Our family of 5 ( three teen sons) arrived in Barcelona a day early ( highly recommend in case of flight delays which we had) and stayed a day late to sight see.  If you are a family of five in Europe, you will have to go in two taxis or take one big van which mostly has to be arranged since they are not always available at airports or taxi stops.  We took the advice of cruise critics on this website and my husband wrote down the address of our port.  He also wrote several times the address of our hotels, etc and handed one  to each of our sons in case they got lost.  The port was most impressive because of its size and cleanliness.  We were helped upon leaving the taxi with our bags and check in was a total of 17 minutes.  We chose to stay in the Pent House Suite which is so worth the money.  It is single-handedly worth the free breakfast and lunch at Cagney's every day.  Our room was ready and it was only 11 in the morning.  The Gem:Highlights only:  Concierge and butler are very friendly and accommodating.  I loved being left alone for privacy when needed and this can be accomplished by adjusting the dial on the door of your stateroom. WONDERFUL. There is plenty to do on the ship.  My boys favorites were soccer, basketball and shuffleboard and hanging by pool.  The pool is great and the chairs are comfy.  You have to get there early if you want a seat...as early as 9 a.m.  I never did get one of those comfy chairs on the forward top deck; they were in high demand!!!  Very quiet zone there. Did not participate in shows  or casino as often as most but loved family Bingo. It was so fun and entertaining!!!!  Even kids can play.  Restaurants:  Garden Cafe was not my favorite but acceptable to the children for ice cream.  I liked Magenta and Grand Pacific and the poolside buffet much more.  Best deal we had was  going to Cagney's in the morning for breakfast ( penthouse suite and up) and having French press coffee and eggs benedict and excellent service.  Overall food was above average for the number of people being served on the ship.  At dinner, I stuck with beef.  My two experiences with fish were only average.  The specialty restaurants were always good.  Best experience with specialties was Mexican, French and Sushi not Teppenyaki but sushi only.  I told a friend that the ship food was not worth  gaining weight over but the mixed drinks were!  I recommend a yellow bird in that category.  Had one when we met the captain.  My experience with the beauty salon ( blowout) was wonderful.  I got to know the hairdresser and as the week progressed she offered me special deals and one was three mini treatments for $89!  LOVED IT> They took place in open room not behind closed doors but still private.  Spa was extra plus and part of the reason we chose this ship.I have not complained yet on my review but I must say that our cabin gave us a hard time because of its location.  With all of the research done, I still missed out on making SURE that there are no high traffic areas overhead.  We were in a luxurious penthouse with 5 people and the most comfortable bed ever in this world with the clean up crew overhead from midnight until six a.m.  To sum it up:  it awakened sleeping teenagers.  Norwegian Gem concierge was very understanding but had no where to move us.  Did get a credit on account which we hated to ask for but really affected our sleep.  

Pompeii was our first NCL excursion and a very good one.  Highlight was climbing Mt. Vesuvius( level three tour and not easy at all; we wore our oldest clothes and shoes because they will be ashy in a big way when you return home) and we toured the area where the bodies were covered by ash. Port of Livorno my personal favorite was the tour of Pisa and Florence combined.  The only museum we entered was St. Croce in Florence but were able to skim the sights and have a wonderful lunch.  We were able to convince our NCL guide to give us two hours on our own and we ran to the sights we wanted to visit and ran back..literally.   I was so happy for this independence that she allowed.Last stop Cannes Frances and we were DETERMINED to get into the Mediterranean as we had sailed in it all week.  Slept in til ten, jumped off Gem and headed straight to beach.  ADVICE: wear your swimsuit.. no place to change but you can see the beach from the ship.  Had to be taken in by dingys and that was so fun!!!!  Teenagers will never be the same as French people have a wonderful body image and expose the better part of it.  There was nothing a Mother could do but go with it. Too late.  Swam for two hours and had a blast.