Average, not quite as expected this time

Item: Norwegian Gem
Rating: 3.8
Author: jcbenoit72

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Bermuda

jcbenoit72

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 47

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Bermuda (Boston Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 09, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 8052

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

After cruising Norwegian for 8 times this cruise was disappointing. We took a few years off due to a new edition to the family and was super excited to cruise again. We love to cruise out of Boston for the ease of it and realize the ships are not the greatest due to the port size but the convenience factor is great for us. Next time we will try another cruise line

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Excellent, they have this down pat

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Rooms were great, at least our room. Very spacious and comfortable. Beds were super comfy. Food was fair at best. Last time we we cruised with them food was a solid 4 out of 5. Drinks were below okay. Staff could not make my drink correctly, Margarita with Patron was a difficult drink for them. Also drinks were really weak and had to order another shot to add to drink which ran the tab up. There was only 2 pool side waiters for drinks this cruise and you had to wait in line at the bar to get a drink. I think because the drink package they have cut staff. Also there was no special drink of the day which was a great deal and got you to try different drinks. This was the biggest disappointment, especially being my 8th cruise with them

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

All good, the gym was really great with a lot of options. Pools and hot tubs were good too.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

This was another big disappointment for us. The band was so loud my daughter had to move inside. I loved the DJ, he played a great mix of new and old pool side music that everyone was singing to, unfortunately he played for 2 hours and that is it, mostly bands played and wasn't really suiting for the day time pool. Shows were okay too, there was one that was awesome but the others were okay, moved the time

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

We got on the hip thinking they had a pool area for the kids as the last ship did. Nope, the had a small area on the main pool area with a kid slide.....that is it. Their Splash Academy was great for the kids and saved the trip

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

The room service staff was excellent. Other than that....horrible. Last cruise everyone was so helpful. I went to the coffee bar and by the second time the girl knew my name and drink. This time he never used my first name and never remembered my coffee drink. He did remember to tell me that it was not included in my drink package. The messed up my drink 8 out 10 times and when I asked for another because it was wrong they were not friendly, one bartender rolled his eyes at us......Not really what we expected and all tips were included so I feel they do not care as much as they got their tip and that is it...Please Change This

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

It was okay, some areas like the kid pool did not make sense but overall it was easy to navigate through the ship

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Great....from the bed to the shower and space it was awesome