Overall a good cruise, but the last-second itinerary change left us scrambling to adjust pre-paid excursions (very stressful) and we didn't get to see Venice at all, the very port we bought this cruise for. Total lack of communication by NCL.
Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 29
9 Night Greek Isles: Santorini Mykonos & Croatia (Ravenna To Athens)
Sail date: June 19, 2023
Ship: Norwegian Gem
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: 11156
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
Overall, we had fun. Party of 8. We enjoyed this cruise more than most others we have been on. It did not seem to be as crowded in shared spaces, which made a huge difference. However, the omission of Venice, and the lack of communication from NCL was extremely disappointing and stressful. There was no need for that. I won't trust NCL to communicate truthfully and openly with me in the future. I am positive they purposefully did not inform us of the change in itinerary. I can't imagine why they thought that would be a good idea though. There were a lot of frustrated and angry passengers, needless to say.Embarkation
Very smooth. Better than any other cruise line we have used before.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Food in complementary areas was mediocre at best. However, freestyle dining was well-organized and food all around the ship was easy to obtain. Orchid Chinese food was unappetizing (4/10). Specialty dining: Bistro was truly outstanding (9/10). Moderno was great service by the meat was nothing like a quality Brazilian steak house (4/10). Steaks in Cagney's were 6/10.
Onboard Activities
Cruise director did a great job. We didn't see any of the big performances, but the smaller gatherings were fun. Watched the art auction out of interest (seemed like 90% was not bid on!). Atrium activities were generally fun (lots of trivia etc). Kids used the pools which never seemed overfull like is the case on most other cruises. Fitness center was well appointed and never crowded. The spa was overpriced and the deep tissue massage was not deep (but was very relaxing).
Entertainment
Didn't see the stage shows, but smaller performances were fun and the DJ's were great.
Service and Staff
Staff were great. They did their best in the face of extremely poor communication by NCL regarding itinerary change. NCL knew about it at least 2 weeks before and did not inform us (or anyone else it seems). Created total chaos as a result. Room attendant was kind and attentive.
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Too small to be called a "suite" but it was what we were expecting based on what was advertised. We were 3 people in the cabin. It's a tight space ut adequate. The closet is a little difficult to get into due to the proximity of the bed. The bathroom is larger than on most cruises. The shower/tub is great after a long day in the heat and crowds. The balcony at the back of the ship makes for a relaxing place to enjoy the sunset in peace.
Ports of call
Started here. Nothing to do. Just get on the ship.
Thumbs Up
1
We did not stop here. We were only informed of this upon embarkation. Created confusion and stress as we scrambled to change pre-paid excursions booked through Viator. Since we found out less than 24 hours before the planned excursions, it made it unnecessarily more difficult to cancel; Why couldn't NCL have been up front about this. They knew about the itinerary change at least 2 weeks before! We ended up taking a 2 hour bus ride from Trieste to get to a boat that took us to Murano. Couldn't spend any time in Venice. Most of the day spent in traffic. Venice was the whole reason we chose this cruise. Extremely disappointing. Ruined our cruise frankly.
Couldn't get a tender to shore until 3:30pm! There was some wind that caused delays in the tenders, plus NCL gave preference to Haven customers and customers with NCL-arranged excursions. The port for tender boats is tiny so the 5 cruise ships that were there were competing for just a couple of spots to drop off passengers. Once on shore, the crowds for the cable car were ridiculously long. We started a 6-hour 3pm tour at 5pm. We planned to return for the last tender at 9pm, but since the crowds were so bad, we had to return at 7:30 to join the queue for the cable car back down. Even though we started in that queue at 7:30pm, we were on the LAST tender at 9pm....that's how long it took the get back down to the port.a 6-hour excursion ended up being 2.5 hours, mostly battling crowds and stairs. Nothing like the instagram pics. My recommendation would be to skip this port of call. If you want to see Santorini, fly in and stay overnight. It is apparently much calmer after cruise passengers have left.
Don't miss Delos. If you buy tickets for cruise and guide at the port, it will cost you about 60-70 euro. (If you don't want a guide, the return boat ride is 22 euro). We bought in advance and paid about $100 per person.
Departure from the boat was quicker than I thought it would be. We were the last off, at about 9:30am. If you arrange a taxi in advance, you don't need to schedule it for 1pm as we did, ha ha!
Disembarkation
Crowds on the stairs, as you would expect. We had elderly parents with us and NCL staff were kind about allowing us to wait until the crowds died down, then took us down in an elevator.