very Disappointed

Item: Norwegian Gem
Rating: 2
Author: NCLGemdisappoin

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

NCLGemdisappoin

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 136

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

10 Night Eastern Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 12, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 10081

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

NCl. Gem should be called NCL ,lemon , the food was a disappointment, the waiter service was awful, not to blame the waiter ,they were very nice, they were short staffed ,overworked and in training, that's the problem with Free styling, the service is very unprofessional, and the incentive to provide good service is taken away ,because they are guaranteed a gratuity ,no incentive, Since this new CEO took over Frank, Deliro, He has enacted a Mandatory $13.50 per person per room Service Charge, 10 cruise, 4 people = $54 a day x10=$540 on your bill at the end of your cruise, You are ambushed and most people are un aware, He took away my personal tipping authoring, and they decide who gets the money at the end of the month, if at all. He should resign, because he is destroying NCL, and trying to turn it into all about money on how much he can suck out of you, two drinks $25 white Russian, vodka and cranberry, if you want a good meal ,you have to pay extra

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

For four people the cabin was very, very small, the steward was very nice, but not very motivated, we always had to search for him when we needed ice or cups, or just get our own

Ship tip

Food was okay not very good but okay, I would not recommend this ship , stick with celebrity, Disney, even Carnival, Royal Caribbean, if your looking for good service and good food, and most of all you can Tip your waiter ,steward and Bus Boy, keep it personal.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

New York, New York

3 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

1 out of 5

10 Comments

misssuzier 8 years ago

We never had poor service anywhere on the ship ... And the Gem is def not a lemon ... I love the Gem ... I have sailed her a few times ... She is the perfect sized ship for me... Food was very good... And even better at the pay restaurants...

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chillman141 8 years ago

Drink package break even is 6-7 drinks a day, depending on what you drink. Beer is cheaper than top shelf or wine, so you get more.

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NCLGemdisappoin 8 years ago

DONT GET ME WRONG, The workers are great, AND VERY NICE ,my issue is upper management and CEO POLICY-pre-paid forced service charge and taking away my right who to tip, and Magenta is where we waited the longest, our waiter had 6 tables no bus boy, and he was first time waitering, after that we decided to eat in the buffet same food quicker service . As far as paying for a drink package, its very pricey , you would be better off binging your own bottles of wine and paying the $15 dollar Corking Fee to NCL for each bottle

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crstine3 8 years ago

Okay..thanks for the info!

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hesselectric 8 years ago

Depends on how much you drink I guess...I Drank wine and top shelf and beer mostly..I don't think we drank our money's worth but at least our room bill was small.Also you don't have to pay any gratuity because you prepay..I guess it's pretty even.You can order drinks up to $11.50 I think.

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crstine3 8 years ago

Did you think the drink package was worth the money? We are looking to book again and that was something some of were looking into.

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hesselectric 8 years ago

I thought that the dining rooms and restaurants had plenty of waiters.Just unhappy with bar service..We bought the drinks package.Casino bar service was good.

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crstine3 8 years ago

Like I said, I had one issue and that was in the Magenta. I never waited for service in the locations I visited so I wouldn't say they were understaffed but I also didn't visit the bars much.

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hesselectric 8 years ago

I heard that Norwegian stripped their ships of staff to work on the Escape.I was also on the 1/12 sailing...Bar service was mediocre at best..Except the Sugarcane bar which no one really knows about yet.Pool bars and triple bar were understaffed.

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crstine3 8 years ago

I was just on the Gem from 1/12-1/22 and all 7 of us had a ball. only one issue with staff but it was immediately handled. You are able to request a partial refund of the daily charges if you were unhappy with the service. The staff was very friendly from Alvin the cruise director to our room steward. I would recommend the Gem to anyone I know.

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Other reviews of this sailing

Had a good time - not that Norwegian had anything to do with it.

Could of had a better experience

A GEM of a cruise for the $$$$