Our travel agent suggested this cruise line/ship when I expressed interest in a "Fall Foliage Tour" to Canada from Manhattan. From the moment we arrived in the port, we were disappointed. Horrendously long wait-time and lines at check-in. Our first sensation upon arriving onboard was that the ship felt old. Our balcony cabin was the smallest we've ever encountered on any ship (this was our 7th cruise). The bathroom was so small that we had to come out into the cabin for enough room to towel dry after a shower. If a passenger is taller than 5'7", their knees will hit the wall when sitting on the toilet. There are no bath ceiling fans and they don't use disinfectant while cleaning so odors build up in the room. The cabin furnishings are very "seasoned" and the mini-sofa cover didn't feel clean. There were stains on the carpet.

The highlight of our trip was Halifax but we arrived (unknowingly to passengers) on Canadian Thanksgiving and the town was asleep -nothing was open on the famed "boardwalk" which is a town highlight. An expensive bus trip to Peggy's Cove was interesting but a heavy storm didn't make for a perfect picture day (no fault of Norwegian). The comfort center there was standing room only but when they lost electricity, those who hadn't already 'discomforted' themselves were out of luck because the toilets stopped working. A 6-hour port excursion in Newport was shortened to 5 hours because of high winds and the need to reposition the ship. Once tender embarkation began, the lines were so impossibly long (1800 people being tendered on eight lifeboats) that we feared we might not get back on the returning tenders in time to board the ship so we never saw Newport, RI!

The restaurant staff on the Gem, although plentiful, were poorly trained and their skill of English was very poor. Restaurant service was sporadically bad to OK. Entertainment was boring! The cruise staff sold raffle tickets at every entertaining venue (telling the crowd that no one had won the $2,000 prize in two months which translates to another revenue source for the Norwegian Gem). It felt as if we were attending a not-for-profit event. The ship extracts a 3% surcharge in the casino if using a ship card instead of hard/cold cash. Sea day programs such as art class is limited to 12 people but the daily newsletter doesn't mention that OR the $35.00 charge for the class. There were many other unhappy campers on board the Norwegian Gem for the same reasons I mention here.