Norwegian Jewel Review
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Background Information Let me start with a little bit of background information. This was my fourth cruise and my first cruise on NCL. My first cruise was in 99 on the SS Oceanic aka The Big Red Boat. If you ever cruised on this ship you know it was anything but big. Then I have also been on RCCL twice and decided to try out this "Freestyle".
Travel To Port of Embarkation Hotel Info (if any) Living in NC it was a better option to drive to Miami. The hotels in Miami all seemed to charge for and/or park off property which I didn't care for. They also seemed to be pretty pricey. Another factor in my accommodations decision was the distance. After considering all these factors I decided to give Priceline a 3 star bid in Fort Stuart and to my surprise I got a room, I call it a suite, at the Residence Inn in Port St. Lucie just off the interstate. I paid $50 and was greeted with a full kitchen, king size bed and living area with a sofa bed. I highly suggest you give Priceline a try. Had complementary "hot breakfast" which was more like continental and was on our way. The luggage drop off area was a bit confusing but was directed to the parking deck in the second block. Having a handicapped placard I filled out a paper and was able to park for free nice gesture since it was so far away from the port. Normal parking fee is 20USD per day. Lines were long and confusing as you had to fill out a paper saying you didn't have the flu...do they really think someone is going to check the yes box. This was a total waste of time, man power and paper. Then to the security and up an escalator with all my carry on to you guessed it stand in line AGAIN. I soon found out that line was a theme for NCL. Once on the ship was greeted with a complimentary glass of bubbly only I don't like bubbly. I heard later that you could have gotten juice but I didn't see any. A nice touch is they did have a system where you could leave your carry-ons while waiting on the staterooms to be opened. On to the buffet which was surprisingly better on embarkation than any other day. Maybe they work better under pressure. After lunch went to retrieve our carry-ons and check out the room.
Stateroom
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Oceanview Picture Window
We were in an oceanview cabin on deck 5. Our cabin was very nice with two twin beds, vanity area, desk area and bathroom. The closet was very large and had a shelf across the top and a pull down shelf that you could use for shoes. Between the closet and the wall was the safe with four nice deep shelves underneath it. On the other side of the closet was three large lower drawers, a good size open area for the ice bucket and glasses with two shelves above it. Then there was a small desk area with the TV above. On the other side of the room was the vanity area that had 3 small shelves up the side of the mirror, a small vanity drawer, and three more large drawers. There was a stool to sit at the vanity and do your make-up, hair or what ever. They supply a hair dryer that to my DD's surprise was very powerful. Between the beds were two small tables each with a shelf underneath. I would have liked to have had a nightstand instead with a drawer as nothing stayed on the little table due to the amount of rocking we were experiencing. The bathroom was very large. The toilet area had a sliding glass painted door just like the shower had. They were separated by a large countertop and sink that had a moveable faucet somewhat like your kitchen faucet. A large shelf was under the sink which had a wastebasket in it and there were three small shelves up the side of the mirror to put your toiletries on. The shower was exceptional with a height adjustable/handheld shower head which included massage if you like. The temperature of the water is written on the handle in Celsius. I really like the fact that even the shower enclosure was wood grain very high end. Carpet was nice and bright as well. Bed was super comfy as were the linens. Only down side to the stateroom was the window was dirty and at some point had been leaking to the point that the screws and part of the metal trim was rusted. It had been repaired and caulked but the rust was very unattractive. Overall room was excellent.