plane2port

It won't be added until you are on the ship

Do you remember what you were charged? I'm wondering how they would be calculating 18% when there is no cost for the beverage package on the Sky.

Is it possible you are confusing a beverage gratuity with the regular gratuity, which is about $13/day/person?

I was on SKY and was charged the 18% it was added to the cruise price. And yes you cans drink almost everything, I felt pickled after 4 days.

I wonder if this has changed. I did a dummy booking on the Sky and it's not adding the 18%.

Only when purchasing it, nowadays most people get it as a booking perk and that rule does not apply.

I was intrigued by what you said so I chatted with Norwegian about what their policy is about adults sharing a cabin.

All adults sharing a cabin must get the UBP, if purchasing it, ie., not just one can buy the UPB.

If it is included as a booking perk, then the first two passengers get the perk. Additional passengers may buy it if they want to. So they would be paying $79/day plus the 18% gratuity. It might be cheaper in the long run to book two cabins with two people each, all getting the UBP perk.

On the Sky, it's open bar for everyone, and there is not the additional 18% gratuity.

I'm glad this came up so we could iron out the details.

My favorite is the Basil Cucumber Twist martini. You can get it in Shakers.

This is from the Jewel on our March 13-20 cruise. I've taken photos of all the bar menus. The last page of all menus shows the wines available by the glass.

http://www.plane2port.com/norwegian-jewel-bar-menus/

Yes, you get a 20% discount on bottles with the UBP, and all adults in the room must get the package.

Norwegian Jewel Cruise Port of Puerto Vallarta

This was definitely our favorite port of the cruise. Puerto Vallarta is still a resort town, but is strung out along the waterfront. It is beautifully situated between the coast and beautiful mountains to the east. The green peaks and canyons beckoned us to visit: perhaps next time: today we'll just see the town. The port is several miles from the center of town. The WalMart and Sam's that are just opposite the port entrance will serve as your landmarks when you are returning to the ship.

You can get some pesos at ATMs in the port area, but we had some leftover pesos from the trip B. and I made to the Copper Canyon a few months before. We got on a bus labeled "Centro" at the bus stop just outside the port entrance. The fare is 7.5 pesos, and the driver can make change. We stayed on the bus for about three miles until we realized we had crossed a river. This was the Rio Cuale, and is the sign that you are in Old Town.

We walked along the beach for awhile and then returned to the river. We noticed a bunch of people snacking at an impromptu stand set up under the Rio Cuale bridge. They were busy making and serving ceviche. We spent the good part of an hour eating ceviche tacos and enjoying the scenery.

Ceviche Shack Under the Rio Cuale Bridge Puerto Vallarta

After we had worked our way through about eight tacos, we decided to take a quick dip in the clear-running Cuale River.

Swimming in the Rio Cuale Puerto Vallarta

In order to see where people actually lived, we wandered uphill away from the water. Many people live on streets like this-- not so much streets as double sidewalks separated by gardens. I wonder how people get furniture into their houses in these totally pedestrian neighborhoods.

Hillside Street in Puerto Vallarta

We walked back downhill until we came to a busy one-way street heading north. We got on a bus that was marked "WalMart-Sams" and returned to the ship in plenty of time for our cooling afternoon cocktail.

Back in the Port of Los Angeles

We had plenty of time before our late afternoon flight out of LAX, so we thought we might want to visit the USS Iowa which is permanently docked right next to where we debarked. We asked one of the volunteers if there was a place to store luggage while we visited, and he said yes, and gave us a two-for-one coupon. They have a cruiser discount, so we ended up paying $15 for admission for two. It was an interesting 1 1/2 hour visit.

Battleship Iowa Port of Los Angeles

Mazatlan must be one of the easiest cruise ports there is. You are docked right next to town, and you can walk easily to the beach or the Centro from the Port. Mazatlan is also large enough that when ships are docked, cruisers don't dominate the town.

The elegant Crowne Princess beat us to Mazatlan the morning that we docked. Where are the people out on their balconies to greet us?

Crown Princess Docked in Mazatlan

As you leave the port area, you'll find a thick blue line painted right on the road. You simply follow this line to reach the Old Town (Centro). Along the way you'll find English-speaking volunteers that will guide you along your way and give you advice on what to see. In the main square is a large wooden sign that helped us decide what our itinerary would be that day.

We visited the large pink cathedral not far from the main square. On our way to the beach we found the library where we could get free wifi and catch up on some emails. Mazatlan has many brightly painted houses that to me evoke Old Mexico. It was a scenic walk to the beach.

Streets of Mazatlan

When we came to the beach we turned right (N) to see the cliff divers. I thought I had fulfilled one of my life-long dreams to see the cliff divers until I later learned that the famous cliff-diving is actually done in Acapulco. We were still impressed, though, as the divers have to wait for a large wave to come in before they dive. They also will wait until they have an audience so they can ask for tips. Fair enough.

Mazatlan Cliff Diving Platform

Old habits die hard, and I did my motherly role of holding all the "stuff" while A. went bodysurfing for about and hour. I consoled myself by drinking a beer and organizing my photos at a beach-side bar.

We took a short-cut back to the ship, and had our afternoon cocktail up on Deck 12 aft while we enjoyed the view of the Port of Mazatlan.

We saw them on our March 13-20 cruise. They did a Beatles tribute show in the Spinnaker Lounge that was great. They also played in several other venues around the ship that week.

Cabo San Lucas is a tender port, and when you are dropped at the tender dock, you are right in the midst of the bars and tourist shops. We turned to the right and followed the flow of cruisers onto the boardwalk that wraps around the port. We saw this placard and were reminded that you can buy many drugs in Mexican pharmacies without a prescription.

Mr. Macho Cabo

After we grew tired of being hustled every 3 seconds by vendors, restaurant owners, and iguana-petting photo opportunites, we turned landward to see what Cabo was really like. "Downtown" Cabo is reminiscent of the sleepy beach town that Cabo was before the tourist hordes (yes, that's us!) descended. It is made up of one and two story buildings, and lacks a colonial center like some of the more interesting Mexican towns. In the center of town we found a hill that had been made into a botanical garden featuring indigenous plants. It is a hot dusty walk through sand, cactus, and other desert plants, but we had a great lookout of the town from the rock outcrop at the top of the park.

Botanical Garden Cabo San Lucas

From the rock lookout we could see the casino. It is located in a huge, nearly empty shopping mall, and there weren't any intriguing games there. We made the long, hot walk back along the waterfront to the ship. From the vantage point of the tender we could see a nice beach that you could get to if you turned left when you got off the tender, rather than right towards town. There were also some nice beaches further out of town in the other direction, but I think you would want to take a cab to these to avoid the long walk through town.

We returned to the ship about 3:00 pm, and went up to the Garden cafe for a cocktail. We had a beautiful view of Land's End, which is popular excursion. There is an large arch, but you can't see it from this angle.

Land's End Cabo San Lucas

Thank you for sharing your story with us. I am glad to hear that Norwegian went above and beyond for you during this time.

About 10 years ago, my elderly father died when I was on a cruise. My mother chose not to notify me until the day we arrived back at the debarkation port. We arrived back on a Tuesday, and the funeral was Thursday (Thanksgiving Day). I understand why my mother chose to wait (we had young kids with us) but I always felt guilty I wasn't at home when it happened.

There is no easy way through these scenarios. Bless you and your family at this time.

Day 1--Sail Away

The calypso band Essence provided the music for our sail away party out of the Port of Los Angeles. Later on that night, cruise director Archie introduced us to some of the entertainment that would be provided this week. We had a short singing and dancing vignette by the singers and dancers. Then the gymnast couple Hajime and Maud performed a few artistic feats. Jean Pierre did a magic and comedy show. The show lasted more than an hour and was very good. Many times we skip the welcome aboard show, but this one was definitely worth attending.

Day 2--Sea Day

Our first production show was Band on the Run with the Jewel Production Cast Singers and Dancers. It was your usual Las Vegas style show with nice costumes and popular songs, but was entertaining nonetheless. The music was provided by the Jewel's 7-piece show band! It was great to hear a show with a live band rather that a soundtrack, which is all too common these days. The show band also played in some of the lounges around the ship during the week. I was pleased that they kept the volume below the usual eardrum-busting decibel level.

Day 3--Sea Day

The main production show was the comedian Michael Sommerville, who is somewhat laid back and has a self-deprecating kind of humor. He is great at ad libbing and with repartee with the audience. Later on that night we went to the Spinnaker to hear the party band Next Stage do a Beatles tribute, which had everyone dancing. Next Stage performed on deck and in some of the clubs several other times on the cruise.

Day 4--Cabo San Lucas

The acrobatic team performed their main show Luminescence in the main theater. They do a Cirque de Soleil-esque show with aerial rings, and perform many feats of strength and flexibility. The show also has considerable artistic merit.

Day 5--Mazatlan

A local Mariachi band came on board for three performances at 12:00, 1:00, and 2:00. We were out and about in port and missed them, but I think they also played briefly during the folkloric festival performed at 3:00. Fortunately I was back on board for the folkloric dance troupe. They did a performance similar to what you see if you go to a Ballet Folklorico in Mexico City. It was very well done, but I was embarrassed that it was so sparsely attended. I guess this is what you would expect when you schedule something when most people are off the ship on a port day.

The evening's entertainment in the Stardust Theater was Jean Pierre Parent, who performed comedy and magic in the welcome aboard show. A. and I agreed that his funniest lines were non-scripted.

Day 6--Puerto Vallarta

This nights performance in the main theater was Le Cirque Bijou, which closely channeled Cirque de Soleil. The acrobatic duo also performed in this show, but this time, the Jewel dancers also performed on aerial rings and scarfs. I recommend sitting no closer than in the middle of the theater, because two performers drop down from the ceiling and perform right over your heads. We were sitting in the second row, and we had to keep turning around so we could see the simultaneous performances on stage and above the audience.

Later on that night we saw the packed adults-only comedy show with Michael Sommerville in the Spinnaker lounge. As with his G-rated show earlier in the week, it was the repartee with the audience that was so hilarious.

Day 7--Sea Day

The Farewell show had performances by both comedians and then some staff came up onstage for a quick wave and goodbye.

Odds and Ends

There are several other performers that really provide most of the entertainment and play for hours and hours in the lounges. Randon accompanies himself on guitar and has a wonderful voice, but he does songs by mainstream musicians that I don't particularly care for (Neil Diamond, James Taylor). There are several other lounge performers but we didn't spend time in the lounges to really form an opinion.

Norwegian still provides great entertainment, and I don't see evidence of any recent cut-backs. Quality acts, a live show band, and good shows every night really made the cruise.

Thanks for posting these menus. Can't wait to try AAALLLL the drinks next week! ;)

If you can try all these drinks in just one week, you are my hero! Enjoy your cruise, and let me know how it goes!

Fyzz--Deck 7

The Fyzz Lounge is where many activities like dance lessons and trivia are held. They serve most drinks that are available in the other bars, but their menu shows the drinks of the day. You can get the Drink of the Day in any bar. The DOD will be also be written on a blackboard at the Topsider Bar.

Norwegian Jewel Drink of the Day Bar Menu Page 1

Norwegian Jewel Drink of the Day Bar Menu Page 2

Topsider Bar, Sky High Bar, and Spinnaker

The Topsider is the bar right next to the pool area on deck 12. The Sky High Bar is on the mezzanine (deck 13) above the pool deck and is great for watching the activities there. The Spinnaker is forward on Deck 13. They all are serving the same menu. Fyzz will also make you a drink from these menus.

Topsiders, Sky High, and Spinnaker Bar Menu Page 1

Topsiders, Sky High, and Spinnaker Bar Menu Page 2

Sugar Cane Mojito Bar

The Sugar Cane serves......Mojitos, and just about any other drink served elsewhere on the ship. It's located midship on Deck 13.

Sugar Cane Bar Menu Page 1

Sugar Cane Bar Menu Page 2

Other Places to Get a Drink on the Jewel

The Sushi and Sake bar on deck 8 is right at the entrance to the Chin Chin restaurant. They serve regular bar drinks and sake warm or cold. O'Sheehans will serve you a drink as will the Java Cafe on Deck 7. I'm looking at my Freestyle Daily and I'm seeing that The Great Outdoors (where snacks are served almost all day, Deck 12 aft) has a bar, but either I never noticed it, or it was closed. You can also get wine or beer at a kiosk in the Garden Cafe.

I needed another week or two to fully research all the drinking options on the Jewel. If you are looking forward to doing your own research, I hope the bar menus I've posted will get you started.

I've fixed the issue with the pictures so here I'll just repost the Bar Menus here!

Here are the last four pages of every bar menu. If you're a wine drinker like me you'll be looking at page four a lot. Every wine that they serve by the glass can be ordered with the Ultimate Beverage Package. I especially liked the Pinot Noir and the Red Blend. The Riesling is nice and dry.

Norwegian Jewel All Bars Menu Page 1

Norwegian Jewel All Bars Menu Page 2

Norwegian Jewel All Bars Menu Page 3

Norwegian Jewel All Bars Menu Page 4

Shakers, Magnums, and Maltings--Deck 6

The largest bar area is on Deck 6 and includes Maltings, Magnums Champagne Bar, and Shakers Martini Bar. They all use the same bar menu. This is where you can get the delicious Basil Cucumber Twist.

Norwegian Jewel Shakers Bar Menu Page 1

Norwegian Jewel Shakers Bar Menu Page 2

Sorry folks, I've just noticed that my pictures are not rotated properly. It's an issue of moving photos from my Iphone to where they're stored on my blog. I'll get them fixed, but it may take awhile. Darn!

Did you try mr worldwide or rebellious fish ?

I did try the Rebellious Fish. It was pretty good but still a little too sweet for me.

Fyzz--Deck 7

The Fyzz Lounge is where many activities like dance lessons and trivia are held. They serve most drinks that are available in the other bars, but their menu shows the drinks of the day. You can get the Drink of the Day in any bar. The DOD will be also be written on a blackboard at the Topsider Bar.

Norwegian Jewel Drink of the Day Bar Menu Page 1

Drink of the Day Bar Menu Page 2

Topsider Bar, Sky High Bar, and Spinnaker

The Topsider is the bar right next to the pool area on deck 12. The Sky High Bar is on the mezzanine (deck 13) above the pool deck and is great for watching the activities there. The Spinnaker is forward on Deck 13. They all are serving the same menu. Fyzz will also make you a drink from these menus.

Topsider, Sky High, Spinnaker, Fyzz Bar Menu Page 1

Topsider, Sky High, Fyzz, Spinnaker Bar Menu Page 2

Sugar Cane Mojito Bar

The Sugar Cane serves......Mojitos, and just about any other drink served elsewhere on the ship. It's located midship on Deck 13.

Sugar Cane Lounge Bar Menu Page 1

Sugar Cane Lounge Bar Menu Page 2

Other Places to Get a Drink on the Jewel

The Sushi and Sake bar on deck 8 is right at the entrance to the Chin Chin restaurant. They serve regular bar drinks and sake warm or cold. O'Sheehans will serve you a drink as will the Java Cafe on Deck 7. I'm looking at my Freestyle Daily and I'm seeing that The Great Outdoors (where snacks are served almost all day, Deck 12 aft) has a bar, but either I never noticed it, or it was closed. You can also get wine or beer at a kiosk in the Garden Cafe.

I needed another week or two to fully research all the drinking options on the Jewel. If you are looking forward to doing your own research, I hope the bar menus I've posted will get you started.

Here are more details than you probably want to know about what is served in the bars aboard the Norwegian Jewel. I've included photos of all the bar menus that I could get my hands on.

What You Can Get In Every Bar and Restaurant

Here are the last four pages of every bar menu. If you're a wine drinker like me you'll be looking at page four a lot. Every wine that they serve by the glass can be ordered with the Ultimate Beverage Package. I especially liked the Pinot Noir and the Red Blend. The Riesling is nice and dry.

Norwegian Jewel All Bar Menu Page 1

Norwegian Jewel All Bars Menu Page 2

Norwegian Jewel All Bars Menu Page 3

Norwegian Jewel All Bars Menu Page 4

Shakers, Magnums, and Maltings--Deck 6

The largest bar area is on Deck 6 and includes Maltings, Magnums Champagne Bar, and Shakers Martini Bar. They all use the same bar menu. This is where you can get the delicious Basil Cucumber Twist.

Shakers Bar Menu Page 1

Shakers Bar Menu Page 2

Excellent advice GeezerCouple!

In my case I didn't ask for a waiver because I didn't know I was being charged! I ass-umed that if they didn't mention it, it wasn't being charged. As usual with the airlines, the rules are vague guidelines which may or may not be followed by employees.

I have found the Delta ecerts fairly straightforward and easy to use. If you are a SkyMiles member you can store your ecert info into your account, and can apply the credit online when you make a booking.

The problem you may run into is booking several tickets at the same time with four different vouchers. All you would need to do is call Delta reservations and have a live agent help you. You will pay $25 for this privilege but well worth it to book four tickets with the ecerts.

I did this several months ago when I needed to spend a $800 voucher. I wanted to apply the credit to two tickets, one for me and one for DH. When you try to apply the credit online it will only let you credit it to one flyer. I called Delta and they applied the credit to our total bill for both flyers. I was also charged $25 which they didn't mention when I did the booking.

You were smart to get the vouchers, and you will be able to use them. Good luck!

The Ultimate Beverage Package! I was really excited about this part of our cruise. This would be the first time that I would have access to unlimited alcohol on our vacation. Was this going to be a good thing or a bad thing? There would be many positives. I wouldn’t have to worry about shopping for wine before the cruise. I wouldn’t have to borrow a corkscrew from one of the bars. I would be able to order drinks on the spur of the moment! The only downside would be that I would probably spend some time being hung over. But I was happy when they handed us our sea passes with UBP stenciled in the upper right-hand corner.

Our cruise was booked via Casinos At Sea. The cruise was “comped” based on A.’s playing in the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi. When I called to book the cruise, I was delighted to find out that the UBP was also “comped.” We would only have to pay the 18% beverage package gratuity. At the time we booked the cruise, the UBP was priced at $59/day/person. Our gratuity worked out to about $80 each for the UBP. This is an incredible deal and I was thrilled.

We could drink anything in the bars or restaurants, as long as the price was less than $15. There are very few drinks that are priced more than this, and all the wines by-the-glass are less as well. As I recall, the only drinks that were more were the ones that came with a souvenir glass, and you could order these with the UBP and they would put it in a regular glass.

My goal was to sample all the drinks available on the ship. I realized the very first day that this plan was way too ambitious. I am no longer a 20-year-old college student, and I just can’t drink at the pace that would be required to sample all that was available. The mixed drinks are too sweet and contain too much alcohol for me to have more than a couple a day. And I HAVE to have several glasses of wine with dinner!

The first day was my heaviest drinking day. I had a Cherry Limeade (thumbs down—too sweet) at the pool bar shortly after lunch. About an hour before dinner, we had the Basin Cucumber Twist martinis (highly recommended) at Magnums. Then I had a couple of glasses of red wine at dinner, and a glass of wine later on in the casino. Good thing the next day was a sea day!

The next day I had the drink of the day at the pool bar (Pain Killer—another too sweet drink), the usual wine with dinner, and a Lavender Patch martini at Magnums (again, too sweet). On port days, I just drank wine with dinner, or perhaps just one glass of wine in the casino. On the last day of the cruise, which was a sea day, I had just one mixed drink like a pina colada, while I was in the hot tub, and a couple of glasses of wine with dinner. I think that if I were on a longer cruise, I would be settling down to 2-3 glasses of wine a day and that’s it.

The UBP was great and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to try it. I wouldn’t buy it at full retail because I just can’t drink that much. Norwegian has just increased the price to $79 a day. This is actually $93.22 a day with the gratuity. And both occupants of the cabin have to buy one. This would have been an especially terrible deal for us because A. never drank more than two drinks a day. Norwegian does include the drinks package on many of their cruises, however.

Unfortunately I didn’t get around to tasting the Mojitos in the Sugar Cane Lounge! The problem I have with all the cocktails are that they are just too sweet for my taste. Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. I never drank so much on this cruise that it affected my activities.

One thing to be aware of with the UBP is that it does not include waters and specialty coffees. We had a special drink card that was attached to our casino players’ card that did include these items if they were consumed while we were in the casino. If we ordered a glass of wine in the casino, they asked to see our ship’s cards.

In my next post, I’ll give a quick run down of the bars, and post their menus with prices.

I was perfectly happy with the food on board the Norwegian Jewel. We ate most of our breakfasts, lunches, and snacks in the Garden Cafe or the Great Outdoors, and then we chose one of the complimentary main dining rooms for dinner. We only had one truly disappointing dinner in the Chin Chin dining room. We didn't go to any of the restaurants that have a cover charge.

The Garden Cafe on deck 12 is the main buffet. They generally serve American-style dishes like meatloaf, green beans, and macaroni and cheese on the two main stations. There is always a huge hunk of meat being served from the carvery. We saw roast beef, roast turkey, and ham. There is one station that serves Asian and Indian food. I found that I was enjoying the vegetarian Indian dishes whenever I ate at the buffet. There is also a grill section where you can get hot dogs, hamburgers, thin steaks, chicken breasts, and sometimes salmon. There is also pizza which we found mediocre. My favorite dessert was the bread pudding with caramel sauce. There is a soft-serve ice cream machine, but it was not very tasty. Carnival has better pizza and ice cream. There is a bar that serves sangrias and glasses of wine during lunch and dinner. The Garden Cafe is open for lunch from 12:00 pm - 2:30 pm for lunch (until 3:00 pm on embarkation day) and from 5:00 pm-9:30 pm for dinner (opens at 4:30 pm on embarkation day.)

We were glad to see smoked salmon on the breakfast buffet. Our go-to breakfast was smoked salmon slices, with onions and lemon, and fresh cut-up fruit. Several times we had eggs cooked to order or omelettes. The breakfast breads and pastries were not very appealing to us. Open 7:00am-10:30 am for breakfast. The Garden Cafe shuts down at 9:00 am on debarkation day.

The Great Outdoors is a small outdoor buffet located all the way aft on deck 12. They serve sandwiches, salads, grill items, chips and guacamole and desserts. We found ourselves getting a snack or light meal there daily because it was open when the Garden Cafe was closed. They are open from 2:30 pm- 5:00 pm, and from 9:30 pm- 10:30 or 11:00 pm. Embarkation day hours were 12:00 pm- 3:00 pm. They set up a mini version of the main breakfast buffet here from 8:00 am- 11:30 am.

Topsider's Grill is the small buffet next to the pool area on deck 12. They serve hot dogs, hamburgers and french fries, and perhaps a few other things. They are open for lunch from 12:00 pm- 5:00 pm. (only until 3:00 on embarkation day.) They also serve continental breakfast from 6:00 am- 10:00 am.

O'Sheehan's on deck 8 serves pub-style food. We didn't eat here at all until we had breakfast on debarkation day. We've had excellent prime rib at O'Sheehan's on the Breakaway, but on this trip we tended to eat fish or pasta so we stayed with the main dining rooms. Open 6:00 am-11:00 am for breakfast,, 11:30 am-5:00 pm for lunch, and 5:30 pm- 8:30 pm for dinner. According to the Freestyle Daily they have 24-hour snacks. You can get a sit-down breakfast here on debarkation day until 9:30 am.

Tsar's Palace is the large and elegant main dining room located on deck 7 aft. It is a beautiful room with floor-to-ceiling windows on the stern side. The walls are paneled with classical oil paintings of Russia's tsars. The staircase banister is decorated with replicas of the famous Faberge eggs. I loved the decor in this room, and it was my favorite place for a sit-down dinner. It apparently was decorated by the same designer who did the Summer Palace dining room on the Pearl. I loved that dining room as well, but it made me a little sad every time I had dinner there. Instead of portraits of the tsars, it is lined with oil paintings depicting the everyday life of the family of Nicholas and Alexandra. If you know your Russian history, you may recall that they were murdered by the Bolsheviks during the Revolution. On a happier note, we enjoyed most of our meals there and were always able to find something on the menu we liked. I was always able to order a fish or seafood dish, and A. often got pasta. Open 7:30 am- 9:30 am for breakfast, 12:00 pm-1:30 pm for lunch, and 5:00 pm-9:00 pm for dinner.

Azura is the other main dining room. It has a somewhat dark and sophisticated modern decor. It shares a kitchen with the Tsar's Palace, and therefore has the same menu. We would eat dinner here if we were too late to dine in the Tsar's Palace. Open 5:00 pm- 9:30 pm. We never ate dinner before 8:00 pm, and never had to wait at either restaurant for a table for two.

Chin Chin is the other complimentary dining venue, and I believe it shares a kitchen with the pay restaurant Teppanyaki. We ate in Chin Chin one night, and it was our worst meal by far. The calamari rings were heavy and greasy like onion rings, and my grilled shrimp was covered with a thick sweet sauce like you would get in a cheap Chinese take-out. Open 5:00 pm - 9:30 pm.

As I said earlier, we didn't eat in any of the "pay" restaurants, nor did we buy specialty coffees and pastries at Carlo's Bake Shop on Deck 7 midship.

Here is the information for those from the Daily:

Carlo's Bake Shop (a la carte) 8:00 am- 10:00 pm

La Cucina (Italian, a la carte) 5:30 pm- close

Le Bistro (French, al la carte) 5:30 pm-close

Moderno (Brazilian, $24.95) 5:30 pm- close

Sushi Bar (sushi!, a la carte) 5:30 pm- 7:00 pm

Teppanyaki (Japanese, $29.95) 4 seatings at 5:30 pm, 7:00 pm, 8:30 pm, 10:00 pm

Just about everyday there is a barbeque between the pool and the Topsider cafe. The casino occasionally has snacks on offer. You will not go hungry on this ship. I can't say that everything was fabulous and of gourmet quality, but there is a huge selection and I assure you that you will find food that you like. I found that all the venues are well-designed to avoid crowding.

Next-- Trying to Maximize the Ultimate Beverage Package!

On the Jewel they had only two blackjack tables that didn't use the continuous shuffle machines, but the minimums were $25 and $100. They were using 8-deck shoes.

No surrender and dealer hit soft 17.

Hello, we were on the same cruise! I haven't been on CC much since the cruise. I just started my review, and when I went to post it I noticed yours here. This will be great! I have only skimmed your review so far (It's late, and I just wrote/posted my first installment) but I plan on reading ALL the details over the next couple of days. Thanks for writing!

(P.S. I think you're sweet to take your mom cruising.)

Now that we have recovered from all the Easter festivities, I'm ready to tackle the review of our last cruise. A. and I cruised on the Norwegian Jewel on a 7-day itinerary out of Los Angeles. This cruise was comped by Casinos at Sea, based on A.'s playing at the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, MS. We had lots of options on where we could cruise, but we picked this one because we've not visited the Mexican Riviera before.

We flew to Los Angeles a day before our cruise. When we got outside arrivals at LAX, A. called for an Uber. We were told that we could only be picked up at departures, so we went upstairs and were picked up curbside. I had booked the Crowne Plaza on points (IHG) in San Pedro, which is adjacent to the Port of Los Angeles. When we checked in we were upgraded (due to my Platinum status with IHG,) to a suite with a view of the Port. Here is a photo of the port at sunrise. If you look just below the middle span of the bridge you can see the Jewel which had just docked.)

Port of Los Angeles

If you are cruising out of LA, please be aware that there are two cruise ports there. Most ships leave from the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. There is also the port in Long Beach a few miles away, which is used mainly by Carnival.

We had a pleasant stay at the Crowne Plaza, but no breakfast! You can walk from the hotel to many cafes and stores in San Pedro, if you need to pick up any supplies. I picked up a couple of breakfast burritos, but for once, I didn't have to shop for wine, because we also had a comped beverage package (a lot more on this later!)

Norwegian has started assigning prescheduled boarding times. The only time slot available when we did on line check in was 2:00 to 2:30. We checked out of our hotel at noon and took the hotel shuttle to the port. We could have easily walked to the ship because we only had small carry on bags. When we got there we were directed into the check in line. Apparently the assigned boarding times are not enforced. It took us about an hour before we boarded the ship after we arrived at the pier.

We dropped our bags off in our cabin on deck 5. We were comped an outside cabin, and we were pleased with the amount of space we had. We had more than enough storage, and the bathroom was not too tiny-- I appreciated that the toilet was separated off from the rest of the bathroom with a sliding glass door. We had our cabin attendant clean out our refrigerator (Again, this is habit because we're usually putting wine in the fridge) and we went up to Deck 12 to visit the buffet in the Garden Cafe.

Aft Outdoor Seating Area of the Garden Cafe

What a travesty that we were still full from our mediocre breakfast burritos, but we did manage to eat some fruit salad. We walked outside and I was so pleased to find seating outdoors just off the Cafe. This would be our meeting point for all meals that we would eat at the buffet, which were all breakfasts and lunches. We weaved our way down through the decks and found the Stardust Theater.

Stardust Theater

I believe that the ship sailed full, but there was always ample seating in the theater.

For me, the best feature of the ship was the promenade deck on Deck 7. I enjoy being able to walk all the way around the ship as I walk for exercise. I also like to have a place to go to get away from constant canned music and announcements. There is not a lot of seating on this deck, but this was not a factor on this sailing because the weather was not really warm enough for reading or hanging out during our sea days.

The pool deck contains two pools and five hot tubs, which were usually filled to capacity. One of the hot tubs is in a little splash area for small children which is located away from the other pools. The gazebo was used in its traditional role as the stage for the sail-away band and sexy legs contests et al.

Sail Away Party on the Jewel

I enjoyed and felt comfortable on the Jewel. Areas never seems crowded, and we never had to wait in lines. The ship is designed to facilitate flow of passengers.

Up next-- Dining on the Jewel!