We just returned from our second cruise on NCL, sailing on the Gem. Our first cruise was on the Dawn in early 2010 where we had a great time thanks to Assistant Cruise Director Sinan "Bingo Boy" Ulucay, an infectious, energetic young man with a background in sketch comedy, standup comedy and (believe it or not, the trapeze). This time we took our daughter, son-in-law and their two daughters, ages 2 and 3 1/2, on the 12/4/2011 cruise from NYC to the Bahamas via Port Canaveral. On the first day, dancing on the pool deck, we saw Sinan -- now the cruise director. We knew that we were in for a great time, and we were not disappointed.

First, let me complement the youth programing for the little ones. I saw kids crying because their parents wouldn't take them to "Kids Club." My granddaughters enjoyed it very much too. The older one was very happy with Princess Day on the fifth night. The youth staff is very attentive and very competent. They have our thanks.

Sinan had great activities going for both families and grown-ups. The least of these was Second City -- which still uses a lot of material we saw on the Dawn nearly two years ago. The house singers and dancers were good, although the Dawn's company in 2009-10 was better. However, that was made up by the exceptional "Man from Mars" routine, which combined acrobatics, rhythmic gymnastics, physical comedy, mime, and very well done magic tricks (I'm a magic hobbyist and bought but never mastered two of the tricks MFM performed -- I give him credit). A definite highlight was the finale performance which included Sinan's cruise director team's hilarious sketch, The Fountains. Even if you stay in your room, a highlight to the trip can simply be watching Sinan's daily show on Ch. 28 on the TV. My kids went to the adult-oriented game shows and reported that they were totally totally inappropriate and they never laughed more. Read more