We have always dreamed of going to Australia and New Zealand...this was a trip of a life time. We like cruising on the smaller NCL ships and the Jewel fit the bill. I booked originally a 2 bedroom family suite a year before the cruise and watched the prices and amenities for changes. About 4 months before sailing the price dropped and amenities added a $300 ship board credit, so I called and rebooked. Then a month before sailing the Haven 2 bedroom dropped in price to less than I paid for my cabin on deck 11 so I called again and requested a credit... they upgraded me to the Haven cabin 14008, without rebooking me, and gave mea fee more perks for not refunding the $600 difference. It was worth it!

I traveled with my husband and married daughter and her husband. The suite worked fine but I wouldn’t put more than 4 adults in the suite. Storage was the biggest issue...I have been on other ships with better storage than this one. The 2nd bedroom is very tiny...heck the bathroom to that bedroom is almost the same size.... the bed need 2 egg crate cushions on it to make it sleepable. The master bedroom was nice...storage not so handy any space between the bed and the wall..ugh! The phone in by the toilet was a pain..we were always hitting it off the hook... dumb spot for a phone. I loved the shower and being able to look at the ocean while showering. Another nice thing were the built in USB port in the light fixtures by the master bed. They were vert handy.

The Haven area was never busy and good place to relax... Down fall.. hot tub was kept at 99 degrees and the small pool was so cold only my husband went into it after coming out of the steam room (which worked on rare occasions). They did keep coffee tea juice and water as well as some light snacks available in the Haven til about 4PM... wish they would have kept the water around longer! Read more