2nd cruise w NCL

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 9

Overall rating:

4.9 out of 5
Norwegian Gem

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

Sail date: January 11, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 5544

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 5 months ago

Review summary

Great crew, great ship, great experience overall. Not my favorite itinerary but we booked it more for the date (birthday) than the specific destination, so I can’t fault the ports.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Best port experience ever, no lines, no waiting. Got there around 10am, immediately got my ship card, walked directly onto the ship. It was great to not have to be corralled with everyone before slowly boarding.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
We went for the premium plus drink package and it was absolutely worth it. First trip with NCL I didn’t have it and didn’t realize the limitations of the basic drink package (my fault, not theirs). This time I did the upgrade and will always do it going forward. I prefer not to think about what I’m possibly charging while I’m on the ship so this let me get what I wanted, when I wanted, without having to pause and think about the end of trip bill. Not everyone is like this, but it’s just my preference.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
It’s a smaller ship but my group always found fun.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Didn’t go to any shows but the entertainment throughout the ship was good.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The staff were lovely and always helpful. They made sure we were happy without hovering.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Great space management and layout. Would absolutely sail this ship again and I hope it’s available for different ports the next time I sail.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Bathroom is tight, but we knew this beforehand. We brought mesh hanging organizers for the shower and for the outside of the bathroom door. That solved the bathroom storage issue, which we found as our only main room issue. Oh, also our room safe was broken. We alerted our cabin steward but couldn’t be fixed on our sailing.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 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
There were 2 ships tendering to the island. Just people wandering and lines 20 deep for everything. It wasn’t something we wanted to deal with so we ended up going back to the ship bc at least there we had chairs and no lines. We ended up having a great time on the ship that day so not a huge deal.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Just as easy, smooth and quick process. Even the Uber was great - ordered it and it was 1 minute away.
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