Norwegian Jewel Review

Never again on NCL

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Norwegian Jewel
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Wish I Could
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Jul 2011
Cabin: Balcony
Traveled with children

We were part of a large party, all of whom had cruised previously on other lines. We chose the Norwegian Jewel because of its Nickelodeon theme, expecting that a ship with such a program would be very kid-friendly. Embarkation should have been easy - we had pre-registered, had all of our documents, and arrived at the recommended time. We found a very long, slow-moving line and when, after more than 45 minutes, we finally got to the agent, he was confused and inept. He asked for our passports back several times because each time he had forgotten something. So, the actual check-in process took another 15 minutes, by which time we were as miserable as the children. We chose to have lunch at Tsar's where the grilled chicken breasts were overly-salted, tough as shoe leather and completely inedible. We should have seen this as a clue about things to come, but we attributed it to the timing and stress of passengers leaving and boarding.Our balcony cabin was small but adequate. It was kept as clean as possible given the amount of "stuff" we had for 3 people. We found the balcony to be useful for overflow storage. Unlike another poster, our linens were changed daily; our granddaughter was disappointed that our steward (who never even introduced himself to us) did not make towel animals every night as her cousins on another deck received, but that was inconsequential.Dining in either of the 2 dining rooms was difficult: they would only accept our reservation for 5:30 or 8:30, neither of which seemed to work for us. When we tried to walk in at 7:00, they were unable to accommodate our large group so we had to separate. I will say that dining there was a much more palatable and pleasant experience than eating in the Garden Cafe where the kindest thing I can say is that the food was plentiful - usually. Breakfasts were best and, despite the masses, the wait at the omelet stations was never too long. There were numerous beverage stations but at every meal some stations ran out of cups or coffee or glasses or iced tea or lemons, so you had to run to another station. The service staff in the Garden Cafe was, for the most part, inattentive and disinterested; certainly not warm and friendly. They seemed tired, overburdened, burned out - and understandably so. The only cafe service people who seemed at all engaged were the two "Washy-washy" women who sprayed antibacterial solution on our hands as we entered the cafe.We had a lovely dinner at Mama's where the service staff was very helpful and the food was delicious; however, I cannot speak to any of the other dining venues. We attended many of the evening shows and adult daytime programs, all of which were enjoyable. The older children in our group complained that the Kid's Club was boring, but the younger children usually had fun. The Nickelodeon thing was disappointing, with Sponge Bob, Dora and the other characters making appearances for photo ops with very little interaction. Similarly, the children's programs, like pizza-making and cupcake decorating, were too crowded with very long lines at each, in part because they were too disorganized to manage so many children and in part because they ran out of supplies.Our major complaints, though, were about the swimming pool situation: there were a lot of people, it was hot and everyone wanted to be in or near the pools. I get that. I even understand why it was necessary (though forbidden) to reserve a chair early in the morning. There were 2 small swimming pools and a tiny, shallow kiddie pool. The latter was situated in a space with a kids' hot tub that was enclosed, floor to nearly-ceiling level, except for the area where a door would be. Because there was little to no air circulation, it was unbearably hot and humid. The kiddie pool had a slide that ended less than a foot from the wall of the pool. There was a pad, stapled to the pool but coming loose, to protect the children - especially those coming down on their stomachs, head first - from slamming into the wall. There was no supervision by NCL staff and, frequently, by parents either. During the times that I sat there with my charges, I helped several children who slipped on the wet floor as they came down the stairs from the hot tub. One appeared to have injured her ankle pretty badly. I should add that, while this area was apparently designed for the very little ones, children as old as 9 or 10 were running through and using the pool and the hot tub.Of the 2 larger pools, one was designated "Adults Only" while children were permitted in the other. Problem was, at all points, the pool was too deep for the kids who didn't swim well. While I am 5'6", I was unable to stand in the pool, and my nearly 6' husband had difficulty trying to stand and support a small child in the water. And, again, there was no supervision. The only staff person in sight was a fully clothed man who sat by the slide and told people when they could go down. Not only was there no safety supervision, but children in diapers were permitted in the adult pool as well. We saw a child, sitting in the adult hot tub, vomiting; we reported it and noted that it took more than a half hour for someone to come (in white coveralls with a mask and gloves) to clean the area. There were so many extra lounge chairs around the pools, crammed in whichever way they would fit, it was like an obstacle course to negotiate the area, and added to all this was the tumult of poolside grilling and entertainment.The swimming pool situation posed significant health and safety risks to everyone, and no one seemed concerned. Again, I understand that it was a summer vacation cruise with lots of kids and hot weather. What I don't understand is why NCL would, through their Nickelodeon program, encourage families to cruise on a ship that clearly was not designed to manage their needs, and why they did not provide appropriate safety measures to ensure their passengers' wellbeing.As I said at the outset, all members of our party had previously cruised on other lines, megaships to small vessels. Some of us had cruised extensively, but none of us had ever cruised on NCL. And none of us will ever cruise on NCL again. Shame on NCL.

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Balcony

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