Worst NCL ship

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 51

Overall rating:

3.1 out of 5
Norwegian Gem

10 Night Southern Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 06, 2020

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9158

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Of all of my NCL cruises, this was the worst. The entertainment was horrible. The band's were horrible. They managed to ruin every song sang. The food was the same everyday. No change. No variety. Cagney's steakhouse was great but you must ask for food hot. Everything served is warm. Moderne was delicious. Hated La Cuchina. It was buffet food served nicely.

Embarkation

1 out of 5
Spent 2 hours on line to check in

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5
Drinks great food was the same everyday. Specialty restaurants were ok

La Cucina Italian Restaurant

1 out of 5

Pizza was like frozen from a box. Tasted like cardboard. The fish was ok. Desert was also ok. Service.. a B at most. Would not recommend

Bali Hai Bar And Grill

1 out of 5

The staff was very rude, no smiles. They act like they just want to work and leave. Hated going there but had no choice when bar staff DID not walk around to take drink orders at all

Grand Pacific Main Dining Room

5 out of 5

Our waitress Kimberly was on point. So sweet, always smiling and eager to make our dinner the best ever each time.

Garden Café

1 out of 5

Food was horrible. No variety. The same every day for 10 days. They had 3 salad bars because they had NO food to put out instead. Breakfast was the same at 4 stations. There are 6 or 7 stations. Horrible

Cagney's Steakhouse

5 out of 5

Avalon was the manager and the nicest man we met on board. He ensured that our food would be perfect and asked us back a second time to prove it. And he did. A+++. A must try

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
Nothing poolside. Never saw the staff other than food and drinks

Entertainment

1 out of 5
Horrible. Only the comedian was great. Fell asleep at all other shows

Children's Programs

No kids

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Staff worked really hard to make our stay under the circumstances pleasurable

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Layout was eh. Clean... A++++++++++

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
Clean...yes. Cabin was way too small for 3 people. We were extremely uncomfortable

Ship tip

Choose a different ship

Ports of call

New York, New York Did not visit port

Just left from here

San Juan, Puerto Rico

3 out of 5
Our excursion was canceled. We got to port at 4pm and by 5 everything was closed.

Basseterre, St. Kitts

5 out of 5
Very friendly. Went to the beach and enjoyed

Castries, St. Lucia

4 out of 5
Very on top of you there. People jump out of everywhere to try to sell you something. Felt very uncomfortable

St. John's, Antigua

5 out of 5
Just walked around outside. In port felt safe. Once you walk a few blocks out we felt unsafe

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas Did not visit port

Port refused all boats. However NCL lied and blamed it on the weather.

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
It was fine.
Was this review helpful? 6

6 Comments

rsnetzel    4 years ago

I had a similar experience on Norwegian Gem. It was awful! The customer service was terrible, the room was disgusting and the entertainment was lacking.

cruisereckoning    4 years ago

Thanks for the review

Dskip94    4 years ago

Sorry that it wasn’t the best trip. Hopefully your next cruise will be enjoyable!

mrdrdoso    4 years ago

Gem is a great ship been on 6 times maybe you were to close quarters and everything made you unpleased. Never a bad time on this ship always great food in specialty restaurant

katieanne    4 years ago

I stopped caring once I saw 3 people in a cabin

portofrome    4 years ago

Thanks for your review

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