This was our first time sailing on NCL. Having been on 7 Carnival Cruises we were a little nervous about switching to a "new" line but all those fears disappeared the second we boarded the Gem. The ship was absolutely beautiful and pristine.

EMBARKATION: We live in NJ so we took the 9:30 train to NYC Penn Station. From there we took a taxi to the pier. We hung around in the terminal for a little while and were allowed to board the ship at about 11:45. After boarding we went straight to deck 12 and staked out a spot by the pool and had our first DOD's and got some lunch at the Garden Cafe. Food was typical buffet fare - not great but not horrible either. Around 2pm or so our room was ready so we went to check it out. We had a mini-suite. WOW!! This room was enormous compared to the standard balcony rooms we usually book - worth the price difference of $100 pp that we paid. Our bags were not there yet so we decided to explore the ship.

SAIL AWAY: We bought the weekly spa passes for $119 each (no couples discount) and hung out in the spa for sail away. The weather was OK but a little chilly (March in NY). The spa passes were definitely worth the money. It was always very quiet in there and always a place to sit and read. After sailing under the Verrazanno Bridge we went back to the room to unpack. That night we had dinner in the Magenta dining room. Again the food was just OK. Read more