We (myself, wife, and four children - 5, 7, 9, and 11) just returned from the 4/2-4/9 sailing of the Jewel on her Western Caribbean itinerary. We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and the ship and would certainly sail on NCL again.

Food: I have been cruising since college in the early 1980s and have been disappointed by the steadily decreasing quality of food and service aboard ship during the last 20+ years. However, the Jewel sailing marked a turn-around in food quality. The main dining rooms on the Jewel had good food, although nothing special. The specialty restaurants, with a single exception, ranged from very good to excellent. We ate at each of them and found the service to be attentive without being intrusive. Based on excellent advice from this board we booked each night of the cruise on Sunday when we boarded the ship. The only night that we did not book was Saturday night, and we could only get my family of six booked into Tangos (the Mexican restaurant) that night. Avoid Tangos like the plague. It is terrible, almost inedible, food. Tangos was mostly empty that night and every night - and for good reason. Why NCL allows this blemish to exist among a sea of stellar specialty offerings is beyond me, particularly when it is clearly avoided by her guests. To avoid ending on a bad note, I will reiterate that Cagneys; Le Bistro, Mamas, and Chin Chin were all great. My son could not get enough of the $5 all you can eat sushi.

Rooms: We booked adjoining mini-suites. The rooms were spacious enough, but clearly smaller than similar accommodations that I have had on other lines, e.g., Princess. They were thoughtfully laid out, and our cabin stewards were attentive at keeping the room clean and tidy. The ship opened up the balcony between the cabins, so that we had a nice large double balcony. A note for parents with small children - the balcony has a child lock on it to prevent younger children from opening the balcony door. Read more