Supplement to Travel Trade
November 2007

By Don Langley

If Norwegian Cruise Line has its way, the last of the nearly identical sisters of the Jewel Class, Norwegian Gem, will exude its own distinct personality.
NCL has determined that the Gem needs a hip image as the sister sailing from New York. To her corporate parent, she’s the “It” Girl and has even been given her own Web site, www.gemitgirl.com, where there’s a lot of information about her.
For example, she’s a Libra, born in Papenburg, Germany, in October 2007. She’s tall, 14 decks and measures in at 93,530 tons. Apparently, she loves to entertain — 2,466 guests at a time on a double occupancy basis. She’s single and likes bar hopping and bowling.
And of course, she likes gems. In the forward stairwell, there’s a large graphic at each landing providing the stories and legends surrounding some of the world’s most famous stones, with an emphasis on diamonds.
The family resemblance is certainly strong. Like the Jewel, Pearl and Pride of Hawaii, soon to be the Jade, the Gem was built specifically for Freestyle Cruising, NCL’s signature whenever-you-want, wherever-you-want, with whomever-you-want dining plan.
Freestyle has the additional benefit of dispersing passengers so there is no collision of vast crowds as early seating folks and early show-goers exchange places for late dining and the late show in the traditional cruise ship pattern. It also helps minimize the awareness of how large the passenger contingent is.
The four Jewel Class ships have essentially the same deck plans; many of their restaurants share the same names or at least the same menus. Most are concentrated on decks six and seven. So, as with identical siblings, it’s only those who know them well who will be aware of subtle differences.
Forward on the Gem is the comfortable Stardust Theater. It has all theater-style seating, without cocktail tables or bar service. On its stage, an energetic cast of 14 strong-voiced singers and limber dancers perform revues such as World Beat, a series of musical interludes evoking scenes from American hip hop to Spanish flamenco and Asian melodies.
From the theater, the audience spills out onto decks seven and six. On deck seven on the Gem as on the Pearl they exit into the Trade Routes Boutiques, loaded with duty-free liquor, perfume, watches, jewelry, apparel and an array of NCL logo merchandise and souvenirs. (On the Jewel and Jade this space features a lounge with karaoke facilities and private karaoke rooms; shopping is all the way aft.)
Beyond that is the Orchid Garden, a Japanese/Thai/Chinese fusion restaurant combined with a sushi bar and a Japanese teppanyaki grill room. This is where the subtle differences come in. With the same layout and décor, the room is called Chin Chin on Jewel, Lotus Garden on Pearl and Jasmine on Pride of Hawaii/Jade. The atrium lobby is notable on several counts. On one side, between two staircases curving down from the deck above, is a colorful Dale Chihuly glass sculpture. At one end, behind the front desk, is an original Claude Monet painting — or will be. A reproduction is standing in until it arrives.
At the opposite end of the lobby is a two-story-high LED screen. At various times it shows graphics promoting NCL’s multitude of destinations, sometimes it shows videos of the ship’s creation in the shipyard and sometimes it is used for giant Nintendo Wii games.
At the stern is the Bliss Ultra Lounge, which originated on the Norwegian Pearl. It is a dark disco with some wild side rooms, decorated in red velvet and black. NCL describes the atmosphere as that of a decadent New York nightclub. Flanking that are two lanes of bowling on each side. The combination turned out to be very popular. Those who can’t get enough bowling at Bliss can also bowl on the giant Wii system in the atrium, which also has a golf system.
Those who leave the theater on Deck Six will find themselves in the Gem Club Casino. (On Pride of Hawaii, which wasn’t permitted to have a casino, a group of staterooms will be replaced by a casino when the ship is transfigured into the Norwegian Jade.)
Beyond that is Bar Central, a busy meeting place of Magnum’s Champagne Bar, Maltings Whiskey and Beer Bar and Shakers Martini and Cocktail Bar. Nearby are several long, high zigzag tables with high stools, good for small gatherings and intimate conversation, Bar Central is common to all four sisters although, as with the Asian restaurants, the names are different on all the ships.
Across the small lobby of Bar Central, open to the deck above and with a stairway, are the Corona Cigar Bar and Le Bistro Restaurant. The cigar bar is decorated with portraits and quotations of famous cigar smokers from Lord Byron to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sigmund Freud’s contribution: “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
Le Bistro, a gourmet restaurant commanding a surcharge and common to all the ships, has 129 seats but is designed to seem smaller and more intimate. Its walls are covered with reproductions of Paul Gauguin’s evocative paintings of Tahiti. A Matisse reproduction will soon be replaced by the original which, like the Monet, is from the chairman’s personal collection.
Deck six is also the locale of Norwegian Gem’s two main restaurants, the Magenta and the Grand Pacific. The Magenta, L-shaped and therefore looking smaller than it is, has a stylish modern look. Grand Pacific has the look and aura of traditional dining rooms of old — and views of the sea from three sides.
Several other dining spots are on upper decks. They include Cagney’s Steak House and the adjacent Star Bar, like those on the sisters, and La Cucina, identical, except for the name, to the rustic Tuscan restaurants of the others. The Garden Café, the large, informal buffet serving breakfast lunch and dinner, has been modified somewhat from some of the sisters.
All of the stations that serve prepared-on-demand hot food such as omelets for breakfast or pasta at lunch now line one wall, giving them better access to ingredients in the kitchens behind them. As before, there are no trays; guests are encouraged to select one course at a time so it is always fresh and at the proper temperature.
There are, of course, customary bars and food outlets surrounding the pools and hot tubs, along with some innovations. A mini-casino consisting of three blackjack tables is also near the pool, under the cover of the deck above, a concept that has been retrofitted on the Norwegian Pearl. There are lounge chairs galore around the pools, but also an area with more living room-like furniture, including a sectional arrangement.
Forward, above the ship’s bridge, are a well equipped gym and the Yin and Yang Spa. The spa, too, has been tweaked since the original. Saunas have been enlarged with windows forward as well as to the side, and the shared whirlpools have been moved. Nearby are the card room and the library which like the others is decorated with ship memorabilia.
Mid-ship, overlooking all the pools, sundecks and jogging track is what NCL calls the ship-within-a-ship, the luxurious Courtyard Villas and Garden Villas.
Villa guests have their own swim-against-the-current lap pool and a sun deck, a living-dining area as well as two bedrooms. A symbol of the upgrade: they have espresso machines; regular cabins have coffeemakers.
Garden villas have massive living rooms with a small bar and a grand piano. Between the living room and the master suite is an outdoor area with its own hot tub. There are three bedrooms and baths in all. All of these top-of-the-line accommodations sell quickly.
Finally, on the aft side of the ship’s funnel, high above the basketball court and spectator seating, there’s a rock climbing wall with five routes color-coded according to difficulty. Rock climbing isn’t an NCL original, but it’s evidence that NCL is willing to capitalize on popular ideas to ensure it has whatever people want. “Whatever...”is part of the Freestyle mantra.

VITAL STATISTICS
Norwegian Gem
Entered Service: Oct. 1, 2007
Length: 965’
Width: 125’
Speed: 25 knots
Tons: 93,530
Decks: 15
Guest Capacity: 2,394 (double occupancy)
Staterooms: 1,197
Handicapped Accessible Staterooms: 27