We always choose to spend a couple of nights in or near our departure city prior to taking a cruise. That way we are sure we don't miss our boat due to weather (we live in Denver and the airport closes occasionally), plus we have a little fun beforehand. Miami is a great port with lots to do in and outside of the city. This time we spent two nights at South Beach and had a great time. We like to stay at the Clay Hotel. It is inexpensive, funky, and at a great location. The time at South Beach, of course, did not diminish our excitement about going on this, our fourth cruise. Our first cruise four years ago was with Norwegian, Then we did two cruises with Royal Caribbean. This was a return to Norwegian for us, motivated primarily by the itinerary. We both decided that while we enjoyed the cruise and the Norwegian Jewel, we prefer Royal Caribbean. Both cruise lines tend to be annoying with their efforts to make as much money off of passengers as possible once they are on the ship but Norwegian seems to be more obnoxious about it. A lot of ship's space is taken up by the specialty restaurants, which require additional charges, and there seemed to be more pushing of pull tabs, bingo, etc. Being a member of Latitudes didn't offer any real privileges, it only seemed to make us eligible for more sales pitches. It was hard to find quiet places to relax and read on the Jewel. They needed more deck chairs and fewer tables in the shaded areas around the pool. We, like a lot of people, are careful about our sun dosage and would really have liked some lounge chairs available that were out of the sun and wind. One of the things we liked about the Royal Caribbean ships we have taken was their Solariums. The only thing comparable on the Jewel was the relaxation area in the Bora Bora Spa. It was very nice but required a fee of $20/day or $119/cruise per person. I had hoped to spend some time in the library, which I enjoyed very much on my first Norwegian cruise, but the chairs in the Jewel's library were among the most uncomfortable I have ever sat in. That's about it for complaints. We certainly didn't let any annoyances get in the way of having a good time. And I have to say that Norwegian gave us plenty of opportunities for that. We loved the evening entertainment. It was clear that the "resident" entertainers and the Cruise Director's staff enjoyed what they were doing. They seemed to operate like a family and we felt included in that. The comedy was very good, whether from Joe the comedian, the magician, or the singers. The musical entertainment throughout the lounges was outstanding as well. We danced nearly every night, hitting the bed after 12:30 and getting up again around 6:30 to watch the ship come into port and enjoy shore excursions. We are catching up on our rest now that we are home. The food was good. It was tasty and kept us going. My wife enjoyed all of the vegetable dishes and fruits and almost became a vegetarian for the duration of the cruise. We are both carnivores but thought that vegetarians would not have felt left out at all by the foods available, particularly in the Garden Cafe buffet. There were some very nice Indian curries and other dishes. On the two days at sea heading back to Miami I discovered the buffalo wings in the Blue Lagoon which I really enjoyed. One of the reasons we chose not to pay the surcharge for the specialty restaurants was to use that money instead for purchasing interesting lunches on the different islands. On Samana we had lunch at a beachside grill on Playa Rincon, washed down with Mamajuana (a local drink of rum, wine, honey and tree bark). On Tortola we had chicken roti and chicken stew at the Midtown Restaurant, a place recommended as frequented by locals. On Barbados we had flying fish, a local specialty, for lunch. I would say that our time in port and excursions on this cruise were probably the best of all of our cruises. I love to plan our port days so spent a lot of time on the internet gathering information before going. Here is some information about the ports.

Samana

We did the ship's excursion with Samana highlights and an hour on Playa Rincon. It was very interesting to see the sights along the way but the road was very rough. Anticipate a very rough and uncomfortable ride. The beach is considered one of the best in the world, it was nice but we wouldn't have given it that rating. Everyone said to do an excursion on Samana rather than trying to go into town and do your own thing. I would agree with that. Whether you can arrange a tour beforehand with a private operator or go through the ship, you will find that the most rewarding. Read more