Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

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.

I was disappointed in the food service in the regular dining rooms - food good but not excellent as it is in the specialty restaurants. They had two cruise staff members who had trouble being understand their English was so poor and they frequently were assigned to run trivia contests. As always, the majority of the crew is cheerful, helpful, and solicitous. Free style cruising is the way to go. This is the first time I have not given NCL a 5 star rating.

Hi had a good time on my cruise on the Norwegian Gem. Gerry my steward was great and keep my room perfect. Also, he made us feel welcome, always greeting us by name. I had a a blast with Jon and Philip at the jewelry store. Jake the shopping consultant was a gem and his help was tremendous.

I will say I got a little bored after a few days. Since it was my goal to relax, I didn't mind. However, had I been there to be entertained, I might have been disappointed.

Great cruise. Very relaxing. Starting with our agent AURIEL ROOF, she was great and very helpful.  7 days total at sea, 3.5 total at ports.  Ship staff is tops. Helpful, kind and courteous.  Smoking sections are small and not enough, but they have a wonderful cigar lounge which is usually very peaceful if you want some quiet time other than your stateroom. NCL representatives are also very helpful at getting you answers to your questions.  

We really enjoyed our cruise on the Gem!! The ship size is great not to mention impeccably maintained and clean (which is important to me,I did not experience this on Breakaway when brand new) We went during kids vacation and the  ship was full however the service was excellent and the crew very polite.You can tell they have their systems well in place to make a sold out ship happy. Loved the drink package. Top shelf liquor and excellent wine. Specialty restaurants were very good and the two main dining rooms excellent(especially Grand Pacific!) The shows in Stardust theater were excellent. The dancers top notch!! We really  enjoyed ourselves :)

our best part of the cruise was the staff,they were gentle and helpful,nice to talk to and showed respect for others, the exact opposite of the 900 kids that were on board. Captain and engineer were great to get to know We never got to eat in the specialty restaurants, they booked up so fast, so we had to eat basically the same thing  for 10 days, that got boring. We never got in a hot tub or swimming pool because of the extreme noise of all the kids and also the entertainment staff, They kept screaming out :"I WANT TO HEAR SOME NOISE". that was ridiculous.It has been 3 years since our last vacation and all we needed was some peace and quite Great ship Great ports of call

had a good time, except the White Party was a huge disapointment, they were a lot of adults that wanted to dance and it looked like a teenager party.

THE CREW NEEDS A DAY OFF.  ALMOST LIKE SLAVERY!!!!!!  WHO WORKS 7 DAYS A WEEK DOUBLE SHIFTS FOR 6 MONTHS??????

There were several things we liked. First was the convenience of leaving from NY, and we were fortunate to have had good weather conditions. Secondly, Even though we had 5 days at Sea, there was plenty to do and our 8 year old Twin Boys spent much time in the Splash Academy because they had great activities. Thirdly,The restaurants were very good, and we enjoyed eating breakfast and sometimes lunch on the ships open back deck. Last the destinations were excellent!

Everything was great!!

Good friends, great places.

Great Time!!!

Planning is important.

Staff is nice, cabin was OK, and service was good.

Food could have been a little better.

food was excellent, service the same, was the best cruise I have ever taken hope to be back for more, everyone made me feel at home knew what I wanted served me the exact product not a same as good cabin service nice quiet sleeping area can't ask for nothing more.

#1:  The dining package was not worth it - Food just average at best - Dining in the 2 Main Dining Rooms was as good, if not better than, the specialty dining

#2:  The golf driving nets were in poor repair - Golf bag that holds the clubs looked like it was 100 years old - Faded and torn - 3 irons all of which were rusted with grips that were falling apart - I have photo's

#3:  We had several separate issues with solvent smell in our room and on several decks, especially in the hallways - We were told it was from the maintenance painting be done - The smell was so bad we could not be in our room without coughing and getting headaches - Nothing was done about this condition - The fumes were quite serious - I have extensive personal and work experience with paint and painting operations - If this condition was taking place on the main land in the USA dual charcoal cartridge respirators would be required - What about the babies on board?  What about the young adults on board?  What about the older people on board that may have breathing issues?  WHAT ABOUT THE CREW MEMBERS WHO WORK IN THIS ENVIRONMENT EVERY DAY?  The paint being applied was epoxy and urethane materials containing xylene, methyl ethyl ketone and isocyanates all of which can cause health issues (breathing/brain) - They are more concerned with smoking than with the hazardous and explosive solvent fumes

Overall I loved the cruise. The shows were fantastic and the staff were great. Made a few lasting relationships with several of the staff. All were very nice. The food in the restaurants were really good however the food in the buffet was not so good. I was disappointed that all the hot food was always cold. Also very hard to find a seat. The food out at the grill by the pool did not offer a veggie burger or turkey burger so I was always forced to go inside while enjoying the poolside. Not a happy camper. Also I feel you should offer more vegan options since there are a lot of vegans in the world today and they should be labeled. Vegans love to cruise too. I did purchase the 500.00 credit towards another cruise. I would recommend this cruise to others. Alvin the cruise director was awesome.

Could not use the balcony. Paint fumes in the rooms through the duct work. The vent above the bed kept dripping water onto the bed. Unacceptable response from staff.

Both my husband and I agreed that this was the best vacation we ever took! Everything was perfect, from the food to the entertainment to the port calls. We can't wait to go on another cruise!

Our cruises with Norwegian have been fine over the years, but this one made it to the top of the list.  The ship was laid out so you could find your way quickly and without effort.  There was lots of room for whatever you wanted to attend.  The buffet had such a great variety of food for each meal and it was so good.  The entertainment was the best.  Even the captain entertained twice and he was just a great entertainer.  The ship was so spotless and the room stewards cared and worked so hard and worked well together.  It was a lot of fun to be on.  Everyone was so kind.   

The ship was recently refurbished and lovely. Food upgraded and excellent. Service always outstanding. Our 7th trip on the Gem. Didn't realize the size problem from the deck plan and suffered the consequences. We are both six footers but had no issues before. (See below.)

Other than that, it was a great trip, as usual.