Before sitting down to write this, I asked myself what is there to like about Norwegian Jewel? After thinking it over, I decided there are several things that I like about this ship.
The Jewel, as she is known to her friends, was the lead ship in Norwegian Cruise Line’s Jewel class of cruise ships. For the last few years, she has been based for all or a large part of the year in New York and since I am also based there, the ship has become a familiar sight.
Starting with the basics, Jewel was built by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Pappenberg, Germany. Over the years, I have developed a high regard for Meyer Werft, which has produced such impressive ships as Celebrity’s Solstice class and Royal Caribbean’s Radiance class ships. Like fine sports cars, their ships are often fast and very maneuverable. They always are good quality. Norwegian Jewel is no exception.
Stepping inside, I like the fact that the ship is run with an eye towards innovation. In the early years of this century, NCL inaugurated the Freestyle dining concept, which has now been adopted in various forms by most of the major cruise lines. They also were a leader in basing their ships outside of the traditional Florida cruise ports so that passengers did not have to travel so far to get to the cruise. On Jewel, this spirit of innovation continues with various new programs that combine dining and entertainment.
I also like the service on the Jewel. The crew seems happy and I found that they make a real effort to please.
In the final analysis, however, it does not really matter what I think of a ship. Rather, what is important in deciding whether a particular ship is right for your cruise vacation is whether the ship offers a cruise experience that is consistent with your tastes, needs and preferences. Accordingly, I have updated and expanded the Beyondships profile of Norwegian Jewel with more information. http://www.beyondships.com/NCLJewel.html
It includes more menus from the main dining rooms and from the major specialty restaurants http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-jewel-menus.html as well as more daily programs (Freestyle Daily) .
There is also a new interview with Captain Lars Bergstrom and Hotel Director Hugo Vanosmael in which they share their views on why Norwegian Jewel has been successful sailing out of New York. http://www.beyondships.com/NCLJewel-captain.html
There is our first-ever cruise ship slideshow. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-jewel-slideshow.html
Finally, the photo tour and commentary has numerous new photos. Indeed, so many that I had to expand it by a page. The tour begins at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLJewel-Tour.html
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