The norwegian gem offered really good entertainment. we bought the added beverage package which in itself was a great deal. bars were well equipped and generous with the pours of top shelf alcohols. The bar tenders were gracious and happy to serve doubles. it was surprising that even though we had an all inclusive added beverage package that we paid extra for bottled water, which was not included. Our bar refrigerator in the room had soda and alcohol in it but it was an additional charge even though we bought the all inclusive beverage package. none of this was disclosed with our initial reservation. At every turn of this cruise there were extra charges, including signing up and paying for water as soon as you board the ship, and paying for many raffles, photo packages and high priced bingo ($39 for three chances to win.)

Let's start with the food was not good, especially the buffets. food did not seem fresh. if you order peaches and blueberries at the main dining room you will get canned peaches with 5 little fresh blueberries. on two different occasions at the main dining room and at the irish pub, i was served sandwiches where the bread was stale and hard as a rock. Salads were served with brown lettuce. and beware of the lobster bisque at a couple of the specialty restaurants. it is really brown gravy with no lobster meat in it. i did appreciate the omelet station at the breakfast buffet line where i could request my omelet cooked the way i like it and with fresh ingredients. the ship should offer more cooking stations so you can help the help cook. Perhaps the cooking staff needs more supervision. The chile served at lunch was canned and the nachos at the irish pub had cheese from a can poured on top of stale chips. i ordered several desserts which were not edible. we did have a great meal at the french bistro. It would be my advice to eat there exclusively. (except that it is only open for dinner.) the most disheartening thing of all was that we would go down for breakfast and be carrying our plates and drinks and there would be no seating. we would have to walk forever with our arms full trying to find a place to eat. the ship would send us off to a restaurant far away to eat. the ship was not even full, and so i am not sure why they don't have enough seating.

Boarding the ship was very confusing. there was no one to give us instructions especially about the drill. We went to what we thought was our station and waited in line, Read more