We have cruised nearly 20 times with NCL in the last 10 years. The GEM was one of our favorite ships. The experience is not the same, which I believe has to do with the new leadership at NCL, resulting in fewer staff members and change in philosophy of how passengers are treated has lead to many cutbacks and a water downed version of cruising by comparison to competitors. Interesting, as I recently read an article which contained an interview with the new CEO, indicating that he wanted to give a more luxury experience to guests.... which is far from the reality of the current experience from a passenger point of view. It is also very apparent that NCL staffs their newer shifts with the more experienced staff, must be challenging for GEM leadership to constantly have to train and retrain new people. A fair number of staff are uninformed as they are new.

Cleanliness: The stateroom showed remnants of the past inhabitants... fingerprints, sticky residue on the refrigerator and chair with food still stuck to it. I will say when I asked for the room to be cleaned, they were prompt in doing so. Elevators buttons and hand rales, frequently were sticky and appeared as though it had beens some time since they were cleaned. I believe if they had more staff this would not be the case...as staff truly want to do a good job.

Safety- We sailed home in a known hurricane, with 90 mile an hour winds per the ships logs and 15+ foot waves. This lasted for over 24 hours, making for a very unpleasant experience. Pretty much had to stay in your room . I would like to know why we couldn't sail around the hurricane, as we I know other captains have done on other cruises I have been on. Read more