Just off Norwegian Gem NYC cruise to no where

[elvirasnts]

Hi, so I just got off the cruise to nowhere with Norwegian Gem a few hours ago. I had a great time and below is my review.

 

Embarkation: This was a very fast and easy process. We got to the pier around 12:30pm and were on board in about 20 minutes. Passport or Birth Certificate was NOT NEEDED. Drivers license only.

 

Norwegian Gem: The ship itself was beautiful. Very roomy and not to much over powering décor like other cruises I have been on. This was my first time on a NCL cruise and decided to try it out. There are two main dining rooms, Magenta and Grand Pacific and buffet you can eat at. Both dining rooms were open for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. For all meals we ate at Grand Pacific. There are also 6 other specialty restaurants which you pay for to eat at. The food was OK it was not special and I HAVE had better on other cruise lines. Nothing had the WOW factor for the other 3 people I traveled with. NCL needs to step their food game up. Service was also slow to just get your food. I DIDN'T like the who Free-style dining I idea. For dinner the one main dining room the wait was 1/2 hour. So we went to the other dining room and was seated immediately. I personally like to know what time I am eating and go straight to that table without any wait. I also like to have the same servers. But that's just me. There are plenty of monitors around the ship that will tell you who is busy and who is not, so that's what we went by.

 

ROOM: Because the tickets were DIRT cheap, I booked a suite for 44pp. The room was big and had lots of storage space. I definitely choose NCL for rooms over the other cruise lines I have been on. There wasn't however any toiletries that you would normally find on other cruise ships. There was just body wash and shampoo. Beds were comfortable and the room had extra blankets and pillows. The cleanliness of the room was NOT GREAT. Things were dusty like the TV, coffee pot and table but I didn't care. I wasn't spending more then 24 hours on the ship so I really didn't care.

 

This one night cruise is definitely, one BIG party boat. It was fun to get away without the kids and just have some down time. The drinks were 7-10$ and they were tasty.

 

The club on the on board (Bliss Lounge) definitely plays updated music and doesn't kill you with the 52 cha cha slides. This was a BIG plus for me lol. I love the slides but there's only so much I can take.

 

The friendliness of the staff was nothing to praise. They all seemed pissed off. Some of the workers at the casino was VERY rude. We ask her where the ATM was and she didn't know what that meant but yelled at us for that. Its not my fault you don't know what a ATM is sorry.

 

So overall, I will rate this little cruise a 7. I will NOT take a NCL for more then 3 days. Theres just no way.

 

For all those who ask, there is no SURF AND TURF on 1 nighters. I didn't see it on any of the menus. Hope you all enjoy your upcoming cruises. Any questions, let me know! ;)

[SissasMomE]

Hey - I love the cha cha slide!! LOL

 

Glad you had a nice time!

[elvirasnts]

Hey - I love the cha cha slide!! LOL

 

Glad you had a nice time!

 

I do too! just not multiple versions of it lol.

[bradpole]

Hi, so I just got off the cruise to nowhere with Norwegian Gem a few hours ago. I had a great time and below is my review.

 

Embarkation: This was a very fast and easy process. We got to the pier around 12:30pm and were on board in about 20 minutes. Passport or Birth Certificate was NOT NEEDED. Drivers license only.

 

Norwegian Gem: The ship itself was beautiful. Very roomy and not to much over powering décor like other cruises I have been on. This was my first time on a NCL cruise and decided to try it out. There are two main dining rooms, Magenta and Grand Pacific and buffet you can eat at. Both dining rooms were open for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. For all meals we ate at Grand Pacific. There are also 6 other specialty restaurants which you pay for to eat at. The food was OK it was not special and I HAVE had better on other cruise lines. Nothing had the WOW factor for the other 3 people I traveled with. NCL needs to step their food game up. Service was also slow to just get your food. I DIDN'T like the who Free-style dining I idea. For dinner the one main dining room the wait was 1/2 hour. So we went to the other dining room and was seated immediately. I personally like to know what time I am eating and go straight to that table without any wait. I also like to have the same servers. But that's just me. There are plenty of monitors around the ship that will tell you who is busy and who is not, so that's what we went by.

 

ROOM: Because the tickets were DIRT cheap, I booked a suite for 44pp. The room was big and had lots of storage space. I definitely choose NCL for rooms over the other cruise lines I have been on. There wasn't however any toiletries that you would normally find on other cruise ships. There was just body wash and shampoo. Beds were comfortable and the room had extra blankets and pillows. The cleanliness of the room was NOT GREAT. Things were dusty like the TV, coffee pot and table but I didn't care. I wasn't spending more then 24 hours on the ship so I really didn't care.

 

This one night cruise is definitely, one BIG party boat. It was fun to get away without the kids and just have some down time. The drinks were 7-10$ and they were tasty.

 

The club on the on board (Bliss Lounge) definitely plays updated music and doesn't kill you with the 52 cha cha slides. This was a BIG plus for me lol. I love the slides but there's only so much I can take.

 

The friendliness of the staff was nothing to praise. They all seemed pissed off. Some of the workers at the casino was VERY rude. We ask her where the ATM was and she didn't know what that meant but yelled at us for that. Its not my fault you don't know what a ATM is sorry.

 

So overall, I will rate this little cruise a 7. I will NOT take a NCL for more then 3 days. Theres just no way.

 

For all those who ask, there is no SURF AND TURF on 1 nighters. I didn't see it on any of the menus. Hope you all enjoy your upcoming cruises. Any questions, let me know! ;)

 

Welcome home! We took the I night cruise to no where back in November, "good" to hear our interior cabin wasn't dirty and dusty just because it was an interior. :-(

 

Overall we enjoyed our night out, but it did reinforce NCL just isn't a great fit for us.

[Donna_In_India]

It's a shame not to give NCL another chance. We've sailed on both the Epic and Breakaway (our only NCL experiences) and loved them both. The Breakaway is great and Bermuda is beautiful. You have confirmed what I've been afraid of...that I can't go backwards to older/smaller ships.

[JYeagersGrl]

Glad to see it wasn't just us that felt this way. We got off the gem this morning and was unimpressed but couldn't complain at $22 for a balcony. I posted a review earlier. I was quite shocked how many people arrived late but still allowed to board long after the muster drill. I have a photo of two ppl who showed up about 5:30 or slightly later and I believe they still made the ship.

[Love my butler]

Glad to see it wasn't just us that felt this way. We got off the gem this morning and was unimpressed but couldn't complain at $22 for a balcony. I posted a review earlier. I was quite shocked how many people arrived late but still allowed to board long after the muster drill. I have a photo of two ppl who showed up about 5:30 or slightly later and I believe they still made the ship.

 

You paid a lot more than $22/person for the cruise.

[Casino Comp Chick]

Hi, so I just got off the cruise to nowhere with Norwegian Gem a few hours ago. I had a great time and below is my review.

 

Embarkation: This was a very fast and easy process. We got to the pier around 12:30pm and were on board in about 20 minutes. Passport or Birth Certificate was NOT NEEDED. Drivers license only.

 

Norwegian Gem: The ship itself was beautiful. Very roomy and not to much over powering décor like other cruises I have been on. This was my first time on a NCL cruise and decided to try it out. There are two main dining rooms, Magenta and Grand Pacific and buffet you can eat at. Both dining rooms were open for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. For all meals we ate at Grand Pacific. There are also 6 other specialty restaurants which you pay for to eat at. The food was OK it was not special and I HAVE had better on other cruise lines. Nothing had the WOW factor for the other 3 people I traveled with. NCL needs to step their food game up. Service was also slow to just get your food. I DIDN'T like the who Free-style dining I idea. For dinner the one main dining room the wait was 1/2 hour. So we went to the other dining room and was seated immediately. I personally like to know what time I am eating and go straight to that table without any wait. I also like to have the same servers. But that's just me. There are plenty of monitors around the ship that will tell you who is busy and who is not, so that's what we went by.

 

ROOM: Because the tickets were DIRT cheap, I booked a suite for 44pp. The room was big and had lots of storage space. I definitely choose NCL for rooms over the other cruise lines I have been on. There wasn't however any toiletries that you would normally find on other cruise ships. There was just body wash and shampoo. Beds were comfortable and the room had extra blankets and pillows. The cleanliness of the room was NOT GREAT. Things were dusty like the TV, coffee pot and table but I didn't care. I wasn't spending more then 24 hours on the ship so I really didn't care.

 

This one night cruise is definitely, one BIG party boat. It was fun to get away without the kids and just have some down time. The drinks were 7-10$ and they were tasty.

 

The club on the on board (Bliss Lounge) definitely plays updated music and doesn't kill you with the 52 cha cha slides. This was a BIG plus for me lol. I love the slides but there's only so much I can take.

 

The friendliness of the staff was nothing to praise. They all seemed pissed off. Some of the workers at the casino was VERY rude. We ask her where the ATM was and she didn't know what that meant but yelled at us for that. Its not my fault you don't know what a ATM is sorry.

 

So overall, I will rate this little cruise a 7. I will NOT take a NCL for more then 3 days. Theres just no way.

 

For all those who ask, there is no SURF AND TURF on 1 nighters. I didn't see it on any of the menus. Hope you all enjoy your upcoming cruises. Any questions, let me know! ;)

 

Honestly I don't believe you about the casino personnel, I was on the same cruise Friday and I am always greeted by name by most off the staff. A few greeted me with a hug & a kiss and a Happy New Year's greeting. I have always found the casino staff on the Gem to be the friendliest of all the ships I have been on. Perhaps it was your tone/attitude when you asked (or perhaps demanded) to know where the ATM was?

Don't flame me but I saw quite a few people in the casino being rude & demanding when calling the bar servers over, In fact I saw the same bunch of people the next morning (a group of 6) demanding the $12.00 service charges be removed from their bills.

[elvirasnts]

Listen, I am giving my own personal opinion that's all. I when I speak of casino staff, I am talking about the ladies behind the counter. Good for you that your friendly with the staff. I have no need to give anyone an attitude for no reason. I am an adult not a child. I understand there job can be stressful at times.

[elvirasnts]

OH and to be clear, I knew where the ATM was, I was asking if there was another ATM because the ATM in the casino was down. When I ask, do you have another ATM on floor, SHE proceeded to say, NO ATM. Which I said there an ATM in the corner but its down. Is there another one? and she said NO! At that point I said ok and walked away. I figured she didn't understand me. I wasn't going to die if I didn't gamble. That's not my thing. I was just playing those quarter machines that move more quarters in the tray.

[JYeagersGrl]

You paid a lot more than $22/person for the cruise.

 

Once you add in the tax yes more than that but for what we booked and the room we received the per person charge at time of booking was $22 not including tax. It still was way less than getting a hotel room in NYC and going out to a nice dinner and show.

[Derek King]

Going on this in a few months...

 

was the casino packed? were the limits high?

[Love my butler]

Once you add in the tax yes more than that but for what we booked and the room we received the per person charge at time of booking was $22 not including tax. It still was way less than getting a hotel room in NYC and going out to a nice dinner and show.

 

I know exactly what the per person charge was for the basic room. Once you add taxes, port fees, DSC etc it it A LOT more than $22.

[elvirasnts]

Going on this in a few months...

 

was the casino packed? were the limits high?

 

There were alot of people in the casino but you were able to find a seat if you wanted to play the slots. What I found crowded were the tables for blackjack, craps, roulette. I didn't see HIGH limits for me the bets were pretty normal.

[elvirasnts]

I know exactly what the per person charge was for the basic room. Once you add taxes, port fees, DSC etc it it A LOT more than $22.

 

I don't understand what she paid matters to you or anyone.

[mizLORInj]

. . . It still was way less than getting a hotel room in NYC and going out to a nice dinner and show.

 

Absolutely agree--CTN on Gem as of late has been less $ that you'd pay for a night out in NYC with meals, a show and hotel room. For those of us who live in the NYC area, CTN on Gem have been a lot of fun at a very reasonable cost. :)

Edited February 10, 2014 by mizlorinj

[mizLORInj]

Hi, so I just got off the cruise to nowhere with Norwegian Gem a few hours ago. I had a great time and below is my review. . .

 

So overall, I will rate this little cruise a 7. I will NOT take a NCL for more then 3 days. . .

;)

 

I wouldn't dis-count a cruiseline just because of one night on a ship. NCL has been many fun cruises for us--as have other cruiselines.

 

I agree the workers don't put their "all" into service on one nighters. But a CTN is still fuN!

Edited February 10, 2014 by mizlorinj

[Cruzface]

You can not compare a one night booze cruise to a 6+ day cruise. We have done both and while both were fun, they were fun in different ways. The one-nighter is frenetic in its pace. You try to cram so much into that night. The staff knows you are just a hit and run guest so they are not thrilled. That being said, we had some great customer service, and some not so great on the Gem. But that is going to happen on any cruise.

 

I would try a longer cruise before writing off NCL.

[KateQ22003]

You can not compare a one night booze cruise to a 6+ day cruise. We have done both and while both were fun, they were fun in different ways. The one-nighter is frenetic in its pace. You try to cram so much into that night. The staff knows you are just a hit and run guest so they are not thrilled. That being said, we had some great customer service, and some not so great on the Gem. But that is going to happen on any cruise.

 

I would try a longer cruise before writing off NCL.

 

I do get what you are saying, but what does the length of the cruise have to do with the cleanliness of the cabin and the quality of the food?

[Cruzface]

I was focusing more on the poor customer service complaints because that seemed to be her biggest problems. Food is so subjective and cleanliness is easily rectified.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Cruzface

[BritChickBN1]

Thanks for your review. We love the Gem. And we had the surf & turf on the 1 nighter in Novemeber.