This is the second time that we've celebrated our anniversary aboard the Gem, sailing both before and after its recent renovation. I wasn't that thrilled. The new décor in the public spaces is rather subdued. The wild upholstered chairs and couches in the Spinnaker have been replaced by ordinary bland pieces. The huge flower bouquets in the Garden Café have been replaced by little white lamps with the light shining through little holes which puncture basketball size globes. Kind of cute but there's no longer a reason to call it a garden café.

I can't figure out what they did with the grand lobby but it seems drab. The renovations don't seem to have included the cabins, at least not mine and the mattresses need replacing. Despite all of that, we had a great time.

One word of warning. As Latitude members, we were offered free laundry. We sent in mostly cotton underwear and it came back with the fabric so weakened that it tore and developed holes and most of it had to be thrown out. Beware!