We sailed from Barcelona on the new Norwegian Gem. I believe that this was either the fourth or fifth voyage for this brand-new ship, and it is beautiful. Our main reason for selecting this cruise was the itinerary which included mostly ports that we had not visited in the past. My wife and I have been on nearly twenty cruises (I've lost exact count) over the years with various companies (Princess, Celebrity, RCCL, etc.) , so we have a varied basis for comparison. This was my first experience on NCL since a Caribbean cruise on the Norway in 1990, at which time NCL was a very different company.
Embarkation NCL provided at least twenty check-in windows, plus more for Latitudes members, suite guests, and disabled. We arrived at the terminal at 12:30 and were onboard looking for our cabin by 12:50. It helped that we had completed the pre-embarkation questionnaire in advance. Surprisingly, our cabin was ready, and we were able to stow our carry-on bags and go to the Garden Cafe for lunch.
Cabin We stayed in a "mini-suite" on Deck 11. Although I considered it somewhat of an overstatement to refer to the cabin as a mini-suite, it really was quite functional and comfortable. We made good use of the attached balcony. The bed was comfortable, and there was plenty of closet and storage space.