The Jewel Class of Norwegian Cruise Line. Four ships put in service between 2005 and 2007. All a little smaller than the Grand Class of Princess Cruises but comparable. Over the next year, three of the four cruise ships will be based in North America with the fourth remaining full time in the Mediterranean out of Italy.
Norwegian Jewel
The Ship
The Jewel is the older sister of the Jewel Class of ships, in service since 2005. Like all her sisters after her, the Norwegian Jewel was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. He has a gross tonnage of 93,502 and is 965 feet or 294 metres in length. Like all four ships, she has 15 passenger accessible decks. The Jewel has a capacity for 2,376 passengers and 1,100 crew members.
The Schedule
The Jewel is currently running seven night Alaska cruises out of Seattle, Washington and will continue to do so until mid September, 2013. On September 21, she leaves out of Vancouver, British Columbia to reposition for the winter in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is a 22 night repositioning cruise that transits the Panama Canal.
Upon arrival in New Orleans, the Norwegian Jewel will run seven night Western Caribbean itineraries through until mid April, 2014. A typical cruise will make port calls in Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Coxen Hole, Honduras and Costa Maya, Mexico.
The Jewel will return to Seattle in mid May, 2014 to once again run seven night Alaska cruises over the summer.
Norwegian Pearl
The Ship
One of two Jewel Class to be put in service in 2006. The Pearl was built by Meyer Werft and is ever so slightly heavier than her older sister with a gross tonnage of 93,530. The length is identical and the ship has a capacity for about twenty more passengers.
The Schedule
Like the Jewel, the Norwegian Pearl will be based out Seattle running seven night Alaska itineraries. On September 29, she repositions to Miami, Florida on a 19 night cruise out of Vancouver by way of the Panama Canal.
From Miami, the Pearl will spend the winter running seven night Western Caribbean cruises. However, she’ll be out of service for January and February. A typical Western Caribbean itinerary includes port calls at Coxen Hole, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; Cozumel, Mexico and Key West, Florida.
The Pearl returns to Seattle via the Panama Canal, leaving Miami on April 18, 2014.
Norwegian Jade
The Ship
Slightly heavier than the Pearl, Jade is the second ship of the Jewel Class to enter service in 2006. She began as the Pride of Hawaii from 2006 to 2008 before switching to Jade. Her gross tonnage is slightly higher than her sisters at 93,558. Configured differently, the passenger capacity of the Jade is just 2,224 with a crew of 1,100.
The Schedule
Jade is a Euro-Girl, spending all her time in the Mediterranean. She is currently based in Venice, Italy and will switch home ports to Civitavecchia – Rome at the end of October for the winter months. She then switches back to Venice as a home port in May, 2014. While in Venice, the Jade will run 7-14 night Mediterranean itineraries. After switching to Rome, the lengths will increase to 10 to 24 nights.
Norwegian Gem
The Ship
The Gem is the baby of the Jewel Class, put in service in 2007. The Gem is nearly identical in to the Pearl in every way.
The Schedule
The Norwegian Gem remains based out of New York City for the foreseeable future. Currently, she is running seven night Bahamas cruises out of NYC. From mid September to mid October, the route switches to Canada / New England for the autumn foliage.
Once the leaves have fallen, the Gem switches to nine night Eastern Caribbean cruises from late October to late April, 2014. A typical nine night Eastern Caribbean itinerary make port calls in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Philipsburg, Sint Maarten; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and Samana, Dominican Republic.
Interspersed amongst the nine night excursions are Norwegian Cruise Line’s unique one night ‘Cruise to Nowhere’. For just a couple hundred bucks, you leave New York City at around 6PM on a Friday evening and return Saturday morning at around 8AM. As the name suggests, the ship does not make any stops along the way.
The Norwegian Gem returns to seven night Bahamas cruises out of New York City starting again in May, 2014.
Interested in Booking?
Time for a little shameless promotion. I am a Travel Consultant for Expedia Cruise Ship Centers. If you would like more information or would like to book a cruise, I can be reached by:
- Website: Orangeville Expedia
Be sure to go to the Website and fill out an on-line ballot to win a $5000 cruise for 2! The draw is in November.
