Welcome to Catherine Harris's review of the Norwegian Cruise Lines, Norwegian Jewel. ReviewThatCruise.com is first for Norwegian Jewel Reviews & Norwegian Jewel ship reviews.
This was our 1st cruise on NCL and we will certainly sail with them again. The Norwegian Jewel is a truly beautiful ship.
Upon boarding, we were shown to our cabin, our luggage joined us around 1-2 hours later. After checking out the cabin – we had a balcony cabin on deck 10 – décor was lovely and bright, the room was fairly compact but adequate with single beds joined to make a queen size, a sofa, plenty of wardrobe/drawer/shelf space available. After settling in and admiring the view of Miami from the balcony we visited the Tsar’s Palace for lunch which was excellent – the restaurant is elegantly decorated in opulent ruby red and emerald green with some fantastic crystal chandeliers.
Following lunch we explored a little more and were suitably impressed with the overall impression of the ship. I particularly liked the carpets in the cabin hallways. All had an underwater theme with little schools of ‘Nemo’ swimming in one direction (forwards) – this helped greatly when trying to find your way back to your cabin.
CABIN ACCOMMODATION: We chose a balcony cabin because we liked the idea of being able to sit outside (particularly on sea days) with a book or a drink – we were not disappointed. The cabin was beautifully appointed although quite compact. There was plenty of storage space, a refridgerator, safe etc. The bathroom amenities provided were body lotion, shower cap, small sewing kit, shoe buffer, cotton wool, shampoo and conditioner, shower gel and soap (a dispenser by the sink and in the shower and a facial bar as an extra). The lotions and potions provided were of good quality – we ended up taking most of our toiletries (soap, shampoo, shower gel etc.) home unused. The safe was very easy to use, uncomplicated instructions – even my technophobic husband found it straightforward.
RESTAURANTS & DINING: We ate breakfast each morning in the Tsar\'s Palace. Their selection of Danish pastries and fresh bread each morning was excellent. We dined at Tsar’s Palace for dinner and lunch, the food was always of excellent quality and variety. On formal evening, lobster was served in each of the restaurants, together with many more mouth-watering selections. We were unable to dine in Mama\'s Italian Kitchen which had been recommended to us prior to the cruise – if you want to dine there it is best to book early in the week – there is no cover charge for this venue and all we spoke to praised the food highly. We did try Le Bistro (cover charge $10 per person), dinner twice and breakfast once; Tangos (no cover charge), Blue Lagoon (no cover charge), Chin Chin (cover charge $10 per person), Garden Cafe. The food and service in Le Bistro were exceptional, as were the Versace plate chargers – beautiful – you must try the chocolate fondue, it is the speciality of the restaurant and is to die for!! We considered the $10 cover charge very good value. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Chin Chin (at least in our opinion), the theme was asian fusion and we considered the food to be of an acceptable quality but not of a quality to warrant a cover charge, the service however was excellent. Tangos was lovely, the atmosphere was good, staff were full of fun and the food, Mex/Tex very good with great variety. The Garden Café was okay if all you wanted was a quick snack but we prefer waiter service whilst on holiday so did not frequent this venue very much.
POOLSIDE: The poolside area was very colourful and beautifully lit up each evening. There were 2 pools and 4 jacuzzis. Even on days at sea there was no shortage of sun-loungers and none of the chair-hoggers (or so it would seem). You must go to the Caribbean Night which is held pool-side with entertainment provided by the resident band, Paul Baya and his team, together with members of the bar and entertainment staff – we had a hilarious night and giggled into the small hours.
ENTERTAINMENT: The Jewel showband provided great dance music both in Spinnakers and for the shows in the Stardust theatre most nights. We saw all of the shows that were staged in the Stardust theatre. The venue was laid out as a theatre on land, with tiered seats and waiter service for drinks etc. All of the shows are well worth watching. Our particular favourite was the Cirque Bijou, the aerial acrobatics and absolute theatre of this show were amazing – how the performers manage their daring feats whilst at sea absolutely amazed me. Another show produced by the Jean Ann Ryan Company was ‘Band on the Run’ something of a 70s tribute – this too was excellent – although some of the music chosen may have been a little obscure for some of the older members of the audience. A special mention must be given to the extremely talented Cruise Director, Paul Baya, he could have entertained those present with his own show.
PORTS OF CALL: Roatan (Honduras) – we visited Gumbalimba Park which was a botanical gardens with monkeys and macaws together with many varieties of orchids, hibiscus and other tropical plants. Our trip included a lobster lunch which was most enjoyable (if you didn’t like lobster there was chicken on offer). There was a small beach area available if you wanted to swim or sunbathe. Next stop was Grand Cayman – again we chose an organised excursion, this time a butterfly farm and a trip on the Nautilus Semi-Submarine – this trip was fairly good value for money however we were disappointed that we had not opted for the island tour (we chose not to visit the sting-ray sandbank as we had already done a similar trip in Antigua during another cruise). For those shoppers among us, there were many fine shops in Grand Cayman, together with the usual offering of jewellery stores. Jamaica (Ocho Rios) – we didn’t expect to enjoy this destination – we had heard a few horror stories over the years about the area – all unfounded in our opinion. We chose an excursion which took us to Shaw Park Garden (a lovely place), through Fern Gully and to Dunns River Falls. Whilst I would have loved to climb the falls, I was unable to do so due to a recent back injury – all those who climbed seemed to be having great fun – a word of warning though – the rocks are slippery and accidents do happen!! The beach at the bottom of the falls was okay, with great views of the cruise ship (take your camera). Our last stop was Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas) which is an island owned by NCL. We had a lovely day just sitting around sunbathing, swimming and generally relaxing on the lovely white powder sand. The buffet was good and the entertainment ashore excellent – there was plenty to do for the entire time ashore.
WATCH OUT FOR – On our first evening, in fact at the sail-away party on deck, we were offered the cocktail of the day which as I recall was a Rum Punch. We hadn’t realised that if you don’t ask for plain or straight glasses you are served the drink in a speciality glass which adds around $3.50 to the price of the drink. Whilst we would have opted for speciality glasses anyway (it’s quite nice to bring something home with you bearing the ships logo) we felt that we should have been given the option by the bar staff (or at least told that there is an additional charge for a speciality glass). This is just something to watch out for and be aware of. Drinks are fairly expensive on board (a point that is noted by all staff during entertainment shows), this didn’t bother us in the slightest as although we enjoy a drink or maybe a bottle of wine with dinner I don’t consider we are heavy drinkers – the average price for a bottle of wine was around $30 although we chose a nice Californian rose a couple of times which was Ł24. On top of the price of drinks is a 15% standard gratuity – again this didn’t bother us but we would have preferred to have more say in the staff we rewarded rather than have a standard amount imposed.
SUMMARY- In summary, all aspects of our cruise were exceptional, every member of staff on board seemed to be there to ensure that you had the best possible time. We had only cruised with Ocean Village prior to NCL, and I must say that although we had a great time on the former, it did not compare to the Jewel (other than the islands visited which we preferred). If you have the chance to sail on the Jewel do take it – you really will not be disappointed.
