The first thing to say about the cruise ship the Norwegian Gem is that she's ENORMOUS. It's the second and third things to say, too. Even after a week's cruising, I was still stunned by the scale of her.

Stand at the foot of the gangplank, at the level of Deck 4, and look up. The ship rears 11 decks above you, a great white slab. And she stretches away to each side for more than 150 yards in each direction.

Put it another way - if her bow were at Carfax, her stern would be just past Debenhams.

Somewhere in there is a 1,000-seat theatre at one end, and a four-lane 10-pin bowling alley at the other, a casino, 12 restaurants, 11 bars... She looks like an enormous hotel (which she is, of course), but she's a hotel that can shift at 25 knots at a push.

The ship's the latest addition to the fleet of Norwegian Cruise Line, brand spanking new in fact: a 28-day-old, gleaming white, half-billion-dollar's- worth of ship.

We boarded the Norwegian Gem in Barcelona, unfortunately without enough time to explore the city. That evening we sailed for Malaga, then on to Agadir in Morocco, Arecife on Lanzarote, and finally to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria.

We had been due to visit Casablanca, but the danger of violence against tourists meant that NCL cancelled that stop. I had packed my trenchcoat and fedora in vain...

One of my best memories of the cruise was of passing through the Straits of Gibraltar at dawn.

I'd got up early and, in the cool darkness, I wandered up to the highest deck at the stern with a mug of hot tea to sit and watch.

Far below me the engines hummed reassuringly. Behind, the sun rose over our wake. On each side a continent emerged from the night and slowly took shape. Cruising has a rather stuffy image, but NCL's approach is an informal one. They run what they call Freestyle cruises, with the slogan You're free to whatever.... There are no fixed dining times and very few rules about dressing.

All they ask is that passengers dress at least 'resort casual'. Those who enjoy formality can dress up the nines if they like - and many of the female passengers cut quite a dash. However, although I saw many attractive party dresses, I didn't see a single bow-tie.

One of the pleasures of cruising is the ability to move from city to city effortlessly. You visit somewhere fascinating, return to the ship, eat out well, catch a show or visit a bar or two, go to bed, and wake up as the ship noses into somewhere completely different.

No packing and unpacking, queueing at airports or taking your shoes off for the x-ray machine. Apart from the need to be back on board before the Gem sailed, there were no real time pressures on passengers.

Under the clock on the tennis court was a modest sign saying 'Not that it matters...'. In each port of call there was a choice of at least three shore excursions. In Malaga, for example, I took the opportunity to fulfil my long-held desire to see the Alhambra, the ancient Moorish palace on the outskirts of Granada. It didn't disappoint.

Any other passengers simply strolled into Malaga to shop, visit the new Picasso museum (he was born there) or just sit in pavement cafes, people-watching.

Others stayed on the ship to loaf around the open-air Tahitian Pool on Deck 12, where you could sit in a hot tub and listen to a rather good reggae band.

The food was terrific. And, since the bulk of the passengers were American, there had to be plenty of it. The Garden Café had a 24-hour buffet, and like all men, I regard a buffet as a challenge. I managed to stretch out breakfast until it nearly met lunch, and with a bit of perseverance, I could have turned into a dawn-till-dusk eating machine.

Some of the other restaurants were at no extra cost, while some added a $10 cover charge, and a couple, $20. You could try Italian one night, French another, a tapas bar the next, and make two visits to the Japanese restaurant to try both sushi and teppanyaki.

The Grand Pacific Dining Room was the largest - a 556-seater marble-pillared space that was modelled on the dining rooms of trans-Pacific liners. Throughout, the standard of food was excellent.

Incidentally, if you're thinking of cruising, it's worth considering the currency that's used on board. NCL uses US dollars (some other lines accept euros or sterling), which means that, at current exchange rates, onboard prices are relatively cheap for Brits.

My only grumble was about the constant piped music, everywhere but in the staterooms. That slogan 'You're free to whatever...' doesn't seem to include being free to emerge slowly into consciousness with only the contents of your own head for company.

The service on the ship was simply stunning - friendly and efficient to an almost uncanny degree.

We all have grumpy moments, but this crew didn't seem to. In a way this isn't surprising because NCL's policy is to put their best staff on their newest ship. It makes sense - the combination of new crew and new ship could be tricky - and in a week's cruise I met nothing but cheerful, but not smothering, helpfulness.

Setting sail: the facts: Itinerary: Iberia, Africa & Atlantic Isles, onboard Norwegian Jade DEPARTING: November 2008 TRAVEL: Fly UK/Barcelona, then cruise the Mediterranean - Malaga (Granada) Spain; Casablanca (Morocco), with optional overnight tour to Marrakech; Agadir (Morocco); Arrecife (Lanzarote); Las Palmas (Gran Canaria); cruise the Atlantic Ocean from Lisbon (Portugal): Cadiz (Seville); Gibraltar; Palma (Majorca).

DURATION: 12-night Fly-Cruise PRICED FROM: Inside staterooms from £1,099* What's included: 12 nights Freestyle Cruising aboard Norwegian Jade, all meals and entertainment aboard ship, economy scheduled flights from London, government fees and taxes, all overseas transfers between airport, hotel, pier and ship.

For more information, call 0845 658 8010 or visit www.ncl.co.uk *Prices are per person based on two sharing and subject to availability