Norwegian Jewel Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,357 reviews

The Ship Shakedown

Review for the Mexican Riviera Cruise on Norwegian Jewel
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stevenjodi
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Apr 2017
Cabin: Mid-Ship Balcony
Traveled with children

Norwegian offers minimal services that are inclusive in the price you pay for the cruise. Most everything else is a shakedown for money. The cruise ship is boring unless you are drunk or don't realize that your keycard is linked to your credit card. The sales staff makes you feel like you are getting a good deal (i.e. art, some jewelry, bingo, tournaments) but they are just wanting as much money as they can get from you. I won several raffles but it was a SCAM. One raffle I won was for $50 off from the Spa but in the small print at the bottom I noticed that it was only for services with an asterisk. Services with the asterisk started at $150 and up. There were services under $100 but the gift certificate wasn't eligible. Norwegian goes so far as to make you go to Guest Services (no sign for this desk) to remove your credit card from your minor children's key card so they don't buy stuff or play video games, which are $1.50 to $2.00 per game. The cabin had stains in the carpet and dusty shelves. The food in the buffet was often barely warm, coffee was lukewarm, and not a great variety of food. I tried going to the restaurants and buffet at different times to try and see if the food would be better or hotter. I never found a hot meal unless I went to a specialty restaurant. I didn't go to an "up-charged" restaurant that would have been charged to my room but I suspect the food might have been better. The staff seems to do their best to keep the public areas clean except for the handrails on the stairs (very sticky).. A few of the shows offered in the Stardust Theatre were great. The public cleanliness attempts, cabin steward, and entertainment in the Stardust Theatre earned them a rating of two from me.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Balcony

Cabin BA

Dusty shelves and stain in the carpet. The remote didn't work for the TV and the paper with listed movies was not accurate. I told Guest Services and they gave me a new listing but it was also wrong.

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