Norwegian Gem Review
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Additional details
Arriving at the Pier in NYC:
Embarkation processing was seamless, and we have already learned that arriving early (10 AM), before the posted time on the NCL Itinerary (Noon), is better than facing the crowds. The parking fee of $30 per day is more than the airport, but we wanted the security of having our car visible and waiting for us upon our return. We were impressed with the sign-up tables for the spa and restaurant reservations, and we purchased the Spa Thermal Room package for $99 that lasted the whole cruise. We were also impressed that we were allowed to board the Gem shortly after noon, which guaranteed a table in the Garden Cafe buffet for lunch, while we waited for our stateroom to become available.
The spa package turned out to be problematic. Cruising in cold temperatures meant that lots of people also signed up in anticipation of not using the outdoor pools. It became obvious during the cruise that the advertised limit of 84 passengers had been overbooked. During the seven day cruise, we were only able to use the thermal room twice, and each time it was extremely crowded. At the pier, we were assured by the NCL staff that the spa experience would be quiet and restful; the reality was the opposite - the spa was very crowded and some passengers became rude and abusive to others.
Cabin Review
Balcony
We always try to choose a cabin that is close to the Forward elevators. This assures that we can move around the ship easily. There was a large family that had multiple staterooms and we had to call security one night when they herded all of the children into the room next to ours and they were noisy after 11 pm. Security handled the situation very well, and we had a peaceful time for the duration of the cruise. Being a Latitudes member has some benefits, but we are now convinced that booking directly with NCL is more expensive than booking on other Websites. NCL promises the lowest price, guaranteed; but, after you pay for the cruise and find less expensive prices elsewhere, it's too late! In the past 3 years, we have had no less than 5 cruise consultants with NCL. The turnover must be horrible!