We arrived at the port in Miami at about the same time as 2,374 other passengers, all in a state of high excitement. The glistening white cruise liner named 'Norwegian Jewel' that stood waiting for us was headed for the calm, warm waters of the Caribbean.

Our first glimpse of crowd management came at the harbor when saw 2,000 other would-be cruisers milling around on the dock where the enormous ship was anchored. Our luggage, which we had already labeled with our cabin numbers which we received with the booking confirmation, disappeared instantly and we were directed into the passport control line.

We registered, handed over our passports and received the key-cards to our cabin. Finally we walked up the gangplank onto the ship, our first taste of the 'sea-legs' sensation. It was impossible to tell that we had left 'terra-firma'. All this took one hour from the time we arrived at the port.

The ship itself is about two years old and is the very latest in cruise liner design and architecture. It contains every possible facility that anyone could possibly want on a holiday, including 10 restaurants, a gym and spa, bars, an internet cafe, a casino straight out of the Las Vegas strip, a library, a sports deck and a full scale theater that seats about a 1,000 people. This ship offers free-style dining, which means that one can dine in any of the restaurants and you are not assigned a fixed seat in a dining room for the entire cruise. We breakfasted with many different people – "You come from where? Wow, how interesting!" and back to their cereal. We generally ate dinner on our own in a different restaurant every evening. Every meal, needless to say, was excellent.

The service was outstanding. The ship boasts a passenger to crew ratio of 2.4, in other words one crew member to every two and a half passengers. The entertainment director announced one evening that the crew came from 60 different countries. The crew were everywhere and still managed to remain unobtrusive. We chatted with members of the crew and listened to how they sail around the world month after month. Cruise destinations change with the seasons chasing warm weather and avoiding hurricane areas.

A one-week cruise is just about enough to get you to remember where everything is. I kept the pocket guide on me at all times. The ship is big. A turn around the walking track on deck 13 is 600 meters. The only sensation of movement - we were blessed with very calm seas - is when one is sitting on the toilet. The hard surface transmits every vibration, but our fears of motion sickness were foundless.

All in all, a great holiday and highly recommended to all those who hesitate about taking a cruise.

Tags & Keywords : Holidays, Cruise, Caribbean