I'll start with the highs: We enjoy the Jewel's size-not too big, not too small. The staff were all great, as usual. We enjoyed the shows. We ate mostly at specialty dining for dinner, and we liked them all, especially Cagney's. In Ensenada, we walked to the fish market and had some great fish tacos. In Cabo, we took a ship's shore excursion to the Casa Dorado Beach Resort and it was great. Clean beach, great service, nice chairs with umbrellas. The included buffet was great. It came with two drink coupons per person. The spa/thermal suites on board are always a favorite for us. They were never crowded, even though this was a busy Spring Break cruise. My husband likes cigars, and it is nice that there is a dedicated space on board for this. We went to the gym most days, it was well maintained and not crowded.

Now the lows: Embarkation was a disaster. A rumor said that there were passengers from the previous cruise who were stowaways so there was a delay while they were found. ( I mean...I get it..I never want to leave a cruise either, but still. ) The issue was that passengers were left in a long line in the parking lot for almost three hours in the hot sun. The only water offered was from employees with the Disney Cruise at the next pier. Not one word from a Norwegian rep the entire time, nor was there any apology or explanation later. There were older people and families with young children waiting in that line. Not OK. Another big low was the Stone Island shore excursion in Mazatlan. It was a ship-sponsored trip. It was a dirty beach with stray dogs and so many people hawking trinkets. There were armed police in full gear and weapons walking the beach. I guess that is good? We had to barter to get uncomfortable plastic chairs and a table. One of us had to stay with our belongings the whole time because we were told if they were left they would be taken. Nice. The bathroom was not clean, and the whole area smelled like the septic or whatever was leaking. We did see families paying extra to ride a banana boat, and for them I hope it was a good trip.

I gave this four out of five because most of the time all was well. It was a great trip. The two issues were not trip ruining, and it is important to keep everything in perspective. The embarkation situation will probably never happen again, and I will never book the Stone Island trip again....and neither should you!