Our experience on the Norwegian Jewel was fantastic. I am raving about freestyle cruising and absolutely love the concept. We did spend an extra 20 bucks each one night for the Teppanyaki restaurant and it was well worth it. The service on the ship was the best I've experienced in the industry thus far after 10 cruises on four different cruise lines. The NCL officers, staff, and crew were warm, welcoming, helpful, fun, and made customer service a top priority. Very impressive. I would love to go on another NCL cruise someday. While the ship is not really new (built in 2005 I think), it is well maintained and still sparkles in most areas throughout the interior. As an engineer, I must say in my humble opinion that the German built ships such as the Jewel have noticeably better quality, finish, materials, and workmanship than their Italian and French built counterparts. I must admit that this is the geek in me coming out, so others may not care as much or pay attention to the engineering quality, etc.

Overall, we had a wonderful experience and enjoyed New Orleans too. It was fun to be on the Mississippi River for several hours departing and returning. The only downside that I will mention is that the Captain, for reasons he explained as weather related, decided to not dock at Costa Maya. So, we only got three of our four stops. I am still baffled by the decision as the wind and waves were not bad at all, and it was 80 degrees and sunny. The other three stops were just great though!