Unhappy on the Gem Transatlantic now ...

[mbisson]

The first rule of booking a cabin on a cruise ship> NEVER BOOK A CABIN YOU WOULD NOT BE HAPPY WITH! Even a suite. Upsells and upgrades are not guaranteed.

 

A simple concept that eludes many ;)

 

I think the OP though would have been happy with her cabin had the balcony been usable (like she seems to have been led to believe). That said, I'd sure like to suffer in that cabin on that itinerary! :D

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

So, I wonder if you want to book the Garden Villas (where the balcony area is on the SIDE of the ship) on a Transatlantic from U.S. to Europe, would you be more likely to be able to use your balcony if you were port or starboard? The GV is midship, but which would be the windier side? Anyone have experience with this?

 

Thanks

[Bigdog49]

So, I wonder if you want to book the Garden Villas (where the balcony area is on the SIDE of the ship) on a Transatlantic from U.S. to Europe, would you be more likely to be able to use your balcony if you were port or starboard? The GV is midship, but which would be the windier side? Anyone have experience with this?

 

Thanks

 

US to Europe you want the starboard side. Spring and fall the sun is lower in the sky and you want that southern exposure for more sun and less wind.

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

US to Europe you want the starboard side. Spring and fall the sun is lower in the sky and you want that southern exposure for more sun and less wind.

 

Thanks for your help!

[Down-Unders]

We are currently on the Gem Transatlantic and I am not very happy. The ship itself is lovely, most of the staff is very friendly and the seas have calmed down after a rough few days. We loved the first 2 ports Ponta Delgada and Lisbon. Wonderful, just perfect, really.

After re-reading my post here, I am concerned that I might sound like a spoiled brat and get flamed to bits … but this is my situation and I truly believe I have every reason to be upset…

My problem is …. I hate my cabin and even though I am trying not to let it ruin my “European Adventure” it is having a most negative effect on my vacation.

So please allow me to explain my situation and vent a bit….

We have a cabin Category AC which is considered a “Penthouse” suite and is located at the very front of the ship. Now I had only booked this cruise about 30 days ago, and I took the highest category available at the time, except for the Garden Villa. We have sailed in the Garden Villa 4 times in the past (Dawn and Jewel) but since it was only the 2 of us, we had no need for 3 bedrooms. I wanted a Category AB or AA but none were available. However, when I booked I was told I would be “waitlisted” for a higher category cabin and if one should become available I would be able to upgrade, at an additional cost of course. So diligently I watched the travel websites, checking back at least twice daily to see what cabins were still being offered, only to find lower category cabins and the Garden Villa. I called NCL and my travel agent daily, almost to the point of harassment. My reason was this. I booked my suite in haste. On the NCL website the AC sounded perfect, plenty large enough for 2 people, with a huge balcony and VIP services (butler, concierge) which I enjoy. But after reading the boards, I got nervous when one poster mentioned he was in the cabin directly above mine and was unable to open the cabin door and use the balcony during the cruise. I have a touch of claustrophobia (never clinically diagnosed, but I notice that I hold my breath in elevators and have on occasion freaked out in a carwash) I absolutely need to have air and see daylight. Also why bother having a balcony if you cannot use it? Over the phone an NCL rep assured me “No madam, you can of course use your balcony during the cruise” and like a dummy I believed her.

My Cabin Number 9502 is located at the very front of the ship. I instantly read the notice on the balcony door about keeping the door closed while at sea and I got upset. The sign on the door reads All Capitol Letters on the sign: “ WARNING – DANGER STONG WINDS, OPEN AND CLOSE DOOR WITH EXTREME CARE FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY, OPEN ONLY WHEN THE VESSEL IS IN PORT. TO AVOID DAMAGE KEEP THIS DOOR LOCKED AT SEA. I tell my butler no way can that be the case, he says I can open the door with caution and to be careful not to let it slam loudly and disturb the neighbors or cut my fingers off… yeah ok, thanks pal. (Note about the balcony door/s. It is not a lovely sliding glass door like a regular balcony but 2 doors, the interior is nice solid high gloss wood much like the rest of the cabin but when you open this door you are faced with a large heavy insulated metal structural door resembling something from a WWII naval movie. This door is truly hard core, weighs about a ton and not easy to open. Once open it locks in place, so that is good. There is also a 6 inch lip at the bottom that you need to step over to get onto the balcony, not a big deal unless it is dark and you forgot to step up and you fall face first … ouch, I might not have fallen if I was able to put a friggin light on, you must keep the drapes closed and the balcony dark or the light can reflect above you, no kidding, the sign reads: “Due to the bridge being above your suite, we kindly ask your cooperation in the evening (whilst at sea) by keeping the drapes closed. This is due to the light from your suite reflecting onto the bridge, minimizing night vision) No big deal here, since the door is too heavy to open, especially with winds forcing it closed, the winds are too much for me stand outside and the sign tells you not to go out there anyway… jeeesh. Truth be told, for its limited usability, the balcony is the best part of the cabin, it is about the same size as the cabin and has a 6 foot sofa, end table, 2 lounge chairs, 2 upright chairs and a trunk to stash the cushions in while at sea all made of lovely beige rattan (or faux rattan?) A lot of deck furniture for 2 people. It is very nice looking and quite comfortable. My glorious Red Sox Banner fit perfectly on the railing and a sunbathing (whilst in port) topless neighbor to boot. Also now that we are in Europe it is great to have your coffee out there in the AM, go on your excursion and return to toast the city goodbye as we cruise out, until we hit such speeds that you cannot stand out there any longer…

I am not happy with my cabin and the whole balcony situation. I beg my concierge on day one, for an option, telling her I am on the so called waiting list for AB or AA but at this point I would even downsize to an AE or a balcony just so I can keep the door open. …. She calls me back the next day and tells me only the Garden Villa is available for 26k,well on the website it said 22k … hmmm something not quite right there. But no thank you, I do not need the Garden Villa.

Now, like I said, we are located at the very front and the wind going across the Atlantic was fierce and I was unable to use my balcony. I am not a stupid woman, true I did have an inkling that facing the ocean would limit my usage … but not make the balcony entirely useless. I thought perhaps some imaginative engineer had designed these cabins to allow accessible balconies while at sea? IE: I do not know how electricity works, but I do know how to use it, nuff said.

Cabin: There are some good things about this cabin … it is just not what this thread is about. I will go into detail with my review, after the cruise.

My cabin is next to the corner cabin category AA, it has a connecting door in case someone wants to rent both, anyway these AA neighbors (the non-topless ones) smoke and we do not, however we could smell the smoke all night and it was just gross. I complained to my room steward but what can you do? Perhaps this is just a design flaw? All I know is my husband drinks Guinness and this particular dark demon magically turns from a liquid to a gas, if you get my meaning (another reason why fresh air is so vital) and perhaps my smoking neighbors were getting a bit of his methane…? One likes to think so anyway, also after chatting with these neighbors, we’re told that they were supposed to be in a category AC (same as me) but upgraded 2 weeks prior to the AA. (unreal, there were NONE available, remember?) I cannot get fresh air into my cabin, so I am in hell. (I did figure a way to not quite close the outer door and then close the inner door, giving me a constant tiny stream of “whistling” fresh sea air, annoying, but at least I can breath)

I hate this cabin.

To top it off we met this lovely couple from San Diego at the Meet and Great. Very nice folks who jumped on the boards at the last minute and they booked their very first NCL cruise just 2 days prior to sailing date. Good for them. I am a last minute type of person myself, the irony being, when they called to book, they were upgraded to a Category AA for only $1600 additional. Good for them! Great for them, really, I mean it! I love when someone gets a great deal. But this has sent me over the edge. I am a silver Latitudes member, what does that mean…? Nothing, absolutely nothing at all, it is all BS. I was on no wait list, they blew me off every day, I have spent over 150k on NCL cruises and sadly this will be my very last cruise on NCL. I feel tricked and lied to. I am actually deeply hurt. I was a true NCL cheerleader, expounding the virtues of Freestyle throughout these boards and various other message boards, blogs and while vacationing elsewhere or RV’ing across the USA. After I told my husband about this “couple in the AA that JUST booked” my DH tried calling the Hotel Director and first had to explain the situation about requesting an upgrade to 2 fledglings and then had to make an appointment to see him later that day. And so he did meet with the Hotel Director and my DH told him how unhappy his wife is (sorry dear) how she called and checked the website daily, touch of claustrophobia, smell of smoke and unfairness of not being offered an upgrade (let me explain this correctly, we would never expect a free upgrade we are very willing to pay) while others new to NCL were offered such upgrades and most importantly our history with NCL, our cruises are very expensive to be sure, but our onboard expenses are enormous (bar bill, excursions, shopping, tipping). And to his credit Mr. Julian Blackenberry gave my husband about 10 minutes of his highly valued time, he had other guests waiting after all ... and not quite a quote but to paraphrase: …“ by the way the only thing open is the Garden Villa and it is $17K additional. So sorry the price comes directly from Miami, we do not control such things and there is one other couple considering this as well.” Oh goody.

I still do not need the Garden Villa, but I guess what I had hoped for was a reasonable alternative, maybe they could have put a bit of effort into helping me out or at least made it look like they tried … perhaps bumped an AA, AB or A2 into the GV and offered me the upsell to the AA, AB or A2?

This should be the trip of a lifetime, even though I did not book this cruise until 30 days prior, I have researched these ports and dreamt about this trip for a very long time.

I understand that this is my fault, buyer beware and all that. I am the fool who booked this AC cabin, I should have done more homework. But in my defense I will say that I trusted NCL when they said I could use the balcony, I trusted the TA when they told me daily that no AA or AB’s were available. But still I am going to try and not let this ruin my vacation and most importantly my husband is quite comfortable here and wishes that I would let it go already. Just being able to write it out helps. Thanks for listening….

Oh and the best news, the horrible cigarette smell has been eliminated (for the most part anyway) by the very creative use of masking tape….it looks like crap, but it did the trick. Well done Mr. Blackenberry, thank you. This is another good tip for “what to bring” masking tape!

Did I mention how much I hate my cabin? You can say it could be worse, I could be in an inside cabin, but no that would never happen. I would not cruise without a balcony. I just would not have booked at all.

I know, I know, it is not life threatening, keep it in perspective and all that, but I cannot help but feel used and taken advantage of. NCL already had me booked. Bird in the hand and all, so I think it must have been a conscious business decision to just offer the upgrade or upsell whatever you call it, to the new folks.

Enjoy your day,

Juried

 

 

Have you talked to the front desk, I am sure they would have a balcony cabin to put you into or swap you over with someone who has never been in a suite. As we are all human it is hard to get everthing right when you travel, not like some of our fellow posters who appear to know all the answers.

[DebbieandBrian]

I'm on the GEM now and have met the OP, she has no idea I'm posting this but I have to say: in her defense, for all of you who keep saying that she should just be happy and be glad she's cruising at all, remember, she PAID for an USEFULL balcony and she can't use it for most of her cruise.

Look, I can't afford the room, I'm here in my little 5th level dungeon of an inside room, and I LOVE it, but I also paid very little and expected it to have no windows. She, on the other hand, booked and paid for the beautiful room, with the expectation of using the entire room, and she's not getting to enjoy that, so I have to say that I'd be mad as heck too. She and her husband became well known on the ship for their great personalities. They are always friendly to everyone, and are very generous to the staff. I hope personally, to see them again in another cruise and hope that they will be cruising in the cabin that they are promissed next time!

[Markandrews]

I hope personally, to see them again in another cruise and hope that they will be cruising in the cabin that they are promissed next time!

 

She is cruising in the cabin she was promised.

[Markandrews]

As best I can tell, since I haven't sailed Gem personally, all her AC cabins are forward-facing, Decks 9 and 10, and they do sell for considerably less than the higher level cabins that don't have the issue, and only a little bit more than the AD cabins (on the aft of the ship). For instance, on next year's April Transatlantic (the equivalent cruise to the OP's) -- as of right now AB suites are $3899 per person; AC suites are $2899 per person; and AD suites are $2599 per person.

 

The pricing structure reflects the issues with these cabins.

 

If I remember correctly the AD's and AC's are virtually the same size cabin. The AC's have large forward facing decks were the AD's have smaller aft facing decks. NCL puts a higher value on these forward facing cabins otherwise they would charge more for an AD.

 

The AB's are much larger with better bathrooms, (2 instead of 1 in AC) and an additional childrens bedroom. They are charging for the cabin square footage not the position of the suite.

 

I don't believe there are issues with the AC's.

[halos]

OK...I only read the first page of responses...but man are you hard on her or what????? JEEZE!!

 

She didn't sound spoiled, she admitted to not having done her homework and her big mistake was she trusted the TA which seems to be the mistake of many people on the boards and you can't fault that mistake. TA's are supposed to be trustworthy and know what they are talking about.

 

To the OP:

 

I am sorry you had to learn a hard lesson this way, but I thank you for posting because now I know to NEVER get a cabin in the front of the ship!! I appreciate very much learning the easy way.

[halos]

The OP was able to give her rant here. And we have the right to reply to a rant if we so desire.

 

The OP may have been put on a "wait list", or most probably was not. I have never heard of NCL keeping a "wait list".

 

I was just recently on a wait list.

If cabins are on a hold without any deposit down, the people or TA who has the 'hold', is given a certain number of days to put a deposit or lose the cabin. If there is a hold on a certain cabin and someone calls and wants to book it, a good TA will tell you that it is on hold without deposit and will put you on a wait list for that cabin. When the allotted time is up to put a deposit, if the person holding the cabin does not cough up the dough, the cabin then becomes available. I have seen this done on CCL, I have been on a wait list for my next year's RCI cruise (and I did get the cabin! :) ) so I see no reason that NCL wouldn't do this as well.

 

 

 

 

As a side note, after reading some more of the commets to the OP, I detect a lot of jealousy here and I must say it's quite ugly.

[Markandrews]

I was just recently on a wait list.

If cabins are on a hold without any deposit down, the people or TA who has the 'hold', is given a certain number of days to put a deposit or lose the cabin. If there is a hold on a certain cabin and someone calls and wants to book it, a good TA will tell you that it is on hold without deposit and will put you on a wait list for that cabin. When the allotted time is up to put a deposit, if the person holding the cabin does not cough up the dough, the cabin then becomes available. I have seen this done on CCL, I have been on a wait list for my next year's RCI cruise (and I did get the cabin! :) ) so I see no reason that NCL wouldn't do this as well.

 

 

 

 

As a side note, after reading some of the commets to the OP, I detect a lot of jealousy here and I must say it's quite ugly.

 

A great number of NCL suites can not be held without deposit. When booking the best suites and villa's the deposit penalty is heavy.

 

And I am a little jealous.

[halos]

A great number of NCL suites can not be held without deposit. When booking the best suites and villa's the deposit penalty is heavy.

 

And I am a little jealous.

 

Well then, the suite in question is not one of these suites OR the OP was lied to.

Although she was disappointed it's not like she came on here and ranted like a lunatic (like some posters I see).

 

I found the posters who acted like if she had a suite she should just be happy and shut up, to be more whiney because they sounded like they were brats having a temper tantrum because they can't have a suite.

 

Being a little jealous is normal, being pissed at her because she can have a suite is ugly.

[Shipshape7]

Whoever you are and whatever you do, life has a way of happening anyway. Attitude is everything. We're a family of 7 usually stuffed (oh yeah, lol) in two inside cabins down in steerage. No complaints - both togetherness and funny stories abound. We've never failed to have a wonderful time on every cruise. To misquote 'It's a Wonderful Life', "Money is wasted on all the wrong people!" I'm thinking for the first time that maybe we should be grateful we can't afford such "separateness"?

[Vyhanek]

She is cruising in the cabin she was promised.

 

 

No she isn't. She was promised by an NCL employee that her cabin would have a usable balcony. This is not what NCL promised her.

 

As a pp mentioned, I agree with the amount of jealous, ugly posters on this thread!

[DocJohnB]

As a pp mentioned, I agree with the amount of jealous, ugly posters on this thread!

What really took me aback a bit (though I am not sure why it should have done so) was the willingness for some of the NCL loyalists to "eat one of their own", so to speak, who had the audacity to question NCL and/or their policies.

 

Amazing. Funny, but not funny at the same time.