4/11-4/18 NCL Gem disappointed VERY LONG

[Bayonnegrl]

We were on this same cruise and loved it! I have only done a couple of 1 night cruises with norwegian before this was my first full length cruise. We were able to buy the $99 spa pass right in the terminal before boarding the ship which we loved. It was a nice quiet area for relaxation which we were def looking for. We got on and heard people in front of us booking the specialty restaurants for the week as well. We asked if we could do this and were told yes, we booked the entire week and no we were not in a suite and only bronze latitude members.

 

Ate at Lebistro 2 times, Cagney's 2 times, Lacucina and Tequila and though all were very good. 1 person had a very fatty steak in cagney's she did not complain but it was obvious she didn't like it because she didnt eat much of it, the waiter was insisting he would bring her another cut of meat saying prime rib served well done isnt too good, she said no thanks she had enough to eat and she was not charged for her meal.

Bought the photo frenzy package for $89 felt the photographers were everywhere, at each port, on the private island, by the pool, in the restaurants every night and portraits every night we got lots of pictures.

 

Service we felt was great. Only complaint, did feel the pushed drinks a bit especially in the night clubs and a couple of the specialty dining rooms. If they offered and you said no thanks that should have been it, but often the would say oh come on, or you really should try it it is good.

 

Enjoyed our ports. We went to universal in florida and it was a very nice day and surprisingly not too crowded. Great stirrup cay def could have been a porblem if you weren't on the 1st couple of tenders. We knew this from reading the boards and were on tender 1 and had no problems and enjoyed a beautiful day. They do need more tenders and the tender process is much slower then other lines. Went to Atlantis in Nassau and that was also a very nice day. Freeport only did a couple shops and went back on the ship. One complaint chair hogs were prob the worse i've ever seen on any cruise. Even the tables and chairs above were taken with towels and noone was there. We were at the pool by 8:30 on freeport day and every chair around was taken and only a couple people were at the pool. We were lucky and someone came and said we could have her chairs because her husband took extra so we had no problem.

Disembarkation was a breeze. All in all i would say it was a great cruise and i would sail norwegian and then gem again in a heartbeat! Any questions feel free to ask.

[Mississippi1]

wow. While reading this review, I really wondered if it was a joke. I've never sailed NCL, and seem to know more about the line than the OP, who has actually sailed with them previously.

[2Cruise4Ever]

$9,000???? Holy Buckets!!! We're a family of 4 and our cruises have NEVER cost that much. And, we always stay in an AB Penthouse! That's some seriously over-priced excursions, purchases, and wow you must have drank a ton! I think the most we ever paid was about $7,000 and that's when we paid for cover charges for my in-laws when we ate at the specialty restaurants and a few drinks here and there.

 

I'm sorry to hear about all the disappointments. Many people have mentioned slow service. But, when I think back to our first couple of cruises, I don't remember service being any faster back then. One dinner we had on the Dawn seemed to be taking longer than usual. I just told the server we had the night before (who was VERY efficient) if she could help out because we had to be somewhere soon (forget where now). And, it seemed like the entire wait staff jumped in. We made it on time.

 

I hope your next cruise experience is better.

[Seago2]

If I take a $3,000 cruise with a child and another adult it can easily run me twice that amount. Airfare, hotel (I never fly in the same day), possible hotel the night after (sometimes I do that if the airfare is cheaper the next day), chicken fingers for the kids:eek:, etc etc etc the day before and after, $150 cruise rewards certificate the OP already said he bought, looks like he had a few overpriced excursions I would never do (having learned my le$$on), alcohol (he refers to bartenders- my OB account is microscopic compared to when we used to drink), spa package (yikes)...

 

So, between the excursions, cruise rewards, alcohol and spa package you're looking at a MINIMUM of a grand. Airfare and hotel- another grand minimum. Buying a bunch of pre-cruise clothes... photos... souvenirs... putting the dog in a kennel... parking...

 

Just sayin'.

 

Nassau? All I do there is go to Starbucks for the wifi.

 

Anyway, OP, sorry the trip was not great. Some cruises are less than wonderful. I must say that I've had excellent cabin service on every cruise I've been on- if you look at my sig you'll see I am not loyal to any line.

 

Hope your next cruise is the best!

[sjbdtz]

This is just our experience and I'm sure alot of people had a great time. Everything was fine until the Teppanyaki event. I can let lots of things slide but the fact the lady was trying to get us for 2 cover charges and wouldn't help in the Teppanyaki situation made me pretty upset as we were looking forward to that restaurant.

 

I joined this site about a month or so ago to read up on the Gem and experiences and was just sharing mine.

 

 

You're sure she wasn't offering to waive the charges for Orchid Garden?

[sjbdtz]

Why should a 1st time suite sailer have more rights over me since I've put more money in your pocket?

 

 

Because you haven't.

 

Suites are where they make their money (that, and on-board spending).

[sjbdtz]

No actually the appointment was only supposed to last 45 minutes. It ended up being twice as long.

 

 

Ok, this I don't get. I'd gladly trade any show, for an extra 45 minutes free in the spa.

[smeyer418]

You know sometimes trips don't click....and BTW you can always turn your future cruise credit back to NCL within 30 days after leaving the ship...you lose your OBC but get $150 back...

[woodley]

It does not really matter what the price of the cruise was or how many people it covered. The poster was just letting people know it was in her opinion not worth the money she paid.

 

I always get annoyed when people dispute, try to find loop holes or try to devalue someone elses post/ opinion.

 

It is her opinion plan and simple, and as such should be valued. You can take from it what you will, but always make up your own mind in the end.

[hat776]

I usually take part in the destination forums on Trip Advisor. We often come across a brand new poster who joins TA and posts a negative review on some hotel or other. He then never answeres any questions or contributes further.

To be honest , in this case, I doubt if the OP is even bothering to read our comments.

On my last trip on the Gem, I was surprised to return to our cabin after an excursion to find it had not been cleaned and the towels were still on the floor. I told my husband not to take it so badly, it was obviously a mistake. There were still a couple of clean towels so we'd make do.

As we left the cabin to go and have a coffee, I noticed I had left "Do not disturb" sign on !!! We met the steward on the way and I mentioned what had happened.

By the time we returned the room had been cleaned and the towels replaced. Very good service I think.

We had a balcony cabin and never found any towel animals but did't think it worth complaining.

It all boils down to attitude - if it's bad you'll find fault in everything. If it's good any shortcomings won't be a big deal.

[suzyed]

ARGH! I tried to edit my post above, but got caught in the interminable "twilight zone" after the board's nightly housekeeping mode. I got the 25 minute freeze up and missed the editing window. In fact, it took 10 darn minutes for this post to actually post! (Anyone else notice the late night difficulties?)

 

 

 

 

So the Freestyle Daily didn't include information on restaurant reservations for suites. I'm sorry, but so what? Why should the cruise line be expected to list all the suite perks in the Freestyle Daily? As for "why" suite cruisers (first time or otherwise) should have more "rights over" you, there's a very simple answer: They have paid for a suite and perks that come with it; NCL has decided that one of those perks is being able to book dining reservations for the entire cruise whenever they want. Does it also upset you that they have the Cagney's breakfast and lunch perk? How about the bottle of bubbly in the suite and the VIP cocktail party? VIP tender tix, disembarkation, etc.? Butler and concierge service?

 

I'm sorry but this complaint is pretty petty, IMO. If you want the suite perks, then book a suite. If you are offended that suite pax get perks other pax don't, then don't book with a cruise line that offers perks to their suite pax.

 

Hope your future cruises are better.

 

beachchick

Well said beachchick.

 

And for what they paid for their cruise fare they could have gotten a suite...

We (2 adults, 0 children)are sailing on the Star to Alaska in a stern AE suite with all the "perks" for $700+ less than they paid for their balcony! :eek: (Nevermind the $500 + $100 OBC we got)

 

Then again, I shop around to get the best deals! ;)

[extremez]

Wow. Didn't think I would stir up this much trouble. I mean the trip wasn't all that bad people. We did manage to have fun and make the best out of everything.

 

As for the $9,000. I'll bump it down to $8,500 if it makes some happier. Let me dig up my credit cards statement for the original ticket purchases. I can tell you my final bill was $3,8??. I DID NOT pay for the 2 other family members cabin. But I did in fact pay for some dinners and drinks for them. I'll admit that most of the excess was purchased spa products. But don't sit there and tell me NCL doesn't get a percentage of that.

 

Two 2 x 2 gobs of fat in the center of the steak is hardly a good marbeled steak.

 

sjbdtz - The appointment for the spa wasn't free. It was a consult and if it had been free I wouldn't have minded because I believe it was dancing crew night. She was only willing to cut half the price off the Orchid Garden which would have been fine but that's not the restaurant we wanted.

 

Mississippi1 - Your comment seems more like a personal attack rather than anything helpful to the topic. And no my thoughts on this cruise weren't a joke.

 

Bayonnegrl - unfortunately they would not allow us to make advanced reservations. Not really that big of a deal, but an annoyance just the same.

 

Beachchick - If suites get priority reservations, that's fine but I didn't read anything about that in FD. I was only stating that because someone had mentioned suites being able to do that and I hadn't heard of it or seen it. I'll remember it for next time though.

 

 

Folks, Let's relax here. I'm not bashing NCL. Just sharing our experience on this cruise. It just wasn't as impressive as our first experience.

 

Hey I got to hold an alligator and swim with some dolphins, laugh at the shows, wade in the blue waters. There was plenty of nice things that did happen over the course of the cruise.

 

I'm sure if we don't go on excursions next time or have a drink every once in a while we could keep it to minimum.

[extremez]

I usually take part in the destination forums on Trip Advisor. We often come across a brand new poster who joins TA and posts a negative review on some hotel or other. He then never answeres any questions or contributes further.

To be honest , in this case, I doubt if the OP is even bothering to read our comments.

 

 

I apologize. Next time I'll remember not to go to bed and stay up all night so I can stay updated on all the replies I get. Forgive me for sleeping for 8 hours.

 

I'll answer as many questions I can about the trip.

I didn't post this to stir up trouble. I was under the impression that not so great experiences could also be shared on this forum.

 

I'm sure we'll use our deposit to sail with NCL again. And then hopefully I can post back with a good positive experience. And now that I found CC.com I can atleast look into ships and their offerings before we decide which one to choose next time.

[suzyed]

Again, I will say I am so sorry your cruise was not all it should have been and didn't compare with your first NCL cruise. I would be upset too, if I had some of the same things happen. We are sailing on the Star again in June, and I am somewhat concerned that it won't live up to the first time which was absolutely wonderful!!

 

As far as not having info on the suite perks in FD...they might have a mutiny if they did that!! :eek: LOL...I would imagine alot of folks would be put out by that. And, I think most folks in the suites either know the perks (esp. if they are on CC boards), or are informed of them when they embark.

 

I hope your next cruise will be more to your satisfaction.

 

_____________________

Susan

[magsis]

$4500 including taxes and surcharges seems like the price the cruise line normally sells balcony cabins without any significant discounts

 

She said she was new at cruising so instead of bashing her for paying full price for her cruise, excursions, and extras maybe people can help her with tips on how to save. I mean, isn't that why we all use this board... to share tips and get tips to better our cruising knowledge and experiences? I hate to see people put down. Not only are you making the person feel bad but then that person is not likely to remain as a CC user. If we alienate new users we miss out on fresh ideas and new experiences.

 

extremez- Some cruises are better than others. If my reservation was cancelled and I wasn't being compensated the way I felt I derserved I'd be ticked off too. Maybe next time will be even better than the first. I'm happy to hear you loved the Spirit. I'm sailing on her in September.

 

I know if your schedule is not flexible and you want a specific cruise or cabin you can easily end up paying close to full price but if you are looking for tips on saving money on the cabin or extras check out the "Saving money on your cruise" or "First time cruisers" sections. I know it took me a few cruises to feel confident booking excursions through local people instead of the ship but with a little research you can not only save quite a bit but get an experience that is more tailored to your interests.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[extremez]

Thank you Magsis.

 

Also for everyone. I'm a he, not a she. And my wife and I are new to cruising and we love it despite what happened on this past cruise. I don't like to fly.

 

We did pay full price for tickets and everything through NCL. I wasn't aware you could get significant deals on cruises. The excursions I figure could be better done privately but I don't want to end up being the next missing tourist, lol. That's why we've stuck to NCL excursions. I'm willing to take safe risks.

 

I will say this though. Our best experience has been Oceans Seven Beach Club in our Tortola visit. It was a fairly private catamaran cruise with some snorkeling and a short visit to the beach club. But that short visit was our most favorite memory of our honeymoon.

[pixiedustdawn]

Again, I will say I am so sorry your cruise was not all it should have been and didn't compare with your first NCL cruise. I would be upset too, if I had some of the same things happen. We are sailing on the Star again in June, and I am somewhat concerned that it won't live up to the first time which was absolutely wonderful!!

 

As far as not having info on the suite perks in FD...they might have a mutiny if they did that!! :eek: LOL...I would imagine alot of folks would be put out by that. And, I think most folks in the suites either know the perks (esp. if they are on CC boards), or are informed of them when they embark.

 

I hope your next cruise will be more to your satisfaction.

 

_____________________

Susan

Like I said in an earlier post I also sailed on this particular Gem sailing. I did have a Romance Suite and thank goodness for these boards I knew exactly what to expect. We loved it.

 

In the past (way in the past) I never understood what I would need a butler and concierge for. I had always told them from the beginning I didn't need them on my cruise. Only because I had no idea what they did. I don't know if I could get used to cruising without them now. I booked another Gem cruise for next Easter in a suite, of course.

 

I think reading these threads and asking questions will get you the knowledge you need to have a wonderful cruise. Also, join your meet and greets, there will be people there that have done many cruises and can help you in many ways.

 

It would be like taking the cruise critic threads with you.

 

Dawn

[extremez]

Folks in "suites" get to make reservations for the entire week. So do your homework.

Most people are comfortable with a slow relaxing dinner so in future tell your waiter that you want to be out by a certain time.

Housekeeping doesn't earn $36 a day so do your homeowrk to see how the tip pool is divided up.

The Gem has been sailing longer than you have stated, again you need to do so homework.

 

Frankly I have read enough of your negative comments and nit picking at every possible thing you could find. I'm surprised you haven't complained about the toilet paper being put on the roller the wrong way.

 

I suggest you cash in your cruise reward and find another cruise line to tear apart.

 

wow, did I hit a nerve or something?

 

Obviously I didn't "do my homework" before sailing this ship. Maybe if I had seen CC.com earlier I could have been better prepared and knew what to expect.

 

Maybe I confused the age of the ship with the time since it's been sailing out of NYC. Not sure.

 

Let me rephrase. Housekeeping didn't earn their part of the $36 daily fee. Does that make it better? The toilet paper was excellent also, I should note.

 

Even after looking through NCL's website through the suites section, I still see nothing about priority reservations and besides that wasn't that big of a deal.

 

Apparently you missed my other posts about actually having a good time even through the little things.

 

Maybe next time you should read the entire topic before jumping straight to the last page to bash. Unless you have any tips, feel free not to reply.

[cruiser12]

Are you sure you were on this cruise? We were on the the Gem the week before. Did not find any of these things you menton on board this ship to be anything less then great. Oh by the way this was my 27 cruise. Loved every minute of it. (Balcony Cabin) Enjoyed the Spirit too.

[boaterette]

To the OP,

 

Thanks for your review. It is a shame some people on here are RUDE. I hope you have great sailings in the future. Reading the ports of call sections is very helpful. You can pick up some great ides about what to do in port.

[noeldog]

I took 2 cruises before I found cc and all the info I have received. I knew nothing about discounts,suite perks or booking excursions privately. People are being rough on a new poster and it seems to me we would be better off trying to help him through the ropes so that his next cruise runs more smoothly.

[suzyed]

Come on guys! Let's not be so harsh! :(

 

On one hand we are giving the OP a hard time for not reading and participating in the CC boards prior to his cruise and then when the OP comes here to post about THEIR cruising experience we give him a hard time about that! :eek:

 

That somehow seems unfair.

[Jdover]

I'll tell you what...for this reason and this reason alone, I stay away from commenting on boards like this. I have been a quiet lurker on cc boards for a long time....years in fact, to get information before I cruise. The amount of bashing that goes on on these boards when someone doesn't like the fact that someones cruise experience isn't as grand as yours have always been, is pure immature and down right dirty. I have been on many cruises on many lines and they have not all been perfect cruises people. Your going to tell me that on every cruise you have taken, there has not been a single thing that has irritated you????? If so, then your the ones lying. It must get exhausting being perfect. I do believe that you make the best of your trip and yes things will go wrong, but if we sugar coat every cruise, we are not doing new people justice here on the boards. And if you all keep bashing and "investigating" peoples comments, who would want to be a part of your cc roll calls and discussion boards in the future. Be helpful, your negativity is no different from the person who wrote the negative review in the first place.........enough said!!!!!!

[Maryfrei]

extremez, it sounds like you had some good, some bad on your cruise. From my reading, mostly good, but the restaurant thing was very upsetting to you.

 

The best advice I can give you is what pixiedustdaw said, for your next cruise join your roll call and attend the Meet and Greet. You can get lots of good advice from people who will be on your cruise with you. For this cruise, we had about 60 people at the Meet. Most of the top officers on the ship attend. They give you their personal phone numbers, and will do anything in their power to insure you have a great cruise and will not need to have negative feelings. I'm sure they would have helped you in your situation.

 

I'm sorry you were dissappointed this time and hope your next NCL experience will be a lot better!:)

[Dale]

This review has turned into what most negative reviews on this board turns into. Trashing the original poster. It seems like a small group has taken it upon themselves to bash, trash and bully. The original poster posted their thoughts and opinions of their cruise. If you like their thoughts and opinions, fine, if not move on.