Norwegian Gem Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,589 reviews

The Mediterranean is the only way to GO!!

Review for the Western Mediterranean Cruise on Norwegian Gem
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LindaVap
First Time Cruiser • Age 20s

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Sail Date: Nov 2009

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Our plane landed about 7:30 AM. By the time we went through customs, got our money exchanged it was nearly 8:15. One interesting thing was that they had us fill out the Immigration forms before we arrived. I had left ours in the pocket of the plane so figured I would have to refill them out. The custom agent looked at our passports and said to go ahead. Real security, huh!! We then went out front of the airport to find a taxi. We kept asking for a driver who spoke some English. We had a very nice taxi driver and asked him to take us on a tour of the city. We drove around for over an hour, went by the Olympic stadium, the Castill, plus some monuments and other buildings. He took us to a very high point overlooking the harbor and we were able to see our ship. He offered to take us to the big cathedrals plus another special site but we decided to opt out. We had seen enough and just wanted to be taken to the port. Our fee for this was 50 euros plus whatever my husband tipped him. I forgot to ask him. Arrived at the port about 9:30 AM and were able to check out luggage in right away. We then just went and sat down. They told us that they would begin embarkation about 10:30 AM. The shops in the port opened about 10:00 AM and had some interesting things available. A little after 10:30, over 50 people (most of them in their 20's) came out the door and lined up to start checking the people in. I had never seen this many people checking passengers in and they were quick about it. Fortunately most of them spoke very good English. We then were told to wait until the ship was cleared and then we could board. They had people taking your boarding pictures while you waited. We boarded a little after 11:00 AM. Before boarding the ship an employee met us with hand sanitizer spray. One of the things I appreciate about NCL is they have hand sanitizer everywhere. They had two men up in the Grill they would meet you at the door with the spray and say, "Washy, washy, happy, happy, smiley, smiley." You would hear passengers on the ship throughout the week saying it and laughing but everyone appreciated the sanitary ways of the ship. We ate in the Grill while waiting to get in to our room. This ship is only two years old and the nicest ship we have been on it. We loved the Grill. The food was awesome and so many choices. They make it seem so personal and not like a big cafeteria. Our room was ready about 2:00 and was very nice. It probably had more drawer space than we have ever had. It had cubbies everywhere and very roomy. We loved the location which was forward. You have to remember to tell your room steward that you want ice or you won't get it. The Muster Drill was at 4:30 although we didn't set sail until 7:00 PM. They had a make-up drill the next day. It was a little rough seas the first night and day but then calmed down. The next day was a sea day so it was a great day to just get caught up on the sleep we had lost on the airplane trip over.

MALTA

Cabin Review

We were in an oceanview room. It was surprisingly a good size. Plenty of closet space and storage.

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