Your Opinions on NCL's Gem!?

Question

We are going on a cruise on the Gem (NCL) and we would like to know some general opinions like food, rooms (we are staying in a Mini-Suite), service, things to do, kids rating on kids clubs ect.

Two children, one teen one child, are cruising and we would like to get a second opinion on the ship.

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

If it's anything like the NCL Spirit, it's going to suck.  The food is awful, our room on the Spirit was filthy and since NCL includes tips in all of their fares, there is NO incentive for good service.  Hopefully, the Gem will be better but I doubt it.  Sorry.

Answer 2

We cruised on the Gem this past November for a 12 day Mediterranean cruise.  The ship is nice but not as pretty as I thought it would be.  It has a lot of dark wood panels in the dining area and hallways.  The cabins have a lighter color wood panel which makes them very nice.  We had a balcony cabin and it was nice, about like others we have had on Royal, and Princess.

I didn't think the decor on ship overall was that good.  But it is OK and will not detract from your cruise.  The lounge has some really unusual chairs, wild shapes and colors but they are comfortable.

The pool deck was nice, with a bunch of hots tubs and a water slide.  There is a smaller area for kids to play in the water in on that same area/deck.  There is a rock climbing wall and a basketball court, also a golf driving cage on either side of the ship on that same deck.  They have shuffle board,and the over sized checkers and chess sets in the play area.  It has internet access, but only 4 or 5 terminals, in the atrium area.

There is a huge 15 foot screen in the atrium where they have Wii at about 3:00 PM every afternoon.  Its kinda inconvenient if you are doing tours off the ship or relaxing at the pool.  The ship has a bowling alley; two sets of 2 alleys on either side of a cocktail lounge.  Problem for me was at $5.00 a game per person its way too much for bowling.

The ship has a nice casino and show room.  The gym is pretty good.  The food and service were Ok, but nothing special that I would rave about.    I had some service problems on the ship.  On the first day we never saw out cabin steward until bed time about 10:00PM.  I