Semi-Rant re 'scary' reviews

[JEDIKNIGHT]

All hospitality businesses will have imperfections. Even the lux ships and hotels will have their flaws. I'm certain not one to say "rah rah rah" for my line/hotel of choice to the point of being blind to problems, but I fully understand imperfection, for I see it in my mirror every day. :confused:

 

I'm close to booking 2 Courtyard suites for myself and in-laws for their 1st and possibly only cruise. But SOME of the reviews scare me.

 

Yes, food is subjective. If someone says "too much cheese on the pizza" or "hash browns not well done enough", that's opinion. But it seems that I'm seeing more than a few comments like "cold food". "Unedible" "Always out of burgers", or "same leftovers repackaged daily in the buffet" type of comments.

 

Then I see superlatives praising the food.

 

Help. All I want to do is provide a quality experience for in-laws. Don't need gourmet stuff. Just hoping to heck that I can expect cold dishes served cold, hot good hot, and with service that is somewhat efficient and friendly.

 

Maybe I'm suffereing from "too much information" due to reading so many reviews.

 

Anyone been on Gem recently? Care to comment on food and service?

 

Thank you

[sassycruiser]

Wish I could give an opinion on Gem - sure someone will chime in.

 

I do agree with your comments though. We were on a Celebrity Century transatlantic in May 2008 and had the worst butler and the worst room steward. Certainly didn't ruin our trip - we just thought it was pretty funny we had to ask to have our sheets changed and to get soap. Still a great trip. I posted in my review my comments - along with the disclaimer - still had a great trip. No need to rant - just simple facts. People get a little carried away with things. Life is short - enjoy things!

 

However, we did book with NCL for this years trip!

[BarbCT605]

Well, I look at it this way: during childhood, for some reason, the negatives stick with me more than the positives. I don't know why, and I don't want to know.

 

DH & I were on the Gem and returned last Wednesday. The food and service were fine. Even the casino as looser than last time I sailed.:)

 

DH & I just went to one specialty restaurant, Cagney's. It was fantastic and worth the extra.

 

We had a fabulous time!

 

The only negative I can think of is that a friend of ours ordered "frogs legs" at a main restaurant. Well, it was 1/4 head of lettuce and a "frog leg." One frog leg on this huge plate with lots o' lettuce. I almost busted out laughing.:) But, maybe it's just me.:rolleyes:

 

For some reason, sometimes we find it easier to point out what went wrong, than what went right.

[sha88]

You know, my first cruise I knew nothng, and when I left the ship, and on the way home, I cried that is was over. Just cruise and have a great time.

[jjb415]

You know, my first cruise I knew nothng, and when I left the ship, and on the way home, I cried that is was over. Just cruise and have a great time.

 

Good advice, sometimes I get the impression that everyone is looking for the PERFECT vacation. That only leads to disappointment. That isn't to say, though, that a few laughs can't be had in looking back at some of the IMPERFECTIONS. Happy travels. :)

[*Wink*]

It's sad, but true that the the unbalanced, irrational reviews are the ones that stick with people who've never cruised NCL before.

This is why people stick up for NCL. Not because they're cheerleader's, but because they know better.

Jedi ~ Gem is a great ship that offers great service (from what I've read by many others who've sailed her.) You are taking your in-laws on a wonderful cruise, and in a suite no less. They're blessed to have you in their family.

Trust me, take the ranting reviews with a grain of salt.

[silkhair1]

There are good and bad about every line. Things that bother me will not bother other people. I am pretty easy when it comes to food and if I don't like it I order something else. No problem. A lot of the time I order grilled chicken breast and mashed potatoes for dinner as they always have it and I like it. I would not worry and remember you are on vacation. You can make it or break it. Have fun!!!!!

[Ginny, not Hermione]

If you can wait 2 1/2 weeks I can give you a better idea of the food.

 

I have been on the Norway twice, The Spirit and the Dawn, so far I have been more then happy with the food. I am NOT a buffet type girl so I can't recommend that (I can't bash it either, I just never go)

 

I have eaten at Cagney's and Bistro, liked them both very much. I also like the regular restaurants, the service is good. I like a long meal so having my plate placed in front of me in 10 minutes or less just isn't important, that being said, I have requested that the server put a rush on a meal when I want to make it to a show, and they gave me fast service.

 

I believe that I have been served something that I have been less then thrilled with, but not so bad that it impacted on my entire trip. I'm not sure why posters come on the board a complain about every meal, I have found the food to be generally excellent, occasionally very good, and never awful.

 

Which brings up the question, if I go out to eat and I find fault with the food I call over the waiter and explain ("it's cold", "it's too salty", "I asked for rare") and the waiter fixes it. Why wouldn't the complainers who appear on the board bring the problems to the servers attention when it could be fixed easily?

[jondirk]

Which brings up the question, if I go out to eat and I find fault with the food I call over the waiter and explain ("it's cold", "it's too salty", "I asked for rare") and the waiter fixes it. Why wouldn't the complainers who appear on the board bring the problems to the servers attention when it could be fixed easily?

 

Because they like to complain. Some people like to focus on the negative more than the good. On my last cruise, Dawn Princess to mexico, I woke up to my roommate freaking out that the toilet was overflowing. After I calmed her down, we called maintenance, had a good laugh about it and slept in an extra hour the next morning.

 

"Stuff" happens. And as they say, "Don't sweat the small stuff."

 

It's my vacation and damn it, I'm gonna have fun!

[mactrio]

In all honesty today the food at XXXX restaurant can be rated 5 stars and tomorrow the food might taste like 3 stars. On another day the chef will be off his game and the food might be only 1 star.

My point is, we all differ in our opinion of food. I love, love, LOVE cheap, overcooked hotdogs from the movie theatre. I also like stale popcorn :eek: 90% of people would say they taste like crud or not fit for human consumption. It's all in our own tastebuds, the region we are from, here in the south we season everything, I've found in my travels that up north; they do not season like we do. It doesn't mean that the food from a northern state is horrible; it's just prepared another way than I'm used too.

 

If you want to book the cruise do it for the garden villla or the port destinations; not for the food. I have not sailed on any ship at all with NCL (yet) but I can 100% guarantee you that you will find something on that ship that you like to eat. :D You probably will not like everything that is put on your plate; but at least you'll have a kick a** garden villa or courtyard room and you'll have an awesome time on the ship.

 

Sorry this was sooooo long. Go and enjoy yourself. :)

[JEDIKNIGHT]

Ginny....

 

Thanks! And yes, would LOVE to hear some sort of review on food, service on the GEM in a few weeks. My potential Gem cruise wouldn't be till March. Hope it's a nice trip for you.

 

Also thanks everyone for the responses, keep em coming.

[wahine56]

We were on the Gem last April and had no problem with the food. We ate in both the main dining room and the speciality restaurants, I do favor Cagney's because I love steak. Believe it or not we really enjoyed the buffet, the sandwiches for lunch were great. That being said if you really like the sit down meal, go to Cagney's for breakfast and lunch. The perks with the suites are worth the extra cost. We'll be back on the Gem in 2010. We were in the POH CV and loved it. We did the Gem AB, same layout, but no courtyard, so we did the spa pass for the week. Enjoy your cruise, you'll have a great time.

 

Pat

[angelsx4]

I know what you mean! I used to frequent these boards a lot more than I do now. I'm finding them less and less helpful because I feel like I have to pick through fights, sassy comments, and rude objections. What I find myself doing is asking non-opinion questions, like my question I just posted about noodles in a particular restaurant. I'm sure someone will find cause to try to argue, rme. What I have been doing is researching the ports, excursions, etc... and then Googling them myself, getting away from "opinions". I check out the stars/per how many reviews, scan through the reviews to see if there is a pattern of issues, etc... But, I think there are just too many nit pickers on these boards. We'll be travelling in a group of 11 for our next cruise, and I know even WE don't all travel alike, so I'm not going to take a lot of their opinions for granted. Most of it is attitude too. And if you're grumpy with the service, they will be grumpy too. Pour on the syruppy sweet please's and thank you's, and they will love you and dote on you.

 

Now, we were on the Star 3 years ago and had fairly good food, it wasn't as good as our prior cruise, but I wouldn't call it inedible. The service was good. I do believe they had room to improve considerably in the buffet and restaurant, and from what I've read, I can't wait to get on board! It sounds like they've really done their best to step it up and make their own niche. We met a nice family(from CC) on the Star that was up in the Garden Villa, they were SO nice!!!!! They always had huge smiles on their faces. The family in the other villa were sour pusses and complained. So, I just think it really is 90% attitude. I have seen some very rude people on cruises, not often, but I've seen enough to know, they probably deserved the subpar treatment they got because of their nastiness. Just because they're in hospitality does not mean they should be treated like morons. No one should, and the cruisers that do treat the staff like that look like idiots.

 

You'll have a great time!

[Markanddonna]

I agree that it is hard to sort out fact from opinion/fiction. I have been reading reviews of the Pearl and saw that it was a "prison ship", one negative person just described himself as affluent (I can't identify with that) and another woman loved the whole experience but rated the ship a "one shell". Huh? So, I look for hints of a person's personality and try to get a sense of them before I pay attention to their opinion.

[caspmorn]

While I haven't been on Gem, I was on two sister ships last year.. I was on Pearl for 16 days, and Jewel for 5 days. I found them to be similary and equally well run. Let me address food. I do not like buffete food in general, but on both ships, I found the buffet food excellent. Food was always warm, and the variety was excellent. I expecially liked the asian (especially Indian) food. I found that all of the food had good flavor and was well prepared.

 

As far as waiting for burgers, I experienced this as well. This is one of the reasons that the buffet food is good. Food doesn't sit on the buffet long. This is why you may need to wait a minute or two for a burger.

 

I did eat mostly in the specialty restaurants, because I wanted to stay away from crowds. The xervice was excellent with a few minot exceptions. The regular restaruants were good as well.

[newmexicoNita]

All hospitality businesses will have imperfections. Even the lux ships and hotels will have their flaws. I'm certain not one to say "rah rah rah" for my line/hotel of choice to the point of being blind to problems, but I fully understand imperfection, for I see it in my mirror every day. :confused:

 

I'm close to booking 2 Courtyard suites for myself and in-laws for their 1st and possibly only cruise. But SOME of the reviews scare me.

 

Yes, food is subjective. If someone says "too much cheese on the pizza" or "hash browns not well done enough", that's opinion. But it seems that I'm seeing more than a few comments like "cold food". "Unedible" "Always out of burgers", or "same leftovers repackaged daily in the buffet" type of comments.

 

Then I see superlatives praising the food.

 

Help. All I want to do is provide a quality experience for in-laws. Don't need gourmet stuff. Just hoping to heck that I can expect cold dishes served cold, hot good hot, and with service that is somewhat efficient and friendly.

 

Maybe I'm suffereing from "too much information" due to reading so many reviews.

 

Anyone been on Gem recently? Care to comment on food and service?

 

Thank you

I think you hit it, too much information;;

 

We cruised the Spirit early Dec, never got cold food I can remember, if they were out of burgers it would have been just before the grill shuts down about 2pm, then you go to the Blue Lagoon, it is a comfort food diner just like at home with good burgers and is opened 23 hours a day.. Food unedible, how can any food,unless it is spoiled be really unedible? We were very satisfied with everything excpet our room steward left a little to be desired.

 

I have never been on a cruise that was really bad or even sorta bad, some better than others, each line has pros and cons. I beleive too many people are looking for something that does not exist in the cruise market anymore...The olden days of cruising are gone, it is a totally different vacation than it was 20 years ago. Some will say things have gone down hill the past 5 years, but 5 years ago people were waying the same.

 

What you get out of life depends on what you put into it and your attitude..

 

Nita

[TOMCAT22]

Hi

We have been on gem and are on jade as i write this.Overall i would say food is ok,not great and not bad.We have paid for some speciality restaurants on the gem and the food quality was definately higher.We are booked in the Jade garden tonight so will be able to comment tomorrow on that experience.

 

Finding NCL seem to charging high prices for everything on board and nothing seems to be free,pool table,shufflebaord etc. heck they are even charging a $3.95 "internet registration fee" the first time you use the internet!!!!! Needless to say i will not be using the ship internet at all this cruise so they have lost over $70 there with their penny pinching.

 

Sorry back to the point of the thread,pay for speciality restuarants and the food will be fine,take a chance on the buffet or main dining rooms and the food will be hit or miss althoug i did have a fantastic beef wellington the other night...yum..yum..:)

[sandytoze]

All hospitality businesses will have imperfections. Even the lux ships and hotels will have their flaws. I'm certain not one to say "rah rah rah" for my line/hotel of choice to the point of being blind to problems, but I fully understand imperfection, for I see it in my mirror every day. :confused:

 

I'm close to booking 2 Courtyard suites for myself and in-laws for their 1st and possibly only cruise. But SOME of the reviews scare me.

 

Yes, food is subjective. If someone says "too much cheese on the pizza" or "hash browns not well done enough", that's opinion. But it seems that I'm seeing more than a few comments like "cold food". "Unedible" "Always out of burgers", or "same leftovers repackaged daily in the buffet" type of comments.

 

Then I see superlatives praising the food.

 

Help. All I want to do is provide a quality experience for in-laws. Don't need gourmet stuff. Just hoping to heck that I can expect cold dishes served cold, hot good hot, and with service that is somewhat efficient and friendly.

 

Maybe I'm suffereing from "too much information" due to reading so many reviews.

 

Anyone been on Gem recently? Care to comment on food and service?

 

Thank you

We loved the Gem. We took her last year to the southern Caribbean and now in March to the Bahamas. We requested and received the same cabin for our March trip.

We are not picky but I can still say we enjoyed the food and never ever a problem with service, except for my son who ordered a soda card (which he will not do this trip).

One of our favorites was when the Garden Cafe did ethnic buffets, such as a German buffet, etc. Also I really enjoyed making cappuchino in any one of the espresso machines in the buffet area, but like I say we are very easy to please! Service in the Grand Pacific was always excellent. Very little wating time, very polite and accomodating, etc. Now I hear the the speciality Italian and Mexican restaurants are pay extra, but when we went last year they were not and again service was flawless and we enjoyed the food.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

All hospitality businesses will have imperfections. Even the lux ships and hotels will have their flaws. I'm certain not one to say "rah rah rah" for my line/hotel of choice to the point of being blind to problems, but I fully understand imperfection, for I see it in my mirror every day. :confused:

 

I'm close to booking 2 Courtyard suites for myself and in-laws for their 1st and possibly only cruise. But SOME of the reviews scare me.

 

Yes, food is subjective. If someone says "too much cheese on the pizza" or "hash browns not well done enough", that's opinion. But it seems that I'm seeing more than a few comments like "cold food". "Unedible" "Always out of burgers", or "same leftovers repackaged daily in the buffet" type of comments.

 

Then I see superlatives praising the food.

 

Help. All I want to do is provide a quality experience for in-laws. Don't need gourmet stuff. Just hoping to heck that I can expect cold dishes served cold, hot good hot, and with service that is somewhat efficient and friendly.

 

Maybe I'm suffereing from "too much information" due to reading so many reviews.

 

Anyone been on Gem recently? Care to comment on food and service?

 

Thank you

 

I have not been on the Gem however the food is great. Okay I have seen better but paid twice the amount for it. And if you really want a as close to perfect experience as possible and will pay for a Courtyard then many of the luxury lines are having discounts right now. You could cruise on them for a small premiuim, however im talking about the lowest category rooms. Nonetheless NCL is a fantastic line, and you just get on that ship and dont worry. If you dont enjoy your self then your defnitly in the minority!

[Whippets]

I recently sailed on the Gem. Our service and food was fine. We ate in a couple of speciality restaurants as well as the main dining rooms and the buffet. Our hot foods were hot, the cold foods were cold. If you did select something that you did not care for, or loved - you could always order again. The only really negative thing I can say about our cruise was that it rained the day we were in Rome, and the cruiselines cannot control the weather. I know in the Courtyard villa your family will be well cared for. Enjoy!

 

We are sailing the Jewel next month, our second time on her. Have also sailed Spirit, Sun, Pearl as well as the Gem.

[MizLizzie]

I was on the Gem this summer and found the food adequate. The main dining room left a lot to be desired, both in service and quality, but I didn't go for the food. A few weeks ago, I had to go on a Carnival ship for a family reunion. I was shocked how good the food was -- but you'll never get me on another Carnival ship again. Just can't take the atmosphere. So, my point is, you choose NCL for a reason -- for me, it was the itinerary, the cabin, and the people.

 

Specifics, IMHO: Cagney's was good -- not great -- and the Asian place was lovely. They gym and the spa were WOW. Our butler was good, our cabin stewards barely adequate. It's always a mixed bag. I would sail the Gem again in a heartbeat. And I love Freestyle.

 

Happy trails,

Lizzie

[arubaaruba]

Good advice, sometimes I get the impression that everyone is looking for the PERFECT vacation. That only leads to disappointment. That isn't to say, though, that a few laughs can't be had in looking back at some of the IMPERFECTIONS. Happy travels. :)

 

This is sooo true. You are the only one that can make a vacation perfect. You have to be the one to enjoy the moment. We have been on numerous cruises. NCL 3 times, DCL, Princess and Carnival. We had a great time on each and every one and they ALL had bad moments but we still had a great time on each. It is what you make it. Just think about what you are getting away from and enjoy the moments!!!! We were on the 2nd SKY sailing out of Miami and so many things were wrong on that sailing BUT we were with both of our teenagers, jammed into an outside cabin sleeping in bunk beds - but - we still laugh until our sides hurt about daddy climbing into the top bunk each night! We had a great day at the private island and taking pictures with the guy in the tux in the water... and snorkiling... and the White Hot Party on deck and buying fake Coach bags in the straw market... and Senor Frogs and it was an awesome vacation because we wanted it to be :)

[newmexicoNita]

Hi

We have been on gem and are on jade as i write this.Overall i would say food is ok,not great and not bad.We have paid for some speciality restaurants on the gem and the food quality was definately higher.We are booked in the Jade garden tonight so will be able to comment tomorrow on that experience.

 

Finding NCL seem to charging high prices for everything on board and nothing seems to be free,pool table,shufflebaord etc. heck they are even charging a $3.95 "internet registration fee" the first time you use the internet!!!!! Needless to say i will not be using the ship internet at all this cruise so they have lost over $70 there with their penny pinching.

 

Sorry back to the point of the thread,pay for speciality restuarants and the food will be fine,take a chance on the buffet or main dining rooms and the food will be hit or miss althoug i did have a fantastic beef wellington the other night...yum..yum..:)

tomcat, that is why we do not use the internet on a ship. If I need to check things out I go to an internet cafe in port. almost all ports have them. All lines are sticking it to the guests for use of the net..

 

Nita

[Hamilton9]

I was on the Gem 1-4-09.

 

I thought the food was very good. I especially was impressed with the buffet. The food was delicious and it was very easy and fast to get your food. Also the sitting area had alot of tables for 2 and larger booths.

 

We usually don't do too many buffet meals but we had to because the wait for dinner every night was about an hour. We had never experienced this on NCL before and were taken by surprise. The only time we could get in right away was at 6. Most times this was too early and we just did the buffet.

[garycarla]

... a friend of ours ordered "frogs legs" at a main restaurant. Well, it was 1/4 head of lettuce and a "frog leg." One frog leg on this huge plate with lots o' lettuce.....

 

Hey!

 

You should not pick on a one legged frog. You do not know how that happened! How cruel.