Just back from the Jewel sailing Jan 24-31. This was our 7th cruise but first with NCL. We had a inside cabin with 3 adults—not any extra space but we just slept there anyway! The cabin was the smallest of any of the ships we have been on. But I must say the large shower stall was a nice surprise. The Jewel was very clean and well cared for. We enjoyed the staff too, as we have on our other cruises. They all work very hard to make the passengers happy. We especially liked our waiter Joel in the Tsars dining room. He was most attentive and friendly and very prompt with our dinners. We were lucky to have him two nights in a row.

We flew from Detroit to FLL and stayed at the Hollywood Gateway Inn. It is basic but we did get one of the newly remodeled rooms so it was very clean with new carpet and paint. We used the SAS shuttle service and they were very prompt and convenient. We arrived in Miami about 11:30 and checked in with NCL. Document processing went pretty fast but we had to wait in a "holding area" for about 30 minutes until our group number was called to board the ship.

As I said earlier the ship is very nice, more subdued in dEcor than the Carnival ships that we have sailed on and that is OK. We began our feeding frenzy of the week at the Garden Cafe. The buffet food was typical of all of the cruises we have been on and the station areas kept people moving so there weren't long lines. I liked sitting on the back of the ship in the Outdoor area to eat. (We ate breakfast there every day.) We were allowed into our rooms at 2 pm. After unpacking it was time to explore the ship. It is laid out well with very good signage to help navigate where you want to go and you don't need to carry deck plans with you as they are displayed all over the place—very convenient! The only place that was a little confusing to find was the Blue Lagoon restaurant on Deck 8. Nice 24 hour place with a good selection for the late night snack or meal. Read more