Norwegian Jewel is a cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). She is the lead vessel of NCL's Jewel-class cruise ships and entered service in 2005. The vessel sails primarily in the western Pacific Ocean.

Design and description

Norwegian Jewel is NCL's first of four Jewel-class ships. The vessel has a gross tonnage (GT) of 93,502 and measures 7,500 DWT. The cruise ship is 294.13 metres (965 ft 0 in) long overall and 63.5 m (208 ft 4 in) between perpendiculars with a beam of 32.2 m (105 ft 8 in) and a draught of 8.6 m (28 ft 3 in).

Norwegian Jewel is powered by a diesel-electric propulsion system comprising five MAN-B&W 12V48/60B diesel engines providing power to two Azipod thrusters. The system is variably rated at 75,000 kilowatts (100,000 hp), and 39,000 kW (52,000 hp). This gives the cruise ship a maximum speed of 25.6 knots (47.4 km/h; 29.5 mph).

The ship had a capacity for 2,376 passengers as built with a crew of 1,100. This later grew to 2,394 passengers with a crew of 1,072. There are 1,197 cabins aboard, ranging in size from 13.2–407.8 square metres (142–4,390 sq ft) of which 540 have a balcony. The vessel has 13 bars and lounges, 10 restaurants and a 1,037-seat theatre.

Construction and career

The cruise ship was ordered by NCL on 15 September 2003 constructed at the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany with the yard number 667. The keel laying ceremony took place on 28 October 2003. The vessel was launched on 12 June 2005 and completed on 4 August 2005. The ship was formally named Norwegian Jewel on 3 November 2005 in a ceremony at the Port of Miami, United States. Her godmother is Melania Trump, wife of the former business magnate and former President of the United States, Donald Trump and First Lady of the United States. Norwegian Jewel was registered in the Bahamas on 1 August 2005 and entered service in December of that year.

In an episode of The Apprentice, Trump required his contestants to create a 30-second commercial of the ship, featuring both exterior and interior shots.

Norwegian Jewel underwent a dry dock refurbishment at Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore from 22 October to 5 November 2018. Norwegian Jewel was scheduled to spend the southern summer 2019/2020 undertaking cruises in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the South Pacific.