My wife and I had never been on a "bad" cruise ship. Some were better than others, of course. The Norwegian Jewel sets new standards for the word BAD! From the moment we came aboard for our Baltic cruise, we seemed to be bombarded with COMMERCIALS to buy things. Even at the one bingo game we attended, the caller would pause after every few numbers and do a commercial for one of the restaurants or the "special" at the spa that day. We felt like we were on a floating department store. This was, admittedly, our first "free-style" cruise, and we now know what that means. It means that you must make reservations and pay big bucks to eat at one of their six or seven "theme" restaurants, unless you want to eat in the one dining room or go to the extremely noisy and busy buffet. To add insult to injury, they added on a fifteen percent gratuity to each and every drink you bought aboard ship. The casino on board had their machines set so tight that you did not get your moneys worth of enjoyment before leaving with a much lighter wallet and, yes, I know how to play video poker and the odds of winning. I would imagine they were set at about a 60% house advantage instead of the usual 5% to 10%. One trip to their casino was enough for me. We enjoyed ourselves when OFF the ship in various ports. We learned quickly not to buy anything ashore though. I ordered two small plastic cups of local ale at Tivoli Gardens and was charaged $28!! They told us that we could get a refund on exiting the park for the cups. I am still wondering what to do with that twenty cents. I realize that the dollar is in bad shape against most currencies, but the word "greed" must play some role in this. Okay, enough sour grapes. The ship was very clean and the house-keeping crew were wonderful. We met some really nice folks on board and are keeping in touch. Our room was large and comfortable. We have learned two things from our experience on the Jewel: 1. Never again on such a large ship (about 2,500) and (2) No more "free-style" crusing.