Home from the Jewel 12/6-12/12

[jaja]

We just got in from the delayed Jewel sailing.....

WIll be back after I check on 5 days of posts...

 

For now...will say....crew tied so hard to make our shortened cruise great...too bad the weather did not cooperate...

 

DH and I had a fine cruise..since we were doing it for relaxation..not the ports ,etc....

 

Be back later....any questions?

[CruisinMaterial]

Welcome back! Glad you made it back safely. The weather at sea (and the sea conditions) at times didn't look great. Sounds like you made the most of it. I'm eager to read your full report! :)

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Welcome back and can't wait to hear all about it!;)

[boopsahoy]

Cant wait to hear ALL about it! Going on the Jewel 1/2!

[Lipz]

Not cruising her til July 2011, but waiting with baited breath for your review.....

[jaja]

Some random thoughts.....

 

PIER :-- We found embarkment and disembarkment very easy --best experience yet...

 

STAFF ---I loved the Jewel staff --everyone was extremely pleasant and helpful

 

FOOD

Food :main dining room-Tsars--very good...and nice selections.(ate here most of time)--service pleasant and efficient..Found Azure..too noisy and slower service...

Really liked Garden Buffet "buffet" set up and selections..

Did not eat in any specialty restaurants..

 

CASINO: Very good staff...."bad" slots :eek:--meaning I did not win...but NCL will be happy to know I paid for much of their new carpet..:o

 

SUITE LIFE: Our first suite (AE).....and yes,, all you experts are right...I do not think we can ever go back..;)

 

 

NOTES re: THIS specific delayed cruise.....I truly feel NCL did their best to make it a good cruise for all.....BUT..................

With a full day delay AND elimination of Nassau all together...(we only had shortened stays in Cape Canaveral and GSC......I do not think $100 OBC was adequate......Yes--we did get 1/7 refund of fair....BUT...not only did we loose a day...but itinerary was VERY limited --

Also...for this cruise it would have been nice if "2 for 1" dining would have been offered....would have been a nice gesture..

The weather was cold, and sometimes rainy....even in Florida...and one day..we had hail on our balcony and some snow flurries....

 

 

NCL CUSTOMER SERVICE: If NCL is monitoring this thread..(as they did my original re: "Jewel Alert"---please contact me...as I wish to run a few thing by you...thanks

 

 

back later

[jaja]

FORGOT.....Of interest......NCL no longer stocks it ships in NYC...they do it in Florida...(at least this is the case for the FL/Bahamas itinerary)....I was told that it is more efficient to do the "big" loading /supplies for 1 week there..as there is more time and in NYC they can concentrate on loading luggage and PAX....

[CruisinMaterial]

FORGOT.....Of interest......NCL no longer stocks it ships in NYC...they do it in Florida...(at least this is the case for the FL/Bahamas itinerary)....I was told that it is more efficient to do the "big" loading /supplies for 1 week there..as there is more time and in NYC they can concentrate on loading luggage and PAX....

 

Now this would make sense with why NCL kept Port Canaveral in their itineraries which were changed. If the passengers want to eat then the ship goes to Port Canaveral. :) Thanks for that little tidbit. Wonder what they're going to do with the 10 day itineraries coming up in January and February? It will cost a pretty penny to provision in NYC I can imagine. :eek:

[jaja]

Now this would make sense with why NCL kept Port Canaveral in their itineraries which were changed. If the passengers want to eat then the ship goes to Port Canaveral. :) Thanks for that little tidbit. Wonder what they're going to do with the 10 day itineraries coming up in January and February? It will cost a pretty penny to provision in NYC I can imagine. :eek:

 

I did ask that...was told...there really isn't cost difference..bet.PC & NYC..(thought I can;t imagine that)...but it is done mostly due to long stay in PC and ease of loading PAX in NYC...

 

(I watched the loading in PC...and could not believe the line up of trucks...and yes--they needed every hour to load...for sure...

[CruisinMaterial]

I did ask that...was told...there really isn't cost difference..bet.PC & NYC..(thought I can;t imagine that)...but it is done mostly due to long stay in PC and ease of loading PAX in NYC...

 

(I watched the loading in PC...and could not believe the line up of trucks...and yes--they needed every hour to load...for sure...

 

Hope the last Port Canaveral that they stick some extra Grey Goose onboard. :D

 

Maybe they'll provision in another port. I've been on ships that have provisioned in St. Thomas before. That was fun. We had to have extra booze brought onboard and large pallets of Red Bull. :eek: I don't think I saw too much food during that provisioning but it did happen there. Ah... what's it matter... if there's food to eat then I'm there! :D

[spirit rev]

Now this would make sense with why NCL kept Port Canaveral in their itineraries which were changed. If the passengers want to eat then the ship goes to Port Canaveral. :) Thanks for that little tidbit. Wonder what they're going to do with the 10 day itineraries coming up in January and February? It will cost a pretty penny to provision in NYC I can imagine. :eek:

We regularly do the 10 day from NYC and enjoy watching them load the ship. There is a line of semis unloading provisions and they are there as soon as the ship docks to begin the process. We enjoy lunch in the Gem's Windows dining room along the pier so we can watch and try to guess what all is on each pallet. BTW - there is also a line of garbage trucks waiting to off load into them, also.

[RichNY]

First off..thanks to Jaja and NCL for helping us solve the problem of restoring our reservation...We were happy to be back onboard. All we needed to do was relax and we certainly did:D..

 

Our suite AA 10004 was fantastic. Being under the bridge was not a major problem we only received 1 phone call about the lights..:rolleyes:

 

Adrian our concierge and Ravi, just in from the Dawn, our butler were fantastic..Adrian worked overtime trying to solve our account and Latitudes issues...

 

The rest of the staff were very helpful and pleasant..Always had a smile and did their best to make a bad situation better. Many passengers were unhappy and for some there was no making them happy..a real shame..being bitter about missed stops and a shortened cruise for the length of the cruise makes absolutely no sense..

 

We ate mostly at the specialty restaurants and Azura once, loved the food. IMO Mommas was not really worth the surcharge. The menu was just OK, nothing really special..

 

 

The Cagney's /Suite perk is still our favorite perk.

 

We spent one afternoon in the Courtyard, GSC day. No crowd, really nice just us and another couple..

 

We saw a few interesting things. A rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center and a medivac from the ship.

[mommyto2girls]

Cant wait to hear ALL about it! Going on the Jewel 1/2!

 

You should come join our Roll Call! And Our Meet & Greet

[Fishbait17]

The rest of the staff were very helpful and pleasant..Always had a smile and did their best to make a bad situation better. Many passengers were unhappy and for some there was no making them happy..a real shame..being bitter about missed stops and a shortened cruise for the length of the cruise makes absolutely no sense.. I agree with this 100%. What a shame that some people just couldn't enjoy themselves - we were tired of hearing the complaints and started avoiding talking to people who were constantly complaining, didn't need their bad attitudes to bring me down! Felt terrible for the staff. We had a GREAT time, regardless of the circumstances, weather, etc...

 

We ate mostly at the specialty restaurants and Azura once, loved the food. IMO Mommas was not really worth the surcharge. The menu was just OK, nothing really special.. This is definitely the New Yorker in you, even us Jersey folks agree :D. People think I am crazy when I say that it's just "okay", but we are spoiled around here... Mama's reminds me of any one of our 12 cheap italian restaurants in town - and we live in a VERY small town..

 

Loved meeting you and Loretta! And so happy you finally got to relax - hope all is well with you..

 

Robin

[jaja]

First off..thanks to Jaja and NCL for helping us solve the problem of restoring our reservation...We were happy to be back onboard. All we needed to do was relax and we certainly did:D..

 

 

You are very welcome....happy to helo ;)

[silkhair1]

Happy to hear all went well with that rocky start!

[Educators2]

Have they ever implemented the coffee card? I asked last winter on the Gem and they said it "was in the pipeline." It was good to have on Princess for specialty coffees.

Susan

[jaja]

Have they ever implemented the coffee card? I asked last winter on the Gem and they said it "was in the pipeline." It was good to have on Princess for specialty coffees.

Susan

 

I really don't know.:o.BUT-I did see many people walking around with thermal like coffee cups during the cruise..and saw some kind of sign with the cup..at the Java Bar in the atrium...

Hoping someone else will come along with definitive answer...;)

[Fishbait17]

I really don't know.:o.BUT-I did see many people walking around with thermal like coffee cups during the cruise..and saw some kind of sign with the cup..at the Java Bar in the atrium...

Hoping someone else will come along with definitive answer...;)

 

I saw this too, and I commented about it when we were ordering our tequila shots at the Java Bar.. Sorry I didn't take notice of price, etc, but when I finish going through my papers I might find something...

 

Robin