Great sailing out of Boston on the Gem.

Item: Norwegian Gem
Rating: 4.4
Author: buffcc

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Bermuda

buffcc

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 40

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

7 Night Bermuda (Boston Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 31, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10598

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Other than my rants on O'sheehans good and Spinnaker Lounge closed on sailawway, we had a great cruise. The ship is different enough from the Dawn to make it really interesting. I suggest you study the deck plan before sailing.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

The terminal at Boston, inside and out, is somewhat controlled madness. For first timers it must be so confusing. I don't think any of these problems are due to NCL.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The food in the main dining rooms for lunch was passable, not worth waiting in line for. Dinner, however was really good. Cagneys was excellent. O'Sheehans on the Gem in a word is terrible. Breakfast is good. The lunch and dinner is awful. It needs a menu makeover. Unlike the Dawn there were no daily specials and bit was always empty after the first day. Are breakfast and lunch AT the buffet and you can always find something good. I don't care for the dinners there. Having said All this, your taste is probably different from mine and the fun is in trying all the different venues. All the bars were good. Never waited long for any service.

Bali Hai Bar And Grill

1 out of 5

For nonsmokers this is one star. For smokers it is five. You can't get near the place because of all the smoke. The smokers also tend to migrate around the deck near Bali Hai so you can't grab a drink and hang here either. The Gem needs to get a handle on all the smoking. This includes the balconies too.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

The pool area is larger than the Dawn's with 2 pools and slides.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

This was our 7th cruise and we never really liked the cruise director's shows. However, Fergy and his people did a great job and were a lot of fun. Don't miss them up in Spinnakers. The music was very good. The Sea Shakers are super. David Conley on the guitar is very good. We were too busy to take in the shows in the Stardust.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Very good service all around.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The ship was very clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The was comfortable and clean. The Gem is not a new ship so don't expect everything brand new.

Ship tip

This is a complaint. Boston is a cold port to leave from in the spring. Even on a nice day the Sailaway can be cold and windy. The Gem has a great place to go for Sailaway in cold or wet weather: Spinnaker Lounge. On the 5/31 Sailaway it was close for a private function. The hell with all the paying passengers this small group was more important. That was my rant.

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