I selected the NCL Jewel for the itinerary. Unfortunately, it changed several times due to "mechanical" problems. This caused great inconvenience and made it impossible to utilize private 3rd party shore excursions. Furthermore, NCL cancelled the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) shore excursion that the boat was running the night before the tour and provided no alternative options. Thus, the main point of the cruise (to see the GBR) was unfortunately not available and of course was very disappointing. Finally, on a NCL tender in Australia it hit a 3rd party catamaran boat when trying to reach shore. The accident knocked out the tender's engine and was a scary experience.

The NCL staff was variable with some doing a great job while others did not have a positive attitude and argued with some European guests. Overall, I have taken about 20 cruises and will probably stick to Royal Caribbean and Princess et al. in the future and will probably not sail with NCL again.

The balcony cabin was the usual size and was fine. The dining was about the average for a Carnival cruise in the Caribbean but below the standard of Royal Caribbean or Princess et al. The entertainment was a little better than average usually but again variable on this NCL Jewel cruise.