How I Spent Thanksgiving Week on the Jewel!

Prologue:

NCL treated me like a goddess and a family member all throughout the week on the Norwegian Jewel. They must have known I needed some R and R, some TLC, excellent dining, great activities, good dance music, fabulous ports-of-call, the opportunity to make new friends, and most of all, to laugh. Every cruise is a great cruise and I am a fan of NCL. For me, this one will go down in the books as the best yet. Anything I did not experience on the ship or in ports, I asked others. I will sprinkle their responses throughout this review which will take about one week to write. I usually go day by day and respond to my own thread.

Getting To The Jewel:

I originally booked the lowest level category balcony and was upgraded to the highest level balcony for the same price. About one month prior to 11/19/06 I received the phone call for an upsell to a penthouse suite. Once I saw the suite was in front of the ship I immediately said yes for 350 more per person. I already used my 1,000 free NCL credit from the MBNA card (now Bank of America) so one can tell I had an overall bargain! I flew into FLL on 11/18 and knew the week was going to be great when my luggage was the third and fourth suitcases to come through the belt! For 18 dollars I shared a van with seven others going to various places. One lady was my superhero. She goes on cruises for free while giving lectures on board all cruise lines. I have her card...

I met up with my friend, The NewYorker, who I met on the Sun two years ago Thanksgiving week. We called this our anniversary cruise. Hubby did not mind that I was leaving because he knew if I stayed home, then my large family was probably coming over for the holiday! The NYer booked the Beacon Hotel in South Beach, Miami for our precruise stay. Nice hotel on Ocean Drive. We did the pedicure/manicure thing, went to Lincoln mall for dinner, bought expensive dresses for formal night that we did not really need for freestyle cruising. You can wear whatever you want on NCL freestlye cruises (with exception of jeans/shorts/tanks for dining room dinners). We decided to dress every night of the cruise and most of my outfits had a black and white theme.

We finished the evening drinking and dancing at the Clevelander. The next morning we walked South Beach, dipped our pretty toes in the ocean and chatted a bit with the homeless who spent the night on the shoreline...

The cab ride from South Beach to the ship was about 20 something dollars. I had so many thoughts and questions going through my head as we approached the Jewel. First, I liked her hull artwork. Not only is there artwork on the hull, but all thoughout the promenade deck as well. Definitely worth a look while waiting for a beautiful sunset in solitude on the promenade (secret viewing place for those who have inside cabins or on opposite side of ship)! I wondered if there would be a tango-guy to teach me to ballroom dance like the Oct. 2005 Sun sailing...Would I never leave my penthouse? Can the bridge officers see down onto my balcony (#10000)? What ports are we going to again and when? Who will show up to the cruisecritic party? If anyone, I knew Steveaaa would be there. Will I finally win the bottle of champagne at the latitudes repeat passenger party? Lastly, since I left my big family behind, would there be a family to take me under their wings during this holiday week...A family to adopt us?

We arrived at 12:30 and gave the porters our luggage. They put it on the crates to deliver to the cabin. We were in the regular line and remembered there is a special line for suites. We found the suite/garden villa line and were moved to the foreigner line to speed things up. From there we went to they key line to find out our key was in the special room. The special room held the passengers with VIP status due to their cabin category. A large family was getting processed so we were asked to sit and wait...to help ourselves to cookies and juice. People who arrived after us were then processed. We just laughed it off and watched some lady holler at her husband as she told him what he could and could not do...(hmmm, maybe that is why hubby did not mind me leaving during holiday)...

Our turn finally arrived and we got our key. We went through the special security line. After pictures were taken we were onboard by 1:30. One hour is not the norm, but figure anytime between 15 minutes to 1.5 hours. People arrive at all different times of the day so NCL can not forecast who is coming when. Some passengers arrived at noon and were on by 12:20. It varies for everyone. The key is to just be patient at embarkation. Expect the worst and hope for the best.

Coka

Good, I'm glad things worked out. I told Alex and Lainie that Coka was coming and they better be on their best behaviour.:rolleyes:

PE

So, DID you win the champagne? Was there anyone to teach you tango?!

Sounds good so far! Can't wait to hear the rest! :D

Coka...there are a couple of threads about unruly kids on your cruise. What was your observation, or did you not come out of your awesome suite?:rolleyes:

PE

I was going to email you - you are late this time with your review.;) Tell me was Alex the best or what :)

Prologue:

 

NCL treated me like a goddess and a family member all throughout the week on the Norwegian Jewel. They must have known I needed some R and R, some TLC, excellent dining, great activities, good dance music, fabulous ports-of-call, the opportunity to make new friends, and most of all, to laugh. Every cruise is a great cruise and I am a fan of NCL. For me, this one will go down in the books as the best yet. Anything I did not experience on the ship or in ports, I asked others. I will sprinkle their responses throughout this review which will take about one week to write. I usually go day by day and respond to my own thread.

 

Getting To The Jewel:

 

I originally booked the lowest level category balcony and was upgraded to the highest level balcony for the same price. About one month prior to 11/19/06 I received the phone call for an upsell to a penthouse suite. Once I saw the suite was in front of the ship I immediately said yes for 350 more per person. I already used my 1,000 free NCL credit from the MBNA card (now Bank of America) so one can tell I had an overall bargain! I flew into FLL on 11/18 and knew the week was going to be great when my luggage was the third and fourth suitcases to come through the belt! For 18 dollars I shared a van with seven others going to various places. One lady was my superhero. She goes on cruises for free while giving lectures on board all cruise lines. I have her card...

 

I met up with my friend, The NewYorker, who I met on the Sun two years ago Thanksgiving week. We called this our anniversary cruise. Hubby did not mind that I was leaving because he knew if I stayed home, then my large family was probably coming over for the holiday! The NYer booked the Beacon Hotel in South Beach, Miami for our precruise stay. Nice hotel on Ocean Drive. We did the pedicure/manicure thing, went to Lincoln mall for dinner, bought expensive dresses for formal night that we did not really need for freestyle cruising. You can wear whatever you want on NCL freestlye cruises (with exception of jeans/shorts/tanks for dining room dinners). We decided to dress every night of the cruise and most of my outfits had a black and white theme.

 

We finished the evening drinking and dancing at the Clevelander. The next morning we walked South Beach, dipped our pretty toes in the ocean and chatted a bit with the homeless who spent the night on the shoreline...

 

The cab ride from South Beach to the ship was about 20 something dollars. I had so many thoughts and questions going through my head as we approached the Jewel. First, I liked her hull artwork. Not only is there artwork on the hull, but all thoughout the promenade deck as well. Definitely worth a look while waiting for a beautiful sunset in solitude on the promenade (secret viewing place for those who have inside cabins or on opposite side of ship)! I wondered if there would be a tango-guy to teach me to ballroom dance like the Oct. 2005 Sun sailing...Would I never leave my penthouse? Can the bridge officers see down onto my balcony (#10000)? What ports are we going to again and when? Who will show up to the cruisecritic party? If anyone, I knew Steveaaa would be there. Will I finally win the bottle of champagne at the latitudes repeat passenger party? Lastly, since I left my big family behind, would there be a family to take me under their wings during this holiday week...A family to adopt us?

 

We arrived at 12:30 and gave the porters our luggage. They put it on the crates to deliver to the cabin. We were in the regular line and remembered there is a special line for suites. We found the suite/garden villa line and were moved to the foreigner line to speed things up. From there we went to they key line to find out our key was in the special room. The special room held the passengers with VIP status due to their cabin category. A large family was getting processed so we were asked to sit and wait...to help ourselves to cookies and juice. People who arrived after us were then processed. We just laughed it off and watched some lady holler at her husband as she told him what he could and could not do...(hmmm, maybe that is why hubby did not mind me leaving during holiday)...

 

Our turn finally arrived and we got our key. We went through the special security line. After pictures were taken we were onboard by 1:30. One hour is not the norm, but figure anytime between 15 minutes to 1.5 hours. People arrive at all different times of the day so NCL can not forecast who is coming when. Some passengers arrived at noon and were on by 12:20. It varies for everyone. The key is to just be patient at embarkation. Expect the worst and hope for the best.

 

Coka

Hey, Coka,

Thanks for the hospitality and Mimosa, it was quiet tasty!

Mom enjoyed meeting you and your friend too.

Hope, you had good time.

Rafaella :)

Once on board we went to the buffet lunch. I read on cruisecritic how some people felt there was nothing to eat at the buffets. I could not figure out just what they were looking for because A LOT food was present! The layout is fantastic compared to other cruiselines. Stations are all over with different categories of food. For example, there was a pasta station, a soup station, a sandwich station, a hot selection station, a meat carving station, a dessert station and so on! You could also get burgers/fries/hotdogs/icecream. This method is much easier because there basically is not a line. The same exists for the morning buffets. They have omelette stations and waffle stations, etc. I suggest that you look before you begin. If you just walk in from the pool and grab a plate, then you might miss some stuff. I found it helpful to begin at one end and grab a plate at the other end and back-track with what interested me. Outside the Garden Cafe aft is a smaller food selection with a line. I can only conclude that some might have thought that this little area was it!

I read on cruisecritic that it is a good idea to make your reservations for the alternative restaurants outside Tangos when you get onboard. We walked down and there was a large line. I thought that was a bummer but the NYer reminded me that we have a concierge and we can get it done that way. In the past, it took me four to five times on the Sun to experience all the alternatives. I am sure it will take a few times on the Jewel as well! My advice is to select a few and aim for that.

In my opinion, the only fair way to do the alternative restaurant dining reservation system is within 24 hours only. I do not know what the issues were under that first system, but to have it booked up all the first day...people get disappointed. Some cruisers on this cruise said they could not get into an alternative restaurant because it was booked up yet they walked by and saw empty tables. This was probably because people did not show up. They probably booked on Sunday and forgot or decided to not show up, ...???

The new menus were introduced on this sailing. I think someone posted the new menus somewhere on the boards but if you did not see them, then below is an idea of main dining room entree's":

Sunday...roast leg of lamb, argentinean grilled skirt steak, jerk style chicken, grilled mahi-mahi, parpadell pasta, and madras vegetable curry

Monday...beef wellington, glazed duck, caribbean lobster, orzo pasta, moroccan sweet potato rice cake

Tuesday...roasted pork loin, NY strip steak, chicken and garlic sauce, grilled salmon, spaghetti carbonara, vegetabe/tofu studel

Wednesday...prime rib, beal scaloppini, coq au vin, broiled tilapia, sage and potato gnocchi, vebetable tajine

Thursday...roast turkey, beef stroganoff, grilled pork chop, baked flounder, farfalle pasta, baked vegetable cutlets

Friday...roast rack of lamb, peppered sirloin steak, checken creole, tiger shrimp and lobster ravioli, mushroom risotto, and spinach/onion quiche

Saturday...English cut strip loin, turkey scalloppini, braised pork roast, pecan crusted snapper, cheese tortellini, vegetable tempura

I was excited to see the return of the cold soups in the soup and salad section! They included: chilled peach soup, chilled carrot and orange, chilled melon, chilled avocado and tomatillo, chilled spanish gazpacho, chilled strawberry. They also had hot soups and different salads and new appetizers. For dessert, you have a choice of four different ones each night along with ice cream and some usual stuff.

So, if you can not find something to eat up above, then the specialty restaurants or the dinner buffets might be for you. I never went to look at the dinner buffet so I have no idea about that. I did eat in the alternative restaurants and will go over those menus when I get to that part of the review. I will tell you what I ate and what I thought throughout the week.

The NYer suggested we go back to suite and see if our luggage arrived and we can check out the balcony. Cruisecritic Shoreguy posted some pictures of the suite so I had an idea what it looked like. We loved the couch and chairs, the closet with doors on both sides (one from the entry hallway, the other from the vanity hallway), and the bedding. If we were thieves, we would have stolen the linens, the duvet, the pillows, and the bathrobes. The NewYorker had some good jokes about the curtains and the color scheme. No problem because the curtains were usually pushed back except at night when we were asked to keep them closed. This avoids glare on the bridge directly above us...or that is what they told us...We thought, "yeah, right!" If we were young and beautiful, maybe the request would be to keep the curtains OPEN at night!

Coka

Shoreguy, I just got home five hours ago!

Unruly kids? In my opinion, the kids were great! I probably kept THEM up at night! Seriously,...I was on the lookout for that being Thanksgiving week...I saw well behaved kids with their families, well dressed kids every evening, kids in the kids pool, precious kids watching in awe at the Teppenyaki cook, kids walking everywhere ...even so...you will find from my review that I did spend a lot of time on the balcony...

Rafaella, we were looking for you the rest of the week after the cruisecritic party...!!!

Okay, off to write more...

Coka

Our luggage was not yet delivered. The brochure states to expect up to 7pm. It is a good idea to have a change of clothes in case you are one whose luggage is delivered later. Someone has to be last, right? I think a bottle of champagne should go with the very last piece of luggage delivered...with a little note attached. I was last to step onto a ship (NCL Sea) as she was about 12 inches pulling away from the pier...it is kind of cool to be last sometimes...

Upon our second arrival to the cabin we actually started to look around closer. There were fresh flowers on the table, a bottle of champagne in a bucket and a basket of fresh fruit. A note attached said it was compliments of NCL. Then the craziness began and we laughed all week. The doorbell rings (scared us for a second) and in comes another bottle of champagne with a note attached "hope you have a wonderful cruise" from Colin Veitch. Papers started arriving too with special things written on it. Latitudes benefits that included 20 dollars off body and facial treatment, 30 free minutes in the internet cafe and latitudes party invitation. There was also a 75 dollar credit on our account (37.50 each) which probably had to do with our booking.

The doorbell rings again and in comes someone else delivering a basket of fruit and a nice bottle of cabernet sauvignon...the little note attached is from a Crane Gladding "Thanks for your suggestions about our marketing campaign..." I think the bridge could hear my laughter for the next hour!

We had met Alex Forbes, our Concierge earlier and he told me that as a platinum latitudes member I receive a free evening in an alternative restaurant. He had already scheduled a time and place for us but said we could switch if it did not work. I told him that we had nothing planned and we can eat at WHATEVER time and where ever place!

Concierge Alex Forbes is the most pro-active concierge we have ever met in our worldly travels. He actually called us every day to ask if we needed anything. A reservation, tickets, excursion, ... he was the absolute best. The funny part is that we are two very low maintenance women travelers. I was on the cruise to rejuvenate for my job and I did not want to decide a single thing. So for me, it was very cool that he already pre-booked us! There was one day mid-week he did not call us and we had been drinking. So we called him and checked in with him to make sure he was okay. He helped me with the best way getting off the ship to FLL hotel and he wrote nice letters at the end of trip. His last letter to us had an Australian koalan bear animal on it.

We met Butler Henry, Steward Hopeton Sinclair and Stewardess Annalyn Dioquino. They were all fantastic. They were fun to talk to and they worked around our strange sleeping habits. We kept our suite clean for them too so they did not think we were sloppy (which we are not)!

The doorbell rings again and we thought it was luggage arriving. We open the door and in comes another delivery...a bottle of wine and fruit basket! I exclaimed, "oh my gosh...is this from Shoreguy?" The deliverer had no idea what I was asking. I asked if there was a note as all the others had a note...I asked who it was from. The deliverer looked around, saw all the other presents and said "I don't know...NCL probably!" We did not press the issue in case it was a mistake delivery. We accepted and laughed some more as we pictured someone hollering down the wine cellar, "we need more wine for 10000!" while someone shrugged, "again?!"....

As we re-organized our fruit, champagne bottles and wine bottles, we were pretty darned happy. The ship started moving and we pulled away from port. We decided to check out the sailaway party because the NYer never attended one. Always remember to close the balcony door before you open your stateroom door...if not, then papers fly all over the place. But that can be a good thing too. I looked at what I picked off the floor and it was a letter from Hotel Director Armando Da Silva that stated we had a free meal in any alternative restaurant!

As we left for our Thanksgiving Week Sailaway we concluded it was more like Christmas! I still have not pieced it together but I know that one gets perks in a suite and that one gets perks from being a platinum member and I was both. Oh well, I was not on vacation to think, so I just concluded my time has arrived and I should probably make sure to hit the casino with this lucky streak!

Okay, I am off to bed...need to sleep...

will write tomorrow about some of the special restaurants, the bars, and first day at sea ...

Coka

Great review, Coka. Can't wait for the next installment.

 

Okay, I am off to bed...need to sleep...

will write tomorrow about some of the special restaurants, the bars, and first day at sea ...

 

Coka

Hey, no sleep for you, you gotta keep writing because you are already a day late with this.:rolleyes:

PE

 

In my opinion, the only fair way to do the alternative restaurant dining reservation system is within 24 hours only. I do not know what the issues were under that first system, but to have it booked up all the first day...people get disappointed. Some cruisers on this cruise said they could not get into an alternative restaurant because it was booked up yet they walked by and saw empty tables. This was probably because people did not show up. They probably booked on Sunday and forgot or decided to not show up, ...???

 

Coka

I sooo agree with this. And thank you for the very detailed summury so far. The menue sounds good too.

Is this supposed to be a short review? ;)

Someone should publish this one.:)

I'm afraid, by the time she finishes, it will be longer than War and Peace. :D

But I'm enjoying every word.:)

Thanks Coka! :cool:

Is this supposed to be a short review? ;)

Someone should publish this one.:)

I'm afraid, by the time she finishes, it will be longer than War and Peace. :D

But I'm enjoying every word.

 

Thanks Coka! :cool:

She's only just begun - sit back and enjoy the journey from a true traveler. ;)

Reading Coka's reviews is one of the best things about cruise critic. I can't wait for the next installment!

I can't wait for more........

Thanks Coka.

Another great review.

Enjoying every word:)

Good' date=' I'm glad things worked out. I told Alex and Lainie that Coka was coming and they better be on their best behaviour.:rolleyes:

 

PE[/quote']

 

Is Lainie back???

Very much enjoying your review

write on!

Is Lainie back???

Very much enjoying your review

write on!

Lainie was the the deck 10 butler a few weeks ago when we were there. She may have moved to deck 9 or the Courtyard when Karan and Maxie left to go to the Pearl.

PE

Don't sleep too long, coka. Leaving for the Pearl TA on Thurs. so I'm ready for another fix before then.

Keep it coming, enjoyable as ever! I'm Platinum, too, and will answer the door to any wine delivery.:D

Coka,

I think you should cruise more frequently just so that we can enjoy your reviews:)! I like to save the read for lunch breaks and evenings so that I can truly savor it. Thanks.

Mary

COKA---WAKE UP PLEASE--we are patiently waiting the next installment.:D

Great writing skills. Thanks for the partial review:D .

Ahhhhhhhhh COKA, now THIS is a review! Loving every well-written word.

Thanks everyone for the kind resposes. Hubby noticed today that I did not have any tan lines anywhere...thank goodness I brought home the Jewel picture postcard found in the cabin. I could point out how the sun could still shine on the balcony through the overhang without anyone from the bridge seeing me....that is my story and I am sticking to it.

Luggage finally arrived and we unpacked. We scored a dinner reservation for 7:30pm at Teppanyaki. I ate teppanyaki the first time on the Spirit in April. I had such a blast that I wanted to eat there first. Teppanyaki is "a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food." The chef cooks in front of you while "displaying slicing/dicing/juggling" techniques. Their tools make a beat as they perform. We used this restaurant as our free alternative restaurant experience (the little certificate from Hotel Director that blew into our cabin).

The restaurant is located mid-ship and you have to walk through the Sushi Bar and Chin Chin Restaurant to get there (sort of like a horseshoe with a big open space in the middle overlooking the deck below). One flight down was Le Bistro and the three bars with individual themes and a piano player Vladimir from Russia to entertain while you drank or ate.

The alternative dining options also have new menus and below were our choices for Teppanyaki:

Individual Entree Features: Chicken Yakisoba (hibachi chicken/udon noodles),

Seafood Diablo (lobster/sea scallops/calamari), Filet Mignon, Vegetable Yakisoba, or Vegetable Delight

Ginza Entree Combinations: Samurai (Chicken and Jumbo Shrimp), Land N Sea (Filet mignon and Jumbo shrimp), Shogun (steak and chicken breast) or Shinto (Sea scallops and jumbo shrimp).

The above entree's included miso soup, seaweed salad with ginger dressing, grilled shrimp appetizer, garlic fried rice, and teppanyaki vegetables. You finish the meal with your choice of matcha ice cream or fruit sashimi.

Each table section seats eight and they had four tables. The NYer and I dined with a fun family who was celebrating their parent's 45th wedding anniversary. One of the daughters was one of the very first winners of the happybirthdayncl free cruise on the Pearl. I thought this could be the family I was looking for because we shared our parts of our meals with each other. Most of us selected the Land and Sea and a few selected the Seafood Diablo. I had the Land and Sea and it was absolutely fantastic! The family later invited us to sit with them that evening at the 70's dance party.

The other table had a well dressed family and I could not help but watch the two children stare up in awe at their chef. The kids were so cute. The son had his chopstocks tied together by the waitress in a particular manner so he could eat his food easier. I wanted mine tied the same way but they brought me a fork instead. Something new I noticed was that a black napkin was brought out for me but everyone else got a white one. I asked why and they responded so the white napkin would not leave stuff on my black satin pants or black satin shirt. I responded "oh" and thought to myself that I really should go out to eat more...!

I read a review a few weeks ago from someone who was mad that he got the new guy for his chef. We must have got the same new guy too but we thought he was a lot of fun! We laughed, we cheered, we hollered "yeah" when he made it and we hollered "ohhhhh" when he did not. An anniversary cake was brought out in the end and we all sang happy anniversary.

During dinner we missed over 40 singles mingle (for my friend), the ballroom dancing and the family karaoke. They also had a traveling alone social and dinner where one could meet other solos and go to dinner at the Azura restaurant. We thought how nice! Two years ago we had to find each other on our own...now they help set up solo travelers. Smart move.

We went down a deck to check out the three bars with unique themes and designs as advertised on NCL. I am glad that I wore black because I did not clash with any of them and I looked great in all three. The ironic part is that all three bars are really just one long hallway bar. I ordered a cosmopolitan at Magnum's martini and champagne bar and then headed up to the Spinnaker Lounge on Deck 13 forward for the 70's Night dancing. The place was mobbed and they did their signature John Travolta/Gloria Gaynor/YMCA contest. Paul Baya, the Cruise Director did a nice job with this. We talked about what we liked so far about the ship.

We loved the open railings with horizontal rungs all over the ship. They were great for viewing through our balcony, the decks, and the pool area. Some ships have that awful plexi-glass that gets fogged up from sea salt. The Jewel is wonderful for viewing the ocean. We discussed the carpets and noticed how our feet sunk down into them all over the ship. We chuckled at the interior designer's choice of colors but concluded the investment in the carpet pad was a wise one on NCL's part.

As I wrote notes in my journal, given to me by NCL at the end of my last cruise with them, my friend said to me, "You are so into this, you could be any kind of critic!" I was not sure if it was a compliment or not...She said it was as she laughed herself to sleep.

Coka

Thanks for the positive up-beat review, it's so refreshing amongst the one's that seemed to not be able to find one thing that pleased them all week.:rolleyes: