Norwegian Jewel Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Ports of call were great, and highly recommended. But you should absolutely go see them on a different ship from a different cruise line. The NCL Jewel features below average entertainment, terrible staff, even worse food, on a beat-up, dirty ship.

The best thing I can say about the cruise is that once we left the ship we talked for 3 days about wishing we were back on the ship and doing the cruise again!

Overall we enjoyed this cruise tremendously. The glaciers were fantastic. We will never forget the best part was when we watched the Dawes glacier from our balcony and then went to the Tsar and were seated right at the back of the ship. Loved that whole night.

Drinks are extremely overpriced. Complimentary food is ok, charged food isn't worth it. Entertainment is mostly nice .Best and hardest working guy on the cruise by far is Richard.

Overall a relaxing cruise. Friendly and relaxed crew and passengers. Food quality and restaurant service was generally below par except for Cagney's and Le Bistro. Staterooms need upgrading but are clean and comfortable. On-board retailing was overdone. Ports have become too commercial and lost some of their charm, too bad. But, Alaska is still incredibly beautiful.

Excellent Cruise strongly recommend for everyone! After seven nights we don't feel to leave the ship. The ship had several staff every where in the ship. The variety of food and drinks and entertainment through out our stay.

I am happy with my cruise experience. It was nice to be away from busy stressful routine and be pampered for a week. Sometimes this matters more than visiting or seeing. I just loved the friendly smily staff and all the entertainment and effort they put forth to make us feel at home and we truly called it a welcome home when coming back from walking all day in the cold.

Nothing bad to say the organization and conduct of the cruise has been simply perfect. Crew has shown a professional skill the is rare to find around. As I am an old Merchant Navy Captain, former Navy Seal, and actual Experimental Flight Test Engineer, professionalism is one of the first things I am going to look for in any activity of my life.

We so enjoyed our first-ever cruise. Everything and everyone on board made the trip so special. The only negative was the high cost of the shore excursions. They were tremendously expensive for what they offered. We can't recommend Norwegian, your staff and "Freestyle Cruising" enough to our friends.

Wonderful trip. The crew was spectacular, the excursions we chose were a good fit for our family. I would highly recommend this trip. We all felt the Alaskan ports were similar. It's the excursions at each that made them fun.

Always heard cruises were great. Food was ok, but nothing to write home about. Entertainment was fair at best. Ship seemed very crowded for its size. Everything on the ship seemed like a sales pitch. Would not do this again.

Overall a great experience and good cruise. Food selection was great as well as beverages. Due to bad weather we couldn't see teh glacier. However, the overall experience was great.

As long time members of NCL's Latitudes program we were very disappointed with this cruise.   When we first went down to our stateroom once on board, we encountered the crew working on a plumbing problem a few doors down from our stateroom.  As you can imagine, it is not a pleasant smell and we could not use the toilet in out stateroom so first impressions were not good.   

The food quality on this ship was poor at best.   The only couple of good meals we had were at the specialty Teppynaki restaurant and the Azul main dining room.  Sushi was similar to what you get at a grocery store so don't bother.   Drinks were so so as well as bar service.   

A couple of redeeming points on this cruise was our cabin steward and the ships show band.   Both excellent.   The overall entertainment quality was poor to just plain bad.   Thank goodness the ships show band performed in a couple of venues outside of the main stage events.   

Why the ship would allow people in and out of the karaoke rooms during a performance is beyond my comprehension!   Very disruptive to the people trying to enjoy the show.   (Fyzz Lounge). 

The views on the cruise were spectacular!

Needless to say, we won't be back on NCL.   

This was our first time to book a bargain last-minute cruise at the lowest possible price.  We booked an inside guarantee cabin , a real rock-bottom price.  We got what we paid for--a "tiny house" on deck five.  Though hard to move around in, the cabin had plenty of storage and was clean and comfy.  The stateroom attendant Primus was outstanding.  We found that all the crew was friendly, couteous, efficient and hard-working.  The ship itself was well-maintained if dated.  It is scheduled for a renovation soon.  Food on the ship was just OK.  Specialty restaurants were better than the complimentary ones, though pretty expensive.  I did like having many venues for dining.  Our favorites were the main dining room for breakfast and lunch.  The itinerary included brief stops in three ports.  We didn't do any excursions since we had been there before.  Entertainment on the ship was quite good, especially their Cirque performance.  The stage and technology needed updating.  We were treated royally by the Park West staff.Overall, it was a good getaway at a reasonable price.  We will sail Norwegian again on a newer or a renovatedship.

A great cruise line, and a great trip. The ports were absolutely beautiful.  The White Pass railroad in Skagway and Mendenhall Glacier in Ketchikan are must sees!  Hiking trails are accessible from all ports. The service on the ship was excellent. Highly recommend!!!!

The food is horrible and was repeated all 7 days they have hidden charges 12.99$ every days for each person as a service charge the drink packages are good but that down not include tax the sailing was smooth I would give 0 stars if I had that option

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.

I have sailed with Norwegian before and was just as happy this time as last. I love the laid-back atmosphere and the chance to do whatever I want with the freestyle cruising. 

I loved everything about this cruise.  I had some reservations since I prefer the sun and beach, but the sights we saw were beautiful and breath-taking!  No doubt that I recommend everyone should see Alaska at least once.

This was a great cruise, I would highly recommend it (on any cruise line) it is one of those things you just have to experience it fully appreciate it.