Norwegian lost my stroller! i w

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Gem

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 23, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10126

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

First I would like to start by saying that the staff on the ship (except the customer service desk) were amazing! Most people were so great to my sons when they walked past them, always greeting them and talking to them. The Brazillian restaurant Moderno was beyond amazing! We actually canceled our reservation for Cagneys to go to Moderno again 2 days later! However the negatives made my trip miserable! First- they lost our stroller which made the trip a living hell for me! My 3 year old son was born with clubfoot which requires him to wear braces on his feet 14-16 hours a day. Not having the stroller was a complete inconvenience, requiring me to carry him. When we went to the excursions we were unable to get a stroller at the Kennedy Space Center so it was very hard seeing he just turned 3 and still gets very tired and needs to sit! I was told that if I rented a stroller there that I would be reimbursed however because I didn't rent one I was given $50 on board credit for the inconvenience. When we went to Atlantis aquarium we rented a stroller (which was a VERY large jogging stroller that was not only hard to navigate and carry up all the stairs but was uncomfortable for my son) and when I returned to the ship I was told that I wouldn't be reimbursed because we were given the on board credit. The people at guest services were very unsympathetic even when I brought my son down to show them his braces and how hard it was. After returning home and speaking with someone at the headquarters I was told that I could only be reimbursed $50 seeing their maximum is only $100 (I already was given the $50 on board credit) seeing I didn't purchase the travel protection. I'm getting $100 for the over $200 Maclaren stroller that I purchased specially for this cruise seeing my son requires to sit a certain way with his braces! I am very disappointed in the lack of empathy that I received from the representatives at Norweigian and will never ever cruise with them again! This was my 2 cruise with them and I was very excited seeing my first was wonderful! I have shared this story with others and will let all mothers of children with disabilities know how unhelpful Norweigian is towards parents of children with disabilities and their customers themselves! 
Second issue-- the kids academy seemed to have too many flaws which made the trip unenjoyable. When registering my sons I told them that the 3 year old wears a diaper, apparently no one gave him the appropriate sticker because as my husband and I sat down for dinner the first time he was in there, I received a call telling me that he took off his diaper (which he never does) when I went there I was told that they didn't realize that he wore a diaper and sent him to the bathroom during bathroom time. Another time I was called because my 6 year old looked tired and yawned. We  picked him up once they called at 8:30 and he was wide awake and up for 2 more hours. (This happened with my 3 year old also...and I was told from other parents they did it to them too) When I asked him if he told them he was tired he said no, he was just bored. To me it seemed like they were calling parents to get them to pick up the kids and get the kids to leave. 
I love cruising and will continue to do so, just never again with Norwegian!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5
I was not able to enjoy any entertainment due to be called every time I dropped my children off! Please keep in mind my children are VERY well behaved so their behavior was not a problem!

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

5 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5
The shopping outside of the port was shady and did not seem safe!
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4 Comments

keng23    8 years ago

I've been on Norwegian. 3 times, never had a problem with staff or customer service on the two ships I have been on.

bonagurosharon    8 years ago

I am so sorry that this happened, Norwegian needs to find that stroller. We went on the Gem, July 16, had a great time, everything was wonderful except for Guest Services. Last year on the Breakaway with double the amount of people, guest services couldn't do enough for you. On the last day one of the women was so rude to me about a charge on my bill, I really wish I had her name, and my sister had paid for wifi, it wouldn't work, they said it was slow, and it had nothing to do with them, one of the cruise directors staff helped her. I realize this is not as bad as a stolen stroller, but they should be fired.

1028    8 years ago

Call your credit card company(if you paid with one) and file a complaint.

tammy91098    8 years ago

Sorry you had such a bad experience. We cruised on NCL with my son who is autistic. They went above and beyond to make sure he had everything he needed to have a great trip. Did you check the stroller with your luggage?? Something that essential always stays with me. Did you see if the had a wheelchair you could use?? Not ideal....but might have helped.

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