Norwegian Gem Review

Overall: was good to getaway and be out on sea with family for a new experience

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Norwegian Gem
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rossi3211
2-5 Cruises • Age 30s

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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2016
Traveled with children

To start, I traveled with my husband and two children ( 3 and 5 years old ) So this critic is mainly for those looking to cruise with small children. After reading reviews and Norwegian's website, the Gem appeared to be a family friendly ship with enough to keep families entertained. Wrong. I was entirely disappointed in the entertainment/activities for families. Sure, they have Splash Academy. But the way I feel is if I wanted to just cruise with my husband my children could have stayed at home with family. Unfortunately, due to the lack of entertainment and activities we ended up putting our children in Splash Academy for a few hours before lunch for the days we were out on sea. The kids were so overwhelmed and had no way to let off energy other than just running around the ship (or jumping around on the bed) There is only one children's pool which is over crowded with a bunch of teenagers who lack respect for smaller children. We spent no time in the pool it was far too crowded for smaller children.

Dining: Having smaller children we avoided dining in restaurants. The buffet was okay- didn't expect anything more. They offered different styles everyday ( Italian, American, Mexican, Asian) The bars were pretty quick for service, the mixed drinks were delicious..we had the ultimate beverage package so we tried a variety of drinks. Only downfall is that there is little to no alcohol in the drinks so I feel bad for those who are paying $10.00 a drink. Stick to beer or wine if you are looking to get your money's worth.

Room: We had a family ocean view. The room was bigger than I expected and was enough space for four people. But with the limited amount of activities we found ourselves going back and forth to our room which even though its big enough to sleep in not a great space to hang out. Room attendant was terrific! Always cleaned the room and was very friendly.

Port Reviews

New York (Manhattan)

Boarding the ship took about 1 1/2 hours. Small space for people to wait but it went by quick because we were all excited. They had a small snack shop that had drinks and snacks.

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