We are experienced cruisers - 14th cruise, 10th on NCL, 3rd on the Jewel. My wife and I primarily sail to explore great ports in far off lands, and this sailing met that goal! Embarkation was remarkably smooth in Sydney - I had to ask one of the officers how many people were on the ship (we had more than 2300 passengers) since you wouldn't think it was a fully booked cruise based on the lack of delays getting on the ship. We were disappointed that the original itinerary was changed and the ship did not stop in Tasmania, but the addition of Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sound cruises was a great addition. Having cruised to Alaska multiple times, the geography of the Fiords was very similar. The New Zealand ports offered a great sampling of this amazing country - urban metropolitan areas of Wellington and Auckland, quaint small coastal town of Akaroa, and natural wonders on tours in Dunedin, Tauranga, and Napier. Our blog: rayandtraci.blogspot.com has pictures and port highlights. It is hard to compare sailings in different parts of the world - this tour of Oceania certainly compared favorably with some of our favorites - Baltics and Eastern Mediterranean!

As this was our third sailing on the Jewel (and 8th on NCL's Jewel Class ships) we were quite familiar with all of the attractions and entertainment on board. For the most part, I have found you get what you pay for as far as room size and amenities and NCL is no exception. I have always felt NCL leads the way as far as entertainment quality - they had a different headliner show every day for the 14 day cruise. Highlights include the Luminescence show by Hajime and Maud and the Cirque Bijou shows which offered a Cirque du Solei experience on the seas. The Jewel has a Burn the Floor show and a talented production cast that put on their long running Band on the Run show. A wide range of musicians entertained at the many bars - I especially enjoyed 24 Karat - Canadian performers Sheri and Dan who put on many performances. I also add that the Jewel showed NFL games in each cabin - the national Sunday night and Monday night games (which are Monday/Tuesday afternoons in New Zealand) as well as two of the regular Sunday afternoon games.

Having sailed on NCL many times, my wife and I are pretty good at knowing which dishes we would like and which ones to avoid. We choose pay restaurants when the main dining offerings look weak - I love the Rib Eye Steak at Cagney's and my wife enjoys their Sea Bass. Over many years, it does appear NCL has improved their dessert offerings which were once pretty poor. Their pizza also seems to have improved. Read more