On our arrival at the Venice Cruise terminal we were given a boarding number and had to wait for the number to be called.

There was a lot of activity in the waiting area and I was amazed that NCL were pushing Speciality Dinner, and Spa Treatment reservations in the Terminal even before we had boarded the ship.

Enough said about that embarkation was comparatively easy

The Gem was lovely, spotlessly clean and obviously well maintained in all areas

Sailing out of Venice through the Lagoon past St Marks and all the other famous landmarks was indeed a worthwhile and memorable experience.

We had an inside cabin on Deck 8 very spacious and again spotless, Jimmy our Cabin Steward was very attentive whilst remaining unobtrusive most of the time. The inevitable "cutbacks" were obvious, No Smellies or bathrobes in the bathroom AND shock horror No chocolates on the pillow at night

(are they really being cruel to be kind - thinking of our weight)

We ate breakfast in the Garden Cafe only twice (carefully selecting our times) due to the crowds and rest of the the week ate in the main dining room in comfort.

Lunch in the Garden Cafe again picking our times carefully to avoid the crowds.

Dinners every night in the Magenta and again cutbacks were evident in that delicacies such as Lobster and Prime Rib were conspicuous by their absence as were lovely puddings (Souffles)

Overall we were disappointed by the food,

Staff were great very helpful and in the most part very cheerful (who couldn’t raise a smile at Mr Washy Washy greeting you at the door of the Garden Cafe)

The main shows in the Stardust Theatre we thought were very good. and the guest artists, were good too, particularly the Ventriloquist who was very funny with a lot of audience participation.

Lots of daytime activities in which one could participate or not (depending on individual choices)

A couple of things really got on my nerves,

1 Photographers continually harrassing, and

2. The Art Auction - these would be less annoying to passengers if they were held in a closed room at the back of the ship somewhere (if anyone is interested in buying art on a cruise surely they wouldn’t mind going to a specific area for this)

Drinks Prices were extortionate, if they were cheaper passengers would buy more

Overall we thoroughly enjoyed this cruise which we selected for its Itinerary and we really enjoyed the Greek islands, the great weather and lovely ports more than made up for any disappointments