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Kelly9904
Mommy to 2 amazing little boys
Member since 5/05 9306 total posts
Name:
Kelly
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NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
Has anyone been on these NCL boats out of NY? Did you like them? I am going crazy reading reviews because for every positive, you can find another person saying the exact opposite!!!
We are trying to plan a family vacation and really like this idea....we would have at least 11 ppl including kids ages (roughly) 12yo, 9yo, 7yo, 6yo, 2/3yo....plus adults up to 73yo!
So we are looking for a vacation that has something for everyone!!!
Thanks
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Posted 9/24/13 2:49 PM  |
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ElizaRags35
My 2 Girls
Member since 2/09 20494 total posts
Name:
Me
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NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
I posted one a few weeks ago. Let me find it...
Here it is
Message edited 9/24/2013 4:02:44 PM.
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| Posted 9/24/13 4:01 PM |
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Kelly9904
Mommy to 2 amazing little boys
Member since 5/05 9306 total posts
Name:
Kelly
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
Posted by ElizaRags35
I posted one a few weeks ago. Let me find it...
Here it is
Thank you! I knew someone posted a recent review but was having an issue finding it!!!!
You say you prefer Carnival, have you ever been on the splendor or pride? With so many people we are trying to not fly if possible and just do a cruise out of NY, Baltimore or Boston....\
Thanks
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| Posted 9/24/13 4:32 PM |
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Karen
Just chillin'!!
Member since 1/06 9690 total posts
Name:
Karen
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
We were on the Gem 8/24-8/31.
Absolutely loved it, no complaints at all.
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| Posted 9/24/13 9:35 PM |
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ElizaRags35
My 2 Girls
Member since 2/09 20494 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
Posted by Kelly9904
Posted by ElizaRags35
I posted one a few weeks ago. Let me find it...
Here it is
Thank you! I knew someone posted a recent review but was having an issue finding it!!!!
You say you prefer Carnival, have you ever been on the splendor or pride? With so many people we are trying to not fly if possible and just do a cruise out of NY, Baltimore or Boston....\
Thanks
Haven't been on either one of those but would in a heartbeat! Esp. the Splendor!
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| Posted 9/24/13 10:10 PM |
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KarenK122
The Journey is the Destination
Member since 5/05 4431 total posts
Name:
Karen
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NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
We were on the Breakaway in June and LOVED it. I have been on Carnival, Princess, and Disney as well and I really don't like comparing lines because they all offer different things and I enjoyed every cruise I have taken. But if I was to rank them for overall experiences it would be Disney, NCL, Princess and then Carnival.
We loved the food on the Breakaway, more so than any other line. I also like that is was very casual. We did not have to dress up and we were able to stay in comfortable clothes all day long....to us an important part of vacation. DD loved the kids club and the few Nick events that they had. I thought the bars were great and the casino, well it's a casino lol. If you are looking for a more traditional cruise, same waitstaff each night, formal nights, NCL is not for you. I kind of describe NCL as being at a resort. A different restaurant every night, a ton of things to do, while the other lines fall more into the traditional cruise category. We have the Gem booked for May 2014.
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| Posted 9/25/13 12:01 AM |
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Kelly9904
Mommy to 2 amazing little boys
Member since 5/05 9306 total posts
Name:
Kelly
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
Posted by KarenK122
We were on the Breakaway in June and LOVED it. I have been on Carnival, Princess, and Disney as well and I really don't like comparing lines because they all offer different things and I enjoyed every cruise I have taken. But if I was to rank them for overall experiences it would be Disney, NCL, Princess and then Carnival.
We loved the food on the Breakaway, more so than any other line. I also like that is was very casual. We did not have to dress up and we were able to stay in comfortable clothes all day long....to us an important part of vacation. DD loved the kids club and the few Nick events that they had. I thought the bars were great and the casino, well it's a casino lol. If you are looking for a more traditional cruise, same waitstaff each night, formal nights, NCL is not for you. I kind of describe NCL as being at a resort. A different restaurant every night, a ton of things to do, while the other lines fall more into the traditional cruise category. We have the Gem booked for May 2014.
THank you, this is really helpful! We did disney and loved it and are afraid that we are going to spend all this money and not enjoy it compared to disney!
We didnt dress up on DCL so we dont want that, waitstaff isnt important to me, its nice on the DCL but not a must have! we are hte only ones in the party who have ever cruised before so no one else has any real expectations.
One question, did you eat mostly in the regular restaurants or the specialty ones? I see mixed reviews about the regular dining rooms. I dont want to have to shell out a ton more money for the week in food, to me that is one of the benefits of a cruise is the nearly all inclusive feel.
ETA: Also how was the ship crowd wise. We are probably going during a school break bc my nephew is in middle school now and his classes are getting too hard to miss, so I am worried about the crowd levels!
Message edited 9/25/2013 9:26:46 AM.
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| Posted 9/25/13 9:25 AM |
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Kelly9904
Mommy to 2 amazing little boys
Member since 5/05 9306 total posts
Name:
Kelly
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
Posted by Karen
We were on the Gem 8/24-8/31.
Absolutely loved it, no complaints at all.
Thanks! HOw were the crowds in the summer?
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| Posted 9/25/13 9:27 AM |
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buttercup
St. Jude pray for us...
Member since 1/11 2951 total posts
Name:
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
We went on the Gem in mid August - loved it!
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| Posted 9/25/13 9:53 AM |
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BargainMama
LIF Adult
Member since 5/09 15657 total posts
Name:
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
Posted by Kelly9904
Posted by KarenK122
We were on the Breakaway in June and LOVED it. I have been on Carnival, Princess, and Disney as well and I really don't like comparing lines because they all offer different things and I enjoyed every cruise I have taken. But if I was to rank them for overall experiences it would be Disney, NCL, Princess and then Carnival.
We loved the food on the Breakaway, more so than any other line. I also like that is was very casual. We did not have to dress up and we were able to stay in comfortable clothes all day long....to us an important part of vacation. DD loved the kids club and the few Nick events that they had. I thought the bars were great and the casino, well it's a casino lol. If you are looking for a more traditional cruise, same waitstaff each night, formal nights, NCL is not for you. I kind of describe NCL as being at a resort. A different restaurant every night, a ton of things to do, while the other lines fall more into the traditional cruise category. We have the Gem booked for May 2014.
THank you, this is really helpful! We did disney and loved it and are afraid that we are going to spend all this money and not enjoy it compared to disney!
This is my worry also, that nothing else will live up to the service on Disney. Reading the review, I was completely turned off that you have to exchange your pool towels to get new ones. Sounds silly, but that just seems weird to me after sailing on Disney!
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| Posted 9/25/13 10:25 AM |
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nferrandi
too excited for words
Member since 10/05 18538 total posts
Name:
Nicole
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
I've never been on a Disney cruise so I'm not sure how they compare. But I have been on the Gem. DH and I really feel the slight up charge for the specialty restaurants is worth it. The food in the dining room was fine. Not fantastic, but certainly not terrible. We also like the feel of a restaurant compared to that of a large dining room. We find NCL to be cheaper then other cruises, so paying a little more for dinner wasn't a big deal to us.
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| Posted 9/25/13 10:12 PM |
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Bellaocchi
Hope Faith Love
Member since 2/07 5694 total posts
Name:
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
I was on the breakaway the first week of September.
I loved it. The food was really good at the manhattan room.
The food at la cucina was not so good. Their bread and appetizers were good. The main entree and dessert was not.
I had a balcony room. It was great sleeping with the balcony doors open and hearing the ocean waves.
Bermuda was gorgeous! Horseshoe bay beach was beautiful. The workers there in the tourist section were somewhat rude.
I would definitely cruise with ncl again.
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| Posted 9/26/13 12:57 AM |
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Karen
Just chillin'!!
Member since 1/06 9690 total posts
Name:
Karen
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
Posted by Kelly9904
Posted by Karen
We were on the Gem 8/24-8/31.
Absolutely loved it, no complaints at all.
Thanks! HOw were the crowds in the summer?
Nothing every felt crowded to us. Honestly though, we had a suite, so we didn't spend time by the pool so I can't say how crazy that was. Restaurants never felt that crowded.
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| Posted 9/26/13 3:32 PM |
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KarenK122
The Journey is the Destination
Member since 5/05 4431 total posts
Name:
Karen
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NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
I never felt the crowds except on the pool deck and when they held their game show type games in the atrium. Not really a good place for it as there are not enough chairs. The pool deck is crowded on every single cruise I've been on so all the cruise lines are at fault for that. I did find that if you swam early...after breakfast you had most of the pools to yourself. They started to get packed around 11.
I found the restaurants fine. I'm not expecting gourmet food on the ship and it was all tasty. We liked the 24/7 type diner place as we love comfort foods...good burgers, soups, sandwiches and wings!! We did not do any pay restaurants except for the Italian and didn't care to much for that. The regular restaurants had almost no wait and usually ate around 5:45 ish. I like the buffet for breakfast, except for the waffles as they looked like eggos (DD liked them though) and they also have a crepe station...YUM.
We stayed in the Haven so we went to their restaurant as well which was awesome. They were able to get us anything we wanted from any restaurant on the ship. Great experience.
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| Posted 9/26/13 4:26 PM |
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KarenK122
The Journey is the Destination
Member since 5/05 4431 total posts
Name:
Karen
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Re: NCL Gem or Breakaway Reviews
Posted by BargainMama
Posted by Kelly9904
Posted by KarenK122
We were on the Breakaway in June and LOVED it. I have been on Carnival, Princess, and Disney as well and I really don't like comparing lines because they all offer different things and I enjoyed every cruise I have taken. But if I was to rank them for overall experiences it would be Disney, NCL, Princess and then Carnival.
We loved the food on the Breakaway, more so than any other line. I also like that is was very casual. We did not have to dress up and we were able to stay in comfortable clothes all day long....to us an important part of vacation. DD loved the kids club and the few Nick events that they had. I thought the bars were great and the casino, well it's a casino lol. If you are looking for a more traditional cruise, same waitstaff each night, formal nights, NCL is not for you. I kind of describe NCL as being at a resort. A different restaurant every night, a ton of things to do, while the other lines fall more into the traditional cruise category. We have the Gem booked for May 2014.
THank you, this is really helpful! We did disney and loved it and are afraid that we are going to spend all this money and not enjoy it compared to disney!
This is my worry also, that nothing else will live up to the service on Disney. Reading the review, I was completely turned off that you have to exchange your pool towels to get new ones. Sounds silly, but that just seems weird to me after sailing on Disney!
Disney and NCL are two different beasts, it's really hard to compare the two as I always put Disney in it's own category. I will say that all the staff on NCL were just as friendly as Disney and even though NCL didn't have the "magic" it was just has good for a fraction the cost.
The towels didn't bother me too much as I thought the Disney towels were too small and the NCL towels were true beach towels.
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| Posted 9/26/13 4:32 PM |
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