Family of 4 (two teens) just returned from July 16 Baltic cruise on NCL Jewel. After 5 wonderful nights in London, we took the train from London Waterloo station to Dover (for entire family cost on train was approx 40 BP). Train trip was pleasant and fast (1 hr 40 min). Ample room for luggage on train. Taxi to ship was approx. 15 BP. Embarkation was very smooth. As a latitude member wait to get to ship was no more than 15 min. Getting off the ship was a bit of an ordeal given the fact NCL misplaced one of our bags. Bus to Heathrow was caught in big time traffic but we did not want to chance it by going the train route. I would consider train route on return if had more time. Ship was beautiful and cruise experience was by and large very good. There were plenty of things to do or not do and we enjoyed the NCL flexibility on dress, meals and activities. Interior cabin was a plus given the amount of daylight at night but would not do 4 to a cabin given the fact that the fourth bed was not a bunk bed as we had experienced before and was really an insert bed between two singles that was awful. The cruise staff was extremely pleasant (except for some of the waiters) and went beyond the call a couple of times as discussed below. The only real irritating thing was the stampede of people during breakfast on days the ship was at a port or at the chocolate night buffet. I would like to think these things were unavoidable but certainly it seemed as if a mass of humanity was after the same things hogging tables and food as if there was only a limited number. During the chocolate buffet, people were getting pushed and trampled and we had to get out for fear of injury. Crowd control might help. We never experienced any waits for dinner as the system of informing people of waits was excellent and we were able to make reservations easily on the same day. Although we can't say that the food was bad, the dining experiences were somewhat inconsistent and below what we had experienced on other NCL cruises. We were disappointed with the quality of the food (e.g. overcooked or not great taste) and/or very slow service in several instances, including 3 out of 4 nights at Azura. We had much better luck at Tsar's Palace for some reason and stopped going to Azura. We tried several of the specialty restaurants - Cagney's (excellent), Mama's (Pretty good), Tango (service good but only OK on food - enjoyed the Il Popo on the second time we were there) and Chin Chin (v. slow service and food was only average). The Blue Lagoon comfort food was only average. Grand Cafe (mass breakfast and lunches) was OK as there were always fall back options to satisfy. Evening Entertainment was fine. Theater is beautiful. The best were the Jeanne Ryan Company singers and dancers who had 3 shows - the last one Cirque Bijou was excellent and of a quality above what you normally see at ships. There was also an illusionist (two nights who was OK except for his irritating personality), comedian juggler (two nights and people took a real liking to him), a guy who played like 10 instruments (nice guy but reminded me of Lawrence Welk show), a British comedian who lacked his own material and just bashed people, the Second City troupe (OK - seen before on other ships), two brothers who sang Beatles songs (this was actually surprisingly good). It did the trick of providing a change of pace at night although I would not say any of this was of a don't miss variety other than the first and third Jeanne Anne Ryan company shows. The managing staff was great. They provided wonderful tips during the meet and greet and even arranged for us and another foursome to get a head start and not have to wait a long time to get off the ship for our private tours in St. Petersburg on the first day. Room stewards were friendly and helpful. We used the washing facilities on board the ship one day and it was very convenient as the only thing we had to pay was $1 for soap for the washer. There were plenty of activities during on board the ship, especially the sea days. I took advantage of yoga classes and the gym but also went to talks on health and fitness, art history and the ports. My kids participated in a lot of sports (basketball, soccer, tennis) as well as stuff on board the decks. The pools were nice but the temperature in the kids one was much cooler than the adult pool the day we went. We did not take any of the ship's excursions as we had researched the ports very well (recommend Rick Steve's Scandinavia book and John Lawrence DVD ahead of time) and did not find the excursions to be cost effective and somewhat limiting. Here is a brief review of ports - Copenhagen - Extremely expensive but pretty city. Lunch was a rip off and would bring sandwiches on the ship if had to do over again. Booked the HOHO but it wasn't very good and went against the flow of the sights if do complete loop. Suggestions are to get on the bus at port (No. 26 I think) to the center of the city and then work your way back to the ship walking. We did Christianborg Palace tour, National Museum (very comprehensive collection), Rosenborg Palace, Museum of Danish Resistance, Big dome church as well as walked everywhere Storget, sailor's quarters, Little Mermaid and Amalienborg palace (got there at 4 pm for changing of the guard). Did not get to do canal tour (book Netto ships as half the price). Berlin - Arranged private tour to Berlin for the four of us with Berlin Starting Point (cost was approx. $270 pp). Driver picked us up at 7 am at port. Two hours and 20 min (with rest stop) to Berlin and two hours and 5 min on return. Tour guide met us in Berlin and we had complete flexibility on 7 hr schedule which we took advantage of to the max - with over 20 photo stops and visits to the Pergamon Museum (highlights), Berlin Cathedral, Allied Museum, Topography of Terror, Holocaust Museum, Gendarmarket, St. Hedwig's Cathedral, Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, etc. Lunch was beer and brats at a local place and had time to buy a couple of quick souvenirs. Definitely recommend this option from a cost benefit perspective over ship excursions and private company standard tours. St. Petersburg - Probably the highlight of the cruise and private tour was the way to go from a cost benefit standpoint (cost for the four of us was approx. $1,500 for the entire two days). Anastasia was excellent delivering 100% on her promises. The guide Eugenia (Jane) and driver Andryn were wonderful. We brought sandwiches and cookies from the ship and maximized our time there. First day included tours of Peter and Paul Fortress and cathedral, Yusupov's Palace, Catherine's palace in Pushkin, St. Isaac's and canal cruise. Second day included tours of Peterhof and gardens, city tour, metro ride, Hermitage, Church of Spilled Blood and some time for shopping. Guide had answers to all questions and I wholeheartedly recommend this company as we saw probably twice as much as the ship excursions for a fraction of the cost. Helsinki - Get Helsinki card - for 30 Euros/11 Euros for the kids - we got transportation (bus 16 right at the port takes you to market square and back), trams within city, ferry to Suomelinna fortress, a 90 minute city tour and free entrance to museums. We did Lutheran cathedral, Upenski cathedral, city tour, Suomelinna fortress tour and museum, National museum, City museum. Nice, clean city - a day is enough. Tallinn - Get Tallin card - very cheap and got entrances to all churches and museums and tram to Kadriorg palace. Also recommend taxi to top of walled city to start and work way back as you will need the energy given the amount of walking you have to do in this city. We did numerous churches, museums, Kadriorg palace. Lunch at town hall square. Medieval old town is just a joy to walk through. Stockholm - very pretty city and limited by NCL schedule of arriving at 7 am despite nothing other than Vasa museum being open before 10 am. Did the HOHO and do not recommend as buses are overcrowded and one is lucky to get a seat let alone listen to audio guide. HOHO did provide access to Vasa museum before opening and did have shuttle to return to ship by 3:30 pm. Vasa museum is a must. Also did, Nordic Museum, City Hall tour (very pretty building), Cathedral, Palace Armory museum, Ganla Stam walk. Did not exchange currency except in Copenhagen (it was a rip off and ship's charge of $10 for currency transactions is not a good deal). Used ATM for Euros in Berlin that also came in handy in Helsinki and St. Petersburg (they take dollars too). Credit card did the trick in Stockholm but we brought lunch from the ship, as well as Tallinn. Overall summary was great itinerary, wonderful cruise and NCL gets high marks despite not been at its best consistently in terms of dining experience.