NCL GEM From Barcelona in October

[tkdsl]

Hello all,

I am going to my first cruise with my wife in October on the NCL Gem from Barcelona.

Has anybody been this cruise before ?

has anybody been on the NCL GEM before ?

thank you.

 

[davejohn]

No one's been on the Gem other than the workers at Meyerwerft. It's still under construction.

We are scheduled on the Dover to Barcelona cruise on October 8th. You must be boarding right after we get off.
Dave

 

[tkdsl]

wow the ship that new.

that explains why i cannot find anything about the cruise like reviews and things like that.

for you cruise were you able to get a coupon book of any sort ?

also do you know what kind of power connectors are normally on cruises . are they US or European ?

thank you

 

[davejohn]

I haven't seen any coupons for the GEM. But it looks like there's still a lot of cabins open. The final payment date is July 25th, so there may be some discounts after that date, especially for first time NCL cruisers.

We booked an AF mini-suite and the price has dropped since we originally booked. We were able to get a reduction through our travel agent.

I know for sure they will have US style plugs, I'm not sure if they will have both.

Dave

 

[newmexicoNita]

WE did the NCL Jewel 2 years ago on her first voyage across the Atlantic. We did the northern Atlantic in Sept from Dover: by far the best cruise we have ever had.

Nita

 

[senoraberg]

Hey! We are on the Oct. 8 Gem cruise-looking forward to it! we've cruised NCL 3 previous times and love it. We've dont eh part of the itinierary in Italy/France on the Jewel and it's beautiful. Does anyone know if there's anything to do in Vigo Spain? How far is it to the center of Lisbon from the port? Any suggestions on ANY of the ports on this cruise? I'm especially interested in suggestions about how to get from the ship to interesting areas in the most inexpensive way. the shore excursions are nice, but very expensive. Looking for alternatives.

 

[BuddyD]

We will also be on the Gem on October 8th. Does anyone know about the status of this ship? I was horrified to read one reader's post on another website that he/she had been cancelled from an inaugural cruise once before because the ship wasn't ready. Has anyone heard anything about the Gem?

 

[senoraberg]

OUCH!!!! ACTUALLY, IN THE BACK OF MY MIND I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE SAME THING. I KNOW THE SHIP LEFT DRYDOCK AND TRAVELLED DOWN WHATEVER RIVER TO GO TO WHERE IT WAS TO BE OUTFITTED WITH THE INTERIOR FITTINGS. I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING ELSE. IF WE ARE CANCELLED, WE HAVE SOME QUITE EXPENSIVE AIRFARE TO USE!

 

[senoraberg]

This is what I read:
New Norwegian Gem Leaves German Drydock
The newest "jewel" in the NCL fleet left drydock at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany on Sunday, August 12. Prior to leaving drydock, the 93,500-ton ship underwent a series of tests and engine trials, all of which went smoothly. She will be berthed in Papenburg while work is completed. The ship is scheduled to make the River Ems passage to Eemshaven/Netherlands for sea trials in mid-September, and she will be delivered to NCL in October. The Norwegian Gem is the last ship in NCL's "jewel class", and is a sister ship to the Norwegian Pearl launched last December.

 

[BuddyD]

Senoraberg, CruiseCritic.com has a good message board that discusses the various ports the Gem will visit. Go to the Roll Call section and look for the October 8th cruise. I don't think there's much to do in Vigo. I'm thinking about splurging on tours for Florence and Rome and then take it easy on the rest since tours are so expensive. We've been on many cruises, but all in the Caribbean. This is our first trip of any kind to Europe.

It may be worth a call to NCL to see how the Gem is doing. I'll let you know what I hear.

 

[senoraberg]

I've been to Europe with NCL before-actually we did the exact itinerary on the second half of this curise. Went to Pompeii, which was fantastic. We're looking for soemthing else to do in Naples, and I really want alternatives to the ship tours-they're crowded and expensive, and they often stop at tourist traps where they waste time trying to get you to buy something. I'd like to know how to take the trains and public transprotation to places of interest.

 

[Don Clark]

The Norwegian Gem will be the newest ship in NCL's fleet this fall.

You'll most likely will find both American and European power outlets in your cabin.

 

[frank&Sharont]

doubtful anyones been on the GEM...my wife and I are on the first cruise on the GEM oct 8 out of london (dover) western med 12 night finishing in Barcelona...I have read some distressing reviews about ncl since I have booked our cruise,,, she actualy wanted to cancel after we had already paid and the only reason we are going is ncl wanted to tax us 1000 dollars each to cancel a trip we booked the night before. now I would rather pay the extra 2000 dollars each and get something than pay 1000 dollars each for nothing. I had to use the hard sell to my wife to even get her to even consider cruising at all and if this cruise sucks then i will never again get to sleep in a bed on vacation and will have to undergo a lifetime of camping vacations and driving tours... sigh

 

[davejohn]

I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's a brand new ship and thus will be staffed by the cream of the crop from NCL's staff.

We're booked on the same cruise. You might want to check out the roll call for this cruise on cruisetraveltalk.com. Sounds like a fun group.
Dave