Norwegian Gem Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,589 reviews

Amazing Suite but the Cruise Fell Short

Review for the Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Gem
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DesertBrett
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Dec 2019
Cabin: Garden Villa

The ship is in good condition and well maintained. It's downside, IMHO, is that there are so many specialty restaurants (including one that was the worst cruise dining experience ever) that it reduces the amount of other public space on the ship. The atrium is a zoo, other bars are crowded one after the other, and there really is no place to go for a little peace and quiet. It's all very busy and a lot is going on, but it's all crowded into too small of a space.

The dining was good. The main dining room was better than expected, with gorgeous decor to boot. However, we found that no matter how may times you told the staff that you wanted certain dishes to be served in separate courses, all of the appetizers came out at one time and all of the entries came out at one time. It was very frustrating.

The specialty dining was good, except for Orchid Garden. That place was terrible. We went toward the end of the cruise and the place was empty (but we were still seated right next to the service station). Clearly, people discovered what it was like. Bland food, rushed service. Courses coming out before previous plates were cleared. A disaster.

Cabin Review

Garden Villa

One of the most spacious suites out there. In very good condition and a pleasure to stay on. Slight issues with our hot tub and steam room (don't judge!) but even those issues didn't dull the impact of the size of and views from the room. And, strangely, there was a crew storage room only accessible from our outdoor space, and crew members were coming in now and then to retrieve toilet paper and other things. That was a little annoying.

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