Newbie Review Jewel 10/13/13 NOLA

[kchiumento]

Hi, I promised a review to some of you and I am nearly out of my post-cruise depression.

 

We were a group of 7. My husband, 3 kids aged 12, 10 and 6 and my 80+ year old parents. We drove from St. Louis down 55 to Nola early saturday and arrived in New Orleans about 3:30pm. We check into a hotel just off the French Quarter, got settled, then we walked the 4 or so blocks to the french quarter for dinner and a look-see since this was my 1st time to NOLA.

 

We woke up in the AM got ready and then left for the ship about 1000. It took us quite awhile to go the 10 blocks to the cruise terminal, traffic was heavy. We got to the terminal about 1045, we were directed to the Julia St. terminal and got out and unloaded the car. There were 7 of us so we had about 12 bags total. I hopped back in the car and parked at the outside lot just down and the the right. It was $112 for parking and they made us pay at the gate.

 

I walked back to the terminal and everyone was still waiting on a porter to take our luggage. We waited about 25 minutes for a porter. It was crazy. This was the 1st day the Julia terminal was used for the year and you could tell. Plus all the people coming off the Jewel from the Panama canal cruise had extra screening or whatever to get through customs and at 11:00 people were still coming off the ship.

 

We were waiting for a wheelchair for my dad - he has a hard time walking long distances - and by long distances I mean more than 20 feet.;) We were told by port security that a wheel chair has been called for him but after 45 minutes, I told my dad that if we had any hope of getting on the ship he was going to have to try to walk it. We were at door 3 waiting for the wheel chair and the hallway was full of the line of people getting OFF the ship. It was confusing to some because people didn't know if the line was for those getting on the ship or those getting off. Anyway, My dad decided that if we took it slow he could make the way up to door 1, which is where the check in was. I am glad we did walk it, as soon as we went through the door and showed our cruise tickets, they called for a wheel chair for him and he was seated in one right away and was moved up in the line to go through security.

 

We met up with mom and dad on the other side of security and were escorted to the Check-in line for Suite Passengers. We breezed right through, they checked in all 7 of us and we were immediately taken on board and up to Cagneys for lunch. The longest part of the check in process was waiting at door #3 for the wheel chair. Had I known there were 4 of them empty waiting for him on the other side of the door, we would have walked up there as soon as I got back from the parking lot. Again, I believe this all had to do with the mayhem of this being the first time the Julia Street Terminal was used for the season.

 

Lunch at Cagneys was perfect. There was something on the menu for everyone and everyone was happy and excited to be on the ship.

 

I went down to our state rooms before everyone else to get the scooter we ordered through Special Needs at Sea. It was waiting in my dads stateroom, i fired it up and took it up to Cagneys where my dad got on it and proceeded to run people over. That man is as dangerous on a scooter as he is behind the wheel of a car...:o

 

Our rooms were ready and we were in them by 1:30. We had enough time to hang out on the balcony and check out other things before the Muster drill at 3:00. That was another epic moment of my dad being "that" guy on the scooter, running people over and bumping into walls. Sorry for that everyone...

 

Muster drill was over and done with quickly so we decided to go check out the ship, only 30 minutes before we leave. Or so we thought :rolleyes:

 

There was a nice buffet on deck 12 by the pool. There was a huge line though, so if you are really hungry when you board the ship and you don't have access to Cagneys, go to one of the MDR's. People were getting pissy having to wait in line. We left the chaos of the pool deck and went to the kids club to register the 3 monsters. They said to come back at 8:00 to meet everyone. So off we went exploring more of the ship.

 

It was about 4:30 when I realized that we were late and have't left yet. We saw Carnival Conquest off and thought we would be right behind her. NOPE. One look over the starboard side showed at least 10 containers of bags that still needed to be loaded. And that was just what I could see. About 5:15 there was a public address from Capt Lars. He didn't say too much about the delay, except that he was sure we didn't want to leave without all the bags on board. We finally pulled away after 6:00. I don't remember the exact time as I already had a few cocktails in me. The ride down the river was uneventful and kind of cool. I did not realize until a week or so before the cruise that it takes approx. 8 hours to get down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. After 30 or so minutes the light faded into darkness and we started thinking about dinner.

 

I wanted all 7 of us to have dinner together the first night and since it was lobster night we decided to eat in one of the MDR's. We chose Azura because my dad didn't want to dress up. Keep dad happy and maybe he will run less people over in his scooter ;) . We called the concierge to see if we needed reservations since it was already close to 7. We chose to eat at 8 and the Concierge John D' Sousa made it happen. Good thing too, because it was busy in Azura. Dinner was good. All the adults and 1 of the kids had the surf n turf. We all had desert and then off we went to the kids club to drop off the monsters and we went to the bar.

 

More tomorrow... I have pics too, but I don't know how to load them on CC. I have pics on my phone and my computer at home. Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?:D

[realtorlady42]

Great Start! Thanks ...looking ff to reading more and hopefully seeing pics!

 

Did you go to the sail away party? Was there a NOLA flare to it? We normally enjoy sail away on our balcony but if there is some good NOLA inspired music and flare we will choose to head to the party for a while.

Can't wait for the next instalation :-)

[cggurl]

Sounds like a great review so far. We'll be onboard in two weeks!! Looking forward to hearing about the remainder of your cruise. Thanks for posting!!

[mickev99]

Thanks so much for this review! I am so excited for our December cruise. I love your comments about your dad running over people....and for the tip about the scooter...I'm going to check into it, my dad might need one.

About the pics, I am new to cruise critic, so haven't uploaded anything, but maybe try to upload to photobucket and then put the link in one of your comments? I have seen people do that, and photobucket is user friendly.

[RobinSie]

Kara - can't wait to hear more about how you and your family liked your first cruise. Glad to see you are writing! Now that you have been bitten by the bug, we are gonna try Disney with the kids next fall...wanna join us? (he he he). Go Cards!

[loopy]

So glad you had a good time. I was very happy to hear that they offered scooter to rent. The ship can wear a mobile person out.

 

We will be on the Jewel over Thanksgiving. I've never been on the Jewel but love NCL and going out of NOLA.

 

I'm typing this as my bf is booking our excursions online. We would love to hear about your excursions.

 

Your review just made me even more excited! Except for the port issues...but hopefully they are back in the swing of things.

[mitsugirly]

Off to a great start with your review and I'm really enjoying it. We will be on the Jewel in 48 more days, 11 hours, 27 minutes and 35 seconds, but who's counting right?

 

As for the chaos in NOLA...we experienced that last December, so I'm beginning to wonder if it's just the terminal (as opposed to you thinking it was because it was the first trip out of there for the season). It was horrid I tell ya. I'm not looking forward to that again (the other terminal is much more organized and we didn't experience any of it back then when NCL used that terminal).

 

To post your pictures, you will need to download them on to a site that will host them. Then you grab the url link and go here, click on the "picture" icon above and then paste the picture link for it to show up in the thread. :)

[terrydtx]

Thank you for your review and I am looking forward to the rest of it. We will be on the Jewel in 4+ weeks and are part of a group of 28 in 14 cabins. We have a group dinner for the first night reserved in Tsars MDR for the surf and turf night. I am looking forward to your opinions on the food since this is your first cruise and do not have anything to compare with. This will be our first NCL cruise but we do not have high food expectations but we are looking forward to the casual freestyle cruising for the first time.

Edited October 28, 2013 by terrydtx

[kchiumento]

More...

 

I honestly can't remember how Sunday ended. We picked up the kids at 10:30 from Splash Academy and took them back to the suite. I don't think we went back out because we had a very long day and we had to be well rested for our first "At Sea" day.

 

We booked a Vow Renewal for this cruise. At the time of booking we were told that we could not pick the date but to expect it to be performed on one of the "At Sea" days. When we checked-in to our room there was a letter from the event coordinator notifying us that our Vow Renewal was to be Monday at 2:00pm. So that meant I had to make appointments at the spa for hair and nails for early Monday.

 

I woke up first and went to cagney's for breakfast with 2 of the 3 kids. They had a nice buffet of meats, cheeses, rolls, cakes and doughnut type foods. Then you could also order off the menu. They had the usual breakfast type food. I ordered eggs benedict and the kids had pancakes, bacon and eggs. Eggs benedict was delicious. The scrambled eggs were ok. The bacon was inedible and the syrup for the pancakes was really gross. We did not eat bacon or anything that needed syrup for the remainder of the week. It wasn't that big of a deal, because there was plenty of other things to choose from for breakfast. I will say this: If you can't find SOMETHING to eat on a cruise, then you shouldn't cruise. There were a few things that were not appealing, but there are always other choices. And if you let the food ruin your cruise vacation, again, don't go on another cruise.:rolleyes:

 

Off I went to the spa while I sent the 2 kids to the kids club. The spa was nice. They did a great job on my hair and my nails. However, I would not recommend getting your nails done on the ship. I thought it was going to be just a bit more expensive like $50. NOPE - I got regular acrylic nails with regular polish (not the gel polish) and it was $85, with the tip that was automatically included it was $100.:eek: I was floored. I can get a full set with Gel for $25 at home.

 

I had just enough time, once I got back to the cabin to get dressed, put on make-up and get the kids ready before we went to the ship chapel to meet Capt. Lars and the even coordinator for the Vow Renewal. It was a nice ceremony. It was perfect, since we didn't have a big wedding the 1st time. And my parents were there. We took pictures, had cake and sipped champagne.

 

The kids were getting antsy, so by 3:15 we went back to the room, changed clothes and took the kids to the pool. Our 1st Sea day was nearly over and we really didn't have a chance to enjoy it or relax. The pool was crowded, but after 10-15 minutes it started to clear out because it was so late in the day. That was nice for us, since we didn't have dinner reservations and we ate lunch late (and on the run) due to the Vow Renewal. So we were finally able to relax and have a few drinks by the pool while the kids swam and had fun.

 

More in a bit....I have customers (shhhhhh I'm at work);)

[coocooforshoes]

Could you tell me how much the vow renewal was? Did it include cake etc..?

Thanks for your review.

[realtorlady42]

Awee, yes a first timer mistake..the spa services are rediculously priced.

I always get my mani pedi and facial done at home just before I travel now..in fact just booked my Apt this morning for my spa day prior to heading to Holguin for 2 weeks in Dec.

I will be staying clear of the spa on the first day..I got sucked in last time, had the "trial" massage, and she did a great sales job..I am in sales so I usually can say no..but she was that good lol. Had a very expensive specialty massage..and it would have been nice, except this very young therapist who has never had kids proceeded to give me s*** because I had cellulite and went on and on about what causes it how long it take to develop etc.

I am a middle aged woman who has two grown kids..give me a break!

I should have reported it but I did'nt. Needless to say I left not feeling great and like I wasted a lot of money.

I won't make that mistake again!

For my Jewel cruise I have a massage booked at the AI day we are doing..a fraction of the price and I know I won't have to deal with that kind of sillyness. I am a spa girl and go regularily and have never had anything even close to that experiene before...bad form!

 

You are so right about the food..there may be things that someone does not prefer, but if one can not find something in all the places to eat on ship they don't like..they are sailing with the wrong line!

 

Can't wait to read more..thanks again for taking the time! :)

[mickev99]

As far as Splash Academy is concerned, did it close from 12-2 and 5-7 on Sea Days like they started doing earlier this year? Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review!! Enjoying it and now I'm even more exited for December 8th to get here!

 

Oh, did you do any excursions? I would love to hear about them. I've got a dolphin swim in Cozumel, cave tubing in Belize, and still trying to plan Honduras....out of our group, some want to zip, some snorkel, and some both....

No idea about Costa Maya, it might just be a relaxing day.

[kchiumento]

As far as Splash Academy is concerned, did it close from 12-2 and 5-7 on Sea Days like they started doing earlier this year? Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review!! Enjoying it and now I'm even more exited for December 8th to get here!

 

Oh, did you do any excursions? I would love to hear about them. I've got a dolphin swim in Cozumel, cave tubing in Belize, and still trying to plan Honduras....out of our group, some want to zip, some snorkel, and some both....

No idea about Costa Maya, it might just be a relaxing day.

 

Yes Splash Academy closed during Lunch and Dinner. Although some nights it opened at 6. On those nights we would take the kids to dinner at the garden buffet early and then drop them off at kids club, then we would go have a nice dinner just the two of us.

 

We did 2 ship excursions and 1 "on the fly" excursion. In Roatan we did Maya Key. That was one of the best deals ever. 5 minute boat ride to the island from the ship, snorkeling at one of the best reefs in the world, lunch included, pool, animal sanctuary and an opportunity to swim with Sharks. We let our 12 yr old swim with the sharks for $30. It was worth every penny. He is still geeking out about it. We didn't want to leave.:)

 

We did Dolphin Discovery in Costa Maya. It was a short walk from the pier. This was another of those "once in a lifetime" activities. My only issues is the pictures were silly expensive, but we bought them. There were 5 of us and we paid $150 for 5 8x10's and a CD of all the pics of us with the dolphins. I think in all there were 80+ pics on the CD.

 

The "on our own" excursion was in Belize city. We were too late to book the ship sponsored excursions. So we took the Tender to the harbor and walked around. There were plenty of tour operators in port. But we needed to keep on budget and Belize city is not a place that you can just "walk around". We did an open air bus tour of the city. It was a good tour and the tour guide really gave us a snap shot of life in Belize City. Belize city is poor and not very pretty. If you want to see the beauty of Belize do a ship sponsored tour or a beach excursion. Belize city will make you thankful for what you have.

[kchiumento]

Lets see if this works: Pic of the Bridge from Deck 11 bridge viewing area and The Carnival Conquest making her way down the river before us on the Jewel.

Edited October 29, 2013 by kchiumento

[kchiumento]

trying to delete...:o

Edited October 29, 2013 by kchiumento

[kchiumento]

Suite Master Bedroom

Edited October 29, 2013 by kchiumento

[mickev99]

Thanks! We booked with Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel, so I'm sure it's the same kind of deal. We wanted to go to Chankanaab to hang out and snorkel, so we opted for Cozumel instead of Costa Maya. We have heard great things about Maya Key, but since they don't offer ziplining, that's not for us. I'll let the ones who want to snorkel know about it. Thanks!

 

More questions about Splash Academy. Do they give you the weekly schedule in advance, or is it daily like the Freestyles? I was wondering if they let you know about the 6pm return times so you could plan that in advance. I would think that probably depends on the amount of kids on the cruise, too.

 

As far as nightly shows, were they pretty kid appropriate? Our youngest are 9. Also, about how long are the shows?

 

Thanks so much!!

[realtorlady42]

anxiously waiting the next installment of this review :)

[Tammylynn]

We cruised the week of 10/21 and I must say embarkation was smooth and we were on the ship before noon. This was cruise #5 for us but first on NCL and I must say we LOVED it!!

As far as the syrup, you are so right it was down right gross!!! No pancake or waffles for us!!!

Cannot wait to hear more of your review!!

[kchiumento]

anxiously waiting the next installment of this review :)

 

Awww... and just when I though no-one was reading it.

 

So, where did I leave off... Oh yes Monday night. So after the pool we took the kids back to the room, got dressed for dinner. We took them to the Garden Cafe because we wanted a nice dinner for just us. They preferred the Garden Cafe because they had a Family Only section of seating and a kid's buffet. It was great and quick. Then off to the kids club for them, then we went to Azura. We didn't have reservations (I kept forgetting about that part) and the wait was close to 45 minutes. But the head Maitre d' saw us in our "wedding attire" and said since we had a special occasion he would seat us right away. I felt kind of bad since other people were waiting longer than us, but what the hell, you only get re-married.....well you get the point.

 

Dinner was good. This was the last time we ate in Azura. So many restaurants...only 5 more days to try them. I got Steak (I am a carnivore), it was better Monday night than Sunday night's Surf and Turf. After dinner we had Formal night pictures taken in the Atrium, got more drinks at the bar, saw the 70's band show (really good by the way - we were both singing along to ABBA), then met up with friends at Fyzz lounge, where I dazzled the crowd with my not-so-sober rendition of "I Will Survive". Apparently I only sound like Gloria Gaynor in my own head :p

 

We closed down Fyzz lounge - they were close to calling ship security on me and had to pry the microphone from my cold, intoxicated fingers. Off to bed we went, as Tuesday was our first Port day.

 

Cozumel- we did not have anything planned for Cozumel. Which was a good thing because we weren't feeling 100% :cool: This was the kids 1st time in another country and we kind of just wanted to walk around and let them experience it. By the end of the morning they got really good at saying "NO" to all the shop keepers and our daughter perfected the "oh ok, let me ask my mom. I'll be right back" scheme to fend off the over zealous street vendor. My mom and dad came with us, but we couldn't find an elevator that worked for my dad's scooter. So they just hung out at the "Mall" (if thats what you call it) connected to the port, while we ventured out into the city. Not really a good idea, as I found out that my dad was trying to go into a store that had a platform and his scooter fell over backwards. He wasn't really hurt, just a few scrapes at first, but he woke up Wednesday with a nasty shiner. Dad stayed on the ship the rest of the week. :(

 

We came back early too. We were hungry and we were in need of more fluids and an ibuprofen. We ate lunch on deck at the pool and hung out the remainder of the afternoon pool-side.

Edited November 2, 2013 by kchiumento

[kchiumento]

Here are some pics. I have more, but I am trying to figure out how to upload them so they are full size and not thumbnails. I hope you can see them :D

[kchiumento]

Pic #1 - Spongebob on the pool deck Monday at Sea.

Pic #2 - this is the Master Bathroom of our suite - sorry about the bad lighting.

Pic #3 - In case you didn't know, my son wanted to make sure you knew to go

to deck 4 to disembark from the ship when in port. ;) Silly 12 yr olds.

[terrydtx]

Pic #1 - Spongebob on the pool deck Monday at Sea.

Pic #2 - this is the Master Bathroom of our suite - sorry about the bad lighting.

Pic #3 - In case you didn't know, my son wanted to make sure you knew to go

to deck 4 to disembark from the ship when in port. ;) Silly 12 yr olds.

 

12 year olds aren't silly they just think as pre-teens they know more than their parents. :D Thanks for the pics

Edited November 2, 2013 by terrydtx

[kchiumento]

Could you tell me how much the vow renewal was? Did it include cake etc..?

Thanks for your review.

 

Our Vow Renewal was $599. It included cake, champagne, flowers for both of us, the Captain during the ceremony and a private ceremony so my parents and our 3 kids could attend. I think usually they do Vow Renewal in a group setting, but I am unsure about that. We got a copy of the vows that Capt. Lars had us repeat and a Certificate of the ceremony with the Capt.'s signature. They also threw in a tour of the Bridge for the entire group. :D The Bridge tour wasn't until the 2nd sea day on Saturday. But it was the highlight of the cruise for my husband. The entire crew went above and beyond for the vow renewal. When we showed up to the restaurant for dinner that night w/o reservations the Maitre d' made sure we were seated right away. We got a complimentary glass of champagne during dinner and another cake at dessert. I'll get the pictures of the Vow Renewal uploaded here soon. I am quite frustrated with my scanner at this point :mad:

[xcell]

Shouldn't the highlight of the cruise be the viw renewal? Only joking. ..s Luna like you guys had a great time. ..

 

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