We chose this trip because we are from Boston and it's a great port to leave from. This was the first trip on the Gem out of Boston. The previous 7 years we had the Dawn. We were looking forward to having a new ship for a change. Embarkation was very smooth, although the ship was late arriving in Boston from New York. The good thing was that since no one was disembarking we were able to go straight to our rooms.

this was a 14-day cruise. The first week the entertainment was great. The ship band was wonderful. The singers and dancers were great. The second week , in my opinion, was not as good for entertainment. They never repeated a show which was fine but I just don't care for the magician, juggler, acrobatic shows or the other shows they chose for the second week. We were in a two-bedroom haven room and were able to have lunch and breakfast in Moderno which was really nice although during a two-week cruise it would be nice to have a little variation in the choices especially at lunch time. We did the specialty restaurants , Cagney's was not as good as other ships we've been on. It was never full yet it said it was if you looked on line. The staff was very slow. They didn't seem to have enough staff on hand. One of our meals was a slow roasted prime rib but the prime rib was grilled which basically made it a steak. Moderno was wonderful, LaCuchina was fabulous and Teppanyaki great.

We really enjoyed the entertainment in the atrium and Magnums, particularly Leo Jostol and the Vibz Quartet. Both were awesome and you wanted to go back and see them again and again. Read more