We embarked on the 14 night Panama Canal cruise on the Norwegian Jewel on November 25, 2016.
Previously, we have cruised four times - moving from inside to outside cabin and to a mini-suite. For the first time, we chose to stay in a Penthouse Suite. We were met at embarkation and shown to the suite line (with only one couple ahead of us!). We were then taken to meet our concierge, Bruno (more on him later) and shown directly to our suite. The smoothest, easiest embarkation ever.
Our cabin was absolutely lovely - clean, plenty of room (with a very large queen bed, a small dining table and a sitting room with a three seater couch) and a lot of storage space for all the "stuff" we brought along on a two week cruise. The front-facing balcony was enormous! There were two loungers and two tables on the balcony; we added two deck chairs and there was still room to walk around. This balcony was amazing for the daylight transit of the Panama Canal - while all the other passengers were standing four deep to get a good view, we were able to sit in comfort on our balcony and watch the entire passage.
Definitely worth the extra money to have the extra space in the room and the amazing forward-facing balcony - not to mention all the great perks of being in a suite!
We did the Antigua on Our Own excursion through NCL. Very knowledgeable guide. We were dropped off at the Jade Museum and given a detailed map of Antigua. We had four hours to tour the town on our own. Amazing cathedrals and ruins. Very beautiful architecture. Alfredo (our guide) made himself available in the town, so we never felt lost or alone.