Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The friendly crew provided good service to be thankful for.

Enjoyed the following shore excursions very much:

Views of Halifax, Saint John Highlights, Lighthouses of Maine, and Great Mansions & Newport Highlights.

Will gladly recommend this cruise to our friends family to take.

We enjoyed the cruise thanks to the exceptional service at the Bars, Restaurants, and the casino.

No need to change anything, just keep on doing what you do best!

The cruise was nice enough and the ports were awesome, but we were some of the youngest people and I felt like I was in a nursing home.  The people were nice, but there was often nowhere to sit to eat in the buffet areas, forcing us to sit outside in the rain and/or cold. The balcony stateroom was nice, but the toilet area was too small for my husband who is a big guy. The buffet food was very repetitive and there was rarely more than one place to eat breakfast after 9 AM, forcing us to always eat at the buffet. The specialty restaurants were great!!  I had set up a payment arrangement once onboard and now that I am home, it looks like I may have been overcharged by $1000, despite what my invoice says...looks like I will be on the phone a lot. Fun.   I don't think I will sail with them again and I am kind of turned off by cruises now and this wasn't my first. 

Food and wait staff in main dining room was very good. Biggest issue was the lack of sea day activities. The entertainment was mediocre. Ports of call were not very interesting. All and all this cruise was not a good value for what we paid for it. I would not recommend this cruise. 

The NCL Gem is a comfortable ship. It's not as big as the newer ships, which is good ecause it allows you to get around faster and familiarize yourself with all venues available. Staff is always friendly and the atmosphere onboard is upbeat. It is newly redone and the changes are all positive. I recommend going to the specialty restaurants. The Gem provides a pleasant getaway. I cruise on it at least oncea year. It is like an old friend!

Our favorite part of this cruise were the destinations. We enjoyed Peggy's Cove a lot. But feel we were not given enough time there to see everything. By time we climbed the rocks and looked at the lighthouse we had to get back to the bus. 

Portland, Maine was terrific. The seafood there was the best! 

We did not see any fall folliage due to the very warm weather the leaves were still green. Regardless, the scenery was beautiful! 

The best part of the cruise was the Gem band! They were great, and the Broadway style shows were fantastic! The comedy group were very entertaining as well.

The balcony cabin # 10018 was a bit on the small side, but always kept clean by our steward, Wilson. He also provided us with some fun towel animals.

My friend and opted for the spa package that allowed us all of the time we wanted in the sauna, steam room and therapy pool, it was not a bargain at $149.00 but we both thought it was worth every penny!!! 

Staff was very pleasant and nice. I've never taken a course where the quest were dressed so sloppy.  They really should in force a dress code for the dining room. Leaving the ship needs much improvement. Luggage no signs of color or numbers were posted.  Transfer was a nightmare. I had to go to JFK person on curb didn't know where the bus was or if one was coming.  I made my flight by 15 min. I would never or recommend Norwegian again.

Did-embarking at all ports was terrible with poor communication and crew guidance. Also the required boat drill was poorly coordinated.

freestyle cruising obviously means fend for yourself

My luggage ended up on another cruise line! The cruise ship left NY on 9/17 and I did not receive my luggage until 9/21. I wore dirty clothing for three days until I was able to buy clothing in the first port. I wasted time and spent money I didnt have to spend purchasing clothing and toiletries on 9/19 until my luggage arrived on 9/21. I am disappointed and confused about how this could happen.

I would recommend this cruise! Be aware that Bar Harbor and Rhode Island do not have ports and you must tender  or stay on ship. The room we were in was great! Food was better than just ok. Most of ship employees were super. was great in helping book the trip.

This was our first cruise on the east coast and our second cruise NCL.  Overall we had a great time both on the ship and at the ports of call.  Pro - a lot of restaurants to choose from made dining very pleasant.  Nice décor, including new carpets and room furnishings.  Very good entertainment options.   Cons -took way to long to register to board the ship.  Boarded around 2:30 and room was not ready.   Weak staff service, we normally go with Princess and they are great.

Norwegian Gem had an older crowd of people. The décor was first class and the service was great for dinner, room steward and guest services. I did not like that the majority of the shore excursions were sold out before we got on board. Most were sold out before the excursion meeting they held on Sunday. We purchased the specialty restaurant package but all specialty restaurants were sold out on the first day unless you wanted to eat after 9 pm. The specialty restaurants we did eat in were wonderful though. The dinner menu selection was really no selection at all we were not impressed with the menu in Grand Pacific. There were not a lot of selections for both dinner and dessert. We were going to book a Hawaiian cruise but decided to try another cruise line.

We had high expectations having never cruised on the Norwegian Cruise Line. We were very happy with the entertainment and food, but disappointed with the room accommodations. The rooms were VERY small and exacerbated by having a couch that took up all of the excess space. The bathroom was also small with very little counter space/shelving. The shower was good.The toilet area was very small for anyone over six feet tall. (No room for your knees). The tours that we took were all interesting and enjoyable.

excursions were great, a lot to see. The guides were knowledge about the sight and what events took place. Time on excursions left some time for shopping.

The entertainment, especially the band was outstanding. 

The beds were AWFUL.  Very hard.

Cabin 9644 has AWFUL noisy plumbing problem (at night)that was NEVER fixed.

The immigration delays were awful.  When we got to Canada, we had to wait for a very long time to go on our excursion because my husband was one of the people chosen at random to inspect. 

If you watch one of the movies...there is POPCORN no one offers or tells you about.  Look to the right and they'll put it on the counter by the bar ;)

DON'T do the Peggy's Cove thing.  It was a colossal waste of time.  

DO rent a car and go explore on your own

In Newport, RI, don't do the overpriced sightseeing tour.  Go to Visitors's Center and get a cheaper version.  Great town.

Overall we had a great time despite the above glitches.

We had a great time! Would highly recommend it. Great weather also! We have been on Norwegian cruises before and always enjoyed them, see you soon! Loved the food, entertainment, tours etc. Getting on and off in New York city was easy!

Overall I liked the cruise a lot. There was one major problem -the food. 

We made sure to order kosher meals ahead of time. We did this on the phone a few days prior to our cruise. When we got there and asked for our kosher meals for dinner we were told that we have to reserve the night before each night we want it. 

The next night we got our kosher meals in boxes similar to airplane meals. This was disappointing in itself. However, when we opened the box the stench from the fish was unbearable and we all lost our appetite right away. When we tried to complain the manager of the restaurant we are in simply and very quickly took all our meals away. No apology. We never tried kosher food again and basically lived for a week on bread, butter and fruit. It was very unfortunate and unfitting for the type of cruise we picked. If we wanted rotten food we would have gone with a carnival cruise that would have cost us less. 

Its a shame. 

Love this ship!! Perfect size, easy to get around, delightful staff. Would enjoy time in the Casino if there were a non-smoking area available, or if they could improve the air exchange. However, there is so much to do, that we are never without many choices of activities and entertainment.

While we were happy with overall food service, we did take the NCL bonus offers of unlimited drinks and specialty restaurants. The bartenders, specialty restaurants and entertainment were all very good. The band "sold out", was excellent. 

interesting crew which were very helpful and gracious.Food was good but not as plentiful as prior cruises, but the dining experience was still good, you can always ask for more or at the buffet help yourself to more. The entertainment was very good and the variety seemed to have something for everyone.