Gem 7 night Bahamas Cruise
Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 61
7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)
Sail date: July 15, 2017
Ship: Norwegian Gem
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: 11558
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
Overall the Bahamas cruise on the Gem was good. Gem is a smaller ship having previously sailed on the Breakaway, which is much larger. Gem was clean, food was good and crew was friendly and helpful. Entertainment on the ship was great and the bands/musicians were excellent. Pool area was very crowded. Poolside BBQ was excellent. Would recommend removing the Port Canaveral stop for a 2 day/overnight stay in the Bahamas instead. Limited time to enjoy the ports of call as it felt very rushed. Suggest that excursion staff are waiting when you get off the ship at the various ports to direct you where to go as it was chaotic and disorganized especially at the Bahamas port. Despite some of the minor issues, we had a great time on the Bahamas cruise on the Gem.Embarkation
We arrived early around 10:30am and the process was very organized, relatively quick and easy. There was a bit of a wait to get our key cards after checking in. We were not given any information at checkin like a map of the ship which was disappointing. Tables were set up to book dinner reservations or spa reservations, which was convenient. We waited about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes before they began the embarkation process. There were no issues and crew was welcoming.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The Main dining rooms (Pacific & Magenta) had good food and they took extra care with anyone that has a food allergy. Pacific was the larger of the 2 main dining rooms. If you don't have a reservation, wait times for a table could be slow depending on the time of your seating. Service could also be slow depending on the time of your seating. Although the menus from day to day vary slightly, there could have been more variety. It was disappointing that breakfast was only served at the buffet or Pacific dining room until 10:30am. The buffet offered a variety of choices however was very crowded with a line for the omlette station at breakfast and pasta/grill stations for lunch and dinner. There were 2 occasions where we couldn't find any seating by the buffet, which was frustrating. Tables were not cleaned that quickly. Poolside BBQ was excellent and a must do. Oriental Garden was only open for dinner; would have been nice to have sushi for lunch. O'Sheehans restaurant only had one menu and no daily variety, which is probably why it was never busy. O'Sheehans should offer breakfast on the Gem like they do on the Breakaway. We dined at the following specialty restaurants -Cagneys, Tepanyaki and La Cuchina. Best overall was Cagneys and is a must. Food was excellent as was the service - best steak I've had. Tepanyaki - hibachi grill was fun. Food was excellent as well but don't eat lunch that day as you get a lot of food. La Cuchina is Italian and was ok. The menu could have included more traditional italian meals. Overall, the dining experience was good.
Onboard Activities
Pool area was very crowded and although there was a separate adult pool, there were children in the pool. Hot tubs were great and relaxing but did also get crowded. Need to get up very early to get lounges by the pool. Ping pong tables need to be relocated somewhere else as the balls kept going under the lounges-annoying. Teenage children traveled with us and loved the lounge areas and the arcade. Couldn't enjoy casino due to the heavy smoke smell - horrible. There should be no smoking indoors.
Entertainment
Shows were very entertaining. Loved Second City comedy show and the 70's music show. Performers were great including the bands that played by the pool, the pianist that played by Magnums champagne bar and DJ Allegre.
Children's Programs
Teenage children loved the lounges and arcade room.
Service and Staff
Our room steward, Elbert, was excellent, very attentive and kept our stateroom spotless. Loved his towel animals. Bartender at O'Sheehans had an attitude and was nasty at times. Need more traveling waiters for drinks at the white hot party. Waited a while to get drinks, bar was packed. Guest services personnel were friendly and helpful but wait times could be lengthy. Majority of crew were friendly and helpful.
Ship Quality
The Gem was clean and well maintained. The atrium was beautiful. Having sailed on the Breakaway prior to the Gem I was expecting the side decks to have lounge areas which the Gem does not.
Cabin / Stateroom
Cabin and bathroom was very clean and spacious. Bed was not that comfortable, on the hard side. Mini-suites have tubs instead of walk in showers. Climbing in and out of the tub can be a challenge, would have preferred a walk in shower. Although the tempurature of the room was controllable and comfortable, I couldn't tell if the blower was on. Tempurature seemed to rise at night. Although the mini bar was not stocked in my room, which was fine since I didn't want it anyway, the fridge was small and doesn't fit much. Mini bars should be removed to allow more room for water bottles.
Ship tip
Make dining reservations as early as possible. The specialty restaurants did not have availability for a large parties (8+) on short notice.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Didn't love this port. Chose the Coco Beach transfer. While the bus to get there was fine, you had to walk about a 1/2 mile to the beach carrying beach chairs and an umbrella. Excursion did not mention you could rent chairs and umbrellas when you get to the beach. Beach was nothing special, limited lifeguards and not very clean. Bring snacks and refreshments with you as there was no refreshment area on the beach. Do not recommend the Coco beach excursion.
Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas
Loved the Island. No port docking, need to take a tender boat over to the island. Yes, for the excursion, we rented a large cabana for the day for 8 people - so worth it! Fruit plate and some other menu items were available to order. After a few thunder storms and some rain, the weather cleared. The water was beautiful. You could rent paddle boards, kayaks or snorkel. There was a BBQ with the usual hamburgers and hot dogs. Food was ok. Overall great day!
Loved the Bahamas. Norwegian's excursion process is very disorganized. It was chaos coming off the ship with crowds of passengers everywhere but limited Norwegian staff to direct you where to go. There should have been several excursion staff waiting when you get off the ship to give you information/ direction. A lot of time was wasted trying to figure out where we should be. The excursion we chose was the Balmoral Island Dolphin Swim. Once we found the correct line/group, the group leader didn't seem to know where to go. We walked through Nassau's town to get to the ferry boat to take us on the 1/2 hour ride to the island. Felt like we walked a mile to get to the boat over large curbed areas, through the shopping area, through the taxi parking lot; definately not good for the elderly as it was extremely hot. Overall, It took at least an hour and a half from getting off the ship to finally get to Balmoral Island, which is not acceptable. Dolphin Swim was excellent with great photos/video at an extra cost. There were plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas as well as refreshment areas and shops. The water was beautiful, a great day!
Disembarkation
Disembarkation was very organized and no issues until you had to wait in line at customs. We were able to go to Pacific dining room for breakfast while waiting for our color group to be called. One recommendation is to let passengers know about the luggage tags and putting your luggage out the night before. We only knew about it having sailed on the Breakaway last year. There didn't seem to be any notification of that process.