This is my 4th cruise on the Gem and they never fail to hit a home run. The staff was great as ever always providing great service. Sailing out of NY is easy for us as we live in Pa. The only thing that I wish Ncl would due different is find another port besides Tortola which even after 4 visits I find to be a waste of time. I would give a shout out to the performers on board they always due their best to provide great shows. Looking forward to going again on the Gem as soon as I can. I hope that this review helps people who have never cruised before and people who have never tried NCL I don't think that they will be sorry both in price or the service provided . I've been on other cruise lines besides NCL and they are well worth the money.