A very scary experience

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York

evelynT44215783

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 47

Overall rating:

4.7 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Canada & New England (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 16, 2017

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 8075

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

My husband and I just returned this week from NCL GEM out of New York City to New England, Sept.16 to Sept 23/2017. This cruise was at the end a real nightmare, a CRUISE FROM HELL. NCL decided to put the lives of thousand of people at risk by departing the last port of Boston and get into Tropical Storm Jose. We all spent 24 hours inside the ship, all doors locked by the cruise personnel, with winds of more than 50 miles per hour outside. I have been in many many cruises and I know bad weather, this was not bad weather, THIS WAS A STORM. Very scary, at moments I thought that it was the end of our lives, waiting for the ship to tilt or not been able to overcome this storm. We didn't sleep for 24 hours, many people slept at the common areas afraid to go to their cabins, not to mention many were sea sick (vomit), including my husband who spent the night at the bathroom totally sick. The horn of the ship constantly sounding because the visibility was ZERO not to mention the huge waves due to the extreme high wind. I was not able to look outside the ship because it was a scene from a terror movie. We had an inside cabin and there I was able to hear the wind outside the ship, UNBELIEVABLE!!! We were exactly at the place where it is always advised not to be when there is a storm, on the ocean. Many cruise employees that have more than 7 or 8 years experience mentioned that they have NEVER experienced something like this and they were very scared. I spoke with a man that spent 30 years in the Navy and he said that never he have seen such an irresponsible decision from a navigation personnel. This was the third cruise we have taken with NCL and I am sure that it was the last. This was not a service problem, this is a life and death problem....a very serious problem. Due to this lack of judgement by either the Captain of this ship GEM or Norwegian Cruise Line, I WILL NEVER TRAVEL ON NCL AGAIN.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Awful smell coming from the shower drain of our cabin. On 3 occasions we reported that the toilet was not flossing at all. The response was fast, but it was very inconvenient. The person in charge of our cabin was great!!

Ports of call

New York, New York

5 out of 5

Halifax, Nova Scotia

5 out of 5

Saint John, New Brunswick

5 out of 5

Portland, Maine

5 out of 5

Boston, Massachusetts

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

We paid for transportation from the pier to JFK. Total disaster. No bus available, no personnel from the cruise company. Nobody knew about transportation to JFK. When it showed up it was a mini van and there were more than 20 people there. It was caos and craziness. There was not even space available for luggage.

14 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

misssuzier 7 years ago

Although not common The was a hurricane in Feb of 2015 ... I was on the Gem .. right behind the Anthem of the Sea ... we had 70 + mph winds and 30+ foot swells ... caught us all off guard because it was Feb ... so for those on the Gem to say they had never seen this before .. I am sure they had ... Out Captain at the time did a great job of keeping us informed and getting us through it ... like yours the open decks were all closed down for our safety.... I have all the confidence that the ships are built to withstand this ... the Anthem did get damaged but the ship did her job ... it is also not uncommon to see the barf bags come out in rocky seas ... they have been out on at least 8 out of 10 cruises ... I don’t doubt that this person was legitimately scared but even that hurricane has not deterred me ... I believe those were our sustained winds but I see kbrown says 135 mph ... we were it may have been a day behind ... so it could have weakened a bit in that time ... the Captain told us that we were in for a very rough ride that night and to prepare with Seasick meds ....

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

kbrown1962 7 years ago

It was a hurricane google February Anthem of the seas hurricane! It was a hurricane! 135 mile an hour winds

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

jpz66 7 years ago

I was on the same trip and yes it was rough, but we were able to go out to the pool area but not on the upper decks and on the promenade deck. It was roughest in the middle of the night after Boston with 11 ft waves. It settled by mid day Friday. I would not say it was as bad as the above review. There we’re plenty of people eating as normal. I was sick in the morning and did not eat much that day.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

tekmantn 7 years ago

a hurricane in February? maybe a nor easter with the winds and all...but it's not called a hurricane at that time of season

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

kbrown1962 7 years ago

We traveled in February and were caught in a hurricane offCape Hatterus!

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

roccodaddario3 7 years ago

Who was the Hotel Director.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

debml 7 years ago

Oh well,that's what happens when you cruise in Hurricane season !!!!!!

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

JessielovesWil 7 years ago

a cruise from hell gets 4 stars 🤔

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Cruising516 7 years ago

Everyone has their own experiences but I am completely baffled by this review. I was on the same exact cruise and did not experience anything terrifying or like a horror movie in any way. Yes, we hit bad weather so it was rocky. Yes, they had the doors on the lower levels gated off and locked. Of course they have to do that when there are high winds and rocky seas because unfortunately there are people out there with no common sense who would go outside in that and then probably get knocked overboard. I have cruised numerous times and will admit this is the first time I have ever seen them put "vomit bags" on each staircase banister. When I saw that I knew we were in for some rough weather. This was nothing though compared to a cruise coming back from Bermuda. The seas were so rough on that trip that the ship was like a ghost town. Even the casino was empty (and anyone who has ever been on a cruise knows that if the casino is open and it's empty there's something going on)

Thumbs Up 6

Flag

olldbob 7 years ago

utter rubbish been in force 8 across biscay and ship rock and rolled a little but was never terrified guess ppls perception of conditions is all relative

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

mmmcksm 7 years ago

I'm calling it....."many many cruises" but none listed

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

tekmantn 7 years ago

according to the NWS the system was downgraded and was a Low that was drifting northeast.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

cemccrary3 7 years ago

So why 4 stars?

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

Not so GEM

NEW ENGLAND CRUISE