Chose this cruise for the ports of call and they did not disappoint, some excelled our expectations. Didn’t find long lines or wait times to get on or off at each port. Could not fault food anywhere on board. Especially enjoyed breakfast in O’Sheehans, much more quiet and relaxing than the buffet. Bar tenders on NCL are the best at sea for cocktails and the staff on Jewel are some of the best for sure.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Queues at check in moved quickly, very efficient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food at Garden Cafe & Great Outdoors were above average for buffet. Omelettes made to order at breakfast excellent. Good variety on evenings, with themed nights and always something nice on carving station. Not overly keen on buffet desserts, nothing wowed me.
O’sheehans fresh cooked food, always came out hot. This was our favourite place for breakfast, quiet and relaxed.
Cagneys & Moderno food & service were excellent, couldn’t fault.
Azura main dining, never waited, Tsars Palace always queued so never used. Food was very good and portions generous, service excellent.
Moderno Churrascaria
4 out of 5
Great food that never ends, unless you say so! Go with an empty stomach and don’t fill up on the soups and salads, there’s mountains of delicious meats to try!
Cagney's Steakhouse
5 out of 5
Excellent French onion soup and Fillet Mignon. Couldn’t fault food or service
The Great Outdoors
4 out of 5
More relaxed than Garden cafe for breakfast, omelettes to order excellent.Varied snacks when returning from port when Garden cafe closed after lunch.
Azura Main Dining Room
4 out of 5
Never had to wait on table. Varied daily specials along with standard classics never disappointed. Generous portions and didn’t have a bad meal here
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Standard gym, spa etc. pools didn’t get overly busy. Should have been more activities on sea days, quizzes and pool side etc.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Disappointed with “Rock” show in theatre, one of lead guys very poor vocals and they need to Google “rock music”!
With the exception of one male soloist, all of the singers/bands were average at best.
The ship was lucky to have a very talented number of passengers who took part in the Karaoke! Special mention to Elli from Abergavenny who rocked the socks of everyone, every time she performed!
Game Shows we’re entertaining, however tame in comparison to other cruises. No kids aboard, could have been much more fun, even when advertised as “adult only”. Cruise Director need to loosen up a lot.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Room steward, dining wait staff and bar tenders were superb, efficient and super friendly. Only let down was Guest Services who couldn’t give us some simple info on a water package.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship is very easy to get around with open areas that flow together well, making venues easy to find. I do miss the fish carpet in the corridors though.
Bars, lounges and dining areas comfortable, well maintained and spotlessly clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Oceanview cabin, aft on deck 8 fitted us perfectly. Short walk to aft lifts, very little noise from footfall, handy for O’ sheehans for breakfast.
Size about average for oceanview cabin. Plenty of storage space in way of wardrobes, drawers and shelves. Location of safe below hanging space was a little awkward, would have been better on one of the shelves, but that was our only niggle!
Great size shower with slide door and washing line. Spotlessly clean and house keeping kept it that way.
Ship tip
O’Sheehans is a great place for a quiet and relaxing breakfast.
Had overnight at port. Tenders were constant till midnight, then hourly.
Took ship excursion to Phang Nga, James Bond island. Very long drive but had excellent guide, who made time fly on coach. Boat trip around Phang Nga bay was just as amazing as all the photographs. Lunch on floating fisherman’s village was very good and very well organised. Very early start and long day but thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend.
Spent next day on Patong beach. 100bahts for 2 sun loungers and umbrella for rent. Cheap Alcoholic cocktails, mock tails and food available from beach guys. Very relaxing day.
Watch your step with pavements and the scooters!
Docked at Marina Bay in Singapore at 6pm for an overnight stay. After reading about delays through immigration we waited till about 7.30 and walked straight through, no waiting. Went down to Merlion Park with amazing views over bay to Marina Bay Sands hotel, unfortunately missed the water / laser show.
Next morning went to Raffles Hotel for our Singapore Slings in the Long Bar. We were there for 11.15 and waited an hour to get in. Get there for opening other wise you’ll be waiting hours! Cost for 2 Singapore slings was 93 Singapore dollars/ £58/$70 😖
MRT station is well sign posted from cruise port, very clean, safe and easy to use. Guys at info booths at the stations are really helpful and some having walking directions printed to help you find what your looking for! We just used our credit cards, not all will work, instead of tickets on the turnstiles. We must have taken 6 journeys and it cost less than £5 in total!
Pre arranged a taxi to take us down to Selong Belanak beach, about an hour from port. Used Sudin Transport and they were waiting promptly with a sign. Could probably have got slightly cheaper if I had wanted to run the gauntlet with the thousands of taxi drivers waiting there.
There fare was $65 for the day, which we split with another couple, NCL was charging over $100 for their beach break! He dropped us at Laut Biru bar, we used them for alcoholic drinks and toilets and got sun beds a little further up beach for about $5. Lovely, relaxing and clean beach, waves to rough for swim that day, sadly. Need local currency here.
Plenty of stalls at ports for souvenir but barter hard.
Had 2 nights pre cruise. Trip up Petronis Towers is a must. Prebook your tickets directly with them online before you go. Heard a lot of “sold out” stories. Fantastic to photograph at night! Good value Hop on/off bus runs from right outside Petronis towers. Expect traffic! Vibrant and safe city to explore on foot, if you can stand the heat.
I had already planned to stay on ship as there seemed very little to go into city for. When passengers returned we heard only bad stories of rip off taxis, horrendous traffic into city and ship excursions that were a complete waste of time and money. A long line at Guest Services with complaining passengers.
Well organised port to disembark.
Had 2 night stay at Merusaka in Nusa Dua which was right on a beautiful clean beach. Wonderful relaxing time after rather exhausting but brilliant cruise. Will return!
Took shore excursion to Cable Car & highlights. Spent far too much time at rice field and didn’t have enough time at top of cable car to do the Sky Walk. Lesson learned. Take a taxi from port to cable car and book tickets before you go. Stunning views even without the sky walk
Hired a taxi for 4 hours, fixed rates, 50 Ringits per hour. Took a trip up to Penang Hill. Took jeep to top rather than the railway to save time. Took golf buggy to outlook for photos then walked up to The Habitat for the most amazing views. Plenty to do up there if you have the time.
Chose a later disembarkation time, knowing our transfer wasn’t till 10am. Walked straight off, no waiting at forward gangway. Quickest disembarkation ever!
I took a cruise on the NCL Jewel last June in the same stateroom category and loved it! We were in 8616 and loved the proximity to the elevators and O’Sheean’s. We loved the Jewel. 😊 So happy you had a nice cruise, too!
One of my favorite cruises of all time was on the jewel. I don’t dare go on it again so I don’t get let down. It was in 2017 and the captain and cruise director as well as entertainment was just unbelievable. Haven’t been on a NcL that good since. Half the cruises I’ve been on since I couldn’t tell you who the captain and CD was but this boat I remember well.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
