DCL Platinums try NCL for our first Non-Disney Cruise, Complete

[newfamilyman]

We are Platinum Castaway Club members who until this trip have never sailed with any other cruise line. Because Disney is so limited in their itineraries (whenever they get a new ship, it’s always going to the Caribbean, unless someone else is paying for it), we needed to try a different line in order to visit Canada. We chose NCL because they had a good Canadian itinerary during our preferred travel dates. Because other cruise lines provide vastly superior value when compared to Disney, we were able to book a Haven suite on the NCL Gem for the same amount of money or less that Disney would have charged for Concierge, if not a top-level category veranda.

First Impressions. In spite of Cruise Director Emma’s ending many of her announcements, “aboard the beautiful (dramatic pause) Norwegian Gem,” the Gem is not beautiful, at least not when compared to any Disney ship. The various, multi-colored gems painted on the ship’s hull, many with peeling paint, are gaudy and unattractive. The ship’s paintings look like Holiday Inn rejects. Here, for example, is the artwork that hung above our bed:


Outside of the bridge (more on that later), none of the windows looked like they had been cleaned in ages. I can’t recall seeing anyone cleaning anything other than restrooms and staterooms during the cruise in marked contrast to Disney, where painting, varnishing, and polishing are done around-the-clock, day in and day out. Clearly, some of the premium cost Disney charges goes to paying for a lot more maintenance crew.

Muster Drill. NCL only requires passengers watch a video during the on-line check-in process which goes over exactly what DCL reviews for its passengers in person. Once you board the ship, NCL just requires that you check in at your assigned muster station by a set time. For all its streamlining of dining room menus and, to a lesser extent, entertainment, I wish Disney would streamline their muster drill requirements.

Staterooms. NCL’s highest category is the Haven, essentially a gated community on the top deck of the ship. You get a cabin steward, butler, and concierge. Unlike DCL, where there are multiple concierges, we had one, Suzy, who had an outsized personality and was always willing to help. You also get a designated butler, a position that I don’t believe exists on DCL. Both Suzy and our butler, Teresa, who preferred to be called Mama T, were available by phone 24/7. On the Gem, the Haven had an indoor and outdoor deck with a dedicated hot tub and small pool. Unfortunately, both were frequently closed due to the heavy waves we encountered on this cruise. It was too cold for most of the cruise to use the outdoor deck. There were also separate steam rooms for men and women, though these operated only during select hours. I had seen videos previously of a treadmill in this communal area, but those videos must have been old, since the treadmill must have broken and was removed and replaced with a table and chairs, an awkward and highly undesirable location, being between the men’s and women’s steam rooms and bathrooms.

The best part about our stateroom was the bathroom. We’ve never stayed in a suite on DCL, and its regular concierge rooms have an identical layout to most of the other staterooms, with bathrooms on the right, then the bed, then a living area. In our NCL suite, the bathroom took up about a third of the entire space. It was the nicest bathroom that we have ever experienced. Both the bathtub and showers afforded incredible views, which were especially breathtaking during sunrise and sunset:



Even if the shower didn’t have a view, it would have been spectacular. There was a rain forest showerhead, a wand, and six nozzles along the side to ensure that water got to wherever you needed it to be.

Neither cruise line offers much in the way of in-room entertainment. Disney has a collection of the same classic films, nothing released within five years or maybe more based on our last sailings. It was difficult to impossible to find anything that we hadn’t already seen or wanted to watch. We had a similar problem on NCL. There were about 20 or so on-demand movies. Unlike Disney, there were recent movies, and they were free for Haven guests, but we had seen most of the ones that we wanted to see. There were also oddly two additional movie channels, playing similarly recent movies for the most part, but these played on a schedule and not on-demand. I attempted to use an Apple Lightning AV digital adaptor to connect my phone to the TV, and even had an engineer come to the room to help, but unfortunately, it would have required unplugging a cable, and because the TV was so tightly bolted to the wall, it was impossible without removing the TV from the wall.

WiFi: NCL boasts it has the fastest WiFi on the seas, but I never achieved a faster download speed than 6 mbps. They have a streaming and non-streaming option, with the former at a significantly higher price. I got the non-streaming option for our phones, since one of them was free with our Free at Sea package, and the streaming option for my iPad. It turns out that the non-streaming speed was the same or slightly higher than the streaming speed, and when I asked Suzy about it, she explained that the difference was that you could stream with the higher-cost package, not that its speed was higher, which made absolutely no sense. She tried to arrange for me to speak to the WiFi manager, but he was understandably overwhelmed with irate guests. We learned that Disney isn’t the only cruise line with miserable WiFi, insanely overpriced for its unacceptably slow speeds.

Entertainment. Like Disney, NCL promises Broadway-caliber productions, especially when they present actual Broadway shows, but unfortunately, the Gem is denied these resources. Their main stage, the Stardust Theatre, is no Walt Disney Theatre. It has a distinctly 70’s feel to it, even though the ship was constructed in this century, and the balcony was strangely designed in sections so that many seats offer only obstructed views as a result.

I haven’t been on a week-long DCL cruise in a while, but my recollection is that there are the three standing productions plus three variety acts. On the Gem, there is one variety act, and for us, it was comedian Rodney Laney. We previewed his act on YouTube, where he told a pretty funny joke about New Jersey being one-third New York suburbs, one-third Philadelphia suburbs, and one-third Tennessee. None of his jokes in his act were as funny as that one. He performed a total of eight times, repeating his standard show four times and his adult show four times, even though there were only 21 kids on the ship, and none of them were there for the standard show we attended. He had such a hard time coming up with a 45-minute set that he had to reach back to jokes about how hard it was to get the first COVID vaccine.

In addition to the comedian, the Gem offers three staged productions, but from their descriptions and the one that we saw, these were really more like concerts and cabaret acts than anything else, since they involved performances of songs rather than include a storyline. One show had a country-pop theme, and the other, disco. The cast of 11 performed alongside a three-piece live band, which to NCL’s credit, is something missing from Disney performances except the rare times that a singer performing a cabaret show brings a pianist. We missed the Gem’s larger productions because they performed at 7 and 9. At 7, we were still at dinner, and 9 was late for us early risers. We attended the cabaret show and Rodney Laney because those showtimes were at 6:30 and 8:30, which worked much better for our schedule. The theme of the cabaret show, which featured three members of the company, was a tour of sorts of 80’s Broadway. Their song selection was bizarre, including as it did an extended medley from “City of Angels” and a weaker number from “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” At least they closed on a medley from “Annie,” a show constantly revived in large part, I would argue, because it has one of the best scores of any musical. None of the performers were especially talented, and their banter felt forced. Having seen this show, I didn’t regret missing the other two.

The other performance, if you can call it that, which took place in the Stardust was a live version of Deal or No Deal. Guests can pay $28 for a card to play along in the audience. You can watch without buying a card, but the only way that you can be chosen to go on stage is to pay for one. If you do pay for a card, at least based on our limited experience, the odds are that you will win at best a free digital photo or an instant-win prize. Otherwise, only one person won more than a digital picture. If, like us, you watch without a card, there is absolutely no drama to the proceedings. Both participants refused all deals, which was no surprise given that the most you can win is $1,000. The money at stake for both contestants at the end was negligible. There is very little drama watching someone choose between going home with $40 or $120. This game show was clearly designed to be a money-maker for the cruise line.

The ship has no movie theatre, but they screened one movie, the latest Mission Impossible, during one afternoon in the Stardust Theatre. They do have musicians performing at various venues, but none of the lounges had the charm of any of those on a Disney ships, and also unlike Disney, none of the performers were good enough to entice us to catch any of their sets.

NCL does offer one type of entertainment that Disney never will, and it’s to NCL’s credit. They have a behind-the-scenes tour for $99 per person that takes you almost everywhere on the ship that you would want and hope to see. The tour starts by taking you backstage of the Stardust Theatre and through the dressing rooms and then moves to the laundry room, where you see all the awesome machinery, including one that just folds pool towels. Guests were welcome to try that machine out. From there, we went to the highlight of the tour, the bridge. While the captain worked in his office, we saw the full span of the bridge, which had the only clean windows on the ship. We saw how the navigational system works, all of the various stations, and could peer through a window in the floor to see the ocean below. Its purpose is to help guide the ship into port. From the bridge, we went to the Engine Control Room (ECR), where the highlight was watching passengers in the various elevators, oblivious to the fact that they were being observed. We then moved to Route I-95, the main corridor for the crew, arriving at the procurement area. Unless they run out of something, the ship only receives it supplies for the entire cruise at embarkation. We entered the seafood cold storage to see all the various fish to be served on the cruise, and our final stop was the galley, where we met the Executive Chef. We got to pose with the whisk that they use to stir the soups and were given the phot that was included in the price of the tour:

It was well-worth every penny. Disney may not want to show us how the sausage gets made, but I truly treasured the chance to hear from all the managers of the various departments on the Gem, meet some of their crew, see all that is involved in managing the operations of a cruise ship, and especially visit the bridge.

The next installment will include dining, shore excursions, and other topics.

 

[ronandannette]

Thanks - I'll be waiting for your next post. We took a similar itinerary on the Norwegian Jade in September SOLELY because it hit all four Canadian Maritime provinces. As very frequent main-stream cruiseline cruisers, I can objectively say the NCL Jade is one very, very mundane experience. Nothing ghastly, but certainly nothing to commend either, except that lovely itinerary. I hope you made out a little better.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

Great report thus far! I actually sailed on the Gem very close to when cruising relaunched post-Covid. I may have had a skewed experience because of how low capacity was but I thought the entire thing was fantastic. I was also impressed by how immaculate the ship looked at the time, even though I understood it had not just gone under a refurbishment. Also, I was impressed by the entertainment and thought the country-pop show you mentioned was a blast.

Following along!

 

[newfamilyman]

Thanks - I'll be waiting for your next post. We took a similar itinerary on the Norwegian Jade in September SOLELY because it hit all four Canadian Maritime provinces. As very frequent main-stream cruiseline cruisers, I can objectively say the NCL Jade is one very, very mundane experience. Nothing ghastly, but certainly nothing to commend either, except that lovely itinerary. I hope you made out a little better.

Thanks for your comments. I think I will include more information about the shore excursions than I was initially going to do because NCL may be of interest to others like us who wanted to explore the eastern Canadian port towns.

 

[newfamilyman]

Great report thus far! I actually sailed on the Gem very close to when cruising relaunched post-Covid. I may have had a skewed experience because of how low capacity was but I thought the entire thing was fantastic. I was also impressed by how immaculate the ship looked at the time, even though I understood it had not just gone under a refurbishment. Also, I was impressed by the entertainment and thought the country-pop show you mentioned was a blast.

Following along!

Thanks for your kind words. Unfortunately, the ship definitely was not immaculate. I would have been happy if they had least cleaned their windows.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

Thanks for your kind words. Unfortunately, the ship definitely was not immaculate. I would have been happy if they had least cleaned their windows.

I just got off Disney Dream and thought the same thing about the windows, especially when they have all those large portholes with the seats but I figured it just returned from the Transatlantic and may have hit some rough water. Hopefully they cleaned them at some point!

 

[newfamilyman]

Shore Excursions. It required some adjustment to adapt to how differently NCL approaches shore excursions from Disney’s port adventures. The package which I purchased, Free at Sea (no longer available), provided $50 off per stateroom per excursion; however, this discount applied only to excursions booked in advance. At least on this cruise, NCL only posted about half or so of the total excursions they would offer in advance, and two of the ones that I booked were cancelled due to lack of interest. One port had only one shore excursion listed in advance, but at some point post-embarkation, many others were offered. NCL also required payment at the time you confirmed the excursion, and you could cancel without penalty. I was at first irritated by this requirement, but in the end, I actually preferred it because after pre-paying for meals (more on that later), excursions, and tips, my onboard ship account only came to a few hundred dollars in comparison to the multi-thousand-dollar final bill that I always get on DCL.

When it comes to organization, however, Disney was the clear winner. Instead of meeting on the ship at a designated area, almost all of the excursions met on land. This created various bottlenecks and confusion, as tour operators would hold up signs for their particular tour, and guests would have to find out where the operators would be standing and at what time. If you wanted to sit more to the front of the bus, you’d need to be at the right place and early.

As for the tours themselves, like with Disney, they were all provided by local operators and were therefore hit-or-miss. It is no surprise why these Canadian itineraries are popular. The dollar went far in Canada, creating about a 27% discount on prices that were not much higher than what we pay in the USA. Restaurant prices, including their delicious oysters and lobster, were about the same as in the U.S., which only increased our satisfaction with this itinerary.

For those interested in a Canadian cruise, and it seems unlikely that Disney will ever offer this itinerary, here were our experiences:

Quebec City. It is difficult to imagine how embarkation could have been more stressful and unpleasant. Taxis and Ubers waited in an excruciatingly slow-moving line as a half-dozen cars were helped at a time by stevedores who received luggage. Our Uber only cost about $15 Canadian for a trip that turned out to be almost an hour, and in embodying the stereotype of his countrymen, the driver couldn’t have been any nicer. I even offered to get out and walk, but he insisted that we follow the process. I can’t imagine how much a taxi running a meter would have charged.

Otherwise, Quebec City abounded in old world charm in spite of the fact that about a third of its shops sells what a friend calls T&S (trinkets and ****). We had time on embarkation day to visit Montmorency falls, where the autumn colors were spectacular. I only wish that I had a brought a hat and gloves, as they were definitely needed at this time of year.



The sunset that night on the ship was the most spectacular that I’ve ever seen.



Prince Edward Island. This port was the raison d'être for this cruise, as DW is a huge Anne of Green Gables fan, and the tour guide shared that many people had expressed the same sentiment to her over the years. The Ultimate Anne of Green Gables tour, as it was called, involved visiting the museum, home of the author’s descendants, and the farm that inspired the novel. What made it the ultimate experience, I think, was the opportunity to meet Ann herself, which proved to be our only character experience of the trip.

There were even tourists from Japan, one of whom turned it into a cosplay experience.


The all-aboard time wasn’t until early evening, so we enjoyed a dinner of oysters and fish and chips at a lobster restaurant near the port. Eating our way through Canada made for a pleasant memory that unfortunately has been hard to replicate at home.

Sydney, Cape Breton Island. The tour guide claimed that this Sydney came first, and our bus driver told me that that some people intending to fly to Sydney, Australia ended up at this Sydney by mistake. DW also loves living museums, so we chose the Highland Village excursion over seeing Alexander Graham Bell’s house, now a museum. The first European settlers of Cape Breton came from Scotland, and the open-air museum takes you from the original dwellings up to the 1920’s. Perhaps because it was Canadian Thanksgiving, many of the buildings lacked inhabitants, and only the first home included someone acting her role. Otherwise, the staff members were like costumed docents, acknowledging the present while wearing period clothing. As such, it lacked the charm of living museums like those in Yorktown or Williamsburg.

Halifax, Novia Scotia. After two insular ports, it was strange to return to a full-fledged city, complete with homeless camps and all. The tour began with an excessively long stop at Peggy’s Cove, which at least left us fortified with a lobster roll. The highlight for DW as the visit to the Fairview Lawn cemetery, where several dozen victims of the Titanic are buried, and the related exhibit at the maritime museum. The story behind how the bodies were recovered was truly fascinating, and the coincidence of a J. Dawson tombstone, which if our tour guide is to be believed stunned even James Cameron, goes under the category of truth being stranger than fiction. Afterwards, I was delighted to enjoy another lunch of delicious Canadian oysters, of which we truly could not get enough. It was a pleasant stroll on the boardwalk back to the pier.

Portland. This port marked our re-entry to the US, and the Haven and suites’ guests benefitted tremendously from an escorted entry to immigration. Guests on shore excursions received escorted entries as well prior to their tours, but otherwise, staterooms were grouped to be called at certain intervals, so if you had a regular stateroom and had not booked a shore excursion through NCL, you were at the mercy of the schedule as to when it would be your turn to disembark. The time spent here was shortened by two hours due to the strong weather.

We had not planned a shore excursion because we had intended to rent a car, but the scene at the airport was absolute chaos, so we ended up cancelling our reservation out of fear that we would not return to the city on time. As a result, we spontaneously explored the city and its various shops and art galleries. All of the desirable restaurants had long waits for lunch, which taught me to make reservations in the future, but one benefit was returning to one of them at 3 for no wait and happy hour half-priced oysters.

Bar Harbor. According to the guide that led our walking tour themed to the Gilded Age (the period, unfortunately, not the show), we should not have even been able to land at this port. An ordinance being disputed on the November ballot would allow ships of our size to return, but we had arrived during a period where apparently it was allowed in the interim. The measure ended up failing, meaning that only the smallest ships would be allowed to return in the future and not ones of the Gem’s size. Bar Harbor was a charming town, even if the tour we took itself was underwhelming due in part to the guide’s spending at least half the time talking about what it was like to live in that part of Maine and the impact of the proposition failing on people who relied on tourists for their livelihood.

Learning from my mistake the previous day, I booked Geddy’s for lunch, and it was a good thing, since there was a huge crowd waiting for a table, and I seemed to be the only who had made a reservation. Our last oysters and penultimate lobster roll of the cruise were memorable, as their habanero lime mignonette was the best I’d ever had.

Because we were in Bar Harbor for a few more hours, we had booked an afternoon tour to visit Acadia National Park, one of the most visited of all the national parks. This afforded some beautiful vistas and provided a pleasant note on which to end the cruise.



Next Installment: Food and other topics

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

Shore Excursions.NCL also required payment at the time you confirmed the excursion, and you could cancel without penalty. I was at first irritated by this requirement, but in the end, I actually preferred it because after pre-paying for meals (more on that later), excursions, and tips, my onboard ship account only came to a few hundred dollars in comparison to the multi-thousand-dollar final bill that I always get on DCL.

Stunning photos! This note is actually one of my favorite parts of sailing NCL. I can walk off the ship with little to no folio waiting for me and trust me.. I am open to all the extras but since a lot is included or I can prepay during the planning process, it allows me to stay within budget and not leave the cruise feeling like "I can NOT do that again for a while" like I do on other lines.

 

[newfamilyman]

Dining. The best thing that I can say about NCL dining is that I went on this cruise with the goal and intention of having every meal be made-to-order, with no buffets or restaurants serving pre-plated foods. In this respect, I was successful. However, none of these meals approached my favorite dinner at Palo (pasta with lamb ragu, followed by the Dover sole fileted table-side, where I tease the servers about how many bones they left in; and ending by sharing both the chocolate and amaretto soufflés), nor did the ambience at any of the restaurants approach that of Palo or Remy. That being said, most of the restaurants served better food than what you get in DCL’s main dining rooms, though that is hardly a fair comparison, since NCL’s specialty restaurants involve an up-charge, and I did not visit NCL’s main dining rooms, where there was no upcharge.

We started our cruise with the Teppanyaki restaurant, which we thought would be a fun way to begin the trip. Teppanyaki consists of only four snuggly-positioned tables which each fit eight people, just like at Benihana. Unlike Benihana, all the chefs pretty much sang non-stop through the meal. Sometimes they were joined by guests, especially those who were taking full advantage of their drinks packages; at our table, we pretty much just listened and observed. Our chef explained that they sing to make up for not being able to do any fire effects for safety reasons. The quality of the ingredients was markedly better than you find at Benihana, though I did prefer Benihana’s dipping sauces and salad dressing. There was an abundance of food. DW avoids garlic and onion and was delighted that she was able to get her meal GOF (garlic and onion free), especially since Teppanyaki’s chefs use as much garlic butter as those at Benihana. I hope the teppanyaki restaurant coming to the Disney Adventure will be similarly satisfying and enjoyable, though I suppose those chefs will confine themselves to Disney songs.

It's worth noting that when you pre-pay the meal, which as far as I could tell was required when booking in advance, or if you used the free or discounted package, then a 20% tip is included. However, just like at Palo, it seems like many people leave an additional tip. When I asked the server the first night at Teppanyaki for a zeroed-out check so that I could leave an additional tip, he told me it was not possible. Maybe it was his first night because I got a chuckle when he found us the last night of the cruise at Le Bistro, where he figured out somewhere along the way how to print out a zeroed-out check. This one included lines for tips for both the server and the chef, which made sense, since both were actively involved in our dining experience.

Our next dinner was at Moderna, the Brazilian churrascaria restaurant. As far as the food is concerned, the star of this restaurant is the salad bar, which had an abundance of delicious items, again made with high-quality ingredients. My favorite item was a type of salsa that enhanced the meats perfectly, though I also went back for many helpings of the chilled green beans and asparagus, which were perfectly prepared. I should say that like Disney, the real stars of the restaurant were the servers who delivered the meats table-side. One of them, Oscar, sang rather than spoke his greeting and described the meat he was carving. I can still hear him singing, “It’s me, Oscar again!,” each time he visited a table. Aside from their specialty, the picanha cut of beef, and the roast pineapple, none of the meats were memorable. Still, like Teppanyaki, it was another fun meal.

Our next NCL dinner was at their Italian restaurant, La Cucina, which understandably garners the worst reviews of all their restaurants. The ambience and menu was reminiscent of a slightly upscale Olive Garden. Our last two restaurants had a set menu, so this was our first experience using NCL’s version of a dining plan. Our Free at Sea package included two specialty dining meals, and I purchased an additional two at a discount. At La Cucina, a soup or salad, appetizer including pizza, main course, and dessert was included, which was a good value. The meal itself, however, couldn’t have been less memorable except for the pizza, which was memorably dreadful. The bright spot of the meal was an extended conversation with the manager. When he stopped by the table, I expressed to him my disappointment with the pizza, which tasted like typical frozen pizza. The manager took great interest in my feedback. He explained that he was familiar with frozen pizza because the ship serves frozen pizzas to its crew. He also pointed out the chef who was making pizzas in view of the diners and said that he was going to send him for additional training. The manager expressed that he had eaten a pizza from the restaurant just last night that the pizza chef had made for him, and he agreed with me that the experience was wanting. He seemed genuinely motivated to correct this problem, and I appreciated the validation and feeling heard. Even so, this was the one restaurant where we would not return if we ever find ourselves on another NCL cruise.

Next up was Cagney’s, the steakhouse. I learned that Cagney’s shares the same kitchen as neighboring Moderno, so the side of mushrooms and lobster bisque are identical for both restaurants. The dining plan here included an appetizer, entrée, two sides, and dessert. If you wanted the surf and turf or a side of lobster tail, there was an additional charge of $25. You also had to pay $25 if you only wanted a lobster tail as an entrée, which seemed unreasonable to me, since all of the entrees cost more than $25. DW was initially flummoxed to find that garlic was involved in all of the non-meat entrees and sides. However, the kitchen was willing to prepare the shrimp and sides for her in a garlic-free version. It took longer but was much appreciated. Otherwise, this was another disappointing meal. I enjoyed Big Daddy’s Roasted Prime Rib from the Wonder’s Tianna’s Place menu more than this NCL version. At least on DCL, medium-rare was delivered medium-rare as opposed to the medium-well version that I received on NCL. Also, while the double-baked potato on DCL was pre-plated, that was preferred to getting a rather diminutive potato on NCL where we had to wait over 5 minutes to receive the toppings.

After eating off-shore in Portland, our final meal of the cruise was at Le Bistro, their most upscale restaurant. Unfortunately, this proved to be another disappointing evening. Initially, we were seated in front of a wall. The way the restaurant, at least on the Gem, is unfortunately designed, tables that are not next to a window, or set back from a table next to a window, alternate between facing a blank wall or a painting. I complained to a manager, and we were re-seated to a table set back to a window-side table. The manager was apologetic, explaining that there are only so many window tables and that some people don’t like the tables set back from the windows or walls, though I pointed out that we weren’t even given a choice by the hostess. Like the manager at La Cucina, he subsequently engaged us in a lengthy conversation about the restaurant’s operations. Guests for whom a window table is important should book a 5:30 reservation, according to the manager. DW was able to order another GOF entrée, the Doer sole, which I got as well. In a head-to-head competition between Palo and Le Bistro for who serves the best Dover sole, Le Bistro fell considerably short. Even without being de-boned tableside, Le Bistro’s version paled by comparison in every measure.

The Gem does not have a dedicated restaurant for Haven guests, which suited us just fine. Instead, breakfast was at Moderno, exclusively open for Haven and suite guests, where the dinner salad bar area transformed into a delicious breakfast buffet which was, except at the busiest times, instantaneously restocked every time an item was removed. I loved the cups of grapefruit and oranges, where all traces of the pith had been meticulously removed. While for me there is nothing as satisfying for brunch as Palo’s almond croissant, freshly warmed in the oven, the almond croissants at Moderna were a close second. They are served at room temperature, not warmed, but have a delightful marzipan filling which made them similarly addictive. The menu items prepared in the kitchen to supplement the buffet were similarly satisfying. The repetition of the menu did not bother me in the least.

Lunch is served at Cagney’s, also exclusively for Haven and suite guests. This being lunch, the static menu might have been problematic had we eaten there more than three times, as we were in ports on the other days. The cheeseburger, while unfortunately cooked well done, was still remarkably juicy and legions above any burger I’ve had on DCL, though we haven’t been on any Wish-class ships. The server also opened the door to the possibility of getting off-menu selections or dishes from other restaurants. It was also nice to get a daily, friendly personalized greeting from Ana from Peru, who was always stationed at the Moderno/Cagney’s entrance for each breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

My overall impression of NCL dining is that it was nice to get the kind of variety and made-too-order meals that is impossible on DCL, at least until the Adventure sets sail, though that will be with twice the number of guests. Unfortunately, the quality was ultimately disappointing. If we do try NCL again, we’ll try out the MDRs.

Jogging and walking tracks. A discussion of exercise makes for a nice segue from all this talk of food. The Gem has a walking track on deck 7 and a jogging track on deck 13. The length of the walking track, 2-2/3 laps to a mile, is in between that of the Wonder/Magic and the Dream/Fantasy. The lack of a proper jogging track on Wish-class ships has significantly impacted my interest in cruising on one of them. There is a significantly shorter jogging track on deck 13 which covers only about half the deck and as a result means you have to jog 5 ½ laps to get to a mile. On the sign on the walking track, called the Promenade, it says, “Walking only please.” There is no equivalent on the jogging track to prohibit walkers. However, the jogging track being on the top deck going from mid-ship to stern drew crowds of people who wanted to see and photograph the sunrise. Perhaps because the views were better, there were many people walking and few people jogging. The promenade, however, drew people like me who wanted to get their early morning runs. I never encountered anyone actually walking on the promenade in spite of the sign. The problem was that like on the Magic and Wonder, the promenade deck closed on port days when the entrance back to the ship was on deck 7, which closed the track in the middle. On those days, I was forced to go back to deck 13 and encounter the walkers commandeering the jogging track. At one point, an elderly woman was walking and when I shouted to her, “on your right,” she moved right, and I collided into her, almost knocking her to the ground. Another time, a mother and daughter blocked the entire lane so that the daughter could pose for pictures. I had to remind her that this was a jogging track and not a photo spot.

On the last night of the cruise, I was gratified to see the General Manager talking to one of his subordinates. I asked the General Manager why the Promenade had a sign asking guests not to jog whereas the jogging track had no such warning to walkers, and I shared with him my unpleasant encounters with people not jogging on the jogging track. He responded that nobody had ever brought that issue up to him before and that he had never considered it but that he would now. As I walked away, he repeated multiple times to his colleague, “You see? You see?,” though I would never learn what point I had validated with my complaint.

I should be able to provide a final installment to this report.

 

[newfamilyman]

There were a couple of aspects to the Gem that took me back to DCL of five or more years ago. The first of which was Park West auctions, a business that I didn’t especially need to see again. Their artwork certainly hasn’t improved over the years, nor has their business model, which is to ply people with champagne and hope that an auction will drive people to purchase paintings which otherwise would have failed to generate a second glance. I did not attend any of the auctions and never saw a painting that I would have had any interest in purchasing, though I was amused to see that they still had some Disney paintings in their collection. Maybe these were ones that never sold during their long tenure on Disney ships?

It was also a throwback to see the books of photos like Shutter used to have before they went digital. On the Gem at least, NCL printed their pictures and while environmentally unfriendly, I have to say that the only one I purchased, at Teppayaki, I probably would have forgotten about if it wasn’t presented to me printed in a nice enclosure at the end of a satisfying meal.

We also tried the couple’s massage in the spa, like we’ve always done on DCL. Instead of a villa with a jacuzzi, the Gem just offers a regular treatment room with two massage beds. Interestingly, the spa offered dynamic pricing, with the massage costing more on the sea day than on the port days. Like on DCL, the masseuses were friendly but ignored instructions on what areas to avoid or treat gently, and they launched into an unrelaxing sales pitch afterwards to push products and encourage us to sign up for another massage. I doubt very much that I would do another massage on NCL unless it was on a ship with nicer treatment rooms, should one exist.

There were a couple of areas on the Gem that you won’t find on a Disney ship. There was a library stocked with new releases, including a book, The Bee Sting, that I had just finished prior to the cruise. There were only certain hours, though, when you could check them out. There was also a card room that was packed with intense-looking players every time we passed it.

Many of the types of events that on DCL would be in the D Lounge or Fathoms took place in the Spinnaker lounge, which featured wall-to-wall windows with incredible views which distracted from the entertainment taking place. We only went once, to a fascinating Q&A with the food and beverage manager, who was also the assistant GM and was going to be shortly promoted to the Gem’s GM. Both the manager and cruise director who moderated the discussion gave fascinating background information of the kind not typically shared by Disney. He disclosed, for example, some of the stressors of his job, such as having to go over all of the provisions upon arrival to make sure that they were in good condition and in the correct quantity and how especially in South America, discrepancies frequently occur, resulting in last-minute and costly ordering of replacements and supplements to be received at the next port.

Let me wrap up by offering more information about what else was included in the Haven experience and why as a result it was so enjoyable for us, especially when considering the relative value in comparison to Disney’s prices. I’ve already discussed some of the Haven benefits. We liked Mama T but did not make frequent use of her services. Every day, she provided snacks, one sweet and one savory, in the afternoon, such as cookies, tea sandwiches, fruit and cheese, etc. Because we did not get a drinks package, none of the drinks in the mini-fridge were included. As a result, Mama T. left a pitcher of ice water which was regularly replenished. There was a bottle of champagne left on the first night, and our concierge Suzy also gave us a bottle of champagne one night. There was a cocktail party with the officers, which was the one time when we briefly chatted with the captain. We rushed out of dinner to make it on time, since it started at 7:30, but were glad that we did. We chatted the longest with a jewelry manager who had worked in guest services for many years on the Disney Fantasy and only recently switched to NCL when she was promoted to manager to work for the jewelry store. The other benefits are well-documented elsewhere, including simplified and expedited embarkation and debarkation. If you have an upper-level Disney budget, then you will not be disappointed in the Haven. That being said, we’ll still be returning to Disney when their itineraries match our interests.