Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

There are so many wonderful things to say about our cruise to the Caribbean.  Foremost, the Norwegian and it crew.  I have cruised on 3 separate lines at this point.  Norwegian literally knocked my socks off.  The best food, the most friendly helpful staff, Dan Dan the direct so energetic/fun with one of the most beautiful singing voices I have ever encountered.  The excursions were well planned.  Each port more wonderful than the last - but the time on the ship was the MEMORABLE part of this vacation.  Thank you all for your very hard work, George and Rose

Having taken the trouble to register with a Special Diet, Gluten Free, I was disappointed with the dinning experience. I did not call in the required 30 day window, called 21 days prior to cruise. I was told that they must contact the ship to see if they could accomadate me, someone would call me back. I was called a few days later and told that the ship was contacted and that my reservatiiion was marked Gluten Free. Upon arrival in my cabin i had a letter asking to call and confirm my needs. I was required to pick my meals 24 hours ahead, including the restaurant. I found this to be very cumbersome and inconvenient. When talking with wait staff it seemed that this was also a big inconvenience to them. I have been on other cruise lines where being Gluten Free was no problem and they went out of their way to take care of my needs. 

Good cruise overall! Good entertainment, great food, good service. Puerto Rico and Saint Marteen were the best. The staff makes you feel awesome. Great restaurants and the clubs were good too.

The food isn't as great as the breakaway. Some of the staff seem to not be happy to be there. The shows were great. The captain was great. Photo people were great

The ship was very clean and the food was great.Except for the comedian the entertainment was fantastic, The comedian seemed unprepared. The singers and dancers were first class. Smoking did not seem controlled. There was too much smoking in undesignated areas.

From check in to check out we had a great time. Great staff, good food great shows. Can't wait to do it again!!!! The ship was clean, the towel animals are always one of my favorite parts and this cruise they were the best I ever seen, Crepes for desert were oh so yummy. Wait staff was great, my only complaint would be the food could have been a little warmer on the buffet.

We had a great time as usual but we were disappointed in a few things.  I was disappointed that there was nothing in the main dining room menus that drew me in, all of the awesome stuff was at the buffet.  Now it's not like we starved or anything but I am on vacation I want to be served and enjoy my meals not stand in line with some yahoos who can't wait their turn at the buffet.  We enjoy the specialty restaurants because hey, you can't take 5 people to a steak house for only $150 with appetizers, main courses like 18 oz. rib steaks or lobster and shrimp pasta - believe me I know, pasta at a steak house - or bison and coffee and desserts.  That truly is a bargain.  The food is amazing in the specialty restaurants and again, we totally enjoy getting dressed up to go and have an awesome meal, but I felt as though I was almost forced to go to have a memorable enjoyable sit down meal that I had to pay for, my rule of thumb used to be I was not paying for anything on or off the ship to eat because I paid a lot of money to go on this all inclusive vacation - excluding liquor.  Now we enjoy it.

Ok just putting that out there.

Don't let that deter you from going on the Gem, it's a beautiful ship. We loved the Itinerary, personally my niece, step daughter and I spent the entire day at the free beach in St. Marteen - what I really mean is that we were in the water the entire time.  Beautiful.

As for the Art Auction - well Park West Galleries - BEWARE, there are a lot of hidden costs in the art auctions all of a sudden.  Believe me I have over the years bought more than my share of art from Park West and have never been treated so horribly, trying to upsell me, hidden costs of framing.  Crazy.  Just be careful and what I learned from one other passenger if they start pressuring you don't sign the contract.  The told her that her painting that she bid on was not going to be framed and that her $100 purchase had now become $300 and she refused it.  OH well just putting it out there.  The Cruiseline contracts with Park West but that is a reflection on them for sure.

Poor cold food, rude staff and price goughing are jyst a few of this ships problems. Rooms are smallest ever seen in25 cruises. Tv's were a joke. Public room seating worn out. The only plus was the singers and dancers.

Had to stand in line for a very long time to get on the ship. Even one lady made us get in another line away from the people we were on the cruise with and it made us about an hour later than they were getting checked in.  Never had to wait like this with Carnival!!!!!

Food was fair, nothing special.  Carnival food much better!

Beautiful looking ship,clean and maintained.My stateroom,a mini suite balcony,was nice with sufficient room and a balcony able to seat two.The bed in the room was lumpy,and did not provide for a good nights rest.The bars and lounges were enjoyable and was able to get beer on tap. The house band prism was entertaining and a singer/guitar player named Leo was excellent.The food was good,not great.The italian restaurant had a relaxing and less noisy atmosphere.Cagneys steak house was nice,but the food did not wow me. I was surprised a lobster dinner was not offered in the restaurants,considering being in the ports of Bar Harbor and halifax.The crew and all the staff were pleasant and helpful,and overall the cruise was a pleasant time.

This was my first NCL cruise and I must say it was wonderful!  Ive cruised probably 17-20 times on probably 5-6 cruise lines.  Only one of those has been disappointing; we love this type of vacation.  But I must say that the NCL Gem was a truly beautiful ship, clean, easy to navigate, ample spaces in all the right places, great on-board entertainment, great food--just all around an A+ for me.  The staff was wonderful and attentive, always cheerful ad friendly.  I will look for the first opportunity I can find to board an NCL ship!

The pick up at the airport was a disaster.  That is a bad way to start.  The lines to board were much too long and uncomfortable.  Arriving late was not a help.  We flew in early purposefully to board at noon.  We were onboard at 4:00.  We should be refunded 50% of Limo fee.  The directions for excursions leaving and boarding the ship, although the announcements were loud, very repetitive and irritating, were not always correct.  Some standardization is needed, such as reservations for dinner.  We did not receive all of the necessary documents in advance.  Call me if you want more details.

Robert Beyer    727 365 3448  

The cruise was satisfactory. However, we did not receive the amenities that were promised to us at the time of booking by the booking agency ( Cruise Only).

First time on a cruise for my girlfriend and I. We love it!!! We booked the cheapest state room a few months before departure and we were abled to upgrade to a room with a balcony for just $40!!! You don't need to book any of the paid restaurants, the food at the already included restaurants was delicious!!! We booked 3 of the paid restaurants, Cagney Steakhouse, Moderno Churasceria and Cucina and we found the food at Grand Pacific and Magenta was better!!! For breakfast, it gets crowded at the Grand Cafe, go to the end of the ship, the Great Outdoors. It's less crowded! Our room steward, Felix Alburquerque was great!!! We love the shows! The comedian, Jeff is hilarious!!! The dancers and singers are amazing and Dan Dan is funny as hell!!! In Florida we just went to the beach, Cocoa beach about 10 minutes ($12 pp) and did some shopping after the beach. I rented the snorkeling at Cay Stirrup. I love it! Enter the beach at the far right end ( the slide behind you) and be careful with the jelly fishes. There are a lot of them!!! We booked the water park in Attlantis, but had to cancel it because it was pouring. We ended up taking a tour of the island ($35 pp)! I can't wait to cruise again!!! 

My Husband & I did the Bahama cruise last year and it rained everyday . We tried it again and it was the best. even though my husband encountered 2 sharks at Coco Beach :o !!!! we jet skied, swam, met great people. The food was great! the staff was very friendly and our room was gorgeous!!!! we already put a deposit down for a future trip. Thanx For A Great Time!!!!!!

This was my first time cruising and I'll tell you, it was by far the best vacation I've ever experienced. Everything was excellent. I came home and already I'm checking out the next cruise trip. The food was great. Entertainment was great. The crew was great. Everyone attended my every need. Good job Norwegian.

Went to this cruise with 4 more families, all different tastes and ages and we ALL had a blast!!! 

Ship is a lillte smaller but they know how to enternain everyone. Whish there was more time at the ports though!

My family and I have a great time in the Norwegian GEM. It was amazing experience. The staff were super nice and help. The cruise director was funny and loved his show. We will definitely come back.  

Everything about this cruise was great, except for the fact that Tropical Storm Cristobal and 11 1/2 foot waves preventing the tenders from the ship from going into Norwegian's private island "Great Stirrup Cay".  Can't say enough good things about the food, the entertainment, the spirit of service from all the crew on board.  I would definitely recommend Norwegian Cruise Lines again.

Excellent service, impeccable rooms, outstanding children's program (Splash Academy), awesome variety of things to do at night. Food is very good/excellent most of the time. As in every cruise, I guess, pool area is always overcrowded, but there are alternative away from the pool... I recommend this!