Jewel April 2-9 Western Caribbean We are a couple in our 40s/50s who cruise about once per year. We sail primarily on NCL and Princess due to the Freestyle / Personal Dining options (we tried traditional dining once and found it was not for us). Our past 3 cruises have been with Princess so this was our first cruise with NCL in 4 years.
Embarkation was a breeze. We had upsold to an Owners Suite and were able to check in through the VIP line. We were then escorted to the private waiting room to wait for our butler, Henry, to escort us to our suite. Time from landing at the Miami airport to getting to our suite was less than 1 ½ hrs (including baggage retrieval and cab ride to the port).
As many have already mentioned, the ship is no where near as gaudy as the pictures show. Yes, the colors are brighter than you might be used to but they work well together. The ship is large and can be confusing at first but it is that way for me on most ships. I laughed when I first read about the fish on the carpets swimming forward only but it certainly helped me a couple times. There were quite a number of teenagers and children on board since it was spring break week for many but for the most part, they were very well behaved. The only incident that stands out in my mind involved an adult who should have known better. The father of 2 younger children (4 & 7 or so) challenged them to a race to their cabin which happened to be at the far end of the hallway. So off they went all 3 of them with the Dad being the loudest, running down the hall. Mom just walked behind them, not saying a word&.