A few years ago. we embarked on what would be a change in course from our usual modes of traveling.
A cruise!
Cazzy’s first in fact.
Growing up, I have been extremely fortunate to go on a lot of cruises with my family; my last one back in 2014 while still at university.
But none of them with Norwegian cruises specifically, and never actually having paid for it myself!
Turns out, growing up (and paying for cruises) gets pricey.
So we wanted to take the time to do an in-depth review of the Norwegian Jewel cruise ship. Giving our honest experience on all aspects of the cruise; including:
Overall, helping to give a solid and honest overview of what it’s like to cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines.And perhaps help answer the question of whether cruising with them (and on the Norwegian Jewel specifically) is worth it.But first up …
In the last 6 years we have done a lot of traveling, starting out as budget backpackers and attempting to drive our campervan around the world, and then realizing we wanted to slow down our travels and focus on quality rather than quantity.
But in November 2022, we found ourselves waiting (increasingly less and less) patiently for our van to be shipped from Mexico to Colombia.
After constant setbacks, we found ourselves on a plane from Cancun to Bogota, with no idea of what we would actually do to fill the next 2-3 weeks.
The idea of a cruise had been swimming around our minds for the last few years and this was very much an impulse booking.
We found out that the Norwegian Jewel was due to depart THE NEXT DAY from Panama, a short 1 hour flight from Bogota, Colombia.
So we cancelled our Bogota - Cartagena flight and instead jumped on a late night flight to Panama City.
The next morning we drove an hour across to Colon (on the other end of the Panama Canal) and boarded!
I have never cruised Norwegian, and honestly knew next to nothing about the cruise line.
So our decision to cruise with them was based solely on the fact that the departure point was very close to Colombia, and the dates matched up perfectly with our schedule.
That’s it!
This cruise was in no way sponsored by or in collaboration with Norwegian, so this review of Norwegian Jewel specifically is in no way biased.
I also want to point out that in comparing our experience, I do so against the 3 dozen cruises I took with my grandparents between the ages of around 4 and 19. Most done in my early teenage years, and only one at an age where I could legally drink alcohol.
These were done in a big range of cabins, across dozens of countries in the Caribbean and Mediterranean; and with a range of different cuisines.
Most of those cruises were done on Fred Olsen (Black Watch, Balmoral, Boudicca) as well as a number of cruises with P&O (2 on Oceania, as well as others) and 1 or 2 on Princess cruises.
And the rest of the thoughts in this cruise come from Cazzy, as her first time experience cruising anywhere (beyond 2 days spent cruising Halong Bay back in 2017).
Let’s dig in!
Our chosen adventure was a 9 night cruise departing from Colon in Panama and returning to Panama City.
These 2 ports are about 1 hour drive from each other, and on each side of the infamous Panama Canal.
This man-made canal was built back in 1904 and was a true feat of human engineering. Allowing shipping to pass directly through Central America and cut weeks (or months) off the long and perilous sailing route around the base of South America.
The last day of our cruise included a sailing through the canal, a once-in-a-lifetime journey in itself.
But as well as this our itinerary included stops in:
As well as 2 full days spent at sea, and the aforementioned day spent sailing through the Panama Canal.
Besides Cartagena, neither of us had been anywhere on the itinerary, so it really was a great route for us!
Our verdict: Despite a few teething problems, we were very happy with our room.
We originally planned on booking an inside cabin, then at the last minute (literally), we decided to upgrade to a balcony room.
It actually wasn’t that more for the upgrade, and I 1000% recommend it.
I think the balcony rooms represent the best value for money and experience.
There is nothing quite like waking up in the morning with the views of the sea, and the natural light is brilliant. Also enjoying the balcony at sunset as we sail became a daily ritual of mine. Of course you will not be spending a lot or all of your time in your cabin, but I genuinely think the balcony room makes ALL the difference.
We also got to see what the inside cabins looked like, without a window and with a window.
The ones with a large window were very spacious, and there was a lot of light coming through, so I would say this isn’t a bad option if the balcony was sold out.
The inside cabins are perfectly fine, looks wise, but I think it’s worth getting some natural light in here. We can’t comment on suites as we didn’t see any, but the upgrade in price is expensive, and I’m not too sure it’s worth it!
Depends on the budget of course, but a balcony is the way to go, especially if you want to start your cruising journey right (like myself ;))
Something that overall bothered me (and brad) on the cruise is the fact that NCL have signs up saying “we don’t use plastic straws anymore to help the environment”, great, but they use plastic cups in their outsides bars, they give you countless stacks of paper, which could all be digitized nowadays.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy receiving the itineraries, but the excess paper used for over 2000 people on board is crazy, and you end up with a small library in your room.
Basically, it’s a joke they think not using plastic straws is a real help to the environment when they have so many other un-environmentally friendly things on board.
Just something that bugged me.
Loved the décor, vibe and food. They rotate the menu every night, and there is always at least one vegetarian option.
Not every vegetarian option was great, and they tend to stick to variations in pasta, also they had a themed menu for thanksgiving which didn’t have a single vegetarian option.
Also I hated the lack of soups.
But the staff are amazing, and this was our top choice for breakfast in the mornings.
Although it does end the earliest for breakfast, so if you want a lie in then this isn’t the best option for you.
There is a dress code after 5pm.
You can pre-order vegetarian and vegan options if you wish (this will be essential for vegan as there is absolutely nothing on the menu)
Con- the guy who is in charge of the special menus for vegetarians lies (haha). On two occasions he said the soups were vegetarian (even though they didn't have a V symbol next to them) then when we confirmed the next day with the waiters, they would confirm the chef had used chicken stock so they were indeed not vegetarian, so just something to be aware of.
24/7 which is pretty great. They do a separate breakfast menu, then lunch and dinner are the same menu except for an additional “blue plate '' special in the evenings. Limited veggie opinions, but they can do a veggie burger if you ask for it. More options for vegetarian appetizers. Nothing on the menu for vegans.
But it's a great place for casual dining with service and nice views. It's also one of the best spots to watch sports!
The buffet restaurant of the ship, and offers a real range of options, and lots of choice for vegetarians.
They made amazing pizza too.
Great option for something quick, delicious and easy.
Nothing for vegetarians but offer BBQ style food!
We tried two specialty restaurants and honestly overall we do not think they are worth the upgrade.
Maybe because the vegetarian options are not all that. If you’re a meat eater it may be different. The idea behind these restaurants is that the quality and service is better than elsewhere, but truly the food at the palace was just as good, if not better on some occasions. Now, the food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t worth paying extra for.
These include
100% we both think it's worth getting the free at sea alcohol package if you plan on having a couple of drinks.
There is a wide range of bars and my favorite was the spinnaker lounge.
Unfortunately cocktails made at the outside bars are terrible.
I truly wouldn't be happy if I was paying $14 a drink out there with what they served us.
The outside bars are just making you quick and easy drinks with no effort, but the inside bars do a better job.
However, truly most of the cocktails weren’t that great.
I had a platinum margarita, which was horrible and a cosmopolitan that was so bad I just couldn't drink it, but Cazzy still talks about how good the lemon drop martinis where, and the mojitos on board were great.
The Free at sea package includes any drinks up to the value of $15 which includes a lot including top shelf liquor such as Grey Goose, 1800 tequila but the Free at sea does not include any form of espresso based coffee, but there is a Starbucks coffee shop on board.
It’s actually well priced, and you can buy a Starbucks coffee pass for around $99 for unlimited Starbucks on board.
Otherwise you can get basic filter coffee and tea throughout the day, but as someone who actually drinks a lot of coffee, and enjoys coffee around the world I can tell you the coffee on board is crap.
Our verdict: in terms of food and drink offered on board, you're well catered for! Even as vegetarians without access to any vegetarian speciality restaurants (a common occurrence on newer cruise ships), we still had lots of great food to eat!
I wouldn't say the same if you're a vegan, and you might struggle for a bit a of variety!
Super impressed with how big the theater was. We watched a few shows and all were excellent. They also host day shows and games there, such as deal or no deal, which we attended once and it was good fun!
Every day on your cruise there is some form of quiz, typically a couple of times a day, and there are bingo, and other activities to do. You actually get a little card, and you get it stamped every time you do an activity, and at the end of the cruise you get a “prize”, depending on many you have done! In the end we walked away with a couple of t-shirts and a deck of cards!
We did the quiz daily and enjoyed it!
There are various parties on board the ship, whether that be your classic sail away party, or even karaoke themed nights! You’ll often find there is always something to do each evening.
Our verdict: Overall we were both very pleased with the entertainment on board the Norwegian Jewel. We never got bored. However, I’d say it’s maybe tailored towards a slightly older audience, but that didn’t bother us!
Fitness centres - great, beautiful views, it’s a pity their classes are quite expensive $20 a class, but you can buy a class pass, which would work out better if you plan on using multiple gym classes. Gym use itself is included- but nowhere to get water…
Sports deck - it’s not overly great, there is somewhere to play ball, and hit a golf club, and you could play bowls if you wanted, but there’s nothing else other than that. You could also run around the ship via the running track, which is pretty standard on all cruise ships at this point!
Pool - need more Jacuzzis: pool itself is fine, but the entire ship could benefit from more jacuzzis, because they are clearly the popular choice!
Games (ping pong): There were a few games on board you could play, but our favourite was definitely ping pong. We would go play most evenings, but it is located outside on deck, so can get a little warm and it is popular and there are only two tables!
Library- a very small space on the ship, but it’s still nice to have a library on board. Not all newer ships include them, but I like that there is a space on board that’s totally quiet and filled with books! Books are included, but remember to bring them back.
Spa - It’s such a shame that the spa onboard is overpriced. I have no issues with paying top dollar for a quality spa experience, I’ve had great massages around the world, and had premium massages in the Hilton, etc, but when Norwegian Mandara spa is charging $399 per person for one massage, it’s a bit of a joke really. I also got the sense they were desperate because they kept pursuing this one spa deal every day, and ended up dropping the prices near the end. Either way, it’s also difficult to even check out the spa and prices without being hounded by the spa staff. Even as you walk past the spa, or when I tried to get a price list, they are really pushing you to book a treatment. That’s annoying and tacky.
Casino - loved the vibe and the fact there was a casino on board, but would have been better if the minimums were a little lower (higher than casinos we played on in Vegas)
Our verdict: The facilities on board were enough to satisfy us, but if you are travelling with kids, I wouldn’t say there is enough on board to keep them entertained. Or even young adults. I’d perhaps opt for one of Norwegians newer ships for this, such as Prima.
First of all … how much did we pay for our cruise?
In total we spent £2,000 ($2500 at time of writing).
This included the Free At Sea Upgrade as well as pre-paying our tips.
On top of this we bought return flights to Panama, one night accommodation outside the airport, an Uber ride from Panama City to Colon (£40) and a transfer form the cruise terminal to Panama City airport (£15).
Those additional costs will of course vary greatly depending on where you are coming from, but for us I would say the overall cost door-to-door set us back around £3,000 total.
The cruise itself, ignoring any other costs like the flights and transfers listed above worked out at less than $100 per night, per person.
If you compare that to cruising in general, I would say it’s pretty reasonable. You can definitely spend a lot more, and you could likely spend less.
But for what we received, as well as prepaying tips and getting all-inclusive drinks, it was pretty inline with what we figured a cruise would cost us. So going into things ,we felt pretty happy.
But how did we feel when disembarking?
Overall, yes to all of the above.
Have you been on a Norwegian Cruise? How does it compare to our experience on the Norwegian Jewel!?
Let us know below!
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