Norwegian Jewel Family Suite #11530

I looked for a video like this EVERYWHERE before we actually went on our trip and was not able to find any videos or pictures since this shit was recently revamped. This is room 11530, a Family Suite on the Norwegian Jewel.

We took a transitional cruise from San Diego, California that stopped in Seattle, Juneau, Ketchikan & Icy straight point (a cruise ship stop, like stopping on the ships private island during Caribbean cruises, but outside of the neat little Icy strait point area, which has food, shops, and much more to do, is an actually town named Hoonah & we found an AMAZING whale watching drone tour that was not through the ship, reasonably priced, very easy to get to you and more personable, since there were smaller group sizes) & debarked in Vancouver Canada.

We stayed in the Family Suite by bidding for and upgrade through an invitation only email. Bidding for upgrade emails are not sent to all individuals on board and will only be sent if there are available rooms higher than category room available. From what I have gathered from cruising with Norwegian frequently is that if you receive a bidding for upgrade email, you are able to bid for the rooms 4 categories above your already booked room. So for instance we already booked a Balcony room, so we were able to bid for a Balcony room with a larger balcony, a Spa suite (includes thermal spa passes but not any amenities included with the Family suite & Haven suites) and any Family or Haven suites, because those were the room categories 4 above our already booked balcony. NOTE: on the bidding page itself it will show unavailable rooms. I would suggest going to imitate actually booking the upgraded room you want to see if it is even available. The upgraded room we wanted was not available but the bidding page still allowed us to bid for that upgraded room. So I did my research and found out that the Family suite was still available, so I bid for that room instead.


The interesting part about the Family Suite on the Norwegian Jewel is that it is not located in the Haven. Even though it is not located in the actual Haven section of the ship, you still get all of the benefits as though you were staying in the Haven (with the exclusion of access into the Haven area) Priority boarding, an assigned Butler, a small phone to take around with you on the ship if you need to contact your butler, concierge, etc., early debarkation at each port, different specialty goodies in your room each day, special breakfast dining in one of the specialty restaurants, special lunch dining in one of the specialty restaurants, priority seating for shows, & the most amazing perk was we were invited to the Havens 360 sundeck the entire day at Glacier Bay!!!! This is the only area of the ship that offers 360 degree unblocked views. They also had comfortable seating areas, hot chocolate, Mimosas, and many other goodies to truly have a magical experience a Glacier Bay.
P.S. I’m sure there are more perks included that I forgot, and honestly when we bid for the upgrade and received it, I was unaware of all of the perks we received. I called Norwegian prior to inquire about the perks and they only told me about 1/10th of the included perks (so I didn’t know about the Priority boarding which gives you time to eat in a peaceful environment before all of the other guests get on. Just putting it out there incase you’re staying in this room and didn’t know that). We were explained all of the perks included with our state room by our Butler once on the ship. Our room not being physically located in the Haven was honestly no big deal. We came to find out that the Haven on the Jewel is smaller than other Havens. They don’t have their own bar, nor do they have their own private dining room. The interior pool located in the haven is very small, but it is enclosed so that helps when it’s freezing cold outside!!

We had an AMAZING time. Getting this room made this trip a million times better than I could ever imagine! If you have the chance to bid for an upgrade, I would highly suggest in doing so. I just wanted to make this post and explain the room. We did a lot around the ship, and also did a lot of exploring at each port. If you would like any more suggestions of anything on the ship, and/or any adventuring or excursions, let me know!!