We were on the Gem that departed Venice 7/17/10. Actually, the first 2 nights were spent in Venice. The timing was great as there was a festival going on, and we we were able to witness a spectacular fireworks display from the deck.

The ship itself is beautiful, and out stateroom was adequate. We had a balconey. The shower was large and powerful. Had a seperate area for the toilet which was nice. Our room had the most powerful hairdryer ever for a ship. We enjoyed all the public area, the theater was nice, no obstructed views as in other ships.

The food in the main dining rooms was good-but nothing spectacular. No large shrimp or lobster, or crab cakes. They had a "baby shrimp cocktail", which was like a shrimp salad. Very small shrimp in mayonnaise! Yuck. Two nights had beef wellington and tenderloin. They were good. You just felt like they were trying to make you go to the dining rooms with a surcharge to get the "good stuff". With a surcharge of $35 at Cagneys to get steak and lobster-no thanks! Read more