Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We enjoyed our trip on the Gem to the Bahamas, leaving New York August 9th for a week.

This was not our first trip on the Gem and won't be our last. What we love about the NCL line is that everything is available and you can pick and choose what to do. So many restaurants. The entertainment is first rate. The service is great, and although I like to dress up my husband does not,  he will wear nice slacks and a shirt, but refuses to wear a tie and jacket, we both enjoy what we wear. The food is amazing, we have sailed on the Gem for many years now and it keeps getting better.

We had a wonderful time, ready to book next year's.    The excursions were great, the entertainment was great. The entire trip was extremely relaxing. 

I took my daughter and her 2 children (my grandchildren) on the cruise. My daughter who always believed that cruises were for 'old' people, 4 days into the cruise, said she wanted to do it again. My grandchildren had freedom they never had before (ages 7 and 9), going to the pool on their own and having breakfast when they were hungry and as much as they wanted . We felt that safe onboard. It was a very restful experience for my daughter. We all left with the reassurance that we would do a cruise again - together...

The Norwegian Gem is a hotel of insects and bugs. We were bit by sandflies and sandfleas that were breeding in several rooms on the floor. We alerted guest services and they told it us (it was part of being on a cruise). We also found bugs in our food not once but twice, when we alerted the staff and management they gave us a glass of wine to make-up for it. A bottle of water will also cost you $6 with a cheap glass of not very good wine costing you about the same. So they felt like the $12 worth of wine made everything okay? It's a week later and I had to be placed on antibiotics because one the sand bugs laid eggs under my skin...and my wife cant wear shorts or skirts for the rest of the summer because of the ugly scars and bumps that haven't gone away yet. NEVER EVER AGAIN taking a Norwegian ANYTHING!

My husband and I were slightly apprehensive to cruise Norwegian because we had previously cruised with Celebrity, which was outstanding, and Royal Caribbean, which was perfect for us. We only chose Norwegian because it left from a close port, NY, and we had already done the two summer cruises that leave out of Cape Liberty, so we wanted to try a different route. However, we are unlikely to book Norwegian again as we didn't 100% care for the Freestyle Dining experience as we felt the service was quite awful. At the same time, we felt badly for the servers at dinner because it was obvious that they were extremely overworked and had very little help. It was unreal to me how they had to fill our water, bread, get our drinks from the bar, take orders and serve our food. We did have a few good servers, but overall our nightly dining experience was lacking the personalized experience that we have been awarded on other cruise lines. 

had a great time only negative to the experience is the daily charge of $12 a day  per person so take that into consideration that before you set sail you already have a bill of $336.00 for a family of 4  so this should be told to you up front  by all agents involved and is not unless you question it

The Disney tour was too short and time to get there and back was very long as well. The off boarding process for the trip to the Cay was very long and troublesome with many never actually getting to the island. Nassau was a nice time. 

The buffets were not well managed, lines were long and confusing and I personally witnessed several arguments between passengers and dining staff. Example is food was served as a convience by the pool, but had to travel hafe way to the rear of the ship to get non-alcholic drinks to go with lunch. Food was good and thanks for the wonderful specialty resturants. Le Bistro is the finest French resturant I have been to.

Overall I would rate the cruise fair to poor.

- Very good food as expected. Many choice "pay for " restaurants at a fair price.

- Great NCL staff!...Fantastic Broadway theatre, sets, and actors.

-Lounge acts were superb also.

-Ship was clean; cabin was fine.

-Population was crowded with too many children...(family cruise)

-Forget about getting a seat or lounge chair pool side!!!!

-Not enough seafood of quality on this ''searide''.

-Bahama people could use business & courtesy training classes, really.

There was something to do for everyone.  Cruise director was very talented and accessible.  The food was great and the service was friendly and helpful.

This was the best cruise we've ever been on. The food was delicious, there was always lots of variety, the nightly dancing and singing shows were spectacular, there was always something to do on the cruise with the event schedule, the staff who work on the cruise from the the entertainment workers to the restaurant waiters/waitresses and the rest of the Norwegian staff on board made our family experience as amazing as it can be. This was our best cruise we've ever been on and my family and I enjoyed every moment. We've been to cruises with Royal Caribbean and Carnival but those don't match up to Norwegian. Based on our experience Norwegian had much better entertainment at night. The dancers and singers were amazing, the restaurant staff worked quickly and if you tell them you need to get to a show for a specific time then they'll work faster for you to get you to that show on time. You never go hungry because there is always either a restaurant or a buffet open somewhere on the cruise and the food is always delicious. Our kids are very picky eaters and no matter where they went to eat on the cruise they always very satisfied with the selections.

I have 3 children ages 9,11 and 15. I was very impressed with all the activities scheduled for the kids especially the teenagers. There is nothing like a happy teenager-!!!! We had to schedule our dinners around her schedule. They had great events like having the rock climbing wall and pool to themselves. The younger ones performed in the Circus Show . A talent show for all the children in the kid clubs. Pajama parties, Wii, cupcake decorating, and lots of events. Nothing makes a parent happier than knowing they can relax and have their children in safe and secure environments where they are having fun.  My usually grumpy 11 year smiled all the time we have the pictures to prove it. I came home wrinkle free. 

For a seven day cruise, there should have been a wider variety food selection and tastier foods.

Activities fell short also. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This was our first cruise with Norwegian, having heard others rave about their cruise with this cruise line, we were excited to go with Norwegian.

We took the Gem out of New York City. We are from California and spent a few days in New York before the cruise and had a great time. The cruise was going to Cape Cnaveral then to the Bahamas. As far as these destinations, there were really alot of fun. We cruised with our adult children and grandchildren. There were 11 of us. The destinations offered lots to do for all of us, as we all went and did our own thing at each port. We aged from 11- 53.  A really fun time at all ports!

Our problem with this cruise, having cruised before to Mexico and Alaska. ( Carnival and Royal Carbibean ) the service we were expecting just wasn't there. It seemed like there wasn't enough crew. We have never cruised "Freestyle" before. I don't know if that was the problem. My husband said he thought the crew in the buffet and dining rooms, just couldn't keep up with the constant flow of people.

at the buffet , the food the food was good but not many choices. And always couldn't find a place to sit. I saw a older couple sit at a dirty table after walking around , they gave up and just moved the dirty dishes so they cuold eat. We cleaned a table 2 times ourself.Tthe crew also seemed very tired and overwhelmed at the buffet. Also not so proffesional as our previous cruises. Like the were on freestyle mode. Not all, but most were't very happy, just seemed tired.

Stayed in cabin 11076 mini suite. Really perfect for 2 people. Ampel drawer space with a good size balcony. Mini fridge was a must for soda, water and juice. Shandy kept the room immaculate and ice for the bucket and cooler was plentiful. Roel the bartender at the java cafe was a great ambassador for NCL. He was so personable and entertaining. His slight of hand magic was fascinating. We were impressed with the ease of Free Style Dining: two meals in the Magenta Dining Room but the 3 signature restaurants were amazing: Moderno's salad bar and meats cut from the skewers, Tapanyaka chef's performance and the Le Bistro was exquisite. All of the staff were pleasant and made sure our questions got answered, made our trip rememberable and provided top of the line service. The check in process was the only drag with long lines but the disembarkation was a breeze only 15 minutes using a baggage handler who zipped us through customs and to a taxi. The only thing that was disappointing was the very small pool area with very little space between the lounges. The entertainment was surprising good from the lounges and the main theater. We will be cuising on NCL again it certainly was a Gem of Week!

This was my first cruise and I would recommend it for any one.  We stayed in a high deck (11th) interior cabin.  For anyone on a budget I would recommend this option.  It was the same price as a low deck window and the location was well worth the lack of a view.  The beds were comfortable and the bathrooms were a good size.  For two people there was plenty of storage space. The cabin stewarts cleaned the rooms twice a day (including providing clean towels) which was a great plus for a smaller room.

Food/Dinning: The buffets were good for breakfast and lunch.  Like all buffets it pays to know where the secondary locations of things are so you don't wait a long time.  Most nights we ate at the main dinning hall.  There was no assigned dining times, you just go when you want. The food was never bad but it was never great. Also while it was great for us there seemed to be a large number of 2 person tables.

Days at sea: The ship did a lot to entertain on the days at sea.  There was constant music in various locations.  Everyday there was a bbq surrounding the pool (some of the best food for the week). Activities such as beer, wine, and cocktail tasting.  We did a couple of these but mainly we hung out by the pool.  Be sure to get out relativly early in the morning if you want a seat.

Florida: We went on the kayaking with manatees excursion.  It was great and I would recommend that anyone who can deal with some physical activity and loves wild life should do it.  We saw dozens of manatees, a couple of dolphins, various birds, other small fishes, and horseshoe crabs.  No draw backs for that trip.  We didn't make it to the beach after the excursion even though we got back with 4 hours left for the day because a thunderstorm came in right when we got back to the ship.

Stirup Cay: Try to get an early tender number to get the best spots on the beach.  We managed to get on the first boat out and got a great spot.  The weather was great and the water was beautiful.  We also did a shore excursion of paddleboarding.  It was a very fun time for relativly little money.  The provided food was good not great.  Started to run out of cups near the end of the day because it was so hot, but that was the only sour point of the day.

Nassu: Did an early morning excursion of snorkeling.  Saw a lot more fish than I was expecting.  It wasn't the great barrier reef by any means but again worth the money.  After grabbing a quick lunch we took a taxi ride to cabbage beach. It cost $4 per person, only annoying thing is you don't leave until they fill their vans.  15 minute ride later and you again are at a great beach.  There were a lot of peddlers of various things so don't expect the quitest day at the beach but it was still very nice.

Overall this was a great cruise for the money.

Would not recommend this to anyone unless you are desperate.  Worst food.  Norwegian thinks if you have buffet people will eat anything and that's exactly what they did.  Chief chef, Tyson Pinto can't cook.  He is an Indian who can't even make good Indian food.  Everything is watered down -- pasta sauce, curry, etc.I guess since you don't have a choice, you have to eat it.  

Kids program is not that great comapre to Disney, Royal or Carnival.

Cruise director Dan Dan is a comedian and a very good one.  

Bottomline is please go with some other cruiseline.

For our first cruise ever, it was the best time of our life. Not only was the ship clean but service was awesome. The gentlmen taking care of room was awesome! Ketut was extremely friendly and always making sure we were taken care of. Since this is my husbands first time ever having a vacation he was extremely happy and relax. I enjoyed the spa while my family went out and did their own thing and it was relaxing ti know I could do my own thing. Like I said if you cruise. Cruise this one. Between the food and the chocolate buffet you can't go wrong. Thanks for the greatest vacation ever. 

We did so much on the ship we sat by the pool side, played Dean or No Deal, Bingo, met awesome people, watched movies on a 2-story tv, played the WII as well. The food was great we ate and ate, on dining would close and another one opened up.  One night we had three dinners. YUM.  Entertainment was outstanding for all ages Nickoloden, comedy, singing dancing and smiles and laughter every where.  The Service was GREAT!  I am a full time mom, that works 5 jobs, and my husband works as well.  I enjoyed the clean enviroment and the luxery of someone cleaning up after me Bless Mr. Phil he was awesome.  I didn't sleep to good because I was afraid I was going to miss something.  I never made it to the late night dances because I was tired.  I would do it agian!

For all the money I spent when it was said and done I would have rather have stayed at a all inclusive resort in the Bahamas.  The service was great but the dining options were a lot more limited than anticipated. The unlimited beverage package was a joke.

Тo celebrate our anniversary me and my husband decided to go on a cruise. After a long research we chose the Norweigian line because all of the excellent reviews and the great service they have been providing so far.    

We sailed on the Norwegian Gem leaving New York City on May 24th, 2014 and returning on the 31st after stops at Port Canaveral Fl, Great Stirup Cay, and Nassau, Bahamas.

Our balcony room steward was outstanding, and the room was spacious and comfortable! 

The service was excellent, staff was attentive and very helpful. We were lucky enough to connect with some wonderful staff members that made our trip outstanding.

The freestyle cruising atmosphere was exactly what we were looking for. Plenty of things to do onboard - spa treatment, fitness, music entertainment, shows, casino, bowling alley, rock wall, karaoke, games, dance classes, cocktails tasting, photo gallery, bar and dining places and plenty activities.  

The entertainment was excellent, as well as the cruise director/cast members. The shows were really top-notch and Norwegian always goes the extra mile for their passengers. Service in the main dining room was slower than we expected, but the food was good. Best specialty dining experience was at the french reastaurant - Le Bistro!!!! Our waiters were pleasant and always attentive. It was a joy to eat there.        

The first two ports are very nice, we went to Universal Studio /Island of Adventure, Fl/, and Great Stirrup Cay, NCL's private island, was fun. We had such a good time at that private island. At Nassau, Bahamas we had also great time, enjoing the beaches, both, the one inside the aria of the hotel and the one outside. The aquarium was really nice and the gift shop also.

OVERALL it was our 1st cruise with the Norweigian Gem and we had excellent experience. It was a relaxing trip with 3 days at sea. We enjoyed our cruise on the Gem and would not hesitate sailing on her again. We highly recommend this cruise and ship.