I want to say that I read tons of the reviews on here before going on the Jewel and I went with very low expectations. I was worried to be quite honest after reading them especially since I've been on the Golden Princess 2 years ago and I had something to compare it to. We drove to the cruise since its only a 41/2 hour drive from Eugene, Oregon. We used the Republic parking garage on Wall St. It has a sky bridge to the embarkation terminal. Just know you have to drag your luggage up and down 2 elevators if you come before 11am. NCL lets you onboArd at 11am sharp and not before. I didn't read that on any of the reviews here so hope this helps. Ncl lets you pick an arrival time before that as early as 9:30am but you'll be waiting in their non VIP lounge (with free oj and water). We were with my mom who needed a wheelchair so we were onboard first along with the VIPs. I have no complaints they were awesome in getting us on. The attendant Ricky was super nice and took us everywhere we needed to go. Since our room wasn't ready until 1pm (thanks to the reviewer who recommended packing a carry on by the way) he suggested we go to the garden cafe buffet and eat. He took us there and we were on our way. Seriously though that was great service and how nice we didn't have to go looking for the place! Kudos to Ricky!

The Buffet was busy and continues to be so throughout the cruise but we always found a seat. We found the buffet dining area on the aft (back) of the ship to be our favorite spot. Yes, you'll be walking a ways to get your food but you'll exercise off all the food you eat. The buffet by far was the best food we had on the cruise. OSheehans, Azura and Tsars were as expected, service slow and the food was not as good as Princess. They skimp on the seafood dishes and skip crab and lobster altogether but I knew that from the reviews! We didn't pay for the ultimate dining but we were full every meal. They're always feeding you.

On the pool deck they'll have lots of bbq. One time they served clam chowder and sourdough bread which hits the spot for the swimmers in the cold Alaskan temperatures. Speaking of the pool it was warmer than the indoor pool at the Golden Princess! The slide was why we chose this ship over the Pearl. My kids loved it...I and everyone else had to paddle ourselves down it! There is a covered kiddie only pool and hot tub which was seldom full. It's nice to have when its cold and rainy. We only had rain a couple times the rest was sunny. Read more