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Great Cruise on the Jewel - Oct 17-24


scaaty

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Great Cruise!

 

Our 7 day cruise on the Jewel from NYC to Florida and the Bahamas was as relaxing as I had hoped it would be! DH (71) and I (59) planned to not get off at any ports and instead just kick back and enjoy the ship. It was really nice to sit by the pool on port days while most others were off somewhere doing whatever!

 

Our meet and greet was well attended and John O’Hara was as excellent as many have described him on these boards. He graciously answered questions and quickly responded to items that some felt were just not right. He also arranged for a tour of the bridge which was also well attended by our group since it was on the last sea day.

 

We had a mini suite and there was ample room for the two of us and all of our belongings. We just had to request a few extra hangers which our room steward Budi brought to us in a flash! He and Joseph took great care of us and any request that we had. Considering the fact that they had another 26 cabins in addition to ours to care for keeps me in awe at how efficient they are and how they always managed to have it made up or turned down before we returned to the room.

 

I know food is very subjective and my hubby is a food snob. We had 99 percent of our meals in the specialty restaurants (including breakfast in Cagney’s since we were given VIP status). We rotated between Cagney’s, Le Bistro and Mama’s and didn’t have a single bad meal and the service was excellent. One disappointment was that we felt the extra $10 for lobster in Le Bistro was definitely not worth it! Hubby was happy that he had also ordered the filet since the size of the lobster was more for an appetizer than a meal. We usually have a full breakfast and dinner and go to the buffet for a salad for lunch. The salad was great and we especially enjoyed the baby arugula. Hubby was also upset with the lunch meat especially the prosciutto. He’s from Italy and we live in the NYC area where we get the imported prosciutto and what was served on the ship was no where near that.

 

We went to some shows, some activities and the casino and enjoyed them all even if we did leave some of our money in the casino. Overall we had a great cruise and will certainly be back again.:D:D

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My partner and I were on the same cruise. Scaaty, it was great to meet you and your wonderful DH; thanks again for arranging the terrific Meet & Greet. The bridge tour that John O'Hara provided for our CC group was a highlight of the cruise.

 

It was definitely a fun and relaxing week at sea. (Though a bit "dull" for me as the water was FLAT for seven days, and I actually prefer to feel like I am on a moving ship. Give me some waves, some pitching and some rolling! Okay, I know I'm in the minority there! :)) The GSC port day that we spent on board was one of the most relaxing we've had in a good long while. And I loved it when a bunch of adults who clearly had been eyeing the water slide all week took advantage of the kids being off the ship to go down the slide. Grown ups sneaking around; what fun!

 

The Jewel is a beautiful ship, the staff and crew were great, and the food was good and in fact better than expected (with one major exception, noted below), particularly in the buffet. We really loved Tango's, and I highly recommend those lobster tacos! Also, the pineapple and mango compote dessert with vanilla ice cream. Delicious, and presented just beautifully.

 

The disappointing food was our dinner at Cagney's. We've avoided Cagney's for dinner on prior NCL cruises, as we have plently of fantastic steakhouses where we live, but given all the raves, we decided we'd have dinner there this cruise. It was an awful meal. Rubbery shrimp, crabcakes that were all breading, cold mashed potatoes, lobster bisque that didn't taste like lobster or look like any lobster bisque we've ever had in our lives. But the worst part was that my partner's steak, which was supposed to be pink inside, was totally overcooked, a charred mess. Yes, the staff offered to replace it, but of course my steak had been served as well, and what are you going to do --eat separately? At that point, a meal is pretty much ruined. Fortunately, we'd brought a special bottle of champagne from home, and at least that part of our dinner was excellent. (We are not terribly picky about our food and on a cruise in particular are out to enjoy ourselves and are looking for the best in things; this was a really bad meal.)

 

Cirque Bijou, the entertainment on the last night, was excellent. We found the entertainment on the other evenings to be subpar (and were totally shocked and offended that the juggler/"comics" made an anti-gay joke. Hello, it's 2010. Letter to NCL will follow.)

 

Bottom line, though, the good far outweighed the bad. A nice week at sea. :)

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Those that put together a meet & greet usually get VIP status.

 

Dianne, sorry I missed the m&g and meeting the group. Margie got sick on Sunday and it was a long night. Luckily she got better by Tuesday and we enjoyed the rest of the cruise. I was able to make it to the Latitudes party and met John O'hara who invited us to the bridge tour. Now I have a few hundred photos to go through and write a review. Hopefully next time I can attend the m&g.

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Those that put together a meet & greet usually get VIP status.

 

The definition of of VIP treatment must be up to either the CD or HD. I organized the M&G on my Spirit sailing. I didn't get suite-like or platinum-like perks (no tour, no comped specialty, no direct "gifts"). Instead, CD Paul Scally made sure to pay extra close attention to GF and me the entire cruise. I also don't think it was a coincidence that we were selected as the winners of the Scavenger hunt (with help from Paul via his on-board number) and the "best couple" game show. Both contests were fairly subjectively decided by Paul or his staff, so I am sure his bias helped us to win. So we got a cheap trophy, two beach bags, and a complimentary bottle of champagne-like sparkling wine. That is in addition to being mini-celebrities on the ship due to the constant re-playing of the best couple show on the ship's cctv.

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Those that put together a meet & greet usually get VIP status.

 

I believe this is why we got the VIP status and that it's totally up to the personnel on the ship as to whether or not you get it. We sure enjoyed it :D

 

Dianne, sorry I missed the m&g and meeting the group. Margie got sick on Sunday and it was a long night. Luckily she got better by Tuesday and we enjoyed the rest of the cruise.

 

Sorry to hear that Margie go sick. Definitely not the way you want to start vacation:eek: Maybe we'll get to meet on a future cruise :)

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