CruiseLover05

First let me say I absolutely love NCL . I love free style cruising and being able to eat when I want and do what I want when I want. The Jewel is a beautiful ship and the staff was always very friendly and helpful. Places to eat: Free options Tsar's Palace Main Restaurant: My husband and I loved this restaurant because there was never a wait. The staff was accommodating anything you want you get it. Any special request they took care of it. It is a intimate dining experience . Azura Main Restaurant: We had breakfast in this restaurant a few times instead of going to the Garden Cafe. We did dinner here once but preferred Tsar's because it is smaller and less noisy at dinner. Garden Cafe: It is really busy here, the food options here are endless. We ate lunch here or The Great Outdoors Depending when you go it's hard to find a table. Blue Lagoon: This was our late nite spot, they have the best buffalo wings. They also had a great assortment of desserts. We did not eat at any of the specialty restaurants. Shore Excursions: They have great options in all the ports we were in. Orlando: Kennedy Space Center Closeup: This was well worth it. You get an in depth tour and you get to see things behind the scenes. My husband really loved this tour. Universal Studios: Our friends and their kids did this tour and loved it. This tour took the whole day. If you've never been here it's a great option. Cool thing about this port is you can catch a shuttle bus which goes to the local mall. We saw a lot of passengers when we came back from our tour who said the bus was cheap and all the stores had great prices. Some people went to Walmart and bought water, soda for their cabins. Great Strip Cay: Private Island My advice is to get off the ship as early as you can, our mistake was we took our time getting off the ship. When we got to the island it was really crowded, all the beach chairs were taken and it was hard to find a spot to lay your towel down. I spent most of the time in a picnic area which was shaded. The food was OK, we went back to the ship and enjoyed the pool. Most of the time it's hard to find a lounge chair near the pool so while everyone is out in the port it's a great time to enjoy the pool area. Nassau: We got off the ship and explored Nassau on our own. Great shops all in walking distance. We stop by a local bar and had Conch Fritters and Bahamian Beers. We also found great prices on liquor to bring back home. Of course you know when you return to the ship they take your liquor and you get it back the last night of the cruise. Entertainment: The Comedian was kind of corny. They have great music acts that perform all day throughout the ship. Karaoke was always cool. The White Hot Party was fun. The only thing I didn't like was too many young people in the clubs at night. I think if your 18 you are allowed in the club. The music was OK. We love NCL and look forward to doing The Breakaway or The Epic in 2014

Let me start by saying this ship is everything I dreamed of and more. This was a once in a lifetime experience. The process of boarding and disembarking this ship was very easy. They are very organized and know exactly how to make getting on board as well as leaving the ship run smooth. We arrived at the terminal about 10 am, they started boarding at 11:30 we were on board at 11:46. Pictures and videos I've seen about this ship does not do it justice. The Oasis is so beautiful. What I love about boarding is that all their venues that serve lunch were open and ready for everyone to have lunch. We walked through The Royal Promenade on deck 5. Then we headed to deck 8 Central Park. We enjoyed The Park Cafe's famous Kummelwreck sandwich. Then headed up to deck 16 to the Windjammer buffet. our cabins were ready at 1:30pm. We loved our balcony room on deck 10 it was very spacious. Lots of closet space and they provided a ton of hangers. Food: Free Options Opus Dining Room: this is the main dining room with access from Deck 3, 4 and 5. We choose My Time Dining, which we enjoyed because we planned dinner around all the shows we went to. Deck 5 is for only cruisers doing my time dining, you can make reservations based on your schedule for that day. We noticed even those that didn't make reservations were seated. If you want the same waiter each night you need to request it. The wait staff are so friendly and accommodating. We loved our waiter Jason and his Asst. Radney. We also had breakfast here twice. You can opt to order from a menu or you can do the breakfast buffet. Wipe Out Cafe: this is a great place to get breakfast on deck 15. Never was a long line and what's awesome about it is you can get fresh made omelettes. They have typical breads, bacon, sausage, fruit and different stuff to choose from. WindJammer Buffet: You can have breakfast,lunch and dinner here. Here depending on when you come you can expect a line. It does move fast. The workers are friendly and will help you with anything that you need. We only ate here a couple of times. Solarium Bistro: This is located on Deck 15 you can have breakfast and lunch here complimentary. They also offer dinner but you have to pay for it. This is great healthy option. Sorrento's this is on deck 5 The Royal Promenade, OMG the pizza was great and I love how they offered different flavors as well as they will make you a personal pizza based on the toppings they have. Cafe Promenade: also deck 5 they great cookies and desserts as well as little sandwiches. They're open 24 hours. Park Cafe : this is on deck 8 in Central Park. You can make your own salad as well as get great sandwiches here. Great option. Doughnut shop: this is on deck 6 on the Boardwalk Paid Options Deck 6 Boardwalk Johnny Rockets Seafood Shack Ice cream Parlor Speciality Restaurants Deck 8 Central Park We bought the Central Park Dining package for 70 per/person Giovanni's Table Italian Trattoria : this place was amazing, romantic dining experience.5 Course meal dessert was memorable. We had a rum raisin Gelato which was to die for. Chops Grill: great experience, Filet Minion awesome and leave room for Red Velvet for dessert Staff is awesome they will wrap up dessert for you. 150 Central Park: very elegant restaurant 6 course meal prepared by the chef. Let them know if you have any allergy's. Entertainment: Wow what can I say we absolutely loved all the shows. One word of advice prebook the show times you want before going on the ship because if you don't unfortunately they do get sold out. As soon as the shows open up I advise you to book them. All the shows are a must see, Hair Spray, Frozen in time, Oasis Dream,The Headliner show, Come Fly with me and the Comedy Show. They have so many activities everything was awesome. The pools we're always busy but the best part is on Port days if you get back before ship leaves usually not a lot of people. So many Jacuzzi to choose from that was awesome. They have a ton of deck chairs so you can always find chairs available. All I can say is be ready for a trip of a lifetime. Our first time on Royal Caribbean and we're already planning on going on the Quantum of the seas.