Our worst cruise ever! Never again taking Norwegian.

Item: Norwegian Gem
Rating: 1.9
Author: wgebo

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

wgebo

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 63

Overall rating:

1.9 out of 5

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 27, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11114

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Our worst cruise ever! Never again taking Norwegian. Be prepared to wait 3 hours before getting on the ship. That’s only the beginning. The cabin bathroom had several unaddressed plumbing issues. The ship is not large enough for the number of passengers they take on which made going to the buffets worse than Walmart on Black Friday. We could never get a table to sit at meal time. They skipped over Stirrup Cay despite the weather being perfectly sunny and calm. At the last minute they claimed the tender boats would have trouble. This was strange since other cruise ships could be seen stopping there that day. The food and entertainment was mediocre at best! Disembarkation was almost as bad taking over 2 hours. Norwegian seems to be very disorganized and was a big disappointment from our experience.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ship tip

Be prepared to wait 3 hours before getting on the ship.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

New York, New York

1 out of 5

Port Canaveral, Florida

2 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

1 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

1 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

12 Comments

DrFager 5 years ago

4557 had serious plumbing issues. 4528 had backup one night. 4557 had sewage back up. Response was almost alarming.

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wgebo 6 years ago

Jleslie48 you make good points. I agree with you about the buffets being the least favorable dining option. I normally avoid them myself but on many days certain meals are not provided in the dining rooms as I prefer so that leaves you with the buffet! My experience is in comparison to othe cruises I’ve been on. The buffet on the Gem stood out as particularly crowded and crazy in comparison. Although I have nautical experience, it is not on a scale of this magnitude. My observations were from the other cruise ships that were visibly tendering and their captains expertises. I’m sure there are many people have great experiences on the Gem. My review was an attempt to provide my experience for whatever it’s worth.

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jleslie48 6 years ago

for the life of me I can't figure out why people are surprised that the buffet (what we refer to as the food trough,) are not up to par. You have a dozen or so places to have a real sit down dinner in a fine atmosphere and you are vacation, and there you are lining up for chow served on trays. It boggles the mind. It also amazes me how people can promote themselves to nautical sea experts on when its safe or not to embark/debark from a tender as if they know better than the captian and crew who have done it 100's of times. I didn't realize the buffet also served instant expert on sailing pills. You imply that the decision to cancel the tenders at the last minute was some form of conspiracy of the cruise line. Rather than the more obvious reason: They waited until the last time they the could get the best information as to what the conditions would be like at the time to make the determination.

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moskeeto 6 years ago

We were on that same cruise wgebo, and it was ridiculous. We have taken the Gem before, but it was clear that Norwegian just didn't give a damn. We were seriously considering leaving the cruise at Nassau and flying back to get away from the "Mandarin Mayhem".

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BillTeg 6 years ago

Robandshelly don't let a bad review make you concerned for your cruise. Read many reviews and you'll see most folks have a great vacation on the Gem. I also look at the reviews to see what I can learn from other's bad experiences. Often they are the result of poor planning or lack of knowledge as to what to expect. Cruise lines can change or avoid Ports for safety reasons that may not appear obvious to you. Read your contract, double check everything you think is included, is truly included. First and foremost, it's a vacation. Relax, and have fun no matter what curves you may experience.

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dwright323 6 years ago

We did get on the ship within 20 minutes we apparently did everything correct and made sure we were ready. There were many a person told to go back to a huge line as they didn’t get ready for embarkation??? Not sure what we did correct but we were ushered to the front and on without problems.

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robandshelly 6 years ago

Oh no... I have never been on the Gem...now I don’t know what to expect in March. I hope we have a better experience than you... that’s too bad

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SheathT 6 years ago

I’ve been on the Gem 4 times and think it’s just the opposite of your experience.

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lisadavisrussell 6 years ago

I went in May and we were told the tenders would not be able to take us due to current R.I.P. tides, we were so disappointed, we was right there looking at the private island which I was looking forward to being that was my 2ndcruise on the Gem and my favorite port! Better safe then sorry!

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viviennepagano 6 years ago

Very surprising been on the Gem several times never hade a complaint

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dwright323 6 years ago

Shame it was a bad experience for you.

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graham123 6 years ago

☹☹

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