Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We have a wonderful time, the only one thing that was wrong was it was just one night, the food was great, the shows amazing and the staff was very friendly and helpfull.

Norwegan Gem is such a great ship and most of all what make it a great ship is the staff ,each and everyone of them is so friendly they make me feel like i am with my own loving family .if I could afford it again Norwegan is the only ship I will be on and I mean it.My experience  after cruiseing with other cruise ships I feel bless that I found Norwegan cruise line . 

The boat was very clean and lovely, lots of great food and restaurants, especially enjoyed Moderno and Tapenyaki.  Not so much to do for a couple in their 30's unless you want to stay up through the middle of the night.  Would have liked to have seen more activites during the day for adults, not over 55.  But I guesee that's what you get for this time of year.  Otherwise, a great time.  Excursions made the trip!  The staff were friendly but not all of them.  None of them seemed to go above and beyond, which is okay but I usually find someone who is worth mentioning, not this time.

when norewegian chose to make my vacation I thought I would spend a vacation 100% since my last cruise with another company was fantastic but this was a disappointment due to several aspects. Most employees were not friendly or many could speak English, did not have much variety of food not great quality and it seemed we had to beg to put more on the plate at the buffet that I had to ask 3 times to put gel douche in the room. I'll never buy a cruise this company.

We were off to a bad start when the ship docked late and embarcation turned into a zoo!

The food was below expectation and when we said so to a senior member of the crew, we were asked if this was our first cruise and when told that it was out fourth, the reply was that we needed to "adjust our expectations".

Free style cruising is not for us: since the $12 a day per person was automatically added to the bill, our cabin staff did the minimum (one set of towels a day). The restaurant staff were barely adequate, there was no reason to "serve" since the incentive of end of cruise tip was not there.

The 2 1/2 days getting to warm weather and 2/1/2 days getting back are a waste of time... Better to take a flight to FL or PR and start there. Nothing to see in Samana DR unless you like seeing what abject poverty looks like.

This is the last time I go on NCL.

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!