Just average, to be honest.

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 42

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Gem

10 Night Eastern Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 11, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 4575

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The shows and activities on the ship were just terrible. Makes for a long few days at sea. People are allowed to "save" seats for each other on deck by placing a towel down, so its virtually impossible to find a seat in the sun unless you are brave enough to steal a spot. Food was good but the seating was minimal in the buffet area, also because people were reserving whole sections of the room for family members who weren't seated yet. Also, don't get me wrong... I love kids but the kids were always in the adult only hot tubs and parental supervision was minimal for sure. Drinks were perfectly made and absolutely delicious, if you didn't mind waiting 20 minutes for a drink.

Ports were fun but it was hard to navigate islands if you didn't book an excursion from the ship.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
not enough seating. ice machine, coffee machine, and ice cream (soft serve) were constantly broken and out of order. Buffet was just ok but im not a buffet kind of person anyway.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
drink, shuffleboard, shuffleboard, drink and more shuffleboard. The ship coordinated activities were terrible, or cost extra like bingo. (Between 49 and 69 dollars extra!!!) hit up the gym a few times, and enjoyed it, one we got to warmer weather and not so rocky.

Entertainment

1 out of 5
horrible. There was one comedy show, which was mediocre, and the other shows were horrible.

Children's Programs

n/a

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
crew was amazing and worked hard, but there were not enough bartenders.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
decent enough.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
just fine for what it was. an inside cabin with 4 people.

Ship tip

Bring a book. and bring playing cards so you're not bored. trust me. they do have a game room, but its small and always packed. GET THE DRINK PACKAGE!! Well worth it, especially when I drank when I was bored. haha! Stay away from the buffet when possible. Seating minimal and restaurants are delish!

Ports of call

New York, New York Did not visit port

um... just came to get on ship.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5
Pretty much a dingy dumpy city but fun at least. print map of San Juan before you get on cruise.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5
Print map before you cruise. Better than San Juan, but beaches were just ok. Magen's Bay is overrated, and felt like a lake at home.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5
best place ever. Exceeded our expectations by far. Short walk to the beach and wonderful shops. skip the water taxi. Just walk. takes the same amount of time.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

3 out of 5
Only there 4 hours. beach was a 20 minute drive. don't bother. Do an excursion instead.
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3 Comments

XBCR619andW    8 years ago

Christ....almighty you said it!

jchrist    8 years ago

I've read all your reviews and every single one was you complaining... sounds like absolutely nothing makes you happy! Maybe stay home next time

teddygoogs    8 years ago

Expectations lead to a bad time in my experience

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