After nearly 30 years of international travel, I'd never done a cruise. And probably never would have if my youngest child hadn't always dreamed of it. She white-knuckled her way through a week-long small sailboat trip, so this was payback. I chose the Gem (over another boat that I'd already booked), because I thought the climbing wall and water-slide would push the kid-friendly buttons. It seemed a bit more lively than the other cruise line I'd zeroed in on.
MOST IMPRESSED WITH:
The crew and staff. Very professional, always cheerful and hard-working. Many of them went out of their way to connect with us and other passengers and that must be quite a task, considering the constant change of passengers from week to week.
Nice and quiet--except for early mornings when you hear furniture being moved above in the Great Outdoors. Plenty of storage space. No curtain between the bed & couch but we didn't miss it. This cabin has the bed closest to the balcony (which I preferred)