kcfoxy
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Posts posted by kcfoxy
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UDP, a no brainer for us, since we are pretty much light drinkers, and that option was not offered on our 12 day Repo cruise.
DH, a former professional Cook, adores being waited on, and service in the Specialty restaurants often seems a cut above. Sometimes we do see a few of the waitstaff in more than one venue, including the MDRs, but they still tend to be our Vacation Heroes, just about every one a shining star.
The OBC was about 1/3 of the UDP value, and the Airfare option, something like $50 apiece, not even a consideration.
A few on our Roll Call were worried the Specialty Dining rooms would be mobbed and the MDRs next to deserted, given the Freestyle Choice promos.
Judging from this rather unscientific ;) thread, it looks like there is nothing to worry about. The UBP is the runaway favorite. Keep Calm and dream about cruising :D
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We have 2 connecting ocean view cabins. They are nice. Nothing wrong. Clean. Carpet looks ok. Good condition.
Here is a live pic from my bed. Relaxing before dinner. Lol.
My eyes aren't the best, so I can't tell if these are the old CRT televisions or the newer small flat screens?
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Randy, this is very helpful indeed. Less than eleven weeks to go, and this will be our first time on the lovely Dawn, but not with NCL ;). Now, I am on the hunt for some ~legible~ copies of the new menus...
Thanks again!
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We are on the same cruise as you are in April. We are in the sidewise obstructed cabins #8112,8116, and 8118. This is our first time in this catagory. All my research has not gone well, but are these cabins a little larger on the DAWN that the other 8 deck insides. I am having trouble wrapping my head around where the door is and how the bed is situated. Can you help me any at all?
TOM
I just noticed if you do a Search on NCL forum for sideways+Dawn or even just 8112, there are more than a couple posts recommending you avoid that specific cabin. FYI.
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We are on the same cruise as you are in April. We are in the sidewise obstructed cabins #8112,8116, and 8118. This is our first time in this catagory. All my research has not gone well, but are these cabins a little larger on the DAWN that the other 8 deck insides. I am having trouble wrapping my head around where the door is and how the bed is situated. Can you help me any at all?
TOM
Our AC sideways cabin on NCL Jewel was about 20% larger than the standard. Yours will be about 20' long by 10 ft. wide. Instead of entering a hallway or looking lengthwise into your cabin, the door opens midpoint in your cabin, with bed on one side and bathroom/dressing area on the other. The window is opposite entryway and has a recessed area perfect for toiletries or sitting to catch glimpses of the outside world.
I did not care for the door opening right next to my side of the bed, as anyone could look in...and did. So we had our beds divided up into an L shape, with one along left wall/head against hallway wall and the other alongside the window, which gave a nice L shape.
You will get a nice rocking motion with bed facing aft/forward rather than port/starboard. I will include some snapshots of non-AC and AC sideways cabins for reference, but do not want to detract from OP's original question, though he might find this useful as well :p
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We will be staying in this very cabin on the Gem, but did you have the problem with the shower, perhaps flooding the floor and having to use towels to create a barrier? thx
The shower area is no threshold, but instead of just a circular drain there is a pretty cool perimeter drain that brackets the 'zone' on 2 sides, (the other two are the corner/wall). There is a pull down shower chair that holds at least 300 pounds and a hand held shower wand.
You do also have a shower curtain. Some water on the floor, but not as much as you might think. Room steward will furnish extra towels if desired but at no time did we experience any flooding.
There is less counter space with the ADA sink setup, so I just brought the kind of roll up cosmetic (dopp) bag that unfolds so you have plenty of places to stow your toiletries right on the inside door hooks. Here are a few photos to help illustrate.
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I have been following the Roll Call thread a bit and read your newsy review with great interest.
Sorry to hear about the rock n' rollin' and as an RN know that nausea can be almost worse than pain. :(
I will be hosting the M&G we are having 4/19 NCL Dawn Repo from NOLA to Boston...with some of the same cast of characters...Steve & Margaret, Chris, Arzeena et al. I'm curious to know how many souls you had slated for your own M&G.
This will be my 5th, and I know a few never show up, but we are at 136 so far, with still 3 months to go, and a lot of fellow cruisers are suddenly coming out of the woodwork :eek::D:rolleyes:
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Hello-we are looking at an obstructed ocean view on the Jewel. Please let me know what one you would choose and or if you stayed in one on the Jewel Class and you did/did not like. Thank you,
HoopTroop
We've been on the Jewel twice, and this last time stayed in a sideways, ocean view obstructed cabin. 8100, which is also a handicapped/accessible cabin, and we could see at least 50-75% of what was outside.
I thought it was great. We were very close to 24/7 eatery midship deck 8, (O'Sheehan's now, was Blue Lagoon and Moderno last year). Also close to deck 7, MDR a couple decks down...only missed the fresh air at night, but a good value overall. YMMV.
Here's a look out our window, and another view from 8096, as well as the way we decided to divide up our cabin for more room, and a view from outside...our room was the second to last on the starboard side (behind the last lifeboat). Hope that helps :)
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The AC Handicapped cabins we've sampled on various NCL cruises have not been double in size compared to regular balcony rooms. Using example of the Jewel Class (Pearl, Jewel and Gem) ships. In this example on decks 9 and 10, 3 regular sized balcony cabins located adjacent to stairs/elevators are turned into 2 cabins on each side of the ship.
The entry door is no threshold and at least 3 feet wide, compared to other entry ways. The bathroom door is also at least 3 feet wide, these are ADA standards and allow the passageway of a wheelchair or walker. The bathrooms are also large enough for storage of said WC when not immediately needed.
Much has been said about the bathroom with the no threshold, roll-in type shower. There are actually rectangular floor drains that surround the shower area, good sturdy grab bars on 2 sides and 2 grab bars around the raised toilet...not as low to the ground.
The shower head is hand held but can also be arranged in a stationary position. A shower curtain can be used and plenty of toweling available.
I choose not to shower when the ship is underway, or at least when seas are choppy. There is a roll-in sink, rather than a vanity, and definitely less storage space for toiletries. A roll-up cosmetics bag works well using door hooks instead.
Mirror is adjustable, as are the closet rods, and you'll find climate control, room light and a few other switches set a bit lower, in deference to seated passengers. Call bell in bathroom and near berths.
Trish's experience with sideways OBS AC cabin on deck 8 is not the same as room conformation and experiences on decks 9 and 10 of most NCL AC balcony cabins. IMHO those rooms convenient to Blue Lagoon, or in some cases, O'Sheehan's, work best with an "L" shape bed setup...much more private.
There is a ramp out to the balcony, and you may receive slightly less furniture, in the way of tables, chairs and sofas/loveseats, but this can be discussed with your room steward if you are not needing the large turning circle areas and so forth that HC persons require.
There are only a handful of handicapped cabins per ship, and some ships, (NCL Spirit comes to mind), have even less than others. As long as the Guarantees can be given to the less able-bodied as needed, then I would consider myself fortunate to appreciate the difference :cool:
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Very enjoyable review...but a bit miserable in Hutalco and Cartagena... I would like to know how the 3 talks went? Did you have a nice crowd in the Theatre? Also, we are taking a 12 day cruise for our next NCL adventure, considering the UDP and also Platinum. About what per centage discount did you receive, if you don't mind me asking?
(I wasn't sure if the 2 Free Dinners mean 2 dinners for 2 or 1 dinner for 2 people, hee hee) ;)
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We were pretty much used to the half (rock) lobster tail bolstered with some type of white fish fillet beneath it most times in the MDR. We were therefore surprised when they served real Maine lobster tails on the Jewel last May during out PC Transit and Repo (right before dry dock).
The lobster was not overcooked, nor dry. We each ordered two and I gave DH half of my second one. Which I shouldn't have done, as the first one was on the salty side while the second one was sweet, sweet, sweet :p
Not to change the subject, but addressing a few other NCL seafood, as a whole, comments. We first started out with 6 jumbo shrimp (prawns) with our Cagney's cocktail. Later it became 4 and most recently 3. I'm used to smaller amounts at lunch, but here I'm talking about dinner...
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Here's a view of it crossing. Scroll not quite half way down and you'll see it.
Oh that's wonderful to see all those pictures and especially the one where George & Co. had to wait for the NCL Jade to pass by...thanks so kindly for the awesome link! :p
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A lot of women were saddened earlier this Saturday, when George Clooney took his second plunge down the aisle. It happened in Venice, Italy and was so so romantic, very posh and exclusive and as private as it could be, with hundreds of paparazzi buzzing about.
As the groom was swisked down the Grand Canal waterway, the wedding party had a good lead over the reporters and photographers until their watery limo was held up at the main crossing by a cruise ship majestically making way before them. The clamoring herd was thus able to catch up, et al.
When I read that news online, of course I wondered if this could possibly be an NCL ship such as the Jade. Tonight, when I watched the late news, boy was it cool to see the self same Jade observing the no wake zone and seen in all her glory...starboard side, that is.
We didn't notice a huge amount of pax lining all the balconies, promenade and upper decks, but did see some. Now I'm wondering if any had an inkling that was GC himself, just 50-100 feet away, awaiting their passage.
Pretty cool, eh? :p
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The inside AC cabin on the NCL Jewel on deck 10 aft (behid) the rear elevators are indeed very large, and if you don't mind no porthole/balcony/view then I would highly recommend.
Our last NCL Jewel cruise, April-May transit of Panama Canal we tried one of the AC sideways cabins on deck 8. Ours was 8100 and we actually had at least a 50% view. It was about 20% larger than the usual sideways cabins.
Both staterooms above have 36" wide entry and bathroom doors...without the usual ship's thresholds. This makes them suitable for most wheelchairs and even a scooter. There is a complete 360 degree turning circle in the cabins.
We arranged our two cots (at 30" wide these aren't close to a twin's 39") in an L shape, one under the window and one against the far wall to allow for best use of space...the cabin steward will do this for you if you ask.
The light switches and temperature settings can be accessed from a seated position and the closet has a pull down cord making it much easier to hang your clothing, plus there are lots of nooks, crannies, shelves and drawers for your stuff.
The desk is the right height to wheel up to, and the small fridge (we always ask them to take the expensive little items inside out so we can use it) and room safe are also at a good level.
The bathrooms are large by NCL standards, the no threshold doorway is met by the no threshold shower. Instead they have drains all around it and a curtain to separate from the other areas. Sturdy grab bars around the raised toilet and the sink sacrifices extra storage to accommodate a WC. The shower also has a pull down slotted shower bench, rated for 350 pounds.
There is not much difference in price, deck 8 is very convenient to main dining room near aft elevator, O'Sheehan's (comfort food and bar), main activities on deck 7 and so on. Deck 10 aft is convenient to rear elevator down to MDR or up to Garden Buffet.
Here are some photos that will help show AC bathrooms in general and AC sideways cabin deck 8 in particular on this lovely ship. Hope that helps!
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That was a great helicopter flight, and earlier part of the day was best, less wind, or worries getting back to the ship if you pick day 2. Unfortunately, although we did recommend darker and non-patterned clothing for the flight, (on our CC Roll Call discussion), the gal who sat in front next to the window seat wore whit shorts, a high contrast white and black tank top, resulting in an unfortunate per centage of DH's photos, filmed from rear left seat, show the glare from her clothing/bare skin and camera. A very nice person, but this was a once in a lifetime excursion for us and very pricey, as we paid a 'hefty' surcharge :(
Light clothing, or tank tops if very light-complected, even a silver gimme camera or that bright yellow safety pouch we all carried, some glare unavoidable, but most can be minimized for otherwise lovely shots.
Another thing, I would not overplan. We loved a half day privately booked excursion viewing farms in Upcountry Maui, but some of the full day events were a bit much, especially with every day porting and jam packed events :rolleyes:.
We ended up making one day a leisure one...the second in Maui or second on Kauai both work well there, and didn't end up as exhausted by our 'vacation' as many others apparently were. Have an excellent time!
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Our first NCL Suite, our first breakfast delivered by our hard working butler! (Note: on the room service menu I marked "4" for scrambled eggs, never realizing they would send 4 portions rather than 4 scrambled eggs for the 2 of us)!
Double-cut lamb chops, Cagney's. The flavor was very good, ordered medium rare and arrived a bit closer to medium. Ordered double portion of asparagus since the last time I received only 3. This time it looked like 6, but on closer inspection, each spear had been halved.
Favorite app in MDR: these egg rolls contain crisy veggies and pork. The crust was golden brown, light rather than greasy and the mildly spicy sauce reminded me of Sweet Chili sauce, so good.
14 ounce rib eye at La Cucina came nicely seared on outside and medium rare as ordered with great flavor. The polenta was okay but nothing special. The other best pick from the Italian eatery? Osso buco, fall-of-the-bone tender with a nice layering of flavors in the sauce.
Absolutely my favorite Moderno selection next to the grilled pineapple, with caramelized sugar and slight dusting of cinnamon? These succulent baby lamb chops, grilled to order, in this case rare, baby, rare! They were relatively small but I'm not ashamed to admit devouring 8 of them, (no sides, precious little salad and just sorbet for dessert, thank you).
Several desserts stood head and shoulders above the rest. The banana pancake(s) in caramel sauce with coconut ice cream in the Asian fusion restaurant, the coconut flan in Moderno's, kiwi or pineapple sherbet in MDR, the often elusive brownie sundae in Blue Lagoon or O'Sheehan's, and best of all the decadent espresso brownie with caramel sauce and macadamia nut ice cream in Cagney's could be relied upon to rock my Foodie world and bust the diet...
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While I enjoy Cagney's Shrimp Cocktail, the steaks and several of the desserts, when they do it right, the Double Lamb Chops are sublime.
Chin Chin or any of the Asian fusion eateries have some tasty offerings from Soothing Lettuce Wraps To Silk Road Lamb Curry, but the one thing I always order, even if we are semi-stuffed? The Banana Pancakes(s) with warm caramel sauce and excellent coconut ice cream:
I've been disappointed with the lamb, (overcooked), enjoy the salmon pate starter but generally can rely on Le Bistro's Filet. The best thing I've tried at NCL's French venue was on POA, a Wednesday night we were fortunate enough to devour fresh Kona Lobster:
Moderno's has an excellent salad bar, their coconut flan is pretty good and of course the grilled pineapple with carameled brown sugar and cinnamon is a wonderful palate cleanser. The meats are good quality, but nothing tempts me for just one more bite than their succulent baby lamb chops:
La Cucina gets regularly dissed as an Olive Garden generic type venue, and I would agree you have to chose your items carefully. The Chicken Parm can be dry, the pastas hit or miss. Calamari is a fine app and the bread reliably tasty but for value, flavor and biggest reward, the 14 ounce Florentine Rib Eye wins hands down:
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That's a shame that your friends didn't have at least a peek at sea or sky in their OBS Oceanview cabin...glad NCL could accomodate them with a move as the ship was pretty darn near full!
Our own sideways obstructed handicapped cabin on deck 8 was plenty fine, not even any wiring or metal blockage, I'd say maybe 40% obstructed, here's a shot:
I had DH Richard shoot plenty of exterior pix to demonstrate what degree of obstruction you might expect, port side being near identical to our own starboard digs. In a discussion with our steward, who serviced OBS cabins 8096-8102, he mentioned about all had the same nicer view, and the tenders were not winched as high as some other ships so that helped, in his opinion.
I was thinking maybe it was because the smallish fixed windows were located almost at the top of the deck. This next photo shows what I mean on the Port side, and some of the cabins, about 2 for each tender, clearly have much less obstruction.
A few don't seem to have a second window or it is almost completed behind one of the larger tenders. On occasion this has lined up with a thru way, but in a closer look, some windows are either opaque or seem to vanish against the white hull paint*.
* I could be mistaken, but the second to last tender on the right, (closest to midship), appears to mirror your friend's original cabin on starboard side.
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KCFoxy...thanks for the information. I am so glad to hear that they didn't take out "Spinnikers" Lounge. They really messed up the Star and the Dawn. Its also good to have some of the Star Bar left. Perhaps now that Moderno has a larger location their Salad bar will be more extensive.
Thanks, I hope so too! Another plus? Pax will no longer be using Moderno as a traffic lane between AFT and MIDSHIP on deck 8...that wasn't very condusive to a fine dining ambience...not so much an issue in the more casual Blue Lagoon :p
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We were on the last sailing of the Jewel before dry dock and chose the modified 13 night cruise since our plane tickets were out of LAX; we disembarked in San Diego 5/3.
Our sail away was delayed 4-5 hours in New Orleans, both to load up enough supplies for the 15 night cruise as well as a portion of the dry dock goods. More dry dock goods were loaded at our disembark point in San Diego, so the ship was not delayed in having supplies to begin at least the hotel portion of the refurbishing.
About 900 of us chose the San Diego end point, and room stewards indicated carpets being swapped out in casino, cabins and main areas of high traffic.
Many staying on board to help in a number of ways. I'm sure the vacant cabins and affected team members started right in, mostly behind the scenes, everyone put to good use.
I personally could hear work being done to some cabins above our 8100 berth, this was limited to hours of 8 am-8 pm and there was more noise from crew members chatting that much more than scrapping and light but repititive tapping sounds...I've heard louder rats in my (student housing!) day :D
As far as Moderno and Star Bar, this was one of my Cruise Critic Meet & Greet questions for HD Richard Janicki and crew. Moderno going in annex section of Cagney's and Star Bar-at least to some extent-remains. We made sure and let the department heads know how important the Spinnaker Lounge is to us, and never more than on our inside Passage trips. Loud cheers when reassured nothing but the carpet changing up there! Hope that helps.
One thing we were told, O'Sheehan's has a nicer/larger menu. I've been on 4 NCL cruises, all with Blue Lagoon or similar, and I didn't see much different...a couple pay options, like oysters (Spirit) and very god milk shakes (POA). What other menu items besides the usual burgers, wings, fish and chips, soup, salad, breakfast, deep fried apps and desserts?
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Who is the current concierge on the Jewel?
Linda, as of this morning, from NCL, re the Jewel:
Here is an update on the members of staff you are requesting:
Cruise Director - Jasper Wade
Executive Housekeeper - Savio Dourado
Executive Chef - Lito Santos
Casino Cage Supervisor - Malou C. Viloria
Restaurant Manager - Noel Chaves
Food & Beverage Director - Messiah Ritzinger
Beverage Manager - Joe Borges
Concierge -TBA
Guest Service Manager - Alfie Barrete
Group Service Coordinator Access Officer - Cherry Bongcaras
Cruise Consultant Manager - Romeo Gittens
Regards.
Mayra Mateiro | Group Event Coordinator
I'm guessing whomever you 'get' for your dreamy Owner's Cabin 10004 will be wonderful...think how cush to get this post right before 2 weeks-and most of it could be vacation-in San Francisco! :p
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We are on the Panama Canal Transit, repositioning cruise out of New Orleans, the last NCL Jewel sailing before Dry Dock.
We had an option of disembarking at either the 13 Day point, San Diego, or since we were skipping one regular ports and the usual Los Angeles disembark, going on to San Francisco. We opted for the 13 Day plan with reduction in fare and on board credit for reduced Port stops.
I will ask about O'Sheehan's and Moderno at our Meet & Greet if I can remember it...and loving both venues, I probably can :p
One thing I definitely hope they do not remove/"improve" is the loss of our beloved Spinnaker Lounge for more VIP digs :cool:
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we are looking to take a helicopter ride and to para sail. i contacted Roberts Hawaii, who a lot of people seem to use, but they don't do either of these things. does anyone know who we might contact to arrange these excursions?
thanks
Howdy, firsttimer_55. Your question is a good one but not in the right place.
I suspect our hardworking mods will be over to move this question to the correct spot, but can tell you we've got a whole section on Hawaii, just the right spot to check up on tours/excursions/reviews and answers to questions such are yours.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=62
Hope that helps! :)
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Are you referring to the Jewel staff?
Yes, Mary. My apologies. I was quoting a previous poster but the header and part of the message did not follow through. I contacted Group Coordinator as part of our M&G planning, and like to learn about the senior management, and those likely to make an appearance.
So far, I have found lots of good interviews at Beyond Ships as well as a cool Wikipedia article about The Free State of Bavaria, so I can have something to discuss with Messiah Ratzinger besiders weisswurst :D
Will try harder to place ship name in both header and body of post in future!
I have a few Dawn questions
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted · Edited by kcfoxy
Teppanyaki, a specialty restaurant, may be open for select lunches, with 1 limited seating, (18) at noon on Sea Days. You may make reservations online several months ahead of your cruise. We made several this week for our late April cruise. Staff was also very good in bringing food to our cabin if we were interrupted or unable to finish what was ordered.
If you made it through aps and main, but needed to leave before enjoying dessert they could also drop that off, for example. You may eat different parts of your meal in different restaurants. Children may eat from the regular menu or specialty menu. If you are not going with the UDP, then they would be charged 1/2 for specialty menu and not charged at all for regular child's menu which has things like macaroni and cheese, hamburger, plain cheese pizza, chicken fingers, chicken noodle soup and sometimes even peanut butter and jelly.
Sorry, but I do not have information about the children's programs. Some cruises will have a lot more kiddos than others. In August I would think more. The ratios might vary but we always saw laughing, happy kids enjoying their programs, swimming and special events such as dress up parades. The young counselors all appeared to be patient, calm but good-natured and kind.