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

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

bbondarenko

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 40

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

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: 10 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.

Thumbs up

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

9 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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Ladyjunecliff 9 months ago

Yes, I try to bring a bunch of $1 bills for tips. They learn very quickly what you like. And they really appreciate that dollar. Once we gave $5 to the room service waiter and he looked like he had won the lottery. Thanks for review.

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Gwbigdog 10 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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1960cruiser 10 months ago

When I cruised on the Gem, I didn't wait long at all or not at all. I guess it depends when and where you get your drinks.

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cruising2004 10 months ago

Thank you for your review.

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dreniere 10 months ago

Just tip an extra $1 per drink to your server and you won't have to wait

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Ruby13 10 months ago

Thank you for sharing

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Niavlys 10 months ago

Tks for sharing

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javawoody 10 months ago

Appreciate the review

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Other reviews of this sailing

2nd cruise w NCL