BACKGROUND: We are 4 couples in our late 50s to early 60s with hearts and minds of 40 yr olds! Most of us have cruised 13-15 times with this being our 3rd NCL cruise-the last one was in 2001. Only one person in our group was new to cruising We all had a pre cruise night in Barcelona at the Montblanc which is affiliated with NCL with transfers. Next time, I would book my own hotel and use a cab, would be lots cheaper. My husband and I along with another couple came in early on Saturday and did the hop on/hop off bus tour. It was well worth it. I LOVE Barcelona. The other 2 couples came in later in the afternoon. We had a wonderful dinner at REUNION on Fontella in the La Rambla area. It was a lovely restaurant with great food and so reasonable. We would eat there again. EMBARKATION: NCL picked us up at 11: 15 and we arrived at the pier within 10 min. We were on the ship before noon. Very easy and painless. SHIP: The Gem is a beauty. I loved our balcony room on the 9th floor-convenient to stairs and elevators and only a couple of floors up/down to all the action. FOOD: We ate in the 2 dining rooms. Service was very good, food was ok-some nights I didn't really like any of the selections but found something to eat. All of us had the Romance Package and ate one night in the LeBistro. It was excellent. By the way, the Romance package is well worth the $79. We had champagne in our room with chocolate covered strawberries, dinner at the LeBistro for 2 with a bottle of wine, canapes one night before dinner, a free picture taken and a champagne and cake party the last day of the cruise. It was a great deal. I would do it again. EXCURSIONS: We did the Mdina and wine tasting in Malta. We all loved Malta. What a unique island! We did Sorrento and Pompeii in Naples. It was a great trip. In Rome I had hired Romecabs for the 8 of us. Stefano was fantastic. We all loved him. He took us to a wonderful little restaurant that had fantastic food. In Florence my husband and I did the Leisurely Florence trip-too short. The other 3 couples did Cinque Terre and loved it. I wouldn't the Leisurely Florence tour again. I would do a longer tour. It was my fault for picking this short half day tour. In the afternoon, we hooked up with 4 other passengers and took a cab to Pisa. I was pleased that we could fit that in too! In France we did the Monaco and Montecarlo tour. We enjoyed it. ENTERTAINMENT:We all thought the entertainment was very good. We saw the 3 musical productions. The cast was very good and very energetic. I also enjoyed the magician-he was amazing. I found the crew to be very friendly, and the passengers we met were also very polite and fun overall. NEGATIVE: Freestyle isn't actually free! We were all frustrated with making reservations for our group of 8. We couldn't always get them when we wanted even though the dining room had open tables. Also, we encountered some discrepancy in the pricing for the Orchid Garden. We were told it was a $10 cover charge. When all 8 of us wanted to eat there we were told it was $15. They had room for us but we decided not to eat there. One of the couple in our group went back and was told there wasn't a table and then was told it would be $10 to eat at the bar. However, they were then told it would be $15 no matter where they sat. It was just very frustrating. This only happened at the Orchid Garden. POSTCRUISE: 4 of us stayed post cruise at the Hotel Continental Barcelona on La Rambla. I would call this hotel Shabby Chic! It is very old but what great service and what a great deal! All the beer was free(the men loved that) as well as water and sodas. And they kept the snacks and breakfast bar available 24 hrs. OVERALL: We loved the ship, crew, itinerary and entertainment. Food was ok but nothing special. But, hey, I didn't have to cook or clean up so I was happy! We loved our cruise on the Gem and would sail her again. It was a wonderful week!