This was a second time on the beautiful Gem for DH and me. We love sailing out of the NYC terminal. Its upgrades are quite nice. We boarded the ship a little before 1PM and received our glass of bubbly and a warm welcome. We went straight to the Grand Pacific main restaurant and had a delightful lunch.
Our cabin was ready after lunch. We selected the same cabin that we had last April. We always stay in the middle of the ship as low as possible, and contrary to previous reviews, we don't feel any of the movement, even on rough days. It does pay to be in the middle if you want to be more comfortable if seas are rough.
Our Meet and Greet was fun. Several of the chief staffers came including the Captain. We presented the Captain with a charm containing a picture of President and Mrs. Obama, since we wanted to be remembered as the group that sailed during the historic event. A few hours later our charm had already been placed on the It Girl Mermaid on Deck 10. NCL wants you to have a good time and they aim to keep you happy. Once again they kept their promise.
Outside porthole cabin was very spacious. NCL has great bathrooms.