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Clean Ship, Nice staff, good trip. by
HD from Queens, NY Sailing date: Apr 2011Pros: Clean, friendly, good facilities, well maintained ship Cons: choice of food in off hours they have about 5 restaurants that you have to pay extra to eat at, they call it freestyle cruising but we found it very hard and tiring to keep up with the scheduled hours of available food buffets,.. Ship Quality
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Nassau, Bahamasdon't go on the city tours.. we thought it was a wast of time!
Don't Miss: people think there are a lot of "great" deals at the markets but not so great... and you get more tired than anyting... Great Stirrup Cay (Cruiseline Private Island), Bahamasgreat BBQ done by NCL...
Don't Miss: BBQ! Port Canaveral, Floridaunless it's the off season and a known light day for the park, going to the Universal studios parks is a little crazy because time is very limited.. we were lucky it was a very light Monday and we got to see almost all of the park, it was nice
 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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  Freestyle is the way to go! by
Roy L. from Philadelphia PA Sailing date: Apr 2011Pros: The crew was awesome. Cons: At some point over the past couple years - NCL switched from Coke to Pepsi :( It sounds petty perhaps but for someone who doesn't drink booze, but really enjoys his soda, being stuck for 7 days on a ship who has switched to Pepsi was a bit of a shock. I suppose if that's the worst thing I have to complain about, it was a great cruise. From the captain down' the crew were awesome. Food and facilities were great as well. The entertainment was wonderful. Ship Quality
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Awesome Trip! by
Pam D from Minnesota Sailing date: Mar 2011Pros: Food Cons: weather This was a very big ship. Our first time on NCL. I would love to try their other ships. Ship QualityThe last day many of the activities were in the spinnekaer lounge. With so many people using the facilities on that level they got pretty gross. Dining/FoodThis was our first time "freestyle" cruising. It was nice to have the different restaurants there, but it can get expensive. The two we tried were the Tepenayaki and Caseys steakhouse. Both were excellent! Much needed change from the buffet line. Overall food and service was awesome. Stateroom QualityNice but pretty small. Ship Staff QualityVery friendly Entertainment & ActivitiesSo many activities to choose from
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Nassau, BahamasThe city is a bit run down but fun shopping. Bring cash and change so you can barter the price.
Don't Miss: The Atlantis resort. Expensive but nice. Great Stirrup Cay (Cruiseline Private Island), BahamasFirst real full day of SUN!! Loved it.
Don't Miss: Ocean Port Canaveral, FloridaThis was miserable because it was pouring rain cold We had purchased the island of adventure excursion. This was a good value for the money. We did many of the rides with out lines because of the rain. There were some attractions that were closed due to weather.
Don't Miss: Harry Potter!!!! 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Very good time by
Chris L from Brighton, MI Sailing date: Sep 2010Pros: Destinations Cons: One day of bad weather We really had a good time on the Dubrovnik, Athens, Izmir, Nafplion trip. Good amount of time in port, nice crew. Ship Quality
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Dubrovnik, CroatiaHead to the maritime museum to get up on the city walls for free. We went on the croatia rivera tour and it was great.
Izmir, TurkeyIf you want to get to Ephesus, which was very interesting, we took a guided excursion for this one. It's about an hour away from Izmir, so it'd be tough to get to on your own. We were taken to a Turkish rug making school. But be warned to salesman were VERY pushy.
Piraeus (Athens), GreeceWe didn't need an paid excursion for this. We just walked to the train station (1 euro per person) and took it in to the city then used the simple map that we got from the ship to circle around and see the acropolis and all the little sites along the way. Long day of walking but a ton of fun. There were a ton of cab drivers trying to get us to spend the whole day with them when we got off the boat.
Nafplion (Nauplion), GreeceIf you head southeast from the marina, there is a path that will either take you up to a structure at the top of a cliff or you can go to a nice pebble beach.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Loved this cruise by
A Traveler from Phoenix, AZ Sailing date: Aug 2010Pros: KRKA National Park in Croatia Cons: The crowds on Mykonos and Santorini I really loved this ship. There was always maintenance going on to keep it in tip-top shape; the food was excellent; the cabins were well laid out; the crew was awesome; the whole hand-sanitizer thing was really great. Ship Quality
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Corfu, GreeceToured the "new" castle and had a few beers. Nice stop but nothing exciting.
Iraklion (Heraklion), CreteSeemed like this was just a final shopping opportunity. Nothing much here to speak of.
Mykonos, GreeceCrowded - more shopping but beautiful, once again. Lots of places to eat and drink right on the water.
Santorini, GreeceThe Island itself was beautiful. Skip the winery tour - not worth the money. The cable car line was awful - a full hour from start to finish. But the scenery itself was breathtaking.
Don't Miss: Greek festival, from what I heard from those who went. Split, CroatiaLoved the KRKA National Park excursion. It was such a lovely place. I'm not a shopper so I was really pleased at this outdoor activity.
Don't Miss: Only did KRKA and it was great. 2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Overall a great vacation experience by
Karen C. from Neptune City, NJ Sailing date: Mar 2010Pros: The abundance of activites for all age groups and types, the amenities Cons: Stirrup Cay, NCL double charged us on our credit cards for our on board expenses The Gem is beautiful. Loved our stateroom- pretty, immaculate, thermostat, balcony
Ship QualityCleanliness is paramount here- easy access to everything, decor is upscale. Dining/FoodSpecialty restaurants for a nominal fee, the most $25. offer better quality of food, more experienced service- the best option for the included restaurants would in our opinion, the garden cafe and the buffets as the food is always being cooked up continuously and there is a broad varienty, but very casual. Love the free style option. Stateroom QualityWe loved our room. Period! Ship Staff QualityOur butler was great, our room was always cleaned and stocked, we had to ask for nothing! Entertainment & ActivitiesEveryday, there is a packet full of the next days activities, we could barely keep up.
Entertainment was great, plentiful, we discovered that we love art auctions, something that we had never done before, and we took great day trips. Athol Island and Ron Jons surf school. 3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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What a cruise!!!!!!!! by
Susan P from Providence Rhode Island Sailing date: Jan 2010Pros: the specialty resturants, the pools, the hot tubs , the food selection Cons: the disorginization of walk off debarkation. Great ship, many resturants, helpfull staff, fantastic jewelry buys.
Extremly clean.
The specialty resturants are great offering a variety on the menu.
Spacious hot tubs 4 of them. The pool side lounges are wonderful to strech out and sun or just read a book.
Can't wait to go again. The Gem is truly a Gem. Ship Quality
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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great boat, average locations by
marisa a from philadelphia pa Sailing date: May 2012Pros: the boat was very fun, lots of entertainment, restaurants, large pool deck Cons: cape canaveral florida was a hole to vist. you pay for a bus because the ship is docked in the middle of no where, and once we got off the boat, we werent in much better shape. but of a run down area, not much good shopping, even the beaches were pretty empty. it was a waste of an excursion! the boat was beautiful, our room was nice, it was clean, well kept, great service. however the destinations were not what we anticipated. cape caneveral namely. the ship is docked in the middle of nowhere and so you have to pay to take a bus or cab somehwere else. we took the bus to downtown, and it was awful. very depressing. not many shops or restaurants or people. even the beaches were deserted, all run down hotels...etc. the private island was great, but get off early or you wont have anywhere to sit. nassau was alright, but after you walk around downtown, theres only paradise island which is all owned by the hotel. even going onto the beach costs money. the casino is gross and worn down, we walked around the city instead and tons of touristy shops near the boat.
boat was great though, we had some great meals, comedian was a bit "G" and lame to us, but overall a good cruise, just not as nice as some destinations we have visited on other cruises. Ship Qualitylarge, lots to do Dining/Fooddining room and buffets were both good, steak restaurant which was $50 extra was decent, not amazing Stateroom Qualityclean, well kept, good attention to detail Ship Staff Qualityexcellent service, everyone is overly friendly and helpful Entertainment & Activitiesbetter shows and comedian needed 2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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A decent cruise... by
M B from Norwich, CT Sailing date: Mar 2012Pros: Good entertainment, Cons: ports of call, food service, Interesting layout-- was not always forced to walk through duty-free shops. I didn't feel constantly hassled to purchase goods. Wish I knew before boarding that I could have brought on cases of soda instead of buying soda plan. Looked like they had some interesting, albeit non-essential programs for additional charges, including Deal or No Deal, Bingo and spa-lounge access for the week. I wish I had known about more of it in advance to budget my money and time better for what my desires were on board. Ship QualityBathrooms were typically okay. Never felt any public areas were dirty. Condition was fine. Dining/FoodPoor dessert options. Service was typically subpar - cold personalities and slow. I don't think freestyle cruising is for me - I'd rather sit at a table where the waiter gets to know me and my preferences over the course of my trip. Was not easy to get into secondary dining room (Magenta). Stateroom QualityInterior cabin was smaller than RCI equivalent on Explorer of The Seas. Otherwise average. Service from steward was excellent. Ship Staff QualityA few staff members went above and beyond. Entertainment & ActivitiesI loved having Second City Comedy. The game/interactive shows were enjoyable, but many of them were exactly the same as my experiences with RCI (Not So Newlywed=same questions as Love and Marriage). Lovely art auctions. Trivia was always fun. 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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perfect cruise by
Maurices from Brooklyn NY Sailing date: Jan 2012Pros: free style cruising Cons: kosher food was bad, real bad. Wish you had one kosher restaurant with a reliabble kosher orthodox supervision
( I personally can help give you ideas how to get it)
You will be taking away alot of business from kosherica cruises because they charge three times higher then you do. Ship Quality
Ship Staff QualityYour Executive sous chef Lee Nugas went above and beyond to help us. Entertainment & Activities
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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