Racist Comedian but Great Sketch Improv

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Bermuda

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 7

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Gem

7 Night Bermuda (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 08, 2011

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 13 years ago

Review summary

NCL's review guidelines state "No disparaging an ethnic, religious, political, social, or other such group or organization." Too bad they don't use the same guidelines in hiring the entertainers. The stand-up comedian's "family-friendly" show was anything but. He ranted about various racial groups and used offensive accents based on ridiculously outdated and inaccurate stereotypes of Chinese, Indian,"Southern" (meaning black), and Italian people. Even worse was that a number of white teenagers and children who had seen his show ran around the ship the next day repeating the most offensive lines within earshot of other guests, clearly having learned from this comedian that it is acceptable to spew racist comments to get attention. This experience ruined our cruise. We will never sail with NCL again as long as this comedian is still getting paid to perform with our money.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
The buffet was very crowded with lots of children running around, so we preferred the dining rooms, where service was excellent and portions were elegantly sized.

Entertainment

1 out of 5
We would have given five stars for the Second City improv team and their witty comedy. They were definitely worth seeing, and we'll be going to see them perform whenever we can. However, the racist comedian's three shows were such a disappointment. We kept going back, hoping that he would have a better show having warmed up a little bit, but he just kept getting worse and worse. The adults-only show was simply disgusting. This 63-year old comedian has no new material. He recites jokes that we have heard from other comedians, and even told one joke that our 10-year-old nephew told us last year. It's time for NCL to fire him and hire a comedian who actually writes his/her own material instead of relying on racist stereotypes that make people laugh because it reminds them of being back in grade school bullying other kids for fun. He set such a bad example to everyone and made this cruise an unforgettably negative experience for us.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The staff were very friendly and always willing to help us with any requests.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
This ship was very similar to the other cruise ship we tried last year. Very clean and reasonably accessible to wheelchairs and scooters.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Our room steward was very attentive. We told him on the first day we didn't need any ice, and he remembered for the rest of the week. He also came to vacuum up after my husband spilled some powder on the carpet, and remembered our first names all week.

Pros: Second City Sketch Improv

Cons: Racist Stand-up Comedian

Recommends Norwegian Gem? No.

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