Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was the second time I took this cruise and I did it because I wanted my Birthday to be something I would never forget.

The minute I got on the ship I knew it was going to be a great trip, based on my past experience and the feeling of excitement that was coming over me. After going to eat, my friend and I went to go see the band " New Season " and never missed a show there after.

Not only was I suprised to find out that these guy's are here all the way from " Guyana " But they are the warmest friendliest group of musicians I have ever met. Covering everything from Patsy Cline to Bob Marley to Soca Music they are really on top of there game. With band leader Murtland Smartt On Keyboards, Leslie Daniels on Drums, Maurice Benn on Bass and the Amazing vocals of Nicole Osborne walking around pulling people on to the dance floor, these guy's are here to have fun and make some friends along the way.

Not only was my birthday something I will never forget, but I got a gift that will last a life time " Friendship"  and that's why I'm going back on this cruise in January, so I can break bread with my new found friends !! Thank you Norwegian Gem for the memories that will last a life time.

I have been on 10+ cruises. 3 total with NCL. This was by far and away the worst cruise I have ever experienced. The wait for a table, wait for food service, wait for buffet was horrendous. The rooms were dirty and the staff was unpleasant. What a terrible week!

we have cruised on the gem many times. we kinda knew what we were getting into. a couple different islands where nice. had just a couple of issues:

first was having a room on the 8th floor right above the stardust theature was new for us. we didnt realize they would be practicing well into the night/morning. finally on the third night i called the front desk (because we could hear what was going on) and they moved us to the ninth floor in the middle of the ship the next day.

secondly, my daughter, who did not attempt the water slide much on the last cruise, was very eager to go down it this cruise which i was happy about. although we didnt realize that they did not open the slide untill 10am which made the schedule of the day very tough (having to meet with dora, etc) so i spent at least a half hour trying to get someone to open the slide a little early. after much haggling, they said they would. so we waited by the slide for fifteen minutes. no one showed to open it. we had to go. dora could not wait. when we returned to the room i called the front desk and they said that someone was there waiting for us. much confusion to no result. they did send some chocolate covered strawberries to the room as a smooth-over.

overall a decent cruise. i think we are ready to put the gem to rest and try another boat.

We had great weather ,the cruise was wonderful crew shows were great and food was good our room was great had a mini suite. Islands we visit and tours we took were wonderful we had some specialties dinners just love Cagneys steak house

First time cruising out of Manhattan.  Parking at the pier for our 10 day cruise was $315.00.  Kind of pricey but well worth the convenience.  We got right on and right off.  The Gem was very clean and the entertainment was great.  Of course our room steward was fantastic too.  We set up our own shore excursions, so we didn't use the shore excursion desk.  There were 3 adults in our balcony cabin.  We will only cruise in a balcony cabin.  The dining experiences were nothing to write home about.  The dining rooms seemed to be understaffed and the staff that was working seemed confused.  The food in the "inclusive dining rooms" came out warm, not hot.  For us to get a cup of coffee "with" the meal, instead of "after" the meal seemed to be asking too much of the servers.  The buffet food was hot and tasted very good.  We went to a few specialty restaurants, but the only one we felt worth the price was the restaurant where they brought the meat on skewers to the table.  Other than the buffet food, this was the only "hot" food we found.  The last morning of the cruise, everyone who bought liquor at ports, that were not purchased at a "recommended stores" had to go down to pick up their purchases.  This was another experience of confused staff.  It seemed NCL was punishing us for not using their "recommended stores".  Purchases made at "recommended stores" were delivered to the cabins.  The Dominican Republic was the only port I would say you should stay on the ship, unless you have a shore excursion planned.

Love not getting on a plane. Thirty minutes from my home to the ship. Great!! The first time with Norwegian. The Gem is a beautiful ship. Stayed in a mini-suite, tiny. The room stewart was geat-made sure that we were okay and tried his best to please.

Love the nightly entertainments--cruise director and staff did a good job. The days however were boring.

The dining experience was less than desirable. For a good meal you have to do the specialty dining. Find the wait staff dazed, confused and not very helpful. Seating in the garden cafe was limited and the restrooms in the area were not will attended to.

It rained heavily at one of the ports and it was nice to have a towel to dry off as you returned to the ship.

The ship is beautiful, the staff is remarkable in servicing the guest. However, I feel that there should be a laundry room for the guest to use. Let's be real; $1.95 to wash a pair of sock's? that is not economical. Especially when they talk about bringing and taking things off the ship. Who knows what's being transported on your clothes.

Also the food should be hotter. In the dining rooms; it's so cold that by the time you can finish your meal, the food is cold.

The ship should give the guest an option to purchase a CD of the activities of the  games that the guest paticipated in on the ship.

After first night, next day it took housekeeping 4 hours to clean room.

Food in main dinning served luke warm serveral times.

Incomplete meals served, by the time the missing item was bought to table the meal was cold or finished.

Attended early servings in main dinning room, again and again most of the time seated by a service station which were noisey, and not very appealing to look at diry dished while eating.

Breakfast-constantly had to ask for a second cup of coffee, rarely did the server's come around to serve or ask if anything else was needed (terrible). 

If one wanted a pastry with their cup of coffee you always had to ask for it, then wait until your coffee was cold before they returned with a small tray.

We sailed on the SS Norway back in the 80's.  At that time, the Norway was celebrating it's 25th anniversary (used to be the SS France) and imported 1100 or so French people on the ship  It was a nightmare and the worst cruise we've ever experienced.  That was back in the late 80's or 90's.  The experience was so bad that we vowed NEVER to cruise with NCL again!  Well, we are very happy to say that after all this time, we decided to try NCL again and were more than delighted with our experience.  Everything was wonderful - from the food to our wonderful cabin steward Christian to the entertainment, beauty of the ship, etc.  We'll sail Norwegian again!

Cruised before...so wasn't my first. The ship was a good size & enjoyed the balcony stateroom..Especially enjoyed the free style cruising, since I like to be causal on vacation & not have to dress up formal for meals, all the time. It's your choice to do so or not. Very nice Spa area & quiet areas also and our state room attendent was very attentive.

The entertainment was excellent, as well as the cruise director/ cast members. Halloween was a blast on board....passsengers really went all out  with customes...very enjoyable to watch.

 Because it was a 9 N cruise, it was nice to have the 4 ports to break up the sea days, but because of the extra sea days it makes the trip more relaxing..... so you didn't feel like you were rushed back to port on the return trip.

Food was good, can't complain had worse on other cruises, but would recommend changing dinning experiences up, because if you only do the buffet , it can become redundant.

Overall the price for the cruise  for the amount of days was worth it....but remember this time of the year in the Caribbean  isn't always hot & sunny...so plan accordinly, the tropics are also very humid & rainy.

Overall....another smooth cruise :)

We cruised on the Norwegian Gem to the Eastern Caribbean.  This was our first cruise, but definately not our last!  The food was delicious, the service was wonderful and the entertainment was outstanding.  Our cabin was perfect!  We can't say enough, it was the perfect vacation for us.  You could do as much as you wanted, with so many opportunities and activities available, or do as little as you wanted, relax in one of the hot tubs or pools or lounge areas or enjoy the casino or sun deck, whatever you wanted! Perfect!

Service was very good.  Menu could use more varity. Trouble with toilet and had plumber to our stateroom three consecutive days to finally correct situation..  Entertainment excellent.  Lounges and Library very good.  We had an outside cabin with obstructed view and it was really obstructed, looking as if the lifeboat was part of our cabin.  This was upsetting as this is not the first time on Norweigen.  I'm a SILVER member and I thought this might bring some consideration with stateroom location.  Last October, we had the same accomodations on JEWEL and whie it was outside obstructed, the lifeboat was well above our view and was not a problem.  I like Norwegian and would sail with them again but I'm merely ponting out some of the things that need improvement. Harold J. Sampson.

Having cruised on 3 or 4 different cruise lines more than once I have to say that Norwegian cruise line in the best.  The food while not gourmet quality, is more than decent, and the crew is very attentive and pleasant.  We cruised from NYC to Nova Scotia and then returned, stopping in Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.  This is not a cruise for youngsters in that most of the attractions are scenic, and costly.  But the cruise itself was great.  The shows were really top-notch and Norwegian always goes the extra mile for their passengers.  In several ports, there was hot chocolate and cookies waiting for us and at one port when it started to rain, crew members were at the ready handing out plastic ponchos.  Very thoughtful. Our rooms were clean and inviting and our steward went the extra mile and showed my 10-year old grandson how to make towel animals.  There were many dining venues and the fact that you don't have to carry evening clothes and dine at a specific time makes dinners far more enjoyable.  All in all, one of the best cruise experiences.

We had such an incredible good time on our Norwegian cruise featuring the northeast coast including Halifax, St. John, Bar Harbor, Boston, & Newport. The itinerary was great and the crew were awesome!! Super friendly, attentive, and anticipated our every need. The bartenders remembered our names what we like to drink. Our cabin steward remembered our names immediately as well as most every waiter and waitress who served us even one time. If we ran into any staff at any location on the ship they greeted us by name - very impressive. The GEM was impeccable even for an older ship. Everything was spotless.

We loved our cruise on the Norwegian Gem.  The ship was beautiful, the service great, shows wonderful, ports awesome, food delish and just a great time with fellow cruisers.

The room was inside, small, but sufficient.  Our cabin steward, Hardy, was the top of the line.  He could not do enough to be sure that we were comfortable.  He called me by name everytime he saw me on the ship.

The ports were interesting and easily accessible to all forms of transportation if you want to excursion on your own.  The excursions we took with the cruise line were worth the money.

The food on the ship was a good selection and good tasting.  Steaks could have been better, a little tough.  Deserts were so plentiful and delish.

Entertainment was excellent and abundant.   More options for activities could have been offered on day at sea instead of when we were off the ship during shore excursions.

I would sale Norwegian again!

I was very dissapointed in the Norwiegen line. The menu in all 3 free restaurants was the same every night. There were too many "pay" restaurants and not enough free ones, considering the amount of passengers on board. The tenders were like Chineese fire drills. There was only one elevator that went down to the 6th floor main dining room for handicapped people. There were extra fees for playing bingo and bowling. The prices they charge to do laundry was ridiculous! ($1.95 to wash a pair of underpants!) There were extra fees for almost everything. Non-handicapped people were allowed to sit at designatred handicapped tables in the cafe. This was very irritating because of the limited seating in the first place. I received poor service in the Magenta. When I had questions, I received a different answer from each of the staff members I asked.. The bed was lumpy. There idea of a movie theater was watching an old movie in the main lobby which was noisy and crowded. The TV channels in the room were very limited and they showed the same 3 or 4 movies over and over again all week. I had a manicure that was sloppy and they wanted to give me the privilege of having it redone at a cost of an additional $29 for a manicure. The 14 day no-chip nail polish I received chipped 4 days after I got it. We were celebrating our anniversay so in their wisdom, we ordered and ate dessert, then they brought out a cake to celebrate our anniversary - so of course we didn't eat the cake because we already had dessert. I had no assistance in wheeling my husband in his wheelchair down the ramp in Rhode Island to the tender and we almost "flew" into the harbor. No one noticed or cared. These are the reasons I was very dissapointed in the Norwiegen cruise line. Need I say more?

I can't say enough nice things here. NCL is, in my opinion, the best cruise line operating today. They just do it right. From the moment you board the ship you are in their expert care and they spare no expense to make sure you are cared for properly. Freestyle cruising means you can lay down and nap in your cabin when you've overdone it then get up for dinner whenever you like, or snag an apple from the buffet and have your "dinner" under the stars on the top deck. The captain was a master of his ship and the Gem herself is a thing of complete beauty. Fast as a greyhound, she is also very modern and beautifully fitted. I was so impressed by a handful of the crew that I took it upon myself to write a long letter of thanks and praise to the executive management of Norwegian Cruise Line. That in itself should tell you how I liked the cruise.

Food choices were excellent. Compare to other cruise line I have used they offer a wide variety of foods, especially health salads and vegetables. Room layout was great and sound proof. Nightlife activities were fun and enteritaining. Only downside, the common area (pool) was to congested, the children needed their own pool area on another level. In addition, the activities for my 11 yr old niece were inadequate to keep her engaged.

I must admit for a first time cruise that I had an enjoyable time. The entertainment was great! Every night I felt like I was watching a broadway show. Loved it! The old-school and all white party was the jam. The balcony room was perfect for days or nights that I didn't want to walk the ship and be surrounded by a bunch of people. I still had the opportunity to enjoy the sun for tanning and the view for relaxation right from my room. It was great that you can eat all day long but the taste and choices of food could have been better. However, I will still recommend this trip for any "family vacation".

The Norwegian Gem met all of our expectations. The food was terrific, The entertainment "NYC Broadway" good. The staff very friendly and polite. The port of calls great except for Great Stirrup Cay. The beach is under construction. There are rocks all over, The worst is trying to enter the water. Suggestion is to wear water shoes but I don't think they will help with the larger boulders. I hope that once the construction is done it will be more like the beaches in Atlantis. This is why I am giving it four stars and not five.