Just off 1 night on the Gem

[F858MM]

Dose anyone know the reason for this we where charged tax on the drinks. We asked and was told they just started charging tax even thou we where in inernational waters.

[SeaShark]

You are charged tax because the ship is required by law to pay it.

 

First point...there is no way to differentiate between a drink (or anything else) purchased in international waters vs one purchased in non-international waters.

 

Second...Even when you are in international waters, you are sailing under some country's flag (in the case, the Bahamas)...and their laws, including taxation laws, apply.

[F858MM]

Then why don't they charge the tax on the specailty restuarants, pictures and everthing else on the ship. None of the other lines do this, when I was on the spirit in Oct they didn't charge tax

[snorklinbarb]

So how was the rest of the cruise? Did you have a good time?

 

Where did you have dinner? Did you go to some shows?

 

Anyone else out there just off the one nighter?

[SeaShark]

Then why don't they charge the tax on the specailty restuarants, pictures and everthing else on the ship. None of the other lines do this, when I was on the spirit in Oct they didn't charge tax

 

Would you feel better if they'd just include the tax within the actual price? Not that it matters, but $6 and no tax is the same as $5.50 and $.50 tax.

 

Thanks for filling me in on what all of the other lines do. Personally, I could not cruise enough to see what all of the other lines do.

 

I'm sorry for you that paying your taxes has left such a black mark on your obviously wide history of cruising. If you feel so strongly that you have been wronged, might I suggest filing a formal complaint with the Bahamian Government? I would also suggest the NY State Attorney General, but since you indicated that this occured outside of US waters, I doubt that will do any good.

 

Did you speak with the Food Beverage Director, Front Office Manager, and/or Hotel Director about this when it happened or before you departed? Hopefully you did.

 

Try not to let this ruin the cruise experience for you. With so many in the world suffering, we should be happy that we can even go on a cruise!

[cliffd64]

Just off the 1/24 one-nighter and had a great time.... again!

 

There were lots more activities available than there were on the 1/3 one-nighter sailing... and I found out why...

 

The cruise director was on vacation for a couple of days over the holidays and his assistant apparently didn't organize as many events and activities on 1/3 as he did on 1/24... so a lot more things to do on this one over the previous one-nighter.

 

Couple of pointers for people going on the Gem... On disembarkation day, if you choose the buffet for breakfast, head to La Cucina at the aft (port side) for additional seating. We went right there this morning and had the place to ourselves for a while during our breakfast... They have signs informing people of this, but apparently not many are paying attention.

 

Upon Embarkation....Lunch was served not only in Grand Pacific, but Magenta as well, which I thought was a nice touch... more choices = good thing :)

 

Once again the casino had jacked up the table game minimums and it was really smoky in there... but I found the virtual dealer Blackjack machine in the Spinnaker to be really good, and was able to win a few bucks in a short period of time there. It's only $5 minimum a hand versus $25 minimum in the casino on the one-nighters.

 

Another new offer I was exposed to : If you buy the max cruise rewards (4), you get a free dinner for two in any of the specialty restaurants. This was offered verbally by the Cruise Consultant. Interesting ... but we only wanted 1, not 4... :)

[invtime]

Just off the 1 nighter as well, it was packed! we had a great time but did not enjoy Cagneys Steakhouse at all. Appetizers were bland, lobster bisque was bland as well (no taste at all) and the filet was a 4 on a scale of 10. In comparison to chops on RCCL it doesnt even come close. Other people with us ate at the hibachi and they said it was great.

 

as for the sales tax issue, i just took a look at my receipts and it seems like it only applied to mixed drinks, not the restaurant charge, shops, etc... Who knows? doesn't amount to enough $ to worry about relative to what we spent overall.

[FlashbackAlternatives]

My wife and I also just returned from the 1-nighter and also had a great time.

 

This was my first time on NCL, I am mainly a Carnival guy, but I was very impressed.

 

Only real complaint was that housekeeping didn't turn down the room at night (don't really care about the turn down itself, but getting fresh towels etc. would have been nice). Not a real big deal - called down to the front desk and had what I needed within ten minutes.

 

We had an inside cabin (first inside I had since my first cruise). It was fine for the one night, but I am not sure I could do a week or more it in - I missed having natural light - especially in the morning. Cabin was fine for two people but I couldn't imagine four in there - just too tight. I did like the bathroom. Having real shower doors was so much better than just a shower curtain. I also thought having the hair dryer outside the bathroom was a great idea.

 

I thought embarkation was very well done. Arrived at the pier by cab around 12:15, and was eating in the Grand Pacific by 1:15. Glad we went that route - it was empty there. Service was a bit slow - we didn't finish until 2:45. We headed up to the buffet after just to look, and it was still packed. Very nice buffet - tons of choices. I did grab some pistachio cookies out by the aft area of the buffet - they were yummy.

 

We took a walk around the ship - checked out all the public spaces. I thought Bliss was a very interesting space. Was packed when we walked through (prior to setting sail), not sure how it was later that night.

 

Grabbed a burger at the sail-away party - and watched NYC go by, first up on the Sun Deck, and then later in Spinnaker lounge. Was a bit cold - but too bad. I was tempted to go in the Hot tubs (only saw one person in the pool), but opted against it. Water in the pool didn't seem to be that heated.

 

Ship, to me, didn't really feel overly crowded - other than what we saw at the buffet when we walked through, and then again Sunday morning for breakfast.

 

Dropped a few dollars in the slots at the Casino, but the smoke was really too much. The $25 min at the Blackjack tables was too much for me, but even if they had $5 tables, I wouldn't have played because of the smoke. The ventilation in the casinos on my last two cruises (both Carnival - Miracle and Imagination) was much, much better.

 

We had dinner at Magenta (since we had lunch at Grand Pacific and I wanted to see both dining rooms). Walked in around 6:30 and got a table for 2 immediately. They asked if we want to sit with others, or just us, and we opted for a nice dinner for two :) I thought the meal was very good - had the Salmon Tatar, Baby Shrimp Cocktail, Caesar Salad, and the 8 oz steak. Salmon Tatar was outstanding, Baby Shrimp was ok, as was the Caesar Salad (a bit too much lemon, and why put turkey in it?). The steak was very good - and I thought it was a good size. The service was a bit slow at first, but then things moved at a good pace. Skipped desert to see what they had up at the buffet.

 

Grabbed another caesar salad at the buffet - much better, freshly made in front of me, and they had anchovies :) Also grabbed some pretzel bread, which was really good. The dinner buffer also looked really good, and I imagine on a 7 or 10 day trip, I would split my time between the Grand Pacific/Magenta and the buffets. We looked at the menus for the specialty restaurants, and honestly, didn't see anything really worth paying extra for - other than the Sushi restaurant (I love sushi).

 

We then caught most of the early Colors show, the 10:00pm comedian in the Spinnaker (which I enjoyed), and the Second City troupe at 11:00pm (they were hit or miss).

 

We ended the night at the Blue Lagoon for some Chips & Dip and some Won-ton Soup (thought that was very good as well).

 

We had breakfast the next morning at the buffet. It was packed, but we did get seats in La Cucina. Also, the outdoor buffet area was open, and empty - so we got most of what we ate from there (the lox was really cold :) ). I know someone mentioned a problem on the 1-nighter earlier this month with the breads being pre-toasted and hard. I didn't notice that at all. I was able to get a bagel untoasted, and all the other breads were very fresh and soft. I liked the fact that they had two bacon areas (crisp and soft - I like my bacon close to raw :) ).

 

We were also charged tax on the soda, but not on anything in the gift shop. I thought that was odd as well. Also, did anyone notice that we ended up cruising along the Jersey Shore, vs. off of Long Island? Not sure it the Captain made any announcement about that.

 

Debarkation was great - left at our leisure, walked right off around 9:50a, and was at Penn Station in time for the 10:14a train.

 

Besides the great deal, and time alone with my wife, one of the reasons I wanted to go on this one-nighter was to experience Freestyle cruising. I have to say I am impressed, and my next cruise will probably be a 10 nighter from NYC on an NCL ship (I'd go back on the Gem in a heartbeat - especially when it is warmer).