I plan to contact NCL as well about the following, but I know they pay attention to this site...and this will be harder for them to ignore.
Let me get to the bad and then I'll cover the really good. The logistics of boarding (the boarding system had apparently crashed) would have been comical if we hadn't made an effort to be there before noon for a 4pm departure. For NCL not to have a paper backup process in place is unacceptable. We were stuck in 2 lines (one to get a ticket that the travel agent neglected to give us - not NCL's fault) and one long, slow line to board the Gem. I now realize that the folks who arrived later in the day had a much easier and quicker boarding process.
The next experience was when, upon boarding, 2400 passengers descended upon the Garden Cafe. It was stressful and impossible to find a place to sit for about 1/2 hour of searching while holding a plate full of food and a drink. There was no guidance offered as people entered the restaurant. Why they hadn't opened up every possible space on-board with a chair and table and guided passengers there after they picked up their food is hard to understand.