Norwegian Jewel Review

Weirdest cruise I ever been on

Review for the Mexican Riviera Cruise on Norwegian Jewel
User Avatar
Ted W
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Oct 2016
Cabin: Inside

I used this cruise as a goal for me to get through hip replacement and as a family vacation. We booked in February, and naturally been excited all the way down to boarding, a great time in store for us. Five day before sailing we were told Mazatlán would be removed from the list with an additional day in Puerto Vallarta. Travelling with seven others, not enough time to change to a different date. No big deal. The maintenance on the ship did not go as planned and we were so late getting out of PV, Cabo was cancelled. Very little communication from the captain. On Friday, the day for Cabo, I was under the impression we would have a short day, but still get to stop. Was not till close to 10am when they announced the cancellation. Time to rethink the day, me and 2000 other passengers.By that time, the pool deck was packed, no loungers available. They came up with a new entertainment schedule and never update the NCL App (which I think is great for $9.99 per person) missed some activities due to this.

My room was very hot all the time, AC turned on as low as possible, many other had the same issue. The ship was also very warm, some days the casino was intolerable. Never met my room steward, had a couple of days when we had no new towels or the room made up. The free drink package was confusing. Only free if less than $15, what a hassle to have to research the cost of a drink. I can understand some high end booze not being free, but really????? Drinks on first day were great, seemed watered down after that. I learned to order double shots after that. Azzure was worse food and service I have ever had. over a 3 hour dinned, and the food was cols. Tsar was fantastic.

The 3 specialty restaurants were just OK. We did Teppan, BBQ, and Cagneys. The seating at the Teppan was so tight, I could not squeeze in enough to reach the table. Show was good, although we did get splattered with hot grease, my wife and son have the red marks to prove it. We do Teppan all the time, this in now way was comparable to other restaurants on land. Our rice was only half cooked, thus very hard to chew. Shrimp and scallpops were great, Filet was so so. BBQ was very slow. took forever for the food to make it rounds. Waited for 40 minutes to try the sausage, then it was terrible. Salad bar was very good. Just seemed to take a lonf time waiting for the meat to come around, whole reason I went there was to eat a cow. They made it difficult. Cagneys was good. Service and time was very good, Steaks were very good, overall great way to end the cruise. Buffet was a buffet. Some was good, some was bad. Food was very scarce after 1030 or so. There was a place far aft on the fantail that had some food, unlike Carnival where there is pizza and other stuff all the time, this was hit and miss. about 1100pm they would bring some snacks to the casino. My kids love to go to the room and get room service, cookies, junk food, etc. $7.95 for room service!!! Not used to that, we knew before we boarded, so we did not do it. Liked the BBQ on the pool deck everyday, food was so so. Looked better than it was.

Cabin Review

Inside

Cabin IF

Have been on many cruises, the inside cabins are small and I expect that. So this was no different. This will sound funny, but the toilet is facing the wall, so there was no way to sit right on the seat and fit your legs in. Had to sit sideways, was very strange / tight

Port Reviews

Puerto Vallarta

Seems like the prices have gone up, haggling is more difficult and it is easier just to buy what you want from the local shops on the boardwalk in lieu of shopping the flea market

12 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find a Norwegian Jewel Cruise from $229

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.