Jewel's first cruise from Boston input

[39august]

Jewel pax just back from Jewel Sept. 17 cruise., please some comments about the ship and ports. Thanks.

[CasaSmith]

Would love that info to? How was tendering in Bar Harbor? Does anyone have the cruise compasses?

[Cindy123]

We are on the Oct 8th sailing and would love to hear what others have to say!

[39august]

No JOS cruisers on CC?

[Motorman23]

You might want to try the roll call for the Sept 17th cruise, it was the first one and the just got back this past Saturday.

[primo1]

Nice cruise. The tender at Bar Harbor was a complete cluster. Must have been at least 500+ people lined up in a double row on deck 2.

They tried to blame the tender boats and some other BS. But it was the cruise director's fault. No organization at all , even for folks that had excursions. They make an announcement that EVERYBODY can get off the ship at 8:30am. All excursion's were delayed.

Very disappointed in Portland. Not even worth getting off the ship.

Bar Harbor was amazing. Did our own thing with with Halifax Taxi.

St John was o.k.

Make sure to keep an eye out for Whales! Saw quite a few.

[teaspoon57]

Jewel was great! Beautiful ship and crew was sensational! Food in dining room and service was exceptional! Didn't enjoy Portland at all. Rather ugly town, but did take a bus tour to Kennebunkport which was rather nice, but would have liked more time there. Only allowed us around an hr. Didn't experience any problem with tendering at Bar Harbor, but probably because we didn't have an early tour booked. Did Ollie's Trolley tour through Acadia Nat. Park. Beautiful! Had a nice lobster lunch at West Side Restaurant (I think) then shopped. St. John wasn't a very exciting town, but we did a Zip Line tour out over the Reversing Rapids that was fun. Halifax was by far our favorite. Booked van tour with Dave Marriott with Van Tours of Nova Scotia. Awesome tour and awesome tour guide. He's very knowledgeable and makes sure you have time to explore. Lunenberg and Peggy's Cove are wonderful spots to visit. Definitely enjoyed excursions that we booked on our own more than the excursion booked through the cruise line.

[39august]

Thanks for the info posted.

[smltwngrl76]

I'm a little worried that two different people have posted that they were disappointed in Portland. Of all the notes I've been making about what I want to do in these ports next month, I have the *most* notes for Portland. Portland Head Light, Longfellow House, Shipyard Brewing Company, Victoria Mansion, etc.

 

Was it that none of these things sounded interesting so you didn't do anything? Or did you try any of the above things but thought they all sucked? lol

[Beachin2]

I've been shadowing this thread - going in October too. Surprised at the lack of input.

 

Might not be one of the "exciting" itineraries?

 

Great ship - don't even care if it rains for 7 nights - last cruise for us this year.

 

Will make lemonade if it is lemons.

[Teeara]

I'm a little worried that two different people have posted that they were disappointed in Portland. Of all the notes I've been making about what I want to do in these ports next month, I have the *most* notes for Portland. Portland Head Light, Longfellow House, Shipyard Brewing Company, Victoria Mansion, etc.

 

Was it that none of these things sounded interesting so you didn't do anything? Or did you try any of the above things but thought they all sucked? lol

 

Don't worry about it. What you get out of the cruise is what you make of it. If you do the things YOU want to do then you'll have a great time. Don't worry what other people say. Their interests might not be the same as yours.

[mjldvlks]

I'm a little worried that two different people have posted that they were disappointed in Portland. Of all the notes I've been making about what I want to do in these ports next month, I have the *most* notes for Portland. Portland Head Light, Longfellow House, Shipyard Brewing Company, Victoria Mansion, etc.

 

Was it that none of these things sounded interesting so you didn't do anything? Or did you try any of the above things but thought they all sucked? lol

 

Don't worry about what others say. There are many that did not like St. John, but it was one of my favorites on this itininerary. We did a private bus tour around Portland in the morning and a harbor tour in the afternoon. The history was interesting and as with all the ports on this itinerary, many photo ops. It sounds like you have done your homework so go with your research and enjoy. What's the worst that can happen? Decide to pack it in early and enjoy the rest of the day on board? How bad can that be?

[Karma5]

Portland is fine, just depends on what you want to do there.

[mjldvlks]

I've been shadowing this thread - going in October too. Surprised at the lack of input.

 

Might not be one of the "exciting" itineraries?

 

Great ship - don't even care if it rains for 7 nights - last cruise for us this year.

 

Will make lemonade if it is lemons.

Actually there have been several threads on this itinerary lately. It is one of my favorites. Look at some of the other threads and you might find some additional information.

[negc]

I'm a little worried that two different people have posted that they were disappointed in Portland. Of all the notes I've been making about what I want to do in these ports next month, I have the *most* notes for Portland. Portland Head Light, Longfellow House, Shipyard Brewing Company, Victoria Mansion, etc.

 

Was it that none of these things sounded interesting so you didn't do anything? Or did you try any of the above things but thought they all sucked? lol

 

Perhaps they were expecting a quaint New England seacoast village instead of a large commercial city, which is basically what Portland is. We enjoyed our time there due to the good restaurants, bars and shops in the port area and the Duck Tour which provided us with a unique perspective of the city and its harbor. You really need to know what their expectations were in order to understand their opinion.:)

[Linda/Ohio]

Duck tour in Portland is fun. Great places along the water for a bowl of chowder.

[Rala]

Perhaps they were expecting a quaint New England seacoast village instead of a large commercial city, which is basically what Portland is. We enjoyed our time there due to the good restaurants, bars and shops in the port area and the Duck Tour which provided us with a unique perspective of the city and its harbor. You really need to know what their expectations were in order to understand their opinion.:)

 

Spot on post! Like any port, you need to do a little research beforehand to get the most enjoyment. Your ideas of Portland Head light, etc.. should make for a wonderful day. If you go to Portland Head light, there is a restaurant not too far from there called Two Lights and the lobster rolls are to die for!!!! :D

 

P.S. Hi, Bill !

[Puffinater]

Clam chowder, fried clams and real lobster enough said.:)

[CasaSmith]

Bump

[mjldvlks]

I will share our experience with tendering in Bar Harbor. We had no difficulty with it. We had one of our group who was mostly in a wheel chair and I think he went ashore [but cannot remember specifically as I was not assisting him that day]. I suspect he had to have some assistance on and off the tender. He was in the chair because he was very weak from chemo -- but he could walk for short times/distance to avoid an obstacle so he may not have had the problems that someone completely bound to a wheel chair would have. Other than that, I don't remember any particular problems with tendering there. I have some pictures of the tender and the dock if you are interested, but I don't believe the pictures will tell you much about obstacles on the dock. I think we had to wait in line for a short time for the tender, but nothing that created a negative impression in my memory. We had a private excursion and it left right on time.

 

Here are some other recent threads that might have interesting information:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1462071&highlight=new+england

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1479526&highlight=new+england

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1458094&highlight=new+england

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1460615&highlight=new+england

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1459633&highlight=new+england

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1451066&highlight=new+england

 

If you have any specific questions, fire away and I will answer if I have any relevant knowledge.