Disappointed With Some Stops, Happy with the Gem
Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York
10 Night Eastern Canada & Quebec (New York Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 21, 2017
Ship: Norwegian Gem
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 9146
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
We took off from NYC for a ten-day cruise that included Halifax Ca., Quebec Ca., Cornerbrook Ca., and Sydney Ca. We were told that we would have two days in Quebec, but it turned into 24 hours because, we were told, the Whale migration in the Saint Lawrence had the ship slow down the length of this seaway both ways. No whales were sighted and we lost half a day of time in Quebec City. The port was a joke! It was next to a dump and grain silos. The gangway was build with two ramps by a portable crane on shipping containers and was extremely hazardous to traverse. We were a distance from the city, while another ship (Princess Line) was right across from the main area with an open berth behind it. We had to traverse unsafe terrain and cross a river lock to get to the city! The ship offered transportation for a fee of $30.00. I have been on 32 cruises and when a ship is this far out of town the shuttle was free! We left early the next day at 5:00 PM instead of 10PM from the original itinerary. We arrived at Cornerbrook, which was a waste of time. There was nothing to see unless you took an expensive excursion inland. The town had a City Hall, VFW and a library. Not even picturesque. When we left this stop the Captain told us we would not be going to Sydney due to a storm coming up the east coast. We headed out to sea to avoid it. For over a day we were in 21-foot swells and had a rough trip home. We arrived in NYC on time to a calm bay. We expected the stops to be memorable and safe. The berthing in Quebec was unacceptable, and the choice of Cornerbrook was very poor. We were disappointed and feel that Norwegian took advantage of an older group of passengers.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Norwegian has much better ships! I would not travel on the Gem again.
Ports of call
Sydney, Nova Scotia Did not visit port
Disembarkation
4 Comments
bevkt 6 years ago
tomyoung 6 years ago
Ketelonequeen 6 years ago