I would not recommend this cruise to anyone due to all I have stated above. They need to get their act together on this one. It is very close to the worst cruise I have taken.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
We arrived at the appointed time. It was SO BUSY and we had to wait in a long line.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Average food. Some food was not to temperature. I thought the variety offered was good. I do give the chocolate lava cake in the Dining Room 5 stars. We did not eat at any of the specialty restaurants.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
What a disappointment! We weren't gamblers, or bingo players and we didn't pay $25 to play Deal or no Deal and we didn't pay to play the arcade games - not allot of activities after that. We saw a movie in a lounge where the furniture was broken and the couldn't show the movie scheduled.. We did participate in some trivia which did not seem well planned. It was free which meant no prizes. There was a 70's Disco Dance party one night and I was excited. A few of the crew showed up in 70's garb and led us in 3 or 4 dances. They did not stay the whole time. I thought it would be atleast an hour long. At about 50 minutes we were told that we had to vacate the area due to a private party. They need to step their game up for activities!!! We just paid for a vacation we don't want to pay more money to have something to do onboard!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
I am going to give this a four although we didn't see all of the shows. I will give Duo Quintessence a 5! They were amazing and I haven't ever seen a show like it on a cruise.
Children's Programs
We had no children in our party.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Our room steward was friendly and keep our room clean. The "washy, washy" girl in the buffet area was precious and greeted you with a smile and bubbly personality every day. Other than a few other staff they need to step up their friendliness! We did need a sheet change and they were prompt. When I asked for an iron it came in a timely manner. We had a problem with the hot water in our shower and they fixed it in the same night.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Average ship design. I thought the areas overall were clean and tidy. Some areas needed repair or updating but clean all the same.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
I was satisfied with my cabin. The shower was roomier than some I have had and the bed was comfortable for a cruise ship.
Ship tip
If you sail on the Gem, be prepared for less than friendly staff overall, allot of selling and future sales, unorganization and lack of activities for the average person. Make sure you attend the show "Duo Quintessence" as it was awesome!
We visited NYC for a couple of nights prior to the cruise. We stayed at the Casablanca Hotel in Times SQuare. I would highly recommend for the price and location. Service was awesome, rooms were clean and they have a wine and cheese hour as well as snacks all day as well as a continental breakfast.
Halifax is beautiful! We opted to tour Peggy's Cove. We booked with cruises.com a shore excursion. I recommend you take a cab to Peggy's Cove at your leisure as we got 1 hour at Peggy's Cove. Peggy's Cove is stunning! You can make a day of it taking pictures, eating lunch, and exploring.
We had a great lunch in Saint John but not allot to do. We walked to Reversing Falls but turns out it reverses with the tides. Ask before you take a tour there. There is nothing else but a visitors center and a small restaurant once you get to Reversing Falls.
We did not get to visit this port and I cannot express my disappointment. It was a foggy morning and you have to take a tender boat in to port. They said they couldn't take us in. None of us understood why we didn't wait around a couple of hours to see if it cleared but we left for next port for the next day. Norwegian did refund our port charges.
We ate lunch in Portland, souvenir shopped, walked on the beach collecting sea glass and just spent the day at our leisure. We took a late afternoon bus to the lighthouse and it was beautiful but again, time was limited. Be sure and visit "Holy Doughnut" as they had awesome doughnuts made with Maine Mashed Potatoes!
I gave a 5 because we chose to take all of our own luggage and did self service which means no help from cruise ship. THE LINE WAS LONG and it took a while to get off. They had a real problem getting people on and off the ship.
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