We are a family of four from Long Island, New York, cruising on NCL for the 5th time. We were on the NCL Gem's June 5th cruise to Split, Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos and Iraklion. For a reasonable step-up fee, we were upgraded to the NCL Gem's 2-bedroom Courtyard Villa -- and what an experience it was! There were several perks for staying on the 14th deck, such as the use of a private courtyard, free breakfast and lunch at Cagney's, VIP tender tickets, an easy embarkation/disembarkation, daily snacks and fruits in our room, reserved seating at the Stardust Theater, and many, many others. But for us, the best perks were in the room itself. It was FANTASTIC! The master bedroom's shower was absolutely heavenly (both my hubby and I missed this the most!) and the bed was both beautiful and wonderful to sleep in. The 2nd bedroom had the feel and look of an inside stateroom. It came with a full-sized sofa bed, a pull down bunk bed, and a full bathroom. We were made to feel special from the very beginning of our trip where we were greeted by our butler, Roy, to the very last day of our cruise where our concierge, Ruth, escorted us to the port. (Staying at a VIP suite afforded us a lot of personal attentions, but in all the years we cruised on NCL, we never felt slighted -- even when we were staying at the bottom of the deck in the inside stateroom. I just thought I'd mention that.)

I purposely booked our flight to arrive the night before our embarkation. I didn't want to take any chances of our flights being delayed. We stayed at the Parkhotel Annia, which was a 5-minutes drive from the Marco Polo Airport. (The hotels near the airport are cheaper than the hotels by the Venice port.) Parkhotel Annia was modern, comfortable, and came with a wonderful breakfast. For 5e, the hotel driver picked us up and dropped us off at the airport the following morning. (This service is free if you booked through the hotel.) Even thought the hotel was near the airport, we did not hear any flights going overhead when we were sleeping. Thanks to the previous reviewers, I knew this hotel did not have a restaurant, so I bought along enough snacks to hold us over until the following morning. We took a 20-minute bus ride (bus #5) from the airport to Piazzale Roma the following morning (2.50e pp.) (Be warned that it will make several local stops.) Piazzale Roma (last stop) was chaotic with lots of tourists and buses. There was no NCL rep anywhere to show us where our bus was going to be. When we finally found one, it was so packed that a group of us (led by a young couple who's been there before) started to walk to the port. We followed the street on the side of the Pullman Bar and just kept going up. You can see several cruise ships docked as you approach the port. This 15-minute walk proved to be a pleasant experience and we were all grateful that someone knew how to get there! At the port, we found several NCL reps giving directions.

If you ever wanted to book a balcony stateroom, then this is the trip to do it. Try to book a room on the portside (left side) of the ship and you'll see spectacular views of Venice as the ship is pulling out. For those people on the starboard side (right side) of the ship, you can see the same images on the day the ship returns, but you'll need to wake up really, REALLY , early for this photographic experience! Yet another VIP perk is that you can go to the private 15th deck to see this amazing view without people pushing you. The fact that you don't have to fight the crowd to take pictures makes staying at the VIP suites worth every penny. Read more