Saturday, May 2, 2009

Norwegian Gem Photo Tour and Commentary


I recently went aboard Norwegian Gem again and as a result, I have taken the Norwegian Gem section of Beyondships in for a refit. I’ve added new photos, including quite a few of the ship underway, and new programs and other material that I obtained onboard. Consequently, the Norwegian Gem profile and photo tour has been updated and expanded.

Norwegian Gem is the newest ship in the NCL fleet. She is 93,000 tons and can carry 2,380 passengers double occupancy. Gem was built in Germany and entered service in 2007. During the winter months, she has been sailing out of New York to the Caribbean. However, she spends her summers in Europe - - this year the Mediterranean.

As the newest ship in the fleet, she has all of the most recent Freestyle Cruising amenities. This includes a multitude of dining venues ranging from a sophisticated French Restaurant to a 24-hour venue that provides hamburgers and light fare. Of course, she has two large main dining rooms but under the Freestyle system, guests only have to make use of them if they want to.

In addition to an array of dining venues, Gem has quite a variety of accommodations. These range from the ultra-luxurious Garden Villas to rather utilitarian interior cabins. The top suites also have access not just to a concierge lounge but to an entire exclusive area on the ship.

When I last was aboard Gem, she had just entered service. I was pleased to see that the intervening time has treated her well. She still looks like a new ship. The only difference that I noticed was that the original Claude Monet masterpiece that was behind the Reception Desk has now been replaced by an original Marc Chagal.

The Norwegian Gem Profile Page, which includes the photos of the ship underway, is at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLGem-Profile.html. The expanded photo tour begins at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLGem-Tour-1.html

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