I have cruised about 15 times on NCL, and have attained Platinum status. This was my sixth cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on the Norwegian Gem out of NYC. Yes, I like the ship, and I really appreciate sailing out of Manhattan. This cruise had a less than 100% solo supplement when I booked a guaranteed Balcony (not a Sail Away). At some point I became less able bodied and upgraded to a BC handicapped balcony with Distinctive Voyage Perks, four dinners and the ultimate beverage package. i kept that stateroom though there were plenty of opportunities to bid on upgrades. Clearly it was not a full ship. There were upwards of 70 solo cruisers as the single supplement disappeared totally at about 80 days out, and the cruise became a real bargain in general. The solo group was not well coordinated, but we could gather for dinner at the Grand Pacific each night at 5:30. We had a large and active cruise critic group. With a few well attended activities.

I was delighted that the ship was not filled with Christmas Decorations. There were none until at least half way through our voyage. Thank you Hotel Manager. The fact that they slowly appeared made them more enjoyable and bearable. The guitar player, was not Leo, but he was very good, and more mellow than Leo. Unfortunately I cannot remember his name. Main stage was excellent, though not sure why Blazing Boots is singled out for an R rating, they are all full of sexual innuendoes. The aerial duo was excellent, and created a narrative that gave more variety than usual. Tim Kaminsky was the main comic. He is very funny, but he does the same shows I have seen at least 10 times before. I would think he would get bored, I have other options. He is personable, and very supportive of all of the performers and accessible to the guests. He is hilarious if you have never seen his show, don't miss it. Why only one welcome aboard show? I have noticed this on my last several cruises. (Perhaps it was always this way, and I didn't notice on earlier cruises). Since the introduction the ultimate beverage package, drink servers are not nearly as present before shows. If you are lucky you can get one drink, I don't believe it is possible to get two in the time allotted with the number of servers provided.

It was the first time I have experienced "ship time" on a Norwegian Cruise. We have always changed our clocks on other cruises. I did not like this. It meant that excursions were meeting before 7 am, but the dining room was not yet open. I tried room service, but that wasn't early enough either. Please NCL return to putting the ship on the local time, it makes life much easier. There are still the scratch off lottery cards and the raffle of the free cruise tickets which are sold before each show. Read more