Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

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.

Eleven of us sailed on the Gem for the second time and we all ABSOLUTELY lovvve it! From the staterooms, to the service, to the foods, to the shows, everything is simply impeccable! We love the Gem the most out of all our cruises and will definitely return again!

How can one sum up the best 7 days ever in a few short words on the Norwegian Gem? From the minute you get on the ship your vacation starts. From the endless food, to the overwhelming friendliness of the staff, to the entertainment, the extreme cleanliness of the ship, and especially the cruise directors, it was incredible. 5 stars do not seem like enough. Norwegian truly makes you feel like their family and bend over backwards to make you happy. The restaurants, the casino, the bars, the shows, the pool area were all incredibly impressive. My husband and I were thrilled. Can't wait for our next cruise with Norwegian.

Leaving out of N.Y. was great as we live 10 miles away. On and off the ship was the best (no airlines needed) We have been on 6 different cruises this one I liked the least. 1st port of call cape Cacanaveral our excursion was cancelled due to lack of interest in booking it. (there were no other excursions that we liked so we spent the day on the ship. The next day was the best at the Great Strrup Cay the beach was fantastic good food & great weather. The next day at Nassau we had a nice time on the segway experience. The last 2 days at sea the pool had way to many people in it. The ship as a hole was very nice our cabin steward was terrific. I din not like the freestyle dinning I prefer a more out lined meal time as the waiter is much more attentive to your needed. I feel tipping should be left up to you according to the service you get is how you tip. We found the service in most of the specialty restaurants we visited were not very good in our opinion (and we are not hard to please) All in all it was O/K but we will not do it again.

I gave them three stars for the following reasons: staff was very nice, food was good, activities were good. But because of the following reasons, I cannot give them a four or five stars: everything in the stateroom was small, drinks were too expensive compare to other cruise lines. Also all NCL's port and govt taxes are higher than other cruise lines. In general, despite the negative aspects I outlined above, I would recommend this ship to family and friends. Thanks

The parts controllable by the cruise line were pretty great. Service was excellent, everywhere. If at times you found people not exactly your type, you only had to move to another area - it seemed the same group of disparate people would congregate by the restaurants, bars, casino, gym, adults and family pools. Kids' club was good - we had a 3.5 and a 6.5 year old in them (different groups; shame, if understandable) and they always had a good time. Never sad to arrive, but they would tell us later they'd wished we'd come back much earlier :( If I'm honest, as the one at home with the kids all the time, the presence of a kids' club was one of my main deciding factors for this cruise. By no fault of the staff though, I did wear them out by using it for the first night + morning + afternoon + night sessions, and they didn't easily accept the suggestion of going there again until the final night's party. Wasn't the worst thing to hang out with them again, after my day of rest :) Shore excursions weren't as great though - and would definitely think twice before considering the afternoon at Disney in Orlando. Pretty sure every "that was the greatest thing ever" reviews I've heard for Disney were on a minimum 3 day pass, which while still probably tiring and crowded, would not have had to feel so rushed. We avoided eating or meandering, but still managed only 4 rides (and two of them lame 'no wait' ones). Didn't help that impending lightning apparently shuts down every outdoor ride, including the one we'd used our only available FastPass on! And for some reason an outdoor character greeting, even the brave Merida, was also scared off by 'possible lightning'. The second day's beach trip we opted out of altogether, as the boat was just so lovely with half the passengers. So if you feel like not doing much for a whole week, without any option for the kids to ever claim "I'm bored", this is definitely the trip for you.

Thank you for your attention, your activities and your work. This cruiser is amazing! Mi hija y yo hemos pasado siete dias fabulosos. El crucero es fantástico y la atención incredible. No podemos decir otra cosa que gracias por todo. C. Hernandez. Spain

This was my third cruise on Norwegian and It was just as good as my previous experiences. The only complaint I have is the the adult friendly pool/events were not monitored enough. A bartender named Raul at Moderno was excellent! And my housekeeper was aslo great! I loved Kenosis and all the comedians and production shows.

I enjoyed the cruise. I thought the crew and staff could not be friendlier or more efficient. The food was plentiful and the quality was good. My only problem, and it was not the fault of the cruise line, was that my children wanted no part of the day camp. Despite all that was available, it still was a challenge to keep them entertained. My advise is that, if you have children, make sure they are okay with the day camp. If not, then go with another family who has children that are their friends.

This was a great cruise ship for first time. I had some problems but was fixed with minimal time. Staff for the most part were very welcoming.I had an awesome time foe the shore excursions. The first excursion we missed the time but it was stated clearly so we missed our time but they did well with getting us in there. The islands were beautiful. Our next excurison of swming with the dolphins was a great idea its a bit expensive but we did the encounter and paid for iton the ship.

VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The ship was clean and we enjoyed the shows. The food at the buffet and at the outdoor grill was very good with many choices for any tastes. My only disappointment here was that they did not offer the chilled fruit soup that my family enjoyed on past cruises. I was a little disappointed in the food and service at the main restaurants. This is my 4th cruise on a Norwegian ship, and I feel as if the food options and food quality is declining in the main restaurants. I also felt as if the servers in the main restaurant were not as friendly as the servers on prior cruise ships. I will be considering other cruise lines more seriously in the future if the food quality does not improve in the main restaurants.

We had a great time on the NCL Gem. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The food is very good and plentiful. Our favorite spot is the outdoor deck in the back of the ship. It offers a quiet outside place to sit with tables and small buffet away from the pool and the loud music. This is our second time sailing on the Gem. We specially chose to sail on the Gem because my mom was traveling with us and does not enjoy the noise and crowds that gather at the pool. The Gem provides a perfect place to escape the noise but still be outside.

My daughter and I returned from our trip loaded with many pictures and unforgettable memories. The trip was a gift from my for my 70th Birthday. For both of us it was first time cruise, cruise we never forget thanks to beautiful ship and all wonderful people who have been taking care about us for all that time. We occupied stateroom on 5th floor in close neighborhood of Stardust theater. We could not have any nicer and better “housekeeper” then Jonathan.. Every day he was surprising us with different animal on the bed made from towels and perfectly cleaned room . During the trip we did not meet single crew person who would not be willing help, and always with friendly smile. On the second day crew members we were in contact with remembered our names (wow!). My luggage was delivered to my room with ripped zipper on the bottom. Within 2 days somebody talented fixed the zipper so perfectly, that luggage looked and functioned like new. Thank you my unknown friend. On this “ship of plenty” there were plenty of food everywhere. Breakfasts and lunches we usually ate in open buffet style “Garden Café” inviting with wide variety of delicious foods tastefully displayed. Very first time there I was standing with my plate in the middle with thought: ”I want everything!”. And everything was so good. Breakfasts were incredible, selection of everything possible with piles of perfectly cooked bacon. Every morning we enjoyed brief chat with Luminus while he made for us fresh, out of this world orange and grapefruit juice to balance somehow all that bacon. To real perfection only Russian caviar was missing. I was little bit nervous about coffee, but it turned out to be always good. We also prized taking care about hygiene on the ship wherever was food and on all public places with hands sanitizing. Dining in Grand Pacific made us feel like on Titanic first class dining room. This is a beautiful and elegant high end look place, with all employees very very nice. Livia and Lorelie were most of the time our waitresses making our dinner times very special. Portions of food were much smaller comparing to restaurants on continent, but this was clever way how to cut down on leftovers. So, we usually made it up with two different salads before main entre. Everything we ordered tasted just delicious. Many thanks to chef cook and his staff! Some reviewers complained about the food and I was wondering what possibly they could eat at home, if they did not like it here. So much about the food. There were many trips and excursions available while ship was docked. We picked Kennedy Space Center only. Always “sold out” Lundmark (our smiling travel agent on the ship) recommended us the guided tour and he was right. This tour was perfectly organized and very interesting, just not enough of time to see everything. Great Stirrup Cay would be very nice, if access into the water was not so rocky. I was bear footed, afraid of falling down or injuring my feet, so after 5 yards in the water I returned back. Nassau Bay street and Straw market were great places for any possible souvenirs shopping including those liquid ones. We did not go to Paradise Island this time. Every afternoon we found behind our door the next day schedule for all activities on the ship. Various activities on the ship were overwhelming, Everybody could find plenty of what to do or to see. Comedian Jeff Harms was outstanding while Chicago’s group felt to us somewhat irritating. Life band playing on private Island was excellent. DJ Watson (“hey, baby baby…”) and associates made me even forgetting my arthritis. Entertainment was amazing. Assistant cruise director Dan was great host of “Deal or no deal” and of course Norwegian’s White Hot Party in Spinnaker Lounge was fantastic. On conclusion we would like to thank to whole crew for bringing us safely back home and for making our vacation unforgettable.

My husband and I are cruising with Norwegian few times This one was the worst The service and food were not as good as they were last year Beach on private island was really bad

This was our first cruise and would highly recommend it. We had a wonderful time on our cruise to the Bahamas. We were a party of 13 and all of us were always entertained. The shows at night were wonderful and appropriate for the entire family. The staff went out of their way to help you with everything you needed. We walked out of our room the first day and the cleaning staff new our names. The BBQ at the poolside was amazing and never ran out of food. My kids thought the Blue Lagoon was awesome, especially the chicken wings and brownie sundae. We would differently cruise with Norwegian again.