I went on the 2 nighter to Jersey on 8 Aug. She's a lovely ship. All my pics are indexed at http://www.magwa.co.uk/norwegianjewel/njewelphoto.htm
or more directly go here. Keep you busy

Hope you have a great trip

Pam

thanks that really helps. it looks wonderful

Booked on Norwegian Jewel for 'Path of the Vikings' cruise departing Dover on Sept. 4 so found photos very helpful.
Hope to post a review on my return

I was on Jewel on the first August mini-cruise. Here's my review:
http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/yourfav/yfc_ncl_jewel.asp

Here's another review:
http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/yourfav/yfc_ncl_jewel.asp

It's a great ship but I didn't like NCL's policies (Freestyle Dining, pricing) so I don't think I'll be cruising with them again.

Check your bar prices before you actually drink anything, or confirm what you're ordering - I know of one person who thought she asked for 'a glass of house white wine' and was actually served, and billed for, the most expensive wine available.

Well neither i or any of the other people we spoke to would return to this ship,we travelled on the maiden voyage from Dover around the Med
Briefly
Entertainment was woeful
The kids on this ship ,100,s of them were out of control spitting at each other ,food fighting and took over the pools and hot tubs
Why do parents think that responsiblity ends when on a ship
The freestyle cruising simply did not work ,long ques ,could not book ,tried going later to be met with staff looking at their watches and making displease expressions
Embarkation
well getting on and off at Gibralter had to be seen to be believed
Prices
-this was the biggest rip off i have seen on a ship ,the drink prices ,the trips, the tipping about the only thing that this ship excelled at was getting your money
The ship itself was lovely it is a shame about the the concept NCL has on board

I could go on and on about other matters on the ship but will save that for NCL
Bon Voyage

Can I reccomend you do a review on cruisecritic.com to compliment the one that sound a bit false that is there already.

Did the "wait time screens" not work for the dining. low passenger numbers on the preview/shakedown 2 dayers.

pool area has been identified as a child problem from the 2day preview I was on.

How was the passenger flow around the "bar central".

Entertainment please expand.

Boarded the 'Jewel' at Dover and soon in our mini suite with balcony on deck 11.
This was our first time with NCL and with 'Freestyle' cruising which we enjoyed very much.
It was great to eat where and when we wanted.
As a couple if we wanted a table for two at dinner there was no problem.
If you had to wait for a table they gave you a pager and offered you a complimentary glass of champagne in any bar while you waited.
Enjoyed breakfast in the cabin each day. Excellent service.
Room service would phone before they delivered the breakfast and it always arrived on or just before the time it was requested the night before.
As a brand new ship, top features for us would be -
the Tsar's Palace main dining room - great decor,
the Stardust Theater - great seating for shows.
Seats tiered so able to see well from any seat.
Must mention two great production shows -
'Band on the Run' and 'Cirque Bijou'
------------------
Ports of call - highlights
Reykjavik, Iceland
Arrived 7am and took full day Golden Circle tour including lunch.
Magnificient Gullfoss waterfall, geyser area , the view of Reykjavik from the 'Pearl'.
===========
Newport, Rhode Island - Visited two fabulous mansions of the Vanderbilts, The Breakers and the Marble House.
-----------------
Downside - Missing port of St. John's, Newfoundland due to rough seas. However, ship very stable so no seasick problems !
Getting up at 5am before arrival in Newport for US immigration ! -

Arrived on schedule in New York and docked with Concorde on one side and QM2 on the other !

Finally thanks to our cabin stewardess Teti from Indonesia,
a great cruise director Paul Baya, great food and entertainment,
special award to the acrobats in the show 'Cirque Bijou'

Freestyle cruising is definately for us and look forward to our next cruise with NCL on the Jewel or another NCL ship.

hi. thanks for the replies folks! another question or 2!!! how do u pay for the drinks etc! is this billed to the rooms or can u pay as u go? and also any approx drink pricing???

Please do not post in phone text style, eg u instead of you, as this is not allowed per the T&C's. Future text posts will be deleted.

luci HT Mod

how do u pay for the drinks etc! is this billed to the rooms or can u pay as u go? and also any approx drink pricing???

Everything on Nowegian Jewel is charged to your room account - drinks, etc, for which you've used your room card, trips/excursions, the service charge/gratuity, etc.

If you had to wait for a table they gave you a pager and offered you a complimentary glass of champagne in any bar while you waited.

Sounds as if they've improved the waiting experience - on the inaugural mini-cruises there was no pager. On reflection, though, I do recall that we were given a free drink in the queue while waiting.

Indiator Boards - the problem wasn't that the Indicator Boards weren't working - they were and they were accurate, it was just that there was no room anywhere when we wanted to eat! So we had to stand & wait, in a queue, for almost 25 minutes. Not quite what the Freestyle marketing lead us to expect.

No, we prefer to know when dinner will be (eg, 6:30 or 7 or 8 or whatever); that way we know we've got to get ourselves to the dining room at the appropriate time, and if we're late then that's our fault.

im booked to go on the jewel in jan 2006.first time with ncl always gone with uk companies.from what i have learned off various sites,this is probably going to work out more expensive,even though i got a bargain at the time of booking.can someone please explain this tipping or non tipping buisness??do you pay extra for room service?is everything you purchase on board got an added cost attatched?i need all the information i can gather on ncl any advice appreciated

Re tips, these will probably be added to your onboard account at $10 pp per day, ie $280 for a couple on a 14 night cruise. I believe you can adjust these if you want, but most people leave them.

Room service should be free of charge on NCL ships. You will probably have 15% added automatically to any drinks purchases.

luci

Have posted photos taken on 'Path of the Vikings' cruise on the Jewel from Dover to New York at
http://www.cruise-addicts.com/photogallery/main.php
At the moment they are still on this opening page

Hello all,
My family have just booked on the Jewel for 30th July for the med. Decent price too as Kids prices were £299and £259. Im very apprehensive as the reveiws and comments i have found are quite a mixed bunch!
Can someone help regarding the Clubs for children as i would love to offload the 4 yr old for a good amount of the day if possible as i wouldn,t rest having her near the rails on the sundeck. She is a holy terror and will probably drive absolutely all and sundry round the twist. Unfortunately i've run out of friends and relatives who will take her for the weeek! Once is enough so they tell me Its the first time I've taken her abroad!!!!
annj

can't help with the kids club but the date has been noted.

I would not worry I dont think there are rails on the pool deck and the open decks are quite high 100ft+ so natrual preservation/selection works.

hi again and a Happy New Year to you all,
Have now read a few more reviews on various sites about the ship and the majority of them are favourable.
The freestyle idea does sound a bit expensive though if you was to eat in a paying restaurant for a few meals. I could do with a little more info on the pricing in these places.Can anyone help?
There are no reviews that include info on the kids clubs. First time Ive needed to use them though and i have no idea of whether they are free or what. I expect to have to pay for babysitting at night obviously but at sea during the day????
In anticipation
annj

Sorry forgot to ask whether Joanne Barber enjoyed her cruise.
Come on Joanne let us know please

Suggest that if you want to know anything about a cruise you go to http://www.cruisecritic.com and click on the 'boards' link at the top. You will then see pretty nearly every cruise line listed and you will get 'real' comments from 'real' cruisers. Bear in mind that this is a predominantly US site and they do seem to be a bit 'fussier' than us Brits and also need to know absolutely EVERYTHING before they get on board [eg: how many coathangers are there in the cupboard!] but amongst it all there is some very interesting stuff. Bear in mind that cruises are very subjective - one person may say it was the best time ever and someone else on the same cruise will say it is terrible, I just suggest you read all you can and go with an open mind.