We started out sailing into a blizzard, high waves and high winds made for a pretty bumpy ride. Luckily, no one in our little party got sick. But we were stuck inside for two days, and I found the public areas of the ship to be seriously lacking.

I'm a fairly experienced cruiser, having sailed on over 20 cruises. As far a mid price large ships go, I was not particularly impressed with the Gem. Everything was pretty much mediocre, including the staff. No one went out of there way to accommodate any requests: you had to ask for staples in the dining room several times before getting anything, bar staff took forever to bring the drinks, and half the rime you didn't get what you ordered.

The food in the specialty restaurants was vastly superior to the venues that are included in the cruise price. I understand that is to be expected, but the difference on this ship was much wider than on others (like celebrity and RCC). Read more