We booked this cruise way in advance to celebrate our granddaughters (GD) 11th birthday.

We flew to LAX on the morning of embarkation as we are only a two hour flight away. From LAX we boarded the NCL transfer bus and within 30 minutes of landing we were on our way the port. This was her first time on an airplane, seeing the ocean and first cruise and she was super excited. When we pulled into the the port after about a half hour ride from LAX, she was amazed at the sight of the Jewel waiting for us. She said, "it is way bigger than I expected."

Embarkation was a breeze, we walked right in was through security, check in and boarding the ship within 30 minutes from when we arrived at the port. We boarded the ship and went to the outdoor grill and had a burger for lunch, after lunch we went to Splash Academy to sign up our granddaughter. We got her all signed up, met her counselor, got a list of activities for the week and then set out to explore the ship and show the GD where different venues were and get her a soda. A few minutes later, they announced that rooms were ready so we went and dropped off our carry on bag, changed into swim suits and headed to the pool for a swim for the GD until time for the Muster Drill. We went to the Muster Drill when it was time and after that went back to our room to watch sail away from our balcony. Read more