Lacking in the amount of bar staff, be prepared to wait.

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 30

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Gem

5 Night Caribbean: Great Stirrup Cay & Cozumel (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 11, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 5096

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 4 months ago

Review summary

Nice ship but needs more staff. Very hard to get a drink in the place , long waits. Especially the martini bar. Staff remained calm under the pressure and never rude . Manu Manoharan martini bar bartender is excellent , but he is just one man with lots of thirsty cruisers. I take my hat off to him .

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Simple , easy no fuss

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
We only ate at specialty restaurants. Cagneys steaks are much better again. Bistro is the only restaurant that still serves Veuve Cliquot for no additional fee with premium packages .

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Not too many activities, maybe no staff again.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Comedian was great. Stage is beautiful. Missed having singers/musicians around the ship in general areas and popular bars. Was only minimal musicians here and there.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Waiters were attentive. Bartenders were totally overwhelmed and guests would have had a much better experience if they didn’t have to wait 20 mins just to get a drink order in. Staff stayed cool under the pressure of many complaints that there was only 1 bartender.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Very nice redo

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
Clean and comfortable. They did forget to change out the safes with the redo, worn out not working buttons . Numbers missing. Tacky to skip that.

Ship tip

When you finally get a chance to order a drink, order 2 or double. Or go back in line when you still have half your drink.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5

Key West, Florida

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Smooth
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