My partner and I are cruisers as we live in S. Florida. This was our 10th cruise and our first on Norwegian - The Jewel.

The flight from Miami was good but upon arrival to Madrid (to connect to Barcelona) the plane was already gone and we had to be rebooked on the next flight - no problem. The problem was no one was there to meet the plane -- so we put on your walking shoes through the Madrid airport (about a mile around). We finally got on the flight to Barcelona. Then on to Barcelona --we arrived and finally got on the bus to the ship after about another 1/2 -3/4 mile walk in the terminal to ur luggage which was in the opposite terminal from which we arrived. The flight home was better as we went directly from Barcelona to Atlanta and then on to Miami.

We arrived at the ship and the first thing we did was to go to our room. The balcony cabin was very nice and spacious. The bathroom was one of the nicest as it had a separate commode area from the sink/shower. We then immediately went make reservations at the specialty restaurants for the nights that we wanted. We ended up eating at Cagney's two nights ($15pp extra, per night) and one night at Le Bistro ($10pp extra). We were glad we did as people could not get normal dinner times (between 6-9) if you did not book early. The Tsar's restaurant was average - some nights better than others. Forget formal nights on this ship -- don't bother to bring the good jewelry. No one dressed nor was it enforced. We had our tuxes and were dressed and everyone barely wore shirts and slacks. Needless to say the second formal night we dressed nice casual. Someone wrote on a previous review "this was the first cruise I didn't gain weight." They were correct. The food is average at best. We are generally use to Celebrity Cruises in which you can't decide between all of the goodies -- here it was like choosing the best of the lot. Read more