Norwegian Gem Review
It was a mystery cruise that turned out great
Rating by category
Additional details
Our ship's itinerary was changed due to Hurricane Irma impacts. For awhile it was the cruise to somewhere or the mystery cruise as our roll call dubbed it. Originally visiting Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Tortola (half day), our revised itinerary was better, in my opinion, visiting St. John's Antigua, Bridgetown Barbados, Castries St. Lucia, Bassettere St. Kitts and St. Thomas (half day).
We had a lot of nail biting moments when the ship's engine crapped out (azipod issues) on the Oct 31 sail day cutting short that itinerary in Barbados and Norwegian cancelled the Nov 11 sail day. Thankfully, all was fixed and we sailed, albeit, 2 hours late on Nov. 21. Cruise staff told me the ship was still waiting for provisions to be brought onboard. I heard they were missing some cruise passengers as announcements looking for 3 people were made.
On embarkation day, we arrived after 12:30 and the check-in process was a breeze likely because there were very little people waiting. We boarded after 1pm and were able to check out our stateroom right away. Then it was buffet lunch at the Garden Café.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Balcony
The cabin is located halfway between two sets of stair cases. Standard 2 twin (convertable to queen) bed, couch that turns into a third bed during turn down. It's not the most comfortable due to the ridges and fixtures to turn it into a bed.
Noticed the in-room air wasn't working properly. From NYC, it was blowing out AC even though we set it to "warmer". There was no dial to turn down the fan so it was constantly blowing. Wasn't a big deal as we headed to the Caribbean where we needed the AC. On the return, though, it felt colder as the outside temperatures were dropping. "Warmer" still wasn't warming and the fan was going full tilt. Asked our room steward for assistance, it wasn't something he could fix. Hopefully the engineers or whomever he put in a request will get that adjusted for the next cruisers. The room steward gave us fleece-like blackets that were warmer than what was provided in the room. Nonetheless, my sister got a cold because the air flow direction was towards her side of the room.
Port Reviews
St. Thomas
The ship was only in port for half a day, 7am to 10am. And the all clear didn't come until after 7:30am, closer to 8am. We just walked around Havensight Mall.
The welcome back to the ship party was nice. We never get back early enough in any port to dance through the red carpet, get a cool beverage and wet towel.