Norwegian Gem Reviews

Great holiday Only gripe would be no tea and coffee in the stateroom

Enjoyed the cruise as a whole. Great itinerary. The evening shows were OK but not the best I've seen, but the performers were good. Only 4 shows in 11 nights though. Other nights were a comedian or magician. One of the smaller buffet areas I've seen on a ship, but probably the best food I've had from a ship buffet. Plentiful choices for a non red meat eater like me. Had to restrain myself from overdoing the self serve soft serve ice cream! Porthole cabin on deck 4 was fine. Similar in size and layout to most ocean view cabins I've stayed in. Shower a good size with a door, not an annoying curtain. Toilet in a cubicle, could be an issue for very large people, I banged my head on the wall a few times as I sat or stood. I was in 4578. It was quiet save for being next to a 3 berth cabin and the 3 occupants in it didn't seem to know how to speak quietly, or even at a normal level. I did notice a loud hum when walking towards the mid ship lifts and made a mental note to avoid the cabins as you got nearer to the lifts if I ever booked again.

A great Itinerary for this cruise and we enjoyed all the destinations. Embarkment/disembarkment straightforward and well organised. Cabin was small and dull but adequate. Staff efficient and friendly and ship always clean. The MAS package worked well for drinks, speciality dining and $50 dollars off excursions. The food was good and plentiful but menu for MDR was uninspiring and repetitive and service hit or miss sometimes waiting long between courses and coffee not always offered. Bar area and open deck at back of ship was a lovely place to sit and relax and have a drink and bite to eat. Atrium was busy and noisy and it was hard to hear when seeking assistance at Reception or Tour desk. The cocktail bar in the Atrium was great but in the wrong place. Again too noisy there to just be able to sit and chat. The lounge chairs around the ship looked comfortable but weren't - too deep for short people, if you sat back in them your legs couldn't reach the floor and if your legs were on the floor your back ached as support was too far back. The tours we took were good especially in Panama and Costa Rica. One tour operator/guide snuck in an extra visit to a banana plantation and souvenir shop when we would rather have spent the time at the places the tour advertised . Beware the disembarkment tours - do check small print and itinerary. We booked Everglades tour and we expected to be dropped at airport at 3pm. The tour was short and we arrived at the airport by 12. 30 - 9 hours before our flight. Overall though we had a great time and would definitely travel with NCL again if we find an itinerary and price to suit.

Lovely ship, nice size cabins, kept nice and cleaned daily, great food in restaurants and buffet, great atmosphere.

On the whole we enjoyed our time on the Gem. The cabin was fine and the bed comfortable. The juggler was very good and the 1970's night ok. On the whole food was good. The Speciality French bistro was outstanding for both food and ambience. We enjoyed the tours we took from the ship.

This was my tenth cruise handled by Iglu and, as usual, I had a brilliant cruise. Everything went smoothly from the first flight until the end, no real problems. Iglu is the best .

Staff as always on cruises were amazing, lots of places to eat with good choices.

The Gem was just that, an absolute Gem of a ship. We liked the smaller boat as we were able to get to know guests and staff, as we saw the same people about the ship each day. The variety and quality of food and drinks with NCL is fantastic and the food is delicious. The staff and entertainment are amazing. We loved every minute of this cruise.

Staff were all amazing and couldn’t do enough for you.

The Norwegian Gem was a beautiful ship. From the moment we boarded we were made to feel as if nothing was to much trouble. We particularly liked the choice of dinning experiences, Orchid Garden, Cagney's, Le Bistro, both A la carte. The Teppanyaki was cooked in front of us, showing both skill and great humour. We enjoyed early evenings in the Atrium bar finding out about ports of call and listening to live music. We enjoyed some very tasty cocktails in the champagne and whisky bar listening to popular live music. The evening shows were mostly singers who were very good but it would have been nice to have a bit more variety here. The ship show team did a great job with their two shows and these did included some great dancing. All in all a very memorable holiday.