The Gem was a good time!

[elron]

Just got back from sailing the Gem, we had a fun time! As others settle in from the cruise, they'll chime in as well on their experience.

[hazeleyes]

Just got back from sailing the Gem, we had a fun time! As others settle in from the cruise, they'll chime in as well on their experience.

Glad to hear you had a good time, and that you had a safe trip.

[lil buddy]

We just arrived home from the GEM and it was great.

I will post a longer review when I get some time, but I have all the

dalies, so I'll try to ans. any questions.

Food was very good, with the main dining room edging out most

of the speciality restaurants.

Entertainment was mixed. If you have been on the Dawn, the shows

were not nearly as good, but the comic was great, as was the magician.

Crew talent show was really fun and they ended it with Fountains.

Weather turned nice on Sun about 1pm, and the pool was filled. We were

able to sit on our deck and get a good start on our tans. Fla. and Bahama weather teriffic. Freeport was kind of a waste of time, in my opinion.

All in all, we had a great time and would do it again in a minute.

Despite it being full of children and teens, it was a very well behaved and quiet group....maybe that is a tribute to Canadian parenting.

Gotta do the laundry, but i'll try to keep up with the questions.

[PA Cruisers2]

We were on the 11 day Gem cruise in Jan. We are thinking of taking the Bahamas/Florida cruise next year with grand kids. Can you comment on the weather in the Bahamas and other highlights you enjoyed. Thanks in advance for your time.

[geegee1]

just got back as well, with wife, 2 year old and in-laws in tow. great time, would do it again in a heartbeat. i'll post a fuller review later on.

[lil buddy]

PA Cruisers

We had great weather in Fla. and Bahamas.

In Fl. we just did the sun n fun to the Holiday Inn

Resort. We were able to use the pool and beach.

It was fine but not worth $39 each. We wanted a pool

so that's why we didn't just do the free beach.

In Nassau we went to the Hilton Hotel and for $15 were

able to use their facilities. That was lovely. Keep in mind we

have been to Florida and Nassau many times, so we were not

interested in "sightseeing".

The private Island is always a favorite and this trip the day

was perfect. Sunny, hot and water beautiful. In Freeport

we didn't get off the ship. No there very long and didn't think

it was worthwhile.

The ship is awesome for kids and grandpartents alike. This time of

year is obviously risky, as regards weather, but we got lucky.

[CKEA_Cruising_Family]

Just back as well... after a very, very wet drive home!

 

We travelled with a 2 & 4 year old and they LOVED Kids Club. I'll post a review after the laundry is done. One thing to note is that Kids Club is open on sea days from 9-10 straight though. I had always read in here before that they closed from 12-2 and 5-7. Not the case on our sailing. :D

 

One other item I was surprised at was that La Cucina is now a surcharge restaurant ($10). Didn't bother us as it wasn't one of the restaurants that overly interested us anyways.

 

Anyway... it was GREAT... and I'm already searching for a cruise for us for next year!

[PA Cruisers2]

Thanks for the reply. Last year we took grand kids and family on the 9 day Pearl out of Miami. It was great but the flying and extra travel make it tough. The 7 Day out of NY look like a good choice time and travel wise but I am not sure about the ports and trying to pick a good time of year to go. Thank you so much for your answer and input.

 

Have a wonderful day and life.

 

PA Cruisers

We had great weather in Fla. and Bahamas.

In Fl. we just did the sun n fun to the Holiday Inn

Resort. We were able to use the pool and beach.

It was fine but not worth $39 each. We wanted a pool

so that's why we didn't just do the free beach.

In Nassau we went to the Hilton Hotel and for $15 were

able to use their facilities. That was lovely. Keep in mind we

have been to Florida and Nassau many times, so we were not

interested in "sightseeing".

The private Island is always a favorite and this trip the day

was perfect. Sunny, hot and water beautiful. In Freeport

we didn't get off the ship. No there very long and didn't think

it was worthwhile.

The ship is awesome for kids and grandpartents alike. This time of

year is obviously risky, as regards weather, but we got lucky.

[elron]

Glad to hear you had a good time, and that you had a safe trip.

 

Thanks!

 

Was short earlier in the original post due to being use to cruise time! It was time to eat! Then had to nap due to a really good cruise on the Gem.

 

I'll just touch on a few things again. After hearing/reading negativity on NCL in the past years, I have to say I was a little leary of trying NCL but we were more than pleased with our cruise on NCL's Gem.

 

The "ship" itself was a nice ship.

 

The "crew" was a very friendly one and seemed to want to do what they could to make your cruise enjoyable.

 

The "food" and "shows" were comparable to any other cruiseline we've been on.

[NCL_Cruiser]

Thanks!

 

Was short earlier in the original post due to being use to cruise time! It was time to eat! Then had to nap due to a really good cruise on the Gem.

 

I'll just touch on a few things again. After hearing/reading negativity on NCL in the past years, I have to say I was a little leary of trying NCL but we were more than pleased with our cruise on NCL's Gem.

 

The "ship" itself was a nice ship.

 

The "crew" was a very friendly one and seemed to want to do what they could to make your cruise enjoyable.

 

The "food" and "shows" were comparable to any other cruiseline we've been on.

 

We were getting off the ship when you were boarding, and I need to agree. Having sailed on several NCL ships, including the Pearl after it had been in service only seven months, I was truly impressed with how well the Gem's crew seemed to be a well oiled machine, with everyone smiling and as helpful as can be.

[elron]

A few more obsevations: We thought the beds were comfortable even the pullout for Mom. Some might think they are too hard but we liked them.

 

In our opinion, we thought the buffets were pretty good. Enjoyed the (everyday)Indian food, chicken breast was always tender and juicy, good turkey burgers(less salt would have been preferred by me)still good though, rotisserie chicken good too, good french fries, Mom liked the pizza and good pepper steak just to name a few. Also enjoyed the waffles, omelettes, potato pancakes, and the ready made bran cereal. Cappuccinos were excellant. Liked the sweet and juicy(perfecty riped) Honeydew.

 

For us, just one negative was some potato dishes were a tad too greasy.

 

Some advice too: If you have special dietary needs, it might be best to do as you book your cruise or as you board because it can be tough to get your request across as the language barrier can impede your request at that specifc time. Also, be careful when eating at the great outdoors at the most outer tables in Nassau as seagulls might just try to steal some of your food. We witnessed some people trying to eat and seagulls became a little bothersome.

[SE*]

I got back March 8th too. I'm so glad that the Gem had the Java cafe :D I really enjoyed the pizza, it was better than on the Crown this summer. The Garden Cafe was the best I've seen on a ship so far, because you never have to wait in line and it was huge. I was disappointed by the ice cream, I was excited when I saw the soft ice cream machine but the hard one turned out to be better. I'm also getting a bit tired of Julie as cruise director, I've had her too many times before and she's always saying the same jokes. Also, is it me or is the seating area WAY too small around the pool considering the number of people the ship carries? Another downpoint: the super long lines at the Grand Pacific when the dining room is half empty.

 

Sorry for putting all those points together, might have given you a headache...

[coaster]

We just arrived home from the GEM and it was great.

Freeport was kind of a waste of time, in my opinion.

All in all, we had a great time and would do it again in a minute.

Despite it being full of children and teens, it was a very well behaved and quiet group....maybe that is a tribute to Canadian parenting.

Gotta do the laundry, but i'll try to keep up with the questions.

 

Freeport still has all those ugly oil tanks and industrial areas from when I first was there in the early 90's?

[SE*]

Freeport still has all those ugly oil tanks and industrial areas from when I first was there in the early 90's?

 

Yes it's awful :(

It was rainy in the morning so we just took advantage of the almost empty deck and hot tubs most of the day, though we got off the ship only to see the nearby boutiques. In the end, they sell the same things as Nassau, except there's less variety and everything is more expensive.

[coaster]

Yes it's awful :(

It was rainy in the morning so we just took advantage of the almost empty deck and hot tubs most of the day, though we got off the ship only to see the nearby boutiques. In the end, they sell the same things as Nassau, except there's less variety and everything is more expensive.

 

Sorry to see it hasn't changed. It was dark, rainy and dismal when we were there and it was appropriate considering the surroundings. I guess that is why you see very few ships stopping at Freeport. Glad you got some quality onboard time as a result. I was one of those who was on my first cruise aboard NCL's Sunward who visited Freeport and is mentioned in the article below.

 

http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/bahamasweb2/home.nsf/c5d1826da66595d206256f03005e99f2/851e81c9292867ec8525736e005e639b!OpenDocument