About to Book the Jewel

[marvholly]

Looking at 11/27,of course, western itinerary. Will prob skip Ochos Riosmas been there, done that both cruies and land over the past 10 years. Decent rates. Decent ports ( IMHO). REALLY will need a veg out vacation as oldest DD just gave first grandchild (7/2, GD) and youngest DD is getting married 9/4/05. Just want to eat, veg out and relax.

[newmexicoNita]

Go ahead and book it: when we all get back from our first adventure on her we will let you know what we think. I am sure it will be very positive. I know DH and I can't wait! We leave here in 7 weeks and 2 days. NMNita

[alonzo14]

Go ahead and book! It's a new ship!!! Sounds like you could use a vacation. We are going on her the week after 11/27.

[marvholly]

I am working on logistics w/ a friend to cabin share. We are meeting on Sun 7/10 to make final decisions & book.

 

NMN:

I have followed yr posts for quite a while. Know you are an NCL nut. I really enjoyed their whole concept and attitude when we sailed her 11/01 and looking forward to sailing NCL again. When/where are you sailing the Jewel. I would be VERY interested in show, activity, resturant/menu information. Never had so many choices before and the woman I plan to travel with has not cruised in>10 years.

[newmexicoNita]

I am working on logistics w/ a friend to cabin share. We are meeting on Sun 7/10 to make final decisions & book.

 

NMN:

I have followed yr posts for quite a while. Know you are an NCL nut. I really enjoyed their whole concept and attitude when we sailed her 11/01 and looking forward to sailing NCL again. When/where are you sailing the Jewel. I would be VERY interested in show, activity, resturant/menu information. Never had so many choices before and the woman I plan to travel with has not cruised in>10 years.

marvholly, I didn't know I was a nut, but DH has been trying to convey that to me for 47 years and kids call me the crazy old lady. LOL

I will be sailing with Shoreguy from Dover to NY on Sept 4th.Actually I will be sailing with DH, but Shoreguy will be on the same ship. Just wanted to clarify that. I can hardly wait as this will be our first Transatlantic crossing, we are heading to Poland to see our daughter first and it will be the first time we have been on a brand new ship. I have been on a couple that were only about 6 monts old. As for your friend and not cruising for 10 years, boy will this be a change. I think you will love the restaurant choices, we certainly have. I am sure we will all keep everyone posted. NMNIta

[kruzkupple]

I'll be on the 11/27 Jewel cruise as well, Holly, together with my DW, two of her lovely sisters and one of their friends. We've been on the Dream ('04) and the Norway (:o '03) among our previous 15 cruises, and will also be on the Jewel's eastern itinerary 1/29/06.

I see that you've joined our Roll Call, so we'll be looking forward to reading more from you soon. And congrats on the birth of your precious granddaughter!:)

 

Jack

[ScubaJim]

Wow Nov 27? That is my anniversary. WooHoo!

[jblair]

Since you are experienced cruisers, I have a question. We are going on NCL for the first time on the 1/1/06 sailing of the Jewel. We are RCCL fans and I am a bit nervous about switching to NCL. We have sailed the past two years on the Mariner of the Seas and loved it. We have never had 'open dining' and I know this is the norm on NCL ships. I am hoping that it won't pose a problem with our group as we might have quite a few people wanting to dine together each night. Having been on the Mariner twice in a row, what's your take on the Jewel and also on NCL vs. RCCL?

 

Thanks so much!

[newmexicoNita]

My take: if you do have a large group you will want to talk to the head waiter or someone the first day on board. Tell them your situation and they will be able to advise you. The problem with large groups and doing it this way is you lose the freestyle concept as you will need to eat each night at about the same time as you do with traditional dining. By large group you could be talking 6 or 16. the larger the group the tougher the seating will be, but this is the case on any ship. Our granddaughter is getting married on Celebrity in December and we have already been forewarned that our tables will have to get kept at about 8 per table which we understand. Actually you may find, with the freestyle type of dining you may not all want to eat together. That being said, comparing the ships will be easier for all us after we have cruised the Jewel. I don't know if this helps you at all, but it is the best way for you to be assured of eating together. If you do not choose to reserve a time and you just show up, you will have a wait but you can put your name on a list and then go to the bar or casino or where ever you want and you will be paged when a table is ready. NMNita

[alonzo14]

I haven't cruised on the Voyager class ships, but I have cruised Two other ships of theirs. We have also cruised the Norweign Star. We had never had Freestyle until about a year ago. We liked it. It gave us more flexability to plan as we wished for the day. We liked the variety in dining. We thought the service was as good as RCCL. There are a few things we liked about RCCl over NCL, but they are mostly the same in my opinion. The Voyager ships have more entertainment options. However we were kept busy on the Star in the evenings with the entertainment offered then. With this being said only you can fully deicide after you sail on the Jewel. You will have a great time!!

[mew1]

Anyone booking this cruise, please go to NCL rollcall, we have a very active group, that is very excited. We will be having a meet and greet on the ship. I am co-ordinating it and would love the more the merrier. See you there.

Mary:)

[Stillfloatin']

We just booked the Jewel for Mar 06. Can't wait to hear from those of you who will be "testing her out" on the earlier cruises. Be sure to take lots of pics so we can all get appropriately crazed waiting for our turn.:D

[marvholly]

I AM booked for 11/27. Received my confirmation from TA today!!!

 

Now need to work on air & hotel.