Review of Western Med on Norwegian Gem June 15, 2008

[travelling mom]

My husband and teenage daughter just returned from our Med cruise departing from Barcelona on the Norwegian Gem. This was our 3rd cruise with NCL and we just love Freestyle Cruising.

I would like to thank everyone for all your advice and information. It was invaluable. Sorry for the delay in posting the review.

 

We had booked our flight to arrive in Barcelona on the day of the cruise. Luckily, we were not delayed. We met a couple who missed the ship and had to embark in Malta. We arrived at Barcelona airport on a Sunday around 11:10 am and collected our luggage. We exited Terminal A and made our way to the taxi line. The airport was not very busy so we were able to get a taxi right away. The majority of taxi drivers do not speak any English, so on the advice of another poster, I had printed the port name and cruise line on a piece of paper and gave it to the driver. The drive from the airport to the port took approximately 20 minutes and the cost was a total of 31 Euros (22 Euros for the taxi ride and 9.20 for luggage and people surcharge). The porters took our luggage outside the cruise terminal. As soon as you enter the building, you have to go through security. After that you are directed to the check in area. The Latitude Members check in was at the far end of the terminal. We found the regular line for non members to be much shorter than the Latitudes line. After checking in, you pass by a few shops, one selling gifts, two shops selling wine and liquor. They also sold soda at a cost of 1.50 Euros per can or a package of 6 sodas for 6 Euros. After passing the shops, you go up an escalator and get your picture taken. When you board the ship, you are asked to sanitize your hands (during the entire cruise, you will be asked to sanitize your hands a lot!) and then given a glass of champagne. We were told that rooms would not ready until 2:00 pm. We decided to head to the Grand Pacific dining room for nice leisurely lunch. After lunch we explored the ship’s fitness center and spa. Our luggage was delivered around 3:00 pm and the Life boat drill was held at 5:00 pm.

 

In Malta, as you exit the ship, cross the little bridge and there are taxi’s waiting. You can request a 2 or 3 hour tour. Prices range from 48 Euros for a 2 hour tour which takes you to Mdina and Ta’ Quai Crafts Village. A 3 hour tour will also take you to the Mosta Dome and the cost was 60 Euros. We opted for the 2 hour tour. We found that we were rushed. At each stop, the driver would tell you to be back by a certain time. We then visited St. John’s Co-Cathedral on our own and walked around the centre of town and then walked back to the ship.

 

In Naples, we joined the ship’s tour of ‘Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii’. We visited the Cameo factory first and then spent a little over an hour in Pompeii which is only a short walk away. We got back on the bus for the hour drive to Sorrento. Our excursion included lunch which consisted of a 3 course meal at a local restaurant. After lunch we walked to Marina Piccola to catch the jet foil to the island of Capri. There was a lot of people waiting to take the funicular up to the Piazzetta, we were then given about an hour to explore on our own and then boarded another jet foil for our trip back to the Naples dock. Some tour groups did the reverse itinerary, Capri first and Pompeii last. We're glad we did Pompeii first as it was very hot even at 9:30 am.

 

In Rome, we hired Romeinlimo for the day. Francesco was our driver and he was waiting for us as we got off the ship. He provided water for us and we headed to Rome. He called ahead for tickets to the Colosseum, Duman had the tickets ready for us at the Palatine Hill location. Francesco told us when to be back at the meeting spot and we went to explore the Colosseum and Palatine Hill on our own. We were able to stop and take pictures at Circus Maximus, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Victor Emmanuel Monument (Wedding cake monument). We had 30 minutes at the Pantheon and had a quick pizza and gelato lunch. He was always waiting for us at a pre-determined meeting place. I wanted to do some shopping, but we had 30 minutes which allowed us to walk down Via Condotti. In the afternoon, we met our guide Julia, and she took us around the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s. We did not have to wait in line . I would really suggest getting a guide, they have a wealth of information and makes your visit really interesting. My teenage daughter was captivated and she was so amused at Julia’s facial expressions and hand gestures. We had some time to purchase some souvenirs and mail some postcards from the Vatican. They will be postmarked from the Vatican! A nice inexpensive souvenir. We then met up with Francesco and he drove us back to the port. We arrive at 5:30, with plenty of time to spare. Overall, we had a great day with Francesco and we can’t recommend this company enough.

 

In Florence, we hired Tuscany by Taxi for the day. Piero were waiting for us at the dock and first drove us to the Piazzale Michelangelo to get a panoramic view of the City. The tour buses started to arrive just when we were leaving. We then went to Santa Croce Church and then to the Accademia where they reserved 3 tickets for us. At each location, we were able to spend as much time as we wanted as Piero was at our disposal the entire day. He then dropped us off near the Duomo and gave us a couple of hours to walk around and to have lunch. At 2:30 pm we headed to Pisa to see the leaning tower. We spend an hour there and then we were back to the ship just after 5:00 pm.

 

In Villefranche, we took the ship’s excursion ‘Nice & Eze’. The tendering process was quick as we all tendered as a group and had priority over other passengers. For passengers not taking the ship’s excursions, you can start lining up at 7:00am to tender, no tender tickets were required.

 

Overall, we had a great time. The ship is beautiful and always kept clean.. We found the food to be good. The Garden Café was always crowded and difficult to find seating. I always saw crew members carrying trays and offering to help carry your plates and find seating for you. They had lobster day on Tuesday in the dining room. There were no special deals for the specialty restaurants for the entire cruise. The internet area was always busy and connection was very slow. The crew in general was quite friendly. Our room steward however was no where to be seen. We never received any towel animals, only when I asked about towel animals did he manage to do 1 animal. One evening, he did not even do the turn down service. There was a variety of shows, a magic show, Second City comedy show was very good and there were also musical/dance shows.

If you have questions, I will try to answer them.

[S&S Cruisers 1983]

Nice Review, thank you.

When you did the Nice and Eze tour, did you have to walk up a lot of steps or was it a slow incline to get to Eze? We are planning for our November cruise and I have a knee that I am not sure can take a steep climb.

Also, did you have time to see much in Nice? We would like to go to the farmers market and the old winding streets with the shops and outdoor eateries.

[travelling mom]

The tour gives you an overview of Nice and shows you some highlights ie. Hotel Negresco, promenade des Anglais etc.

The bus drops you off in Old Nice, you are given an hour of free time to explore. The flower and farmers market is close by.

For Eze, you are also given an hour to explore. You will have to climb a lot of steps to get to the top, and the path is sometimes narrow. The steps are gradual at an incline. There are some shops along the way so you can stop and browse. Near the top, the path forks, we took one path and we ended taking a loop around. We were told that there is a hotel located at the top and that all luggage, food and supplies had to be carried up as there is no elevator.

If you have a bad knee, take care as your climb down will be harder on your knee than going up.

[S&S Cruisers 1983]

Thank you for the information!

We were hoping to have more time in Nice, so we will probably just do it on our own.

[shanghaimm]

Thank you for sharing your experience. do you have the contact info for the tour guide you used?

[kesgold]

Thank you travelling mom for your very enjoyable and informative review.

 

You mentioned that you wrote down the port name for your Barcelona taxi driver - please can you tell me what the port name is? I can't find any mention of it in our NCL documentation.

 

We leave for Barcelona tomorrow morning (woohoo!), and may not have internet access after that, so in case travelling mom doesn't see this in time could anyone who knows the port details please post a reply.

 

Thanks very much.

[travelling mom]

Thank you travelling mom for your very enjoyable and informative review.

 

You mentioned that you wrote down the port name for your Barcelona taxi driver - please can you tell me what the port name is? I can't find any mention of it in our NCL documentation.

 

We leave for Barcelona tomorrow morning (woohoo!), and may not have internet access after that, so in case travelling mom doesn't see this in time could anyone who knows the port details please post a reply.

 

Thanks very much.

 

 

Hope you see this before you go and have a great trip.

 

Barcelona Port Vell

Moll Addossat

Norwegian Cruise Lines

[travelling mom]

Thank you for sharing your experience. do you have the contact info for the tour guide you used?

 

 

Jany from romeinlimo booked the tour guide for us at the Vatican. I had requested Julia to be our guide. Romeinlimo contact information is info@romeinlimo.com

[wdwf]

Hey Travelling Mom! Great info. Can you tell me what kind of gifts were in the shop at the Barcelona port? I am also flying in on the day of the cruise. That shop may be the only opportunity I have to purchase some Barcelona gifts. Thanks!:D

[travelling mom]

Hi wdwf,

 

The shop at the cruise terminal sold some souvenir gift items, ie T-shirts, postcards, magnets. There was not a lot of variety there.

If you are not staying in Barcelona post cruise, I suggest that you pick up souvenirs at the Barcelona airport. After you go through security, there is a wide variety of shops. Check out the duty free shop, it had a great selection on apparel, wine, and Barcelona gifts.

[Courageous]

Thanks sooo much. I'm leaving on 7/27 for the same cruise and will use your info as my guide.

Did you get gelato (sp) anywhere? My niece is all about that.

Caren

[arby810]

Thanks sooo much. I'm leaving on 7/27 for the same cruise and will use your info as my guide.

Did you get gelato (sp) anywhere? My niece is all about that.

Caren

 

I was on this same cruise... can't think of anywhere we stopped that didn't have gelato, incl Barcelona. Only thing that was a bummer about our trip was the flights... LOOOOOOOONG. Other than that, we had a blast. Very tiring, but a good tired. Have fun!

[travelling mom]

Thanks sooo much. I'm leaving on 7/27 for the same cruise and will use your info as my guide.

Did you get gelato (sp) anywhere? My niece is all about that.

Caren

 

 

Hi Caren,

 

You can find gelato just about everywhere. If you're in Florence near the Duomo, go to Festival del Gelato. They are located on Via del Corso 75 with neon signs and they have about 50 different flavors to choose from. It was so good that we went there once in the morning and then again in the afternoon. :)

[smoochie]

Thanks so much for the great review. I am on the Gem in Sept.

Can you tell me more about the excursion you took tour of ‘Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii’. I am thinking about taking this one because I really want to see Capri but I was also thinking about the Sorrento, Positano,and pompeii tour. Any other details on your excursion would be great. How was the restaurant they took you to? Was there a nice view? In Capri were you able to take the funicular to the top? Do you go to AnaCapri also?

Just curious. Thanks again for the info.

[travelling mom]

Hi Smoochie,

 

We found the ship's excursion to Capri, Sorrento & Pompeii was a bit rushed, but it was enjoyable. We boarded the bus to Pompeii just after 8:00am and arrived at the Cameo factory just before 9:00am. There was a demonstration on how Cameo's were made and you were given about 15 minutes to shop and then it was a short walk to Pompeii. We spent about 90 minutes in Pompeii and then we were back on the bus for our 1 hour drive to Sorrento. We didn't encounter much traffic and arrived just after 12:00pm. The bus dropped us off at 'A. Gargiulo & Jannuzzi' for an inlaid wood demonstration. At 12:45pm, our tour guide took us to Ristorante LA LANTERNA for lunch, which was a short walk away from Piazza Tasso (the main square) It's a small restaurant with a small patio in the front, the tour group was divided into groups of 8 and we were seated inside the restaurant. There was no view at all. They had pitchers of white wine and served a 3 course meal consisting of Cannelloni, Turkey meat with potatoes, a dessert and coffee. We decided to skip coffee and spent about 15 minutes exploring the small streets of Sorrento, I wish we had more time. We then walked to Marina Piccola to catch the jet foil to Capri. It took about 30 minutes to reach Capri. Once there, we then had to wait 15 to 20 minutes in order to take the funicular up to the La Piazzetta. Once at the top, you were given 1 hour to explore. We had no time to go to AnaCapri. We had to wait again to take the funicular down and walk to the pier to catch the jet foil back to Naples. We got back to the ship just after 6:00 pm. Keep in mind that you may get the reverse itinerary, where you visit Capri first and Pompeii last.

 

Hope this helps you decide on which excursion to take and have a great trip.

[smoochie]

Hi Smoochie,

 

We found the ship's excursion to Capri, Sorrento & Pompeii was a bit rushed, but it was enjoyable. We boarded the bus to Pompeii just after 8:00am and arrived at the Cameo factory just before 9:00am. There was a demonstration on how Cameo's were made and you were given about 15 minutes to shop and then it was a short walk to Pompeii. We spent about 90 minutes in Pompeii and then we were back on the bus for our 1 hour drive to Sorrento. We didn't encounter much traffic and arrived just after 12:00pm. The bus dropped us off at 'A. Gargiulo & Jannuzzi' for an inlaid wood demonstration. At 12:45pm, our tour guide took us to Ristorante LA LANTERNA for lunch, which was a short walk away from Piazza Tasso (the main square) It's a small restaurant with a small patio in the front, the tour group was divided into groups of 8 and we were seated inside the restaurant. There was no view at all. They had pitchers of white wine and served a 3 course meal consisting of Cannelloni, Turkey meat with potatoes, a dessert and coffee. We decided to skip coffee and spent about 15 minutes exploring the small streets of Sorrento, I wish we had more time. We then walked to Marina Piccola to catch the jet foil to Capri. It took about 30 minutes to reach Capri. Once there, we then had to wait 15 to 20 minutes in order to take the funicular up to the La Piazzetta. Once at the top, you were given 1 hour to explore. We had no time to go to AnaCapri. We had to wait again to take the funicular down and walk to the pier to catch the jet foil back to Naples. We got back to the ship just after 6:00 pm. Keep in mind that you may get the reverse itinerary, where you visit Capri first and Pompeii last.

 

Hope this helps you decide on which excursion to take and have a great trip.

 

Thanks for the detailed description. It sounds like a nice excursion. It sounds like you really didn't get any time though to see Sorrento except for the time you were there for lunch? How did you enjoy Capri? Where there nice views from the top? I'm sure I will enjoy whichever excurison I pick! Thanks again for the great information!

[travelling mom]

Hi smoochie

 

After the funicular ride, we found Capri to be very relaxing and there were great views from the Piazzetta. Oh I almost forgot, you have a choice of exploring on your own or you could take a tour of the gardens with the tour guide. We just strolled around and had gelato. While at the Piazzetta, the rock singer 'Rod Stewart' walked passed us and then several people ran after him, I guess they wanted to get a picture with him or anautograph.

[jfbbarry]

Thanks for sharing your GEM information, we are traveling in 22 more days. One question- were you able to purchase liquor after security and bring on the ship?

[travelling mom]

Thanks for sharing your GEM information, we are traveling in 22 more days. One question- were you able to purchase liquor after security and bring on the ship?

 

After passing security and checking in, you will pass by some shops selling liquor. After the shops, you are directed to an escalator. As you get off the escalator, you will have to walk a very short distance through glass sliding doors. Just before you go through the doors, there is a NCL employee sitting in the corner, he may ask you whether you are bringing any liquor on board. The reason I say that he might ask you is that he didn't ask us as we were boarding the ship, but I did see him ask another passenger. Just be aware that you might get checked again.

[IamAlyce]

Thank you for all your information, it has been quite helpful as we are going on this same cruise 8/24/08 and I have been reading up as much as possible. There is so much to do on this cruise, I have a feeling we will be exhausted at the end of each day!

I have a question for you which I have been trying to find out, as I have been on other NCL cruises and found the dress onboard to be fairly casual, how did this cruise compare to other cruises that went to places like the Caribbean? Did you find people to be dressed more as you are in meditteranean countries? Or were people on the ship still very casual? Usually we spend more time on the ship as we have more sea days, so we tend to be at the pool, etc, but here as it is so port intensive, I just wondered if noticed people were more "dressy"?

Thanks again for your input!

Elaine

[travelling mom]

Hi Elaine,

 

This cruise was so port intensive, we were exausted after each day. We found most of the passengers to be casually dressed especially on port days. On the one sea day and 1/2 sea days in Malta & Nice, people tend to dress up more. The Grand Pacific dining room is so large that it was mostly empty when we dined there (we like to dine early). The Magenta dining room is small and intimate and we found people dressed up more for the Magenta. Keep in mind that Magenta always seems to be full especially after 7:00 pm. I found the dress on this cruise to be more casual although I did see people in suits and dresses. I did not see anyone wearing a tux or evening gowns, maybe we ate too early!

 

Have a great trip.

[IamAlyce]

Hi Elaine,

 

This cruise was so port intensive, we were exausted after each day. We found most of the passengers to be casually dressed especially on port days. On the one sea day and 1/2 sea days in Malta & Nice, people tend to dress up more. The Grand Pacific dining room is so large that it was mostly empty when we dined there (we like to dine early). The Magenta dining room is small and intimate and we found people dressed up more for the Magenta. Keep in mind that Magenta always seems to be full especially after 7:00 pm. I found the dress on this cruise to be more casual although I did see people in suits and dresses. I did not see anyone wearing a tux or evening gowns, maybe we ate too early!

 

Have a great trip.

 

Thanks so much for the quick answer, we generally eat earlier also, and I think we will probably do so more as we are doing a tour early at each port, so we will be hot, tired and hungry by the time we get back to the ship! We were debating whether we needed to take the formal wear this trip and I think after your answer we will just forego the extra baggage (no pun intended!! lol!!). I am trying to keep things to a minimum as it is such a long flight and we will be changing planes in Amsterdam, we were hoping to just have our carry-on luggage and keep things light!

Glad to hear you liked the Gem, we are really looking forward to this trip.

Elaine

[cynbar]

We were on the June 8th cruise and we didn't bring any formal wear-- although we usually enjoy the dress up nights, we didn't want to carry the extra luggage. And, honestly, we didn't miss it at all. There was so much going on for this cruise that we didn't really feel we had the time to concentrate on getting all dolled up. And we didn't feel out of place at all, on our cruise only a small percentage dressed in formal wear on the optional dress up night.

[travelling mom]

Hi Elaine,

 

We also had to change planes in Amsterdam, but unlike you we all had a full size luggage. Luckily all our luggage arrived in Barcelona. We all felt very hot and dirty after our days in port. Good thing there were laundry rooms onboard:) I know there's one on Deck 10 and I believe theres also one on Deck 5 and maybe Deck 9 . I was able to a couple loads of laundry and that really made a difference. You have to time your visit to the laundry room as it was extremely busy. There are 3 washers and 3 dryers and an iron and ironing board. Some people were actually waiting in the laundry room to use the machine :eek: . But it was so nice to have clean clothing to wear.

 

NCL also had a laundry special where you could stuff as much items into a paper bag. I don't recall the cost, but I can try to find out for you.

[IamAlyce]

Hi Elaine,

 

We also had to change planes in Amsterdam, but unlike you we all had a full size luggage. Luckily all our luggage arrived in Barcelona. We all felt very hot and dirty after our days in port. Good thing there were laundry rooms onboard:) I know there's one on Deck 10 and I believe theres also one on Deck 5 and maybe Deck 9 . I was able to a couple loads of laundry and that really made a difference. You have to time your visit to the laundry room as it was extremely busy. There are 3 washers and 3 dryers and an iron and ironing board. Some people were actually waiting in the laundry room to use the machine :eek: . But it was so nice to have clean clothing to wear.

 

NCL also had a laundry special where you could stuff as much items into a paper bag. I don't recall the cost, but I can try to find out for you.

 

We are on deck 10 so that is good to know that there will be laundry facilities on our floor, although sometimes I just wash a few things out in the sink and then use that laundry special if it is a good price. On our last NCL cruise it was something like $18 for the bag if I remember correctly. My husband is a good stuffer and seems to be able to fit many items in that bag so it has worked well for us. I wish they would offer it a little earlier in the cruise though as it always seems closer to the end, I guess they feel you should take your clothes home clean!!

Elaine