Live from the Jewel! - Jan 17 - Jan 24

[gdwoods]

A bit of background: I have been on about a dozen cruises on several lines, including Disney, Carnival, Holland America and Radisson. Previously on NCL I sailed the Norway and the Sunward. This is my girlfriend Lorraine's first cruise.

 

 

Day One

 

Miami airport is a breeze and we were in a taxi and on our way to the port in no time. The Florida sunshine was missing in action and a light drizzle fell from cloudy skies, but we did not let that dampen our spirits as we drove up to the pier and saw the Jewel for the first time, arriving at 1:45pm. We were booked in a suite so after clearing security we entered the "VIP Relaxation Room" where we were greeted by Carlos, our concierge. Our paperwork was quickly processed, our pictures taken and our room cards issued. Carlos then escorted us directly to the ship, bypassing the lines of people still checking in. On the way we were joined by our butler, Antonio.

 

Several NCL staff were lined up as we boarded and gave us the "Welcome Home" greeting. No champagne though. :-(

 

Antonio then escorted us to our cabin, 9002, and gave us a quick tour of the room features and coffee maker operations. A complimentary bottle of sparkling wine and a bottle of water were waiting in the ice bucket, as well as fresh flowers and fruit.

 

We then set out to explore the ship. The Jewel is a beautiful ship, quite modern and clean with bold vivid decor. Understated she is not. NCL had their special offerings setup, including the wine special which we had learned about on this board. We were able to pre-purchase 8 bottles of wine at a 20% discount from NCL's prices. The wines offered were middle of the road, priced between $32 and $49. We picked up a Spanish sparkling Cava, some California Pinot Noir, and a Washington Chardonnay. The attendant gave us claim slips for each bottle, which we can present to our waiter at dinner.

 

After seeing the menu, we decided to have an early dinner at Tsar's, one of the main dining rooms on board. The food was quite good. I had a black bean soup and the Mahi Mahi which was served with braised endive and sun-dried tomato polenta. Lorraine had the crostada with mushrooms and buffalo mozzarella, followed by the pappardelle pasta with short rib ragout and ricotta. For desert I had a disappointing cheese platter which consisted of a few pieces of swiss, blue and 2 other innocuous cow's milk cheeses served with a handful of grapes and one walnut piece. On previous cruises they have had a cheese cart that they bring to your table, with lots of interesting cheeses that you select from. Lorraine had a vanilla soufflé with creme anglaise that was quite tasty. We brought the bottle of leftover wine back to our room to enjoy later.

 

The first night show in the main theater was comedian Tim Kaminski, who immediately came down in to the audience and grabbed Lorraine and another woman and brought hem up onto the stage for a skit. I won't spoil it by describing it in detail but it was hilarious and got the crowd loosened up quickly. She got her payback though when later in the show he grabbed me and a few others up on to the stage for a hilarious re-creation of "The Wizard of Oz". If you get a chance don't miss him, he's very funny.

 

The beds are extremely comfortable and we slept well. One note: we have a forward balcony suite and we were able to sleep with the balcony door open. Others had commented about windy conditions on the forward balconies but that has not been our experience so far.

 

More later!

[EileenN]

Thanks, gdwoods, I look forward to hearing more. Do you have cagney's available for breakfast and lunch as a perk of the "suite" life? We found it to be a much better alternative to the buffet or MDR. We are sailing on April 11 on the Jewel. Keep it coming.

[krennen]

Great to read your post. Keep them coming please as it will make this week go faster as we will board when you get back!! Really need this cruise to get away from the cold.

[yoyocruiser]

We were on the Jan 3 sailing. . .what a wonderful time we had. Sounds like you are off to a great start. We ahd not so good weather, but the cruise was so fantastic, that that was not even an issue! And yes, Cagney's was fantastic for breakfast and lunch!

[NewYearsBaby]

I will be following your post with great enthusiasm! I, too, will be on the Jewel April 11. I read on this forum that Jane L. Powell has been an entertainer on the Jewel recently. Is she still onboard? Could you find out if she will be on the Jewel April 11 - 24? (Obviously, I'm a fan!) I check her website regularly, but no information yet regarding April.

Have a great cruise! I will enjoy your updates.

[snorklinbarb]

I will be following your post with great enthusiasm! I, too, will be on the Jewel April 11. I read on this forum that Jane L. Powell has been an entertainer on the Jewel recently. Is she still onboard? Could you find out if she will be on the Jewel April 11 - 24? (Obviously, I'm a fan!) I check her website regularly, but no information yet regarding April.

Have a great cruise! I will enjoy your updates.

 

thought I read recently here that she's now performing on the Gem. Maybe someone can confirm.

[bentleys mom]

Great review. Can't wait to read more as your cruise progresses. We're on the Sky for a second time in April but I'm hoping to book the Jewel for a family cruise at some point.

 

Thank you!

[tls630]

I agree keep it coming. We are sailing Feb. 7th. Looking forward to it.

[brovol]

gdwoods,

 

We are sailing the Jewel in March. We love the solo acoustic guitarists NCL typically has on board (usually playing in the Star Bar after 9pm). Can you confirm that a guitarist is on board? Thanks.

[yoyocruiser]

I'm not saying there was not one--only that I did not see one. What I did see often was a wonderful piano player.

[etimer13]

On last week's Jewel cruise there was an acoustic guitar player/singer nightly at the Sky High Bar. There was a piano player most nights in the Star Bar.

[CruisinMaterial]

I will be following your post with great enthusiasm! I, too, will be on the Jewel April 11. I read on this forum that Jane L. Powell has been an entertainer on the Jewel recently. Is she still onboard? Could you find out if she will be on the Jewel April 11 - 24? (Obviously, I'm a fan!) I check her website regularly, but no information yet regarding April.

Have a great cruise! I will enjoy your updates.

 

Jane Powell was not onboard but another fellow by the name of Chantz Powell was and he was a 22 year old singer, moonwalking person.

[CruisinMaterial]

gdwoods - Tim Kaminski's show was pretty funny and I know EXACTLY what you're talking about for your friend Lorraine. I didn't get picked but I befriended someone who did get picked for that little skit. I can only imagine what the hand gestures were! LOL :D Sounds like you're off to the same wonderful time yoyocruiser and so many others and I did on January 3rd! Enjoy the rest of your vacation and I can't wait to live vicariously through you! :D

[lynwar]

Those of us on the January 3rd cruise had a great time. You can see that several of us are still posting. Cruising Material has been posting with me and my husband since a 2005 cruise. His mom was on this cruise, too, so that she and I could visit.

It does sound like you are having a great time, gdwoods, and I hope the weather is more hospitable. Though not perfect, our week wasn't THAT bad, and the weather didn't spoil our week.

Enjoy your cruise. We're all looking forward to your reports.

Lynne

[Beachbum1944]

We too are on the April 11 Jewel sailing. Eagerly awaiting your review. this will be our 2nd sailing on her.

[STARFISH*4]

EMBARKING after YOU DISEMBARK...LOOKING FORWARD to SAILING this JEWEL!!!

THANKS for the review...keep it coming;)

[gdwoods]

DAY TWO

 

The rain of Florida is a distant memory and we awoke this morning to gorgeous warm sunshine! Actually I awoke to gorgeous darkness at 5am and took a walk around the sleeping ship. Dawn is my favorite time of day and sunrises at sea are really quite spectacular. Although we have a coffee maker in our room I didn't want to wake Lorraine so I set off in search of a cup. As I roamed around I came upon a staff member and asked him where I could get coffee. Well, rather than tell me, he showed me! Actually he even got the cup and filled it for me. Very nice. Kudos NCL!

 

Even before daylight the ship is alive with workers cleaning decks and preparing for the day. I found a few of the public rooms that I had missed on day one, such as the library and card room, and checked out the kids areas. We don't have kids ourselves, but it looks like NCL has plenty of facilities and programs for youngsters. There is a game room (quite loud!), a room for kids age 2-5, a teen "club" and what appeared to be a movie theater for kids (not sure, it was locked). Later on, at the meet & greet, the Hotel Director made a point to explain that NCL absolutely wants kids to have a great onboard experience, but they also strive to keep the kids occupied and away from the adult activities.

 

Speaking of the M&G, there were about 30 of us that gathered in Tsars restaurant and were welcomed by several senior staff including the Hotel Director John O'Hara. CruiseCritic members were acknowledged as important to NCL. By the way, thanks to the CC members that organized the event, and to Mallory for bringing the name tags! Tim, the comedian entertainer, was present and was very cordial and funny as he spoke about the various ships he's been on. He recognized Lorraine as the "Hands Girl" from the previous night and we had a chuckle about that (see previous post). He also told us the story of how he met, courted and married his new bride who was a passenger on an 11-day cruise on the Jewel!

 

We ate breakfast in Cagneys and I tried the famous crabcake eggs benedict which were quite good although the eggs were way overcooked for my tastes. The view is spectacular, overlooking the pool area but also offering a great view of the sea and the Cuban coast on our port side. Carlos, our concierge, stops by to say hello as does the F&B Manager. To throw in an example of one of the little nitpick things that WILL happen on your cruise, our Orange Juice took a long time to get to us as the machine was not working. Our server came to the table every few minutes to offer an apologetic update and told us it would be here very soon. We just smiled and said "no problem!" It finally came, halfway through breakfast, and was delicious. FYI, it's an extra charge for the fresh squeezed, although they offer regular juices at no charge.

 

The ship's staff seem very genuine in their desire to please the passengers. I am always amazed at the diversity on cruise lines. Our server for instance was from Macedonia. Over 60 countries are represented on the Jewel.

 

For lunch we had signed up for the "Taste of India" buffet lunch which took place in the Bistro. It's a $10 extra fee but worth it. The food was delicious and it made me think of all the great experiences one can have on a cruise, discovering and trying new things.

 

The Latitudes party took place in the Spinnaker lounge and we were told that there were 800 Latitudes members on this particular cruise! I showed the NCL Latitudes representative my old NCL "Embark" card and asked her if she recognized this as the previous incarnation of NCL's loyalty program. "Nope, way before my time" she laughed. That made me feel a bit ancient! :-)

 

Our forward suite is really paying off today with its large balcony. We've got the two loungers spread out, as well as two chairs and a small table, and that only takes up half the balcony! Full sun and very quiet, the perfect spot for sunbathing without the raucous pool environment. As was the case yesterday, there is no wind to speak of even though we are steaming towards Honduras. We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sun & sea.

 

At 7pm we headed up to the villa courtyard area where we had been invited to attend a private captain's party. The captain and senior staff welcomed us and Hotel director John recognized us as we entered and commented " great to see you again, you guys are everywhere!" I'm not sure why we were invited or what the selection criteria is, but it was a nice way to get to see the courtyard and we got to meet some new people and enjoyed the cocktails! The guitar player that someone asked about is indeed on board and played music for this function.

 

Afterwards we had dinner at the Bistro. As you know, this is an extra charge specialty restaurant. It is a beautiful, small space and the food was spectacular. A complimentary salmon mousse amuse-bouche started us off and then I had the Salade Gourmande, made with frisee lettuce and endive. Lorraine started with a grilled asparagus dish with ****ake mushroom and hollandaise sauce. For our main courses we had the Rack of Lamb and the beef Tenderloin, and both were cooked perfectly, well seasoned, and delicious. The hostess was gracious and attentive, with a good sense of humor. The executive chef made the rounds checking with each table and asking if everything was ok. He seemed very pleased when he confirmed my guess that the salad vinaigrette contained a trace of truffle oil! The creme brulee desert fell a bit short, not being warm or as smooth and creamy as we would have liked. Although it is a French restaurant, the cheese tray was a bit lacking as well, although a big step up from the one I had in Tsar's restaurant the night before. The meal finished with a small plate of 4 very decadent and delicious chocolate truffles.

 

It was then time to head to the theater for the first show of the cruise: "Band on the Run", which is a colorful, high-energy Jean Ann Ryan production. The performers danced and sung very well, as the show band performed their take on 70s and 80s rock songs. We sat in the second row and the sound quality was superb. I would estimate that the theater was about half full for this night's second performance. Before the show the cruise director staff was pushing scratch off lotto tickets which included raffle entries for the cruise giveaway. I think the cost was $20 for five tickets. We did not participate but spent almost that much on two large mojitos.

 

Back in our cabin our doorbell rang and we were told that our room lights were interfering with the bridge's view of the dark ocean, so a reminder if you have a forward suite: close your door and shades after dark!

 

Tomorrow Roatan!

[NJLVW]

I am loving it. Keeping up with your daily review. It is so appreciative when we can move along with you on the ship. We will be embarking when you debark. Please keep the ship in tip top shape and don't overwork Carlos... Enjoy the rest of your time onboard. I will continue following you until we leave.

[CruisinMaterial]

gdwoods - NCL really wants to go out of their way for us CCers and they value our opinions dearly. Tell John that Jake said hello and if you see Viviana (waitress) in Cagney's then tell her I said hello too! (tell her a tall skinny guy from the 1/3 sailing and that should jog her memory)

 

I don't know what the criteria are for the private party in the villas either but it was nice of John and the Senior Staff to extend the invite to mom and I during the sailing. It was a VERY nice party. :)

 

Glad you're liking the ship and the crew/staff is treating you famously as well! :D

[tls630]

How many shows per day in the big show lounge?

[martinchem]

Keep it coming.

[gemsm]

I agree keep it coming. We are sailing Feb. 7th. Looking forward to it.

 

How come you haven't joined our roll call. We are having a meet and greet and everything. I will be sailing with you on the 7th

[debnjoe1438]

Thanks for the review. I do enjoy reading, and dreaming about the day I can afford a suite. (That will probably be after I win the Lotto:D) Just a few more day's and I'll be on the Jewel.:D:D

[yoyocruiser]

Fantastic review! I am re-living my wonderful time of two weeks ago. I too love to get up early and go find the coffee. The coffee in the suites is fantastic but SOOO NOISY--it indeed would wake up the world.

[gdwoods]

DAY THREE

 

Another gorgeous sunrise at sea. The winds have picked up as we approach Roatan but the sun is shining and the temperature is warming quickly. We turned our clocks back an hour last night so we're up even earlier than usual. This gives us time to order room service breakfast as we had forgotten to put our order card out last night.

 

The Jewel docks and ties up pretty quickly and we soon hear the announcement that we are cleared to go ashore. A group of traditional drummers and dancers in traditional garb are performing on the dock and it's a festive welcome to our first port of call.

 

We had booked the "Best of Roatan" tour with Victor Bodden company and we walked the short distance to the tour booth and got signed in, met our driver and we were off… Al was our guide and he turned out to be a most friendly, knowledgeable and down to earth escort to Roatan. As we drove through town he pointed out various schools, hospitals, and other landmarks. We made a few stops for photo ops and then we asked Al to stop at a local supermarket. It's something I enjoy doing in foreign countries and gives us a flavor for how locals live and shop. The store was quite similar to US markets, although the produce was more exotic. Afterwards we stopped at the iguana farm where you can have a very up close and personal experience with hundreds of the prehistoric looking amphibians. There is also an enclosed water area where you can see turtles, lobsters, barracudas and huge tarpin fish.

 

We had brought with us a backpack full of toys, school and art supplies, etc.. and so we next asked Al to take us to the Sandy Bay Lighthouse Ministries orphanage which turned out to be the highlight of our day. The kids were so beautiful and friendly, and several ran up to us and greeted us with hugs. We spent a while talking with the staff and playing with the kids. Next Al took us to Victor Bodden's place for ziplining and visiting with his monkeys. This is a real blast and I highly recommend it. You can read reviews on the Ports of Call forums for all of the details, but suffice it to say it was totally thrilling! Next stop was the Butterfly and Botanical Garden which was also very interesting and beautiful. By this time we were quite hungry and we asked Al to take us to a place where we could get a typical local meal. Al called ahead to Bertie's Criolle Cuisine, which is a roadside open air eatery set up with tables and a small bar, to ask about the "local plate". Today's special was oxtail stew with fried plantains and dirty rice, which we enjoyed with a couple of local beers: Salva Vida and Port Royal, both excellent. Bertie makes her own hot sauce from vinegar and a local hot pepper that she grows in the yard behind the restaurant. If you go make sure you ask for some.

 

We decided against heading out to the West End beaches, although that seems to be a consistent stop for most cruisers. Instead we headed back to the ship a bit early, stopping in the cruise terminal shops for a bit of browsing. We needed toothpaste so we went in to the pharmacy which seems to basically be a dispensary for prescription drugs that are either expensive or hard to get in the US. The boxes of ****** were featured prominently on the counter!

 

Back on board and back in our stateroom we saw that our room steward had delivered a gift from the Executive Chef: a huge assortment of cheeses with a nice note. It turns out that John O'Hara, the Hotel Director, was concerned by my lack of enthusiasm for the two cheese platters I had ordered at dinner the previous nights and wanted to make things right. I know this because he called our room the night before. It's absolutely amazing how hard NCL tries to please its passengers. The service, or more precisely, the attitude of excellent hospitality is obvious. We got a good chuckle out of the huge cheese tray.