Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Food was terrible, shore excursions were expensive, compared to other tour operators, drinks were expensive, compared to other cruise lines

The ship was only two years old and in great shape! The food was great and never ending.

Ship was very clean, but NCL truly works to rip you off at every turn.

A very satisfying experience

Food is bad--they are stingy --they cut the lobster in half and serve cocktail shrimp the size of a pea, steak is hard and not edible. The main dining room food is of poor quality. The desert is of very poor quality as well . Stick with Royal or Carnival. This is my first NCL and will be the last.

WOW WOW WOW WOW

Disappointed about the ship. I have many criuse experience before but first in this ship. Compare with others this ship was given me a bad impression. 1. roomkeeper dishonest. 2. food not good especially in some restarant. 3. Event & program not attractive in ship 4. theatre dancers too old, too thin and some too fat.Most of them out of sharp. 5. ship theme too old stlye.

Everything was real nice, the only complaints I have is the repetiton of food, very small cabins.

We recently sailed on the Norwegian Gem. Disappointed with the service and quality. Last year, we went on Royal Caribbean and extremely satisfied. We knew the ship is new, but had no idea what to expect. The communications on the ship were poor. Listed certain restaurants open to a cetain times, but were not the case. Grand Pacific is the only lunch dining room facility and closes promptly at 1:30 for lunch. Have to use the Garden Cafe for most of our lunch dining times. Extremely crowded in departing at most ports. No lounge chairs at swimming pools. The facilities closes early, for eg. the waterslides closes at 6 pm. Only certain hours at basketball courts and wall climbing. Not at all happy with the services provided on the ship.

THE SHIP WAS VERY NICE WAS NOT ORGANIZED RIGHT,HIDDEN PRICES WAS VERY BAD FOOD ETC.

staff not well informed about anything, room steward told me to get beach towels myself at the pool, everything is extra, specialty restaurants food very mediocre, dining room food poor, service poor, excursions pricey and staff unhelpful

The Gem is a beautiful ship. Large and roomy. The staterooms are beautifully appointed. I highly recommend her. The freestyle cruising is wonderful. Who wants to organize their day around dinner time and dress up on their vacation? I loved the food, the staff, the service, the choices. The entertainment was top notch. Broadway quality every night. NCL has gained a loyal customer.

NCL staff should take a trip an princess lines to see how there food service is run. For the price of the cruise I felt what they offered was not worth it.

Sailing from New York is great if you really hate air travel, however, remember you are trading beach days for at sea days. The mid-Atlantic in March is still chilly and windy, so plan on using the incredible indoor facilities.

Excellent! very clean and well organized. Employees extremely friendly.

Ship was beautiful, clean and well staffed.

I went on spring break with a group of girls from college. We all had a blast and would definitely do it all over again! Thank you!

Dear NCL, I am writing about our trip on the Norwegian Gem beginning on February 28, 2009. First let me say upfront that I am a diabetic. When we settled into our cabin, I noticed in the Lifestyles newsletter that if someone needed a SHARPS dispenser, to go to the Doctors office, see your steward or go to the front desk. I went to the front desk at 5:10pm and asked a blonde woman from Belarus for a dispenser. She asked me when I needed it. I said in about 20 minutes. She suggested that I go to my room, dial 00, which would then connect me to the front desk and THEN the front desk would send me one. I asked if I was currently at the front desk, why should I go to my room and call the front desk. She finally agreed to contact the steward and send it to my room. On Sunday morning, I went to the Stardust Theatre to listen to the speaker concerning excursions. She didnt take any questions. The question I had was why she (or anyone at the excursion desk) didnt reveal that Universal Studios was closing earlier than usual that Monday. It was on the NCL website, so she couldnt say they didnt know. No wonder people that took the excursion were upset. On Sunday evening, my wife and I went to the Grand Pacific restaurant. At the time we got there, we were told there was only 1 couple in front of us. We were told it would be about 20 minutes. So I took my injection. Once I take my injection, I MUST eat within 60 minutes. Well, we werent seated for 90 minutes and I got physically sick in one of your bathrooms. I went to the front desk after dinner and asked to see the ships doctor. The people at the restaurants must understand that when they give out incorrect information, it may be hazardous to someones health. Instead they called Ana Maria Malata, the assistant Maitre D. I spoke with her about the problem and she explained that she understood as she has family members that use insulin. She was very helpful. But my wife and I were going to disembark in Port Orlando and go back to NYC. But it snowed in NYC, so we stayed on board. On the last night of the trip, Crazy Candi, the assistant cruise director, announced a $10k BINGO prize. But it wasnt until after cards were bought that it was revealed that the $10k would only be given away within the first 46 balls and then a consolation prize (which was $564) would be given away. Whenever I went to bingo, it wasnt announced that separated BINGO would be void. Shouldnt that have been revealed in the beginning? One last item. I notified an assistant Maitre D on our anniversary that it was our anniversary. She looked at me and said Did you arrange anything special? I said No, but I told the cruise line when I made the reservation. Why do you bother to ask if someone is celebrating a birthday or anniversary if you have no plans to do anything for them (a small cake or a complimentary glass of wine? It took me 8 years to get my wife to travel again on Norwegian. Next time we use Royal Caribbean. Sincerely, Alan H.

free styling was not good,overall cruise was good

The ship is immaculate. The food is outstanding. I loved that with free style cruising our dinner companions, the time we ate and our selections were all up to us. On other cruises I felt like I was going to a catering hall for dinner each night. This gave us quality food, a wide selection and intimate dinners with our own family each night. We chose to dress up on some nights but polos and kahkis were fine other evenings. We never met a staff memember that wasn't going out of their way to make our experience 5-Star even though the tipping was included so they were truly just working to make us happy. I felt no obligation to tip beyond what was charged to us as a service fee. Everyone seemed grateful that we were on board and that they had jobs! Even the cruise director made a point of saying in tough economic times they were extremely grateful that we chose to spend our vacation and obviously our money with them. :)