We had a nice time on the NCL Gem. In my review I will try to offer some information to help you make a decision if this ship/itinerary is right for you. Here goes….

We recently returned from a 10 day NCL Gem cruise from New York City. The cruise had 5 sea days and ports of call included San Juan, St. Maartin, St. Thomas and a ½ day at Tortola. I have been on about 15 cruises and this was my first cruise with 5 sea days. For me, that was about 3 too many sea days. Keep in mind that the 3 seas days southbound and the 2 sea days northbound are in the open Atlantic Ocean. The seas were very rough and I was told by the crew that my experience was mild and that the seas are usually higher. (Something to keep in mind if you have motion sickness.)

The ship felt very, very crowded. Everywhere we went I felt I was bumping into the crowds. The ship was officially full at about 2300 passengers. Keep in mind that although all cabins were occupied this was not the max capacity of passengers. My cabin steward told me that the following sailing (over Easter) had 2400 adults and 800 children booked. Even he said it was going to be way too many people. Read more