NCL Cruises, Norwegian Jewel, Caribbean

First time cruisers chosing NCL because of the Freestyle option and the attractive itinerary The Stateroom Cabins were small but manageable and the oceanview balcony was a definate advantage particularly each time we arrived at a new port. We did not use the specialist restaurants as we found that the other restaurants were absolutely fine - our favourites being:- The Great Outdoors for breakfast The Garden Cafe for lunch The Tzars Palace for dinner All the restaurants that we used served a varied menu that was to a high standard. Cleanliness and hygiene in the restaurants, as with the rest of the ship, was also a top priority. We found the excursions enjoyable but somewhat overpriced. Would recommend the Atlantis Submarine in Barbados in particular. The shows in the Stardust Theatre were varied and entertaining. All the staff and crew were helpful and very polite but we felt the $10 gratuity per person per day was rather extortionate though it did take away the worry about how much to tip the room stewards at the end of the cruise. Summing up, freestyle cruising definately worked for us. We will certainly cruise again but may choose a more formal cruise the next time so that we can draw comparisons between cruiselines.