Best cruise to date. We enjoyed this cruise with out pre and post tours in Boston more than any prior cruise. Last cruise was the Panama Canal on the Bliss in March/April 2019. The staff on the smaller ships are much more personable and get to know you. Helps not have 5000+ cruisers. The big ships are just a bid too large for meeting people and getting to know staff better. Next cruise is on the Gem again in Nov for the Caribbean, then we are trying out the Sun in Dec and again in Jan! Star in Feb for S. America!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
I had an upgrade to the Haven so easy embarkation and short wait in the waiting room. Boston priority wait area not near as nice as Miami but it was short.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Everything was terrific except Le Bistro which had really poor service the 2nd to last night of the cruise - luke warm mushroom soup - sent back, Wine was put on ice elsewhere and server did not check back for refills, we grabbed the Asst Maitre D to get it and then didn't allow him to take it off the table :-) My entree of Lamb was served, and alas no knife to go with it LOL. And for desert we had a celebration cake provided by our PCC and again no knife to cut it. The Asst Matre D was called again for both Knife issues. This was my first night as Platinum Plus and we were celebrating the move up. (Yes the benefits don't start until the next cruise) And to make the night special we were seated right next to the Captain and officers dining. So in a sense I got my Meal with officers (a Plat+ perk) the first night of being Plat + which made the whole experience terrific aside from the other issues. The server did come to apologize for the service issues and by the end of the meal we left on a good note.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Best was the Q&A with the Captain, Chief Eng and General Manager. Wife spent some time in the atrium taking in the daily activities for trivia and such while I was out on excursions. I do a lot of work in the cabin so don't do too many activities, but the offerings were enough to keep you busy. We do attend the art auctions which were enjoyable.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We enjoyed the Gem production dancers and the Ukrainian performers. Too tired to visit the night of the comedian. Music in the various areas was great.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Other than the one meal in Le Bistro everything was top notch and no issues with time. The one funny experience we had was in O'Sheans where we received the entree (Shephards Pie) in about 3 min of ordering, it beat the drinks and apps! I made sure the next visit to tell the server to wait to order the Shephard's Pie until after we had finished the Apps :-) That worked well.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
We like the Dawn and Jewel class ships. The layout is very similar on all 6 ships so you feel at home immediately. This Gem cruise was our first time on board Gem and everything was just where we expected. Everything was very clean and I was impressed that the ship was as good as it was since the last refit was 2015 and she will be due again next year. They laid new carpet in Cagneys during our cruise so the Suite breakfast/lunch was relocated to Le Bistro for 3 days which was fine, and the new carpet added some elegance to the Cagney's environent
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We were upgraded from Balcony to Haven 2br in the Haven Complex. Hard to compare this cabin to anyother! Lots of space it just needed a little redo LOL I moved the table in the living area so it was next to the balcony door for a better view while working. This involved moving the sofa a few feet into the space and I actually think the room looked better that way! Bed was super comfortable. Bathroom had a large tub with window and a shower with window lots of space again, and the 2nd Br which we did not use had its own bathroom which wife used, not liking to shower with a window LOL.
Ship tip
Remember to check the fish on the carpet, they swim towards the Bow except the Red one who bucks the trend IE Freestyle :-) Study the deck plans on the NCL website prior to cruising so you know where everything is and how to get there. I often saw people looking a bit confused. The only thing I wonder about is why the corridor on port side from the atrium to the center elevators is block by whatever is behind the door. I don't remember that on the Jewel, and the Star and Dawn do not have that blockage, I was always going to the wrong side when departing the elevator, but you can always exit the door to the prominade and go around outside. Also note that deck 6 has the Galley between the 2 MDR's so you cannot walk thru from Center elevators to the Aft MDR. One elevator in the Aft bank does go to deck 6 but otherwise the steps from Deck 7 to the aft MDR are the best way to get there. I would suggest that any Handicapped persons avoid this venue and dine in the midship MDR.
My NCL post cruise excursion was cancelled due to lack of interest. Too many Locals on the cruise not interested in touring! I did do 3 Viator tours and loved the City. We did a Whale Watch and Sunset cruise on the prior to embarkation day, and Boston gave us a special fireworks show that evening that we saw from out sunset cruise. On return to Boston we stayed another night and I did a 5 hr walking tour of the North End and Heritage trail which was Excellent. Our guide was Connor who did a terrific job of sharing his knowledge of the historic sights and foods of the area.
Safe, Clean and Beautiful! I did the NCL Glass bottom boat cruise, Goslings Rum evening Cruise (included many Rum tastings YUM), Aquarium and Crystal Caves, and Caves and Waves. All Were very enjoyable, and I even loved visiting the caves twice. The beaches on the 2nd trip were fantastic, I walked to the end to see the Nature area and NASA tracking station went up an observation tower to get good pics of the entire area, the water color was awesome.
Best experience of any cruise with 9 completed now. The customs officer was on the ship prior to scanning your key card to disembark. He checked the passport and keycard and passed you on to the ship security station. Picked up luggage in the terminal and then waited to meet some FB friends arriving to embark on the ship for the next cruise. Easy Lyft trip then to our Hotel.
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