See the Best Cruises in 2022 as rated by Australians on ieatwords.com.au.
Dave M.South East Queensland, QLD
The Truth About a Norwegian Jewel Cruise . . . .
My wife and I have just returned from a 12-day cruise (Sydney/New Zealand/Sydney) on the Norwegian Jewel.
We have previously been on 12 cruises from 7 to 48 nights with 5 different cruise lines ranging from 3 to 5 stars and rate our Norwegian Jewel cruise at a barely 3-star level for the following reasons:
MISSING LUGGAGE:
We arrived at our cabin to find one large suitcase missing. We made 4 phone calls to Customer Services and were told each time that it would eventually be delivered to our cabin. When at 8 pm it was still undelivered, we p...Read more
Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Robert WGreater Melbourne (Outer), VIC
- 5 reviews
Disappointing experience
After previously enjoying very exciting sailing experiences with Carnival Liberty around the Mediterranean and Royal Caribbean around Asia, my wife and I recently booked a Mediterranean cruise with Norwegian Star departing Venice and sailing around the Greek Islands before returning to Venice. I can only describe this cruise as disappointing by comparison. Unlike the other cruise lines where the crew were exceptionally friendly, only around 60 % of the Norwegian crew displayed a bright and friendly attitude. The rest seemed to forget that passe...Read more
ngers are not an annoying interruption to their work, but are the purpose of it. Perhaps they are just poorly trained (and paid). Some of the staff in the restaurants were too easily distracted by other staff members, to properly deal with diners and Norwegian always seemed to have their hand in our pockets with their double add-on gratuities for drinks, despite us having paid significant gratuities upfront as part of the booking process. We were told that the cabin water was not fit to drink, but unlike the other cruise lines, no bottled water was supplied to our cabin, but instead had to be purchased. Upgrade and drink packages advertised online didn't materialise.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
John ScottTIMBOON
- 6 reviews
- 4 likes
be wary if departing from Barcelona
Booked 11 months in advance to sail Meditteranean from Barcelona. 24hrs prior to departure received email advising departure port changed to Tarragona over 100 k's away. Meanwhile we had booked accommodation close to Barcelona port and were asked to get back to airport to catch a bus provided by Norwegian to Tarragona at a cost of $30US each. We stood for 3 1/2 hrs waiting- no seating- no water and the Norwegian staff had no idea of what was going on. Most of the passengers were elderly and in a similar position to us having received late noti...Read more
fication. We are aware of others actually arriving at the Barcelona port and told to catch taxis at their own expense. This is no way to start a holiday. We have since approached Norwegian suggesting they should refund the bus fare only to be bluntly told that they reserve the right to change ports and that we should seek refund from our travel agent. ( why??) The cruise itself could only be described as 2 star - drink service good - food ordinary - 'picture' window cabin tiny and basic - entertainment poor - shore excursions grossly overpriced - fortunately staff very good. Only our second cruise and falls well short of our experience on Princess Line. No more Norwegian for us.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Lou KesbykEMPSEY
- 2 reviews
Shocker
Cabin Type: Balcony
Day two into our holiday cruise i received a rather rude letter in my stateroom, a courtesy phone call would have been nicer, stating that my credit card was stopped and i had my ship card cancelled,having checked and called my bank it had never been stopped..it was the the ships staff's fault..no apology and rude service at the service desk.
Drink package extremely too high. My wife did not drink, but was forced to pay $1,700 for both if interested. The drinks were grossly overpriced and had another 20% added on top plus U...Read more
SD prices then converted to AUD...biggest rip off ever. The tender service was shocking at every port, waiting lines up to three hours in the hot sun. The food was terrible even in the restaurants, the buffet was cheap and sloppy. Just ok service at restaurants, even the specialty ones (3). The cabin beds were hard Had to take pain pills for a severe bad back pain .The whole 19 days were pretty dismal.
Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Brian
- 5 reviews
New York to LA via Panama Canal - do yourself a favour - DONT
In honour of my late father our entire family went - food variety was poor, level of service from front desk was poor (arrogant), only 3 or 4 ports were dedicated cruise ship terminals, the rest were shipping container ports, a number of the ports/towns were unhygenic and dangerous - if you did not book a shore excursion with NCL, they did not care about your welfare - tried to charge each client $14.50 per day service charge - this was not advised prior to the cruise..all in all a money grabbing exercise...only shining light was the restaurant waiting staff and Chester (our room steward)
Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
lb2017Melbourne
- 8 reviews
- Norwegian Jewel
- Verified customer
Terrible experience - never again NCL
My wife and I recently completed a cruise on board Norwegian Jewel from Singapore to Sydney departing 12th November 2018.
We had decided to make this cruise principally due to the itinerary with two day stops in Bali, Darwin and Yorkey’s Knob (Cairns).
As some background – my daughter completed a Master of Education (Indigenous Education) in 2015 and undertook work in several remote Indigenous communities throughout Australia.
These included [name removed] in the NT (320 km southeast of Darwin) and also both Djarragun and Yarrabah sout...Read more
heast of Cairns. Due to my own work commitments however we were unable to visit her during her contracted periods at these communities and experience for ourselves what this would have been like for her.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
RudiBurleigh Waters
- 6 reviews
AWESOME
We cruised on the Norwegian Epic as few years ago from Rome 7 days around the Mediterranean Sea. What a wonderful experience. Had a balcony stateroom which was larger than normal (in other cruise lines). The bed was so comfy too. Food was exceptional with many choices & signature restaurants as well. Ports of call were fantastic.
Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Don't waste your money
We booked a balcony room very small and tired bathroom tiles falling off toilet runs all day sink leaks very average. The boat is very old they were doing maintenance on boat will we were trying to relax around the pool. The bar staff can't make a real cocktail they use a pre mix tastes terrible. The food is average at best. You have to pay for your water and coffee even with the drink package. The information on the places you visit is poor. Overall not the best and wouldn't recommend to anybody
Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Should have been better
We did a repositioning cruise to Singapore. Had a balcony stateroom which was standard, steward was good. Also given food and beverage packages. First we ran out of rose, then pinot grigio, cider and some beers, the wines for the package were around the $9 a glass, when we ran out of the pinot grigio we were served was an Australian brand, retails for $6 - $7 dollars a BOTTLE. We also ran out of cornflakes and skim milk, the food in the bistro was fatty and meat and eggs undercooked. Plates chipped and dirty, no teaspoons or saucers, tables a...Read more
nd floors not cleaned. We made bookings for the speciality (????) restaurants to be told you have to wait, we are not ready. If you want a deck chair, take an inflatable one. Tours are expensive and boring, I refused to pay $15 to get a bus to just go to Brisbane, no surf beach tours, golf or fishing or local shopping tours. A lot of staff joined the ship in Sydney, hence they did not have the basic skills and no guidance, supervisors were running around with paperwork. Over all the trip was poor, I could not recommend this run down boat to anyone. No laundry facilities, daily crosswords etc were all American, no fresh produce, celery etc brown, the boat was restocked in Singapore as we disembarked. Do a lot of research before you book. The company we booked with had now ceased trading.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
SuyaSydney
- 5 reviews
- 2 likes
north worth a star
Also the free 250 internet minutes part of the promotion offer was waste of money as we couldn't connect to the internet from the cabin at all. I enjoyed cursing but won't recommend NCL to my family & friends.
Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
aussietaffWide Bay-Burnett, QLD
- 23 reviews
- Norwegian Spirit
- Verified customer
The Best Cruise Line Ship We Have Been On
We were on the "Norwegian Spirit" in late November 2017, the booking was made in Australia, everything was easily sorted out before we left Australia. We had a flight to Rome, accommodation was all arranged, together with transfers from Airport and to cruise terminal. The embarkation was well organised, and did not take a long time.
We were soon in our Balcony room, which was larger than we had on other ships, even the toilet and shower was larger than we expected.
The Windows Dining Room was spectacular, beautiful, the meals were very nice, ...Read more
Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
BradSydney
- 7 reviews
- 2 likes
Families be aware of room configuration
Having travelled with NCL previously we booked with them again now they have the Jewel based in Australia as their family rooms were quite spacious compared to the 5 other cruise lines we had travelled with. The Norwegian Jewel is the exception to the rule, instead of having 2 fold down bunk beds from the ceiling or wall that are stored away during the day, the Jewel has a single bunk and a folding bed that is approx 2/3 the width of a single bed. The fold away is usually stored under one of the 2 lower beds so a family of 4 has only 1 bed to s...Read more
tore suitcases under as the crew refused to store them else where. As we were on a 14 day cruise we had 4 suitcases so the room attendant left the foldaway out the whole cruise meaning a room of beds, left wall to right wall with no way to move around, just climbing over the beds any time in the room, all 4 of us could only be in the room at once if sleeping. To add insult to this the 4 person room has 3 drawers, 3 shelves and a wardrobe only 70cm wide for hanging, meaning a family has to live out of their suitcases for the trip due lack of clothing storage. We had booked direct with NCL over the phone and the configuration was explained to us as the same twin bunks as the Sun/Star we had travelled on in the Caribbean and on asking the crew onboard we were initially dismissed with "all our ships are configured this way" until i explained we had travelled on 2 of their other ships that were definitely not this way, when they realised we knew what we were talking about they backtracked. Half way through the cruise we were offered an additional cabin (5 floors away) for an additional fee after a passenger left the ship ill as the ship was full previous to this. The quality of NCL's offering on the Jewel is certainly of a higher standard than the other cruise lines based in Australia but if you are a family be aware that the family room configuration is a significantly lower standard than one would expect for this company. In hindsight it makes me realise why NCL regularly offers 3/4th person in same cabin for the cost of taxes only (no cost to cruise just pay fees and taxes) and then try to charge you $14USD per person per day gratuity charge ($56USD [$72AUST] a family room per day) whilst i understand this is the norm in the US if you intend to be based out of Australia I believe it should have to be disclosed at the time of booking as it added more than $1000 to the cost of our trip. NCL are, in all other aspects (food/entertainment/staff/service) superior to P&O and Royal Caribbean but as a family i would not travel on the Jewel again unless in 2 rooms (doubling the price for a family) Brad & NicoleSimilar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
D LisneyFigtree
- 10 reviews
- 12 likes
- Norwegian Spirit
- Verified customer
Worst Experience ever, avoid this ship - rude staff
The WORST experience of my life on NCL Spirit 13-23Dec’17 x-BCN. The guest services staff on board are rude, incompetent, and have no customer service skills. Our 2nd room should of had a prepaid alcoholic bev package, as this was on our paperwork. I had to argue and get really annoyed on boarding to get this mistake rectified that NCL created. No apology. When I went to pay my bill last night we had been charged for all of the drinks. It took NCL staff over 1.5 hrs to sort this out, again their mistake. When I asked to speak to the overall man...Read more
ager this fell on deaf ears. Most of this time was spent in a queue at the desk. There was a shift change in the back office finance team, crazy on the night everyone is sorting out their bills. No one cares at NCL and staff member Ladys Amarante at guest services needs to be retrained or sacked. I have never experienced such poor service when a company has made a mistake. No apology for their mistake which totally recked my holiday. What a waste of $6k. I will be returning to Celebrity Cruises who know how to look after their passengers and who care about their passengers.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
MarianneGreater Melbourne (Outer), VIC
- 6 reviews
Great itinerary but too many problems onboard
The embarkation in Singapore was a complete shambles! Stood in various lines for about 2 hours - this has never happened to us on other cruises.
We had a Mid-Ship Balcony cabin on level 10, which was quite small. There was a sliding door between bathroom and toilet making it so cramped that we had to squeeze in sideways! Provided lotions, soap etc. were of low quality (I knew the ingredients list). Cabin service was bad: we had to ask /leave notes for everything (replenishing coffee, lotion, face washer).
Too many things on the Star we...Read more
nt wrong or weren't good to make this cruise a pleasure. The ports were great but the order was sometimes baffling: some ports were re-visited and others not long enough. Staff was mostly good, except at Guest Relations desk (where it really matters!) who were unhelpful, sometimes arrogant and often ignorant. Information about upcoming ports was posted after we had been or in strange places so hardly anybody saw the info. Entertainment was often amateurish and repetitious, and activities were boring and repeated. The food was very good at the Buffet but dismal in the Aqua and Versailles restaurants (slow service, food never hot, often overcooked and the menu also repetitious and uninteresting). Even the specialty restaurants were nothing to write home about - we only liked the French restaurant, very sophisticated. The shops hardly varied their items throughout; some of the sales were held in the wrong place and therefore were chaotic and frustrating. The one terrific spot for us was the O'Sheehans irish pub, where the atmosphere was great, the staff very helpful and nice, service always speedy and the food was good - also the nightly music by the Melodic Trio which you could see and hear from the Pub was fabulous. We did like the ship's many bars, helped by the free drinks package (which we definitely would NOT have purchased at the price). The shore excursions were very expensive and often not as described.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
SmirnMelbourne
- 10 reviews
- 1 like
- Norwegian Star
- Verified customer
NCL Tier one prices but only a tier 2 cruise line
The trouble started at checked in at dock and only got worse. The check in staff were clueless, had no idea how to use computer system. They gaves us a letter explaining that our ports had changed. From 10 different ports we now had three stops. A few people got this information 2 weeks earlier, most didn't. Getting on the ship was a farse with staff making announcements communicating different details to what the staff at the gate were doing. Thus went on for half an hour. I'm sure they do this dozens of times a year on each of their ships...Read more
. It was so unprofessional and farsical. Boat overall was OK 3/5, food was 3/5. Overall boat cleanliness was below par. Gennerally staff had no idea, except for our room atrendant and some of the bar staff. Most questions had to be refered to the Officers. Some google searching found that NCL were "limping" this ship around its cruises for at least 3 weeks before we boarded (start of December ) and at end of January it was still dropping ports at last minute. There was even a protest by passangers in Darwin. It made the news. Don't waste your money. Book with Royal Caribbean or Carnival and enjoy the experience.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
annie mactweed heads
- 3 reviews
a cruise ruined by management of Norwegian Cruise Line
we a party of 8 booked 3 balcony rooms aft of the ship, 35 day cruise from Buenos aeries to san Francisco via cape horn in march 2016, cabins were great but into the voyage things began to deteriorate the food at the buffy only got worse, when leaving cape horn to chili it was freezing 2 of our cabins had no heating they gave us blankets, then the shocking smell of sewage aft of the boat via the lift shaft then the toilets failed and then the real problem started a lot of workman boarded the ship at least 100, and from Peru to san Fran carried ...Read more
out maintenance to the ship at all hours with total disregard for the passengers at all hours we had workman outside our cabin on a stepladder drilling and grinding in the ceiling void at 0630 am this happened at all occasions on complaint to crew they were sympathetic but could do nothing, our main concern was that senior management organized the workman way before the ships voyage date as the ship was going into dry dock in san Francisco so in doing so it is obvious that the management of NCL did not care about the passengers welfare a holiday ruined we ask why was a vessel due for major repairs allowed to proceed on this voyage john and ann macnamaraSimilar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Andy
- 2 reviews
- 2 likes
Wrong cabin - misleading information from NCL staff
We were very excited to commence our cruise of the Hawaiian Islands on 16th August 2014. We were celebrating our 25th Wedding anniversary and were travelling with friends. We had fully paid for this cruise prior to departing Australia. We experienced two major issues. Firstly the wrong cabin and secondly the withdrawal of $7243.98US from our bank account to pay for a bill of $2673.28US. When we paid our onboard account at the end of the cruise we were told by NCL financial service staff that we would pay a 20% surcharge if we chose the debit ca...Read more
rd option. What they did was take out 3 sums of money ($2301.41US, $906.53US & $1365.76US) before they actually deducted the correct billing amount. It took many days before they returned our money to us. It left us with no access to our money whilst we continued our holiday in Hawaii. We have had after the fact emails from NCL stating that their procedure is correct. It certainly does not support what actually happens. We have sent our 3rd email to NCL addressing our grievance but they have not responded. I fail to see how they can justify their actions and have reported their conduct to the ACCC in Australia. When we opened our cabin door we were very disappointed. We had booked a double room (paperwork to confirm) and were looking at 2 single beds and 2 fold away bunks. Not what we paid for. Guest Services blamed our travel agent - a completely unsubstantiated accusation but agreed to place us on a waiting list for another room. They pushed 2 single beds together. It was impossible to get into the bed unless you crawled on to it from the base. Regarding health and safety, it breached regulations. The bed was not fixed and if we were to get out we would of struck our heads on the fold away bunks. The following morning we were offered another room - it had a restricted view which they neglected to advise us of. We were forced to pay an additional $200 for this. We went from deck 4 which we chose because of it's stability of mid ship up onto the 10th deck and slightly back of mid ship. Physics dictates that we could incur more movement adding to motion sickness. I did say that I felt it was very unfair to expect us to pay for a mistake that was not any fault of ours. We were also separated from our travelling companions. They didn't care. Freestyle cruising is very enjoyable and we were able to see all of Hawaii Staff giving out misleading information,Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
JoanneSydney
- 3 reviews
Excellent
Just completed 7 day cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. Ship, staff, food, entertainment, shore excursions all excellent. Very good value for money as well with some restaurants on board open 24/7. Food in restaurants included in fare very good. No need to pay extra for speciality restaurants. Teenage club great for our teens - we hardly saw them.
Alcohol is a bit expensive.
Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Questions & Answers
Suyaasked
This was our second trip to Europe which starting from Sweden. We traveled 3 weeks prior to sailing the NCL EPIC from Barcelona. We had $60 onboard credit that the travel agent told us could be used onboard. We ordered 12 bottles of water and 2 cans of soft drinks from the minibar. Their customer service on board also confirmed we could use our onboard credit to order bottles of water and/or purchase at the mini bar. However, they charged us US$46 on my credit card for the 12 bottled water and US$22.14 for two cans of soft drinks. We requested the refund but they just refunded $10 to us. Very frustrated was the housekeeping guy always knocking the door at night. He called my desk phone if I was unable to open the door(facial time), he kept ringing my desk phone even after 10 PM asking if we need anything, the main reason was asking for tips as we gave him the first 2 days. H
1 answer
We were on the Norwegian Spirit in the Mediterranean and we both had a Beverage Package which we used and also a Credit for the Cabin Balcony type. We picked up a couple of items from the onboard shops, like I had a Model of the ship which was about $US39.00, and a few other little things. At the end of the cruise, we did NOT owe anything, it all came out of the Beverage Package and the credit.
ieatwords.com.au has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence our content moderation policies in any way, though ieatwords.com.au may earn commissions for products/services purchased via affiliate links.