Norwegian Gem Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,589 reviews

Fun ship w/serious customer service issues

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Norwegian Gem
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jbinnj
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Apr 2011
Cabin: Mid-Ship Inside
Traveled with children

We took this trip for our tenth anniversary and we wanted to enjoy it with our kids too. They had a blast and so did we. Overall, I'd take this ship again, but out of convenience, not loyalty. I think we'd have had an equally good time on any ship provided it was clean and the kids weren't bored. Now for the specifics:The good:The ship was very clean, given the 'party' atmosphere around the pool and in the evenings. My son vomited on a staircase right outside the theatre one night, and within a few minutes there was a crew giving the area a complete washdown/fumigation. Our cabin steward, Jimmy, was very sweet and attentive to our cabin. He did a great job cleaning up after us, and our kids (8 and 5) loved him. Every night they looked forward to seeing the new towel animal he made during turndown. The highlight was the monkey swinging from the TV shelf. We only ate in the dining rooms and buffet, but they were both nice The dining rooms were spotless and the Garden Cafe (buffet) was as clean as one could expect from such an operation. We did have to ask staff to clear tables in the buffet on occasion, but that's not a big deal if you appreciate how hard they were working and the traffic in and out around mealtimes. The public restrooms were of adequate cleanliness; I've been in better and far worse. The pool area was festive. Island band, games, poolside blackjack, buffet, bar etc. It wasn't really my scene as I found it a bit crowded and loud, but for me it was great in 30-minute doses. If you like a sun-splashed pool party, you'll love hanging out there. There is also a promenade deck overlooking the pool, which I regret not taking more advantage of, but it did look like you'd have to get out there and reserve a chair at the crack of dawn. But that's typical of any resort/cruise experience. Kids Club was hit or miss. Sometimes my kids didn't want to leave. Othertimes, they looked as though we saved their lives when we came to sign them out. But it was nice that my son was able to make friends on board. It was generally better for them at night, which worked for us.Spa and fitness center were top notch. My wife got the weeklong access package for the spa and I worked out in the extremely well-equipped and well-appointed fitness center everyday. It got crowded, but I never had to wait more than five minutes for a machine. One day, I saw a whale while working out on the elliptical overlooking the ocean. Also the cold towels were a great touch.The shows were a pleasant surprise. The 70's Dance Revue was fun; Second City was outstanding, even though its the JV troupe these performers are still the creme de la creme; The singer and comedian were also entertaining; The hypnotist was a "been there/seen that" sort of thing for me, but still pretty funny, except for one part which was in extremely poor taste (more on that later).The bars were cool. Great decor, and the late night piano singer by the wine bar was a savant. He could play or sing just about anything you requested. And do it well. Chilling out there at night was a highlight. I also really liked the cigar lounge. I'm past the clubbing stage of my life, but I could see myself thoroughly enjoying the Bliss Nightclub if I was single and in shape or in my 20s. We went to family karaoke there and bowled on the last day. Both were fun. The casino was a casino. And for me, that's a good thing. There was a great energy. I enjoy casinos :)Stardust Theatre was unbelievable. Big and state-of-the-art. I'm still amazed at how they pulled that off on a boat.The Bad:The customer service. The housekeeping and dining staff work hard, but the front desk and shore excursion staff were abysmal. I'm grateful we didn't have any major problems. We are a very low maintainence family, but even the smallest request or inquiry would seem to burden them. At times they were downright rude. If you're looking for a cruise where the staff go out of their way for you, look elsewhere. Excursion rip-off. DON'T and I repeat DON'T book the Atlantis trip through the desk. If you want to check it out, get a cab, We wasted about 200 bucks on the Beach Day/Discovery Tour and learned when we got there that we could have gotten a better deal plus lunch if we just went ourselves. Up-selling. I guess this is where they really make their money. I was prepared to pay for drinks, but 9 bucks for a martini, 7 bucks for a watered-down G&T and 5 bucks for a pint of domestic crap? Seriously? Really? A buck fifty for a video game? No one-time access to the spa shower/jacuzzi after already paying for a treatment? One hundred and fifty bucks for a 30-minute training session? Three seventy five to log on at the business center and then 75 cents a minute if you did pay-as-you-go? Again, I know some of these things have to cost extra, but it seemed over-the-top.The ugly:The WII policy. There are two 90-minute windows a day. We got there at the tail-end of one of them. We gave the guy our name and when our turn came up, I was rudely told they were out of time and that we had to come back later. Forget that we had plans for later. Then they shut the system down so they could show a picture of a waterfall. I was pissed. I know that there are time limits, but at some point you need to be a little flex to please the customer. There was nobody else on line to play. Would it have killed them to let us get our game in and hold off on the much anticipated waterfall picture for 10 minutes or so? Whenever I went to the excursion desk to ask about a meeting time or place, I was rudely told to check my ticket instead of simply answering the damned question. The most egregious offense came this morning before disembarkment. We went to the front desk to ask if we could split the bill on two credit cards. The nasty clerk at the desk told us it was too late. Even though there was no line, they simply refused to do it. They wouldn't even allow us to give them some cash towards the bill. They said it was too late for that too. With a little effort I'm sure they could have accommodated both requests.TV. FOX News? I'm sure there are enough "blue state" passengers on board who are content in the knowledge that President Obama was born in the U.S. and is not engineering a Marxist takeover of the world. Perhaps CNN might be a less polarizing choice for 24-hour news. Also TV reception failed right at the start of the second half of the NCAA championship game. But that's not their fault; it was just a bummer, though. If they have a deal with Nickelodeon, why isn't it part of the TV channel selection? Weird, but not as weird as the choice to show FOX News and only FOX News. The hypnotist was good and all, but how on earth, with all the Chinese Americans on board could she have possibly thought it was funny or appropriate to prod a white passenger to imitate a Chinese exchange student. It was truly an embarrassing moment (termination-worthy if you ask me; stage hypnotists are a dime a dozen).Overall:We take a nice family vacation every 18 to 24 months. I'd be willing to cruise with NCL again because it was a clean, fun, family-friendly ship. But I'd also be willing to take my chances with another line-- perhaps Disney, Princess or, gasp, Carnival--if a better deal is to be had. And when I do eventually cruise with just my wife, we will go with Royal Caribbean or Celebrity. Because of the aforementioned issues with customer service (hard work of the dining, bar and housekeeping staff notwithstanding), NCL has not earned my loyalty,

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Mid-Ship Inside

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