My husband and I boarded the Gem on 11/6, and we were eager for our second cruise together. We previously were on the Jewel in 2011, and we hoped that our experience would be just as magical. Some things were great, while others were not. I'll go ahead and break it down into categories:

STATEROOM: We chose an inside stateroom and were happy when we received an upgrade to Deck 11 when the prices started going down significantly. The room was small, but perfect for us. Plenty of space under the bed to store out suitcases, and although we brought hangers, we didn't need all of them. Lots of little nooks and crannies to fit things in as well. Overall, NCL does a great job at designing a space that fits a lot into a small area. Our room steward was great and knew us by name immediately.

FOOD: Overall, this was really good. The main dining room has the same menu for breakfast and lunch each day, and it would have been nice to have some variety there. The main dining room has one side of the menu that changes, and the other side also stays the same. Again, more variety would be nice, but honestly, there are plenty of options, and even on the side that doesn't change, there's no way you could eat it all. The Blue Lagoon had the most disappointing food overall, but the buffet was always really good with different options as well as some nice staples. It was great to have omelets and Eggs Benedict to order, as well as a small pasta bar. We also ate in some specialty restaurants, and these were well worth it. Cagney's has amazing steak, the Caesar salad at La Cucina is simply perfect, and Le Bistro's Fruits de Mar is totally worth the extra $10.00 fee. We also went to the Brazilian Steakhouse, and that was yummy as well. You can never go hungry, and even the burgers on the pool deck are extra delicious. Desserts were average, but honestly, I think I was too full to think about it most of the time anyway. Read more