Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The cruise was a good overall experience.  I have been on NCL  Jewel a couple of years ago and was surprised how the food experience has changed.  I was on the NCL Gem which is supporse to be the sister ship, however it was quite different.  The buffet was just ok and the dining room was not much better.  I guess that now NCL has so many specialty resturants, they don't need to put anything special on the dining room food.  Don't get me wrong; the food was decent but taking a cruise to me was all about the food and it was very ordinary.  Nice presentation on the food but come on, it was chicken and steak most nights.  The desserts were blah.   I had a balcony which was on the front of the ship.  The room was nice but alot of movement.  So much so that we spent very little time in there.  Going to sleep was the only thing to do with so much movement.  Take my advice and make sure you get a stateroom in the middle of the ship.  Entertainment was very good, however I think they need more activities in the atrium.  Come on, it was a movie of the islands over and over with no noice.  After ten days, it was just monotnous.  What happened to music there or games or something.   I'm not sure I really want to cruise on NCL again.

Overall a good cruise but far from a great one.

Pros: kids program was spectacular! I've been on 5 prior cruises and did not see anything close. Age groups go from 0-3, 3-6, 6-9 and other ages up to 17. My kids were 5 and 7, and had a blast, begging to come back. The activities were active and very age appropriate, with a (spoiler) surprise show presented by the kids in the main theater on the last day. Times ran 9am-12, 2pm-5, and 7-10pm with additional hour after that at $6 per child. Staff was extremely pleasant and friendly.

Cruise director (Dan Dan), was really engaging without being over the top.

Cons:

Cabin size was the smallest of my past 5 cruises. I took the inside cabin option. 1 bunk bed and 2 twin beds is what you are given for 4 people. Turns out if you want to fit the 4th person , you get a pullout bed between the 2 twin beds. Not something I expected from a quality cruise line. What most ships do is two bunk beds. This was a huge letdown for me.

No inside pool. Weak fitness area - not enough machines, size really small and I was pissed that I couldn't use the facilities on the last day.

Food was good but not enough variety for the buffet (in comparison to other cruises), practically same exact breakfast food everyday, and little variety throughout the days. Restaurants that were included were great but required a big time commitment, 1-1.5 hours. I chose to stick with the buffet to save time.

Evening theater show was excellent with good variety for different tastes (Broadway, comedy, aerobics, theater, magic shows). But the programs throughout the day were nothing to write home about. More professional acts would have been great in place of the non ending money hungry bingo and deal or no deal.

Prices for additional services, ie drinks, spa stuff, bingo, photos, were way over priced and we personally chose to skip those.

Excursion options were plentiful and we were very pleased with the service for the ones we chose.

We loved our trip!  The entire staff and crew were super friendly, they never stopped smiling.  The entertainment was wonderful.  We always had music to listen to or a show to enjoy.  My only complaint was the pool should have been warmer, too cold for me.   We would recommend it to everyone, and the food was great!

The cruise was good.  We enjoyed the food and met some new friends.  The room not so good we were on the 5th deck and there was this loud annyoing banging over us and it appears that it only happened at night between midnight and 5am.  All the people in our area complained about it and they appoligized because work was being done.  The crew was nive except the bar tenders they were not rude but they were not very personable.  One bar tender was great her name was Ramona in the Jave Cafe.  The excursions could have been a little longer but is was still very nice.

We loved our cruise!!!! Our room was beautiful.  The view of the ocean from our balcony was majestic.  The food was delicious and the service fantastic!!  The one and only "fly in the ointment" was the fact that our room 11580 was directly under "Splash Academy".  The noise and vibration level was horrible.  We did tell the guest relations and they were wonderful.  They tried to resolve the situation in several ways.  They talked to the operators of "Splash Academy" and the volume of extreme noise subsided a bit.  They offered us another room which was not as beautiful as the room we had (we loved our room).  They then offered us a complementary dinner at Cagney's Steakhouse which was wonderful.  The fact that they took our problem seriously and tried to the best of their ability certainly made us feel that we were important guests to them.  Overall, this was a wonderful cruise.  Our captain, Lars, was also fantastic!!  In closing, the cruise was a wonderful and beautiful experience.  We would certainly recommend this vacation to anyone!!!

Great! This is our first cruise.we book a interior room, it is a little small,but it is very comfortable. all the staff are very nice. it is a great experience.

My brother and niece, who live in South America planned this trip, and invited me and my husband to join them. We had cruised once before (on Carnival) and were not sure we wanted to go on any more cruises, but thought it would be a good opportunity to have a family reunion. We are also celebrating our 65th birthdays this year and wanted to do something special, so we tried NCL--it was much better than we expected. Even though our cabin was small, we had no problems (put our empty suicases under the bed). Bed was comfortable, everthing was clean. The food was better than we expected, but I was surprised that there was no mango or avocado. We really enjoyed the evening entertainment, but didn't participate in the daily activites since we just wanted to hang out together. Did use the walking track and got lots of exercise, so didn't gain any weight! I tend to suffer from motion sickness, and dealt with the rough 1st and last days by taking Dramamine. The only other issue was that the stop at Tortola was not accessible for my brother who is in a wheelchair, but there is major construction going on at the dock and it looks like maybe it will be accessible by the end of 2015. We're thinking about taking the NCL cruise to Alaska sometime....would upgrade to a window or balcony room, since our interior cabin was very dark--great for sleeping!

You won't be disappointed with the staff. They all seem very happy and willing to help despite the long hours they all work. The ship is very clean. The food is all delicious. We had the dining package. All the food was very good. Le Bistro was our least favorite and it is touted as the best. To each his own. The food in La Cucina  is just OK.  Pizza on board needs some work, we are NY/NJ pizza lovers. No other pizza comes close. Pizza on board is not pizza.  We stayed in a mini suite on the 11th floor. It should be a discounted room, as it was very noisey due to waste plumbing. If you are staying in room 11020 take ear plugs. Tortola is not really ready for cruise ships. No real shopping for the shoppers and not enough time to go to the beach and enjoy it. Maybe in 5-10 years. Enjoy the Gem.

We throughly enjoyed our trip on the NCL.GEM.

This was not our first cruise on the GEM but it was our most relaxing,enjoyable trip ever

We didn't have to be anywhere at any time.  There was no schedule to follow, we were truly

on vacation.

.

We had a great time.....great food, great entertainment, great ship.....great ports....great excursions.

I loved it!   Love the "freestyle" aspect of Norwegian.

Overall, the cruise was nice but a few issues. The "kids" pool was too full. The depth ranged from 4'11"-5'9". Most kids on the cruise were shorter than that. There was also not enough activities for ages 18-20. Some of the wait staff had poor attitudes and did not know basic serving etiquette. I actually saw a waiter reach across a table to pour a glass of wine. This same waiter had their guests remove their own drinks from the tray instead of placing the glasses on the table.

Our first cruise, and we had so much fun!  The staff was attentive, helpful and always upbeat.  The entertainment was fun, and there was always something to do.

We have cruised on the Norwegian Breakaway a few weeks ago and were quite disappointed with the feeling of overcrowding, the policy in terms of evening shows, the cabin sizes, among other things. Nothing of that sort on the Gem. Cabins and balconies are quite spacious, we could attend a show on two different times, the service quite personalized, the entertainment very enjoyable. But above, the quality of the service was exceptional on this ship. Always trying to anticipate one's needs, with a smile, all personnel on board was truly great. A speical mention to Dan Dan, the cruise director, with such a sens of humor, talent, professionalism. We will come back to that ship.

Although I have always been a Norwegian fan, cruising every year for over 7 years, this cruise was very disappointing.

I noticed several "cut backs" that affected the quality of Norwegian.  Also there I no acknowledgement for dedicated cruisers.  The latitudes program is a joke 

I noticed a lack in cleanliness in the cabins, discontinuing of the lobster/captains' dinner as well as the quality  and variety of food offered.

We are planning our 2016 cruise now and we are comparing NCL along with the other competition.  In the past I would NEVER consider another cruiseline...after this cruise. I am ready to try other cruise lines

Do know, there is always a gamble on the Atlantic Ocean being a bit rough compared to sailing from Florida.  But we always figure the "fly to FL and stay in hotel for a day" plus the airport crap back and forth is worse than relaxing with food and drinks on the ship from NY, regardless of the ocean issues.  This was a high seas trip, and yet we still did not need Bonine (though I am sure new cruisers would want some). That said, the itinerary is fine (though not much time in Tortola) with great beaches and shopping in St. Thomas and St Maarten.  Puerto Rico has a lot of history and options.  The ship isgreat shape for its age.  The crew is very friendly and helpful.  I like the crew better than Breakaway.  Breakaway has a few more entertainment options, though the main theater options on the Gem are better.  So, explore both ships options when deciding!  Easy boarding for both out of NYC once you get to the port.  Do know you can review the menus each morning in the main dining venues before deciding if you wish to pay for specialty dining.  Also know, if you wait too long to get a reservation to popular specialties (Cagney's Steak House, for instance) your choice of when to eat diminishes.  Specialty restaurants are worth the price if you want every bit of service and food available.  Main restaurants generally have pretty good choices so skip the specialties unless you want the royal treatment!  Final note about casinos, they allow smoking.  The Breakaway is big enough to have a "no smoking" section, whereas the Gem does not.  The Gem has added or improved ventilation (or less smokers than last trip on her) so it was not overwhelming but you will smell smoke, though not as bad as in years past.  It is tolerable to this ex-smoker, and only noting in case it is important to you.  Also know the "no smoking section" of the Breakaway is not smoke free, just no smokers present but since it is adjacent to the smoking casino area, it is not entirely smoke free.  I'd say it is barely better than the Gem that is less populated and well ventilated.  I hope that helps those wondering.  :-)  

Have been on the Gem before and done the itinerary.  The staff (concierge, butler and steward) are so friendly, patient and overall excellent at their jobs.  They anticipated our needs and responded immediately to any request.  I use a small, collapsible wheelchair and they offered to help open, close and even push it to the elevator.  We took the Explorer shore excursion in St. Maarten and it was delightful.  They put the wheelchair on the bus and helped with it to the boat.  They made everything so easy for us.  We tried the Moderno restaurant and loved it.  We also enjoyed our meals at Cagney's and Le Bistro.  I needed a low sodium diet and they made sure to prepare the food salt free.  We received wonderful personal service.  The food in the main dining rooms was good but we missed having salmon as a "regular" on the menu.  Also missed the braised lamb shank.  But we enjoyed all our meals.

10 to 15 foot waves had the ship bouncing around like a rollercoaster.  Of the 10 in our party 8 had to spend a day or more in their cabins.  My wife was sick the whole time and had to go to medical for an IV. The nurse on duty was wonderful....however that cannot be said for some of the crew members especially the waiters and waitresses at the majestic.  My wife attempted to help her clean up the places and was told in a rather snippy tone to "put the plate down".....my cousin asked for extra ice and was told "you'll have to wait"  Very unprofessional.  Another complaint  was the 12 fl Garden Café....very hard to find seats...you had to walk back and forth many times just to find a seat....not only that but WHY NO TRAYS?  You had to walk around trying to balance  a plate and a cup of hot coffee all the while the ship was acting like a roller coaster....needless to say there were many spills...The worst of all was when I asked at the service desk if my  wife could sleep in one of the chairs as she could not go up to the room because the ship was bouncing around so badly.  The girl at the counter went to ask the supervisor who said "she cannot sleep here"  yet people were sleeping there all day.  I saw to supervisor and told her how sick my wife was....one whole day on bathroom floor and IVa but she had no solutions.  I asked wasn't there somewhere she could sleep but the supervisor said there were rooms but they were on the same floor....she showed no compassion at all (unlike the medical nurse who called every day to see how my wife was doing!!!!  Also the internet was horrible, it took forever to log on....couple of times I didn't want to wait so I just logged off.  When I saw an 23 dollar charge for the internet which I know I was not logged on I went to see the manager who quickly agreed to credit the $23 back....Also the balcony was not worth the money, too small and too unappealing...chairs always covered with paint chips from the ceiling which was peeling very badly.Last item is why is there smoking still allowed in the casino...smokers are in the minority but the majority has to put up with it.  I know many non smokers who spent very little time in the casino ...seems like a better ventilation system is in order.  Last yr at about the same time we took a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas...It was magnificent......better food selection, nicer people ...just more enjoyable.  I know Norweigen has no control over the weather but a refund of sorts would be appreciate.

Overall it was a good cruise.  The entertainment was very good.  The cleanliness of the buffet needs some work.  The cloths for cleaning the tables had an objectionable odor which means bacteria is present.  Our cabin steward was very good. The activities for seniors left something to be desired.  We prefer to see movies but there was not one every day.I thought the food in the dining room was quite good.  Overall I would rate the cruise a B-.

This was a cruise of very good parts and very bad parts for us.

The good parts were that the Caribbean was beautiful and we had a great time taking a long break in the warm weather.  The crew was well trained and relentlessly friendly.  They really tried hard to make sure we were happy and satisfied at all times.  We had a suite with "Haven" status, and the Haven area is amazingly nice--totally worth the money for the peace and the ability to avoid the mass of humanity on the rest of the ship.  It makes it feel almost like your own private cruise ship.  Very great and very addictive.  I don't know how we'll ever cruise again without that.  :-)

The bad part was that the trip from NYC to the Caribbean and back--anything north of Miami--was a disaster.  The seas were so rough that the boat was bouncing up and down, crashing loudly through the waves, spray coming up multiple stories over the bow like we were on Deadliest Catch.  I think half the ship was seasick, with people avoiding their cabins and lying on couches in the Atrium and all over the boat, groaning.  On the last day, when the boat was rocking more side to side, it tilted so far over that the dishes and glasses were falling off the tables and a little girl next to our table had her entire chair tip over backwards.  In our suite, the minibar fridge fell open and everything fell out and rolled around all over our room while we were gone, and the mirror and even the drawers fell out of the little dressing table.  It was ridiculous.  In the Captain's daily announcement over the PA on one of the days (mostly weather updates), he said we were about to hit more rough waters, but "this is the North Atlantic in winter--what do you expect?" he said.  Well, we weren't expecting this, and I doubt NCL's marketing department was either.

So, overall I thought NCL did a nice job, and I loved the Haven, but I'll never take a cruise from NYC again in winter.

My husband and i heard great things about norweigian so we were excited to try them out. This was our 5th cruise and it was by far the worst i have ever been on! They did have one great show but everything else was disappointing. The food was not that great, there was hardly any activities going on during the day, everything on the boat costs extra that we wanted to do, and i have never been on a boat that has rocked so much even in the winter. Both princess and surprisingly carnival was better!