Norwegian Gem Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,589 reviews

Great itinerary, great entertainment, marginal food

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Norwegian Gem
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moosegrin
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jan 2019
Cabin: Obstructed Oceanview

This was our first cruise with NCL and chose this cruise due to the 11 ports included in this daylight Panama Canal transit. The ports were all great and enjoyable. The spacing of sea days and ports was excellent. 3 days of ports, 1 sea day, 3 days of ports, 1 sea day, etc.

Embarkation was smooth, with the normal delays. Disembarkation was a disaster, stood in line for more than 90 minutes after our purple 2 code was called. Then received extremely rude and poor transfer service from the NCL contracted bus line. Bus driver intentionally dropped off half the passengers at the wrong terminal.

Ship: In good shape, and common areas were clean and constantly cleaned

Cabin Review

Obstructed Oceanview

Cabin OK

Cabin has a waist high window, and looks out over a lifeboat ( not much obstruction, the lifeboat blocks your view down to the deck). Also it is oriented fore and aft, unusual, but actually quite comfortable. The entry to the room feels roomier as you don't have the typical constriction between closets and bathroom .

Port Reviews

Puerto Quetzal (Antigua)

We took the ship provided Antigua on your Own. The bus was modern and the ride comfortable. The 5 hours in Antigua were enough to walk about and see the highlights. This is a beautiful city, and views from the city of the surrounding volcanoes are amazing.. Antigua was one of the highlights of the cruise.

Corinto

We took the old Leon and colonial Leon excursion provided by NCL. The old capital site is interesting and could be quite an amazing spot, but it really needs more interpretation. The church is Leon is only interesting for the roof walk, so if you go, spend your time on the roof.

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