Please tell me it's gonna' be good

[NoPiratesPlease]

One of the craziest situations was on the Dream. It's truly a laboratory of how things can vary. We were on her for a Baltic cruise in 2003. The aft dining room was almost always a pleasure to eat in, with the wait staff being both quick and un-hurried at the same time. And the food was pretty good there.

 

However in the mid-ships DR, 4-Seasons, service was consistently slow as mud, the staff hurried, harried and barely civil, and the food barely edible.

 

All on the same ship.

 

On the Dawn, in 6 cruises, we found that the 3rd DR, "Impressions" was by far the best--and, naturally, that's been closed and turned into the Italian restaurant.

 

So service CAN vary widely, even on the same ship, on the same cruise.

[steviek49]

I've never been on the Gem, but I have been on the Dream, and I think they're similar - at least in that they're both older and were build before the implementation of Freestyle. Since then we've been on the Star and the Pearl, and there is definitely a difference. The Dream had only Le Bistro and la Trattoria for specialties, with only one main dining room. There were less public areas and the ones they had were smaller. The Kid's Crew had some great staff, but their amenities were practically nonexistent compared to what was built into the Star and the Pearl.

 

So... as far as I'm concerned, all you really need to think about is whether you want to give Freestyle another go. With a $5000 price difference, you could choose to eat at a specialty restaurant every night and still not make a dent on your savings. I am in no way saying that you'd have to - or even want to - but I know that for us, the specialties we enjoy (Cagney's, Teppanyaki and the main Asian restaurant), eating at them is a nice part of the NCL experience that we look forward to. :)

 

I don't know when you're planning on travelling, or whether it would be high or low season, but for us, we never cruise during peak times, and as a result, we've never experienced any waits for meals. Having to wait to enter a dining room is probably the most common complaint regarding Freestyle dining, and I think that more than anything else it depends on how many passengers there are. It's just logical that the more people competing for space, the longer the waits will be. You may have experienced this on the Majesty, since there would have been fewer choices. We've always just figured that if we ever encountered a wait, though, at least we get to do our waiting on a cruise ship - or better yet, on the deck of a cruise ship with fresh air and NO SNOW (since we always cruise in winter :)). On the newer ships like the Gem, it's my understanding that if there is a wait, they give you a beeper so you don't have to stand there bored and uncomfortable.

 

Anyway, I hope this helps. NCL works really well for our family - the freedom to choose when and where and with whom we dine is just perfect for us. That doesn't mean it will be perfect for you, of course, but we're really laid back, and not ever having to rush to dinner or wait to eat if we're hungry definitely works for us. I have to admit, too, that for a $5000 saving, there really would be no choice to be made for us. Just think - with that 'extra' $5k, if you don't like it, you'll be able to afford to do something that will help you get over the experience! :p

 

The Gem is Built for Freestying. Majesty and Dream were not.

I'd say- Give Gem a try!

[gemcrusier]

I think the price difference would make up my mind, but I also have to say you know your daughter best she could be 13 going on 20 or 13 and still young if she is into the disney stuff still at 13 she may enjoy all disney has to offer but the 13 year olds I come in contact with at my office want to be treated as mini adults. It also depends on your values and what you allow her to do some of the teen clubs are 13 and up to 16 -17 year olds are there and if your not comfortable with her being around older maybe more experenced kids Disney maybe the answer.

[IceWarrior]

What are the two itineraries? There must be some differences that should also factor in.

[MadBrewer]

We could never sail on just one cruiseline like so many people do or we would be bored stiff. We love variety and enjoy NCL. ......

 

I would so love to know how NCL compare to the others?? TBH I haven't had the guts to try another (yet) due to enjoying the first two cruises sooooo much. So how do you compare one 'style' from another? I know it sounds crazy but I can't imagine doing a regular seating, except that we do it every time we go half board somewhere landbased (err so obviously I do know what its like, I just can't translate how I'd feel on a ship when I am 'used' to things a certain way?)

 

Also a biggie for me is entertainment ... 2 of the previous three cruises I did the shows were awesome (maybe I just have simple tastes, but when people say NCL's entertainments was 'ok' I'd love to know just how this can be inproved upon?) Even the shows on the Dream (cruise number 2)were fabulous!

 

Admittedly cruise number three wasn't as good and it was (incidentally)the Jade - I put this down to the duration as it was only a two dayer! I left the ship thinking that was 'great' and not thinking 'That was Awesome' like i did on previous ships. I supposed at the time that the revenue for a two dayer wouldn't generate enough income to make a Jean Ann Ryan show as viable as on the longer cruises, BUT I did also think that the percentage of people on the two dayer who were (probably) just 'cruise' curious could have been wow'd into doing more future cruises with a few more of the touches I had come to expect.

 

How do they stackup??