We love leaving out of Boston. No planes.....easy port. We love the 14 day cruises in the fall. There are very few kids (I like kids,but as a teacher, it is nice to have adult time)
We arrived in Boston around noon. We parked in the open lot next to the ship ($200). Check in was easy.
We have taken this same cruise many times on the Gem as well as other NCL ships.
We had an ocean view room on deck 8. The room was clean and easy to get to. Our room steward was new. He was good, but forgot minor things.
FOOD
The service and the food in the main dining room was good. The staff was good, but always seemed in a hurry.
The food in the speciality restaurants was NOT good. There are many changes to the speciality menus and they are not good.
Le Bistro was awful. Our waitress was very rude. The Denver Sole was dry. The creme brûlée is now a pudding.
Cagney’s was a disappointment. No more oyster rockerfellow. My steak was all fat. Service was okay, but staff was so overworked.
Le Cucina was also a disappointment. Chicken parmigiana was overcooked with dried pasta.
Teppanyaki was sad. The scallops were tiny pieces of scallops.
The main dining rooms were so much better than speciality. Save your money.
The buffet was always clean and good.
Entertainment
We enjoyed the comic, the magician, singers, and shows. We loved the game shows. Trivia was fun.
Islands
We had perfect weather on each island. We have been to all these places dozens of times, so we mostly did beaches.
Casino
Nice selection of slots. The dealers at the tables are like robots. They do not smile, talk, or enjoy working. Many told us they were quitting soon.
Overall I had a nice time. The ship is dated, but I wanted a quiet, peaceful trip. Other then the speciality restaurants being horrible, everything else was very good
Beach break was great. The beach was perfect