Norwegian Gem Cruises Reviews

Thursday 24th May 2012

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Norwegian Gem

Another Fantastic Cruise On Norwegian Gem

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Another fantastic cruise on Norwegian Gem

Reviewed By: wren, weymouth on 5th Sep 2010
Cruise Line: NCL Cruises	Times cruised before: 10+
Cruise Ship: Norwegian Gem	Sailed: August, 2010
Destination: Adriatic	Age: 46-55
Cabin: Balcony	Occasion: Birthday

We have just had another fantastic cruise on Norwegian Gem, we stayed one night in Venice beforehand and made our own way to the Cruise Terminal, the hotel quoted 80 Euros for a Water Taxi but we decided to be adventurous and go by Water Bus and the People Mover, this took about 30 minutes and cost 30 euros for 4 of us. I cannot believe how easy it was to use these methods of transport and also a great way of seeing a few more sights of Venice. Embarkation was fairly simple, we had a fantastic lunch in the Grand Pacific dining room rather than go to the Garden Cafe buffet (which was always pretty crowded when we tried to eat there) At two o clock our cabin was ready and was just as we remembered it from last year, a few cutbacks seem to have occurred but only small things like no chocolates at turn down but I never eat them anyway so no problem. Most nights we ate in Grand Pacific where the service and atmosphere was better than Magenta. We ate in the Orchid Garden and Cagney's Steak House which were good value for the extra cost. Last time on this ship we found the Blue Lagoon Restaurant was a good alternative at any meal time but the menu and the service was not great this time so we mainly went to the Great Outdoors buffet for breakfast and lunch, this was very relaxing. We only went to one show which was the Il Divo tribute which I loved never had time for any of the other shows. Went to the Spinnaker Lounge and caught the 70's show which was packed and good fun. We never had any problem getting a sun chair but we did avoid the pool areas and headed for the Quiet Zone. The announcements were not too frequent and only a few about bingo. The ports of call were great, we especially liked Split and Mykonos. Corfu was also lovely, we did not really have enough time in Crete and in Santorini we sat at a bar and watched a very long queue for the Cable Car to the top whilst drinking a very decent white wine however be warned the barman tried to rip us off when we paid the bill. There were a couple of little moans the tendering service in Split and especially Santorini took too long to get everyone ashore. (I suppose it is difficult to see how this could change) The second one was a cruel act of God, we left Venice in a really heavy rainstorm so the atmosphere for our sailaway was damp to say the least but the weather more than made up for it for the rest of the cruise. Bar prices were ok if you stuck to House Wine or Spirits and Beer however the yummy Martinis which I just had to try pushed the bill up somewhat, we were fairly happy with what we spent on board could have economised but why bother it was our holiday. The Casino was a small disappointment on last year and the croupier on the Roulette was rude to me and my Sister in Law because we misunderstood the minimum bet rule but that saved us a lot of money because we cashed our chips and walked away. Disembarkation was very relaxed and we made our own way back to the airport via the People Mover and Bus which cost 3.50 euros each. All in all a fantastic time was had by the four of us, we love the format of FreeStyle Cruising and will probably do it again one day but we love the more traditional cruising too so next time it is going to be Princess
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Comment by Miller, Staffs (05 Sep 10 21:08) about this REVIEW

Pleased to hear that you enjoyed this cruise as we are doing the same itinerary at the beginning of October. Could you please give a few more details about the 'people mover' - where does it go from and to please and how much does it cost? We will be staying in the Mestre area and wander if we could use it? Ive read a few cruise reviews that have not managed to tender in Santorini due to the weather - you seamed to be lucky in that you did see it, I hope we are too! We have cruised before with RCl and Celebrity, we are sailing for the first time with NCL so are a little apprehensive.

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Comment by wren, weymouth (06 Sep 10 19:46) about a COMMENT by Miller (05 Sep 10 21:08)

The people mover goes from Piazalle Roma ( not sure of spelling) this is the main transport hub for Venice, the bus station is here and water bus goes there too it only costs 1 euro each way and literally takes about a minute. As you arrive at P Roma the People mover is on the right hand side, there is a huge sign on the building you won't be able to miss it. When you get off you will see all the ships and it is well sign posted and only a shortish walk. I would suggest that you get a tender ticket as soon as you can the times are in the Freestyle daily. I have cruised with RCI too and I would say that on the whole the experience was similar but no formal nights on NCL. Drink prices were cheaper on NCL. Go with an open mind and I am sure you will enjoy it as much as we did.

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