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- Jan 7, 2005
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- 673
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.
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.
Hopefully they cleaned them at some point!
