7 Nights Bermuda from Boston, Massachusetts Cruise

Long but hopefully thorough

I didn't read any reviews until the day before we left as we were traveling with a large group for an event. That said, after reading a few on this site I was concerned we wouldn't have a good time. Thankfully, we didn't share the same negative experiences as folks here. First, accommodations were great. We stayed in an "affordable" (or as I joked, 3rd class) cabin. It was an inside stateroom with a queen size bed. We were planning on being out and about all day and it was fine for us. After they scratched Bar Harbor off of our itinerary, it would've been nice to have the balcony for the 2 days at sea return trip. That is out of the control of NCL and us, so it just was what it was. We were comfortable and our steward (Ryan A.) was great. He checked in with us daily and ensured that our room was exactly how we liked it. Additionally, he even asked if our dining, excursions, etc were up to our standards. Above and beyond. I like my daily iced coffee and assumed I could make that in the buffet line. That was incorrect and I had to pay for it (not covered by drink package) at their Starbucks/cafe daily. The barista pulled me aside on the last day and said I could've purchased a coffee pass and the fact that I got my girlfriend and myself a coffee a day each, it may have been more cost effective. Something I'll have to research and again, I appreciate their polite "heads up." The entertaining on board was nice. They had 2 performers sick (not GI by the sounds of it nor did I witness any sickness, so fear not cruisers) and had to cancel/reschedule stuff. Again, not their fault. We did wish they did a better job posting the changes as we did show up at the wrong time for a few performances due to the changes. Shore excursions were fun. Although, we think we can do our own thing on Bermuda in the future. Take advantage of the public transit system. It's cheap and easy on an otherwise expensive island. I would suggest drinking/eating on board and exploring/beaching on the island. A good piece of advice I got and saw was bringing ziplock bags and packing snacks from the buffet for your travels. I saw some complaints about kids over running the pool area. I was actually impressed with the supervision. First, the lifeguard blew his whistle at any inappropriate or dangerous horseplay and put a stop to it. Second, one pool and hot tub cluster was pretty much adults only. The other pool and hot tub cluster was families/kids. Everyone respected each other's space. It worked well in my opinion. Cruises are family atmospheres and short of falling overboard, kids teenagers and up roam freely. I did it as a kid and expected it on the ship. I never experienced any rude or disrespectful kids. Were some loud and running around? Sure. But, nothing I didn't anticipate or find over the top. Food quality was good or better. Buffet had plenty of options. We did Cagney night one and liked it. Otherwise, we ate at the main dining room and thoroughly enjoyed our meals. We even canceled the last night in Chin Chin as we felt our money was better spent elsewhere due to the pre-paid ("complimentary") dining options sufficed. Drinks were tasty and didn't taste watered down at all. I've done all inclusive resorts where I've had drinks all day and felt sober as a nun. Not that I go out and try to get banged up, but it was certainly VERY doable on the ship if that's your jam. I felt all areas were clean and sanitation was good. I saw complaints about GI sickness in other posts. Hate to break it to those folks, you're not winning against the stomach bug on a ship. That's just bad luck. We felt cleanliness was very important to the crew and saw people cleaning regularly. FINALLY....if you like nautical/ship stuff or this just sounds interesting: Deck 11 there's a bridge viewing deck. You can see the deck officers at work.

A great getaway!

This was a wonderful cruise! The ship, the Norwegian Jewel, was immaculate. There were lots of social areas, places where you could just sit and listen to music, or play cards, or even a library where you could sit and read! A nice workout gym. I did walk the Promenade deck, thoroughly enjoyable. The layout of the ship was beautiful also and the staff could not have been friendlier. We had a stateroom that we felt had good space although the toilet area seemed tight, had I been a taller person. The food was wonderful, especially the buffet. After a couple of nights dining in two different restaurants, we settled on the buffet for dinner, each night a different theme ( fish night, grill night, etc.) and started each morning with a sit down breakfast in O"Sheehan's. The entertainment was great as well. Also a 3PM "tea" time - self serve tea- but wonderful pastries, petite sandwiches etc.... Our stateroom was meticulously cleaned each day, as were all common areas of the ship it seemed to us. We took the NC: excursion "caves and waves" and it was a great choice for us to see the Crystal Caves, and enjoy the beach. Very happy 4th cruise to Bermuda and I really enjoyed this cruise. And getting in and out of Boston and on and off the ship was easy peasy! HIghly recommend! Not rating the family friendly or children's programs below since not applicable to me - I did not travel with children.

Could Not Have Been Better !

The Jewel is in great shape, and has the most wonderful crew and staff. We have been going on the Boston to Bermuda cruise many times over the last 20 years starting with the NCL Majesty then the Dawn several times, the Gem the Pearl and now the Jewel. We love the Jewel class ships, and the crew told me it is their favorite class also. The size of the ship makes for a warm and friendly atmosphere all around. We are retired now and enjoy the calm atmosphere we don’t need the bells and whistles of the larger ships. We are sad to think they will not build ships this size in the future, and next year the Breakaway will be doing this cruise out of Boston. We are already booked but are apprehensive because of the size. We booked an aft Penthouse more than a year ago as we have before. It is an excellent location, and it comes with so many benefits it is worth the extra. We had some family and friends with us so it gave us a gathering spot. We want to give a shout out to Carlos the Concierge who was always pleasant and everywhere and helpful to us especially with reserve seating in the theatre, and debarkation. Also Mark our Butler who was always available to make reservations, and even escorted us along with some family and friends to restaurants. We saw him at least once a day, and he seemed to be everywhere usually with a group of guests ourselves included. I don’t know how he did it but we enjoyed his friendly demeanor and help. He made sure we had some fun treats for a sail away party for our entire group in our cabin. They were experiencing NCL for the first time and really enjoyed themselves. We enjoyed all the food, the Garden Cafe has all kinds of choices and some changed from day to day, but lots of great food you could count on to be there. Don’t miss the Asian noodle soup and the barley salad. Both were only served on only one day. We ate there for both lunch and breakfast and always found something we really liked. We tried O’Sheehans for lunch one day, we love the chicken salad sandwiches, others had soups and burgers. The waiter heard us talking about the nacho’s next thing you know we had two plates on the table. We didn’t know how we were going to eat it all plus our meals, but of course we did. We also ate in Le Bistro and Cagney’s. Always excellent, with superb service. Our group had several kinds of steaks all were excellent, as well as the shrimp I had. Don’t miss the raspberry creme brûlée for desert. Our friends tried Moderno, loved the salad bar and all the choices of meat, though they did say it was too much meat. We were surprised to find that Chin Chin the Asian restaurant is no longer complimentary. It was when we booked the cruise but was changed in January to a specialty restaurant. We like to eat here the first night, and were surprised by the change. It wasn’t very full, and the menu changed. We found the entertainment consistently good, the production shows were fun the singers and dancers were outstanding. We also went to the cabaret night where they each performed such talent. Our cabin steward “Mo” kept our cabin tidy and nice and seemed to know when we would be out He knew our names after the first day, impressive. He was always friendly and glad to see us. To top it all off we had good weather, and smooth seas. It is not always the case sailing out of Boston in the spring, we sailed right into a Nor’Easter last year. Bermuda is a wonderful place to cruise to we find something different to see each time we go.