We sailed on the Norwegian Gem August 3-10, family of 6 - four sons ages 24,21,15 and 6. We had a wonderful time, had a great cabin with lots of amenities - the boys were down the hall in a balcony cabin.

First, I want to thank all the people who wrote reviews before me, I read them all, and it gave me a great idea of what to expect, what "perks" I could expect in my cabin class, and pros/cons of the ship and cruise itself. Since nobody but me had been on a cruise, nor had been to Europe, it was great information, so I thank you all.

We arrived in Barcelona on Friday, 8/1 and were fortunate enough to be staying at the Hotel Arts, a Ritz Carlton property in Port Olympic. The staff all spoke English, they were lovely, the rooms were heaven, we had 2 adjoining rooms that looked out on the Mediterranean. My DH was not at all excited to go on a cruise, nor to go to Europe, so staying here really psyched him up. The older boys loved Barcelona and it's bohemian nightlife, so we were off to a great start. We slept until noon on Saturday(haven't done that since college!!) b/c of the time difference, but it worked out well, as restaurants in Barcelona do not open until 8:30pm anyway. We did not see much of the city unfortunately, just the Gothic Cathedral and las Ramblas and the market. The older boys hung out until the very wee hours (5:30am) along the waterfront - I understand it is quite a party going on until sunrise. They checked out some clubs and casinos and it was slow going on Sunday morning to get them on the boat. Checkout was not until 1:00 pm, which only emphasizes the slow moving mornings of this lovely city. A word of caution - there were many topless bathers at the pool and the beach - our 15 yo quickly realized that 90% of people really look better with clothes on, so it was not as big a deal as I had initially feared. Also, we did run into a totally nude older gentleman strutting up and down the boardwalk along the beach - again, after a certain age, clothes can hide a multitude of shortcomings!! Read more