Norwegian Jewel Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,357 reviews

Don't cruise NCL

Review for Asia Cruise on Norwegian Jewel
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dennisdanesi
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

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Value for Money
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Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2019
Cabin: Balcony
Complete chaos waiting for tenders.  No apologies, no announcements.  Stand
Complete chaos waiting for tenders.  No apologies, no announcements.  Stand
Non impressive main entrance on ship
Non impressive main entrance on ship
This is the crowd waiting over 4 hours in the hot sun to get back to the sh
This is the crowd waiting over 4 hours in the hot sun to get back to the sh

Chose this cruise line/ship for the itinerary. Never sailed NCL before and never will again. We have sailed many, many times with Celebrity, Royal, Carnival and princess to name a few and this cruise line fell far below each of those. Complete disorganization with tours to the point we waited over 4 hours in the hot sun for a tender to the ship because the crew did not realize low tide was coming in. There were no announcements in fact it took the crew from ANOTHER CRUISE LINE docked there to try and assist. Saw a few of the crew laughing and thought that this was funny....no apologies from NCL - they could care less. Really, are you not a cruise line? The ship was older and no bells or whistles at all. The crew was just average with no one going "out of their way" and while the food was OK, we were not impressed at all. The only positive was the entertainment on the ship which was surprisingly very good. Cabin was typical and again nothing impressive. I would choose Royal or Celebrity in the future and never sail NCL again. Paid quite a bit of money for a disappointing cruise in Asia.

In reviewing the actual ship, I would again say it has no bells or whistle. No outdoor movie screens, small grand entrance. Cabins are what you would expect and one feature that I did like was the ability to close a door to the toilet (even though it was clear). Pillows were much nicer then previous cruises. The staff was average but most seemed to just "do their job" and not go above and beyond. While some did have the approach of being super friendly, the majority did not and when they did, it seemed very forced. The entertainment was outstanding. They had shows that you would see in Vegas and I was very impressed that they were able to carry these out on a ship. I would say, this cruise probably had the best entertainment with the exception of Allure of the Seas.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BB

The cabin was average but I thought the private door to the toilet was impressive even though it was a clear door. Seemed a bit roomier and I have to say the pillows were the best I have ever had on a cruise vs. the flat ones you usually get.

Port Reviews

Koh Samui

Cruise Line cancelled our tour before the cruise so we went to an elephant sanctuary on our own and it was amazing!

Sihanoukville

Nice tour but tour guide a bit hard to understand.

Da Nang

Very disorganized tour arranged by NCL. Seemed to not have a good grasp on what we should see and where we should go.

Hanoi

City tour was what you would expect. Very interesting and tour guide gave good information along the way. Very informative.

Bangkok (Laem Chabang)

Hired driver for 12 hours - great tour. Took us to the Floating Market, Temples and to the shopping area. Very inexpensive and probably better that what the cruise line could offer.

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