Norwegian Fjord on Jewel of the Sea Review

[MTV43]

We just returned from 8 days on Jewel of the Sea sailing out of Amsterdam from May 5-May 12.  It was our 11th cruise over the year but the first to Norway. We were blessed with beautiful weather and calm sea the entire sailing except for the last sea day.  It rained, cold and very foggy the entire day but it was our last day, we just relaxed and ready to go home. Below is my review to help traveler who plans the first Fjord cruise.

 

At first, we were concerned about the North Sea, but we only experienced half day on the first sea day with some movement, but it was not bad.  2 pronpeople in our group who very prone to sea sickness got sick and stay in bed for half of the day.  The rest of time, sailing was very smooth.

 

We booked all our excursions independently and if you have at least 8 people in your group, some excursions allowed 10% discount.  We liked all of our stops.

First port of call - Olden - we booked with Oldencruise.com, Briksdal Glacier shuttle bus and troll car separately.  Really enjoyed the excursions.

Second port of call - Flam - we booked one way catamaran from Flam to Gudvangen and bus back to Flam with Norway's Best AS.  Enjoyed it as well.

Third port of call - Geiranger - we booked Geiranger Mt. Dalsnibba and Eagle road with Norwayexcursions.com.  Highly recommended it and must reserved it early because when I reserved around March, it was only had 4 seat available. Our ship was the first cruise in the season and the road to Mt. Dalsnibba was not yet opened, so we stopped at lake Eidsvatnet instead.  We were totally happy with that because the lake was absolutely beautiful with snow capped mountains with beautiful reflections over clear water.  If this is happened to you, the tour will reverse the order and do the stop to Flydalsjuvet view point last.  On the way back to Geiranger, you can request to drop off at the waterfall, that saves 300+ steps walk up from town.

Fourth port of call - Alusend - We opted for the blue train at the pier to ride up to Mt Atka, then walk around the waterfront.  The fish and chip stand near the pier was good. If you have the energy, you can walk 400+ steps to the top. Beautiful city

The last port of call - Molde - we booked the Adventurous Atlantic Ocean Road with Norwayexcursions.com again.  Beautiful scenery as well.  Our ship changed the time from 8am-4pm to 7am-3pm the day before docking.  The tour cut one stop to top of Mount Varden due to an hour short.

 

Cabin - our group stayed at balcony cabin on decks 7 and 8.  We stay at inside cabin 3506 forward under theatre.  Never experience any noise except a bit of light music during rehearsal around late afternoon. However, it was the first time we stayed at the beginning of ship, it was a bit of walk to the end to the dining room area.  The same size room, except their have the balcony but never used it because it was cold, and it was port intensive.  The saving compared to balcony was $900.

 

The ship - We picked this ship due to the itinerary, I found there is not much of public area like bigger ship and not much to do.  If it was not for the ports, we would be bored on the ship.  We spent 7 days pre-cruise (5 France and 2 Amsterdam), so we were tired, relaxed the first sea was good.  After 5 continuous ports, a last day relax was also needed.

 

Foods - Not much to be desired, especially dining room meals.  Luckily, we don't cruise for the foods, but for the itinerary, the price we paid and the hard-working employees, pretty much made up for the taste of the foods.  However, we all agreed that hamburgers, French fried and pizza were always good.  Stir fried station was decent but the wait was long if there was about few people ahead of you. 

 

Entertainment - 3 or 4 shows were entertaining especially the Argentina tango show.  

 

We enjoyed our first Norwegian Fjord cruise, and the sceneries are beyond ordinary. 

 

 

[MTV43]

Also, attached are images I captured during the trip.  These are in order of each port of calls, each morning I was up on the deck 12 at 6am to capture the sceneries changed as the ship slowing sailed to port.

[KrisD28]

Wow. Thank you for review. We are doing a very similar itinerary on the Jewel in July adding a few more northern ports. Your photos are simply stunning. 

[Turtles06]

Thank you for your review and for sharing your beautiful photos. 

[GreenDice]

19 hours ago, MTV43 said:

Also, attached are images I captured during the trip.  These are in order of each port of calls, each morning I was up on the deck 12 at 6am to capture the sceneries changed as the ship slowing sailed to port.

 

Nice pictures!

 

Where was this one taken? Thanks,

[MTV43]

57 minutes ago, GreenDice said:

Nice pictures!

 

Where was this one taken? Thanks,

Port of call is Molde, on a tour to Atlantic road with Norwayexcursions.com.  This is the famous Storseisundet bridge.  The tour stopped here for about 30 minutes.

[nadeki]

On 5/28/2023 at 8:17 PM, MTV43 said:

Also, attached are images I captured during the trip.  These are in order of each port of calls, each morning I was up on the deck 12 at 6am to capture the sceneries changed as the ship slowing sailed to port.

You are a fantastic photographer. Thank you for sharing.

[gnome12]

@MTV43 Your pictures are spectacular! I’m so looking forward to my cruise in 2024!

[Laurie JJ]

Thanks so much for your review!  We are cruising on the Jewel to Norway 2024.  Appreciate the info and the beautiful pictures!

 

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Great info.  Thanks for sharing!