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04/12/15, 05/20/20

2015 Cruise, Page A, March 27 to March 30, 2015

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This 10-day cruise was on the Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL).   While checking in,
we were informed that the itinerary had been changed. We would visit St. Maarten after San Juan
instead of St. Thomas. It was later explained to us that the itinerary change was made due to the
number of ships that would be in port. About 5 other ships were scheduled to be in port with the Gem
had we followed the original itinerary. With the change in ports, we were the only ship visiting
St. Thomas and in St. Maarten there were only 2 other ships.    Unfortunately, with the itinerary change
I did not get to see the Allure of the Seas!

The ship left New York City at 4 p.m. on March 27th. We were at sea until March 30th.   It was cold
for the first two days at sea. The ports visited were San Juan (March 31st, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.),
St. Maarten (April 1st, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), St. Thomas (April 2nd, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
and Tortola (April 3rd, 7a.m. to 1 p.m.). After our brief stay in Tortola, we headed back to NYC.

It got cold and windy as the ship headed north.

We arrived in New York City at about 8 a.m. on April 6th after 2 days at sea.

During the days at sea, the captain of the ship would give us our position. After giving the longitude
and latitude he'd say, "We're in the middle of no where."   How comforting!!

I enjoyed the cruise very much. It was easy to navigate the Gem since the theater, restaurants,
casino, etc., were on the Decks 6 & 7. The entertainment was great, especially the
acrobatic duo.    The food was nothing spectacular but there were many restaurants to choose from,
some with additional fees.    The staff was very friendly and always eager to help. The balcony cabin
we stayed in was small. The ship needs a good paint job and/or refurbishing.

Ship docked at Pier 88.

There were 4 bowling lanes. Before the ship left port, we
took a quick tour of Decks 6 & 7.

Intrepid Museum, Manhattan's skyline, and rooftop
parking lot on dock from cabin's balcony.

Concord, part of Intrepid Museum

The Gem leaving Pier 88.

Battery Park area, World Trade Center.
It was a cloudy day!

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ahead of us.
The Coast Guard boat followed us until we reached
the Verrazano Bridge. There was also a NYPD boat
but it did not follow us as far.

Ellis Island