Norwegian Gem
Encyclopedia
Norwegian Gem is a Jewel class
Jewel class cruise ship
The Jewel class is a class of cruise ships operated by the Norwegian Cruise Line and was built by Meyer Werft of Germany. The Jewel class became NCL's largest ships, until the construction of Norwegian Epic, at 153,000-GT, in 2009 at STX Europe in St. Nazaire, which is also owned by NCL...

 cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...

 of Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line is a company operating cruise ships, headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. It began operations in 1966 under the name Norwegian Caribbean Line. The company is best known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, which means that there are no set times or...

. She is the last vessel of the Jewel class and was built by the German shipyard, Meyer Werft
Meyer Werft
The Meyer Werft is one of the remaining large German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg. Since 1997, it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group together with Neptun Werft in Rostock.-History:...

.

History

Norwegian Gem was the newest vessel in Norwegian Cruise Line's fleet until the debut of Norwegian Epic in June 2010. Construction began on 7 June 2006 at the Meyer Werft
Meyer Werft
The Meyer Werft is one of the remaining large German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg. Since 1997, it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group together with Neptun Werft in Rostock.-History:...

 Shipyard of Papenburg
Papenburg
Papenburg is a city in the district of Emsland in Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners.-Districts:...

, Germany. She was delivered to NCL on 1 October 2007. NCL promoted the launch of this ship via her own website, "Gem It Girl", which in addition to providing details about the ship, also prompted previous customers' of NCL to submit an entry to be chosen as her godmother.

As with the rest of NCL's fleet, Norwegian Gem utilizes the "Freestyle" cruising concept, which allows guest to dine in any number of restaurants, in casual attire, at times of their own choosing.

Vessel class

Norwegian Gem is the fourth of NCL's Jewel-class. She was preceded by Norwegian Jewel
Norwegian Jewel
Norwegian Jewel is a cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She is the lead vessel of NCL's Jewel class cruise ships and entered service in 2005.-History:...

in 2005, and both Norwegian Jade (originally Pride of Hawaii) and Norwegian Pearl
Norwegian Pearl
Norwegian Pearl is a Jewel class cruise ship of Norwegian Cruise Line, launched in 2006, sailing itineraries primarily around Alaska and the Caribbean.-History:...

in 2006. Each ship has unique amenities, but has a similar exterior and interior design.

Norwegian Gem has a similar exterior appearance to NCL's Dawn-class ships; Norwegian Star
Norwegian Star
Norwegian Star is a Libra-class cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was built in 2001 by Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany.-History:The Norwegian Star entered service at the end of 2001...

, which entered service in 2001, and Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Dawn is a cruise ship that entered service in 2002 and is in operation with Norwegian Cruise Line.-History:The ship entered service at the end of 2002. She was intended to operate with Star Cruises under the name SuperStar Scorpio, but it was decided that she would be delivered to Star's...

, which entered service in 2002. The interior design and amenities, however, are significantly different and merit Norwegian Gem a Jewel-class designation.

Current and future cruises

Norwegian Gem spent her initial season at her home port in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, sailing a variety of cruises to the Bahamas, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, and the Southern Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

. For Summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...

 2008 the ship was based in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 operating 7-night cruises to various Mediterranean destinations. During winter 2009, the vessel was doing a series of 7-day Bahamas/Florida cruises, and then consecutive 1-night cruises. From April 2011 to October 2011, the ship will begin sailing on Sundays on a 7-day cruise from New York City to Bermuda service to replace the slightly smaller Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Dawn is a cruise ship that entered service in 2002 and is in operation with Norwegian Cruise Line.-History:The ship entered service at the end of 2002. She was intended to operate with Star Cruises under the name SuperStar Scorpio, but it was decided that she would be delivered to Star's...

. The Norwegian Gem
Norwegian Gem
Norwegian Gem is a Jewel class cruise ship of Norwegian Cruise Line. She is the last vessel of the Jewel class and was built by the German shipyard, Meyer Werft.-History:...

 will do 9 Day Eastern Caribbean cruise & a few 10 Day Canada/New England cruise to Quebec in New York. Beginning in 2012, the Norwegian Star
Norwegian Star
Norwegian Star is a Libra-class cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was built in 2001 by Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany.-History:The Norwegian Star entered service at the end of 2001...

 will replace her Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

sailings.

External links

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