Norwegian Gem Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,589 reviews

Canada cruise on the Norwegian Gem

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Norwegian Gem
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lbutterman
2-5 Cruises • Age 80s

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Sail Date: Sep 2012
Cabin: Inside

Our 10 day cruise got off to a bad start with ALMOST not getting aboard the ship by departure time. The taxi ride from JFK airport to the cruise pier should've been an hour at most, but due to the President being in town on Sept. 18th, traffic was a nightmare and we were the ABSOLUTE LAST people to step from the gangway onto the ship. Upon arrival at the dock at 4 pm, there was only one person in sight and he said "RUN", and "RUN" we did! (The departure crew LITERALLY pulled the gangway out from under our last foot as we stepped onto the ship! That was too close a call!!)

We met the couple we were cruising with at the purser's desk and proceeded to the "Garden Cafe" for coffee and to catch our breath from the mad-dash, angst filled, effort to make the sailing. The ship was already underway so by 6 pm we stayed at the Garden Cafe and proceeded to eat dinner. By 6:30 pm I remarked about the fact that the ship was already starting to pitch and roll as we headed out into the Atlantic. As we had all finished our meal by 7:45 pm exhaustion had come upon us all and by this time the pitching and rolling of the vessel had become so strong that by the time we made it to our cabin it was a struggle to maintain balance while moving down the passageways. Fortunately for me I did not get sea-sick but my lady friend got very sick indeed, and, as we found out the next day, for good reason. We endured 60 to 70 foot waves that night and MANY, MANY, people aboard the ship had gotten violently ill, including many of the crew.

After the first night however things settled down and the rest of the voyage was calm and very enjoyable.

Cabin Review

Inside

Cabin IF

Ours was the only cabin with the entrance door being on the side of the room rather than at the end of the room. It was different but not really consequential.

The mattress on the bed was very lumpy. Most patrons would vehemently object however we did not find it objectionable to sleep on as it was just soft enough that the "lumps" were not problematical. (It did take the first night to get used to it however).

We both found the body-wash to be objectionable. So much so in fact, that at the first opportunity we went ashore to buy bar soap. (The shampoo was very good however).

The toilet tissue was probably the cheapest grade of any that I have ever seen on a ship. Particularly one of Norwegian Cruise Line's stature. Shame, shame.

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