Somewhat disappointed

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

DrFager

Contributor Level: Second Mate

7 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 6

Helpful Votes: 57

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5

11 Night Southern Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 15, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Here are the items that seriously hurt my overall experience. Casino. Though some issues raised we're addressed some remain a mystery. Best examples would be the Card in the Slots. They use to give you a Casino Card. Good for many reasons. They discontinued this practice for unknown reasons. Free drinks VIP Status. Worthless with a drink pkg. Why not offer me a Specialty Dinner or a Drink Card? The first night of the Cruise was rough on the Ocean. Two folks had damaged or broken wrists from falls. @ 11:30 my phone rings, I was in a sound sleep. I thought it was my cousin calling to go to Casino. It turns out it was Security. No apology for the call just an abrupt individual saying we need to seal your porthole. Never explaining why just closed and sealed the porthole. This occurred over 4 days cutting off my outside view. I paid extra for that and it was removed, no explanation why. I called it to the attention of Guest Services and it remained closed no explanation why, and a bottle of wine was sent to my room and several pics of Chocolate. This last item was of a more serious nature. The first night my shower backed up. Couldn't shower that morning. However my cousin s shower backed up on second night. His backup was Sewerage. They sent the room attendant up. Luckily he brought an air freshener. An engineer followed and the got the Sewerage back down the drain. Shower was not cleaned till.next morning. He should have been removed from the room. Next morning shower was sprayed by Steward with a Clorox bottle. This is unacceptable. However they sent him Choc Strawberries and Champagne. This is the main reason for a poor to fair overall rating. While the minors were worthy of high marks, The cleanliness of room, (sewerage, port hole, the hair in my food, the unheard of Casino items, and the repetition of Entertainment made this cruise Fair at best.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Very smooth

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Bar Service Great, Specialty Restaurants Great, Buffet fair. Got a hair in my food one night on buffet. Sure it came off someone's arm as it was blonde.

Le Bistro

5 out of 5

Never disappoints.

Orchid Garden Asian Restaurant

5 out of 5

Love this touch. Most items are included in General anytime pkg

Latin Tapas Restaurant

5 out of 5

Outstanding, love Le Bistro but this meal was memorable

La Cucina Italian Restaurant

4 out of 5

Very Good, however no Chicken Parm.

Grand Pacific Main Dining Room

5 out of 5

Ate there once. Service was best ever on NCL. Spot On

Garden Café

3 out of 5

Hair in my food. End of story

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Someday boring, Venue, Atrium way to small

Casino

2 out of 5

Best layout, Bizarre Rules, some addressed during cruise, Giving a drink card to someone with a Bev Pkg is laughable. I would recommend a Drink.pkg or A Specialty Dinner for 2.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

11 Days, we had the same Comedian 3 times. Although good, not memorable after 3 days. Magician, Who I thought was a Comedian as 2 of his opening night magic went down in flames. Teacake was great. Could watch her several night's. However after seeing Fire and Ice twice on Jewel, not as energetic. Circus Soliel once seen is not a must see. I've seen it 11 times now. So Entertainment was only fair

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

N/A

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Very Good. Casino Staff Fair at best. Rules are in some cases Bizarre, however they did change two, to their credit. Free drinks while on game on several night's we're hard to come by. When they did come by you had to pull your card out of the machine and print a ticket, then return ticket to machine. Very Awkward. Slot paypack was very very low. Lowest I've ever experienced. By the way I have been working in and around Casinos for 27 yrs.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Layout good, Common Areas clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

Cabins are small. I have Cruised on NCL 7 times now. Do not understand Bathroom Partitions. Impossible to use Toilet Bowl efficiently

Ship tip

Best snack and late night options for food of all Cruise Companies I've sailed with. O Sheehan's is outstanding in Food and Liquor Variety.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Basseterre, St. Kitts

5 out of 5

Castries, St. Lucia

5 out of 5

Bridgetown, Barbados

5 out of 5

St. John's, Antigua

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Very Smooth

3 Comments

BillTeg 5 years ago

I'm going on an 18 day cruise and expect the entertainment to be limited and repetitive. How many entertainers can they bring on board? I'll find some way to entertain myself because I have an understanding of what it will be like. I agree the port while is blocked for safety most likely. You'd have a valid complaint if they didn't block it and your room got soaked with sea water..

Thumbs Up 1

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almtsbb 5 years ago

You stated that it was a rough sea. They block the port holes to prevent the waves breaking the glass.

Thumbs Up 1

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onlysail 5 years ago

Sewage back ups are often caused by in considerate passengers who bring their own toilet paper, flush moist wipes or make up wipes. The ships vacuum system cannot cope with this but people dont think or dont care.

Thumbs Up 1

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Other reviews of this sailing

Great ship! Had a great cruise

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Wonderful and relaxing