Great trip to Bermuda on Norwegian Gem

Embarkattion was quick and easy despite a computer issue which caused the port folks to stop processing for a while. Once through the check in process, we were quickly on the ship and using our PDP.

Overall dining was very good. The main dining rooms were very good. We were always seated quickly and service was great. Main dining room food was overall very good. Onion soup could be improved, though. It had very little cheese and no crouton. We had the 3 Specialty Dinner plan and 2 Platinum dinners. We went to Teppanyaki twice. We were not disappointed. Show was great and the food very good. One of our party cannot process fat very well. Her food was cooked separately from the rest of ours, but still on the hibachi, using just vegetable spray. She was very happy with it. Cagney's was delicious. Onion soup here was delicious! Meats were very tender and tasty. Service was very good. Our food took a bit longer than expected and we were constantly assured that we would be served soon. Overall, the pace was fine for us. We have a fun group and we were enjoying our time, Le Bistro was good, not great. I had rack of lamb, my wife had fillet mignon. Proteins were great, sides not so much. Profiteroles for dessert were very good. French press coffee was very good, too. Bread was cool and stale. Server was just OK. La Cuccina was not very good. Not enough help working the night we went. It took more than 15 minutes before our server came to the table, although we were served warm bread and water very quickly. Server took drink, app and main course orders all at once. Calamari was cold and not very tasty. My wife got Margherita Pizza (go figure). It was bland. Not enough sauce or cheese. I had Chicken Parm, which is not on menu but was told they could make it. Olive Garden quality, at best.

Fitness center was well equipped although temperature was very warm on most days. Pool was fine. The water was very refreshing and was never too crowded. Finding seats was another story. Chair hogs out in full force. Towels everywhere with nobody using them or the chairs for long periods of time. Not worth getting into a hassle for me. I always found chairs in the quiet zone on deck 14 and walked down the stairs to get to the pool - not a big deal.

Loved Blazing Boots and the comedian's adult show. Was not interested in seeing acrobats or a circus juggler/unicyclist. The pool band was really great. I wish I could remember their name. They did Motown show in the Spinnaker which we enjoyed very much. They also played in the Champagne bar. They were a bit loud for that smaller venue. A couple of singer musician acts were also on board. They were pretty good.

Very good service everywhere, with the exception of La Cuccina and Le Bistro. Most were very friendly. We found a couple of great bar tenders who took great care of us. Yuliana at the Atrium bar and Nemo at the Sake bar were excellent. Remembered our names and drinks from day 1. Our steward, Stephen, was very nice and efficient. Got us an egg crate mattress topper when we told him we were not comfortable in the bed. That worked well. Our room was kept very clean. No towel animals, however. We did not request them.

Loved the Great Outdoors. Found the ship easy to get around. We were able to find things very easily. Missed the high ceiling in the Atrium and the tiered seating by the pool, as on the Dawn, but, no big deal. Found the ship to be very clean and well cared for. Constant painting everywhere.

Room seemed smaller than the balcony rooms we had on previous cruises on the Dawn and the Spirit. Bathroom seemed especially tight in comparison. Overall, room was sufficient for what we needed and was kept very clean. Actually saw our steward cleaning the balcony doors. We had never seen that on previous cruises.

Although we a platinum, we were not given a meeting place for disemarkation as we had in the past. We were told to just wait until our color was called. Instead, we did self assist. Was fairly organized, although a long line. That being said, we were off the ship by 8:30.