I wanted to share/add a few notes from our recent trip. But first, I want to thank all the other reviewers who provided detailed comments that I was able to read and prepare for our trip. This was my 5th cruise and the 4th one on NCL. And this was my second time on the Gem. Unlike any of the previous trips, my husband and I took advantage of the Upsell offer and upgraded into the Deluxe Owners Suite just a few days before departure. This was a lovely way to go. Mind you, its really expensive but if you have the money - I highly recommend it. In general, if you like the concept that your bedroom can travel, cooking is done for you and other activities are just a few steps away -- and not to mention bypassing the whole airport/ flying hassles, cruising is for you. However, one has to balance the fact that they are traveling en mass with other people (and their bad habits, rudeness and noisy, sticky kids). The Haven suites allows one to find peace and tranquility and a bit of separation from that. Additionally, there are other benefits (detailed by other posts) such as butler managed room service, priority boarding / disembarkation and overall staff treatment preference. Our favorite perk was the priority boarding / disembarkation. We were the 8th and 9th persons off the ship and could hop into a waiting cab. One thing that needs to be handled better is facilitating/ providing guidance for the tipping process. As part of the Haven perks, one can enjoy butler and concierge service. While we prepaid our standard gratuities (staff) and meal/drink tips we were aware that additional tips were expected/ encouraged (which is fine and well deserved) but no envelops were provided, no general "gentle guidelines or suggestions" and even the front desk could not provide help. (All I wanted was some range or average - such as a per passenger/ per day calculation). None of our specialized servers were present on check out day nor was their a tip box kind of thing. This should be handled better as the staff earns this. But we had no where to go with this. Also, this needs to be in cash -- not on the credit card. But none of this was provided either ahead of time or during the cruise. Unfortunately, its the hard workers who get short changed in this.

In summary, we did have a great trip. Separate from above, I only have good things to say but are redundant with other reviewers on this site.