Review: 12-day Jewel, Southern Caribbean, Jan 20, 2013 (LONG)

[Sandyshore]

We disembarked Feb 1st, so my memory is already fading, but here's the detail I do remember about this wonderful cruise. :)

 

I traveled with my husband. We are mid-50’s and this was my 6th NCL cruise, his 4th, and my 15th overall. We are fans of freestyle cruising. This was a 12-day, our longest cruise to date.

 

We arrived at the Manhattan pier at about 10:45 am after a very easy Sunday morning drive. The car service from CT dropped us off at street level where a porter took our bags, and we rode up in the freight elevator. There were no lines getting through security. Check-in was quick and we were directed to the VIP lounge where we received our key cards. The ship was ready at 11, so in no time at all we were escorted on board in one big group, bypassing the embarkation photo. We were all led straight to Cagney’s with our carry-on bags. There we were, sitting in Cagney’s at 11:15 ordering lunch. My stomach would have preferred breakfast fare, but I ordered a hamburger with lettuce only. Meaning I didn’t want the tomato, onion, or cheese. Sometimes you get what you ask for. I got a roll with…lettuce only. Our table had a good laugh about it, but the server seemed perplexed about what I really wanted. After lunch, I wanted to explore but didn’t want to drag my carry-on with me. This was awkward. Lily, a lovely server, assured me I could leave it in Cagney’s, so I did, but I was not totally comfortable with that. Two years earlier, my only other time in a suite, we were escorted on board in small groups directly to our cabins where we left our carry-ons and then went to Cagney’s. I realize the suites might not have been ready as early as 11am, but I wish they had let us just drop off the bags.

 

Cabins were ready by 1pm. We were in 10664, an SF/aft penthouse suite. We loved the location – port side, very quiet, in the corner. Never heard anyone walking by. Not a bad walk to the aft stairway/elevators. Not huge but perfectly comfortable. The best part was the deep deck 10 balcony. (We would bring in the chair cushions every night, otherwise they’d be too damp to use first thing in the morning.) On the down side, the furniture is showing wear. The desk and vanity were badly scratched, and the wood bench at the foot of the bed was badly splintered on one side.

 

The muster drill was fast, no life jackets required, and held indoors at about 3:30. We were lucky to have blue skies for sailaway, so we bundled up and watched most of it from Deck 12, moving from port to starboard as we approached the Statue of Liberty. It was barely light enough for photos by the time we passed her. Once we were beyond the Verrazano Bridge, it was full dark.

 

Sailing out of New York in winter is always risky, but we were blessed with calm seas and beautiful weather sailing south and at every port. It was also calm for 2/3 of the trip home, but on the last sea day we sailed through a storm off Cape Hatteras with 30 foot seas. You couldn’t walk without holding a rail. The cabin stewards’ carts were falling over in the hallways. I was in the gift shop about 10am buying a watch when displays began crashing to the floor, and they had to close up in a hurry. The poor guy behind the counter was groaning about the amount of work it was going to take to put the shop back together, which they did by about 7pm.

 

We had a large Cruise Critic Roll Call of over 100 people and a very good turnout for the Meet & Greet on Day 1 in Le Bistro. Thanks to Randy and Lynn for keeping track of all our names and making the arrangements. A number of senior officers attended. Someone asked if we could arrange a tour of the bridge. The answer was a polite “no” which surprised me, as it was offered to my CC group just 2 years ago.

 

Entertainment:

The CD was Jaime (pronounced Jamie). She was new to the ship, having just replaced “Dan the Man.” I have to say I enjoy a CD who’s a bit more of a “showman” like Matt Baker. I found Jaime a little dull when it came to her nightly introductions of the entertainment, but I will say she was funny in smaller venues, like hosting the Loser’s Lounge during Dancing with the Stars. Entertainment in the Stardust Theater was a mix for us. The highlight was Cirque Bijou, the Jewel’s version of Cirque du Soleil, and the night showcasing the aerialists – truly amazing acrobatics. I enjoyed Brenda Kaye’s hypnosis show and her late-night encore in Spinnaker. Dave Naster (I think I got that right) did standup comedy and was truly funny. I wish he’d done additional shows. I can’t remember the juggler’s name – he was a really good juggler with a dry sense of humor, but not exactly my cup of tea. I always enjoy Dancing with the Stars, which they did twice on this 12-day. This was, however, the first time I witnessed the staff begging passengers to participate. On previous cruises this was a very popular event with many willing participants. I missed Quest on the last night because my stomach hadn’t settled enough after that very rocky day at sea.

 

One other note: DH has a hearing problem, and on our last Jewel cruise he asked for and received a wireless headset for use in the Stardust Theater, similar to what you can get in a Broadway theater. So this trip he asked John, the concierge, if they were still available. John was unfamiliar with them, being new to Jewel, so after multiple false starts, we were put in touch with Mark, the head sound man in the theater, who was able to give us a working set of headphones. This added greatly to DH’s enjoyment of the entertainment, especially the comedian.

 

 

Food:

Being in a suite, we were happy to take advantage of Cagney’s for breakfast most mornings. The buffet (Garden Café) has much to choose from, but it’s quite a challenge to collect your food and drink and find a seat and still enjoy a hot meal. Cagney’s lunch menu is too limited for our tastes, so we ate at various venues – Blue Lagoon, the main dining room (Tsars), or the buffet when it was less crowded. Lunch on our first sea day I went alone to Tsars and ordered a grilled chicken sandwich. Would you believe my plate arrived with the roll, the French fries, a container of ketchup, but no chicken? The server was very apologetic, and we had a good laugh about the missing chicken, especially after I told her about the missing burger the day before. We ordered room service breakfast on several port days and this was always delivered on time by our butler, Cris. Our concierge, John, went out of his way to be accommodating. He seemed to be everywhere – greeting us in Cagney’s in the mornings and wherever we happened to eat dinner, always asking if he could do anything to make our cruise even better. A real gentleman.

 

Dinners: We ate 3 times in Cagney’s. Excellent meals, excellent service. Twice we walked up to the hostess and were seated with no reservation. Only once did we ask John to help us get a table. We tried Moderno on the first night, going early to a nearly empty restaurant. DH really enjoyed it, but I didn’t like enough of the variety of the meats served to go back. We tried Azura, the smaller dining room, twice, and Tsars, the larger MDR, 3-4 times. I prefer Tsars. The lower ceilings and absence of windows in Azura made it feel closed in, and it was much noisier. I like the elegance of Tsars, although some might call the décor tacky. We were usually able to get a table against the window, which I enjoyed even when it was dark outside. For either dining room, there was usually a wait of 15-20 minutes. They give you a beeper with decent range, so you can roam around the deck or relax in a lounge until your table’s ready. The staff was in constant motion. It became obvious that if we didn’t order everything we wanted up front, it was not going to be easy to flag someone down later to get it. They were hustling! We also ate dinner a couple of times in the buffet, which was never crowded at night.

 

This was the first time we experienced hearing “no” in regard to food. On past cruises, shrimp cocktail was always available in the MDR as an appetizer, whether on the menu or not. This time, it was never on the menu and never available. (It was available in Cagney’s.) On lobster night, DH requested a second lobster tail after eating the first (small) one and was told it was “not their policy” to do that. (In all fairness, I will say that he WAS served a second prime rib when he asked for it on another night.) In the Blue Lagoon, the lunch menu offers a brownie sundae dessert which is, for me, the best dessert on the ship. But go there after 5pm and “no, it’s not available.” I even asked Cris if he could get me one for an evening treat in the suite and he said “no” with regrets. And here I thought the butler could get you anything you wanted, anytime, within reason, and I didn’t think it was an unreasonable request.

 

Internet: DH needed to keep in touch with clients, so he purchased the 250 minute package. I don’t recall how much it was – I think about $100 and we got bonus Latitudes minutes. This was our first cruise as owners of smartphones, so we stopped at a Starbucks in San Juan to use their wifi. In St. Maarten and Aruba we easily found restaurants with wifi. It was so much faster than the ship’s Internet – I don’t know that we’ll bother buying minutes on future cruises.

 

Activities: There was a lot offered – trivia, dance lessons, karaoke, cooking lessons, martini tastings, bingo, Deal or No Deal, the art auctions – but we didn’t partake in any of that. We took along a game of our own, Dominion, and played in the Garden Café every afternoon at sea between lunch and dinner when it wasn’t crowded.

 

Spa/Gym: I didn’t use the gym, as I prefer to walk on the Promenade around Deck 7. Two and two thirds laps equal a mile. I used the salon twice to get my hair done, once for a conditioning treatment plus scalp, neck, and shoulder massage, followed by a blow dry. It was heavenly, and surprisingly affordable at $65 plus tip. The second time was just a blow dry with Theo, for $40 plus tip. That’s less than I pay at home. (Ladies: I have keratin treated hair, so I took my own shampoo and conditioner on the cruise. I asked if the salon had sodium chloride free products and they did not, so I used my own S&C for those appointments.)

 

Disembarkation: The pier was still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, so Customs took place on board. We chose not to carry off our own luggage. The ship was docked by 8am and we reported to Chin Chin with our carry-ons at about 8:30, after an early breakfast/goodbye at Cagney’s. Customs officers were seated in Fyzz where we presented our forms, had them stamped, and then returned to Chin Chin to wait. It was about 9:30 when we were finally told our luggage was in the terminal and then we could leave. There was a wait to get a porter but we couldn’t manage without one. Later we realized the added benefit of using a porter – not waiting in another line to hand in the Customs form. The porter walked us right to an agent and we were through. Rode the freight elevator from street level up to the check-in level where our son was able to pull the car up and load. We were home by 11am.

 

It wasn’t perfect, but what is? We had a wonderful vacation and we’ll return to NCL.

 

PORTS (with deepest gratitude to the CC members on the Ports of Call board)

 

San Juan: We walked to El Morro and explored the fort for about an hour. Definitely worth a visit. Afterward we rode the free trolley into the shopping area of Old San Juan and stopped in Starbucks for wifi and then CVS for a few items.

 

St. Thomas: We went to Sapphire Bay this time. We walked over to the Havensight Mall, across from the pier, and caught a cab there rather than being herded onto the cabs right by the pier. From past experience, we knew we didn’t want to sit and wait for them to fill up with 10-12 passengers and then stop at every beach along the way. We shared with 2 other couples all going to Sapphire. It was $10 pp each way and all of us met up with the driver for the return trip. She even took “the scenic route” for us to see Magens Bay on our return, stopping at an overlook for photos. Sapphire Bay is beautiful. Lounge chairs were $7 each and we didn’t need an umbrella, as there were sea grape trees for shade. DH said the snorkeling was fantastic. We stayed about 4 hours.

 

Antigua: We took a cab to Valley Church Beach, $8 pp each way. Lounge chairs were $5 each, and we didn’t need umbrellas here either, as there was plenty of natural shade. The sand was not very smooth – plenty of shells and prickly things from the trees. We ate lunch at The Nest, the beach restaurant/bar, which was not over-priced and offered wifi. Restrooms were decent, a short walk beyond the restaurant. I have to say that I don’t love Antigua. The cab drivers are very in-your-face when you walk off the ship, and the vendors in town and at the beach are aggressive.

 

St. Maarten: I took the water taxi to the shopping area while DH took a cab to Orient Beach. After some shopping I had lunch (and free wifi) at one of the restaurants on the boardwalk.

 

St. Lucia: We booked an independent excursion with Cosol’s Tours, along with a number of people from our Roll Call. It was a full day – almost 7 hours – seeing the whole island including a volcano and mud baths, the twin pitons, Jalousie beach, and many wonderful photo opps, plus breakfast and lunch of local fare. Highly recommend it.

 

Barbados: We used the ship’s excursion here, to Copacabana Beach. I wouldn’t repeat this one. We had 3 busloads of people and a very crowded beach.

 

I didn't keep the Dailies, but I'll try to answer any questions you may have! One note about the Dailies -- I noticed there was far less paper being wasted compared to a year ago. Fewer inserts in the Daily selling jewelry, alcohol, the auction, spa, etc. It was a welcome change.

[hikerboy]

Sandyshore, this is a wonderful and thorough report! Thanks for taking the time to put it together.

 

We disembarked Feb 1st, so my memory is already fading, but here's the detail I do remember about this wonderful cruise. :)

 

 

I didn't keep the Dailies, but I'll try to answer any questions you may have! One note about the Dailies -- I noticed there was far less paper being wasted compared to a year ago. Fewer inserts in the Daily selling jewelry, alcohol, the auction, spa, etc. It was a welcome change.

[JerseyGem]

Hi Sally- Great review! You're bringing back some wonderful memories of the cruise (especially enjoyable on this cold morning). And now I know why you always had smoothly styled hair while I had 12 days of flyaway frizz from all the sea humidity!

 

We too noted receiving fewer "junk" pieces of paper with our nightly Freestyle Daily. Plus we only received one for the cabin rather than one per person as on previous cruises. After initially griping that we'd have to share (LOL), we realized that this was much less wasteful (better for both the environment and the bottom line).

 

Randy and I didn't enjoy the food in Moderno (but we love our local Churrascaria restauarants); we did have wonderful meals in Le Bistro and Mama's Italian. As for the MDRs, I was surprised by the noise and the long waits (we apparently wanted to eat at the same time as many others). One night, after being told the wait for Azura would be at least a half hour, we walked over to Le Bistro and were seated within 10 minutes (no reservations- and she took our Azura pager to return it for us- obviously we weren't the first to do this!). And we too had a dinner in the buffet- much nicer than I had expected.

 

Thanks for the tips about the free wifi; Randy didn't bring his iPad on this cruise but will on future cruises. Connecting on the ship's slow internet would have frustrated him!

 

Thanks for posting the review! Lynn

[terrydtx]

Thank you for the great detailed review. My wife and I will be on the Jewel in December part of a group of 20 prostate cancer survivors I organized. This is our first NCL cruise and your review makes our decision to try NCL a good one.

[Sandyshore]

Sandyshore, this is a wonderful and thorough report! Thanks for taking the time to put it together.

 

Thanks Kevin! It was great to meet you and Peggy and to share the Cosol tour day with you :)

 

Hi Sally- Great review! You're bringing back some wonderful memories of the cruise (especially enjoyable on this cold morning). And now I know why you always had smoothly styled hair while I had 12 days of flyaway frizz from all the sea humidity!

 

We too noted receiving fewer "junk" pieces of paper with our nightly Freestyle Daily. Plus we only received one for the cabin rather than one per person as on previous cruises. After initially griping that we'd have to share (LOL), we realized that this was much less wasteful (better for both the environment and the bottom line).

 

Thanks for the tips about the free wifi; Randy didn't bring his iPad on this cruise but will on future cruises. Connecting on the ship's slow internet would have frustrated him! Lynn

 

Lynn - my new motto is "have keratin, will travel!" :D It made taming my mop of frizzy hair SO much easier this trip, even without those salon visits.

 

We, too, used to request 2 copies of the Daily, but with technology what it is now, it was easy enough for one of us to just snap a picture with the phone if we wanted to have the schedule with us. Two yrs ago we took the "Behind the Scenes" tour and saw the massive recycling effort on board. It just makes good sense for them to reduce all that filler paper. I collected all our unwanted paperwork in a drawer and left it in a pile for our steward on the last day, rather than dumping it in the garbage every day, knowing he would have to sift thru it for the recyclables.

 

As for wifi, just ask the crew where the nearest wifi is in each port. We found it in Antigua very close to the pier (w/o even asking) just by seeing a bunch of crew sitting around a little courtyard using their laptops and phones.

[Sandyshore]

Thank you for the great detailed review. My wife and I will be on the Jewel in December part of a group of 20 prostate cancer survivors I organized. This is our first NCL cruise and your review makes our decision to try NCL a good one.

 

Wow - what a great group you have! I think you'll like the flexibility freestyle offers. I LOVE the Jewel and her crew and I'm sorry she'll be leaving NYC. One note: if your group wants to be able to dine together in either of the main dining rooms, you'll want to make some advance arrangements, especially to be able to eat during the peak hours. I know I've read here on CC how to go about that but I haven't done it myself. Can someone chime in? It may be by contacting the group services coordinator on board (in advance). If you booked direct with NCL, your PCC can help. Enjoy your cruise and your wonderful reasons to celebrate!

[NYGirl1002]

Great review. The crew on the Jewel is the best! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[terrydtx]

Wow - what a great group you have! I think you'll like the flexibility freestyle offers. I LOVE the Jewel and her crew and I'm sorry she'll be leaving NYC. One note: if your group wants to be able to dine together in either of the main dining rooms, you'll want to make some advance arrangements, especially to be able to eat during the peak hours. I know I've read here on CC how to go about that but I haven't done it myself. Can someone chime in? It may be by contacting the group services coordinator on board (in advance). If you booked direct with NCL, your PCC can help. Enjoy your cruise and your wonderful reasons to celebrate!

 

Thank you for the help. My TA and I have already discussed this and she is going to make arrangements for a couple of nights where we can dine together in the MDR. On the other nights with all the great venues most of us will be on our own. The thing that finally sold my wife and I on trying NCL is the Freestyle dinning. We got a taste of it on the last 2 HAL cruises with their open dinning in one of the MDR's and we loved the flexibility. We are also tired of hauling along the formal suits and clothes for the 2 formal nights on HAL.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your review! Very interesting to hear that you were told "no" so many times. For what reason did they decline your requests each time?

[Sandyshore]

Thank you for the help. My TA and I have already discussed this and she is going to make arrangements for a couple of nights where we can dine together in the MDR. On the other nights with all the great venues most of us will be on our own. The thing that finally sold my wife and I on trying NCL is the Freestyle dinning. We got a taste of it on the last 2 HAL cruises with their open dinning in one of the MDR's and we loved the flexibility. We are also tired of hauling along the formal suits and clothes for the 2 formal nights on HAL.

 

Good! I'm glad you've already made the arrangements. Even the specialties can accommodate larger groups with advance notice. Teppanyaki (hibachi style) is especially fun for groups, but make your reservations early because their seating is limited. I'm with you on the casual dress. Never again will we pack formal clothes. Been there, done that on Celebrity.

 

I forgot to mention....because this was a 12-day, we planned in advance to take advantage of the $25 laundry special, so I didn't worry about bringing a full supply of sox and underwear. Really helped with the packing. Halfway through we filled the laundry bag and it was returned the next night, all neat and folded in a basket. I'm still trying to figure out how they kept our stuff separate from hundreds of others :)

[CPT Trips]

Thanks for your review! Very interesting to hear that you were told "no" so many times. For what reason did they decline your requests each time?

 

I'll jump in for OP here as we were in the same roll call and DW was the person that asked the question. According to the Hotel Director, the bridge tour is part of the "Behind the Scenes" tour that NCL offers for a fee. He said, that they want to enourage people to take the paid tour.

 

On a related note, the ship's tour provided to Platinum Latitudes members was much shorter than the the paid tour and included a stop in the "bridge viewing room" and not onto the bridge. Very disappointing and a real step down from what was provided a year ago on the Gem.

[Sandyshore]

Thanks for your review! Very interesting to hear that you were told "no" so many times. For what reason did they decline your requests each time?

 

In Blue Lagoon, they said the brownies were removed after 5pm and they would have to go down several decks to get more from the kitchen. Our server made it sound like a matter of freshness and food safety, like anything left after 5 wouldn't be suitable for serving. That made no sense to me, esp re brownies, which don't even need refrigeration. I don't know why they didn't bring up a fresh supply for the evening. I bet I'm not the only person who asked for them. And our butler simply said if the restaurant didn't have them then he couldn't get them. NCL doesn't want to offer them after 5 I guess. Could that be a moneysaver? Brownies?? :confused:

 

Re the shrimp cocktail, our server looked totally puzzled, as if no one had ever asked before. He just said no, they didn't have any in the MDR and that was that. I was floored by the "not our policy" response to the 2nd lobster tail. The MDR was certainly hopping that night, long waits and crowded, so maybe they wanted to move us out faster? As it turned out, concierge John stopped by our table and DH mentioned to him about the lobster tail. He was taken aback and sent a restaurant mgr over to speak to us. He talked for a while, mostly about the popularity of lobster night and how people had to wait a long time for a table, so maybe it was about time, but I think it's more likely about money. PS, DH did get his 2nd lobster tail, but he felt guilty about it by then. :o

[gelo7]

Great review.

[Hockeylovinmom]

We will be sailing on the Jewel in suite 10664 in April! My question is about the balcony. Was there room for two lounge chairs? I wonder if that might be a request we could make. Did the noise of the wake bother you? Was there any noise from "The Great Outdoors" bar which I believe is above on deck 12? Is there anything else to know about the room? Thanks for your review. Loved hearing all about it!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[canehdn]

Thanks for your detailed and unbiased review. Enjoyed it very much.

 

Cdn in KS

[Sandyshore]

We will be sailing on the Jewel in suite 10664 in April! My question is about the balcony. Was there room for two lounge chairs? I wonder if that might be a request we could make. Did the noise of the wake bother you? Was there any noise from "The Great Outdoors" bar which I believe is above on deck 12? Is there anything else to know about the room? Thanks for your review. Loved hearing all about it!

 

The balcony absolutely has room for 2 lounge chairs. We asked our butler if we could have a 2nd lounge out there. He passed that request on to our cabin steward. I guess in my head I was expecting another wicker style chair with the nice cushions. What we got was a chair from the pool deck...not quite as comfortable. Steward was not happy to have to schlep that onto our balcony, and I can understand why. Those lounges can't be easy to move around the ship, but he did it. I felt bad afterward because I realized I liked the regular chair with cushions better, but I used the foot of the lounger to put my feet up. :rolleyes:

Cris should still be there in April. He's moving to the Breakaway in May.

 

I love the sound of the wake! It couldn't possibly bother me. In fact, it's the sound I set my white noise to when I'm home LOL. And no, there was never any noise from the Great Outdoors up above. The only non-ocean sound we ever heard was if our neighbors were talking on their balcony in 10666. Otherwise it was so peaceful, and there was never any noise in the corridor either. (Of course there were very few kids on this cruise. April will be a different story, but 10664 is nicely tucked away in a corner.)

 

You'll get to experience the bakery smells that will waft down to your balcony, of bread and cookies. Mmmmmmmmm

[Sandyshore]

Great review.

 

Thanks for your detailed and unbiased review. Enjoyed it very much.

 

Cdn in KS

 

Thank you both! I appreciate it.

[Hockeylovinmom]

The balcony absolutely has room for 2 lounge chairs. We asked our butler if we could have a 2nd lounge out there. He passed that request on to our cabin steward. I guess in my head I was expecting another wicker style chair with the nice cushions. What we got was a chair from the pool deck...not quite as comfortable. Steward was not happy to have to schlep that onto our balcony, and I can understand why. Those lounges can't be easy to move around the ship, but he did it. I felt bad afterward because I realized I liked the regular chair with cushions better, but I used the foot of the lounger to put my feet up. :rolleyes:

Cris should still be there in April. He's moving to the Breakaway in May.

 

I love the sound of the wake! It couldn't possibly bother me. In fact, it's the sound I set my white noise to when I'm home LOL. And no, there was never any noise from the Great Outdoors up above. The only non-ocean sound we ever heard was if our neighbors were talking on their balcony in 10666. Otherwise it was so peaceful, and there was never any noise in the corridor either. (Of course there were very few kids on this cruise. April will be a different story, but 10664 is nicely tucked away in a corner.)

 

You'll get to experience the bakery smells that will waft down to your balcony, of bread and cookies. Mmmmmmmmm

 

Oooh! Thanks so much. That is exactly what I wanted to hear! I can't wait to see the sights and smell the smells!, (:

We will be cruising the Panama Canal so we can see it all!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Sandyshore]

Oooh! Thanks so much. That is exactly what I wanted to hear! I can't wait to see the sights and smell the smells!, (:

We will be cruising the Panama Canal so we can see it all!

 

Ohhh that changes a couple of things. That's not a typical spring break cruise, so you won't have a lot of kids running around after all. And I've no idea if Cris will still be on board, since you'll be in the process of repositioning Jewel for Alaska. Maybe he'll take some vacation time before he moves to Breakaway. I believe John will still be concierge. He told us he was on a 4 month contract. Great guy. Enjoy!

[cabincop]

Hi Sandyshore I just got back from the Jewel Friday. Had Chris and John and wasin 10164. Leave the chairs you have in the balcony one lunger one reclined both with cushions. I also heard no from Chris on many occasions. I couldn't get breakfast at 10am, that is one reason I love buters and suites. He messed up my orders many times and said I couldn't get a snack before dinner. He left the Jewel after my cruise for a vacay till breakaway. All of the crew seemed tired and said they were and 12day cruises were to long and to many sea days. Wasn't my best cruise and many cers agreed with me. Loved my suite

[cabincop]

ok not all of the crew but a lot of crew were tired and going home after my cruise. John also was not as friendly or helpfulo as other concierge but I have been spoiled by Adrian Florintina and Ryan. Have fun. A group of us had a standing reservation at 630 in Azure never waited but food wasn't good and it took forever to be served, oh well still better than nt cruising

[Sandyshore]

ok not all of the crew but a lot of crew were tired and going home after my cruise. John also was not as friendly or helpfulo as other concierge but I have been spoiled by Adrian Florintina and Ryan. Have fun. A group of us had a standing reservation at 630 in Azure never waited but food wasn't good and it took forever to be served, oh well still better than nt cruising

 

So sorry to hear that you didn't have the best experience. Yours must have been the last of of the 12-days cruises and now they're back to 7-day Florida/Bahamas. Who knows -- maybe they were just tired and some had "checked out" already, knowing they had vacation coming up. It's such a surprise to me that your experience with John was not a positive one. I've sailed with Adrian as concierge also and loved him, but I didn't find John one bit less accommodating. Different people, different reactions I guess. I was satisfied with the food in Azura. Hope your next cruise is better for you.

[cabincop]

thanks Sandy the three times I asked John to help do something for me I had problems, with dinner reservations and removing a item from my account that was a mistake from day 1. He wasn't bad just not great like I am used to. I won't leave ncl I still love my cruise line stay warm

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the nice review of your cruise. Sounds like you enjoyed yourselves.

[cruise pup]

In Blue Lagoon, they said the brownies were removed after 5pm and they would have to go down several decks to get more from the kitchen. Our server made it sound like a matter of freshness and food safety, like anything left after 5 wouldn't be suitable for serving. That made no sense to me, esp re brownies, which don't even need refrigeration. I don't know why they didn't bring up a fresh supply for the evening. I bet I'm not the only person who asked for them. And our butler simply said if the restaurant didn't have them then he couldn't get them. NCL doesn't want to offer them after 5 I guess. Could that be a moneysaver? Brownies?? :confused:

 

Re the shrimp cocktail, our server looked totally puzzled, as if no one had ever asked before. He just said no, they didn't have any in the MDR and that was that. I was floored by the "not our policy" response to the 2nd lobster tail. The MDR was certainly hopping that night, long waits and crowded, so maybe they wanted to move us out faster? As it turned out, concierge John stopped by our table and DH mentioned to him about the lobster tail. He was taken aback and sent a restaurant mgr over to speak to us. He talked for a while, mostly about the popularity of lobster night and how people had to wait a long time for a table, so maybe it was about time, but I think it's more likely about money. PS, DH did get his 2nd lobster tail, but he felt guilty about it by then. :o

 

Interesting. Last summer on the Star my waiter kept bringing more lobster. In fact, I was the one who turned him down when he offered a third one! And what gets me is that lobster is so cheap these days. I was told in Canada that the fishermen were switching to mussels since they can get more money for them than lobster. I never cared for the NCL shrimp cocktail so I don't really miss it. I'd rather enjoy the entrees that have decent size shrimp.

 

Nice review, by the way. I'm going on the Jewel for the third time this Sunday. Really didn't like the Star and I"m not sorry to see it leave, although I will miss Sean, the exceptional Hotel Manager. But I've heard great things about Hugo.