Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I had a great time on this cruise.  The freestyle cruising atmosphere was exactly what our group and I were looking for. The staff was very helpful and we were lucky enough to connect with some wonderful staff members that made our trip outstanding.

Our first Norweigian cruise. Maybe we are becoming cruise snobs after 15 cruises....not a fan of freestyle dining.  Like commraderie with table mates and wait staff that you get at scheduled dining times. Also the service is faster on other cruise lines. Food was below average.  Specialty dining was disappointing, we ate at Cagney's and Italian restaurant. Have done specialty dining on other lines and the food and service was amazing. Not so with these two restaurants. That being said itinery and price were great for the last minute cruise we booked to just get away from the snow and cold. We booked a very tiny inside cabin...first one in a long time and it was smaller than other cruise lines.  Great quiet lounges at back of ship for at sea days if you can get one. Lots of "saving" of lounges that seemed abused. If you weren't up at crack of dawn forget getting a chair even though no one sat there all day. Other lines police this a bit and open chairs up.  Broken light in our cabin was repaired immediately. Room service was used twice for breakfast, first time great second time never came...that was breakfast on departure day.  Walked from pier to bus terminal and saved a lot of money. No cab in New York and we took the bus from Philadelphia and saved on tolls, gas and the 40 dollar a day parking rate. A highlight was the "washy, washy, happy, happy" lady who greeted us at the cafeteria all day long.  She was so friendly while making everyone wash their hands and be healthy.  She was even there as we left the ship saying goodbye...like the Walmart greeter!

As a first timer "Cruiser" I enjoyed myself. However the food choice was a bit repeative, although it was top quailty.

The food included in the cruise price is extremely limited. No seafood for free, and although the buffet was vast it serves the same exact thing every single day. most of the activites "included in the cruise price" were 30 minutes or less. You are pressured to spend money everywhere you turn. it kinda takes the fun out of cruising. I would rather the ticket price be higher and include more, because you get the bare minimum in the all inclusive" package deals. DRINKS ON THE SHIP!!!!! beware, I had a jager bomb and my wife had a appletini yes you counted right just two drink and the price was a whopping 29.68 USD

Diamonds International or any variation of the name steer clear...they will offer you little trinkets that look amazing on the boat. but they are not!

They pressure you to buy stuff you can't afford, like 25,000 braclets and 48,000 Diamond rings. I am a blunt person and I repeatedly told them no but they had my credit card and identification because we bought one of their "deals". So they kept us hostage by refusing to give us our cards back until I made a scene and they let us go. ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT $199.00 pair of earings were fake they made my wifes ears burn. we had to spend half our day in St. Thomas hopping between 4 different diamond international stores to return them. We had to make a scene there as well for someone to finally take their product back. ANYTHING YOU BUY YOU CANNOT RETURN!!!!!! THEY CONSIDER IT BUYERS REMORSE EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT OR IT BURNS YOUR WIFES EARS BECAUSE THE METAL IS CHEAP YOU CANNOT RETURN IT!!!!!! Finally I threatened to stop everyone who came into the store and show them my wifes ears before they would refund my card. Even then I get back to the ship only to find out that my credit card had been authorized for 52,000 Dollars. Which I had to spend 28 dollars in phone and internet charges to clear up.

In every port things are not cheap like people say they are.... if anything they are more expensive. A pair of flipflops you get from walmart for $10.00 you won't find for cheaper then 40.00 USD cigarettes and booze are cheap but even the food is outragious.

My biggest upset was I was not prepared for the real cost of a cruise. No warning is giving to first timers about the on board mandatory service fee's which are 12.00 per person per day...yes you heard me right! so if a family of 4 takes a cruise it is an additional 100.00 USD A DAY. So a 9 night cruise is 900.00 DOLLARS you get to pay at the end on top of the cost of the ticket.

My advice to anyone who reads this is ...Rent a sail boat it will be cheaper and more fun or prepare to drop about 6,000. bucks for a decent cruise.

Happy cruising and good luck.....OH and the ship was very clean, and the staff was friendly, I suppose because they are robbing you blind.

Had a great time on the Norwegian Gem Eastern Carribean Cruise out of NY.  The ship is beautiful and everyone works very hard to make your trip memorable.  The Entertainment was all bvery good, our Favorite was Leo in the lounges, he played guitar and sang and always to a packed house! Almost all the food services were excellent.  Our only negative was the service in the Grand Pacific.  We felt ignored and neglected.  The food was as good of in the Magenta (where we got excellent service all the time) but after they finally took our order and threw our food on the table, the wait staff was never seen again.  Not so much as a "How is your food" or "Can I get you anything else"  We gave them three shots over the 9 day cryuise and always the same, lame, service. We LOVED the Hibachi in the Tapanyaki Restaurant, A++.  Excursions from the ship were fun, informative and well organized.

 Were very disapointed with our last cruise. We sailed once with the Princess and 3 times with NCL, once with the Jewel, everything was awsome! The princess was fantastic! the service and food were out of this world, but the Gem is another story!!! The second sail was with the Gem, the room service was so so, the food was not that good and the choices at the buffet were quite skimpy compare to the Jewel. On our THIRD and last sail with the Gem, the room service was so pettyful, found an old coffee bag in the coffee machine from the previous sail in our room, had 1 creamer, 1 sugar and no sticks to stirr the coffee. we asked for more creamers, sugar and sticks, it was a battle to get creamers everyday day and we never got the sticks, we asked for an ashtray for the balcony, we got it on the first day, we had to ask again on the 2nd day then it was never brought back on the balcony for the rest of the cruise. The dining room experience was just awful, we waited 45 minutes to get our soup and it was cold when we got it, waited 1/2 hour to have our bottle of olive oil filled up and brought back, most of our meals were served less then warm, it took for ever to clean the table for dessert, the waitrice did not even know how to open the botlle of wine, WE had to show her, every waiters looked so confused and lost, the food was also way too salty... For the buffet, again the choices was so pettyful, lack of taste and also very salty this time, the different Italien dish were tasting all the same, much lack of variety in all the stations and I could go on and on...Most of the people ( I would say 90%) we met on the cruise were very much disappointed, talking about how bad and tasteless the food was, the very poor choice at the buffet and how bad their room service was, same for the dining room service, compare to other ships on NCL, we all agreed that the Gem takes a 2 out of 10, So I am glad we were not alone. We found out later that most were new crew without experience, the experience crew were transfered to the Breakaway to help out. It is too bad because lots of the people said they will never sail on the Gem again, they rather pay more and satisfied on other cruise ships. We all wished they would bring another ship in New York, the Gem is too pettyful and getting worst. Not at all very pleasant for NCL lovers to return to the Gem since it is the only ship leaving from New York !

Even though there was a small storm leaving from Dominican Republic back to New York, it was a safe cruise along the east coast. The crew members were very nice & polite. There are no complaints. 

We left New York City with it's freezing temps,snow and ice behind and cruised to the warm sun of the caribbean. We sailed down the Hudson past The Freedom Tower, The Statue of Liberty, under the bridge and out to sea.No airline hassles.The ship is well maintained and easy to get around due to it's moderate size. The days at sea are very relaxing. On the second morning we woke up to sunshine and spent the day sunning ourselves on the pool deck, listening to the steel band and enjoying BBQ. It was so nice I told my husband I'd be happy if we never got off the boat. We later found out from other people that is exactly what they do. The food is good and the serving staff gave my hungry hubby as much extra as he wanted.We were not happy with the service in the main dining room( the Grand Pacific). The staff there was slow and and it seemed unorganised. We found great service at the Magenta and very attentive staff(Thanks Christian and Rendel).The shows were some of the best I've seen. I've cruised on Royal Carribean and Celebrity, and the best show ever was "Come Fly With Me" from this cruise. We're talking about making this cruise a yearly event.The cruise port is easy to get to from Long Island. This time we took a car, next time we'll take the Long Island RR from Babylon to Penn Station and grab a cab to the port. Because it's freestyle you can pack light,no dressing up.Once onboard hang your winter duds in the closet of the cabin, you won't need'em.Shampoo,bodywash and hairdryer already in the cabin.Bathing suits,shorts, flip flops,sunscreen in a small suitcase and you're done.

From the kindness and availability of the staff,  to the variety and quality of food, to the availble entertainment,  I was Highly impress with the Gem.   Most striking was the quality of entertainment in the theater,  I was expecting ok shows,  they were fabulous.   Each about 45 minutes long,  they had great variety each night, and were true professionals.  The food was top notch as well with much variety.  And our room was always clean.   Great boat, great experience

The cruise was great despite the rainy weather . I do wish that the live entertainment on the pool deck was not so loud. The comedians/magicians were very creative.  I will not be using the spa services again: they are too aggressive at trying to sell you their products ( I had a massage and I was not interested in purchasing a bath product). We have never been disappointed with the meals at La Cucina and Cagney's. The chicken parm and filet mignon are the best we've ever had.  We took a "behind the scenes" tour----it was educational! and fun! And our cabin steward was fantastic!

Found a last minute deal online - $22/pp. Couldn't pass it up (they hit you with the fees though) So, we upgraded to a mini suite with balcony for $69/pp, still totally worth it. Room was spacious - great bathroom. 

I've only been on Carnival cruises to compare, so here goes. 

Staff was very friendly. Although I didn't see much of them. But it's the dead of winter in NYC, so don't think the ship was filled to capacity. I'm not a fan of tons of little kids running around, so glad to see for a 1 night cruise, that nearly everyone kept the kids at home. My husband and I used this night as a date night, so did most others I guess. A few teens celebrating birthdays, but all in all - a very tame group of passengers. 

Ship isn't nearly as over the top as Carnival in its decor. It seemed much smaller and cozier, but that didn't bother me at all. Entertainment was WAY better on the Gem - we really enjoyed the shows and the club was jumping! Greast music, great crowd - yound and old. Now, that could have also been because it was a 1 nighter, so everyone made sure they enjoyed what they could for the night. 

Drinks in the bars were way affordable - the Bliss Lounge is ultra cute, set up with beds and counches all around instead of chairs and booths. Very sexy. Had a small area to bowl which was nice. Again, I think the smaller crowds everywhere just made it enjoyable. 

Here's the kicker - the food. It was awful. Like not just cooking for big crowds awful - like really awful. It had to be some of the worst food I've ever had anywhere, cruising aside. It wasn't just bland - everything was overcooked, underseasoned, and served cold. The buffet is TINY, without many choices and none if it seemed like it was even heated. Food one of the dining rooms was inedible, we got up and left in the middle of it hoping to find something better elsewhere. Granted we didn't try any of the restaurants you pay for -- but I almost get the impression they make the food in the dining room and buffets so bad so that you're almost forced to pay to eat in one of the "fine dining" restaurants (of which there are a whopping 6 onboard.)

So - go to have a great time with a significant other or group of friends. DON'T go if you're looking for a fine dining experience 

Our trip on the Norwegian Gem (NCL) out of NYC on Jan. 1 was a warm and enjoyable one.  We headed for the Caribean.

Our stops in San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten's and Samana (Dominican Republic) were enjoyable.  The eveing entertainment

in the Stardust Theater was exceptional--every night.

Food was of a high quality and varied.  We never ate in any of the "special restaurants" on board and still had a great gastronomic

experience.

I fell they didn't have any signs saying floor was wet. The food was not so good. The menu was basically the same. The ship rocked through the whole trip. Some staff were rude or barely understand English. There were lots of nice crew members don't get me wrong but there were a few rude ones.

I have been cruising since 1959, and this had to be the worst experience of my life! The balcony room was very small as was the stall shower. the food was subpar, even in the pay restaurants. After talking to fellow passemgers I feel I also overpaid. I will never again use Norwegian or , maybe the name should have been a tip!

I enjoyed the food the activities that catered to all ages and the friendly staff. I especially enjoyed when returning from excursions how easy it was to reboard. My room was accomadating for my family size. My children loved all the many activites as well as the variety of food choices.

Since there is no rating between "Poor experience - 2 stars" and "Fine experiernce - 3 stars", I would have to round down to the 2 star level.  In my mind, the overall rating of the cruise is "Fair".  I also want to provide some background of myself before going into my review of this cruise.

Occassion:  Honeymoon.  This is the first cruise for both my husband and I.  Both of us in early 30s.  No children.  Stayed in Balcony room midship port side.  We reside in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

ROOM:  We like our Balcony room as it provides more space for us to move around and enjoy the sea breeze when I was seasick.  However, we were not happy with the upkeep / cleanliness of our room.  I noticed that the carpet are not vacuumed and even though we put the sign of "turn down cabin".  The food scraps that we dropped stayed in the cabin after 2 days, before I had to go pick them up and started wearing flipflops in our room for the rest of the trip.  Sometimes our steward would miss replenishing towels and glasses for us and we had to ask him.

EMBARKATION AND DISEMBARAKATION:  The process is not rocket science and it was not super enjoyable either, but I think there isn't anything you can do with it.  Just have to be patient and be prepared.  Information flow was good as the procedure was announced over the PA system for a few times.

FOOD:  We tried all the dining rooms, buffets, outdoor grill, and all specialty restaurants except Teppenyaki.  Not sure whether we are spoilied by good food in the SF Bay Area or the food quality really sucks, we only enjoyed 1-2 meals that we had from two specialty restaurants.  The rest of food quality either sucks real time or portion size is ridiculous.  We feel that some of the restaurants are mislabled as "fine dining" when you could not see the attention to detail or the quality fo the food doesn't match up the cover charge.  We received very poor service at restaurants except at La Cucina and at the Brazillian steakhouse, where our servers were fantastic (and we tipped them extra too afterwards).  They don't have enough servers or cooks so food wait time can be from 30 minutes (at Cagney's) or 40 minutes (at Sushi Bar) or 60 minutes (Orchid Garden).  They have to really work better at the food quality and portion and serve time, because this is a real problem that we feel we have better food at the Grille (just grilled hotdogs and hamburgers) than at the dining room or at specialty restaurants.

SERVICE:  I am just going to say "service" in general, but leaning toward more about restaurant service and room service.  Bar services were good, as they charge extra gratuity.  Other services are poor and the biggest problem is communication.  We noticed the people who served us, 85% are Phillipinos (we noticed their name tags of where they come from) and we had a very hard time having them understand what we need (in terms of food, drinks, service, etc.)  Please note that we have no problems communicating with Europeans or any other Americans who are Caucasians, or even Indonesians or Southern Americans.  The language issue is extremely bothersome when we are ordering in a restaurant because sometimes you have to repeat what you want for 2-3 times before the server takes note down of what you want.  Norweigian, please, please, please!  Could you screen your service staffs to ensure they have great communication skills before you hire them please?

Our first cruising experience in our lives didn't end up very pleasant, but we did enjoy the ports of call that the ship took us to.  The cruise director Matt is super funny, also his assistant director Dan Dan is hilarious!  We enjoyed the entertainment and shows that was offered on the ship, and most of all we enjoyed the avaialbility of Christmas Eve Midnight Mass.

If we are to cruise the Eastern Caribbean again, we will be trying a different cruise line next time.  Afterall, food is very important especially you have to eat from the ship's restaurants for 9 days.

we enjoyed the trip overall it seems as if the workers  were overworked and it also seems like the ship had not been cleaned thoroughly our room was very dirty the bathroom unclean and when I asked one of the workers about a  dirty film that was on the handrails as well as on the room number plates the workers told me that it was sanitizer it looked unsightly  and if it was  sanitizer  something needs to change because it looked  very nasty and left a dirty film.It seems as if  the cruise line is more concerned about making money, even though they have staff standing at doors to make sure people wash their hands (thats great)  but to prevent potential larger issues in the future the concern should also be about the overall cleanliness. I think the workers are wonderful but overworked stressed, they need time off and more time in between cruises to clean your ships

It was a beautiful ship. The decor was outstanding. The food was excellent. Buffet was well maintained.

we like the cruise director Matt. He kept us all informed. Loved to Cayo Levantado which was an excursion.

Wished the ship had self laundry service. Wished they had kept som chocolates on the bed.

This is my 6th cruise trip and I love this one. Although the ship is not the most modern or the largest one, the service and the staff are really good. The entertainment programs on the ship are outstanding and creative. The food is good. The four ports of call (San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Samana) are decent. I really feel the staff of Norwegian Gem are doing their best to please its guests and I have no complaint. Overall, I am satisfied and recommend the trip.

Wonderful cruise with excellent service and professional staff assisting you at every step !

From the cabin staff to the dining room service to the Guest Services - execellent service !

Other than soups and veggie burgers they specially prepared for me, I would say that over 95% of all prepared foods contained some meat, dairy or fish.  If you wanted some dish specially prepared they had no sauces that did not contain meat, dairy or fish.  Yes, I could eat salads all week, or steamed vegetables all week, or ask the pizza chef to prepare me a pizza without cheese.  The casino on Level 6 allowed cigarette smoking and the smell was terrible outside the casino.  They need some type of filtration system to keep that smell  inside the casino.  Also, they allowed outside cigarette smoking on the same level as the walking path (I believe it was Level 7).  You could not walk around the path without encountering the cigarette smoke.  At the very least the cigarette smoking should be confined to an outside area at the rear of the ship where the smoke will blow backwards and not into the face of non-smokers.