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good cruise by
EILEEN R from POMPTON LAKES NJ Sailing date: Feb 2009Pros: bahamas Cons: free styling free styling was not good,overall cruise was good Ship Qualitykept very clean Dining/Foodfood in main dining was excellent so was the service,bot would not take reservations for 2 people,a wait of 25-45 mins was usual Stateroom Qualityour room was very small,and not designed good. Ship Staff Qualityvery plesent and helpfull Entertainment & Activitiesmusic too loud at times 
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Freeport, Grand Bahama Islandvery friendly people at the shopping areas,toured the town was good.
Nassau, Bahamasgreat went on tour of Atantis
Great Stirrup Cay (Cruiseline Private Island), Bahamasit might have been better if it wasnt so windy,wanted to Parisail.
Port Canaveral, Floridavery bad nothing too do in the small shopping area,would be good to cut that out.
 4 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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  Good Cruise, Not Great by
Charles G. from New York, NY Sailing date: Dec 2008Pros: Big Ship, Friendly Staff Cons: Food wasnt great, same stuff all the time. Overall the cruise was ok. Out of the 4 ports we stopped at (Cape Canaveral, Great Stirup Cay, Nassau and Freeport) only the Great Stirrup Cay was right on the beach. The other locations required taking a cab to the beach. Other then that the food was alright but pretty much the same at all restaurants and buffet, we got sick of it by the 4th day. The drinks were weak and expensive. Also they charge a $10 per person perday service charge. No one ever mentions this untill the last day when you see it on your bill. You cant even dispute it without having to speak to atleast 2 managers. I feel that if you like the room service you should be able to tip the house keeping staff yourself. Dont just charge me a fee for it. Ship Quality
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Freeport, Grand Bahama IslandThis is the worst port we stopped at, there is nothing in the imidiate vicinity. Its an industrial port. The closest beach was 11 miles away and we were in port from 8:00 AM to 1:30 PM. You do the math!!!
Nassau, BahamasRight next to the town, good for shopping and walking around. Nothing else really there.
Great Stirrup Cay (Cruiseline Private Island), BahamasGood beach and good snorkling.
Port Canaveral, FloridaKennedy Space Center is a lot of fun!
8 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Norweigan Gem - Nice trip by
Steve B from Seattle, WA Sailing date: Sep 2008Pros: The ship was clean, fun and had good places to hang out and eat Cons: Excursions were too far from ports on two occasions. Staff seemed unhappy at meal time. Music too loud by pool. Disembarkation nightmare. The ship's check in was smooth and we were on within 30 minutes. Our room (mini suite) was nice and the ship was laid out well with nice public areas. The casino was fun, pool was great. Only a few things could make it better for our experience. Live music by the pool was so loud - no one could hear eachother speak. Some of the speciality restaurants weren't worth it. Le Bistro and Teppenyaki were the exceptions - very good. Disembarkation was a nightmare - reception had no idea on how to explain it to you. We had no checked luggage, so they were struggling with how to catch the bus to the airport. That was a free for all - no bus reservations, busses leaving an hour late. Its too bad that's the way it ended but it did. Not sure why you can't reserve a bus seat. Would make it so much easier. Ship QualityCant complain. The ship was nice and layout was great. Signs well marked too. Dining/FoodOverall pretty good. Wait staff at grand pacfic seemed unhappy and frustrated. Stateroom QualityWe loved our stateroom. Balcony chairs weren't great, but ok Ship Staff QualityThe cruise staff for housekeeping were always happy and positive.
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Civitavecchia (Rome), ItalyWe did Rome on your own. I think it was the best choice. Not too expensive and the guide on our bus told us how to do what we wanted to do within the 6 hours we had & gave us a map. We saw Trevi fountain, walked through the coliseum (must) and saw the Sistine chapel. Great time.
Don't Miss: coliseum walk through! Naples, ItalyCapri, Pompeii and Sorrento - it was exhausting doing it all but well worth it. A lot of fun
Don't Miss: pompeii - amazing artifacts Villefranche-Sur-Mer, FranceBeautiful little town. Bring your bathing suit - the little sand beach in port is right on the Mediterranean. So much fun.
Don't Miss: The beach Valletta, MaltaWine and chesse part of tour were nice. The place itself is not a real nice area. Our tour guide was unhappy most of the time and wasn't fun.
Don't Miss: Vineyard -taste of malta 99 out of 108 people found this review helpful.
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GREAT FAMILY FUN!!! by
Roe C from Malverne, NY Sailing date: Dec 2012Pros: FAMILY DINING Cons: WHITE PARTY A great time was had by all....family fun activities all day long!!! Ship QualityEasy to navigate the ship's layout Dining/FoodEvery restaurant was better than the last..... Stateroom QualityLots of storage areas.... Ship Staff QualityAll very eager to please.... Entertainment & ActivitiesGreat shows.....bingo was entertaining .....loved the cruise director!! Children's ProgramsKids were kept busy all day long 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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it was alot of fun by
nathan f from asheville nc Sailing date: Dec 2012Pros: the friendly staff on the ship Cons: not alot of time to spend in port very nice ship. i like to sail freestyle. you can eat when you want and you can sit any place on the ship that you want. the food was very good also. Ship Quality
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Ship Staff Qualityvery frendly and nice staff. they help anyway they can 3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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A fantastic cruise. by
Sharon P. from Hartford, CT Sailing date: Apr 2012Pros: The sportscourt (kids loved it), bowling alley, food, pool, waterslide and staff. Cons: Some of the staff was not very accomodating....but most were wonderful. This was my 5th cruise, first on NCL and I would definitely return and recommend! Ship QualityVery organized ship and staff. Dining/Food
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Ship Staff QualityOverall. Some staff was not very accommodating when asked for assistance/direction, but most were. Entertainment & ActivitiesLoved the sportscourt and bowling alley and Nickolodeon characters. 5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Good second cruise on Norwegian by
A Traveler from New York Sailing date: Mar 2012Pros: Friendly staff, attention to detail, Nickelodeon activities and staff Cons: Cost of Pictures taken by crew for sale, reservation process for restuarants Norwegian continues to be a great cruise line. This was obvious when we were in port in Nassau right next to carnival ship. Norwegian crew in white uniforms welcoming everyone back to ship with hand towels, music, and Nick characters for kids the entire ime. Carnival ship - nothing - not even a single carnival crew member outside. I'd say that carries throughout. Food was good all around. People have to remember, these are no 5 star restuarants and we heard he typical New Yorker (I'm one too) complaints about food here and there. Room for mprovement for sure, but overall could not complain. NIck character activities and Nick dedicated staff all great. They were as good as any Disney character interaction we have had from handlers (people dedicated to work with characters) to characters themselves.
Primary complaints r we had 7 in party and cannot make reservations for 7 people in some of the cover charge restuarants. So one night we almost did not get seated togethr since we had to book two sets of reservations for everything. Also, staff photographers take some great pictures but they are expensive - $13 a pop. I know this i average and less expensive than places like Disney, but it's just too much. Ship Quality
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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A nice break from reality by
Katie H from Bethlehem, PA Sailing date: Mar 2012Pros: food, staff Cons: itinerary changes The cruise was great in general. We experienced issues with the itinerary changing twice, and we missed out on the stop in great stirrup cay, which was upsetting. Otherwise, time spent on the boat was great when not too rocky! Ship QualityI have never cruised before but this was a great experience! Dining/Food
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Sailed from NYC on the Gem by
A Traveler from Lancaster PA Sailing date: Mar 2012Pros: Cleaniness of the ship, friendly staff This was our first cruise and it did not disappoint. We booked a balcony room which was good because the cabin was not large (couldn't imagine the size of an inside cabin!) but at least we had a deck to get some fresh air without walking all through the ship. the Gem was VERY concerned about germs. They were cleaning all the time. Before entering any restaurant they had a crew member posted with hand sanitizer and they required you "washy-washy". We were happy not to be locked into a dining time. One disappointment was we did not stop at their private island but that was due to weather conditions; obviously something they couldn't control. The captain did a great job and we were happy there weren't announcements all the time and the drink prices weren't as bad as we expected. We would recommend this NYC to Bahamas trip Dining/FoodLoved free style dining. Eat whenever and wherever you want Stateroom QualityOur balcony was small but comfortable and clean Ship Staff QualityVery friendly and helpful. Always smiling and always greeted you when they passed in the hallways or decks Entertainment & Activities
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Crew and staff are so friendly! by
A Traveler from boston Sailing date: May 2011Pros: Freestyle, Great shows, great food. Cons: None!!!! The Norweigan Gem is the best... they have the best crew and staff.. they are top notch.. the food and shows are excellent aswell. this was our second cruis with norwegian and now i wouldn't cruise with anyone else!!! The entire ship was sooo clean and spotless we were soo impresed! Ship Quality
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Stateroom Qualityour stateroom steward was excellent! he took the time everymorning to say hello and ask us how our day was!! i cant say enough!!! Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activitiesthe Gem dancers are great!
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King's Wharf, BermudaTobacco bay had awesome snorkeling my wife and i saw soo many colorfull fish.. Blue orange, and all types...
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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