Great trip to Panama Canal

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

dcregar

Contributor Level: First Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

Verified Review

11 Night Panama Canal: Mexico Costa Rica & Belize (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 01, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9612

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 months ago

Review summary

Overall great! This was our 3rd time on the gem. Service was very good. No complaints about anything. Our 17th cruise.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Very long. We waited for over 1.5 hours due to a backup at customs from the cruise that docked earlier in the morning.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Restaurants were great. Food and service was very good as expected.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Jeff the juggler was exceptional. Magic show was very good. Scotty Goff was an outstanding comedian.

Children's Programs

No kids

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Very friendly and welcoming.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Very clean

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Smaller than the balconies on their newer ships. Bathroom was very tight.

Ports of call

George Town, Grand Cayman

4 out of 5

Been there many times. No excursions

Thumbs Up 0

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5

Surprisingly very nice port. We did an excursion to the walled city an a cruis around the bay.

Thumbs Up 0

Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)

5 out of 5

No excursions

Thumbs Up 0

Colon, Panama

2 out of 5

We were late getting into this port and was not willing to go ashore and then wait in line with excursion people to reboard.

Thumbs Up 0

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

5 out of 5

Very interesting. Did an excursion into the jungle area to see wildlife on a canal boat the went on a train into the jungle area.

Thumbs Up 0

Harvest Caye, Belize

5 out of 5

Only ship in port so it was very nice. Had no issue finding beach loungers.

Thumbs Up 0

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

We docked at the international pier. Was here many years ago. Usually we hock at the langosta pier downtown. We had over 100 stores to shop in so no need to taxi the 3 miles to downtown for 10 bucks one way.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Very quick. 10 minutes to customs.

8 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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jleslie48 8 months ago

we were on the same cruise! We love the Gem so much we actually followed it to Miami to be on her for this one. She used to sail out of our home town of NYC and it was perfect. It was good to see she as glorious as ever.

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LifeIsCruising 8 months ago

Thank you for sharing. It's nice to hear that you had a good time!

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cruising2004 8 months ago

Thank you for your review. Glad you had an enjoyable cruise.

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bubbles60 8 months ago

Glad you had a good cruise.

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Gwbigdog 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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javawoody 8 months ago

Thanks for posting

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HeavySeas 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing and glad you enjoyed your cruise

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