Norwegian Gem

Overall, a solid relaxing experience

Dec 10th, 2018

We had a good relaxing time. The pool could have been a bit warmer, and cleaner. The poolside waitstaff was lacking (2 or 3 max) so you often had to get your own drinks. The waterslide wasn't fast... to the point that we got stuck half way down and had to push ourselves for 20-odd feet. The casino needs doors. The whole ship and stairwells smell like cigarettes because it pours out of the casino wide open into the rest of the ship. Avoid floor 6 forward if you're a non-smoker. A non-smoking vessel would be something we would be interested in. Lorena, the cruise director, was very good and fun. Captain sailed a good ship. we relaxed and were not left wanting for anything other than more time aboard. As my first cruise, we booked our cruisenext on board and will be back. If I were to do it again and had a choice, I would avoid PR, USVI, and Antigua. An overnight in st Kitts or Barbados would have been nice. It really was annoying to have to be back on the ship by 4 or 5 every day as we felt like we were rushed and didn't get to see everything we wanted to. It was either beach OR shop/walk around down town, we couldn't do both. We were a bit disappointed in the crowd - mostly disabled/obese people and seniors who all but live on ships (1000+ cruises some of the people we met!). Being a newlywed couple, we were hoping to have some more people our age on board but I guess the time of year dictates that. Not the ship's fault at all.

Adequate but not the best of cruise ships.

Dec 10th, 2018

Excellent itinerary for the season and starting Port. Older ship which shows it's aging in many places. Mixed entertainment from mediocre to excellent. Super tiny interior cabins. Excellent kids club and food in dining room.

It was an excellent cruise!!

Dec 9th, 2018

This was an excellent cruise and I would go on it again

Islands were great, but the ship wasn’t fabulous

Dec 9th, 2018

The islands were great and the activities were fun. The ship’s food was horrible and service was not very attentive. The activities onboard left a lot to be desired, especially for families and children.

Somewhat disappointed

Dec 9th, 2018

Here are the items that seriously hurt my overall experience. Casino. Though some issues raised we're addressed some remain a mystery. Best examples would be the Card in the Slots. They use to give you a Casino Card. Good for many reasons. They discontinued this practice for unknown reasons. Free drinks VIP Status. Worthless with a drink pkg. Why not offer me a Specialty Dinner or a Drink Card? The first night of the Cruise was rough on the Ocean. Two folks had damaged or broken wrists from falls. @ 11:30 my phone rings, I was in a sound sleep. I thought it was my cousin calling to go to Casino. It turns out it was Security. No apology for the call just an abrupt individual saying we need to seal your porthole. Never explaining why just closed and sealed the porthole. This occurred over 4 days cutting off my outside view. I paid extra for that and it was removed, no explanation why. I called it to the attention of Guest Services and it remained closed no explanation why, and a bottle of wine was sent to my room and several pics of Chocolate. This last item was of a more serious nature. The first night my shower backed up. Couldn't shower that morning. However my cousin s shower backed up on second night. His backup was Sewerage. They sent the room attendant up. Luckily he brought an air freshener. An engineer followed and the got the Sewerage back down the drain. Shower was not cleaned till.next morning. He should have been removed from the room. Next morning shower was sprayed by Steward with a Clorox bottle. This is unacceptable. However they sent him Choc Strawberries and Champagne. This is the main reason for a poor to fair overall rating. While the minors were worthy of high marks, The cleanliness of room, (sewerage, port hole, the hair in my food, the unheard of Casino items, and the repetition of Entertainment made this cruise Fair at best.

Dec 8th, 2018

Cabin 10024 Cabin was good...no issues. Food was pretty terrible throughout the cruise. The staff was fairly attentive, nothing impressive. The ship definitely needs some updating. It is showing its age. The restaurants need major help! Very slow service and mediocre food. Both main restaurants have same menu....so no variety between the two. Definitely needs help! Activity itinerary needs some help. Not much going on and again, mediocre shows. Ports of call were great!

Good trip.

Dec 4th, 2018

It was a good trip. Best parts 1. We started the trip while it was snowing in NY. 2. The captain did a slow, 1 mile pass of the the Pitons which are two mountainous volcanic plugs, volcanic spires on St Lucia, which lasted the entire evening. The water was dead calm, no wind, and at low speed it was silent outside. It was awesome. GREAT CREW as is my experience so far with NCL. A cruise is what you make it. I love just being on the sea so I have very low expectations as long as the ship is moving, and having a balcony does help. If wall to wall activities is your thing you may want to try a bigger ship.

Wonderful and relaxing

Nov 29th, 2018

Pros: excellent price, 11 days, 6 ports, 2 full days at sea going and coming (great for de-stressing), special food needs were accommodated. Buffet was nicely organized with good variety. Cons: dining room service was slow and a bit disorganized at times. Italian food in the mdr was mediocre. Overall: would do it again!

We had a great Southern Caribbean Cruise

Nov 28th, 2018

All in all we had a great time. I found that a lot if the wait staff in the Buffet did understand english very well when you asked them for something so I had to track down a supervisor or Matre'D to get what was needed. The specialty restaurants were very good and had good service. I was a little disappointed that I didn't see my cabin Steward till 9pm on the 1st night. I feel he should had made quick introductions to each room prior to getting heavily involved with one guest for an extended time. After that he turned out to be very good.

Great time!!

Nov 27th, 2018

Ship was beautiful. Rough seas on the way down and back but what do you expect in the North Atlantic in November? Port were really good. Especially Antigua. Took a cab to an out of the way place called Rum Bus Beach. Quiet. Beautiful. Kids club was just ok. Seems they did the same things every single day. Throwing balls at each other. It was better on the Breakaway. Crew were all very nice and attentive. Glad for the extra days.