This is our fifth NCL cruise. We keep coming back because the relaxed experience on the ship and flexible dining suit us.
The itinerary from Auckland, New Zealand to Syndey, Australia was what drew us to this cruise. The ship only had 1,600 passengers (double occupancy is 2,050), so the Garden Cafe and Stardust Theater were rarely busy/filled. Note, though it was school holidays here, because ...
We did an Auckland to Sydney cruise on the Jewel from Feb 4th to 14th. We choose this cruise because of the number of stops in New Zealand. We favor Celebrity, but picked this for the itinerary. We had been on NCL a couple times years ago and were never impressed. However, we were quite pleased with the Jewel and this cruise. I believe it has been refurbished fairly recently, so that probably ...
This was my 3rd cruise on the NCL Jewel and it did not disappoint. I am a solo traveler and NCL is the best for solos. I always get an oceanview cabin on deck 5 midship. So comfortable and close to mid and forward elevators always quiet. Our solo activity leader was awesome making dinners for the group getting group seat at the shows and making sure we all had a good time. The activities ...
We selected this ship and itinerary because we wanted to visit this part of the world for the first time. Cruising seemed an ideal way to see a lot of New Zealand including the sounds on the South Island. We planned our own air since we wanted to stay an extra few days in Auckland at the beginning and Sydney at the end. More on this later.
The Norwegian Jewel was just refurbished and it’s clean ...
This was a last minute decision for me. I usually do my homework and know exactly what I want to see and how, before I even book a vacation. This time I decided I didn't want to wait another year until it was summer again "down under"! I picked NCL Jewel strictly on the itinerary and time. As a solo I had to pay for 2 people, and that will always bother me, but I as a solo on NCL I was ...
We joined this cruise in Auckland on 19th February. We had been reading all about the trouble with the ship on the previous leg of the journey and when we had left England a week before our sail date we had been advised that 3 of the stops had been cancelled and we would be in Port at Auckland for an extra day, with an extra stop to Port Kembla after Sydney. Our travel agent failed to inform us ...
This is my second review, but this time focusing on the tours. NCL did a great job putting together tour options in an effort to satisfy a variety of interests. I heard only a few gripes (and I'm not sure these folks would have been happy with anything anyway.) This cruise started in Auckland, NZ and visited Bay of Islands. We stopped in Australia (Sidney, Port Kembla, Airlie Beach, Darwin, and ...
I chose the 2017 Auckland, NZ - Singapore 19-day cruise to check off several bucket list sites. It was EVERYTHNG I hoped it would be and more. NCL resolved all mechanical issues prior to my embarkation, nearly our entire original itinerary was re-established, and every day was wonderful. Embarkation problems in Auckland were disastrous - 2-2.5 hour wait to get onboard because so many passengers ...
Everyone probably knows the azipod issues previously suffered by the Star. They did cause a lot of worry and stress leading up to the cruise. Fortunately, our cruise was problem free. Our major problem was a lack of Australian visa for embarkation in Auckland. We were not told by travel agent that it was required and ended up in a 4 hr line to get one online. What really made the problem stressful ...
This was a 19-day cruise and we loved it. The ship was clean and nicely decorated. The food was always hot and tasty. The servers were quick to serve us. The entertainment was wonderful; it was of a good variety and included guitarists, violinists, singers, magicians, contortionists, comedians, and dancers The on board activities' were fantastic; They were of a wide variety to interest ...