Norwegian Jewel Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was our first cruise.  The staterooms are small but comfortable and met all of our needs.  The main buffet on Level 12 was great.  If you can't find something you like there, then you probably just can't be satisfied anywhere.  The entertainment has to be geared for all ages, so you probably won't like every single venue, but you should be able to find plenty to enjoy.  One suggestion:  before you depart go online and find deck plans of each deck and print them out.  You will find them to be helpful and they are not available onboard the ship.  Our stops were Cozumel, Belize City, Belize and Trujillo, Honduras. 

Cozumel:  Cozumel is a tourist town.  Spanish is the native language but English is spoken everywhere.  The economy depends on tourism and the people are friendly.  Remember to bargain or you will pay too much.  We took a taxi ride around the Island.  I would not recommend it.  There is not much to see outside of the city of Cozumel regardless of what they tell you.  We did not go to the mainland.  Next time we would. 

Belize:  Education in Belize is in English and is mandatory so you will not have any problem with language.  The people are friendly and are dependent on tourism for much of their economy.  We took a tour around the city and it was enjoyable.  We were then talked into a taxi ride around the countryside.  There is not that much to see on that trip, but we helped a local man feed his family that day so I guess it was worth it.

Trujillo:  This is an area that has just been opened up to tourism recently and is still under construction.  The people there are poor and uneducated.  The tour guides may not be from that city, but may come there only when the cruise ships come in.  Go and see for yourself.

Go for a cruise.  Meet some new people.  Have some fun.  You will have to try hard to keep from having fun.

We are not frequent cruise vacationers, but our whole experience from booking with Price-line to disembarkation was enjoyable.  After we booked 2 other couples in our family also booked and our room situation was great.  We had 2 inside cabins and one mini-suite, so we all had access to the balcony and space to meet and visit. All the ship staff were helpful and very kind.  The ship was in great shape and the staterooms well arranged with storage and great beds.

On board costs were a surprise although we had read and taken soda and water with us.  The meals were delicious and of a great variety. The beef was below our expectation, but we are beef eaters!!

All in all we had a very good time and are so glad we went.  

Everything is perfect, like service and food. But it is too small for 4 people in one room. It is easy to improve something small like golf club, tennis racquet, table tennis racquet.

We stayed on the 10th floor in a balcony and it was wonderful to sleep with the slider open to hear the waves and to view the Caribbean from the comfort of our room.  We chose Norwegian because of the fun activities and great food choices. The only two things to note for future passengers are the following:  There is a hard sell on 'looking 10 yrs younger' and unfortunately, as a first time client to looking younger, I was not aware of the cost and therefore overpaid on the services... and on top of that received unnecessary treatments and on top of that was charged 18% gratuity.  After arriving back in California and researching the costs, I now realize that the treatment itself was overcharged by $525 and I paid $432 for gratuity!  Unfortunately I was talked into doing this treatment and  'not one person' has noticed anything different about me! Goes to show that I spent $2832 for basically nothing.    The other thing to note is 'do not attend any presentation in Cozumel for Royal Park Hotel - also known as Royal-Holiday (vacation timeshare/points = SCAM).  Unfortunately, we spent 4 hours in a hotel area saying 'no thanks' and missed out a lot on sightseeing in Cozumel.  We succumbed to buying into the 'deal' which started out at $32K and we finally signed at $1950 - when we got back to the ship to review the documents that were given to us 'AFTER' we signed, we realized we had to cancel... but we had already left the port.  We then had to locate a post office in Belize to try to send the package back to Mexico to cancel within the 5 day timeframe - good luck with that!  We paid $55 to send the docs express mail, we were issued a 'tracking#' and it has yet to show up in CORREOSDEMEXICO' website.  Royal-Holiday has not confirmed our cancellation, and we have no idea where the package is that we sent. 

As I said - our trip on Norwegian was lots of fun - but don't get SPA treatments unless you want to overpay... and don't get scammed by buying ANYTHING at a port.

The actual cruise was nice and the staff was always helpful and courteous. The boat was kept clean.

Thank you to a  young German woman ,she was from Stuttgart .and I believe her man was "Anke" .

she helped with a problem.

My main concern and  unhappiness  came from the shore side phone  personnel. They were adamant almost to the point of arrogant .When I changed ground transportation and ask for a refund because I had  found a more convenient flight. I was given a line of bull. It was to late for any kind of refund, I could not get off the boat in time, I would have to wait in long lines at customs. .. Absolutely No way....

All this proved to be false. I feel I was not told the truth or dealt in an honest way

Norwegian staff on board gave me a refund . WE made it to the transfer on shore quickly and airport ( Hobby, Houston with plenty of time,!  

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First time on a NCL Jewel, met a bar tender named Deno' from Philippines; from that minute on-- the game was free styling: meals,  stage shows, adult drinks, shore visits, and tasting at Shakers on the six level and much, much more.

Purchased both Meal and Adult beverage packages and its well worth the money spent.  You have to visit Judith in Cagney's Steak House-- 8oz fillet made Ruth's forget their last name.  Deserts were Publix Danish Bakery quality every day-all day.    

Best cruise ever. Looked for trouble found none. Good job. Sorry Carnival look out.  We will be back.

We had a great time lot's of thing to do.  Easy on easy off.

The cruise overall was excellent.  We dined in 3 dining rooms, all were top notch in food quality and service.  The entertainment venues were excellent, with wide variety of entertainment.  Our room was very good.  We had a balcony that allowed us to get away from others for awhile. The tours were good.  The historical tour of Trujillo, Honduras was good.  In Belize we had a 1 hour boatride to get to the area we were going to get to the sharks and stingrays.  The boat crew in Belize did a good job of engaging the tourists while on the ride each way.  The lunch place was not especially good.  Service at the restaurant was fair.  The interaction with the sharks and stingrays was good with the guides providing constant feedback.  

I love cruising to different locations. This trip I had a head ache most of the time and didnt know why until the last day when i found a large amount of mold in our cabin under the bed, which i am alergic to. If i would have found it sooner i would have requested  a cabin change. other than that all was good.

The crew was very attentive and fun. Lots of on board entertainment and crew was very informative about excursions in each port. Food was delicious, with plenty of restaurant that offered a variety of food for every appetite. My advise would be for anyone going that drinks adult beverages, buy the drink package. It's expensive but it's cheaper to go ahead and do that than buy on the ship one at a time. Also don't over pack. This is a free style cruise and you don't have to dress formal for any dinner unless you want to. Only one restaurant on the ship has a dress code so all the rest you can go in shorts and flip flops.

The temperature was -10°F when we left Minnesota on the 13th for the drive to Houston, so we were extremely appreciative of the perfect weather. Boarding was fantastic. As we were travelling with my 89-year old in-laws, we had requested wheel chairs (for boarding only) for both. Special assistance line was non-existent when we arrived (about 10:30 AM); we were able to walk right up to the check-in desk, and board immediately after filling out the paperwork. Dropped off our bags and went to the dining room for lunch, figuring the buffet might be crowded. Disembarking was just as easy (we carried off all of our luggage ourselves).

Food was as expected (very good for the most part) with one glaring exception - no lobster night. Chocolate night was also a bit of a disappointment (several ok chocolate desserts were offered in the main dining rooms), however, the Chocolate Volcano dessert, which was offered every night in the main dining rooms, gets 5 stars from all six of us. I do believe I ate more smoked salmon in seven breakfasts than I ate in the previous year. 5 stars for that. The biscuits for the biscuits and gravy were definitely not to my liking, so I felt obligated to make up for that by going for the chocolate croissants. The crepes get two big thumbs up - they'd rate even higher if the crepe station included ice cream as a possible filling/topping.

We enjoyed all of the evening shows in the Stardust Theater; the lounge singers and bands I'd rate as ranging from good to excellent. The Cruise Director's staff did an excellent job with the various activities. 

My wife and I had an inside stateroom. It was small, as expected, but the bed was very comfortable and the thermostat allowed us to adjust the temperature to my wife's liking (meaning a bit warmer than I like). Often, our room was not made up until after lunch. Not a big deal for us; I guess we were just near the end of the line.

All-in-all I'd definitely recommend this cruise.

White sands and warm sun. What else can one want when weather is freezing back home....Food was great, crew so very friendly and helpful. Getting on and  off the ship was a breeze in the ports.

This was my first cruise and my wife's second in 30-years.  The cruise and cruise line changed my preconceived view of cruises.  It was a most enjoyable way to travel with plenty of the down time I wanted and the on shore experiences we both looked forward to having in the countries where we stopped.  The entire ship's crew was excellent and as attentive as possible.  The food, entertainment, and services were more than we expected.  We had the Ultimate Dining Package which was definitely worth the additional cost.  I wouldn't sail without it.  For a large ship (2500+ passengers) we found it easy to navigate and very convenient to use for our wants.  From our original embarkation to our final return, the crew and representatives made it a quick and efficient process to register and pass customs.  Definitely a repeat experience.  We are looking forward to more cruises.

Tim and Carol,

Gilbert, AZ

First time cruising Norwegian as well as the Caribbean. Checked off couple locations off of my wife's bucket list ( Belize & Cozumel ). All 3 Ports/Destinations were incredible wheather taking a tour of Mayan Ruins, Snorkeling the Barrier Reef, laying out on White Sand Beaches with crystal clear waters or simply strolling Roatan Bay, Honduras meeting locals and learning about the culture. The Ship was large enough to feel safe yet layed out so was within any area of the ship to get involved with any of the activities. We enjoyed the Spinnaker Lounge activities and Dancing every night of the cruise and received great Bar service from the staff. We dined nightly in the 2 main dining rooms ( Azura or Tsars ) and the food & Desserts were very good, I would like to of seen the 2 Main Dining Rooms open later then 9:30 ship time as being from West Coast it was rather early for me to eat dinner so I was at risk of missing dinner ( did arrive at 9:45 and talked staff into allowing mus to eat. We did not go into any of the " Specialty" restaurants on board but did see quite a few passengers doing so. The Buffet had good Variety but feedback I had given the ship was the food go be warmer as by the time I made my plate, ot beverages and found seating most of the food was room temperature at best. The Freestyle was different for us as all our other cruises had Dinner structure etc including Formal nights and themed attire while the Freestyle was just that ( though you still needed to be with Collar shirt for main Dining Rooms ) My Wife liked the idea of getting " Fancy" so we still did so even though most other passengers didn't dress up...In discussing with my wife how she liked cruise etc. we both would recommend both this Cruise Line and this ship for a future cruise.

Our cruise on the Norwegian Jewel was excellent.  The staff was friendly and willing to answer any questions we had.  The food was also outstanding.  The shows were very entertaining and the comedian was hilarious!

This was our first time cruising with NCL. We've cruised on Carnival once and Royal twice before this. We enjoyed the Jewel and had a great time. The food quality was very good but we didn't see any extra value in the pay for restaurants. We went to two; Le Bistro didn't meet my expectations and Moderno was very good but I don't think it was worth the extra money.  The freestyle dining was convenient and I enjoyed eating at a table with just my friends, but I think because you have a different wait staff every night that the food service does suffer a little bit verses having a traditional dining time and the same wait staff. I would cruise with NCL again and on the Jewel again, but I would pick Royal first if the pricing was similar.

We had a balcony room and felt that the room was just a little bit smaller than the one other balcony room we've booked in the past. There were less drawers in this state room then in other rooms we've had but the bed was very comfortable and didn't cause any back pain over the week.

I also enjoyed how the boat was decorated. It had a lot of dark woods and gave it a yacht feel to the decor.

We really had a good time, shows GREAT, food good, service outstanding in all areas, we just don't care for the free style eating; we like having the same waiter and assistant every night for our dining room.  but other than that it was really a good cruise.  We booked a mini suite and "thought" it would be a little plush but it was more a regular balcony, very nice but not what we thought.

We had a great time on the Jewel. My husband and I both felt that this was the best staff we've had a cruise.  They were very friendly, helpful, attentive, and seemed happy to be there. We also enjoyed the food, there were plenty of options even without the specialty restaurants. The entertainment was exceptional, don't miss any of the shows, they are all great. The embarkation and  debarkation process went smoothly.

There was a party of 6 of us (3 couples) that went on this cruise. 3 of 6 had never cruised before. We had interior rooms on deck 5, dead center of the ship. Nothing fancy but still nice. The bathrooms, particularly the shower, was nicer than the previous 2 cruises I was on. Before the cruise I had read reviews and got the idea that the food was going to be lacking. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE. WE never paid for any of the specialty dining and all ate until we were very content. We ate every night in one of the dining rooms, Azura or Tzar's Palace Restaurants. The staff did very well and the food was great. The shows were good to great. The le Cirque bijou show was AMAZING!!! The comedian was great too.

The ship itself was CLEAN and newly remodeled.... so it seemed.

As for the itinerary, it was ok. Belize is run down badly, mainly because I believe the people to be lazy. Roatan, Honduras is beautiful. We ate some locally cooked food...a little pricy, but local food none the less. We did an Eco-Walk with a sweet little local lady, who had a remedy for EVERYTHING... which included Viagra, Teething for babies, Leukemia cures. She was a hoot! In Cozumel we simply booked a lazy eat/drink/ beach day. It was fun and nice.

Overall we agreed that it was a great vacation. Not the greatest destinations but a great cruise. The Jewel is a jewel!

*** Edited 2/2/15 by Community Manager to comply with our Community Guidelines ***

Awesome entertainment!  We think the activities director did a fabulous job. They was always something going on. Food was very good. The other comment I would make is that our whole group thought it was not right that there were too many restaurants that we had to pay extra for. The Irish Pub  and Tsars were great, along with the main buffet. Didn't care for Azura- service was very slow.  Out housekeeper, Robert was great. Our room was spotless and he was always there to provide anything we needed. Our room was 917. The excursions were lots of fun. Everything was well organized.