Our Thanksgiving Cruise on the Jewel in the Garden Villa (with video)

[roveer]

I finally got the time to put together a trip report for our recent Thanksgiving cruise on the NCL Jewel out of NYC stopping in Port Canaveral, Great Stirrup Cay and Nassau, Bahamas.

 

I made a video for family, so take a look here:

 

 

We were fortunate enough to upgrade to the Garden Villa, room 14000 and what an experience it was. We are a family of 6, 2 adults and 4 kids. We were originally booked in an A3 and moving up to the A1 was such a treat. Our room steward Joseph and butler Nelson did a wonderful job of taking care of us during the trip. Our Concierge Adrian was top notch. These guys know what they are doing. Pretty much anything and everything we asked for was delivered with a smile. Adrian did a great job of steering us to just the right things, while Joseph took care of the room and made all of the towel animals that the kids just loved.

 

Embarkation was a breeze, we got to the port early and went right to the concierge lounge where we met Adrian for the first time. I can say the vacation started right then and there. I think we may have been the first family to board the ship. That was a real treat. We had lunch in Cagney's, really nice compared to the buffet. Great suite perk.

 

Now understand that out of our 4 cruises, 1 was NCL 15 years ago on our honeymoon on the dreamward (in a hurricane no less). This cruise was quite a bit different. Bigger boat, bigger room, lots of kids. Just what we like. The other 2 were DCL, which really knows how to take care of the kids.

 

We spent the first few hours in our stateroom getting unpacked and checking everything out. The kids were in the hot tub for our departure and it was really a great time. Chilly in NYC, but nice and warm for the kids. Our travel agent had already sent champagne to the room so mom and I just sat back and watched the sights as the kids sipped hot chocolate as we pulled away from the dock and headed for open waters. BTW, use a travel agent. I'm a "do it myself guy" but our vacations I like to have help. Not to mention that they usually send you gifts! My TA is 1,100 miles away but I feel like they are right next store.

 

Having that hot tub was really great especially during the sea days and when it was cold.

 

Later on that evening we went down to Tsars for dinner and there was Adrian waiting to pull us out of the line and take us right in. That one made us feel special. As Adrian put it, "you don't do lines". He was there throughout the week to make sure we got to where we were going with no hassle.

 

While the weather was cool, the skies were clear by the 2nd day (at sea) it was already starting to warm up.

 

We pulled into Port Canaveral right on time on Tuesday and I took my son on the enhanced Nasa tour. I got a bit more out of it than he did, but it was still a lot of fun seeing all those things That I grew up watching on TV. The shuttle was still on it's launch pad so that was a real treat. We watched some movies, and took in the sights. I full day's worth and worth every penny in my book. Mom took the girls and went to Cocoa Beach, and a mall to do some quick shopping. We arrived back on board in the early evening. A really nice (warm, 80's day). Couldn't have been better.

 

Next day was Great Stirrup Cay. We had a lot of fun there too. It's no Castaway Cay (DCL), but it still was fun. They appear to be trying to improve GSC. I think they need to do a litttle work to keep up with the other lines.

 

Next day was Nassau. Last time we went to Nassau we didn't know what to do so we ended up getting taxied to a public beach which wasn't much fun. This time we had already booked the Atlantis Aqua Adventer and that was probably the best thing we could have done. Turns out we were the first ship in port and as we were going over the bridge we could see 3 other ships steaming into port. That gave us a 2+ hour head start on Atlantis. We arrived just before 10am and had a short wait till everything was open. We had a real advantage. Even I (dad) went down the "leap of faith" waterslide. What a rush. Back on board right on time and out for dinner that night.

 

For Thanksgiving we ate at Cagney's. We met a family from Long Island and they joined us for dinner. Lots of fun.

 

2 more days at sea and I woke up just in time to grab some video of us steaming up the river into port in NY. The sun was just coming up and it was quite a site. What a view from our bed. Couldn't have been nicer.

 

Here are my thoughts on NCL.

 

This trip was exactly what we wanted it to be. It's not the most exciting itinerary but I knew that going in. The food was good but lacked a smidge of freshness. Most of the baked goods seemed a little flat compared to our DCL cruise, but selection was good, the specialty resteraunts were good and overall I'd say we enjoyed the food.

 

Kids clubs were a bit of a disorganized kaos. Of course my comparison is DCL so I don't know how well the other lines can keep up with that. The spaces were minimal, the counselers seemed like college co-ops, the program a little dis-organized. It did seem safe and they did have a system in place. My kids never really connected with it, so they spent a lot of time with us.

 

The ship is really well kept and clean. I was impressed with how well maintained everything was and the crew seemed to handle everything very well.

 

I have to say, the sea couldn't have been better. Our butler told us that one of the previous cruises was pretty rough, so we felt very lucky to have such great seas. The weather was clear the whole time so we really lucked out.

 

The two things I noticed while on-board was the fact that the lobby area turned into an open air market during the evenings. So much so that it inhibited the walkways. To me, that was a bit of a turn off. The whole art auction thing hits me a bit odd, but I guess if it's popular than so be it.

 

The other thing that hit me a bit odd is the number of specialty resteraunts really took away from the available space on-board. Almost to the point of being too much. Again, it's probably designed that way, but in a way it made me spend more time in our room than be with the crowds. Probably just my preference to want to "get away" after a year of hard work.

 

Our Garden Villa was so much and more. Actually too much space for us, but we really enjoyed having all that space. After a few days of putting your card in the slot to get up to deck 14 and watching people's expressions, we just started enviting folks in to take a look. I really liked having the whole family in one space. I always try and avoid connecting or across the hall rooms whenever I can. I don't see getting a room this big again on future cruises. I can't even say that I have seen rooms this large on other lines. 3 whole bedrooms. It was just awsome.

 

All in all we had an absolutly wonderful time on our cruise. We enjoyed getting to know Adrian, Nelson & Joseph. My son and I did a bridge tour which was great fun.

 

Now for those who have sailed on the Jewel before. Does anyone remember: washy, washy, cleany, cleany, happy, happy. I think we were all saying that by the time we left.

 

Saw the Circ show on the last night. Was really good. The washy washy girls even showed up on stage that night.

 

I'm sure I've left a lot out because we did lots and at the same time, I sat and did nothing (which was great for me). I know that I had done good when mom told me I did good for upgrading the room. We got a look at the A3 and I don't think our luggage would have fit. We would have made it work, but we definitely had an absolutely fabulous time having the bigger space.

 

I'll do my best to answer any questions, but suffice it to say, NCL did right by us and I'd have no problem recommending them to friends and family. I also feel that we lucked out as the Jewel was late returning from drydock on the cruise after ours and then Florida was bitter cold. We really lucked out.

[realcindylouwho]

We also were fortunate to experience a Garden Villa, 14000 on the Pearl, the week after Thanksgiving. It was an upsell from 2 ADs. I would agree that there was too much space. I can't believe I typed those words, but it was true!!! Spacious, quiet, relaxing, peaceful, a few words to describe our experience. (Trying to get our review on the boards by the end of the weekend. Coka, I know you are waiting!!!)

 

If the call should ever come for an upsell to this suite, if you can afford it, it must be done! I was a once-in-a-lifetime suite for our family of 4. I have no "buyers remorse" over our decision to upsell when the NCL fairy called!

[boaterette]

Very nice review. Thank you for posting.

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Thanks for your review and what an excellent video!:D What did you use to edit the video together and what type of camera did you use, especially the one you took the underwater shots with!:) Thanks and happy holidays!:cool:

[silkhair1]

Great video! Too much space.....I hope I have that problem one day in my staeroom! LOL

[patseacruiser]

LOVED your video and I have the same questions - camera and software?

[roveer]

Thanks for your review and what an excellent video!:D What did you use to edit the video together and what type of camera did you use, especially the one you took the underwater shots with!:) Thanks and happy holidays!:cool:

 

Believe it or not, I used Windows 7 movie maker to create the video. It's got enough power and features to grind out a basic video and even handled my 1080p content.

 

The cameras:

 

Sanyo VPC-HD2000ABK Full 1080p HD Video and 8MP Digital Photos

 

 

 

Sanyo VPC-CA102YL Waterproof Full HD 1080 Video and 14MP Digital Photos with 12X Dual Range Zoom

 

[newmexicoNita]

thanks, I loved every bit of the video.

 

Nita

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Believe it or not, I used Windows 7 movie maker to create the video. It's got enough power and features to grind out a basic video and even handled my 1080p content.

 

The cameras:

 

Sanyo VPC-HD2000ABK Full 1080p HD Video and 8MP Digital Photos

 

Sanyo VPC-CA102YL Waterproof Full HD 1080 Video and 14MP Digital Photos with 12X Dual Range Zoom

 

Thanks!:D

[patseacruiser]

Loved the underwater shots!

[B4andAFT]

What a great video. It looked like your family had a fabulous time. NCL should use it for promotional purposes. :D

[spacepotatoes]

Very nice video! You have a beautiful family.

[roveer]

Thanks for all of the posts. We really did have a great time and considering the delays on the cruises right after us and the frigid weather we are now having, I feel very lucky to have gotten out on that date. In my searching around I haven't found another suite as large as that on any other line. Of course the GV is 3 bedrooms which was great for my family. A lot of the other suites are set up more for 2 pax. Another poster said they upgraded to the GV with 4 pax. That must have seemed cavernous with just 4 people. In any event, it's a real treat to have those kind of accomodations. I can only imagine what it would have been like on one of the longer itinaries. Our 7 days flew by so quick we were just starting to get used to everything and we were headed back to NY.

 

Time to set my sights on my next target. I like mixing it up. Of course the kids want us back on DCL and I'd love to try the dream but they switched up their suites and no longer accomodate 6+ pax in one room. Plus the dream is only doing 3-4-5 night sailings. That's just a tease. Guess I'm starting the piggy bank for the Med, but after reading about the RCCI incident on Sunday It got me thinking. Of course that will never stop me, but boy would I have been freaked out if that happened to us with my 4 young kids. Must have been really scarey.

 

Thanks again for all the posts and if your thinking of getting a water proof camera, I'd say go-for-it. It adds a whole new dimension to the fun. I've used it more than I thought I would. Originally got it so we could go on water rides at WDW and have expanded it to all of our wet/water activities.

[luvwater]

Great video! I was excited to see Adrian. He was our concierge on our last cruise and I would book the Jewel in a second if I knew he would be our concierge again. He has such a great personality! Adrian, Putu and John O’Hara are by far our favorite people on NCL. On our last cruise, we were in an Owner’s Suite and I thought that was a lot of room for two.

[stanmoto98]

... and butler Nelson did a wonderful job of taking care of us during the trip. ...

We had Nelson as our butler on the April '09 transatlantic. He was outstanding!

 

We were on the Jewel again earlier his year and ran into him on the aft stairway. He immediately called us by name. He later tracked us down because he wanted to let us know that he still had the thank you card we'd given him posted on his bulletin board in his cabin.

 

I dare anyone to complain about the friendliness and commitment of staff like Nelson at NCL!?!?

[coffeecat]

Great review! I am glad you had such an outstanding trip. I just got off the Jewel today and you did really luck out with the weather...we had a couple of very nice days so no complaints here!

 

I am also so happy that Joseph was your room steward as he makes the BEST towel animals - must have been great for your kids. We were in an A3 on the other side so we had Hopeton who was also outstanding. We met Joseph on the Pearl in Spring 2009 and I was so happily surprised to see him on the Jewel this past week. Have been on 5 NCL cruises in the last couple of years and Joseph is one of my all time favorite NCL staff-very hardworking, courteous, efficient and genuinely friendly. NCL has a real star with him.

 

Also, completely agree, Adrian is just awesome as well. The whole ship and crew is fantastic.

 

Glad you enjoyed your adventures and thanks for posting the video-lovely family.

 

Coffeecat

[cruiser12]

Seeing the video brought back the great memories we made on the Jewel back in April-- Garden Villa 14500---We were with Joseph, Nelson and Adrian, yes 100% they are the best of the best --- What a time we had --

[runnerandme]

Roveer, Great video. Glad you had a good cruise.