The Norweigian Jewel is a very large ship and, while all the cutesy coloring makes her look like a tart, she does have well-appointed innards. We boarded at Dover and it was quick and easy. They gave us a complimentary drink while waiting which was the ONLY free thing we received while on board. Our cabin was large and comfortable and the room stewards were simply great. If you didn't want to pay big bucks to eat at one of their six "theme" restaurants, you could fall back upon the one dining room (quite beautiful, actually) or go to the HUGE buffet on Deck 11. The noise and finding a place to sit proved to be rather bothersome, but the food was good. Not great, mind you, but good. The dining room served very good food with a wide selection from which to choose. NOW, on the down side of things, my wife and I felt like we were in a floating department store for eleven days! The push to sell their wares, whether it be the speciality shops or the spa services or bingo, et cetera, was excessive. At the ONE bingo game we attended, we purchased our cards and, during the first game alone, there were NINE advertisements from the caller telling us such things as the great sale at the Russian Bazaar beginning at thus and such a time, or the GREAT deal on a facial at the spa. Yak, yak, yak. After a day or so of these sales pitches, you just naturally want to visit the bars more often. Big Mistake. They charge a 15% gratuity for each drink! The entertainment was, on balance, very good; a comedian one night, a dance trope the next; a mixture of singers. By all means, visit the casino and look around. It's better, though, if you just hand them some money and walk back out as their machines are set at about a 99% advantage to the house. As this was a Baltic cruise, we visited Estonia, Russia, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The tours were pricy but well done. Because Russia just HAD to have their people there very slowly and methodically checking passports and visas, it was a long wait just to get off the ship in St. Petersburg, and you really don't have time to see very much when you do get away from the ship. We enjoyed visiting the large house where Rasputin was murdered. It was a rainy day and the Russia people looked more than just a little glum as they trudged along. If I lived in Russia, I think I would be a little glum also. We had planned to attend a performance of the Russian Balet that evening, but didn't get back in time from our tour. The Jewel refunded our money without hesitation as it was not our fault. The other ports were very nice. I don't want to make this a very long review; I will just say we certainly enjoyed the Baltic States. Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagan was fun. It was a hot day and I ordered two small cups of good Danish ale for us as we continued to look around. Did not appreciate the $28 they charged!!!! We were told we would get a refund on the cups as we left the gate. I am still wondering what to do with that twenty cents. There simply HAS to be more to it than the dollar versus the Euro and all that. The word "greed" should also be used. We will stick to smaller ships from now on. No "free" style crusing anymore.