My husband likes to find value cruises and as Panama Canal trips to this was good. We also liked that it ended in NYC as we wanted to stay there a few days. We would not go on the Gem again but like Norwegian because of the perks they include in the room packages if you buy at the right time.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Easy to get a Lyft from LAX to the port
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The complimentary food was mediocre. In some cases like with my rueben at O'Sheehan's and stroganoff in the dining room, they were really bad The food in the specialty restaurants was good.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The had a bridge director and sanctioned duplicate on all the sea days. We loved that! Plus it was easy to hook up with other card players. The 8 table card room was full all the time. We used the jacuzzi's and water slide and walked on 7 every day. We also used the fitness center and I went to many 5 p.m. Stretch classes.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Carol's Kings and the resident singer/dancers were VERY GOOD. The other acts were not too exciting. They had karaoke which was fun, but it was a terribly untalented group of passengers. Brad Stevens was very good, but got repetitive over 19 days.
Children's Programs
One of the great things about the cruise is there were very few kids on board.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Our steward was okay. We had laundry issues; they ruined a blouse and we lost one under garment and got someone else's sock (which we returned). I also couldn't get her to leave the wastebasket where I preferred it to live. Mostly the staff were very good - always tried to be helpfu.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The Gem is an old ship and had deferred maintenance. It really needs painted. There was also railing on 7 that was patched with ply wood.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
It was smaller than we expected but it functioned fine. I really missed having a make-up mirror (they didn't have any on the ship) and the one nightstand was really tiny. There are not any drawers at the end of the bed like we are used to. The TV is tiny There was no DVD player. When they retrofit they should replace the painting with a larger flat screen TV. The TV stations options were very few and they charge for movies (unlike Holland).
Ship tip
Take a power strip - there is only one outlet. The Wi Fi worked well - we got 250 minutes in our package and made them last the entire cruise.
The canal itself is not scenic - very industrial -it need a good public art program. The lakes and waterways are fine. My husband really liked seeing how the locks worked.
We bought Cruises Only jeep tour and were out all day. We say the whole island which is not as commercial/resort oriented as Aruba. It was rough and tumble. It included some good snorkeling. Lunch was on us so we might have overpaid for the tour.
Another beautiful island. All the boat tours and car rentals were sold out so we rented a golf cart for about three hours. It was fun - we stopped to snorkel. I bought some beautiful jewelry from a local artist in the tents outside the port.
You gotta love and hate NYC. I have lived here and visited many times. It is CROWDED. Unfortunately the ship docked on the Friday of a holiday weekend, so it was extra busy. Shows were sold out, nothing good at TKTS. You can always find things to do.
Norwegian didn't load the luggage by the correct colors, which caused the longshoremen grief and then they let off passegers whose luggage wasn't there and that started a back-up at Customs which grew to over two hours by the time we got off at 10:45. We were in lines until after 1 p.m. It was horrible.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
