We've just recently returned from an 11 day cruise from New York to the Southern Caribbean on the Norwegian Gem, with stops at St. Thomas, Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada and Tortola. It was our sixth cruise on NCL, and met or exceeded all of our expectations.

As we have done three previous times, our embarkation took place right here in NYC. We arrived at around 11 am expecting to wait a couple of hours. However, within 15 minutes we were checked in and were taken to a special waiting area for passengers who were staying in penthouse suites. Within another twenty minutes or so, we were on board. The only thing we regretted was that somehow we bypassed the embarkation photo, which we had really wanted since our daughter was with us.

The suite was beautiful, with a living/dining area, two bedrooms, and a master bath that was amazing. Two little things I did not appreciate were that the counter in the dining area was mostly taken up with a huge espresso machine that we could not get to work (and we had our butler bring in a regular coffee maker) and the fact that the tub in the master bath did not have a rubber mat (and the tub was very slippery!). I think they need to address that! Even so, as I said, the suite was worth every penny and the staff was great. Read more