Background information: This was our 6th cruise. Previously on Royal Caribbean (once), NCL (once) and Holland America (thrice). Our previous NCL cruise, on the Dawn, also disappointed. We chose this cruise because it left from New York City and nothing else was available during school break.

Ship information: The GEM carries a large number of passengers and still has that new ship smell. Unfortunately, at times it felt like there were too many passengers trying to use the same areas simultaneously. The theater was very crowded, there were significant waits to get into the main dining room, the buffet took all the fun out of being on a cruise when it was busy, poolside got very crowded you probably get the idea.

Activities: If you like reggae music, they have a great band. Bingo appeared popular, but the time I went (with a free card) it was extremely crowded. Many of the activities they list in the daily bulletin do not exist, such as "play [fill in the blank yourself] with your fellow cruisers." Bowling was fun, and at $5 a game it does not shock someone from Manhattan, but we did not want to bowl every day. On embarkation day the rock climbing wall had a sign indicating that it was closed due to weather conditions even though it was a still and sunny day. Read more