overcrowded and seasick

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 5

Overall rating:

1 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Gem

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 19, 2012

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 12 years ago

Review summary

The ship was pretty and seemed a lot of fun, but the crowds made it a hassle to do anything. The lines were eternal and my 6 year old lost patience, we couldnt get reservations at specialty restaurants so we were always schlepping highchairs over people's heads in teh cafeteria, going to get our food in shifts, first for the baby, then for the kids, then for us, then back for dessert in 2 shifts. There were no chairs available at the pool. SOOO OVERCROWDED. The one activity, cupcake making, that my daughter wanted to do, was shreikingly loud and we couldnt even push into the room to try it. And disembarkation took 3 1/2 hours of standing in lines. That, combined with the rocking and rolling of the sea ( bottles fell off the shelves in duty free) made me think next time I'll just stay on land.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
We expected more late options so we could feed kids early and got o a show then dine late, but all that was open late was the potatoe skin oriented blue lagoon. We tried 2 specialty restaurants, magents ( bad) and tequilla (good) but had to eat at odd early times to get in. Then found we were hungry later at night. Tried to order pizza to the room, heard it would be an hour wait so we cancelled.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Kind of hit or miss. One show, colorz, was embarrassingly bad, lika junior high kids show. But the aerialists Massimo and Alessia was amazing.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5
I was disappointed that there was no option at all for kids under 2. we couldn't even get a dinner out. We assumed there would be some kind of babysitting service for hire. My 6 year old was disappointed a few times by the crowds of kids and not being able to participate so she became discouraged and spent the rest of the trip w us. The last day she wanted to partucipate in the circus, so she went to a rehearsal 12-2 and was to come back at 4 to be in the show. But when I went to pick her up at 2 the leader said if she didn't stay the show would fiull up and she wouldnt get to participate because they had too many kids. This was a real problem since she hadnt eaten lunch. But she desperately wanted to be in the show so I left her there all afternoon so she wouldn't loose her place.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Very very kind and helpful

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
pretty ship. I had a problem w my terrace door the entire cruise, it would open with the ships rocking and I would wake up with wind blowing through my cabin and have to go close it a few times a night, but overall my stateroom was nice.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Nice

Pros: the shore excursions to atlantis and seaworld were awesome.

Cons: Too much seasickness. Huge crowds meant the kids got shut out of kids club activities and we couldn't make dinner rez where we liked.

Recommends Norwegian Gem? No.

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