Norwegian Gem Review
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I work for a financial planning firm that as a fun perk, offers a group trip for clients and friends of clients who want to take trips once a year to different locations. I am not a travel agent, but since I travel the most out of our office, the research, planning and execution falls on me... which is great because that means I get to go too.
This year there were 20 of us and we took a 7 night cruise on the Gem to the Western Med. I was a little concerned since I had not ever cruised with Norwegian before and I really did not want to let anyone down. Our group had cabins from inside cabins on deck 4 to the mini-suites on deck 11, so I was able to get feedback from most cabin types.
My husband and I had a mini suite on deck 11, midship. While the cabin was very clean and the decor was better than I was expecting from the pictures on the website, there were several things I was disappointed in. The entire cabin had two single electric outlets, both over the "desk". There were none near the bed, bathroom or couch. It was a hassle to have to switch things out for use and charging. There was not a place to plug in a clock by the bed and there was not a clock provided in the room, unless you wanted to leave the tv on at all times. Everyone in out group had the same complaint about that. One lady (also in a mini suite)in our group has to use a breathing machine at night and the cord would not reach from the desk to the bed FORCING HER TO SLEEP ON THE COUCH TO BREATH!
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Mini-Suite with Balcony
My husband and I had a mini suite on deck 11, midship. While the cabin was very clean and the decor was better than I was expecting from the pictures on the website, there were several things I was disappointed in. The entire cabin had two single electric outlets, both over the "desk". There were none near the bed, bathroom or couch. It was a hassle to have to switch things out for use and charging. There was not a place to plug in a clock by the bed and there was not a clock provided in the room, unless you wanted to leave the tv on at all times. Everyone in out group had the same complaint about that. One lady (also in a mini suite)in our group has to use a breathing machine at night and the cord would not reach from the desk to the bed FORCING HER TO SLEEP ON THE COUCH TO BREATH!
If not for the balcony and larger bathroom, the "mini suite" is the same size of an inside cabin on a Holland America ship. I was expecting something larger but since we did not spend too much time in the cabin, it was not a huge issue for me but I heard people who were a little larger than myself complaining about the amount of space from the foot of the bed to the wall. You have about 1.5 ft from the bed to the wall that is the "walkway" to the couch and balcony. There is a table in front of the couch that takes away any from for standing or walking in the "living area", so we moved the table to the corner of the balcony and it freed up space making it feel less crowded. The only other thing I was disappointed in were the chairs on the balcony. I would have preferred lounge chairs (which would have fit) instead of patio chairs. When we sat in the patio chairs out view was of the wooden railing. If we had lounge chairs we would have been able to enjoy the view without standing the whole time.