Norwegian Gem week of May 4th review

[mrwilliamt]

Just a few days back from my 4th cruise, and 3rd aboard the Norwegian Gem.

My wife, son and I had a fabulous time.

As silver tier members, dont be fooled by what NCL refers to as "speedy check-in". The check-in is speedy, yes, but the embarktion is no different. We drew #21, and had to wait, just the same as cruisers who were cruising with NCL for the first time, and cruisers who were cruising with NCL for the 20th time. It did go by fast, and I really cant complain.

We always head straight for the Grand Pacific, as most people go up to the buffett or the pool deck as soon as they get on. A great meal to kick off the cruise. A light lunch, didn;t want to eat too much, as we had booked Moderno for dinner (more to come on that)

This is the first time for us bringing a child, my son who is 14. The Gem offers a fantastic Teens Club (13-17) in the Leopard Lounge on deck 12. Once the parent signs the child up for the program, which is free, they are banned from entering it again. There is always a crew staff inside, and it's usually the same person, so the kids are familiar with him/her. This guy was named "Turtle" and my son said he was a great dude. They have all kinds of entertainment for the teens, including couches to lounge on and play video games, movies, dancing, snacks, air hockey, foosball, and special activities in and around the ship at various times.

We booked a room with a partial view this time around on deck 8. It was comperable to a balcony sized room, and bigger than an inside stateroom. There was a lifeboat outside the window, and you could see the ocean in peices looking around the lifeboat. The double beds were made into one master bed, and there a fold down bed that came down from the wall and hung over our bed. The room steward would fold it up during the day.

Our room steward memorized our names right away, and we rarely saw him during the week. The room was always made up for us, towel animals in the evening, and ice in our ice buckets all the time. New bathroom towels and beach towels were always waiting for us.

We ate at the main dining room Magenta a few nights for dinner. In the past, the prime rib was always delicious, and I was excited to get it this time around. I was very dissapointed with the cut, it was very very thin and reminded me more of a sliced roast beef.

The other night I had the grilled sirloin and it was fantastic and quite large. Soups that I had there were the tomato basil and the corn tortilla, both were great. My sister in law also swears by their cheddar broccoli bisque.

We ate at Moderno. This is just a meat explosion, and I felt like I was in a weird coma when I was done. Meats were individually very yummy....bacon wrapped chicken breast, seasoned chicken wings, 2 types of sausage, filet mignon, garlic beef, lamb..just to name most of them. The kicker was the brown sugar coated pineapple that was grilled. It was outstanding..I mean..really really good. Also, they treated us to free drinks, a brazilian cocktail with rum and lime...i didn't care for it, but it was free.

My son and I ate at Asian Fusion one evening. Food was delicious. Portions were very very small. I would order double of everything, or order as many different items as you can. We had the bbq pork buns, bbq ribs, lettuce wraps, kung pao chicken and shredded sesame chicken. All were great.

We hit La Cucina on the last night...it was a great value, and very very yummy. I had the tomato mozzarella caprese, the pork and gnocci and a peice of the chicken parm. Fresh hot baked bread with 4 different types of dipping oils ( rosemary, hot pepper, garlic clove and pesto)

The buffett was often crowded and seats were very hard to find unless you went to the end to the Garden Cafe. Nothing special about the buffett for either lunch, breakfast or dinner. Just make sure to leave one person at your table or you WILL lose it.

This is the first time that NCL has offered more than just coffee, tea, water and unsweetened iced tea. They now have lemonade, mango, and strawberry-kiwi. It's a great upgrade.

The food outside on the pool deck was great too...always good for a burger or a dog.

We also had pizza delivered to the room ($5.00 charge) I ordered it with extra sauce and pepporoni. It was a great treat after a long evening of drinking. Well worth the $5.00

Didnt get to try my faborite Le Bistro this time around, but the value for $20 is well worth the try if you have never eaten there. Amazing food, chcoloate fondu, escargo....I really missed going to this place.

Entertainment was great. Jeff Harms the comedian was fantastic..very funny, and entertaining each time we saw him. Even in a cake cook-off against the cruise director and the executive chef. He's a great entertainer.

The acrobatic was was lack-luster....the duo was amaturish at best, and compared to previous similar shows on other trips, this act was not very good.

Second City was fantastic, as always. This bunch worked very well together.

The music shows were entertaining.

Our cruise director was Sinan, and he was by far, the best cruise director that we have ever had. He was fuuny, personable, and we looked forward to seeing what he was going to offer next. His stand-up show was extremely good and funny. Cant say enough about this guy..TOP OF THE LINE! His staff were also very good, and one guy, Dan I believe, has an amazing voice and should sing at the final show...you wont believe what comes out of his lungs and mouth.

This is the second time going on this itinerary. We went to the Alligaor jungle and air boat ride while in Florida. Great value, second time for us doing it, was better than the first time. So many alligators to be seen..and the airboat ride is awesome.

The disembarktion wo Great Stirrup Cay was a disaster as usual. Extremely long lines waiting to get onto the tender boat.....there's got to be a better way!!

The Island was hot!! NCL should really consider renting umbrellas..they would make a killing. Not much shade. Water seemed saltier than usual. The food at the island buffet was great...a couple of shaded building to eat in. We got my son an all day pass for the Hippo water slide...it was worth the $15.

In Nassau, we found a free beach walking a little past Senor Frogs. We rented an umbrella and two beach chairs for about $35. The beach was clean, the water beautiful. Many little cabanas were open to sell local food and drinks and souviners. One of the bar cabanas offered a special of 3 beers and 3 shots for only $10. Yes, only $10. Great deal. The beer was a local Bahama beer called SANDS, it was delicious. The shots were tiny, and contained Bahama Mama punch.

Aboard the ship,I thought the music on the pool deck was quite loud, louder than I remember it being....it made it hard to talk and listen to people who were literally right next to you.

The casino seemed to have pretty loose slot machines...and people were winning big playing blackjack.

Leo was a great acoustic guitar entertainer...and the Gem band, Kenosis were very very good. Check out their acoustic set.

We had a fantastic trip, love the GEM and cant wait to cruise again soon.

[cruiser12]

Thank you nice review --- I was there too and agree, to set a nice tone MDR first day out, we have done this evey time we cruise. This time we had lunch in Cagney's, different but still sets a nice tone to start the cruise.

[russianmom]

Agreed, the band by the pool was good but too loud...

[taneshiaw]

Did you find GSC insanely rocky???

[cruiseclues]

Thank you for your fine review...especially liked descriptions of the food. :):):):)

[mrwilliamt]

It was extremely rocky! We learned from the first time we went, and brought along water shoes, so that helped out a lot.

[mrwilliamt]

Thanks cruiseclues....food is the best part of any cruise :-)

[mrwilliamt]

Can't beat this meal.....

[NayRN]

Thanks for the review! We'll be leaving in 86 days!! :cool:

 

We are booked for the Alligator jungle/airboat ride in Florida...hopefully we will see alligators as well!! ;)

[mrwilliamt]

Don't worry, you WILL see alligators! Obviously in the Alligator Jungle you will see tons and tons, plus a lot of other animals too. But during the airboat ride, we saw at least 20 alligators in the wild, plus a bald eagle, turtles, turkey vultures and bison. Here's a picture of my son holding an alligator.

[NayRN]

Don't worry, you WILL see alligators! Obviously in the Alligator Jungle you will see tons and tons, plus a lot of other animals too. But during the airboat ride, we saw at least 20 alligators in the wild, plus a bald eagle, turtles, turkey vultures and bison. Here's a picture of my son holding an alligator.

 

Fan-tabulous!! The time will be dragging between now and then!!:eek:

[geneology]

Thanks for the review! We'll be leaving in 86 days!! :cool:

 

We are booked for the Alligator jungle/airboat ride in Florida...hopefully we will see alligators as well!! ;)

 

I sooo can not wait!!!!:D Roll call is slow so I might as well talk to you here. lol

[signora]

Thanks for the review! We are sailing on the 9-night itinerary this Xmas but really enjoyed reading about the ship and ditto the food. Have you started planning your next cruise? (lol)

[mrwilliamt]

We are contemplating going on the Breakaway early next year just my wife and I, or the Gem again with our sons. We are waiting to see if NCL offers the "kids sail free" promotion again. If they do, we are all over it!

[travelady65]

Just a few days back from my 4th cruise, and 3rd aboard the Norwegian Gem.

My wife, son and I had a fabulous time.

As silver tier members, dont be fooled by what NCL refers to as "speedy check-in". The check-in is speedy, yes, but the embarktion is no different. We drew #21, and had to wait, just the same as cruisers who were cruising with NCL for the first time, and cruisers who were cruising with NCL for the 20th time. It did go by fast, and I really cant complain.

We always head straight for the Grand Pacific, as most people go up to the buffett or the pool deck as soon as they get on. A great meal to kick off the cruise. A light lunch, didn;t want to eat too much, as we had booked Moderno for dinner (more to come on that)

This is the first time for us bringing a child, my son who is 14. The Gem offers a fantastic Teens Club (13-17) in the Leopard Lounge on deck 12. Once the parent signs the child up for the program, which is free, they are banned from entering it again. There is always a crew staff inside, and it's usually the same person, so the kids are familiar with him/her. This guy was named "Turtle" and my son said he was a great dude. They have all kinds of entertainment for the teens, including couches to lounge on and play video games, movies, dancing, snacks, air hockey, foosball, and special activities in and around the ship at various times.

We booked a room with a partial view this time around on deck 8. It was comperable to a balcony sized room, and bigger than an inside stateroom. There was a lifeboat outside the window, and you could see the ocean in peices looking around the lifeboat. The double beds were made into one master bed, and there a fold down bed that came down from the wall and hung over our bed. The room steward would fold it up during the day.

Our room steward memorized our names right away, and we rarely saw him during the week. The room was always made up for us, towel animals in the evening, and ice in our ice buckets all the time. New bathroom towels and beach towels were always waiting for us.

We ate at the main dining room Magenta a few nights for dinner. In the past, the prime rib was always delicious, and I was excited to get it this time around. I was very dissapointed with the cut, it was very very thin and reminded me more of a sliced roast beef.

The other night I had the grilled sirloin and it was fantastic and quite large. Soups that I had there were the tomato basil and the corn tortilla, both were great. My sister in law also swears by their cheddar broccoli bisque.

We ate at Moderno. This is just a meat explosion, and I felt like I was in a weird coma when I was done. Meats were individually very yummy....bacon wrapped chicken breast, seasoned chicken wings, 2 types of sausage, filet mignon, garlic beef, lamb..just to name most of them. The kicker was the brown sugar coated pineapple that was grilled. It was outstanding..I mean..really really good. Also, they treated us to free drinks, a brazilian cocktail with rum and lime...i didn't care for it, but it was free.

My son and I ate at Asian Fusion one evening. Food was delicious. Portions were very very small. I would order double of everything, or order as many different items as you can. We had the bbq pork buns, bbq ribs, lettuce wraps, kung pao chicken and shredded sesame chicken. All were great.

We hit La Cucina on the last night...it was a great value, and very very yummy. I had the tomato mozzarella caprese, the pork and gnocci and a peice of the chicken parm. Fresh hot baked bread with 4 different types of dipping oils ( rosemary, hot pepper, garlic clove and pesto)

The buffett was often crowded and seats were very hard to find unless you went to the end to the Garden Cafe. Nothing special about the buffett for either lunch, breakfast or dinner. Just make sure to leave one person at your table or you WILL lose it.

This is the first time that NCL has offered more than just coffee, tea, water and unsweetened iced tea. They now have lemonade, mango, and strawberry-kiwi. It's a great upgrade.

The food outside on the pool deck was great too...always good for a burger or a dog.

We also had pizza delivered to the room ($5.00 charge) I ordered it with extra sauce and pepporoni. It was a great treat after a long evening of drinking. Well worth the $5.00

Didnt get to try my faborite Le Bistro this time around, but the value for $20 is well worth the try if you have never eaten there. Amazing food, chcoloate fondu, escargo....I really missed going to this place.

Entertainment was great. Jeff Harms the comedian was fantastic..very funny, and entertaining each time we saw him. Even in a cake cook-off against the cruise director and the executive chef. He's a great entertainer.

The acrobatic was was lack-luster....the duo was amaturish at best, and compared to previous similar shows on other trips, this act was not very good.

Second City was fantastic, as always. This bunch worked very well together.

The music shows were entertaining.

Our cruise director was Sinan, and he was by far, the best cruise director that we have ever had. He was fuuny, personable, and we looked forward to seeing what he was going to offer next. His stand-up show was extremely good and funny. Cant say enough about this guy..TOP OF THE LINE! His staff were also very good, and one guy, Dan I believe, has an amazing voice and should sing at the final show...you wont believe what comes out of his lungs and mouth.

This is the second time going on this itinerary. We went to the Alligaor jungle and air boat ride while in Florida. Great value, second time for us doing it, was better than the first time. So many alligators to be seen..and the airboat ride is awesome.

The disembarktion wo Great Stirrup Cay was a disaster as usual. Extremely long lines waiting to get onto the tender boat.....there's got to be a better way!!

The Island was hot!! NCL should really consider renting umbrellas..they would make a killing. Not much shade. Water seemed saltier than usual. The food at the island buffet was great...a couple of shaded building to eat in. We got my son an all day pass for the Hippo water slide...it was worth the $15.

In Nassau, we found a free beach walking a little past Senor Frogs. We rented an umbrella and two beach chairs for about $35. The beach was clean, the water beautiful. Many little cabanas were open to sell local food and drinks and souviners. One of the bar cabanas offered a special of 3 beers and 3 shots for only $10. Yes, only $10. Great deal. The beer was a local Bahama beer called SANDS, it was delicious. The shots were tiny, and contained Bahama Mama punch.

Aboard the ship,I thought the music on the pool deck was quite loud, louder than I remember it being....it made it hard to talk and listen to people who were literally right next to you.

The casino seemed to have pretty loose slot machines...and people were winning big playing blackjack.

Leo was a great acoustic guitar entertainer...and the Gem band, Kenosis were very very good. Check out their acoustic set.

We had a fantastic trip, love the GEM and cant wait to cruise again soon.

 

I was reading your review on the Norweigian Gem. I will be sailing her in September 6, 2014.... Liked what i read in your review... love reading postive reviews...could you please tell me the prices on all the specialty restaurants aboard the norweigian gem.... I want to go to LeBistro...the brazilian restaurant.....LaCucina.....and the steakhouse...also is there a charge for going to Cagney's Steakhouse for breakfast.... will be staying in a balcony cabin on deck 10 midship....also sailing from New York did you hit any rough seas going down or coming back.... one other thing.... did you get a glimse of how much the alchol packages were.... would very much appreciate it if you can get back to me on this.... :)

[mrwilliamt]

Hi... I believe the specialty restaurants you are interested in are as follows: La Cucina $15, Moderno $20, Cagneys $25, Le Bistro $20. The Asion Fusion is $15 and Teppanayki is $20. I have tried all but Cagneys and Teppanayki. I reccomend each that I have tried. If you go to the Asian restaurant, though great quality, portions are very small. I would order double of everything, it's a common request, and they have no problems with it.

There is a variety of steak served in various restaurants on the Gem, that's why I never spent the money to go to Cagneys. I never went to Teppanayki because they sit you with other people at the table, and I prefer to eat with people I know.

I could swear that Cagneys for breakfast is only for people in suites. Maybe someone can correct me. you can have breakfast in The Grand Pacific or Blue Lagoon as an alternative to the Buffett, all are free.

I have never experienced much rough seas, only during a passing storm.

Drink packages run $49 a day, and everyone in the room has to buy one. If you drink more than 8 or 9 drinks everyday of the cruise, then it's worth it.

[NayRN]

I sooo can not wait!!!!:D Roll call is slow so I might as well talk to you here. lol

 

Thanks for today's chuckle!!!;)

[taneshiaw]

Teppanyaki is $25

Cagneys is only available to suite guests for breakfast and lunch.