This was a Great itinerary for us who live in Florida to see the vibrant fall colors. We learned a lot of the history and about the French influences. The best bang for the $$ was the thermal spa pass. Since it was too chilly for any pool time.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We arrived Quebec City 2 days early and used the NCL reduced promo with no issues. The flight from Miami to Quebec had one short layover in Philadelphia. After 2 days of sightseeing in beautiful and clean Quebec City we boarded the NCL Gem. The embarkation process was smooth and fast. We skipped the embarkation day madness at the buffet and headed for one of the main dining rooms. The rooms were ready before 1:00 pm.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
NCL offers great dining options. We made reservations at 3 specialty restaurants and then alternated between the 2 main dining rooms (different ambiance) and the other complementary restaurants - O’Sheehan’s and Orchid offering a great Asian menu . During peak times the complementary dining room can get backed up a bit. But they used pagers that buzz you when they are ready - so either take a stroll or just grab a drink at the nearby bar. Cagny’s Steakhouse was hands down the best. Our only complaint: more than once some food that arrived at the table wasn’t hot enough.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We also booked the Thermal Spa pass. This gave us daily access to a wonderful retreat each day. The thermal spa offers a large hot pool, hot tub, steam rooms, heated ceramic loungers and cushioned loungers. Even with a ship at full capacity - we never had a problem using the thermal spa - it was money well spent.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The Gem is a very nice mid size ship. They don’t have large scale entertainment shows, but that was ok. The shows they offer were entertaining and fun. The musicians that rotate around the bars were good. We found our fellow passengers were all relaxed and having a good time.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Staff were all happy. Our steward greeted us by name each time we passed in the hall-always a nice touch.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
we had a mid-ship balcony on deck 9. It was quite, roomy, and had a nice full closet. The bed was very comfortable. Our steward greeted us by name each time we passed in the hall-always a nice touch. We took advantage of the free continental breakfast room service on a couple of days.
We booked a private car. First he drove on the main highway up the coast, then we leisurely drove back along the coast with many local stops including Peggys cove. More great fall color and scenery
Weather. With an approaching Nor’easter the captain converted to a sea day by sailing slowly around the nicely protected Bay of Fundy. The seas got ugly, but the captain did an awesome job of keeping the ship moving without any severe rocking. In Portland, they had 500,000 without power and severe damage - the captain made the right decision.
We ended in Boston docking at 8 am, but our flight home wasn’t until 6 PM. We used Boston water taxi from the port. They transported us to the downtown, stored our luggage, then transported us to the airport in the afternoon.
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