This was our third cruise, all on NCL and a return to the Canada/New England itinerary. Since it was only a 6 day cruise we were able to visit only 3 ports: Halifax, St John and Portland.
We checked in a little after 1 PM and that embarking process took about 40 minutes. The only place we could get food was in the Garden Café since the Grand Pacific main dining room had closed. Fog was with us for the first night and the entire day-at-sea. Frustrating but nothing could be done about it.
We took the Titanic Cemetery/Peggy’s Cove excursion. The Cemetery part was quite interesting and involved only walking a block in from the main gate. Our tour narrator, Sissy, was a mid-tour substitute for the ailing, original narrator and did a great job. When we arrived in Peggy’s Cove the fog had picked up again so we put the camera away. We had been to the cove before so it was no big deal. The ride back from the cove to the Gem was quite scenic and more interesting than the ride to the cove. The tour operators might want to use the more scenic route both ways for the tour. Fifteen minutes after we left the cove, the sun broke through and we were fog-free for the next 2 ports. We also visited the Immigration Museum at Pier 61. Well worthwhile but I wish that the 20 minute film had focused on the history of the immigration hall instead of present day immigrants.
All 3 cruises we have taken an aft-balcony: the Dawn, Jewel and Gem. Cabin was clean and same size as previous ones. Balcony seemed slightly smaller but that could be my imagination. I wish NCL would in stall some plexiglass on the above public decks so food or wrappers don't end up on the aft-balconies.