This is our 8th NCL cruise, second time going out of NYC on the Gem. This was school vacation week. Kudos to parents and children aboard. They were well behaved and all looked like they were having a good time. We are retired teachers who travel with people who are teaching so we are tied into this week. We are experienced travelers/cruisers and have been on other cruise lines.

NCL used to be my first choice. I don't think so after this cruise. It used to have that nice niche with the freestyle eat any time you want deal. However other lines offer this now so NCL no longer has the monopoly on this. Service in MDR and Magenta was inconsistent as was the food. Food was average and nothing special. Wait for food at the table was long and waitstaff apologized profusely. I felt bad for them. They used to have Healthy Choice selections but that appears to be replaced with about 4 choices that were on the menu every night. We did not do any specialty restaurants this time. I was afraid I would be paying for average food and as prices are $10-$25 each, did not want to invest and be disappointed. We did like the Garden Buffet. Food was good and we like the layout of that area. We ate there a few nights to avoid that wait in the MDR.

Booked an inside room which I almost never do but know going out of NYC in Feb, one does not use the balcony. Room layout is good but small. This was a noisy room. We could hear rolling carts behind us or below us nightly. I'm a heavy sleeper and noise woke me up. Friends 4 doors down did not have the noise. Toilet broke on Friday and we called it in about 5:00pm. They told us whole corridor was having problems and they were working on it. We came back to room at 11:00 and toilet still not working. We used the public restrooms. Read more