Norwegian Gem Review

Enjoyed the Gem helped by great weather in ports

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Norwegian Gem
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LakeErieLive
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Sep 2014
Cabin: Mid-Ship Inside

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. It was our first time on NCL. Our embarkation went well. We flew into LaGuardia and booked a NCL transfer that went very well. We were met just as we got off the plane and in a matter of minutes on our way. We got on the ship in no time....after a nice ride through the Queens and Manhatten. the sailaway was terrific as would be expected in New York in a beautiful, sunny afternoon. The sailaway is actually one of the highlights of this cruise. The staff on the ship were very friendly and efficient in the most part. The cruise director, Dan Dan, was great. It took a couple of days to appreciate him, but his versatality was amazing. He would easily switch from his accented entertainment voice and giggles to his professional informational voice.  The production shows were outstanding, maybe the best we have seen in our 14 cruises.

The first day is a day at sea as we headed to Halifax. The seas the second night were very high and my partner suffered seasickness. The port of Halifax was closed when we arrived so we had to wait for the seas to calm a little and the fog to clear. We weren't sure what Freesyle Cruising really meant but we liked the relaxed, no formal nights dress in the dining rooms. We did not eat at any of the "speciality" restaurants. We really liked the Magenta Dining Room which is more like a local restaurant. One night we tried the Grand Pacific, but it reminded us of dining rooms on most ships, big and wide open. There is a little hidden gem on the ship. The Blue Lagoon is open 24 hrs. and has an limited menu, but it is small and a little out of the way with good and quick service. We went there for breakfast and got served quickly and the omelets were actually hot.

We had a couple of concerns that did not ruin the trip, but the NCL corkage fee is a real corker. We have brought wine aboard other ships and as long as we drank it in our cabin, we were okay. But NCL charges a $15 per bottle fee. It is a little silly to pay $15 corkage fee on a $6 bottle of wine. So we didn't. It was quite an ordeal getting off the ship. Before the cruise I had called NCL to see about a transfer at cruise end to Newark. They said they did not have transfers to Newark. About the 4th day of the cruise I went to the desk and asked and was told that they did have transfers. so I signed us up. There were 4 ships in port so about 10.000 people trying to get home made for chaos and long waits, crowds of people milling around and not getting much information from anyone on where to go. The most helpful person for us was a rep from the Queen Mary 2. All in all in was a great cruise with great ports of call.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Inside

Cabin IB

9553 Inside Cabin is one of the smallest rooms we have had on any of our 14 cruises. We usually book inside cabins. The room is small, the hallways are narrow. Just don't plan on spending much time in the room. Can say that is was quiet though.

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