Barcelona to Europe - Western Mediterranean Norwegian Gem Cruise Reviews

We just came off the Norwegian Gem which started out in Barcelona, Spain and went to Malta, Naples, Rome, Livorno and Canne.  This was our first time travelling to this area and we had an amazing time.  It was like a true adventure - very different from our caribbean cruises that we usually go on.  The Norwegian Gem was absolutely fabulous - the food was delicious, the cabin was beautiful, the ...

NCL has loaded itineraries for a great value. This was our 4th cruise with the "Freestyle Dining". Even though, there were minor increases in some fees, cruising is a more affordable and convenient mode of visiting unchartered waters. When you compare personal safety, the hassle of dragging luggage, transportation, hotel and food costs, cruising wins hands down. In less than 2 weeks, we saw about ...

We left from Barcelona on Sunday.  Embarkation was a breeze.  The Gem is a very nice boat, very comfortable beds. Luckily, we had a day at sea on monday which we enjoyed relaxing by the pool  Went to Malta on Monday.  Itis beautiul early in the morning when the sun is coming up.  The island itself is beautiful and very clean.  We got a cab for 2 hours for 60 euros.  Well worth it. We went to the ...

Pre-cruise - Saturday, 6/13 Barcelona  Just for some background, this was my sixth cruise, my wife's fourth cruise and my step kids (daughter age 13 and son age 17) second cruise.   I have previously cruised on Carnival and Royal Caribbean and have found them to be comparable in quality.   This would be our first time on Norwegian Cruise Lines so I was eager to try out freestyle cruising. We ...

My college friends and I were a mix of well experienced cruisers and first time cruisers (which included myself). With the exception of one let down excursion, we had an amazing time and NCL did a great job accomadating us while aboard their new ship. OTHER GUESTS We found the demographics of our cruise to mostly be older people, but there were also families and young adults. Didn't ...

Some background:  I have been on four cruises prior to this one, all with carnival.  I went with my boyfriend who has been on one carnival cruise.  I also went with my father and his girlfriend and this was their first cruise.  We stayed in Barcelona the day before at HCC MontBlanc.  I recommend this hotel because of its location and its very nice.  If you have any questions about my review you ...

We are truly people who appreciate a good value for money spent.  We tend to seek out the more modest rooms, but we do like to at least have a bit of a view and on this trip the porthole was all we needed.  For goodness sakes if you're on a cruise there is plenty of deck space and it doesn't mean just next the the loud musical combo playing poolside.  There were many places for us to be in the ...

We were a bit concerned about picking the Gem after reading some of the online reviews, but found the ship, the food, and crew to meet or exceed most of our expectations.  We enjoyed our first cruise a great deal. Getting on and off the ship was a breeze at every location- no issues! We ate in the main or non-cover charge dining locations for the entire time, and found the food to be very ...

Embarkation:My wife and I arrived in Barcelona on Saturdaya afternoon, the day before the cruise was scheduled to leave Barcelona.  This gave us approx. 24 hours to catch up on sleep, and explore a bit of Barcelona.  When we arrived to the pier on Sunday at about 2pm, there was a sizeable crowd already in front of us for check-in.  Regardless, we were able to check out luggage quickly (within 5 ...

My sister had previously done two land tours of Europe and this Norwegian Western Med cruise.  She recommended the cruise for a few reasons:  most traveling is done while sleeping during the night (instead of during the day on a bus), food is included on the cruise, and chances of finding clean public restrooms are much better!  This was our first cruise, my boyfriend and I.  We're in our early ...