To start off i must say that there is alot of very very fussy and hard to please people out there. I booked my cruise back in april 2008, and started reading reviews almost every day and i was a little bit nervous as my husband and i had never been on a cruise before so i really did not know what to think after reading some of the reviews. So let me start by saying we LOved our cruise we could not have been more happy and satisfied, we are not high class we are down to earth people and i have nothing negative to say about our cruise.

Food: I was very pleased with the food on the ship, let me tell u we ate soooo good ate the Magenta excellent and the Grand Pacific also excellent, the only thing is sometimes the service was a little slow but that is the only neg thing i can say.We ate at the buffet every morning it was good.we also ate at the Teppanyaki 1 night and the food was excellent the filet mignon melted in your mouth. We also ate the tequila the mexican for 5.00 a person and ate like pigs soooo good. The crew were so very friendly and sociable we met a waiter jorge from colombia and i would have liked to pack him in my suitcase to bring him home. The weather was beautiful we could have not asked for better. We had an inside cabin which was always neat and clean our housekeepers were very nice and friendly and i have never slept so dam good in my life the beds were heaven. We never got bored or tired of being on the ship i did not want to come home. We are hoping to sail ncl again next year with our 2 teenagers providing we can afford it, paying for 2 is much cheaper than 4. It was our first trip ever just the 2 of us and we have been married for 17yrs, i told my husband it was time for a trip just for us and it was well worth it, we are in our late thirties.I think some people are just way too fussy and snobby cause i do not see how u could not be happy with the gem, sure there are little things that people could complain about but nothing serious, so yes i would recommend the gem to my friends and family and i do not think any of them would be disapointed.I hope for the people who have read many of the reviews and are nervous i hope u remember useless u are a high class snob u could not be disappointed with the gem, so to all future first time cruisers have a great time and enjoy.If u have any questions that i can help with my email is darleen69@hotmail.com