This was our second cruise on the Gem. We completed a seven cruise in the Western Mediterranean in 2008. We choose the ship again because of a great experience.....My how things can change.

The Ship change so much it was shocking and very disappointing. Somewhere customer service has been lost in the FREESTYLE (defined as: you will pay for everything, pay allot and get poor service).

We arrived the day of the cruise from the US into Venice. Our flight arrived at 1:00pm. The airport is small and well laid out.....easy to move through. We had booked transfers to the ship through NCL....Big mistake. We were met at 1:30pm and were not provided transportation from the Airport to the Ship until 4:15pm.....We we told to sit and wait for a late arriving plane for the US......The staff was awful and even rude to several of us wanting to start our vacations rather than sit on the floor of the airport or stand. We even had to transport are bags to and from the bus....porters will not get the luggage from the bus thirty feet to the baggage area. We were moved through check-in quickly.....but not one person welcomes you onto the ship....A sign of the service standards on board. Read more