This was my first cruise. Initially it seemed awesome, but quickly became overpacked and was crowded everywhere. The food was terrible. Drinks were okay at first, but tasted watered down towards the end of the day. Woke up at 3:30 am because we couldn't sleep and everything was closed except for the Irish restaurant, which just had a limited food menu and non alcoholic drinks until 7am. The water/ice stations were shut down too. Casino was open but bar was not. Pools/hot tubs all closed. Just felt like cattle. Staff was rude most of the time. I wouldn't recommend it, there wasn't enough to do on the ship.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
It was easy to check the bags and board.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The food on the buffet and 'complementary' restaurants was not good. The Irish restaurant was the only one open 24 hours and the food was just okay. Cageys was good, and was included as our special meal. That was the quality I expected for the other restaurants. Bar didn't open until 7am so no bloody mary/mimosas with breakfast. Drinks seemed water down towards the end. Charged taxes on the beverage package drinks too.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Pools/hot tubs/decks were packed. Deal or No Deal was fun. So was the piano. Small areas though, so generally busy.
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
Most of the staff was very rude and not friendly. Only the gentleman cleaning our stateroom was nice.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Ship was clean and was upkept. Decks were power washed each night.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
It's small! Toilet is turned at an angle and you can't sit on it normally. Shower pressure was great. Wish you could dim the lights. Only 2 movie channels.
Not a pretty island. It's just a company store for Norwegian. The excursions were very restrictive (jet-ski) and didn't get the full amount of time on them. Long lines for food/drinks. Would have been better staying on the ship. Took forever on the tender.
The lady making the same announcements every 5 minutes grew old quickly as she repeated everyting. It wasn't necessary. Getting off was fine. I found it funny that the quality of the room you leave through was nowhere near as nice as the one you entered through.
I was on the Gem last year and I said never again I did not like that ship at all and I love to cruise for your first cruise I can understand the disappointment and I been on about twenty cruises try another cruise line you will see the difference.
There are lots of great cruise lines out there. Different ones appeal to different demographics. Do your research and you’ll likely find what you’re looking for
Sorry you were not pleased. We have been on the Gem several times and had a positive experience.
We have noticed post covid, all cruise lines sailing in the Carribbean and Mexico are overcrowded.
As for this app, it limits what you can really say. But that's for another day!
But it's unfortunate you had a subpar experience.
I think all the ships are dropping the quality from the lines they used to use.
We don't see a change on this next upcoming cruise that will be it from us. Too much money is being spent on a vast subpar experience.
I would say try another ship chain, but they're all about the same.
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