Good, but disappointing.

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Baysailorgirl

Contributor Level: Second Mate

385 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 9

Helpful Votes: 171

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

9 Night Caribbean: Dominican Republic & Tortola (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 12, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10102

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 months ago

Review summary

Will we sail NCL again...Yes! We will sail the NCL Gem again...No!

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Port of Miami was a fairly easy embarkation. The NCL terminal is huge and comfortable. Boarding went quickly.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food...let's just say I got sick after eating in the Grand Pacific main dining room and the Orchid Garden (Asian). We had excellent meals in La Cucina (Italian) and a good meal in Moderno (Brazilian). We had the "drink package" and the mixed drinks were mediocre.

The Great Outdoors

5 out of 5

Loved sitting outside with optional covered or uncovered table. Great bar and buffet. Plus, it has its own soft-serve ice cream machine.

La Cucina Italian Restaurant

5 out of 5

Food, service and ambience is the best.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

N/A

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The Broadway shows were pretty good but the other entertainment not so good.

Spinnaker Lounge

5 out of 5

Great venue when there are no activities. Beautiful views, comfortable and quiet.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Other than some of the Shore Exc. staff, everyone else was excellent.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The ship is immaculate and well maintained. There are some unwelcoming design issues. To get to the Grand Pacific dining room, you must navigate stairs. There is ONE elevator for ADA passengers but to get to the host podium does require climbing stairs. The Stardust theatre has life threatening stairs...very steep.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Our balcony cabin was comfortable but the bathroom is much too small. The cabin has the smallest TV I've ever seen on a ship...you need binoculars to read anything in print if you're more than two feet away and the technology is poor...not user friendly with outdated information, i.e., mandatory mask required for shore excursions. Even though the ship was refurbished in 2022 there are no usb outlets, only two 120v and one 240v outlets (hidden in a cabinet) and no outlets near the bed(s).