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Norwegian Gem Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,589 reviews

Wouldn't book with the Gem again

Review for Bermuda Cruise on Norwegian Gem
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cruisereviewer1
First Time Cruiser • Age 30s

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Sail Date: May 2011

This was my 3rd cruise i have been on and def the first and last time with the Norwegian Gem. My first two cruises were with Carnival (one with family, one honeymoon) and both were way better than the Gem.PROS-Entertainment was goodCabin Stuard was very very nice, made our cabin up very quickly, knew our names right away, always greeted us Staff was usually niceGetting on the ship was fairly easily and not stressful. Didnt have to wait on a long line at all! Our rooms werent ready until 2, which was kinda annoying, having to wait around with our carry ons until our room was ready but other than that, getting on the ship was easyCONS--Didnt get a towel animal every night (every night except the first and last night)-Didnt get mints with our towel animals (we did on Carnival)-We got a balcony stateroom, MUCH smaller than Carnival, especially the bathroom! NO clock was in our room, so in order to know what the time was in there we had to turn on the TV or look at our watches, etc. sounds like its not a big deal but it was.-TV was super small, had barely any channels-Food in the "Garden Cafe" was not good at all. Was not organized, no "beginning and end" start of any lines, people would cut you, etc. Food was the same every day and wasnt that good at all. Also, in order to find a table you basically had to walk as far away as possible and walk outside in order to find a table...and to find one that was actually clean.-Food in the "Magenta" restaurant was "okay". If you got ice cream for dessert, it came melted. I had way better food at Carnival than on the Gem.-If you wanted to buy alcohol on the ship, instead of them delivering it to your room (like they did on Carnival) you had to wait in a long line the last day of your ship to retrieve it. It was a pain especially since the last day of your trip you do not want to spend waiting in a line.-If you ordered necklaces on the ship (the ones that they make for you) you again had to wait to get it picked up the last day of the ship (on Carnival they made them right in front of you and got them right away!). They said they woudlnt be ready until the last day after 3PM but we went to the booth about 1:30 to see if they would be ready (heck it was only a few hours before what they said, it wasnt like we were coming days earlier and asking if they were ready) And they were like " NO they are not ready to pick up until after 3PM in the gift shop" which thye NEVER told us before. Good thing we went over there and asking them that question-They were really big on "cleaniness" but EVERYWHERE you went people were coming at you and spraying sanitizer on you, even though they had the self-using ones right next to them. I would use them and then tell them i dont need to be sprayed and they would spray me anyway which was really annoying. Also the sanitzer was sticky and didnt make my hands feel clean at all.-Although the staff was very nice, none of them knew very well English. If you asked for a "Bud" they would look at your with two heads and go "What??? What???" If you work on a cruise ship you figured they would understand what Bud is by now!Overall, i was with my husband and family so i had a great time with them. I still love "cruising" but would NEVER go on a Gem again. Carnival was much more enjoyable and the next time I book a cruise it will be with Carnival. Plus i'm sick of hearing "WASHY WASHY!!" NO WASHY WASHY GEM!

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