Norwegian Cruise Lines
Norwegian Jewel Cruise Review
Western Caribbean

Sue Walton

Sailed from Barcelona on the Norwegian Jewel with my husband, sister and her partner on 16 June 2006.

The first day at sea was a long day because the weather was poor and the daytime entertainment equally poor. In fact the whole entertainment on board this ship (both daytime and evening) was dreadful. Each daytime activity was the same old rubbish and as for the evening entertainment ...... I could not believe that a ship of this caliber could present shows of such a low standard. The dance team were OK but everything else that was shown in the Stardust Theatre was on a 0/10 rating. There was an 'evolution' man, mime artists and magician who should all have been sacked. They were embarrassing to themselves. What I would say here (without prejudice) is that the Americans will laugh at anything, while the British will not laugh until something deserves laughing at. Why applaud somebody who is not funny?

The ship is a good, modern, clean ship. The cabins are very good. We asked for a double bed so the 2 single beds were pushed together and made us a 6 ft wide bed - lovely. The bed was very comfortable and we slept well. The bathroom was excellent with the shower cubicle being large and very modern. There is a hairdryer supplied which you need to use as the British voltage will not work in the cabins. The ships voltage is 120 and British electrical is 240. I could not get my flat iron to work, but when I queried the fact at reception they arranged for a 'transformer' to be added to my electrical supply in the cabin which did the job superbly.

The food is good with an adequate assortment, but if you want to eat in the specialty restaurants then you need to book within the first 48 hours or you will be disappointed.

Lots of spare sun beds available on this ship so no need to reserve one for the day which was good.

Trips were very expensive, so best to do your own thing.

The gratuity charge is ridiculous and you should complain at reception with a view to getting this waived. It can be done so complain. The daily service charge stays regardless.

The price of wine on this ship turned me into a tea-tottler by the time I got home. A glass of pino grigio was over $8. In fact Remy Martin VS brandy was cheaper. Reckon the wine was higher priced as it was one of the most popular drinks. Very expensive.

The debarkation. Oh dear. This was our seventh cruise and on all of the previous cruises we were allowed to stay on the ship (although not in our cabin) until 2 hours before the flight time. Our flight from Barcelona back to the UK was at 2.30pm and we had to be off the ship by 7.45am. We were then dumped at the airport for a 6-7 hour wait. The latest anybody was allowed to get off the ship was 9.00am so if your flight was late at night you would have been at the airport all day. This only resulted in blocking up the airport as hundreds of folk arrived within 2-3 hours with no flights until later in the day. A stupid, stupid system. Debarkation starts at 6.00am until 9.00am depending on the time of your return flight.

Overall a very good ship, good service, good cabin, good food, awful entertainment and a debarkation system that most certainly needs amending before I would consider booking with them again.