realtorlady42

We just got back from our cruise on Thursday. We did that same tour with Curacao Actief. We had a great time. Our guide was Howard and he was awesome. So informative and just an all around great guy. The snorkeling at playa lagun was phenomenal. There is a nice beach area there that your DH can enjoy. The variety of coral as well as fish was pretty spectacular for shore snorkeling. Hope you stick with your plans for Curacao Actief I don't think you will be disappointed. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you for the feedback. It helps to have confidence in our decision.

Thank you for the informative review. We will be on the Jewel next week and this will be our first time on NCL. We have been on Carnival twice and enjoyed both cruises a lot, but went with NCL this time because of the extra port.

 

The one thing that we are confused about is the picking up of the luggage the night before the cruise ends. Is this a time consuming thing and where do you go to get your baggage? We will be driving there and parking at the pier, so we where hoping to just walk off the ship and get on our way home as quickly as possible.

 

Thank you,

Eddie & Karen

Your welcome. Ncl has 2 options for disembarking. We always choose the walk off option. As long as you can manage all your own luggage you can do easy walk off. It is very easy for those of us who want freedom to leave when we are ready. You do not put your luggage outside you keep it with you. Have your breakfast in the morning then get your luggage from the cabin and walk off when u r ready. It works well. We passed many people sitting and waiting for their turn. No lines no rush.

have a great time.

Excellent and fun review. Weare on the jewel next sunday. Its goig to be great.

love the pic of your son jumping off the ship. I am a shutterbug and that is the coolest snap I have seen in a while. Looking forward to the rest of your review

I think the reason we dislike the epic is the reason you like it. We no longer have young kids at home...or any kids at home for that matter. So when we travel we don't like having a lot of kids around and we are looking for grown up activities. Which is also why we can dine whenever we want. No kids programs to work around. When the kids were little vacations were plannned with them in mind..now its all grown up play :) this is also why we travel in the cusp times..just before or after a big holiday or school break.

though there was a time all those kids activities would have been a big draw for us.

I think that the day it's offered depends on the itinerary so I can't help you with that, for us it was the last sea day and the price was $15pp - definitely worth the cost!

Thanks! I found this menu as well...that website is excellent. A google search rather than on the forum resulted in some great info!

I have a copy of recent dailies for the Jewel and it seems to be the same.

Jazz Brunch offered on last sea day and $15.00

I read something a couple of days ago that there was a huge line up when one person did it. Lot's of people that did not reserve a head of time.

That person did reserve and they were taken to the front of the line and seated prior to those who did not reserve.

No guarantee that is always how it is, but that wa their experience.

The dining options were released in the last couple of days for our cruise and it is not there.

So we will make sure to reserve when we first board.

I will take pictures and try and include them in my review when I get back (sailing in January)

I think this will be an excellent way to end the cruise :-)

Mexico does not allow climbing on any of the ruins. Which is why Belize ruins are so popular.

Tulum is beautiful and is a nice excursion. I can't speak to any of the other sites.

You will enjoy the ruins in Mexico. You just won't be able to climb any of the Temples.

Good to hear the kids buffet was open most of the cruise. Our little one loves to eat there. We are also on deck 8, so it's awesome to know the Blue Lagoon is right around the corner.

 

Did you and the kids attend any of the Nickelodeon events? If so, how did it go? Most of all, did you go to the Nick breakfast and what were your thoughts?

 

I see a lot of my roll call peeps are on here. hehe Can you tell we are counting down the days until our Jewel cruise? 17 days, 10 hours, 11 min and 20 seconds to be exact. :D

 

Thanks for your review.

We are on Deck 8 as well. Aft Balcony. But not until January :(

I think it is a perfect location...very close to Blue Lagoon, just a flight of stairs to Tsars and a perfect view.

What excursions are you doing this time?

Thanks for the info on the jazz brunch! I haven't seen it on the advanced dining page. I'll definitely keep my eye out for it while on board!

Ok..I just did a google images search..instead fo searching on CC and found this pic of the Jazz Brunch Menu..says it is for 2013.

http://www.beyondships2.com/uploads/8/2/4/5/8245255/m_jazz.jpg

Here is the URL for the website..it has pretty much all the general info about the Jewel you could want.

http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-jewel-menus.html

Would anyone who has participated in the Jazz brunch on the Jewel recently please comment on the details of the menu (or post it if you have a pic!)

It is difficult to find recent info on this so any and all feedback is appreciated.

Thank you

I sorry that I don't have any info on any of the New Orleans themed activities. We missed them. For the sail away, we were on our balcony. On our cabin crawl, we did get to see a aft balcony I was surprised at how loud it was...you could really hear the waves from the wake."

 

 

That's what we like the sound of the ocean :D ..and the view is spectacular! both during sailaways and in port.

 

We often leave the balcony door open so we can hear the ocean and smell the fresh salt air...I grew up on the Ocean and live inland now..so as most of us who are in my situation do, I crave the sights sounds and smell of the sea.

Thanks for the info on the jazz brunch! I haven't seen it on the advanced dining page. I'll definitely keep my eye out for it while on board!

Your welcome :-)

I think I may post a new thread and see if any one has attended in the lat few weeks and has feedback :)

Curious about the jazz brunch. Our cruise is over New Years and I would love to do this, but never heard of it. Can you give me any details? TIA!

It is on the last day at sea and should be advertised before..but if not just ask someone at the desk to make a reservation

.

People who have done it say it is well worth it. Good food, great atmosphere and good New Orleans Jazz.

I have the dailies from a recent Jewel cruise and it says it is $15.00 at Le Bistro from 11:00-1:00

I just did a quick search for a thread I saw with pictures..but could not find it.

I am not sure if it will be offered for advanced booking on line or not..along with other specialty dining..you should have access to that now..maybe you could check and let me know if it is offered to book ahead of time :)

If not.. then just ask when you are on board..they will be able to get you set up :-)

Have a great cruise!

Thank you for all the detail :)

We are booked for an Aft balcony on the 8th floor. I am looking forward to the little buffet that is very close to our cabin. We sailed on NCL Epic last Feb and there was on on it as well. It was great for a quick lunch and often had themed dishes based on what port we were in.

Sounds like your family had a wonderful cruise and took full advantage of the activities available.

We have a few booking perks one being a complimentary meal at Mama's Italian. So we will enjoy that, but we don't usually pay for up charge meals, we go to the MDR and always find something we enjoy.

On the Jewel we will pay for one other extra meal and that is the Jazz Brunch...being a New Orleans cruise and all we thought it would fit with the theme. There is not a lot of info on it, but what I did find indicates it is a very enjoyable brunch with good jazz music.

Speaking of New Orleans..did you go to any of the New Orleans themed activities..the parade, or the MArdi Gras Dance?

Did you go to the sail away party? If you did, what New Orleans themed activitites did they do..music, beads etc?

We usually do sail away from our balcony but if there is some special New Orleans themed activities at this sail away we will head to the party for a little while.

this is great thanks! Tidbits that are not the usual "this is me and my family and my preferences" reviews.

Can you explain more about the activity card..it's the first time I have heard of it..where you get it, how it works how you get prizes, where you get prizes etc.

Sounds kind of fun :-)

In this case..book independently

We used to always book through the ship but have learned to only do it selectively now.

We are on the Jewel in Jan and all but one of our shore excursions are independant.

The one we booked through NCL is at a tender port in Belize, and is a long day so upon advice on cc and my own research we decided for this particular excursion, at this particular port it will be safest for us to book with the cruise line...to ensure we are back to the ship on time and if not to ensure the tender boat will be held for us.

For Costa Maya ...the eco park is very close to port, only about a 10-20 min taxi ride, you have a full day in port, taxis readily available etc...it's a no brainer..save the money for something else fo rthe kids :)

We are doing the ATV tour when in Cozumel ..booked independently and they are going to drop us off at Money bar on the way back to the port..saving us cab fare one way. We will have lunch, snorkel/swim and then grab a cab back to the ship. Easy peasy and saving us a LOT of money and time..which when in port is more valuable than money in many cases...we would not have enough time to do the afternoon snorkeling if we booked with the ship and had to wait for their time frame.

Have fun at the park...we plan to do a full day there next time we are in Cozumel :D

You will find thsi a very different experience than your last on NCL.

Cabins are cleaned and made up on a timely basis.

Dining room service is good.

We too are early diners and rarely have to wait more than a few minutes and usually are seated right away.

Ths staff are very good to excellent.

Great thanks for all the responces.

I meant how much time at the temples to explore and wander so my question is answered. Thank you!

I have not heard any negative comments on this tour...except some people felt it was a ling day..but we booked it knowing it will be a full day and look forward to the experience.

What do they serve for lunch? is there a choice?

does anyone know how many loungers/tables there are at Money Bar?

I just checked how many ships are in port on Jan 21 when we will be in Port.

FIVE: over 15,000 pax.

We are doing the 10:30 ATV tour with the intention of having them drop us off at Money Bar on the way back. Expect to be there between 12:00 and 12:30

The plan is to have lunch and cool off/get rinced off with DH, (non swimmer who "puddles") then go for a snorkel while he takes a nap and relaxes in the shade.

Has anyone been to Money bar when it is a crowded port day with a lot of ships? I am wondering what the chances will be it will be very crowded..or not, so we can plan to alter our plan if need be. To just an hour or so swim/snorkel and head back to the ship for a late lunch.

Do they have a lot of tables/lounge chairs? How is the food service on a busy day..if it is slow we will just order a drink at the bar and skip the food.

Any feedback from those who have been there when there are 5 ships in port would be really appreciated.

Just need to know what to expect. (potentially)

Down is definitely a challenge :). To put it into perspective' date=' the steps are about 3ft tall (1m) so you need some good flexibility and strength. Ds1 was 6 yrs old when we did this excursion and he had no difficulty getting up, it got uncomfortable coming down. Fortunately we only had a few more steps to go and he finished it without a problem. There is a rope to hang onto, but honestly I found it easier to climb on my own as there were many people tugging on the rope. We too came down backwards, akin to climbing down a ladder.

This excursion is probably the most memorable excursion we've taken on a cruise, we did it in 2011. The boat ride into the site is amazing (the boat holds about 25 people and has 2-200hp engines!) and the wildlife is phenomenal. Lamanai is a very interesting site, if you can, do a bit of reading before you go. Our guide was very knowledgeable and when she found out we had done some research on our own she added even more detail to her descriptions.[/quote']

 

Thank you..I knew the steps were steep but did not realize they were "that" steep...I am sure I will go to the first platform, and then decide from there...may have to depend on DH for the pics from the top.

I was at Chechen-Itza a couple of years ago...fantastic tour guide explained so much ...really an incredible site. But as with many things has become too commercial.

Looking forward to learning the history here. It will be DH's first ruins.

 

How much time do they allow for one to explore on their own at the site?

And here's a video I created too showing the boat safari ride and Lamanai itself.

 

very cool..thanks! I am hoping to brave the stairs with DH but I am afraid of heights..and ladders which the stairs essentially are...so we shall see how far up I manage to get. He will go right to the top no problem..at 55 he is still like a monkey :D

Have you checked over on the Ports of Call section? Usually tons of great info over there about excursions.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

Yes I am regularly on those forums. No recent info on this tour..which is why I posted in NCL for folks who may have recently done a west carrib cruise including this tour.

I loved it in 2010 when I did it. Here are my pictures from the day:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickchapman/sets/72157631754465337/

Beautiful pics..thanks :) I

Has anyone done this NCL tour yet THIS season?

We have it booked for January and would love a review, pics, thoughts etc from anyone who has recently done it.

I have read reviews from past seasons, interested to see what people who have recently taken it have to say.

TIA :)

Here are 2 pic of 8634 aft balcony

Thanks for sharing :-)