Overall, a great trip

Overall, I enjoyed my 7-day cruise on the Norwegian Jewel.  I’ve cruised many times before on at least three other cruise lines.  For the most part, this was comparable to the others.  The ship was beautiful and clean, the staff was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.  The Jewel is one of the smaller ships in the fleet and I find that I enjoy them more than the larger ones.  On the smaller ships the crew is more cohesive and personable.  And you see them more often so they learn your names and they almost become friends. Larger ships are more impersonal.

The activities and entertainment was wonderful.  Our favorite band was The Temperature.  Loved the White Hot Party.  Went to a couple of shows.  They were good but similar in that the company seemed to made up of singers, a few dancers, and some awesome acrobats.  All in all they were enjoyable even though I saw some of the same acrobatic tricks twice.  They were just as thrilling the second time.

One place Norwegian needs help is with technology.  I found their website difficult to navigate and not as informative as it could have been.  The itinerary was incomplete.  Online, the departure time on one of the days was missing and I booked a tour through an outside company that I thought would fit the schedule.  Once on the ship, I learned that the ship was departing before my tour ended.  I had to frantically call the tour company to re-schedule, paying over $100 for a ship-to-shore phone call.  Another problem was the Norwegian app.  I was so excited to have the ship’s activity schedule at my fingertips.  But after the 2nd day, I didn’t use it because it had errors and missing information.  The hardcopy schedule delivered to my room every night was more accurate.  The online schedule should have been the most accurate because it can be updated at any time.  Seemed as though no one was doing that, so it was very static and unreliable.  That was a missed opportunity.

The food was OK; I’ve had better on cruise ships.  I like the “freestyle dining” on Norwegian so you’re not assigned to a dining room and a table.  Occasionally there would be a dish or a dessert that was wonderful.  But overall I’d give the food a 6.  Only went to one specialty restaurant—the Brazilian one (name escapes me).  The food there was excellent!!!

If the price is right, I would take another Norwegian cruise.