We just returned from our Norwegian Gem 7/3-7/17 cruise to Croatia, Greece and Turkey. Also, after the cruise spend a couple of days in Florence, which was great. The cruise exceeded our expectations. The staff was very friendly and cooperative. The food was good, and often quite good. Excursions were excellent but expensive, but is some cases the best option. We were traveling with a family group that included children, and so we did not always tour or eat together. Still, we were able to enjoy each being together most of the time.

I had read posts on cruise critic about the Gem while it was stationed out of New York, and several negative posts had me somewhat concerned, however, I noticed that once the Gem moved to Venice for Med cruises, posts became almost always positive. Perhaps it was the clientele that each cruise attracted. Embarkation and Disembarkation was not problematic. Our outside cabin was nice, and not too cramped. Cabin stewards were great, servicing us at least twice a day. They added nice touches, like making animal forms out of towels.

FOOD was generally very good. Not everything we had was super, but all our meals were good. Some meals were quite good. The main dining rooms like Magenta and Grand Pacific were good, and if you ordered an entre that turned out to be modest, you could order another entre. The French restaurant was the best, and our meal there was as good as it gets. Also, the Mexican, Italian, Chinese and Japanese restaurants were very good. On some days after a long day ashore, we just went to the buffet at the Garden Cafe, and while occasionally the food was average, you could always get a good salad there. We tried not to gain weight, and eating salads for lunch, if were were not touring (no hamburgers). With all the walking ashore (Walk to the citadel at Nafphlon and the wall at Dubrovnik) and gym work, I lost two pounds on the cruise. Read more