Very Disappointing

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

historymann49

Contributor Level: Cruise Director

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 7

Helpful Votes: 197

Overall rating:

3.2 out of 5

Norwegian Gem

11 Night Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 28, 2021

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10588

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

I have sailed in the Gem twice before and loved it. This cruise was originally scheduled to visit the places we visited on our first Gem voyage, plus two I had never visited - The Dominican Republic and Grand Turk. Prior to the cruise, the latter two were dropped due to "berthing difficulties". Antigua was added in their place. We were 8 hours late in sailing from NY and were lied to about the reason. This resulted in our taking 3 days, rather than 2, to reach San Juan. We thus wound up visiting several of our ports on different days (and times) than originally scheduled, resulting in the cancellation of numerous excursions. My room steward was wonderful, and the staff at the bars and restaurants were great. Sadly, however, the staff at Guest Services were rather abrupt and the Cruise Consultant was extremely rude. I was extremely disappointed and I'm finished with NCL.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Long walk to the Virus testing site and back.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Great bartenders, wonderful drinks, poor food.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Trivia contests were fun. Interesting art auction.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Excellent stage shows; awful musicians.

Children's Programs

No children.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Housekeeping, bar and restaurant staff - excellent; Guest Services, Cruise Consultant - rude.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The Gem is well laid-out and is mostly clean and well-maintained.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Very small, not enough storage space. Clean and comfortable (except for the hard mattress).

Ship tip

Be prepared for mid-cruise itinerary changes and cancelled shore excursions.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

New York, New York

1 out of 5

I hate NY. That's just me.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

San Juan is beautiful and interesting. Sadly, my excursions were cancelled, so I did "Rum, Sun, and Salsa. It was OK.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

4 out of 5

St. Thomas is also beautiful. Again, my excursion was cancelled, so I did a coach tour of the hills and observation points around the island.

St. John's, Antigua

4 out of 5

I did a Photography excursion and saw some very interesting historic sites and some lovely scenery.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

2 out of 5

I don't care for St. Maarten to begin with and my excursion was cancelled without notice and with no replacement available.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

5 out of 5

Beautiful island. I spent most of the day on a fun-filled coach tour of the island.

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

Late and slow.

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