Disappointing Service

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 44

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Norwegian Gem

10 Night Eastern Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 29, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

We sailed on the 2016 New Years cruise on NCL Gem. The service is easily the worst service we have every experienced on a cruise (we have sailed over a dozen times on Royal, Princess, NCL, Celebrity and Cunard). The lacklustre service started on day one when we enter our cabin. We unpacked our carry-on clothes and went to explore the ship. After returning we found our clothes gone. We phoned the front desk, no answer, the cabin stewards, no answer. We went down to the front desk, waiting for half and hour in line, and were told the head steward will come to our cabin. We waited an hour, no one came. We finally went out and asked 3 stewards on the same floor until we found ours and got our clothes back. This was the introduction to perpetual bad service. Every time in the main dinning room we asked to share a table and were ignored and seated at a table of two. The third time we finally got up and walked to the head waiter and told him we don't want to sit alone. He then sat us at a 8 chair table and sat no one else there, so we ate alone at a large table, and when we left found a lineup to get in. Obviously this was deliberate. One night we booked the Asian restaurant. In the afternoon before dinner we met a couple who was also eating there and decided to change our reservation to 4. They would not accommodate us, and when we arrived 30 minutes after the other couple for our original reservation found the restaurant half empty, so we ate alone again. One night we booked the Brazilian restaurant. We were offered only half the meat on the menu, and at 9:30 while still talking to the ladies at the table beside us over our desert, they started vacuuming around us. At the pub we tried to order beer and the waiter brought use 2 different drinks before getting Corona right. BTW, the nachos at the pub are extremely bad, think gas station quality. We ate at the Italian restaurant, and while my wife enjoyed it I had the steak and found it very dry and disappointing. On the sail down and back to NYC the seas were rough, which was not unexpected, and we heard a large banging above us, like a room cart getting lose. We phoned the front desk, no answer, the stewards, no answer, and finally the emergency number, no answer. The crashing went on for hours. The list can easily go on, but the summary is that the service on this ship is awful and the ship should be avoided.

 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
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7 Comments

newfie60    7 years ago

We have cruised 43 times in ten years. Just got off the Gem. Have no idea what you are talking about. Service was great. We went to Cagney, Moderno, La Cucina, and le Bistro. Service was great. As for main dining room did you ever think that because you want to sit with people at dinner they don't want to sit with strangers. We never want to sit with strangers. It's dinner. As the weather of you are going out of New York in January February or March you have to expect to lose 2 days and rough weather. If you have cruised that much you should know this.

MacKim    7 years ago

The banging during rough seas was the anchor (told to us by the captain). NCL is Freestyle dining. Maybe other people just didn't want to dine with anyone else.

pennpam    7 years ago

I have cruised both Carnival and NCL. I won't cruise Carnival again, but that is just me. NCL is by far our favorite. Have never had one bad experience with them. Service has always been above and beyond. Wonder how your experience could be so vastly different. Sorry yours was bad, but I leave in 9 days for another NCL trip. I am looking forward to the same great service we always get.

viviennepagano    7 years ago

We had an amazing time on the Gem in April 2016 ! Going back in September everyone and everything was wonderful

jib614    7 years ago

We had a great time on the Gem

pgbarton    7 years ago

Sorry to hear you had such bad experience but we have been on 5 different cruises through NCL and we have loved every one of them. In fact we prefer NCL and have met some of the nicest stewards from all different locations. They would have never really have talked to us if we had not stopped and tried to learn more about them they would not have gone out of their way to talk to us.

rogerellenborland    7 years ago

Wow, that's terrible. I have read a lot of complaints about this cruise line. I think that it's the reason we stick with carnival. We have been on 21 carnival and loved every one.

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