Norwegian Jewel Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We are experienced cruisers. This is our first on Norwegian since company changed its name from Norwegian Caribbean; and, our first experience with "Free Style" cruising. 

There were many families on board and even a gentleman who brought his very small dog who looked more like a pet than a service animal. We had three meals at the speciality restaurants: Moderno, le Bistro, Cagney's. Only le Bistro met our dining standards as the equal or better than the main dining rooms. Of those two, Azura met our standards. All dining rooms are attractive, but very noisy and slow, considered adequate, but less than expected for the additional cost incurred. The best, by far, was O'Sheehans, complimentary, open 24 hours, with a limited menu and adequate, but slow service. 

Cabin service was good, but not special. We had cold or tepid bath water during the entire cruise. Our cabin, a mini-suite, was clean, but we had to request a second robe upon arrival. Our personal request for a rubber bath mat for the tile floor took 4 days to arrive and then only after many reminders. 

Most of the trouble with Service seemed to be difficulty understanding English, even at the Services Desk.  The line there was always long except for late hours at night. There was no TV channel to check one's billing statement. We are still trying, after 7 days from debarkation, to find out what a $200 pending item on our credit card means since the last statement on the day of debarkation was $0.00. Worse, there is NO telephone number or email address on the website to contact Norwegian Customer Relations  directly. We got a customer service telephone number from our travel agent. 

The ship was beautiful, the itinerary good, but not worth the inconvenience of a plane trip. We were told there were over a hundred children on board. Fine for families, but not for seniors who choose a cruise for relaxation and good service.

Thus, free style on Norwegian did not impress us to book it again.   

The cruise my wife and I took on the jewel was nice and relaxing. we spent a lot of time in the spa and the pool area. The food room service and management of the ship was great. The only thing that I would say needs upgrading is the spa area and its features. we have been on several cruises and we found the spa lacking and it needs to be upgraded.

Nice cruise, very entertaining, a lot of activities and show performances onboard.

You have to read the daily schedule provided and schedule your activities.

 We were treated like we deserved a fantastic cruise vacation by the entire

cruise staff. It was as if they wanted to prove to us that we were the passengers

that meant the most to them.

  Cleanliness with good cheer, no corner cut.

  Entertainment very very good.

Singing and a feeling of happiness abound. I just can't say enough good things

about this experience. Thank you Norwegian Jewel!

The food was fine. I would have the ship have a first run film instead of on the TV, in an area where we could view it on a large screen. Also, more clocks are needed around the ship since people look for a time of the activities and might not have a watch on at the time.  The entertainment was superb: Cirque was simply fantastic. Broadway type skills and wonder. Keep it up.

internet service was overly expensive.  Before I went on the cruise, I read on the details, and it said 250 minutes were free.  But when we were on the ship, it was over $145 per 250 minutes

The ship, stateroom, amenities and crew were wonderful and made this cruise a memorable one. We have been on several cruise ships, including a Norwegian to Hawaii and the crew on the Jewel, were indeed Jewels! Thanks to all at Norwegian.

We had a great time on the Jewel. Three great ports, very friendly and helpful staff on the ship. Very good guides on the shore excursions. Enjoyed the Free Style dining option and the view from Tsars Palace. The Russian acrobats were incredible and the rest of the entertainment was good. Ship is very clean and well maintained.

The only complaints were that the food wasn't always hot both at the buffet and the main dining rooms, and the bathroom is a little cramped.

Cruise just ok. What more can i say!  too many children. Food just ok. Cabin toooo small. Could barely move around bathroom. Obstructive view. Life boat drill ridiculous.  Every one would drown if we really had to follow their instructions. Never saw our cabin person. On one day our cabin never made up even though cabin sign indicated to make it up after 4hrs. I have traveled several times via cruises. Will never, ever consider NCL again!  Ports of call ok. Weather very good. Thank god ocean was smooth.  That helped the overall trip.

When we booked our cruise with Monique we were told we will get $50 on board credit. All others in our party got their $50 credit but us. We only got $25 credit and when I asked the guest service agent why we did not get $50 I was told to contact the booking agent. $25 is not a great amount but we were promised something that did not happened.

Also when we booked the cruise we were told we would get midship rooms but we did not get that either. Not a good way to treat customers.

Good basic cruise, great weather, etc.  Room steward was excellent.  The ship staff from officers to cleaning people were all pleasant and welcoming.  The entertainment by ship's performers and a couple from Russia were outstanding - some of the very best we have experienced on a ship. Food was generally very good - fairly typical cruising fare.  Our first meal in Tzar's restaurant was cold and inedible, but the rest of the meals there were great.  Ate in two of the specialty restaurants and they were excellent.  We are platinum or diamond with five cruise lines, and have concluded that "bang for the buck" NCL is probably the best.  We will concentrate on NCL for future cruises.

everything was great. sometimes you need to thro yesterdays food away instead of mixing it in with the next day buffet. it gets a little dry after two or three days

We had a great time with the Norwegian cruise.   Our first experience with the free-style dining, it was fine.   We enjoyed some good shows on board.  We shared a room with 4 adults but it was not bad.   Overall, a good experience.

The staff on the cruise ship was great, especially our room attendant who did a great job with the little things like filling ice, etc...we liked the dining options as it kept it interesting.  We liked most of the live entertainment that was on the trip.  The Bingo is definitely not something I would recommend getting involved in as the "jackpot" only allows 47 numbers to be called and nobody won any of those on our cruise....which seems pretty shady to be honest.  The ports we visited were great and I would definitely cruise this route again but would look for another cruise company.  Overall I gave 3 stars as it was still a good vacation.

Just returned from a terrific Mexican Riviera cruise, and I can"t wait to take another NCL cruise.  Top of my list was the entertainment.   Not only did NCL provide huge production shows every night, but the musicians playing in different areas around the ship were simply fantastic.  The food and service were wonderful.  We ate dinner every night but one in the main dining room and always had a delicious meal.  The one night we didn't eat there, we ate at the Asian restaurant, which was also very good.   You can eat breakfast and lunch anywhere on the ship and always have a good meal.  We especially liked getting food at the buffet and taking it into the nearby Italian restaurant for a quieter setting.  The three ports, Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta are all ports where you can walk right off the dock and explore on your own.  No need to purchase an excursion if you just want to meander for the day.  Our ship, the Jewel, was the easiest ship to find our way around on, and our stateroom was comfortable and quiet.  The shower is roomier than any shower we have had on ships before.  All in all, we loved loved loved this cruise.

THE SHIP IS A SMALLER SHIP THAN MEGA SHIPS.  THEY HAVE FREESTYLE DINING WHICH  MEANS YOU NEVER GET TO KNOW YOUR TABLE MATES BEYOND NAME, WHERE ARE YOU FROM, WHAT DO YOU DO AND DO YOU HAVE CHILDREN.  THE THERMAL SUITE IS AN ADDED TREAT IN THE SPA.  VERY  NICE UNLESS YOU ARE ACCUSTOMED TO GOING IN THE EVENING. THEY HAVE A BAND PLAYING IN THE BAR DIRECTLY ABOVE THE THERMAL SUITE.  IT  SOUNDS LIKE IT WILL BE  COMING THROUGH THE CEILING ANY SECOND.  NOT THE PEACEFUL SETTING THAT IT IS ADVERTISED AS  IN THE EVENING. 

Of the specialty restaurants, the Brazilian one and in particular, the lamb chops was really stupendous and tender. The French restaurant served some very excellent lobster and the service was truly top notch and if this was a Hollywood or Los Angeles establishment, you would  expect to pay well above $100 a head.

Unfortunately, the breakfast menu at the Tsar restaurant never changed over the seven days and became boring, although the wait staff were always cheerful

We had the "Ultimate Beverage Package". It was difficult to get service for a drink without going to a bar. At one point we sat around the pool for 2 1/2 hours without a single server coming by as glasses & plates were stacking up around us. The first 3 days the food on board was poor to average at best. Every guest we talked to readily agreed with us. In fairness it did get better as the cruise went on.

It took 10 hours to receive our luggage. We arrived at the port at 10 am. as selected online a month in advance. We couldn't change for the pool or dinner, unpack & settle in, nothing . We finally got our luggage at 8 pm that night. Every inquiry was met with total apathy. When we did get our luggage 1 piece was missing and we had to go to guest services to get it. One guest we met Boarded at 3 pm & had luggage by 4 pm. Unfathomable how this could happen.

We started out with a baggage malfunction, didn't get our luggage delivered until 8:45PM on the first night of the cruise. The rest of the trip went without a hitch. The staff on the ship was unusually kind and happy. Whatever they are drinking, I'll take a swig. The food was very taste and the quality of the liquor was fantastic. I tried some rum punch the first day and didn't care for it but everything else was great. Entertainment was super and we enjoyed as much as we took time to go to.

We had a wonderful cruise! Everything was like a cruise should be from embarkation to disembarking. The room steward was outstanding even made towel figures every evening, the cabin was spotless, ice bucket was always full, etc. 

The food was very good with a very attentive wait staff. We liked the freestyle dining eating when we wanted to in a wide variety of resteraunts. 

The entertainment was the best I have seen at sea, and this was my 35th cruise.

We have been home less than a week and are booking a return cruise on the Jewel.