Background to review:
With our children grown and no longer cruising with us, we began booking suites for the extra amenities offered. However, this cruise was our first family cruise since my daughter Emily was married. We booked the Garden Villa for 7 of us. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event and it could not have been more fabulous.
No ship or cruise can be the best at everything, but on the NCL Jewel the combination of the ship, the crew, the entertainment (outstanding), the excursions, the food, the friends we met, made for an outstanding week.
Garden Villa: When I booked the Garden Villa over a year ago, Wendy, my wife, thought I was foolish to spend that amount of money on a week cruise. After the week was over, she told me the experience of this past week was worth way more in memories than the money we spent. On Sunday, we hosted the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle party in the Villa with more than 70 attendees. NCL did a great job in organizing and setting up the event with several officers in attendance. Our group did a gift exchange organized by SimplySuzy. After the gift exchange, 30 of us headed to the Casino for the slot pull organized by Cocruzlvrs. The casino gave us a couple of bottles of champagne and tee shirts for the highest winners. We lost 55 cents per person but almost hit the jackpot twice playing the Wheel of Fortune. A great time was had by all.On Wednesday, we celebrated the birthday for two members of our group. Florentina, Erlindo, and Alexandro decorated the living room with balloons and had a large cake waiting for us when we returned from our excursion in Belize. A couple of us, especially me, took advantage of the Jacuzzi and Steam Room that was on our patio between the master bedroom and the living room. On deck 15, above our living area was a private sun deck with chairs, a hammock, and tables. The sun worshipers in our group used this area extensively.