Norwegian Gem Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,589 reviews

One of the best cruises I have been on.

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Gem
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p.opus
6-10 Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
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Dining
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Fitness & Recreation

Additional details

Sail Date: Oct 2021
View from the thermal spa.
Fantastic dessert at La Bistro
My fiancee standing on our balcony.

My girlfriend and I were dying to get back on the ocean after the Pandemic. We had already had two cruises cancelled and this one was one of those, "let's just put a fall cruise on the books" type arrangements. Little did we know at the time, it would be our first cruise back.

NCL is operating at reduced capacity with fully vaccinated crews and guests. This means, all the cruises right now until the end of the year have no children under the age of 12. Combine this with an already reduced capacity of 60% and this cruise will probably spoil us for all future cruises.

But the highlight of the cruise was the staff. I had picked this occasion to propose to my girlfriend, and the staff were more than eager participants. The guest services representative, Eleana (sp?) set up the whole thing to take place in Moderno, and made sure that a photographer was there to capture the moment.

Cabin Review

With some of our cruise credits from our previously cancelled cruise, we were able to upgrade the cabin to a balcony from inside, and it was well worth the upgrade. Our cabin had a "Privasea" balcony which is a fancy word for "enclosed" balcony. This means that the balcony is not an "open" balcony. This has a couple of advantages and disadvantages. The advantage, is that it is less exposed to the elements. This is especially helpful towards the front of the ship. The enclosed part also provides you with some more privacy as it's harder to "peer into" because you are constantly in "shadow". This is kind of nice if you're not completely clothed.

The disadvantages are that conversations on the balcony tend to "echo" so you have to keep your voice down to keep it from bouncing all around, and they don't offer a completely unobstructed view of the ocean, more of a "framed" view.

Overall, it served it's purpose as a perfect place to enjoy breakfast, and if "privasea" enclosed balconies are less expensive, then so much the better.

The bathroom was nice with a separate doored shower and commode. While not spacious by any means, the shower was more than adequate for me, and I am rather large. The water pressure was sufficient and there was never any shortage of hot water. It was miles better than similar bathrooms on other cruise lines where the shower seems to simply be tucked into a corner with a flimsy curtain and a small little ridge separating you from the rest of the bathroom, leaving water to slosh over the entire bathroom floor. Nice design.

The "couch" hideaway bed really needed a "latch" or something to lock it into place, because as you sat down, you started to pull the bed out, so the couch was of limited use.

The in-room coffee maker was a welcome change for the better for that quick little cup of java. And the room stewards kept the cabin well stocked at all times.

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