Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

1) Excellent customer service, crew staff were friendly and so were the waitress and managers.  

2) This was our 22 cruises, we were very disappointed the food that they served on the ship. It was terrible, too much curry powder and spices.  French restaurant Garden cafe and dining room were bad, the steak house was the best.  Norwegian really need to improve the food.

Favorite part was our island stops. Beautiful beaches n weather. Ship itself clean. Staff friendly. Only complaint was meal times. Breakfast no seats ever available n dinner in the dining room was an adventure everynight. Seemed short on staff soo everything took way to long. Everynight my wife ordered capachino. Only got it 3 times. It never came or took so long we left. 

Just returned from 10 day Carribbean cruise on the Gem. The staff was very friendly , the entertainment on most days was excellent but the food in main dining room, buffet and specialty restaurants was not good at all. It needs major improvements. 

CRUISE WAS GREAT. THE WEATHER COULDN'T BE ANY BETTER.  70'S AND 80'S  ALL WEEK.    THE SERVICE, ENTERTAINMENT AND THE PORTS OF CALL WERE JUST GREAT.  HOPE TO DO THIS CRUISE AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.    THANK YOU JOYCE FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR US.

Where do I start. We booked a balcony room and got a great last minute deal on . Overall the experience was smooth. Though we had to turn around after leaving due to a medical issue, the captain communicated well during this issue and during a storm (which he took another route home to reduce the choppy waters). The only issue was speeding back in the storm from Tortola but choppy waters at some point is to be expected. The food was EXCELLENT - I do not quite understand it when people say the food is horrible. if you do not like something go eat somewhere else or order a different entrée. I have very high expectations and found the food in the dining room to be what I would expect at a fine restaurant in Manhattan - $200 worth, smaller portions but excellent choices. Service was good and the excursions were great. Did not like the short stop in Tortola. For 10 days boat did get boring towards the end. Shows were great! Can't comment on bars/lounges as we were sleep early. We are a young couple but old souls will say the boat had a lot of seniors, but that didn't bother us. Great experience!

Whether this is your First Cruise of you are a avid Cruiser this is a wonderful way to see the Eastern Caribbean - (San Juan, St Thomas, St Maarten, Tortilla). The staff of the Norwegian Gem go out of their way to make your vacation special and to aid individuals with handicaps and disabilities. 

This is our third cruise with NCL, but our first 10 day cruise.  First let me tell you that we wouldn't have experienced this wonderful vacation had Valerie at Delta Cruises not emailed us about the opportunity.  Just to be sure it was the great deal we thought it to be, I went on line and priced it out booking directly through NCL.  Valerie and Delta Cruises were offering us bonuses NCL wasn't!  It truly was the best deal out there!  Thank you Valerie and Delta Cruises, this truly was a one in a life time vacation we won't soon forget!

The Gem is a very nice ship, especially after a on going refurbish.  The food was outstanding in both the complimentary restaurants and buffet.  This our 2nd cruise on the ship to the same ports and I noticed that almost everyday there was a poolside barbecue this time.  Delicious!!  The crew was above par and were very friendly.  Entertainment was very professional.  One blemish was the 2nd City show, it was not very funny like the previous time.  This criuse still deserves a 5 Star rating.  We had 1 day of rough seas but shows went on like usual.  The asset of the Gem is that it could manage the passengers, it wasn't too big.  Too many people, too many problems!  Definitely would recommend this criuse.

Getting a chance to spend time on 4 beautiful Islands. The Island Tortola was 7:00am-1:00pm. Clouds don't even start to burn off til 9:00 then leave the beach by 11:30 to get back to the ship in time!

The cruise met our expectations. The food was great but the menu in the dining room for lunch was the same for the ten days (should at least change it a few times) The weather was cold for the first few days (below normal) however the specialty restaurants were excellent Le Bistro, Cagney/s, La Cucina. The entertainment was top notch except for the show with Second City troupe (people walked out after a few minutes of the start. It would have been nice to have a stop at the private Island

St. Martin was our favorite Island. All Islands were great.

We are Platinum members and some of the changes with the levels surprised us.

Our cruise before this one we could get a bottle of wine in two of any of the pay restaurants with our certificate. This cruise we were not allowed to have our wine in the Italian restaurant. The cruisenex certificates are a great idea!

AS USUAL, OUR EXPERIENCE ABOARD THE GEM WERE DELIGHTFUL.

THE STAFF AT THE POOL, BUFFET AND DIVERSE DINING ROOMS

WENT OUT OF THERE WAY TO PLEASE US.  WE DID HAVE A PROBLEM

WITH THE SCOOTER BECAUSE THE AISLE WAS TOO SMALL TO ACCOM-

MODATE IT.  IT WAS EASILY SOLVED BY THE ATTENTIVE CREW'

WE WILL NOT BOOK A CABIN ON THE EIGHTH DECK IN THE FUTURE.

WE WERE VERY DISAPPOINTED WHEN THE POLICY OF THE SHIP

CHANGED IN REGARD TO WHEEL CHAIR DISEMBARKMENT.  TOM WAS

REQUIRED TO EVACUATE THE WHEEL CHAIR AT THE LUGGAGE

PICK-UP.   THERE WAS NO "GROUND STAFF TO ASSIST" HIM THE LAST

LONG JOURNEY TO THE TAXI.  PLEASE RECONSIDER THIS NEW POLICY.

IT MARS THE ENJOYMENT WE EXPERIENCED ON THE GEM.

The Gem is an old friend of ours, having sailed on her many, many times. Getting back on her during a Spring which had not arrived in NY yet was great. We enjoy her ambience, her marvelous crew, some very good food, and overall feel of relaxation!

i loved it we had the times of our lives,i thought it was so good i booked another cruise to do in November.i have gone on other cruise lines but keep coming back to the norweigian brand

the ports of call were fabulous, except tortola it was a horrible little island with not much to do, it was not worth the trip or the time.  the on board activities were much to be desire, days at seas were long and boring, the atrium was mostly used for the kids to play wii on the large screen t.v.  it was daunting. most of the time I was wishing for music to be playing in the atrium while the show time singers were due , it felt like adult  nap time how boring   need  more activites during sea days and music to keep us entertained.

Overall it is a good experience. Dinning is good. Ship quality is good. The entertainment and kids program can be improved. I will recommend it to friends.

Very nice ship, Crew friendly and attentive, Sea's a little rough on the way home. Best way is to purchase a Restaurant package, do not go ala carte. 

I enjoyed my balcony room and ports of call. There was good selection of excursion. The friendliness of the staff was lack luster. The dinning hall area staff hardly ever smiled, gave slow service, and for the most part seemed put out to have to do anything. The one waiter argued that my steak I ordered medium rare was that when it was well done. He ran away and I had to flag down another employee just get my steak sent back for a new one. The servers in the specialty dining were better and the food was better as well. The only down fall was we were rushed and even had the one restaurant cancel our reservation because we were the only late table they had and didn't want to be closed early instead. I would recommend this ship and cruise line to people who have never cruised before and don't know better or elderly who are at a slower pace of activity and early eating. I would have never thought that before the cruise because I've cruised with this line 2 other times but this was nearly the worst cruise I've been on out 5. 

Our favorite on the Gem were all the many activities and entertainment.  Wonderful and talented crew! Never a dull moment.  So many things to do while on the ship. Enjoyed it all.  The shore excursions were great too! Yes, I would recommend this to a friend.

We were very excited to visit four places we had never seen before and, for the most part, our excitement was justified. San Juan is a delight. Exploring the area by bus and foot brought many lovely sights, sounds, and people. We can't wait to return. St. Thomas is beautiful, although we weren't able to see much of the island beyond the capital - Charlotte Amalie. St. Maarten was a mixed bag. The Dutch side of the island is lovely, but the French side is decidedly not. The houses (except for the few wealthy residents, of course) are run-down, dilapidated hovels and the French capital - Marigot - smells like an open sewer. The French government should be embarrassed. Tortola brought an exciting day of exploration via sea and land. We saw many beautiful neighboring islands - Treasure Island, Virgin Gorda, St. John among them - followed by a thrilling ride in the hills of Tortola with breathtaking views of the Atlantic and Caribbean. 

The Norwegian Gem is a beautiful ship! The crew are friendly and helpful, the food is excellent (with the exception of one sub-par dish), and the cabins are clean and comfortable. We will be sailing aboard the Gem again this fall and we are looking forward to our return visit.