---

Dear Sir,

I read with interest your write up in the Bermuda Sun in respect of the Norwegian Gem.

My husand and I joined this ship out of New York for a 15 day Mediterranean Cruise which ended in Barcelona. We chose this cruise as it was free style cruising and this sounded good. We are not new to cruising as we have taken several cruises mostly on the Royal Caribbean and Holland America.  

Sit in water

I agree that the Spa on the Gem is fantastic and I enjoyed a special facial but  the charge plus grats with recommended creams (3) totalled $500. I don't think $20 is cheap considering all you get for this, is to sit in water but once you take advantage of the other spa treatments it can cost you quite a few dollars.  

I can't speak about the dining on the Jade but can give you my opinion for dining on the Gem. The advertisement for the free style cruising draws you to the fact that you can dine when and where you wish, this is not the case.

Our first visit to the Magenta restaurant we were told we had to make a reservation. We ended up going to one of the Speciality Restaurants 'Cagneys'  where there is a standard price per person and by the time the wine and a drink plus 18% gratuities is added you are faced with a bill near $100 for a couple.  The next evening we called up to make a reservation and were told we didn't need to and just come along, but when we got there we were told there was a 45 minutes wait.  As the restaurants Magenta and Grand Pacific are non paying there was always hoards of people waiting.

College campus

In all we visited three Speciality restaurants and decided that was it and dined in the Garden Cafe which was like a College Campus Cafeteria.  The food was not appertising and the same each evening. One morning I noticed orange juice was being freshly squeezed but then told it was $3.50 per glass.  After our dining experiences I decided this ship had had enough dollars out of us and declined.  The Internet although advertised as being broadband was very slow and the area it was situated was in a noisy and busy thoroughfare.

We heard many bad comments about the ships activities and everyone said they would be writing with their complaints to Norwegian Cruises. I did send them an e-mail and they gave us a $50 onboard voucher which went in the trash, needless to say we will stick to Royal Caribbean in future. Apparently playing a game of ten pin or deck activities incurred extra costs.  

I trust and hope you enjoy your cruise to Alaska on the Pearl,  I did hear that the Dawn which visits Bermuda is a good ship. The Gem cannot handle the volume of people as it is a mega ship. The crew joined the ship in New York therefore were unfamiliar with the ship and were very negative to the passengers and were not knowledeable in the English language.

Bermudians are world travellers and expect the best therefore in the future we will go with Royal Caribbean.



Marion Scaife[[In-content Ad]]

---