Norwegian Jewel
by Dan Walters
Bahamas
June 5, 2010
My wife and I just returned from a 7 day cruise to the Bahamas on the Jewel, and to be quite frank, we were somewhat disappointed. Having cruised on Holland America, Celebrity, Princess and Royal Carribean, it is obvious that NCL is not in the same league. The attention to detail that we had come to expect was lacking. When we first entered our minisuite balcony cabin, my wife noticed that the area adjacent to the couch and desk had not been vacuumed or cleaned. There were several "items" that she picked up and placed in t he trash can. There were very few lounge chairs on the pool deck in shaded areas. If you wanted to protect yourself from the sun (and it was hot) shaded areas with lounge chairs were hard to come by. My brother-in-law jogged regularly each morning. He advised that he passed the same dirty glasses sitting next to the jogging track for three days. For those "mature" travelers, be prepared to be in the presence of many, many children, and unfortunately, many parents seemed to believe that it was not their responsibilty to maintain control of their young ones. This was particularly disturbing on the night that my wife and I visited Cagney's Steakhouse, one of the several restaurants that required an additional $25 fee to eat there. Several tables over were two couples with their four children, ages 5-6. The children were allowed to scream and play during the entire course of our dinner, and no one, ship staff included, ever attempted to ask that they be made to behave.
Overall, I would rate that cruise and ship a "4" at best. If you want first class service and attention to detail, stick with Celebrity, Princess or Holland America. I would suspect that Carnival might even be a better value.
