Having read recent reviews, I was questioning my choice of the Gem. The reviews were wrong. I have been going on cruises since I was 9 years old. We cruised at the peak of the old time cruise industry when cruises were very fancy. I still enjoy cruising and the Gem was a great experience and vacation. Yes, it is a smaller ship without the big slides and things of that nature, but it isn't all about the fluff. This ship & crew took great care of my family of 6 and we all had a great vacation.

We had three inside cabins... yes cabins are small but how often are you in the cabin... our use of the cabin was primarily to sleep & change clothes. We found the cabin to have lots of storage space. I was in 11589. Our cabin steward was Jonathan. The cabin was always made up & spotless. My wife needed softer pillows and despite the ship being completely full, Jonathan found her pillows.

We found the public areas to be well appointed and plentiful. Other than the pool deck, one never felt that there was 2500 guests on the boat. We very much enjoyed the shows in the Stardust Theater and the piano music and entertainer Justin Golan in Magnums Champagne bar. Spinnakers Lounge overlooking the front of the ship was beautiful and we enjoyed the Newlywed Game and the Perfect Couples games in that lounge. Read more