Are you excited about the Gem and the Mediterranean?

[olechka]

Who has had the lobster night? Was it worthwhile or is that actually a good night to take advantage of one of the specialty restaurants as think they might be less crowded.

I am assuming they get crowded. Maybe I am mistaken. Who knows?

 

I didn't think it was too crowded on the lobster night, although it may have been on the "formal or not" night which was more crowded. We didn't even know it was lobster night until we looked at the menu when we sat down. They did offer us 2nds as well :-)

[mickeysgal]

We're doing good just swamped at work as predicted. Plus, kids just finished school last Tuesday so all the end of the year stuff has kept us busy too. How about you guys?

 

Definitely need another cruise. I've caught DH a couple of times at the NCL website. He's interested in the Epic TA as I am too. I might squeeze an Alaskan cruise yet this summer. I would take my MIL who really wants to go. I priced both the Sun and Pearl for August. I'll be talking to my MIL in a few days to see if it's a go.

 

How nice - another cruise so soon! Our friends will be on the Pearl in July. They're very much looking forward to it. The Epic does have my curiosity going.

 

We're looking at an itinerary for next summer with my mother and my daughter. Not sure who all will be going whether just me with them or all of us. It's on another line but it would be back in the Mediterranian. It's a great itinerary.

[Why Knot Me]

How nice - another cruise so soon! Our friends will be on the Pearl in July. They're very much looking forward to it. The Epic does have my curiosity going.

 

We're looking at an itinerary for next summer with my mother and my daughter. Not sure who all will be going whether just me with them or all of us. It's on another line but it would be back in the Mediterranian. It's a great itinerary.

 

Let me guess, the itinerary includes Venice?

 

Don't know if I'll do the Alaska trip it all depends on MIL so we'll see in a few days. She just finished having some house guests so will let her recover from that first. The Sun is a lot cheaper but would love to see the Pearl.

[locruise]

Ok I have been reading this thread and now I am very excited for my cruise

[zender]

We board in Barcelona and ports of call include Rome, Sicily, Athens, Ephesus (Izmir), Istanbul, Santorini and Malta. It's my first cruise on any line but Carnival, first one not in the Caribbean and first one of any length. Has been fun reading this thread and others here to prepare.

[sjbdtz]

We board in Barcelona and ports of call include Rome, Sicily, Athens, Ephesus (Izmir), Istanbul, Santorini and Malta. It's my first cruise on any line but Carnival, first one not in the Caribbean and first one of any length. Has been fun reading this thread and others here to prepare.

 

 

that's an awesome itinerary.... you'll have a BLAST! :)

[Why Knot Me]

We board in Barcelona and ports of call include Rome, Sicily, Athens, Ephesus (Izmir), Istanbul, Santorini and Malta. It's my first cruise on any line but Carnival, first one not in the Caribbean and first one of any length. Has been fun reading this thread and others here to prepare.

 

So you're on the Oprah cruise?

[zender]

Here are the shore excursions that I've chosen in advance, but they can be changed within 48 hours of departure so I might be modifying things a bit.

 

Barcelona - Montserrat & Barcelona

 

Rome - Rome & the Vatican

 

Messina - Mount Etna

 

Athens - Athens & the Acropolis

 

Izmir - Ephesus, The House Of The Virgin Mary & Basilica Of St. John

 

Istanbul day #1 - Bosphorus Cruise

 

Istanbul day #2 - Topkapi Palace Museum, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque & Grand Bazaar

 

Santorini - Charming Oia Village

 

Nothing planned so far in Malta.

 

that's an awesome itinerary.... you'll have a BLAST! :)

[JeanaR]

Zander, are you on the June 21st cruise with your family? If so, we are as well. SO excited!

[daring]

:D HAPPY, HAPPY, SMILEY,SMILEY!!!! :D

 

 

It's okay to cry during the song the Norwegian Way... let it go, let it all out.[/quote

 

Too cute Why Knot. It was the best show.

 

Who has had the lobster night? Was it worthwhile or is that actually a good night to take advantage of one of the specialty restaurants as think they might be less crowded.

I am assuming they get crowded. Maybe I am mistaken. Who knows?

 

Yes the specialty restaurants are less crowded. It seems that they go to great lengths to make sure of that. We ate almost every dinner in the Grand Pacific around 6 or a little later and had a table looking out the back window of the ship. The crowd started to pick up by the time we left for the first show around 7:30. Then the guys would go out to the Blue Lagoon for things like wings, chips and dip, and fish and chips a little later in the evening while I went to the spa. I tried not to do that late night eating thing due to not wanting to pack on the pounds

 

How nice - another cruise so soon! Our friends will be on the Pearl in July. They're very much looking forward to it. The Epic does have my curiosity going.

 

We're looking at an itinerary for next summer with my mother and my daughter. Not sure who all will be going whether just me with them or all of us. It's on another line but it would be back in the Mediterranean. It's a great itinerary.

 

I'm thinking that I might like to do the eastern Mediterranean around the same time next year but I have not looked into it yet. If I do or whatever I do, I hope it will be with some of you guys.

[mickeysgal]

:D HAPPY, HAPPY, SMILEY,SMILEY!!!! :D

 

 

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back!!

 

Tell us all about it...

 

I want to hear about the missing luggage, whether you liked the rocky beach, and anything concerning Clint. :D

[Why Knot Me]

Welcome Back!!!

 

Can't wait to hear...

[daring]

We live a little over an hour away from the airport and decided to leave an hour early just to be on the safe side. It wasn't until we got to the airport that my husband announced that he had forgotten our garment bag which had all our dinner clothes in it. I was SICK and on the verge of tears. There was not enough time to go back and get it. We called a neighbor and gave him the code for our garage and even gave him permission to break in. The good news is that our house is pretty safe, because he couldn't get in without causing major damage. We were going to have him meet us half way or bring it all the way. Didn't happen in time.

With everything perfectly matched with the minimal amount of clothing and accessories packed, I was devastated, speechless, and choking back the tears. This might be a good reason for over packing. I had kept our packing to the bare minimum and now didn't have half of that! My husband felt bad and said, " you can buy whatever you like on the cruise." This was very little comfort since I'm the frugal one who manages the money. Anyway, I found a cute little shop in Phillie, paid way too much for a few pieces, but felt better.

I was then able to sleep some on the plane to Barcelona with eye mask, ear plugs, neck pillow and blanket. My husband had to wake me up when we got to Barcelona. After we collected our bag (not baggage, uhg!) I realized that I didn't have my glasses. Can you even imagine how hard it was to retrieve them from the plane. It took forever! Evidently they had fallen off my head and were dropped kicked under another seat. I couldn't believe we actually got them back.

Next we caught a cab to the ship for about 30 euros. We got a nice driver that spoke a little English and he pointed out some things of interest along the way. We dropped off our luggage (one suit case and three small carry ons) and gave the steward a 4 dollar tip as insurance. We checked in then caught the shuttle to Columbus square without ever stepping onto the ship. At the square we caught the HOHO bus and worked our way to La Sagrada Familia and back. We had to pay for this twice since our son managed to loose our tickets half way through. I think it was 21 euro each, times two. And being upset over that, I got distracted and left 6 Spanish fans and post cards on the bus. Oh well, some other tourist got a nice little package. We are just too tired for this and begin to make our way back to the ship. There is a traffic accident which delays the buses and shuttles and we almost miss the ship. We didn't get champain, only dirty looks. And oh yes I forgot to mention getting felt up by all the pick pockets. I'm glad we read on CC how to protect ourselves. Dinner and bed and that was the end to our rocky start.

[cruisin' judi]

We live a little over an hour away from the airport and decided to leave an hour early just to be on the safe side. It wasn't until we got to the airport that my husband announced that he had forgotten our garment bag which had all our dinner clothes in it. I was SICK and on the verge of tears. There was not enough time to go back and get it. We called a neighbor and gave him the code for our garage and even gave him permission to break in. The good news is that our house is pretty safe, because he couldn't get in without causing major damage. We were going to have him meet us half way or bring it all the way. Didn't happen in time.

With everything perfectly matched with the minimal amount of clothing and accessories packed, I was devastated, speechless, and choking back the tears. This might be a good reason for over packing. I had kept our packing to the bare minimum and now didn't have half of that! My husband felt bad and said, " you can buy whatever you like on the cruise." This was very little comfort since I'm the frugal one who manages the money. Anyway, I found a cute little shop in Phillie, paid way too much for a few pieces, but felt better.

I was then able to sleep some on the plane to Barcelona with eye mask, ear plugs, neck pillow and blanket. My husband had to wake me up when we got to Barcelona. After we collected our bag (not baggage, uhg!) I realized that I didn't have my glasses. Can you even imagine how hard it was to retrieve them from the plane. It took forever! Evidently they had fallen off my head and were dropped kicked under another seat. I couldn't believe we actually got them back.

Next we caught a cab to the ship for about 30 euros. We got a nice driver that spoke a little English and he pointed out some things of interest along the way. We dropped off our luggage (one suit case and three small carry ons) and gave the steward a 4 dollar tip as insurance. We checked in then caught the shuttle to Columbus square without ever stepping onto the ship. At the square we caught the HOHO bus and worked our way to La Sagrada Familia and back. We had to pay for this twice since our son managed to loose our tickets half way through. I think it was 21 euro each, times two. And being upset over that, I got distracted and left 6 Spanish fans and post cards on the bus. Oh well, some other tourist got a nice little package. We are just too tired for this and begin to make our way back to the ship. There is a traffic accident which delays the buses and shuttles and we almost miss the ship. We didn't get champain, only dirty looks. And oh yes I forgot to mention getting felt up by all the pick pockets. I'm glad we read on CC how to protect ourselves. Dinner and bed and that was the end to our rocky start.

 

Welcome back daring,

 

I can't believe that your DH forgot to put your garment bag in the car. I guess now that you can see how light you can pack; you will pack less in the future!!!! I am sure that I would have freaked out.

 

I can't wait to hear about the rest of the cruise.

 

Judi

[mickeysgal]

We live a little over an hour away from the airport and decided to leave an hour early just to be on the safe side. It wasn't until we got to the airport that my husband announced that he had forgotten our garment bag which had all our dinner clothes in it. I was SICK and on the verge of tears. There was not enough time to go back and get it. We called a neighbor and gave him the code for our garage and even gave him permission to break in. The good news is that our house is pretty safe, because he couldn't get in without causing major damage. We were going to have him meet us half way or bring it all the way. Didn't happen in time.

With everything perfectly matched with the minimal amount of clothing and accessories packed, I was devastated, speechless, and choking back the tears. This might be a good reason for over packing. I had kept our packing to the bare minimum and now didn't have half of that! My husband felt bad and said, " you can buy whatever you like on the cruise." This was very little comfort since I'm the frugal one who manages the money. Anyway, I found a cute little shop in Phillie, paid way too much for a few pieces, but felt better.

I was then able to sleep some on the plane to Barcelona with eye mask, ear plugs, neck pillow and blanket. My husband had to wake me up when we got to Barcelona. After we collected our bag (not baggage, uhg!) I realized that I didn't have my glasses. Can you even imagine how hard it was to retrieve them from the plane. It took forever! Evidently they had fallen off my head and were dropped kicked under another seat. I couldn't believe we actually got them back.

Next we caught a cab to the ship for about 30 euros. We got a nice driver that spoke a little English and he pointed out some things of interest along the way. We dropped off our luggage (one suit case and three small carry ons) and gave the steward a 4 dollar tip as insurance. We checked in then caught the shuttle to Columbus square without ever stepping onto the ship. At the square we caught the HOHO bus and worked our way to La Sagrada Familia and back. We had to pay for this twice since our son managed to loose our tickets half way through. I think it was 21 euro each, times two. And being upset over that, I got distracted and left 6 Spanish fans and post cards on the bus. Oh well, some other tourist got a nice little package. We are just too tired for this and begin to make our way back to the ship. There is a traffic accident which delays the buses and shuttles and we almost miss the ship. We didn't get champain, only dirty looks. And oh yes I forgot to mention getting felt up by all the pick pockets. I'm glad we read on CC how to protect ourselves. Dinner and bed and that was the end to our rocky start.

 

Oh daring...

 

Forgetting luggage, losing your glasses, losing the HOHO tickets, losing your souveniers, almost missing the ship, and PICKPOCKETS too? I can't even imagine...

 

What a rotten start. I don't know how you did the Barcelona touring. I was so zonked out that first day.

 

Now I'm feeling better about bringing my entire closet with me. Yikes.

[daring]

Welcome back daring' date='

 

I can't believe that your DH forgot to put your garment bag in the car. I guess now that you can see how light you can pack; you will pack less in the future!!!! I am sure that I would have freaked out.

 

I can't wait to hear about the rest of the cruise.

 

Judi[/quote']

 

I just counted and that was 11 pieces of clothing that we left at home, a combo of nice shirts and dresses. The guys wore the same thing to dinner almost every night but I bought a few pieces to make do. Note to self: It doesn't matter how well you plan and pack if you leave it at home. Check behind DH.

 

The meet and greet went well and around 30 people with only water, coffee, juice, and danish served. No other perks. Met my buddy SallyUK which was special and heart warming. She is even more beautiful in person and I hope to get to spend more time with her in the future. She has a great wit about her. The trip was so tour intensive for us that I rarely saw her. I loved our day at sea. Sally and I went to the Spa and we purchased the week long spa package but she went every evening before dinner and I went after dinner, so we missed each other.

[sjbdtz]

The meet and greet went well and around 30 people with only water, coffee, juice, and danish served. No other perks.

 

 

No Officers? No treats in your cabin on subsequent days?

 

 

That's a change from the norm.

[daring]

No Officers? No treats in your cabin on subsequent days?

 

 

That's a change from the norm.

 

The officers did come. I'm sorry I failed to mention that :o. Treats? What kind of treats?

[JunPOA]

I just counted and that was 11 pieces of clothing that we left at home, a combo of nice shirts and dresses. The guys wore the same thing to dinner almost every night but I bought a few pieces to make do. Note to self: It doesn't matter how well you plan and pack if you leave it at home. Check behind DH.

 

The meet and greet went well and around 30 people with only water, coffee, juice, and danish served. No other perks. Met my buddy SallyUK which was special and heart warming. She is even more beautiful in person and I hope to get to spend more time with her in the future. She has a great wit about her. The trip was so tour intensive for us that I rarely saw her. I loved our day at sea. Sally and I went to the Spa and we purchased the week long spa package but she went every evening before dinner and I went after dinner, so we missed each other.

Note to self - put garment bag in car myself ! :D

OMG - you sound so much like me - I can just see my self leaving my glasses on the plane - thta's how I lost my Ipod last year - ugh! This menopause thing is disastrous to my short term memory - wait a minute what did I just say?:D

Can't wait for more - welcome back - I envy your energy levels trying to tour Barcelone just upon arrival - I do not have high hopes for touring anywhere our day of arrival.

[Why Knot Me]

No Officers? No treats in your cabin on subsequent days?

 

 

That's a change from the norm.

 

What Daring describe is the norm for our experiences with NCL meet and greets... I mean no extra treats in our room. We have had a great benefit though in that the Officers know who you are, provide business cards and anything that is needed, they want to help.

[Why Knot Me]

Daring, I can't believe what you went through. I would have been devastated with the missing bag. Good for you in making the most of it. Can't wait to hear more.

[daring]

I loved it! I think I could move there. I had arranged a taxi driver from SwanSea to pick us up and drive us around for four hours. This was only 75 euros. Joe our driver was great. What a nice guy and he hit it off with our son. They continuously chatted during the tour about movies that had been filmed there, old TV shows, karate, Netflix, and Xbox. I just mention this because this trip was for our son and he enjoyed this part so much while Mom and Dad sat quietly in the back of the taxi.

We first visited the garden at the top of the hill and took spectacular pictures of Valletta and our ship. We toured Valletta which was absolutely charming. We then drove through Medina on our way to the blue grotto where we paid for a little fishing boat to take us into the caves and view the brilliant blue waters. We ended up in a colorful little fishing village at a suggested restaurant where a tray of different kinds of fresh whole fish were brought to the table for us to chose from. We sat upstairs at an open window overlooking the Mediterranean and soaked up the view and bathed in the breeze. This was a pinch me, I can't believe I'm here moment. :p

[mickeysgal]

We ended up in a colorful little fishing village at a suggested restaurant where a tray of different kinds of fresh whole fish were brought to the table for us to chose from. We sat upstairs at an open window overlooking the Mediterranean and soaked up the view and bathed in the breeze. This was a pinch me, I can't believe I'm here moment. :p

 

Awwww...that's so cool.

[1greencar]

Daring, I can't believe an entire week has passed already.

I cannot believe your experiences at the start. Any single ordeal would

be devestating by itself. I will try to tell myself to be prepared for anything

and to try to go with the flow.

How close was your timing for when you first got on the ship?

 

Once when I was leaving the airport, I realized I had left a tiny black pocketbook on the floor in front of my seat. I think it took about 2 hours to retrieve it. It had my wallet, with ID's and credit cards and cash and I was 3500 miles from home.

 

Anyway the bottom line is it does sound like the trip itself was everything you hoped for and I am very happy for you. I have been reading a ton of reviews and of course, getting more and more excited.

[daring]

Daring, I can't believe an entire week has passed already.

I cannot believe your experiences at the start. Any single ordeal would

be devestating by itself. I will try to tell myself to be prepared for anything

and to try to go with the flow.

How close was your timing for when you first got on the ship?

 

Once when I was leaving the airport, I realized I had left a tiny black pocketbook on the floor in front of my seat. I think it took about 2 hours to retrieve it. It had my wallet, with ID's and credit cards and cash and I was 3500 miles from home.

 

Anyway the bottom line is it does sound like the trip itself was everything you hoped for and I am very happy for you. I have been reading a ton of reviews and of course, getting more and more excited.

 

We got on the ship before 6PM and there were a couple of people after us. The ship must have been aware of the traffic problem which held up the port shuttle. The bottom line is, if you get to Barcelona early, you can catch the shuttle to Columbus, catch a HOHO bus, get a quick overview of Barcelona and make it back before sailing. We made it even with all the hold-ups. I'm glad we did or otherwise we would have missed seeing Barcelona really.

 

We had breakfast every morning from the garden café or the Great Outdoors. It was nice to take a look at the port before disembarking for our tours. When we returned from our Malta tour, we sat on the deck and had cold fruit and took a dip in the pool...nice...ahh. After that I decided to sign up for some minutes at the INTERNET café. We had dinner that night at the Grand Pacific where I had a Lobster appetizer, orange/carrot soup, asparagus salad, Lobster, and Chocolate moose (of course off the lite menu). ;) Most of the shows to me, "Just awight dawg."