Embarkation at NYC was a breeze, as usual. Arrived at 11:30 am & was on board, in our Haven suite by 12:30pm. Went to Cagney's while my grandson took a quick nap & enjoyed the Cagney signature lunch. Luggage arrived by 2:30 pm with muster station drill at 4:00pm. Sail away in NYC was delightful as the weather was in the low 50's. Had a family dinner in Grand Pacific & here's where the issues began. We decided to have a family dinner the first night because we figured it would be quicker & easier with two young children. The service was terrible. On past cruises, there were at least 2 waiters and 1 busboy assigned to each table. I'm not sure WHO was assigned to this table. It took nearly 20 minutes to place our order. The entire time that we waited to place our order, our wine sat, UNOPENED, on the table & no one made any attempt to offer to open it. It was finally opened after 3 requests & the arrival of our second course. I hoped that this fiasco was a fluke & that I wouldn't need to retreat to the Haven & the specialty restaurants for the remainder of the cruise. Unfortunately, It wasn't a fluke. So much for the main dinning rooms.

My 4 1/2 year old grand daughter absolutely LOVED the Kids Club. She spent hours playing, doing crafts & getting her face painted. Just what a kid could love. The counselors were the best. Security was tops. Never felt any reason to be concerned with her safety while she was there. Never saw one child crying in the club, only when it was time to leave!

The Haven provided the privacy and comfort of a world removed from the hustle & bustle of the ship's activities. Taguh, the Haven's private waiter, was tops. He delivered breakfast & lunch each day from Cagney's and added special extras such as mixed, fresh berries for the kids at breakfast & hot wings from Blue Lagoon for the adults at lunch. No request was a bother for him. We had sailed with him on the Jewel in May 2011 & I was pleasantly surprised to see that he would be taking care of us on the Gem. The staff was very responsive to the guest's requests to open/close the glass roof & to adjust the temperatures of both the hot tub & pool. I didn't know they could heat the pool. One day, there was so much activity in the pool that they turned the temperature up so that it was a big hot tub. Very nice touch. Jenny, the assistant hotel manager made several visits each day to check on the Haven & it's guests. Gigi, our room steward, did an excellent job keeping our cabins clean, neat & sanitized. She worked around the kids naps & never seemed to be bothered by any unusual requests. Note that the sun deck on the Gem is half as large as on the Jewel. This was a little disappointing because you didn't have the ability to move from side to side, depending upon the sun & wind. There were also not enough padded lounges on the sun deck. No one "saved" chairs, but there is still a need for more lounges. NCL......the "snacks" delivered each evening to the suites are mostly inedible. Although we ordered cheese platters and fruit, it seemed a waste that these little morsels of snacks were mostly wasted. Read more