Solo Greek Isles Cruise on the NCL Gem
Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 6
Helpful Votes: 154
7 Night Greek Isles (Venice Roundtrip)
Sail date: August 28, 2022
Ship: Norwegian Gem
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
Despite the embarkation/disembarkation process and location, overall this trip was absolutely wonderful. From the crew to the ship to the ports, I would not hesitate to do this itinerary over again more than once. I do wish some of the times in port were a bit longer, but for my first time doing Greek Isles itinerary I was more than pleased and enjoyed every minute of the cruise. As a solo traveler, NCL handles 'freestyle' wonderfully and I never feel isolated or alone unless I want to be. I met so many wonderful people on this cruise, and despite being in my early 30s I felt the general age range to be evenly spread out and did not skew to the older crowd as many tend to think when they think of cruising. There were fewer kids on this cruise, which suited me well; this could have been due to either the itinerary or the time of year, I'm not sure. The vibe on the ship was fun and lively and it was great to see everyone enjoying themselves watching the live music each night. This was my 10th NCL cruise (8th solo!) and only reinforced my loyalty and desire to return.Embarkation
This embarkation was unfortunately the worst I've experienced yet with NCL. It was not clearly communicated that the ship would not be docked in the main port of Trieste and there was no signage located at the port area directing us to the shuttle area. I did have to ask some dock workers who kindly pointed out the row of buses meant to shuttle us to the actual port. This port (15 min drive away) was very ugly and industrial. By the time I reached the ship after having taken the train from Venice to Trieste it was after 1pm and the line to checkin was extremely long and snaked out of the door of the warehouse where checkin was located. There were not enough luggage porters to handle the influx of passengers so I, along with many others, ended up just carrying our bags in hand all the way through checkin and onto the ship. This would have been fine if 1) I was not carrying a large backpack AND duffel bag and 2) rooms were ready upon boarding (but they were not). I immediately booked a massage upon boarding for the same afternoon to help my sore shoulders! As a Platinum Latitudes member, Priority embarkation is a perk although it did take some explaining and pointing to signage to indicate that yes, I should be entitled to priority checkin. I was eventually led through a shorter line and was able to immediately get on the ship after receiving my ship card.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Despite many people on the ship claiming the food was great, I did not find all of my meals to be consistent in quality compared to the NCL ships/cruises I've been on recently. I had the same meal twice at the complimentary Asian restaurant, Orchid Garden and it was cooked completely different each time. The chicken salad sandwich at O'Sheehan's had about one ounce total of chicken salad on it and the lettuce was wilted. I never sent any food back, but the quality just did not feel up to par compared to the 7 other NCL cruises I've taken since the restart of cruising - to be fair, it could have just been the specific dishes I ordered. The only meal I had that was truly AMAZING was Teppanyaki - everything was cooked absolutely perfectly and it was by far the best meal I had on the ship all week! To date, the best food I've had on any ship with NCL was on the Encore to Alaska in early June.
Additionally, as a lifelong vegetarian (who occasionally eats chicken), I really struggle with the limited vegetarian options on all of the menus, especially at the specialty restaurants. For example, Le Bistro has only one vegetarian dish on the entire menu which I've had several times now. There are no vegetarian meat options at any restaurant except for a veggie burger at the buffet - for example, a Beyond or Impossible burger substitute at the Local or the MDR would be so well received and much appreciated by myself and other vegetarians/vegans who sail with NCL. It would not be difficult to offer a substitution for the burgers on the dining room menus.
Onboard Activities
The pool area was lively and enjoyable, the live music by the pool was wonderful as well. There were plenty of areas to get away from the noise if that's what you prefer, the top sundeck with the oversized rain shower was a wonderful area and drink servers were up there regularly taking orders and bringing drinks. This seems a good place to also include my review of the spa. I did purchase a Thermal Suite Spa pass for the week and although many complain that they do not like that the sauna and steam room are not co-ed (located separately in the mens and womens shower/changing areas) I find this to be perfectly fine, especially as I was traveling solo. The sauna on this ship is one of the best at sea, and I've been on all of NCLs larger Breakaway/Plus ships. The wraparound forward-facing window views from the sauna and the spa as a whole are incredible. I did do a 75-minute seaweed massage, which I had also gotten on the Gem the year prior but this experience was quite different. In Sept of 2021 the seaweed wrap + massage included a suspended/floating waterbed which was absolutely INCREDIBLE, however they informed me after I was already laying naked on the table (lol) that they no longer do that and it is not included. In fact it is apparently an upcharge and they do not advertise that anymore with this massage. I was incredibly disappointed as that was the main reason I booked that service, though I kept the appointment and had a wonderful massage with the seaweed wrap (just without the suspension waterbed). The prices are very high for spa services and they do tend to push products on you but I've become somewhat used to this and tell them no thanks.
Entertainment
The entertainment on this ship was incredible - every act, performer, band, etc. was amazing. The "Blazing Boots" show is my favorite across ALL NCL ships and it did not disappoint. The cast not only performed in that show but also "Swing, the Musical" which was also absolutely incredible and I am so impressed by the fact that they can memorize two huge, very long and intricate shows to be performed multiple times each week! I just can't say enough about the entertainment. B12 was amazing, especially the lead singer, her voice was incredible - I really enjoyed all of their performances throughout the ship, and the other band "New Generation" was also equally impressive; the breadth of music genres and songs and consistency in performances blew me away. There was so much entertainment throughout the ship it was nearly impossible to catch everything and I sadly did miss a couple of the theater shows that I'd have liked to see - I tended to find a seat down at Magnum's and not move for most of the evening, as the live entertainment there was so good each night (this is also where the Martini Bar, Champagne Bar and Whiskey Bar were all located)
Service and Staff
The service was impeccable throughout the ship. My favorite bartenders and servers working the Martini bar each night quickly became good friends and knew my drink order/what I liked without having to ask. I enjoyed their company immensely and was THRILLED that are now able to remove their masks! (except when in Greek ports) My room steward, Alberto, was also really great and recognized me from having been on the Gem a year prior!
Ship Quality
I absolutely love the layout of the Gem and all of the venues. It is one of my favorite NCL ships and even though it is one of the smaller ships I find it so quaint, classic and easy to navigate. Everything was impeccably clean and well-kept despite its age.
Cabin / Stateroom
The cabin was perfectly fine, a standard balcony with a nice shower (no tub, which I prefer). I have no complaints at all. The only thing that would have made it even better is to have plugs by the bed - hoping that the ship upgrades happening during dry dock in November will include USB chargers in the lights next to the bed!
Ship tip
Explore the ship your first day to find favorite spots. The grill outside by the pool is a great place to grab a light lunch if you don't want to go in the buffet. Also, don't miss the Great Outdoors - great views! Also, if you can, tip your bartenders/servers and room steward, they really appreciate it and they work SO hard 12 hours a day, 7 days a week!
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Ports of call
It would have been amazing had the ship docked in the actual port of Trieste and not the industrial shipyard port, however Trieste was really nice and the main port was just a quick 10-min walk to the train station.
Absolutely LOVED Kotor. The scenery sailing into the port was incredible. I did not do an excursion here, instead I just walked around the Old Town which I very much enjoyed. Stopped for a drink or two at a small bar and enjoyed the nice weather.
While I did not see a lot of Corfu, the Catamaran excursion that I did through the cruise line was fantastic. We had such a great time, the food was good and drinks were flowing. We stopped at 3 different swimming spots; the water was warm and the salt content was so high that you were able to float with hardly any effort. I would definitely repeat this excursion.
Santorini was one of my favorite ports despite the extra long line to get on the Cable Car. I almost started to do the walk up the hill, but 10 steps in and I turned around - I do NOT recommend trying to take the steps unless you're in great shape, extra hydrated and don't mind the overwhelming smell of donkey excrement.
I did not do an excursion at Mykonos. The tender process here was actually very quick and easy, the ship was anchored very close to the tender port which was a short walking distance to the main area within Mykonos. I spent time walking around and exploring the area and then had a delicious lunch with a fantastic view at a restaurant with outdoor seating by the water. The city seemed crowded the day we were in port, there were two other ships docked but it wasn't overwhelming. The streets are small and narrow so it is a bit difficult to walk through without having to squeeze by others here and there but it was manageable.
I absolutely loved Dubrovnik. I did the Game of Thrones Venture through King's Landing tour through NCL and thought it was great, although the time in port was minimal. We arrived very early, around 6am and the tour started around 8. We were bussed to Old Town, it was about a 15 minute drive. The tour guide was very engaging and knowledgeable. We did the walking tour portion first, stopping at notable filming locations from Game of Thrones with added commentary from the guide. He also included plenty of interesting history about the city and Croatia throughout the tour. The walking tour took about two hours and then we were able to explore on our own with the option to return to the meeting point to take the same bus back to the port or take other local transportation if we chose to stay and explore longer. I did not, I felt the additional two hours of time on our own to explore was enough, seeing as it was only 10am at this point. The sailaway from this port was amazing, the ship did a 180 turn right next to the massive bridge and the scenery was gorgeous. I can't wait to return to Dubrovnik again and see more of the city.
Disembarkation
We unfortunately returned back to the same ugly isolated industrial port and although I waited until close to the last group to disembark, there was a lot of confusion in the line about passengers needing to be routed to specific buses to be taken to predetermined locations such as hotels or airports. I just needed to return to the main port area of Trieste so I could walk to the train station and eventually made it on to one of those buses. Overall it wasn't the worst embarkation process, but would be SO much improved by just having NCL dock at the main port of Trieste. This added nuisance certainly would cause me to rethink sailing from Trieste again.