If you like large crowds and I mean lots of people and smoke filled casinos, then this is your ship. If you prefer less people and a more intimate cruise look for a smaller capacity ship.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Long lines to check in.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Have been on numerous NCL ships. The Gem is by far one of their nicest ships. It is smaller but much better layout and space utilization. The dining room is much nicer on the Gem, much more striking. The servers on the Escape were fantastic!!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
It was nice that they had an adult pool. There were many activities for kids also.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The shows that we were able to get reservations for were good. You have to make reservations. The theaters are too small for the number of people on this ship. We were not notified of this and were only able to see a couple of evening shows. The stand by lines were long so we passed on waiting to see if we could get in.
Children's Programs
Children are adalts and on their own.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Excellent service wherever we were all over the ship.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
Major flaw in the design of the ventilation system on this ship. The smoke from the casino pours out into three levels of the ship. Some areas like the French restaurant have a patio for dining, I can't imaging dining there with all the smoke in that area. There were also evening shows in the cafes near the casino. We literally could not attend any of these shows because of the second hand smoke from the casino. I can't imagine being a performer on this ship and having to be subjected to this smoke night after night. It wasn't just us, people getting off the elevators in that area were commenting on the smoke and some were covering their nose and mouth with their clothing. Everything was clean but the air. I will not book this ship again because of this alone.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We usually book balconies. The first thing that struck us is that it was smaller than usual. I guess this is why they get so many people on board. The bathroom was very nice, the balcony was smaller than usual also. The cabin was very clean and the cabin steward was very nice.
Ship tip
Make reservations for everything you want to do. Everything books up quickly. Most evening shows are gone by day 2.
I would prefer departure from Bayone, NJ or Philadelphia, PA. The old Philadelphia Navy Yard use to be a great port to depart from but no cruise ships have gone out of there for some time. Its a shame.
This size ship will only fit at the dockyard. We use to be able to go to St. Georges and Hamilton with smaller ships but those ships seem to be long gone. Dockyards is pretty far away from everything that we like to do so we end up renting scooters so we can explore the island.
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