! We met some of the officers at the CC meet and greet (hi guys!) and they were friendly and responsive. Had my picture taken with the captain and presented him with autographed copies of my recently published kids books (He seemed to really like that).

:D Highlights: Husband really liked watching football on the giant two story screen. Husband did a seaweed wrap and massage which he is still talking about. Kim Dolittle singing blues, jazz and pop. Having a vodka in a glass made of ice at the Martini Bar. Playing shuffleboard for a dollar a game in the Spinaker Lounge.

:o The downers: I was not thrilled with Port Canavaral or the Bahamas. Great Strirrip Cay was pretty good, but the reef is dying (from contact with too many people probably) and snorkeling could not compete with the real thing (off a living coral reef). We spent about twice as much money as I expected to. I had tried to book a bar set up, but failed to reach the ship coodinator to pay on time (she answered initial email but was unavailable by phone for two weeks prior to sailing).

:rolleyes: In Conclusion: I loved the ship and the crew and look forward to sailing on the Gem again!

[coffeebean]

Thank you for your review of the Gem. I am looking forward to cruising on her end of March. Did you chat with the cruise director at all? Do you know how long he will be on the Gem???

[missty1405]

Great review! Thank you so much! We are booked on the Gem in May and can not wait!!!

 

missty

[Len3]

Thanks for writing your review. We're on deck, February 6th for a 10 day out of NYC.

[janiceah]

Just curious what you spent more on then you had planned? We're going on the 9 day Pearl in February and we're trying to anticipate some kind of a estimate of how much we'll spend. Thanks!!

[krystall]

Thanks for the review.

 

We're on the Gem in Feb. 08

[BellaBeauBean]

I think you will all have a great time on the Gem! We did not speak at any length with the cruise director, sorry. And I do not know how long he will be on the Gem. What we spent to much money on? We did the space center excursion $130, snorkeling with camera and T shirt $ 90, we ate at two specialty restaurants with wine and cocktails about $150 each night, hubby spent $300 in the spa. A bottle of champagne on new Years $100. Duty free gifts $200. Bought the $250 towards next cruise. Our final bill was more than $2200. And much as I hate to admit it, we drank a lot of martinis and remy martins. We were on the Crown in September and spent half as much money and feel like we did much the same things. But hey, we were on vacation....It was worth it! Have fun!

[coka]

I agree that the Grand Pacific dining room looks as a cruise ship dining room should!

Coka