Norwegian Jewel Reviews
View Cruise DealsNice ship, food and mostly good entertainment. Although our trip included an alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, coffee and wi-fi package. None of these were exactly as described. Wi-fi was limited to 60 minutes per cruise and was rubbish. Coffee package did not includecoffee at the coffee lounge and some soft drinks were chrageable. Also a complete ‘rip off’ on Cambodian visa. Even though we had alteady obtained e-visa from the Cambodia official government site.
Ship, staff, cleanliness, food, entertainment 100%. Only downfall was the tendering. Priority given to people who bought excursions on board. Others had to get up early to queue for a first come, first serve tender ticket. Some didn't get off the ship until 1.30pm !!! Very unfair - suggest tendering order is based on the start times of the excursions.
Not recommended. The restaurant service is poor - luckily we found one Maitre D who had trained his staff and we dined where he was working. Entertainment was poor - the ships theatre team were good but on a 19 night cruise we had ONE theatre production and 2 solo nights from them plus an excellent aerial acrobat. The 'hired in' entertainers were very patchy - a good singing group and a soloist but the magician and comedian were poor the piano player had people leaving in droves. Be careful when choosing a cruise about tender operations - we were bitten by this very long waits for a disorganised team to get 2900 people ashore an back. In one port we left 2 hours late because the tender operation overran so long with some people queuing in 33 degree heat for 2 hours no shade! Accommodation was good and the ship having just been refitted was lovely. Food was good in general but if you want vegetarian then beware the choices were few and repetitive and dull!
The service on board was simply amazing. The food is equally as good and highly recommend the Azura restaurant for its quality and choice of dishes. The staff are extremely helpful and friendly and always seem to be smiling. We did have a problem with our cabin choice on deck 8. The ship does utilise the lifeboat as a tender craft when anchored off shore and the operation can start as early as 6am. The noise is very loud and lasts for around 40 minutes so avoid at all cost when making your cabin choice. Even with these disturbances I would highly recommend the Jewell and would sail on her again.
Just back from a nice cruise on the NCL Jewel - everything went really well from the moment we arrived in Singapore . We got same driver for our private transfers x 3 so it was good as he was very informative. Ship was just out of dry dock and had just underwent a complete refurb with new carpets and furniture. Prices on boat was a bit expensive to be honest so we were pleased to have a drinks package but can’t understand that even although we had a coffee package we couldn’t get tea or coffee at any of the bars and u could only get this from main restaurant which was a nonsense ... but u could have got a cocktail ??? The charges for internet access was extortionate $ 1 a minute which mounted up as 1 minute on boat work out as a normal minute and the staff at the reception desk were rude and couldn’t care less - very unhelpful. Food was really nice in all restaurants but entertainment could have been better at times - overall a good time was had and I would consider NCL again
The cabin stewards of Norwegian Jewel were very friendly, polite and very helpful. They respected their customers and their work very much and they always looked happy! They could even remember our names when they saw us in the hall area. But they would never disturb us and could make the best of their discretion of when was the suitable time to come in and provide service to us. Both the embarkation and disembarkation processes were also quick and seamless. Overall, we had a very good experience with the Norwegian cruise and definitely would join their cruises shortly again in the future.
Compared to some of the newer and bigger fleets available now, the NCL Jewel might be considered small, and it is if you have been spoilt by the super liners, but if you have never been on a cruise before, it is more than large enough. I've spoken with some friends and family at length about the NCL fleet. Some of my seniors are put off by the relaxed nature/ concept of NCL, and the vibrant colours. Being a 30-something, I don't have any issues with the decor or the "eat when you want to" arrangement. In fact, I loved the food options on the Jewel. My wife and I ate all pretty much all the restaurants on the ship (apart from the teppanyaki because it was always fully booked). The quality varies from restaurant to restaurant, but as a whole, I welcomed the diversity and flavour of it all. The entertainment on the Jewel was good. The auditorium was comfortable and we never needed to turn up at a silly time in order to get a good seat. The shows were exciting and the guest performers add a new dimension to the NCL entertainers. Also, NCL has the best song of all the cruise companies I have been on. (Home away from home). I would travel with NCL again, maybe on the Epic depending on the price and the ports of call. I would recommend the Jewel to those who are trying out cruising for the 1st time.