Though we didn't admit it to each other, my husband and I knew something was off when we sat down to our first meal on the Norwegian Gem in the Grand Pacific shortly after boarding and he bit into a dry cheeseburger, and I forked through mashed potatoes that tasted similar to KFC. I kept my worry to myself and hoped the food would improve. He apparently did the same. Spoiler: the food did not improve and the service would actually get worse too.

The next sea day we jetted towards Orlando from NYC and the decks were not usable. The wind created from the ship on deck made the temperature outside something like 50 degrees, and as a result the inside of the ship was cramped and crowded. We were still fairly upbeat though at this point in the trip. The on-board activities left something to be desired but my husband wanted to try his hand at "deal or no deal"- only to get up to the spinnaker lounge and find out it was a $25 buy-in. Bored already, we bought in and lost out.

Once we made Port Canaveral we had a great time doing the Airboat Adventure and Alligator Jungle Tour. Admittedly, the Alligator Jungle park is a small park with limited enrichment for the animals- if you are expecting something along the lines of Disney's Animal Kingdom you will be disappointed, but it was a fun day and the employees are knowledgeable and clearly love their jobs and the animals they take care of. Airboat rides are super fun too! Read more