Thoughts on Norwegian Gem

 

The specialty restaurants are great as well and now the Chinese restaurant is complimentary (used to be pay!) and its still good - although they don't have my fave ribs anymore :-)

Food is so subjective. We've eaten at Orchid Garden the last two times on the Gem (most recently last month), and even for free it costs too much. :)

We thought the salad bar and papaya cream dessert at Moderno were terrific. (The meats were dry and tough, just as they were at Cagney's -- same kitchen.)

Le Bistro is a nice place for dinner, but it used to be much better

Teppanyaki is awesome -- fabulous steak and shrimp.

And we enjoyed the dinners we ate in the buffet.

Sounds like a miserable cruiser that we often meet on our cruises. Sorry. :rolleyes:

 

It's up to the OP to decide on the cruise of their choice.

 

We prefer long rides to the 7 day cruises.

We also love our sea days (cruised for 18 nights from Honolulu with only 5 ports). This will also be the end of our holiday after a 5-6 weeks road trip so looking for some relaxation. I have my heart set on St Maarten and St Thomas:)

Just booked the gem for the 3rd time

It was a choice between the Ba or gem

The price about the same but the ba didn't require a flight home

Ba....did it once....and done.....unless I can get a great price to Bermuda and then would only go on the ba for my teen to enjoy the slides

Gem....3 times....and will be booking again I'm sure

YES!! Food is very subjective. We are foodies and enjoy good cooking, and going out to restaurants.

Just recently we were on the Pride of America and dined in the Asian restaurant one evening. We enjoyed what we had, however, the group of people on the next table didn't and complained. Maybe that type of cooking wasn't up their alley.

Sounds like a miserable cruiser that we often meet on our cruises. Sorry. :rolleyes:

 

It's up to the OP to decide on the cruise of their choice.

 

We prefer long rides to the 7 day cruises.

No not a miserable cruiser just some one who knows how it was to how it is now. With udp now all u have is a bunch of drunk people walking around loud ,arrogant ,puking in the pools and hot tubs ,and elevators . One guy pooped in the pool on the gem because he was so drunk .Did u forget those events ?The dummies who can`t figure out how NCL is paying for the drunks to drink are PLAIN dumb . Prices gone up on everything and food gotten real cheap . But your a expert I see.

No not a miserable cruiser just some one who knows how it was to how it is now. With udp now all u have is a bunch of drunk people walking around loud ,arrogant ,puking in the pools and hot tubs ,and elevators . One guy pooped in the pool on the gem because he was so drunk .Did u forget those events ?The dummies who can`t figure out how NCL is paying for the drunks to drink are PLAIN dumb . Prices gone up on everything and food gotten real cheap . But your a expert I see.

Food has gone way down in general dining.

No not a miserable cruiser just some one who knows how it was to how it is now. With udp now all u have is a bunch of drunk people walking around loud ,arrogant ,puking in the pools and hot tubs ,and elevators . One guy pooped in the pool on the gem because he was so drunk .Did u forget those events ?The dummies who can`t figure out how NCL is paying for the drunks to drink are PLAIN dumb . Prices gone up on everything and food gotten real cheap . But your a expert I see.

I think you meant UBP not UDP

The events you speak of can happen on any ship . Yes there will be those that over indulge and have no self control.

Besides that, the gem is a wonderful ship. I sail on her in 9 days and am looking forward to my trip. My take on the ship is that it is more cozy than the larger ones like breakaway. But they all have different positives that you take away with you when you sail on them.

Food is subjective--I have never heard of anyone starving on a cruise. Some may like the food others do not. If you get a meal that is not to your liking you can get something else.

In the end you make your cruise enjoyable or miserable. If you get on a ship with a negative attitude --well then--- you get a crappy cruise.

we love the gem and entertainment and everything the gem has to offer. you will love it

No not a miserable cruiser just some one who knows how it was to how it is now. With udp now all u have is a bunch of drunk people walking around loud ,arrogant ,puking in the pools and hot tubs ,and elevators . One guy pooped in the pool on the gem because he was so drunk .Did u forget those events ?The dummies who can`t figure out how NCL is paying for the drunks to drink are PLAIN dumb . Prices gone up on everything and food gotten real cheap . But your a expert I see.

We've never seen anything close to what you describe on any cruise, with or without drink packages. I agree things are not the same as they were when I first cruised 40 years ago, but cruising is still a good value. I remember paying over $800 per person for a 12 day cruise to Alaska from San Francisco on Princess in the 80's, and we were in an inside cabin.

Just booked the gem for the 3rd time

 

It was a choice between the Ba or gem

 

The price about the same but the ba didn't require a flight home

 

Ba....did it once....and done.....unless I can get a great price to Bermuda and then would only go on the ba for my teen to enjoy the slides

 

Gem....3 times....and will be booking again I'm sure

At the risk of sounding stupid...what's Ba??

Ba=Breakaway (ncl)

We love the Gem! Cruising out of New York City was an amazing experience also! You sail right by the Statue of Liberty. One of my favorite parts about the Gem is the Great Outdoors, I started the day there and ended it there.

The Gem is an amazing ship - I've cruised her about 7 or 8 times...and she's wonderful. Most recently I was on the same 10-day as the poster who is here moaning about everything :rolleyes:...and I can honestly tell you that none of the things he's representing actually happened :cool:. I didn't see anyone drunk or disorderly. No one.

The crew is great, the public spaces are lovely, the entertainment is varied & fun...there's alot to offer. I've eaten at all of the specialty restaurants & I think the food is really good at all of them. And leaving from NY is a real experience! I hope you have a great cruise!

It`s a waste as a cruise unless you just like long boat rides ,foods SO SO selection not great unless you want to PAY EXTRA to go to speciallty rest. ports are so so tortola only 5 hours do yourself a real favor because of distance find a cruise out of florida or san juan for a real cruise to caribean

You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all the people...etc., etc., etc. If you have never been to N.Y., the experience will be well worth the trip. St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and St. Maarten are terrific islands to visit and explore.

While true that the trip down and back are rather long, if the time is available, take advantage of the rest and relaxation.

You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all the people...etc., etc., etc. If you have never been to N.Y., the experience will be well worth the trip. St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and St. Maarten are terrific islands to visit and explore.

 

While true that the trip down and back are rather long, if the time is available, take advantage of the rest and relaxation.

Sea days are just part of the joy of cruising IMHO! Love them!

My wife and I just returned from a trip on the Gem 4/1 and really enjoyed the ship and the seas days. We also enjoyed touring Old San Juan on our own. There's a lot of history and the architecture was wonderful to see.

Leaving from NY, for the first time, was a treat - great to see the Lady as we sailed out.

The staff was great and the ship is very clean.

The only complication were the procedures in place since we were the first cruise after the Noro cases. All the condiments had to come to the table from servers - nothing like salt and pepper were on the table. We got used to it after a day or so.

You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all the people...etc., etc., etc. If you have never been to N.Y., the experience will be well worth the trip. St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and St. Maarten are terrific islands to visit and explore.

 

While true that the trip down and back are rather long, if the time is available, take advantage of the rest and relaxation.

No, never been to N.Y. As I said earlier, we love our sea days and this particular cruise will be to finish off our planned holiday which will consist of 5-6 weeks of driving and fitting as much in as possible in what little time we have so yes, the idea is to have some R&R:)

Given a choice, I will sail the Gem over any ship hands down. My favorite for sure. Sailing on her again on April 30th and can't wait!!

No not a miserable cruiser just some one who knows how it was to how it is now. With udp now all u have is a bunch of drunk people walking around loud ,arrogant ,puking in the pools and hot tubs ,and elevators . One guy pooped in the pool on the gem because he was so drunk .Did u forget those events ?The dummies who can`t figure out how NCL is paying for the drunks to drink are PLAIN dumb . Prices gone up on everything and food gotten real cheap . But your a expert I see.

The minute someone offers a post that is not stroking NCL then you are called miserable SMH

An honest opinion is only valued if it is positive. Once it's negative names and insults are thrown. Very childish and narcissistic

You had your opnion and people should respect it

The actual cruise ship is beautiful. Also I love cruising pass Statue of Liberty. I was born in her shadows and live close Enough to see her at least once a week. But sailing past her never gets old

But the NCL line is mediocre at best. Had some Un pleasent feedback on my 10 day cruise Easter weekend (half day in Tortola ). My first unpleasant cruise ever. I provided feedback on CC and was flamed. So I will keep the feedback to myself.

Hey OP enjoy your cruise out of NYC. But remember. If you cruise out of NJ you will not see the Statue of Liberty. Also if you cruise out of Brooklyn you will not pass her.

The minute someone offers a post that is not stroking NCL then you are called miserable SMH

 

An honest opinion is only valued if it is positive. Once it's negative names and insults are thrown. Very childish and narcissistic

 

You had your opnion and people should respect it

 

The actual cruise ship is beautiful. Also I love cruising pass Statue of Liberty. I was born in her shadows and live close Enough to see her at least once a week. But sailing past her never gets old

 

But the NCL line is mediocre at best. Had some Un pleasent feedback on my 10 day cruise Easter weekend (half day in Tortola ). My first unpleasant cruise ever. I provided feedback on CC and was flamed. So I will keep the feedback to myself.

 

Hey OP enjoy your cruise out of NYC. But remember. If you cruise out of NJ you will not see the Statue of Liberty. Also if you cruise out of Brooklyn you will not pass her.

It is interesting that so many on this site seem to view it as an NCL fan club meeting rather than a forum for airing the good, the bad and the ugly. I keep hoping that NCL gets the word about some of their failings and takes corrective steps --- and seeing objective comments might help. I only care because they come close to owning the NY market - and I prefer to sail from New York.

No, never been to N.Y. As I said earlier, we love our sea days and this particular cruise will be to finish off our planned holiday which will consist of 5-6 weeks of driving and fitting as much in as possible in what little time we have so yes, the idea is to have some R&R:)

We've sailed on the Gem three times, most recently the 10-day itinerary out of NY in February. (If you have specific questions about that itinerary, just ask.) We enjoy sea days very much, and that itinerary is a good mix of sea days and port days (San Juan. St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Tortola).

Since you've never been to NY, and will be spending time there at the end of your trip, it makes little sense to fly to Florida to get on a cruise ship. Also, the sailaway out of Manhattan is one of the most magnificent in the world. And the Gem is a very comfortably sized ship. If the sailing you are considering makes the most sense for you, you should take it.

I hope you have a wonderful time visiting our country!

(photos by turtles06)

The minute someone offers a post that is not stroking NCL then you are called miserable SMH

 

An honest opinion is only valued if it is positive. Once it's negative names and insults are thrown. Very childish and narcissistic

 

You had your opnion and people should respect it

 

The actual cruise ship is beautiful. Also I love cruising pass Statue of Liberty. I was born in her shadows and live close Enough to see her at least once a week. But sailing past her never gets old

 

But the NCL line is mediocre at best. Had some Un pleasent feedback on my 10 day cruise Easter weekend (half day in Tortola ). My first unpleasant cruise ever. I provided feedback on CC and was flamed. So I will keep the feedback to myself.

 

Hey OP enjoy your cruise out of NYC. But remember. If you cruise out of NJ you will not see the Statue of Liberty. Also if you cruise out of Brooklyn you will not pass her.

if you cruise out of Brooklyn you will not pass her.

As a point of clarification, the Red Hook Terminal in Brooklyn is as close to the Statue of Liberty as you can get! As you approach the ship, the Statue is right there at the front of the ship. So you would have ample opportunity to see it close up and take photos of it before the ship leaves Red Hook.

MARAPRINCE

hi we are doing the 10 day in January. Did they do 2 wine tasting classes? We thought since there is so many sea days they might. Also did you notice if they did anything that you would like to share? Also what did you find out about highlights of Tortola? any info is greatly appreciated

TIA

We've sailed on the Gem three times, most recently the 10-day itinerary out of NY in February. (If you have specific questions about that itinerary, just ask.) We enjoy sea days very much, and that itinerary is a good mix of sea days and port days (San Juan. St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Tortola).

 

Since you've never been to NY, and will be spending time there at the end of your trip, it makes little sense to fly to Florida to get on a cruise ship. Also, the sailaway out of Manhattan is one of the most magnificent in the world. And the Gem is a very comfortably sized ship. If the sailing you are considering makes the most sense for you, you should take it.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time visiting our country!

 

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

I kind of have my heart set on sailing out of New York. We're used to sailing out of Sydney Harbour (which is absolutely beautiful) and I hear that there aren't too many harbours in the world that live up to Sydney. I feel NY could be one of those harbours. Also, the itinerary I've worked out, we're finishing our road trip there. I don't have an issue with cruising NCL but I would've liked a couple of dates to choose from.

I live in New York City and I've taken boat rides under the Verrazano bridge and pass the freedom tower. You will love it there. Call NCL for prices, I've dealt with them and they are very good

hi we are doing the 10 day in January. Did they do 2 wine tasting classes? We thought since there is so many sea days they might. Also did you notice if they did anything that you would like to share? Also what did you find out about highlights of Tortola? any info is greatly appreciated

TIA

Sorry, I don't recall anything about wine classes (which doesn't mean there weren't any). There were poolside BBQs on some of the sea days. We love sea days, and we were certainly never bored.

As for Tortola, with the short time there, we opted for NCL's Norman Island Snorkel excursion. It was terrific. A fairly small group and an excellent tour operator. They took us to the Indians, which is a popular snorkel spot, as well as to Norman Island.

(photos by turtles06)