This was our 4th cruise. We have taken Norwegian 3 times (The Dawn) and Carnival (Victory) once. First off, we were disappointed with the design of the Jewel. We had heard it was newer version of The Dawn. Well, they did a number of things we didn't like. They made kids club much smaller! The on-deck play area for kids and water slide was pathetic, certainly not as nice as The Dawn. The gym was smaller and was tucked into midship, and they eliminated the movie theater.

So if you have kids, big letdown right off the bat.

We started day #1 by checking our kids into Kids Club. We have one child with autism and explained that he needs to move around a bit. We NEVER had problem on The Dawn, so didn't think there would be an issue on this trip. Well 10 minutes after he was in there, they kicked him out. All they did was lecture us on what he did wrong, not inquire as to what he might like to do to help him integrate better. Read more