The food is awful unless you pay an upcharge to get something decent. The rooms are tired, especially the pillows, mattresses and bathroom. Half of the staff is great, the other half is pissed to be there. Overall, very disappointing read more

Leaving from New York last time on a snowy day, not a great idea... the cruise was really rocky the first couple days, you might want to grab some motion sickness medicine from guest services once you get on board. This was my second cruise with Norwegian and my first one was with Escape leaving from Florida and I think that one set the standard pretty high. There weren't that many activities to do on the Gem, we had 4 broadway-like shows during our 12 day cruise, other nights they either had magic shows (not that great) or some singers singing. The food options weren't that great too and their water had an inconsistent taste so we bought some bottled water on the ship (pricey though!). In terms of the islands we visited, you do get to see some lovely views from different island tours. Make sure to bargain with the people selling when you arrive, it's better if you have a larger group. That way you'll get to negotiate for a private car/tour (groups of 7 works) usually around 20-25ish. Breakfast at grand pacific is good. At the Asian restaurant, fried rice and green tea ice cream are probably the only 2 things I'd recommend. read more

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Worst worst worst vacation EVER! Nothing was good. The ship was dirty, especially the public bathrooms. The food was lowest caliber serveable. The whole trip was a total wash out and boring More cancellations of "entertainment" then had, the comedian that doc perform was awful, people walked out from the 3 minute in. Cancelled the destination but for 4 hours, 4 hours!! Nothing to do, anything they offered was additional dollars. HORRIBLE! "Purveyed" to be better class/option and an upgrade to Carnival NOT AT ALL, the only up is the price you pay for a REALLY REALLY BAD time. Do anything but cruise with #NCL! read more

My wife and I cruised on ncl gem 2019, and again, the 2024 price increased 35 percent over that period of time for the same cabin understandable do covid and the biden recovery act bill But the quality of food went down 40 percent. Room cleaning was twice a day, 2019. The attendant had 22 rooms to clean in 2024 once a day .Food to us is a big part of cruising, and it is not the portions it's about what their servings if you like turkey , pasta with sauce, chicken, meat loaf,and the quality of that food was bad Compared to 2019 and our cruise on breakaway in October 2023, the food has considerably gone downhill on ncl gem 2024 cruise to bermuda from boston .But I have to say the staff and service on the gem was great and three production shows in the stardust were fantastic read more

Booked a Venice to Athens 10 day cruise. Last two weeks of July 2023. Been on about 10 cruises with the family. I would say the staff is nice and helpful in general. Main complains: 1 was no where near venice with in port. 2.5 hour buss ride each way from Trieste. 2 The little Irish pub was nice. Plantains and wings, fish and chips were good. The Asian restaurant is so bad even the white rice was wrong. The Cagney steakhouse is ok. Nothing especial. The tomahawk 32 oz steak was no bigger than my 16oz prime rib unless they include the bone. 3 what put me off was all the sick people coughing without covering their mouths or into their hands. The group I was with included. As the cruise went along more and more people got sick. I avoided the buffet as much as possible, same with the elevator. Hell one time I was in the buffet and some inconsiderate virus spreader coughed while I was walking past and I put my plate on and empty table and left. 4. Did I mention the food was so-so. The food looked good but the taste was missing. Nachos were just a little better then Del taco. Had to ask for coffee at every sit down dinner. 5. The ac crapped out one night from around 6-7 pm till midnight. It was hotter than hades the whole trip so the ac was needed. 6. I ordered Moscow mules all week multiple times a day. Half of them were without ginger beer. 7. One time at the buffet we were trying to get a fast breakfast cause of an early tour, I was trying to keep ahead on a snotty nosed virus sneezing kid. He was just tall enough to be above the counter but below the sneeze guard. His parents didn't give a rats hair about him. 8. The entertainment was good. 9. First tour we meet in the stardust theater for the bus. There was a 7:30 bus and we had the 8:15 bus. We arrived about 7:30. Sat in the middle of the theater. The NCL coordinator talked about having sections of the theater go to the bus to keep the crown under control. She said the first section to our left her right was to stand up and go to the bus. Half the theater stood up. No one listened to her instructions. Finally we figured out the 7:30 bus people had not gone yet. The last of the 7:30 bus left around 8:15. So now she started explaining the 8:15 bus tour order. Starting of the first section to our left, where people sho just came in sat. Others like us who were waiting in the center and right sections started complaining. If you know the acronym that starts with an f and ends with an r, and has a u, b and a; that's how that experience went. 9. The bus service at each stop and to hotels were good in general. Same with the tender service. 10. No fault of NCL , but it was hot at every stop. Athens even cancelled their tours due to the heat. Anyway not really going to plan a ncl trip in the future. Better wants to spend my money. read more

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I just used this cruise ship on a cruise with my family for a week from August 5th to August 12th. We took this boat as it set out of New York, with the ports of call being Port Canaveral, FL, Great Stirrup Cay (GSC), and Nassau, Bahamas. To make this review easy for you, I will just list out the pros and cons for this boat (this was my 4th cruise on as many cruise ship companies). Pros -The food was pretty good. One of the better ones I have enjoyed. Orchid House, their Asian Fusion restaurant, was the one that really stood out. -Very clean. Not one dirty bathroom. -Decent crowd. Nobody really disgusting. I've been on cruises where the people are just flat out terrible. They weren't here. -The cabin was relatively big for cruise ship standards. Plus the beds were comfortable. -Lines for the bar were not terribly long. -The ports of call were really enjoyable. -Good crews, well the housekeeping at least. Kitchen staff was hit or miss. Cons -Even though the food was great, the entertainment was okay. Just okay. I went to the evening show 5 of the 6 nights on the cruise, and nothing really stood out. -There's no real snack bar. Some cruise lines I've been to have pretzel stands or something where you can grab something quick. I didn't want to have to go to the buffet just to get a piece of cake or a cookie. -Some of their sales were not cheap. In general, I felt they were a bit pricey for some of the things they were running. -TV's were small and didn't have the best channels. -The pillows were extremely plush. -The boat is not very soundproof. I could hear the toilets flush in every direction. Honestly, compared to Carnival and Royal Caribbean, this was a pretty nice cruise line. If you want something not crazy, without all the formalities, this is the one to go with. read more

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Took the 7 day trip to the Bahamas with my boyfriend during September 2014. Honestly we kept sleeping in as we decided to get the room with no windows - that was a mistake as majority of the time we slept in. So note to all of you - definitely try to get something with a window! They do have chargers on the boat though service was usually never there - so just left the phone on airplane mode. Boarding at Manhattan was not as bad - so much faster than the airport. Me and my boyfriend had just wore a duffel bag and a luggage to pull on and it was a lot faster than having to load it. Night time was definitely chilly so bring a sweater if you decide to venture out during the fall. We wandered around the boat at night as we slept so much. Most of the time we got absorbed in watching the shows that they had - some movies, some being the game shows that they did on the boat. The beginning was quite a festival with the food. It was awesome having a selection to eat. Though after 7 days - we ended up going to the restaurant a lot which had specials every day. The buffet was endless. Staff was very accommodating and nice. Always greeted us with a washy washy - with the hand sanitizer that they sprayed on our hands. We had did the stingray excursion at the Great Stirrup Cay. Totally wished we brought a Gopro camera like another couple. It was a amazing experience walking among the stingray and even holding one up. Their tails are poisonous so try not to step on them! On the day we got to the Bahamas...it rained. Had originally signed up for the dolphin excursion and we ended up being refunded as it was raining quite hard! Due to a bad fall I had when we were attempting to find out if it was cancelled we retired back into the room for most of the day. And only ventured out near the afternoon to explore what was nearby. The best place to buy anything is in the market wihtin the church though it was a bit alarming to wander in there as almost everyone there tries to sell you what they have that looks identical to their neighbors. I was a fan of the the wood figures. They were beautiful but do not know if someone crafted them by hand. Though it rained on our trip, we did wander around the boat and took quite a series of funny pictures near the end. The sunsets were the most beautiful. It is probably a better idea to go on the cruise with another couple so someone could take the pictures but ours still came out pretty well! Overall fun experience. Bring more clothing! It gets so cold at night if you are on the outside of the ship. Oh and a side note, maybe bring a cage. Another night we explored, a giant dragonfly got caught on my shirt when we were trying to enter back into the ship. Should have not been freaked out as it was the size of a small child. And that I wrung my hand in panic and it disappeared into the darkness. read more

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Long review ahead . CLIFF NOTES: worst cruise I've been on, and not sure I would use Norwegian cruise line again Full Review It pains me to write a negative review for NCL cruise line, but I was steeply disappointed by my experience on the Gem. I traveled on a 5 day Bremuda cruise from NY on November 10th, 2018. This was the last cruise of it's kind for the season leaving from the New York City pier 88. The ship itself is Beautiful, but the service, food, and staff made for a sub par experience. TOWEL ANIMALS My boyfriend felt that it was important for me to note that we did not get a single towel animal in our stateroom, although other passengers told us they received them in their room. BOARDING PROCESS Getting onto the ship was a very simple process, and as soon as we were onboard, we had access to the stateroom. It was tiny, clean, modern looking, and relatively comfortable. BUFFET The selection at the buffet was decent, but The quality of the food was Not great and nothing ever seem to be warm enough. ROOM SERVICE The room service Was pretty atrocious. They would forget to give us washcloths, as an example... And then when we had the "do not disturb" sign on the door, they would come in anyway. Even when I was hiding in the bed in my underwear, asking them not to come in. Yeah. Not nice or cool. O'SHEEHANS This service in the Irish pub (complimentary restaurant called O'Sheehans) Was horrific. It was painfully slow, and the maître d' had very threatening body language when our ship cards were declined due to a administrative error. They refused to serve us the (free) food until it was resolved. Not cool or welcoming. SPA (Thermal suite) I highly recommend purchasing a pass to the thermal spa. It was $138 (plus 20% mandatory gratuity of course) for the entire duration of the cruise . It It provides access to a jet and shower filled large therapy pool, sauna with ocean views, eucalyptus steam room, infused waters and a selection of teas plus fresh oranges. AND heated therapy beds. I was a huge fan. Excursions were pretty good, the onboard shopping was especially lame, and my overall feeling was it was a nice vacation, but Norwegian could have made it a lot better read more

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I'd say this ship was middle of the road as far as cruises go. We left out of manhattan in December, and waited a while to get through security and check-in. The ship itself was maintained ok, didn't see anything that struck me as super old - but it wasn't completely updated either. The service onboard was generally good. A few odd times, but overall, it was accommodating. Our steward was especially nice. The food was very mediocre. There were a couple times that we may have said, oh that was good (Italian specialty restaurant was one), but most often, the food was just ok. Nothing spectacular, but edible. I'm pregnant, so can't really review the drinks. My boyfriend loved the signature drink from the steakhouse, but that was the only time he said he loved a drink. The entertainment was a bit sparse, and just ok. The comedian on board was funny. The large stardust theater could not accommodate the later show crowd. Both times we went, the place was already full, and people were standing in the back. The spa was nice, as was my massage. The fitness center was decent enough. The private island was nice, and the stingray excursion from there was especially good. Overall, vacations/cruises are more of what you make it, so we had a great time, but the ship itself is ok. read more

This was my first cruise taken in America and honestly it was full of a bunch of activities to do every single day so it's rare to ever get bored while on board. The game shows are hilarious!!! Even the days at sea weren't all that bad as you can swim and lay up all day in the sun + grab food at the Garden Café (buffet) whenever you get hungry. ALL of the crew members are the nicest people I've ever met 10/10!!! They always greet you and make sure all your needs are met. Cagney's Steakhouse is an à la carte restaurant but it's totally worth it. Their rib eye is out of this world and they even offered shrimp cocktail on the house! They were so awesome and sucks how their restaraunt is only available on board because I would love to go to that restaurant again. We went to Great Stirrup Cay which is an island in the Bahamas that's owned by Norwegian and they had a bunch of activities such as snorkeling and parasailing. The beach is absolutely beautiful but one of the workers told me that honestly, you're better off doing all the activities on the official islands such as Nassau because they're CHEAPER by a long shot (same with the souvenirs)!!!!!! Parasailing was going to be $320 for the both of us in GSC but in Nassau, it was only $140 (WTF) Other than that, the people are great, the food is awesome (especially the desserts), and the vibe is nice. The only thing that bothered me was the REALLY bad rocking of the ship (which i know probably isn't their fault). i tried to ignore it but some days were just impossible to even stand still while brushing your teeth/showering haha. They kept advertising this new boat called the Norwegian Bliss and maybe some day in the near future that will be my next cruise trip!!!! read more

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My BFF and I sailed this past week out of NYC on the Norwegian Gem for 7 nights to Orlando & the Bahamas. Embarkation was very efficient (I feel this is determined by timing), we arrived at the pier by 11am and within 15 minutes we were checked in & eating our hearts content upstairs at the buffet. The Dining options were plentiful. The main dinning rooms were great, but we just couldn't get enough of the buffets because of the different cultural varieties, Italian, American, Chinese, Indian, Thai, etc. Impossible to become bored. Our cabin 8074 was nicely appointed & perfect for two people. With the combination of the comfortable beds, the gentle rocking of the ship and the sweet sounds of the ocean, we slept like babies. Overall this was a wonderful vacation & I do recommend this itinerary for first timers or even experienced cruisers. The service was outstanding, fabulous food and the condition/ comfort of the ship was classy & well maintained. The following are some suggestions and advise for the ports: Orlando: We hopped on a public taxi shuttle to the Cocoa Beach area ($14 round trip,a few $ less then reserving with the cruise line). There, we perused and took pics at the famous Ron Surf Shop, we continued looking at the shops and stopped at the Shark Pit bar & grill, where they have an all day happy hour including $1 & $2 margaritas (woohoo they were great!) We then walked to Cocoa Beach, not to swim but to experience it. It was very beautiful and we had a blast. Overall we created our own excursion and spent less then $20. Nassau Bahamas: We decided to take a taxi to Atlantis and buy the Aqua park package on our own. We spent $129 compared to the $199 that the cruise line was charging. The Aqua Park package includes the aquarium, water slides, pools and private beach. The grounds were breathtaking, however it seemed that many areas, pools and main water attractions were closed off or restricted due to renovations, so we felt a bit cheated after paying $129 & not being able to get the full experience. read more

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I recently sailed the Gem from New York to the Bahamas for 7 days. Price per person was actually great at only $499 per person, after tax and the mandatory gratuity total came out to roughly $1,600 for two people. This was my first cruise and I was on a budget so I didn't want to spend additional on extras such as room upgrades, drinks or excursions. This was a decent first cruise but I probably wouldn't do Norwegian again. Important Things to note: - Free drinks. There are non alcoholic beverages that are COMPLIMENTARY! I searched all over and could not find this information on their site so figured I could save someone from buying the crazy overpriced bottled water or drink packages. Drinks available daily include: water, apple juice, orange juice, lemonade, tea, flavored waters, coffee, hot chocolate and milk. You could also hit up the art auction for free champagne and then leave. - Park West Art Auctions. This is a complete SCAM. Google their name and read the Bloomberg article on them, "Ever Bought Art on a Cruise? Prepare to Be Seasick". Feel free to go and get the freebies but make it known if you're not interested. I also wrote a review on them: https://goo.gl/8oLG7m - Mandatory gratuity per day was $13.99 per person. At the end of the trip it added to about $200. I'm almost positive this doesn't actually go to the staff so bring small bills to tip. PROS: - Nice staff that are accommodating and decent food options daily. - Favorite restaurants were O'Sheehans Bar & Grill, Magenta and the Garden Cafe (buffet). If you go to O'Sheehans, try to go late night because service tends to be faster and the food is actually more fresh. I ordered the salmon caesar salad and it was made better at 10PM than at 2PM. Fish and chips was also excellent here. We went to Magenta on our last night and I got the prime rib, fiance got the lamb shank and we split 3 desserts. Entrees were excellent but the desserts not so much. Garden Cafe was our most visited place to eat during our cruise, it was quick and simple and had a decent selection such as empanadas, pasta, salads, ect. A lot of the time food options overlapped at the different restaurants and sometimes the same food can be made too salty or dry depending on when you have it - hit or miss. - Suites were clean and bathrooms were actually a decent size! CONS: - Towels and sheets provided were over bleached but managed to have stains lol. Towels were stiff and both of them smelled of bleach. - There is no communication between the different staffs, for example, no one at the front desk knows what anyone in the excursions desk is doing. I asked front desk about the shuttle taxi service Gem used at Port Canaveral and they had no clue what I was talking about, they told me it was probably the excursion team who booked them so I asked the excursion people and they also had no idea lol - Activities were only so so, there was a rock climbing wall available for a few hours of the day, a small exercise court, an even smaller golfing area, pay to play arcade, smoky tiny casino, a few variety shows and sales pitches. TIPS: - Bring an umbrella for Great Stirrup Cay, the sun here is INTENSE and the shade shifts throughout the day so protect yourself from getting burnt. - Bring a reusable bottle for water so you don't have to pay for water when you get off the boat at the various ports. - Port Canaveral retail shopping at the Mall or Cocoa Beach - use an Uber and try to get some passengers to go in on it with you, the cost per person on the taxi shuttle was $16 per person round trip while the cost of an Uber one way is $12-$16. I suggest you try Thai Fuku for lunch, they have a fantastic happy hour menu for food! read more

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Solid five stars! Good job Norwegian! Having returned from a 10 day cruise to the Eastern Carribeans my Fiancee and I have already started to plan our next cruise with NCL. Service- Everyone was friendly and kind. Always willing to help and answer questions. Especially loved Zach and his "Ouuuuus"! Stateroom steward Wilfredo was helpful and made the best towel animals! Food- The buffet and complimentary restaurants were tasty although at the beginning of the cruise service was extremely slow. I highly recommend o'sheehans for 24/7 dining and orchid garden for authentic Asian food. I paid for teppanyaki for the hibachi experience and it was worth it! $29.95 for two appetizers, a entree and dessert as well as a show for a life time! Garden Cafe aka the buffet was always stocked with food from different cuisines and desserts were changed every day! There was also a different dinner theme every night. Furthermore, there is both soft serve and hard serve ice cream! Cleanliness- Washy washy happy happy! Hand sanitizer machines were EVERYWHERE. Also there would be workers with spritzer bottles at the buffet ready to clean your hands before you ate. Events- Shows were every night at the theatre at around 7pm and 9pm. I saw a comedian, piano player, the play BOOTS, aerialists from cirque. Also Zach the cruise director hosts game shows that cruisers can participate in! Just check the ships newsletter "free style daily" Accommodations- I stayed in a balcony room that was roomy and did not feel cramped. My bed was a king size and I had plenty of room to roll around in. Sheets and pillow cases were washed daily. Overall, if you're looking for a budget friendly cruise and the friendliest people you'll ever meet.. pick Norwegian! read more

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Absolutely wonderful, never had any doubt about my time on this ship. Short and simple: - Food was great, very consistent and good quality at every restaurant on board. There was also plenty of great options, - Staff was even better, my housekeeper Pipul was like family by the end of my stay. Always called me by name as soon as I met him. Other staff members always acknowledged me and never gave me any problem at all. Wait staff is amazing as well, extremely hard working and professional. They treat you with the best of care. - Shore excursion options are great as well. Everything was well organized, waiting times for me were short, and coming back to the ship with the red carpet, cold towels being handed out, a shaded area under a tent to cool down as you wait for others, and ice water station was outstanding. - On board entertainment whether it be live music, pool parties, karaoke, chef demonstrations, Wii, game shows, casino, live shows in the theatre and many more are all amazing especially the theatre shows. There's always something to do which is great. - They have a sports court that can do soccer, basketball, I think volleyball (not sure) and tennis. They also have shuffle board, rock climbing, jogging track and walking track. - Fitness room has high quality equipment, very clean and their aerobics room has plenty of yoga mats, punching bags for a boxing session they offer once a day I believe. Works like any other gym, busy in the morning but at night it's a breeze, no issue getting a machine. - Private Island in The Great Stirrup Cay is beautiful, food their is very good and there's plenty of excursions for you as well as a beach that has plenty of lifeguards who are ready for anything (there's jet skis on standby, if you're far out in the water there's even another lifeguard far out on these rocks) I barely covered half the entertainment and things about this cruise but that's for you to find out. But let me say that the closing show on the last day is one you do not want to miss. One thing that made my experience stand out is well, they seriously made me feel at home on another level on the last day. Here's what I mean: Well I'm a Filipino-American, my parents are Filipino. A solid 70% of the staff is Filipino so this makes me feel like I'm surrounded by family but that's not a fair reason to everyone as not everyone is Filipino but we talked to the staff and befriended many of them during our vacation. They were able to get us a table and serve us Filipino dishes special order just for my family and a couple other Filipino families on board. Thanks to the Filipino chefs and hospitable staff this was able to happen. It can't happen to everyone as most people already have lots of food from their culture elsewhere on the ship but what I'm getting at is their staff isn't just brainwashed friendly, but it comes from their heart. Not once was I bored on this ship, being young my options tend to be limited but the view from outside on the sundecks or outside eating area save me from boredom every single time. The only time I had to wait in a line more than 20 minutes was boarding the ship, but it's like that for every cruise so I think it's safe to say they are extremely organized to avoid congestion. Restaurants seat me quickly, no more than a 20 minute wait at peak, tender boat process is quick and easy, discharging from the ship on the final day surprisingly fluent as well. But yeah, I feel like I missed a lot of things because there was so much to review but for me, the cons list was nearly non-existent. Very laid back and well they like to refer to this cruise as a "freestyle". The Norwegian Gem is a beautiful ship and I can't see myself cruising with any other cruise line at this price range. read more

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Recently took a vacation over the holidays on the Norweigan Gem. The ship sailed from NYC on December 18th and was a 10 day cruise down to Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau, Bahamas before returning to NYC. I booked only a few weeks before sailing for a total of $1747 for two people in an inside stateroom (including taxes and port fees). I paid an additional $270 service fee for two people. All in all, I thought the value was pretty good for being inclusive of food, entertainment and lodging (excluding alcohol). The ship was decent, in art-deco style. Although I much preferred the Celebrity Eclipse (the only other ship I've sailed on), the Gem provided a decent experience and even had some pluses (such as having a rock climbing wall on the ship). All in all, if you can find a good deal on the Gem, I'd definitely recommend it. The entertainment was a solid 4-stars, the room and services were well kept and the ship was in good condition with recent renovations. The food was A-OK on the non-specialty restaurants, pretty mediocore to above average most of the time. The buffet was alright as well, but I wasn't a fan of the layout. It just wasn't very open and caused some lines and flow-issues during peak times. The layout of the ship wasn't very centralized and you couldn't get to aft from some forward elevators on certain floors which was a little cumbersome, but no big deal. All in all, although I personally enjoyed the Celebrity Cruise experience on the Eclipse over the Gem, I appreciated being able to sail from NYC and was a fan of the overall ship and value. read more

Just returned from the Norwegian Gem Cruise to Orlando/Great Stirrup Cay/Nassau: 7/28-8/4. I will try to be as detailed as possible in order to help you all know what to expect on board. Embarkation Review: -Initial process was more smooth than I experienced on Carnival. However, it wasn't without its issues. We had a loud staff member yelling in an annoyed tone: "Have your passports out!" as we waited on line. That wasn't the friendliest manner in which to start the trip. Would suggest them to just have an automated system with a friendly reminder during the process. -Do check your luggage, and expect it to be delivered to your room around 4pmish, after the ship sets sail. Rooms are open around 1:30pm. -Cash vs. Credit Card Issue: While checking in, we wanted to put down cash and we were erroneously told we had to swipe a card. We swiped, but asked to speak to a manager, who confirmed we did not have to put down a card. We prepaid the gratuities ($203) and I put down $400 cash for my party of 2 to spend on board. I highly recommend using the cash method if you want to put a soft cap on spending and/or on a budget. I am glad I did this because the first day I was charged for two alcoholic beverages that I did not purchase. I would rather dispute with cash down, than involve my credit card company. Do not put down debit as the amount of their hold is unclear. Cash is the way to go. You don't have to put down $300 per person as stated on their website (it is just a suggestion). I ended up with $50 returned to me upon disembarkation which was nice. -Damaged luggage: My wife's duffel bag was damaged during baggage delivery and no one apologized. They fixed it, but the sew job was horrible and we will be writing for a reimbursement. Tip: You may want to only check your harder (more durable luggage), if your duffel bag is very expensive. Cabin Review: This is where the Gem shines. The room is comfortable, updated, and clean. The t.v. is really small, but that is not what you are there for, lol. One good feature in the room is that you can check your account balance daily. We were on the 8th floor, which has a more closed in balcony vs. the 9th floor, which was more open and seemed less private. The bathroom area was clean; the toilet area is a little small. I am 5"11 and found it cramped...However, I can't complain about anything else. My lady gets freaked out by anything dirty, and she found this highly acceptable. Dining: The food in the buffet area, the Garden Cafe, outshines the food anywhere else on the ship. The sit down dinners seemed hit or miss. I would not recommend the specialty dining package based on this experience. You are good with the bountiful complimentary food on board. The buffet had different themed nights, like Caribbean night and Asian night. There was something for everyone. Our specialty dining experience included Cagney's Steak house, which was just ok, and La Cucina, which was horrible Italian fare. Someone from our party went to the Hibachi spot, and thought it was good, but none of the cooks are Japanese, which removes some of the authenticity. The main tip here is don't pay for the specialty dining package, it's not worth it based on the choices. If you want to do specialty, choose one night to splurge and you should be o.k. Major plus: There is a 24 hour food spot on board in the middle of deck 7/deck 8 named Osheehan's. This was a great option for late night hunger attacks. Room service is also available 24/7 at a cost. Random tip: If you are not a seafood/pork eater, your options are reduced, since there is a heavy dose of shellfish/pork aboard. Drinks: Someone in our party had the unlimited alcohol package. I"m not a heavy drinker, so I didn't get that. If you are a heavy drinker, get it, as you will be paying out the nose for beverages. On the 12th deck, you can get complimentary fountain juices and water. At the bar, the sodas seemed overprice. Major Tip: Get the 6 1 liter water bottles for $14 to store in your room when you get thirsty. We thought that was the best deal of the trip. You don't want to get sick or really thirsty and hunt for bottled water. Bottled water at the bar cost $7 for 1! Entertainment and Activities: This was so/so. The cruise director did not seem to have the captivating personality one expects from that role. The Assistant Cruise director and others who graced the mike seemed to be a better fit. If you want a more conservative boat, with lots of relaxation time, this cruise will suit you. If you are looking to spend the day partying and drinking, there will be lulls in the entertainment. Club Bliss is the night spot on board. After 11:30pm, it's allegedly 18 and over. That was questionable. We had some young looking folks form a circle most nights and take over the dance floor, which was a buzz kill. My review was longer, but hit me up if you want more info. lol read more

Best way to describe a cruise, it's a hotel on water. My trip was to the Bahamas with a stop at Port Canaveral, their private island Great Stirrup Cay and then the Bahamas. This was my second Norwegian cruise and I remember liking the Norwegian Dawn more, but this was forever ago and it was my very first cruise so my opinion may be biased. Cruises are very convient for a specific type of clientele, it's great for seniors and great for families with younger kids. Seniors enjoy the cruise because they can roam freely on the boat and then enjoy so so food that their taste buds won't mind. Families like the cruise because they can let their younger kids run around the boat and not have to worry about them going anywhere because where they gonna go? As someone in their thirties, I didn't feel this cruise was catered towards my age group, I felt sandwiched between the youngins and the farts and kinda forgotten. White people made up most of the boat and the boat definitely cateres towards them. And damn do white people love their sun. Food: -Cagney's steakhouse, which is a specialty meal, was the best meal on the boat. Bone in ribeye and lobster and shrimp linguine were excellent. http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=PouYg4DNoQYyUY-R4izrGQ&userid=Y_iTTjKvV5hLy-880SZzlA -Teppanyaki was my second fav specialty meal but it is super popular so book very early or even before boarding the ship. It was actually really worth going. Land and sea was great, lobster was salty and scallops so so. Beware of the little screaming kids -The unlimited dining package at $119 is worth the investment esp for the two above restaurants -Moderno, the Brazilian restaurant was terrible, all the skewers were dry and flavorless -I heard the Chinese restaurant was terrible from Chinese people and even white people, bad sign -Breakfast buffet has rush of people but a table at La Cucina is always open, so grab your food at the buffet and find seating at La Cucina -All the included meals have the same food in every restaurant just different decor, the menu changes every night -Grand Pacific dining room is usually the better option but you have to dress classier especially for men at dinner time. Waits are less because people don't want to dress up. -Magenta had really slow service -The best consistent items for the included meals were the burgers and dogs -Overall, food was just OK, nothing really outstanding Entertainment: -Shows for the most part at Stardust were good, my favs were the 70's and Duo Balskatt which was like a Cirque show -Shows at Spinnaker lounge were good, Dan Dan was a great host -Wifi is crazy expensive $25/day for unlimited daily, .95 per minute, 100 mins for $75. 250 mins for $125 -Casino is worse than reg casinos. Poker is 10% rake with $25 cap. Slots are less likely to payout. The blackjack table pays out 6-5 for blackjack Final notes: -Last day before disembarkation sucks, there is nothing to do -Self checkout when disembarking, carry your own suitcase since it will be quicker -Bring a walkie talkie -Middle of the boat and the higher you are are less rocky. The front and the back sway -Great Stirrup Cay was nice to get nice beatifiul blue water and the nice beach -"What the heck?" -"Happy happy, washy washy" read more

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I get treated like dirt by NCL employees. They left me stranded in Port 88 in NYC, in my wheelchair, with the rest of my family on board the ship. I had nowhere to go, without my medical device, my meds, my clothes, my assistance, etc.. Their so-called guest relations was a total joke. NCL pretended to, but couldn't have, cared less about my safety, or what was going to happen to me after they abandoned me in the port. Two other people had the same problem that I did but they were literally able to stand up to the NCL employees. I guess since I couldn't stand up, I didn't matter to them. Even in New York, the security guard was apalled by the way they treated me. See you in court NCL. Count on an ADA caae. read more

Sailed near the end of June, 2013 with my family. It was our first cruise so we didn't go in with a lot of expectations. Embarkation - if you set up your personal information online, the wait time is close to none on the day of embarkation - so sign up online, you will avoid the long lines! Also, you can print your luggage tags so you can just drop off your suitcase once you arrive outside the pier. They will deliver it to the front of your cabin. Going early never sucks, they let you go aboard the ship once you check in. They also have an area where you can take a group picture preceding boarding the ship. Once we got on the ship, we went to our cabins and unpacked. We got a balcony cabin and a windowless cabin across the room. Both rooms were very nice. Then we made our way up to deck 12 where they had a BBQ going. Food - They have a buffet on deck 12. The food here isn't bad. The chocolate buffet near the end of the cruise was amazing! Remember to bring your cameras! I will post some pictures. The Magenta (included) was really nice, had some awesome steaks. The Blue Lagoon (included) is a nice place for a late snack since it's open 24 hours. For a fancier option, the Grand Pacific (included) requires formal clothing before entering. My family really liked the Magenta because it's kind of casual and kind of formal - a good mixture Crew - so friendly! One of the best services I've ever encountered. If you need anything they will help you. Also, they always smile! :) The stewards/stewardess were friendly. Entertainment - They give a pamphlet with the next day's iteneary on it. They really try hard to keep you entertained. During the second to last day, you can tell that there is going to be a White Party because people start wearing white early on in the morning. They also have a theme song here that will stick in your head even after the cruise - other words, very catchy. Excursions - We didn't get off in Port Canaveral because my family wanted to relax on the ship. In addition, it was too much of a hassle to get to the tourist area. We did get off at Great Stirrup Cay. We had to board a smaller ship before arriving on the island. The water was so blue, so beautiful. Once you get there, there's barely any shade. So the best option is to get a cool drink and then JUMP into the water. There are some rocks near the shore but when you swim/walk in more, there's none left. And we went snorkeling in Nassau! It was our first time and it was AWESOME! We went with the seahorse company and it took around an hr to get to the spot. The ride there wasn't bad because of the view and the breeze. There were three sailing boats in total so it was extremely helpful in on getting back on the ship. The waves look so small from the ship but it will carry you out if you're not careful. So wear a safety vest (small green ones). If you don't know how to swim and still want to go snorkeling, don't worry! The non-swimmers were given huge orange vests before they went to the water. Just don't go too far from the ships. The fishes and corals were such a sight. Definitely go snorkeling! Back on the island, shops range from low-end to high-end prices (brand names). To buy a memorable gift, I brought some handmade soap from the brand My Ocean. It was pricey but the soaps in there were so nicely packaged! I'm a sucker for pretty things. Disembarkation - Done in less than 10 mins. read more

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For a middle priced cruise experiene you really can't ask for much more. A few points to note as follows. - Service and staff amongst the best I've ever experienced on a cruise and they were like Ninjas fast efficenct and gone like the wind. - Food, was the classic strap on your food bag and eat away, but was actually very good and well thought out. The sit down restaurants were great, and required no reservations the longest I had to wait for a table was less than 2 minutes. - Entertainment, which I usually can't stand... It was actually great, they offered a comedian about 4 nights ( An actual real comedian that was on HBO and Comedy Central, not a cruise ship hack) There was a Improv Comedy Troupe from the Second City in Chicago, that was hilarious. Also an act called 2 to Fly excellent. There was more but you get the point. - The ship was CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN and well maintained. -The rooms were new, well furnished and well kept with a full sized shower! - Their private island was very clean, great beach, plenty of food and excursions too. - Overall ship staff was fantastic and again like ninjas. - The only slightly negative thing I need to point out was the amount of kids based on the time I went, but but but the staff did a tremendous job at hiding them away and giving them their own places to go to. Overall value and time was tremendous absolutely a trip I would do over and over! And the ease of travel out of NYC was so stress free, highly recommend. read more

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I took a one night cruise to no where from NYC on 1/10/2014 to celebrate my bday and it was a blast. Embarkation was a breeze, rooms were ready early and very clean, food was better than average and they had a great selection of drinks. My favorite being the watermelon pinch. They had a comedian who was not that funny but the two nightclubs made up for it. Everyone who works on the ship was very nice and they do a good job making sure everyone is having a good time. read more

As a first time cruiser, I went in to the cruise with no standards or expectations. I've heard great and not so great things about every cruise line, but I heard that Norwegian was the most clean and that the staff was great. After a few days on the boat, we found our favorite bartenders. We tried to only go to them because they made our time so much better. They always talked to us like we were family. Also, the staff in the buffet was better than the staff in BOTH the main dining rooms. I was not impressed with the main dining rooms service or food and each time we were in there it took over 2 hours. The shows they offered were great. They handed out a paper each night that showed all of the activities for the next day. There was something for everyone and they started at 7:00am and went until midnight. They had hypnosis shows, broadway type shows, singing, karaoke, bingo, dance parties and much more. We stayed in an inside cabin and I was very impressed even with it being the cheapest type of room. It was big enough for 2 people and the bathroom was also a good size. We didn't spend too much time in the room, so why pay a lot for it? We met so many awesome people from all over and also very close to us. Be open and friendly while on the cruise, you will meet some awesome people. We ended up spending most of the cruise with people we had just met. Downsides!! The entire embarkation and disembarkation process was EXTREMELY lengthy. We arrived at New York cruise terminal approximately at 8:00am to beat traffic and crowds. We ended up not getting on to the boat until 11:30am. On top of that, our rooms weren't ready until 1:30pm!!!! We had to carry around our carry on bags and no one could go to their rooms yet. Every place was crowded including staircases where people were just sitting on waiting for their rooms to be ready. We were originally supposed to go to Port Canaveral, The Great Stirrup Cay (GSC) and Nassau. When we arrived at the port for embarkation, they told us that the days of GSC and Nassau were being switched due to Election Day in Bahamas. No big deal. Well, we woke up on the day we were docking at GSC just to find out that we weren't stopping due to "rough seas". The seas were not rough and we ended up circling the island and saw another cruise ship at the island parasailing and on the beach. They messed up and didn't cover their bases when switching the days of the islands. So we ended up having 3 days at sea back to New York and it was just lengthy. The cruise director and captain didn't care that we didn't stop. We spoke to fellow passengers and they said out of 5 cruises they had taken that were supposed to stop at GSC, They have only been there 2x. Everyone was disappointed and ended up going to guest services to get port taxes refunded for GSC. Turns out some people got up to $700 back. When we went there, they told us we were getting $19 per person back. Seriously? We ended up not even trying to argue with guest services and go straight to corporate. Overall, it was a nice cruise and I was happy we met the people we did and were able to relax and have fun. Too many days at sea and I was so happy to get off the ship. I may cruise again but I would try a different cruise line prior to going back to Norwegian. read more

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We took a 7 day trip to the Bahamas last week. Overall, it was pretty good with a few bumps along the way. The boarding process was simple for us at Manhattan Cruise Terminal. We didn't need to check in luggage and the entire process probably took half an hour. It was comparable with getting through checkin at a crowded airport. Our interior room seemed smaller than the interior rooms than the other cruise lines we've been on but the bathroom here was also definitely larger. Still, the toilet was situated at an odd angle such that I would not have been able to sit comfortably if it I was larger. We ate at the Grand Pacific, Magenta, and Garden Cafe/Great Outdoors (buffet areas). The quality of the buffet food was mixed in our opinion. While the Asian style foods were great and we could see them constantly cooking more, the other food options are sometimes not so great. We do have to praise them on the freshness of their salad greens though. The food quality in the Grand Pacific and Magenta dining rooms tend to be consistently good but the service may vary. Sometimes, we would have to wait quite a while after being seated in Magenta before we were handed the menus. We would be annoyed if we haven't already satisfied our hunger at the buffet prior to visiting the main dining rooms. One night, all we ordered were starters and desserts as we already ate our fill at the buffet. The quality of the shows were varied for us. We enjoyed their partially scripted version of The Second City but their 2 unscripted versions (family friendly and adult) did not appeal to us as much. I would find the Sander & Alison Magicka more impressive if not for all the talking and videos. We really enjoyed their Get Down Tonight and World Beat music shows. For the bumps we've encountered, our stateroom attendant is friendly but there were occasionally issues. We discovered that our bedsheets had an old blood stain and when the attendant removed the sheet, he seemed to have forgotten to bring in replacements. Fortunately, a quick call to the help desk brought in 2 new bedsheets within 10 minutes. One of the new bedsheets had a large old oil stain but we didn't care anymore as it was late at night. The next day, the attendant replaced the sheets with better ones. Another issue was when he took away our used beach towel but forgot to replace them. A quick word with him in the morning resolved that issue quickly. When we arrived at Cape Canaveral, we didn't visit the port and instead, chose to explore the ship while it was uncrowded. It was pretty relaxing without the crowd. The NCL private island, Great Stirrup Cay, was pretty good. We had to get a number from the Spinnaker Lounge and but the wait for the tender wasn't long. Something to note is that some of the tender boats are not wheelchair accessible and the passenger must be able to climb down the steps. Nassau was pretty decent. When we left the ship, took a taxi van ($4/person) driven by "Big Momma" to Atlantis Paradise Island. After spending a morning there, we took a water taxi (also $4/person) back to Nassau. While the water taxi was something to try once, we think we'll stick with the taxis next time as the wait for the boat was long and confusing (due to other boats such as the Booze Cruise). Downtown Nassau was what I expected a tourist trap to be. Disembarking in NYC took awhile with most of the time spent waiting in a long line stretching through the deck of the ship. After waiting through at least half an hour in line, passing through customs took less than 10 seconds. read more

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This is an older cruise ship. We went on Christmas week, a 7 day cruise out of of NYC. Here's something to consider, when you leave from NYC in December? IT'S COLD AS BALLS! I was sitting in the hot tub with ice forming on my head! I would never, let me say it again, I WOULD NEVER sail out of NYC after October. You lose days with the cold weather. Billy Salts out! read more

Just sailed 1-10-14 for one of their overnite cruises and had to say room was very clean staff was nice and had a great time Drink prices not bad food was good and a perfect little get away only complaint or if you can call it one is that is was two short whish they would offer a 2 day cruise Would recommend read more

Norwegian Gem - Picture of boat at port - Travel Services Near Me - New York, New York

Washee Washee happy happy :) I had lots of fun with my family. It was a nice place to meet versus traveling all the way to Florida to cruise. However, our destinations were limited because of the ship travel time down to the carribeans. The ship is nice and we had lots of fun. I would say book the suites. Lots of space and it feels like we each had small apartments vs mini hotel rooms. There is a bowling aisle and a really great Japanese restaurant on board. They have a night club and lots of lounge areas. The spa is really nice but a little pricey. If you book VIP status you receive early entry into all of the special events and dinner services. I absolutely love that they had a fresh juice station. The only thing I don't like about cruises is the employees seem unhappy if you really look into some of their eyes and listen to their stories. Really great folks but I wonder. Parking is expensive! I'd advise if you can to take the train downtown and walk over. read more

Norwegian Gem - Travel Services Near Me - New York, New York

Wen on a cruise from nyc to Florida to Bahamas best cruise ever first cruise as well great experience loved the washy washy girls so many good shows going on the casino is awesome I recommend a balcony room that is what I had so many parties as well a different one every night The buffets were awesome really liked the food we also got a birthday package which was really cute they decorated our cabin and we had a cake included in the package did many excursions I recommend doing as many as you can they were amazing!! The staff on the boat was so nice! The boat was also very clean it was awesome to walk around the decks at night each stop was so awesome we had enough time to do so many things and shuttles were provided to get us back to the boat they also left towel animals on the bed every night a different one which was so awesome to find a little animal waiting for u when you came back to your room at night Can't go wrong with the drink packages best way to go! Very sanitary purel stations everywhere on the boat hands down best vacation I have ever been on I feel cursing is the only way to vacation!!!! read more

Norwegian Gem - Approaching the Gem!!! - Travel Services Near Me - New York, New York

It's been a few years now but I actually still remember the amazing experience I had on the Gem like it was yesterday. In May 2013, my wife and I sailed on the Gem to Florida and the Bahamas. It was great fun, despite me getting the worst sunburn of all time and some rain in the Bahamas. The ship itself is relatively dated by cruise ship standards, but it still has all the amenities you expect on a modern cruise ship. Multiple dining options, a great food court buffet which you can go to any time you want, and plenty of entertainment for the whole family. The ship is laid out nicely, everything is easy to get to, and the staff is as friendly as they come. I still see the Gem sailing by my office down the Hudson River all the time and it brings back some great memories. read more

I had NCL booked for April 2020 we had for state rooms booked for a party due to Covid they shut down the port in Italy that we were leaving from Norwegian Cruise line did not shut us down as of yet I would call an email and they all they would tell me as well keep you updated well they never kept me updated obviously the cruise was canceled at this point in time it was canceled because read more

Sailing to Bermuda for seven days with a group of nine. Pros - Magenta had modern artwork, more light and more attentive staff. It was also a smaller space the staff was stretched less thin. So Magenta was a preferable ambiance for our group (except that one night). - Our housekeepers were chipper, very efficient and extremely kind. My mom in law came back from the beach and she attempted to vacuum all the sand out of her carpet with her own vacuum cleaner. The housekeeper saw her and cleaned her bags and floor. - The water at Bermuda is so clear, you can see the fish flitting around. Someone fed rice krispies to the fish on the beach, so the fish darted within three inches of us.We got to see angel fish and minnows. -Horseshoe bay was relaxing: pink flecked sand, and torquoise and deep blue waters. Pools of water to observe fishes. People were snorkeling and climbing huge rocks to go cliff jumping. There were even archaeological finds, ie fossilized circadians near the bottom of some rocks. - Two words: Beatles tribute. Awesome. -Cagney's steakhouse dinner had slightly sweet champagne and nice dry red wine. Our waiter was extremely professional and very knowledgeable about wine. The t-bone was cooked medium rare, as I like it but not very flavorful. My husband's rib-eye was meatier but cannot compare to a nice grass fed steak. Best part of dinner? The champagne that tasted better than a bellini and the smiles on everyone's faces. Cons -Sheets had either grey, yellow, black stains almost every night, after they were changed. -Towels were over bleached so they were white but felt like pressing plastic on the skin. -Chocolate buffet: the chocolate was cloyingly sweet, the ice sculptures melted and the the chocolate carvings were miniscule and homely compared to the chocolate carvings on Radiance of the Seas. - One horrible night of service at Magenta. The waitress neglected to bring us bread, spoons, and steak knives. While we were eating, she shoved our entrées in front of us, despite all of us having glasses or dishes in that space. She was rude throughout the night. Oh my! - The activities are not memorable and are time fillers: comedian Rick Starr, acupuncturist, and stage hypnotist. Its up to you how much you do and how active you are. Most of the time I spent was eating and going to a show, maybe playing a little tennis or going to yoga. You could spend the whole time gambling in a smoke filled room too. (As my father in law did). -On a cruise, most of the people got super sized and you get similar very monotonous food. Buffet has sausage, burgers, fries, hot dogs, roasted chicken and soggy bacon, which is a travesty! Thank goodness for the fruit and dessert. Magenta and Grand Pacific had the same menu and shared the same kitchen. These two dining rooms were slightly more unique than Garden Cafe but we avoided the soups and the pasta. The soup tasted as if they cooked with ocean water and the pasta was frequently under cooked: not al dente, just a mouthful of flour and inedible. - City of Hamilton's front street felt artificial. The locals didn't live here but they worked to entertain the hordes of tourists and peddle expensive brightly colored knick knacks. The Humorous -One of the walls had cranberry juice splattered on the walls, on the fire detector and the phone. Some kid had a ton of fun. Would I go again? To Bermuda? Probably not. On the Norwegian? Definitely NO. On another cruise? Maybe when I'm 70 (or if I have to). read more

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I took this cruise to the Bahamas last week with my family and friends, we had a lot of fun, be bought the package with the drinks included and it was the best option we did. I saw people that did not buy it, and they paid a lot of money buying drinks there at the cruise. It has all kind of entertainment, pools, bars, restaurants, casino, theater, disco, bingo, any way, you don't have time to get bored. For kids, they have programs, and best of all, they take care of them until late at night for a small fee. The duty free stores, are good, and they have stuff that you do not find here in the U.S. At a very reasonable prices. Overall it was a very nice experience and I will do it again and again. read more

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Visit Dates: September 1, 2018 to September 8, 2018 Hubby and I decided to try a cruise out with our son. We've never taken a cruise before so we wanted the experience. We were very happy with the Norwegian Gem as our first cruise experience. I'm going to see if it's possible to review the restaurants that were onboard individually so I won't get into food much with this review. I will say some of the bread looked dissapointing which was easy for me to stay away from most of the bread carbs. The meat and veggies were good. The drinks were also very good, we averaged around 2 to 4 drinks a day on the cruise. They called the dining freestyle but I didn't consider it so much freestyle because there were time limits for breakfast, lunch and dinner services. I understand this was probably done to prepare for the next meal and they did have one complimentary restaurant on board where you could get food 24 hours if the other complimentary places were closed but it would have been nice to have an option of getting eggs at 12 PM if you decided to sleep in and wake up late. A cruise is pretty convenient travel when you have a two year old so for parents of small children I would recommend it as the best way to travel so far with a small child. Your luggage is dropped off curbside as well as delivered curbside when it's time to return home. So if you've got to bring a ton of bags because you have a kid and you also pack a lot in general it's great for no luggage limits. Also depending on where you're sailing from getting there with a kid isn't too bad. For us since we live on Long Island the gem was leaving from Manhattan we just had an hour to hour and a half car ride max to get to the piers. The coffee on board was okay. It was good in the complimentary restaurants and they had decent cappuccinos on deck 7 at the bar/cafe. The coffee in the garden cafe wasn't so great but I found the trick of putting whipped cream in it during breakfast to make it go down okay. I found them to be sort of limiting with water because I think they wanted you to buy the plastic bottles they were trying to sell. They had water to get from the bar on deck 12 and they served you water at the restaurants and in the garden cafe but I wish they had it in more convenient locations. Hubby and I were not buying the water bottles. We would refill the one water bottle I bought on board with me before going to our room at night and if we ran out of that we braved drinking the tap water from our bathroom sink. I didn't really feel hydrated enough during most of the cruise though so I definitely would have liked to see more water options available. The staff was amazing. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating to us as much as they could be. Even though we had our toddler in some of the restaurants and it was kind of clear we should be in the garden cafe only with our kid none of the staff gave us a hard time about it. I do wish when we were eating in the restaurants our food was served sooner. Many people on board without small children had fun making "dining" something to do but I'm just thinking please bring me my food before my toddler looses his shit and won't stay still so I can scarf it down. My hubby got to enjoy his meals, when mine did come out I shoved everything down in 5 minutes or less. Motherhood. We made three stops Port Canaveral, Fl, Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas and Nassau, Bahamas. They handled the stops and detours pretty well and were organized. Our room was well taken care of, they do try their best to take great care of you on a cruise. I missed enjoying different things because my toddler wouldn't let me go but I'm hoping to be on a cruise when he's older so I can do some of the things I missed like playing the slots for a little while and maybe getting some spa time and a seminar in. I loved cruising on the gem I think if we are going to cruise again like we hope it's going to be NCL all the way! read more

BE WEARY WHEN BOOKING WITH THIS CRUISE LINE. My partner and I have never taken a cruise before so we were really excited to book a Norwegian cruise. We heard so many great things about them, and booked a 7 day trip to Bermuda from Boston. Everything was going well. The only complaint at the time, was the ship was a bit outdated, too many children, not enough adult only activities, and the weather wasn't great. On our second day, My partner and I spent the day at the pool, and returned back to our room at around 3p, after housekeeping had finished cleaning. As soon as we opened our door, a strong odor; much like ammonia, was coming out of our room. You could smell it even just at the door step, but we assumed it was just from cleaning product. We proceeded to take a nap, and when we both woke up we were both feeling ill from the smell. We were both extremely light headed, eyes bloodshot, had trouble breathing, and nauseous. We immediately went down to concierge and let them know about the situation. Again, assuming it was cleaning product. After barely making it through dinner, we arrived back at the room, where the smell was worse, We asked around to a few of the other people on board we became friendly with, and no one complained of a strong odor. We went back to concierge again, to let them know we were unable to stay in our cabin due to the odor, and they informed us that there were no other rooms available. At this point, the floor deck leader came up to our room to check the smell. He agreed that it smelt strong, potentially like ammonia, but wasn't sure. He advised us that he would send housekeeping to "re-clean" the room. We when came back, the smell was still lingering, and he asked us, verbatim if we " were dying our hair in the room." Because he assumed the smell was coming from us. Later, he had the maintenance person come to check our vents. And that's when he confirmed the odor was definitely ammonia, The only solution was to let us stay in another room for ONE NIGHT and then we had to be back in our original cabin in the morning. After everything, there was no apology. No follow-up. Absolutely no communication about any type of solution from what had happened. There was ABSOLUTELY NO CONCERN AT ALL. Long story short, our mini fridge was leaking ammonia all over our room, enough so that you could smell it even before entering the cabin. Little to no ventilation in our room. Even the following day we STILL felt ill. If my partner and I did not go down to complain, we may have been poisioned, or worse could have ended up dead.I am extremely upset with how the Norweigan Cruise line handled this situation. And sadly,this will be our first and last cruise ever with this cruise line. read more

Sailling straight out of NY? Saving time/airfare to ports such as Miami? CHECK. Buffets with decent selection, changing daily? CHECK. Able to go to whatever restaurant you want whenever you want? CHECK. Able to order 5 entrees at once? CHECK. Talented crew (as per the Crew Talent Show)? CHECK. Mad old, large, and in charge passengers? CHECK. 7-pound weight gain in 7 days? CHECK. read more

Lots of Upselling, Microwaved food, and bed bug infestation. I am understanding of a certain amount of up selling. Paying for internet, paying for drinks, this is standard and expected. But Norwegian cruise lines takes upselling to a whole new level. EVERYTHING IS A UPSELL. Everything is an additional charge. I bought a bottle of water on the cruise ship and was told that I could not refill it at the gym. They said I had to purchase another bottle of water even though there was a free water fountain in the gym. The food looks nice but its all microwaved. The only dish that isnt microwaved is the steak and thats probably why its the only good tasting item on the menu. The worst thing of all was the bed bugs. On our cruise ship there was 90 reported incidents of bed bugs. I got off the ship 1 week ago and I AM LITERALLY WRITING THIS REVIEW WHILE FURIOUSLY ITCHING MY LEGS. F**K NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINES!!! read more

Sailed to the Bahamas 8/25-9/1 on the Norwegian Gem from NYC Cruise was great! I had a fantastic time - I ate alot, danced alot and enjoyed the excursions. There are some things you should be aware of: - If you use a bank Debit card as a VISA, it wont be allowed. They will make you give them cash to put on your Norwegian card for the service charge and other purchases. Oh, by the way, there is a mandatory $12 Service charge per day. So plan on bringing an extra $84 or bring a real credit card so that it can be charged to your credit card. - Theres a charge to play bingo, a charge to play Deal or No Deal a 3% service charge to play in the casino and the pictures are $19.95 each. Bring EXTRA money!! - Make sure you have a watch! Cell phones are on international time (4 hours ahead) and it gets frustrating counting backwards all the time. Plus, you will need the watch to keep track of what time the events start. - If you think you are going to sleep in, it's not happening! EVERY morning the cruise director or the Captain (or sometimes both) get on the PA system and inform you of the events of the day. Usually, it's around 8:00 am. :( - Its a family cruise. It has a Nickelodeon theme and its catered to kids and teens. The kids monopolized the pool everyday, ALL day! Also, there were children at most of the activities. So if you are single, like I am, you may have a hard time finding adult things to do. - If you like to party and you have a choice of DJ Fly and DJ Son, choose DJ Son! He has a wider range of music to choose from and takes requests. - You really don't need to pay for the excursion choices given by Norwegian. At Nassau and in Florida, my friend and I took the local taxi into town and explored on our own. (Note: If you are going to Atlantis in Nassau, you can also book your excursion at the Atlantis for a lot cheaper than Norwegian offers) read more

Our party of 10 sailed on 11/16-11/25 2013 from the west side of Manhattan. Boarding was fine & my wife and I had chocolate covered strawberries and a $5 bottle of Merlot waiting for us in our stateroom. This was pretty much the end of the good, everything hereafter is a concoction of our imagination and the need to make it the best experience possible or just complain for 9 more days and I'd much rather enjoy the time than to be a pretentious A-HOLE while on vacation. In short let's just say the entertainment staff & activities picked up the slack for the rest of the experience. Food is a major part of our experience, the dining/wait staff could use a refresher from cooking food properly to the timing of the service. Getting water at the table at either of the dine-in restaurants was pretty difficult and came mid meal. Leslie from entertainment is quite a character. Can definitely host a karaoke session. Ali our steward was very good with our room & service overall but could use a refresher in towel animals. The DJ from the white party knows how to spin, or maybe it was a combination of alcohol and our imagination. Oh yes, the boat was on lockdown after at least one passenger was wheelchaired out at one of the ports b/c of a neuro virus. I believe my wife contracted this as she was in pain Wed morning 2 days after we came back. The majority of the male passengers I encountered in the bathroom did not wash afterwards. People who do not understand the importance of cleanliness on a boat do not belong on a boat. Yes it is my business as it affects OUR whole vacation, yes all 10 of my group. So would I take another cruise? Yes but not out of NYC, 2 days at sea each way is way too much. Getting caught in a storm coming back up the Atlantic is not fun either, I know NCL can't control this though so they get a pardon for the weather. Would I take it with Norwegian? Probably not, not even if it were dirt cheap. I'd rather pay more for better service and passengers who are more sanitary. Also shopping at St Maarten is so much cheaper than St Thomas, for everything ! read more

Wanna live like a king/queen for a week? Try the courtyard villa suites on deck 14.... It's noon on a Saturday, and the cavernous check-in hall at the NCL building is crowded with people waiting in many lines to be processed before boarding the ship. You stroll up to the short line reserved for suite/villa passengers (you get glaring stares from people you're walking by). You step up to the agent at the check-in desk. The agent looks tired and harried already. She looks at your tickets, and, suddenly, her demeanor changes; she is smiling and becomes very charming. "Welcome to the Norwegian Gem, Mr. and Mrs. K! Please, follow me." She leaves the check-in desk and personally escorts you to a private waiting room, where you are given champagne and asked to wait for a private escort unto the ship. You are soon whisked away to another entrance, away from the rest of the passengers, unto the ship, up a separate elevator and into the courtyard villa area on deck 14. You are introduced to your butler, who takes you to your HUGE and well-appointed suite. The ship finally "sails" in the late afternoon. You want a good view of the city and the Statue of Liberty without fighting the crowds gathered on all sides of the ship, so you go up to the private ocean view and tanning area on deck 15 and enjoy the unfettered, 360 degree view. Don't want to fight the crowd for the lounge chairs by the pool deck? Enjoy the privacy of the courtyard pool (or go upstairs to the private tanning area). Want to enjoy some cocktails while you're relaxing? Call the butler. Norwegian Gem features many premium level restaurants. It can be difficult to make dinner reservations at these restaurants, but it's no problem for you, as you have a concierge who caters to you exclusively to acquire any reservation you desire, even at the last minute. Case in point: you forget to make arrangements for dinner after a shore excursion, but you're craving for a good rib-eye steak, so you go to Cagney's Steakhouse anyway, but the hostess informs you that there are no reservations left for the evening. You call your concierge (who has given you his private number), and five minutes later, you are seated in a special booth that is reserved for people like you. For breakfast, you can eat at Cagney's instead of having to trudge down to the main dining rooms. Or you, can eat in the courtyard dining area and have your butler bring up the same entrees from Cagney's. Don't want to eat in the courtyard? Ask the butler to bring the food to your room. Forgot to pre-book for those popular shore excursions? No problem: call your favorite concierge again, and, voila, you're booked. Planning on spending the day at the beach on the private NCL island, but don't want to wait in long lines to disembark from the ship? No problem. You get to disembark on the first boat. Are you worried about the hassle and the wait of the disembarkation process when you return to NYC? Don't. Enjoy a nice breakfast at Cagney's then disembark first from the ship. Simple. The cost of this cruise: $12,000. The experience: priceless. read more

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NCL my first cruise 10/28/2013 to 11/06/2013 and last cruise if this is an example of cruising. Had 15 days to kill as my new house digs were not ready, so a friend suggested that I take a 10 day cruise on the Norwegian cruise line ship GEM. Looked perfect, NYC to various stops in the Caribbean and return to NYC. Ten days of "Free Style Cruising." Now I admit I went as a single and now I realize cruising is for groups. The group (passengers) on this ship were big. Now I'm a gentleman of 6'3" at 230 pounds, and my weigh was small compared to many passengers on this ship. I think some people ate their body weight on a daily basis. Now food and room is included in the rate, but there is a charge for "anything" else, a bit cheesy. One man's opinion. Did I enjoy Norwegian Cruise Line, NO. The mattresses in the staterooms are horrible. Had mattress change, but all were bad. I think all the springs are busted. I suffered backaches almost daily. Remember you are on a boat and there is no escape, so are you a prisoner? The hotel Director, Ms. Lim was an understanding person and if it was not for her I would have bailed out earlier. Cruise again on NCL, NO. read more

I have always wanted to go on a cruise and I finally took the plunge, so to speak, this past summer. Now there are pros and cons to cruising and I would be happy to talk to anyone about that off site. Just PM me and we can chat. I did not love everything about the cruising experience but absolutely adored many things too. However, with that said it really is an amazing experience either way that you have to go through at least once in you life. Everything is right there for you to do a stone's throws walk away. Shows, food, million dollar art paintings, whales, frolicking dolphins, pool, music, games, fun, cheesy shows in the nightclub and water, water, ocean water gazing for hours on end! ( AWHHHHHHHHH!) You name it you got it. It is almost too much with all the things you can do. Just be forewarned a lot of the activities are really just ways to get you to buy something. That class titled, "Amazing Free Spa Hour" is really a sales pitch for buying stuff. The port is amazing! Leaving from NY was just thrilling, a dream! That in itself was five stars,worth the entire price of the cruise! An unforgettable moment for me for personal reasons. Sailing right under the Verrrazano bridge so close you could almost reach up and touch it sent shivers through my spine. Glorious. And it was such a beautiful day the day we sailed out of port. Picture postcard perfect. NY port probably will spoil you for any other American port. Long beach just does not seem so appealing anymore. Ha! We chose the Canadian/ Maine cruise because my friend wanted to avoid a beach trip. It was amazing. I love Canada and have always wanted to see Maine. I can't say enough about the wonderful people I met and the places I saw. I was pretty tired by the end of the week though. Cruising is exhausting so beware if you are handicap or elderly. There is a lot of walking. I am not sure why anyone would rate this a one star and say they were inconsiderate. I was totally spoiled on my trip. I could go on and on about the service but let's just say they are there to spoil you and they did. One staff member knew my name day two after only meeting me for two minutes my first day in port. Magic I say? With 4 thousand people I was pretty impressed. It is all about how you treat people. You get what you give. Yes, there are lots of people on the cruise so bring your patience. They are busy. However, with a little proper planning I never had too much of a problem and was treated so amazingly. The staff are from all over the world so the global aspect for me was right up my alley. I hung out with the staff and chatted hours on end with all of them. I also met some fellow AZ Peeps. My Wildcat young friend even was relaxed enough to not throw me over board when I wore my Sun Devil gear. Small world happenings occurring everywhere. If you are not social you might not enjoy a cruise too much. Norwegian has an open cruising concept. This means you book your activities and meal times when you want to go with no reservations needed. You can book reservations which I did not do. You can also upgrade to their fancier meals and restaurants for a fee which I did not do either. While I have no experience with the other more traditional type of cruising where you have to have set table times, I think open cruising works out better for me and my personality. This would be a preference thing. For me, I loved being able to eat when and where I wanted off schedule. I will try a traditional the next time so I can compare and contrast the two. I have friends who swear by both and won't budge in their opinions Ha! The shows, and art gallery where my favorite things to do on board. The art auctions are crazy great! I learned a lot about art and saw some magnificent pieces. Collectors can get great deals on cruises. I even bought a print. ( A cheap one mind you ) So in a nutshell, the Gem price is reasonable for what you get, and there is a lot of fun, food and drink. I did want to mention one of the negatives is the food. If you are a foodie you might think the food is not that great. I kept hearing how great cruise food was for years and years. I was looking forward to eating all that great stuff and I was really disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high. It was not awful, pretty good but nothing I had stood out as excellent except maybe one or two meals. ( with exception to the service of course. Service was always stellar) if you do go on the Gem avoid the cafeteria and eat at the sit down restaurants instead. With that said, the cafe was good for late night tea, ice cream or pizza. You might even consider paying the upgrade to eat at their fancier places. This I heard was very good. Happy sailing. read more