Veteran cruiser tries out the Gem
Having done close to 30 cruises over the years, we realized it had been many years since doing an NCL. (even before "freestyle." ) So we boarded the Gem last January out of NYC. Being their newest ship, just months old, I was expecting something super. I was very surprised to find the decor BLAH. The atrium which is the center point on every ship is only 2 decks high. The colors are mostly brown and black. Something that really disturbed my wife and myself was the ultra sexual Bliss Lounge which is located just off the atrium. It has statues of nude women in it. That type of decor should be in a lounge hidden away from the flow of people. Also one night they had a show in the smaller lounge where the young men of the cruise staff STRIPPED down to their underpants so that women could stuff dollars "DOWN THERE." This was a first for me on a cruise ship. This ship also has 4 bowling alleys at $5 pp a game. Like many others, I am not a big fan of freestyle dinning. At that time the Italian restaruant was no charge, but we had to reserve at 7 AM for dinner the following day. Now they charge for it, and you still need to reserve a day early. To be fair there were a few things we enjoyed. Twice in the buffet area they featured German food with an ompah band playing. The coffee maker in the buffet area serves regular, decaf, cuppacinos and espressos. They also have a soft serve ice cream machine which ran dry frequently. There was a comic named David Naster who was hilarious, but the production numbers were average to poor. There are many people who claim they go on NCL because of the freestyle. My question to them is did you ever try having you dinner ready at a certain time and no problem finding a table? (not to mention not having to make a reservation) Just my opinion.
