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Great beginnings, poor ending.

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 60

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5
Norwegian Gem

10 Night Southern Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 22, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10110

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

After the terrible disembarkation will not sail NCL again. Good things did not outweigh the bad.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Went very quickly, excellent.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Meals in ?MDR and specialty restaurants excellent. Buffets not laid out well, some disappointing selections.

Orchid Garden Asian Restaurant

3 out of 5

Very limited menu. Disappointed with entrees.

Teppanyaki

4 out of 5

Very entertaining. Starters and dessert strange but filet and shrimp incredible

Magenta Main Dining Room

3 out of 5

Low ceiling and claustrophobic. Service just okay.

La Cucina Italian Restaurant

5 out of 5

Excellent service and great food . Only negative was terrible coffee

Grand Pacific Main Dining Room

5 out of 5

Service excellent. Very comfortable. Lots of tables for two or four near aft windows

Garden Café

3 out of 5

Poorly laid out. Most food choices mediocre.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Drink tastings

Entertainment

2 out of 5
Guitarist in Atrium excellent but the rest was mediocre to poor.

Children's Programs

No kids with us.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Service was usually excellent

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
Buffet poorly laid out. No cleanliness issues.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
Room small for balcony cabin. Storage good. Balcony showing it’s age

Ship tip

Do not expect all the bells and whistles but food and service was good.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

New York, New York Did not visit port

Embarkation only.
Thumbs Up

San Juan, Puerto Rico Did not visit port

Not crazy about Puerto Rico.
Thumbs Up

Basseterre, St. Kitts Did not visit port

Been there many times before.
Thumbs Up

Castries, St. Lucia

5 out of 5
Excellent excursion to a resort for day.
Thumbs Up

St. John's, Antigua Did not visit port

Spent day on #hip
Thumbs Up

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas Did not visit port

Stop was cancelled due to weather
Thumbs Up

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
Worst ever. No organization. Took way too long. In line for almost two hours. Got in port very late.
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4 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe     3 months ago

Thanks for sharing ²
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geminigirl52169    4 years ago

I'm sorry the disembarking was slow and because of this you didn't enjoy your cruise. In all fairness it may not have been NCL's fault. They are at the mercy of the customs officials.
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Brennansmom    4 years ago

It confuses me as to why you would waste the money and book a cruise with ports that you don't like or have been to many times to the point where you didn't leave the ship. In my opinion, I think you let yourself down not NCL.
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DerekMire    4 years ago

So blame the ship
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