We sailed on the Norwegian Gem quite anxiously as we had read a lot of negative reviews about freestyle cruising, but those were all misleading as we found it quite the opposite! The reason we chose this over Royal Carribean was the fact we got more luxurious cabin( a Penthouse) with all the VIP perks for less money and as we like to eat whenever we want and whatever we want it really fit our needs as this was a port intensive cruise and we had to see a lot and we did not want to be restricted by set dinner times etc. The service and food in most of the specialty restaurants were very good to excellent and we did not mind the surcharge as we paid less for our cabin. We loved the VIP perks including option of breakfast or lunch at Cagney's even though we used the Garden Cafe for breakfast all days except the last day to avoid the crowds. By the way we did not have any problems finding a table any one of those days as most of you complained. The staff were all friendly and efficient. I will definitely sail Norwegian again especialy on port intensive cruises. The ports of call were all excellent and we got to see a lot as we had it all planned well ahead which you should definitely do. If you can afford to go ahead and splurge on luxury suites Penthouse and above, its well worth it!
Our penthouse suite was excellent. We were 4 adults-me and my wife and our two kids 24 and 20 yr old. We had enough space and the bathroom was big and the shower was to die for! Room and butler service was excellent and our concierge did all the restaurant booking for us.