Norwegian Gem Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,589 reviews

Overall, a wonderful time

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Norwegian Gem
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Liz
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Mar 2008
Traveled with children

My husband and two children, ages 12 and 13 boarded the Norwegian Gem in NYC on 3/15/08. We took a Limo from the Philadelphia area, and arrived at around 11:15 am, and were dropped off right outside the area where we needed to be. A porter immediately took our luggage, and we proceeded to check in. The whole process took less than 10 minutes to get our name cards/room keys/charge cards, which we carried with us for the rest of the vacation. We then proceeded to a waiting area which was very nice, and refreshments were served. We purposely got there early to avoid lines, and it was well worth it. We were allowed to board the ship by 12:30-12:45, and were called by a number system. We were handed numbers when we walked in, and all in all, we were on board and seated for lunch by 1:00pm. We ate in the Garden Cafe on Deck 12. As previous reviews have said, it is tough finding a table, but we always did with a little searching. The food was very good, hot and cold, with lots of variety. Our rooms were ready by 2pm, so in the mean time, we took our time getting the lay of the land around the ship. The ship was extremely easy to navigate, was well-appointed, and very clean. I have to say I was disappointed with the main Atrium. I did not think it was nearly GRAND enough. It was only two stories high, and I didn't like the decor. Other areas of the ship; however, I did find very nice, colorful and well appointed.

HOTEL SECTION OF SHIP: I cannot say enough good things about our rooms, and the cleanliness, and efficiency of the cabin stewards. We had two adjoining balcony rooms on Deck 9 which was ample space for my husband and two kids. Our suitcases fitted with ease into the closets, and we were unable to unpack all of our clothes. The bathrooms were surprisingly large for a cruise ship, and the rooms were immaculate. They stayed this way throughout the entire cruise. I regret to say that I never met my cabin stewards. I don't even know their names. They came and went when we were out of the rooms, we had everything we needed, the beds were always turned down with an adorable animal made out of towels, and what more could we ask for. We were midship to aft portside, which is a great place to be. It was quiet at night, and it is the part of the ship where you feel the least swaying. We almost always had afternoon sun on our balcony and got to watch the sun set on more than one occasion. It was truly relaxing and beautiful.

DINING: There was a lot of variety regarding restaurants on the ship; however, most of the restaurants were NOT included in the price, plus you had to pay a large cover charge just to walk in the restaurants. We ended up spending almost an extra $1000 on meals. The food was good, not great in all of the restaurants, and the portion sizes were small, and let me say, I am not a big eater. My favorite restaurant was Le Bistro. I had the rack of lamb, and was told by the waitress that in addition to the regular cover charge, she would be tacking on an additional $10 because this food choice was in some kind of chef's selection category. We also ate at Tequilas which was fair, The Blue Lagoon, which was fair with VERY small portions, Cagney's, which was fair. My steak was thin and overcooked. We also ate at the two INCLUDED restaurants, Magenta and Grand Pacific. Our experience at Magenta was not good. We had to wait over an hour for a table because they do not take reservations for four people. We finally got seated after 9pm and the service was slow and the food was not good at all. The Grand Pacific was a similar experience; however, the food was a tad better, and the service was much better. The Garden cafe was by far, the best food on the ship. It's cafeteria style, lots of variety to suit every taste, informal; however, get ready to deal with vultures regarding other passengers. It was almost as if these people never saw food before.

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