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Jewel Summary Review: Short n Sweet

gardiner41

By gardiner41,
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gardiner41

gardiner41

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One of my shipmates is doing an excellent and detailed photoblog of our week on the Jewel January 19-26th.

 

I decided it may be helpful to some to do a review mostly composed of tips and tricks with a focus on the ship and a summary of the week.

 

Us: Middle aged couple Me 46 DH turned 55 on the cruise..more on that to come.

 

This was our 3rd cruise in 1.5 years. 1 with Princess 2 with NCL

 

We do not cruise exclusively and fall into the small category of travelers who choose a variety of types of travel experiences depending on where we are going, what it is for and what we want out of the trip.

We do All inclusive, Escorted Tours, independent hotel stays, RV road trips and of course cruising.

 

This cruise was to celebrate my DH's 55th birthday..and to get away from the very cold Canadian winter we are experiencing this year.

 

 

Our first experience with NCL was on the Epic last Feb (2013) We liked the casual freestyle cruising vibe for Caribbean cruises, however the Epic was not the right ship for us.

We enjoy a smaller more traditional ship.

 

The Jewel did not disappoint. She was perfect for us!

We typically sail in the cusp seasons..just before or after a holiday or school break.

 

TIP: This typically decreases the number of kids and college students on the ship and this was no different. (we love kids but travel as two adults. It is very important to us not to be over run with kids whenever we travel)

 

The ship was sailing at full capacity however there was only just over 100 kids so for us and others who were wanting an 'Adult" holiday it was perfect.

There were only 2 or 3 occasions during the week we were disturbed by a screaming kid. A couple of times in the buffet and once at an early "show"

 

TIP: We adapted our schedules to eat a little later or in an MDR and go to the later show and it was perfect for us.

 

( for all you Mama bears..please do not jump all over me..I am a Mom and grand mother to be..and have lots of friends whose children are still young whom I love..but when we are on holiday we choose to not want other peoples kids and the noise that typically accompanies them as part of our holiday..We have been there and done that and had I been writing this 10 or 15 years ago, it would have been a completely different review :) )

 

The ship never felt over crowded to us, and only once during the week did we have to wait for a seat in an MDR. And the wait was only 5 minutes.

 

TIP: We typically eat early (ier) and I am sure this made a big difference in wait times.

 

Embarkation: We arrived very early to the port after spending almost a week in NOLA for the first part of our holiday.

We met up with friends from CC had a little chat then proceeded through the lines at a good pace when it was time to board.

 

We learned a valuable lesson regarding the taxi. He charged us triple the price we knew it should have been..but that meant no extra tip from us. AND he dropped us off in the taxi "cue" line. As a result our luggage was not taken by the crew to be checked and carried to our rooms.

Thankfully we have good Hayes Spinner luggage so it was not overly difficult to take with us on board. Also thankfully the DH of our friends offered to help and graciously took one of the larger suitcases to Fyzz lounge for us where we stowed everything while we had lunch.

 

TIP: If your taxi drops you off in the cue rather than waiting until your turn..just walk up to the front of the line of taxis and turn in your bags.This is a common problem as we ran into several people who had to walk their luggage to the luggage holding area. We chose not to do this and it actually worked out just fine..if you do get stuck.

 

TIP: During embarkation Fizz lounge is a luggage drop. They have a crew member there to take your luggage and give you a tag so you can drop off all your (carry on) things and not have to drag them around the ship with you.This was the first time we discovered this.

I had read about it in the daily that was given to us while we were waiting to board.

 

 

Our Cabins were ready by the time we were finished lunch so we headed back to Fyzz to get our baggage..went to our room and un packed.

This made getting around the ship prior to the cabins being ready so much easier and enjoyable.

 

Cabin: we were in 80134 Aft Balcony.

The cabin was a bit dirty around the edges when we arrived...definitely a rush job was done on the prep to get it ready.

We immediately met our Steward. He was the most visible hardworking steward we have ever had. Always a smile on his face and he immediately memorized our name and called us Mr or Mrs Gardiner for the entire week.

I asked him to please give the cabin a detailed cleaning and pointed out a couple of things specifically.

Within a few minutes he came and cleaned the cabin from top to bottom including using a brush and bucket to get the carpet edges all around the baseboards.

The rest of the week it was spotless.

His attention to detail was fantastic. Both to the cleanliness of the cabin and to our routines.

 

One night we were exhausted. We had been running non stop for over a week by this time. With LOTS of walking in NOLA.

After dinner we went back to our room to lie down for a few minutes and both fell asllep..at 7:00p.m.!

The next day our steward apologized for not being able to turn down our room and for the rest of the week had it done prior to 7:00 in case we wanted a rest.

 

Another day, closer to DH's birthday I realized I had forgotten tape for decorations I brought with me. I left a little note for our steward to see if he could find some tape for us and voila! next time I was in the room, a small roll of tape was on the desk.

 

These little details made a huge difference for us and were very much appreciated.

 

TIP: If something is not right in your cabin or if you need anything rather than grumble or complain, politely ask or leave a note. Our experience is the steward works hard to please and a little respect and courtesy in making a request goes a long way.

 

We did NOT tip him at the beginning of the week (over and above daily grats) as some choose to do. We did express gratitude and appreciation for great service daily and received excellent service for the entire week.

At the end of the week we chose to give a tip over and above as we received superior service.

There is some controversy on the forums about the daily fee causing a service decrease.

This was not our experience.

We found all of the crew shipwide to be very friendly, and conscientious with their duties.

 

Another Note about the cleanliness: We arrived home after our cruise to the news of the Noro outbreak on an RC ship.

I am a bit of a germ a phobe so we normally do not get sick as we take our own precautions.

However one of the things I LOVE about NCL and noticed on both of our cruises with them.

They take the health of their passengers and cleanliness of their ships very seriously.Several times I noted ladies cleaning the elevator buttons inside and out, as well as hand rails on stairs etc. And smelled bleach in public restrooms that had been freshly cleaned.

 

TIP: This combined with ensuring you take handwashing seriously and a few preventions on your part will greatly reduce the risk of ever getting a virus on board one of their ships.

 

ROOM LOCATION TIP: Deck 8 is very twisty and turny..not straight lined hallways like the other decks. We had friends in the owners suite forward and ended up walking the full lentch of the ship many times. We would go up a deck or 2 to do this as it took forever on deck 8 with all those twists and turns.

Also deck 8 mid ship had a terrible sewage smell. Only in that one section. I have seen comments on this before and now see what they menat.

This was not noted anywhere else on the ship. So if you have a sensitive sense of smell...as I do. Avoid deck 8 mid ship.

We would not book deck 8 at all again simply because of the layout. Others probably would not mind it.

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gardiner41

gardiner41

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Food on board the Jewel:

We found the food to be good to excellent.

Buffet:

We ate several times at the buffet, even though we do not usually eat at the buffet at all.

We went one day for a quick lunch and enjoyed it so much we had lunch there most days and breakfast everyday.

There are a lot of stations which IMO made it very easy to find the food you wanted, and eliminated long lines.

 

At breakfast there were several fresh omelet stations set up as well as hot and cold cereals, lots of fruit and yoghurt and of course all the breakfast meats and potatoes. There was also pre made eggs benedict which you just added the sauce to.

 

Lunch had a pasta bar where you picked your pasta, your sauce and what ever else you wanted in your dish and they prepared it for you. We did not have this at all but it was very popular.

There was a variety of foods offered every day including hams and hots, lots of hot dishes and lots of salads.

 

Dinner/Supper had a theme on most nights (we ate at the buffet 2 or 3 dinners as well) with several ready to make fresh stations and hot and cold selections.

 

Lunch and Dinner also had the famous NCL east Indian station which I enjoyed on both the Epic and the Jewel.

Always 2 rices (basmati and another typically) a coupleof Dahls and typically at least one vegetarian and one meat curry. So yummy!!!!

 

TIP: We never had any trouble finding seats even though the ship was full.

There is over flow seating at LaCucchina across the hall at lunch time if you want a little more quiet or can’t find a seat.

Also, when we arrived, we would find a table, I would wait for DH to get a couple of drinks for us and we would reserve our table this way then go get our food. Then we did not have to wander around looking for a table while the food got cold. This worked very well every time we ate at the buffet.

MDR:

 

Tsars: We ate here 3 or 4 times during the week.

It is a more relaxed dining experience..meaning they do not rush you and allow time to enjoy the conversation and company you are with. Some interpret this as slow service, it is not, it is intentional.

 

TIP: If you would like your service sped up..just politely ask. One of the meals we ate here we had a show we wanted to get to so we gently asked the server when they took our order to please give us fast paced service. She was only to happy to comply and we were in and out in about 30 minutes as compared to the typical hour.

 

The food was good to very good. It was not always to our taste, but there was nothing wrong with any of it. It was all well presented, and at the temperature it should be .

 

The first night I had the surf and turf. The steak was just O.K but the lobster was perfectly cooked.

 

TIP: The lobster tails are small, but when you place your order if you want more you can ask for 2. I did and it was just the right amount for me. There were a few envious looks at nearby tables when they saw I had two.

 

B]they want to please you. If there is something you would like ask…if it is not an unreasonable request they will gladly make it happen for you. [/b]

 

Azure: We ate here twice and it was very good both times. Service is slightly quicker than in Tsars.

Note: if you are with a big group it will take longer no matter where you eat…just as it does any where you go to eat on land. Be patient and enjoy the company you are with 

 

Specialty restaurants:

 

We ate at La Cuccina. And Le Bistro for the Jazz Brunch

 

La Cuccina: It was very good to excellent.

This was my DH’s birthday dinner. Where as on other nights and meals we ate with some of our CC friends tonight we dined alone.

DH is a quiet man (until he really gets comfortable with you) and is very humble.

I asked for a birthday cake and when it came they gathered several staff to sing to him. There were only a few other tables being served while we were there, and everyone joined in. It made for a very special moment..and DH was a little overwhelmed but very happy.

 

NCL passengers are typically a very friendly and social bunch which I really enjoy.

 

The only other thing I will add about this meal is I had the lobster fettichini. It was EXCELLENT.

 

TIP: the lobster pasta as per the menu is with a red sauce. I asked for an alfredo sauce AND asked to have shrimp as well as the lobster.

It was perfect! Lots of chunks of lobster and several huge giant tiger shrimp perfectly grilled and plated.

My fav meal on the ship. If you like a nice seafood alfredo I highly recommend ordering it the way described here.

 

Jazz Brunch: Saturday Morning , last sea day 11-2 (ish)

We LOVED this brunch.

They had a large selection of pre and ready made brunch items..breads, deseerts, fruit etc etc AND they had a menu so you could order A LA Carte.

Service was excellent.

 

Jazz band played while we enjoyed a very relaxed meal.

 

DH and I do brunch at home quite often and to us it is a time to relax, enjoy one anothers company and not rush our meal.

We did exactly that for this one. Most people were done and gone before we ordered our a la carte items. The servers were used to rushing a bit, so we had to let her know we were not in a hurry and to leave the menu as we would order our courses one at a time as we were ready. She smiled and left us to ourselves until she noticed we were ready to order.

 

We started with the ready to serve offerings. DH was like a kid and filled his plate with deserts lol

Next we ordered eggs benedict to share. Each having half. It was very good.

Then I had the Le Bistro special: it was grilled shrimp and a steak. EXCELLENT! The steak here was much better than in the MDR’s quality of the meat was superior. It was cooked exactly as I requested and was like slicing through butter it was so tender. Grilled shrimp were also cooked perfectly.

I finished with a mini lemon meringue tart. It was perfect not too sweet and a little bit of lemony tartness.

 

We stayed for about 2 hours and both felt the $15.00 cover charge was well worth it.

We spoke to several others from our rollcall who also attended the jazz brunch and most said it was their favourite ship board experience.

 

Tip: If you enjoy jazz , good food and a relaxed meal this is a must do!

 

Chocolate buffet: lots has been written on this. I will sum it up by saying it was beautiful, crowded and a bit of a zoo. This was also on DH birthday so we met up with a few of our CC friends. One was staying in Owner’s suite and had permission to bring us in early with the VIP’s. We took several pictures, found a great t able for all of us and ate and chatted and had a good time.

I did not eat much as I was still full from supper. DH enjoyed a few desserts and we had a few laughs with friends. It was a great way to end the day.

 

Martini Tasting: 6 Martinis in just over an hour.

A number of us from our RC went together. We all had a lot of fun. and had big grins on our faces by the time it was finished.

DH and I are not drinkers so we split one tasting for the 2 of us. though he only sipped a couple and I drank most of it.

None of them stood out to me as WOW but it was a good way to try a few new drinks and have some fun with friends.

well worth the $15.00 charge.

 

Entertainment:

 

We only went to a couple of the big shows. The best IMO was the Cirque Bijous (circus of the jewels) We live in an area we have access to world class entertainment and have seen several Cirque de Solier shows.

I had heard it was good but did not expect much. It was EXCELLENT. I would have paid to see it and it was IMO better than the one we saw on the Epic that we did pay for.

 

TIP: arrive early and don’t sit too close to the front. Some of the acts are in the aisles of the first few rows and people close to the front had to turn to see them. We sat near the back and had an excellent sight line for everything. It fills up fast . People line up at the doors about 45 minutes ahead. They open the doors 30 minuted before the show starts, and it was well worth standing in line ahead of time for. Any one who came 10 -15 minutes before it started (unless they had VIP seats) had a hard time finding seats and often had to split up.

This was the night I mentioned before about eating at Tsars and asking for speedy service. I was very happy I did.

 

Game shows. We attended a few and they were all great for a few laughs.

TIP: Most are NOT kid friendly. Most are PG and some 18+ very fun for adults who are light hearted and not easily offended.

If you have tender ears, are sensitive to racy or off coloured humour or language many of these shows will not be for you. Especially Quest, Not so Newly wed and the Perfect couple.

I loved quest..we watched and helped a couple of teams but did not participate. We attended with 2 other couples from our CC group.

DH felt it was too over the top for him and a bit too racey.

WARNING: when they say 18+ they mean it. No nudity is involved but people do strip down to their underwear for a couple of the quests .

 

There is something for everyone on the ship. Including wii games like bowling in the fyzz lounge. Not our thing but friends attended and had a great time.

 

Pool. Adult pool was heated and very refreshing. Never crowded. Also 2 adult hot tubs we never had any trouble getting in for a soak even on Sea days.

 

Ports: I won’t go into detail as most reviews do that and I wanted to focus on the ship.

 

I will say we had one tender port at Belize. It went very smoothly. We booked our only NCL excursion here due to it being a long day and tender port. As a result we had priority tender .

 

The ship was always on time..both arriving and leaving. We had a great time on all of our excursions. And no trouble leaving or getting back on ship.

 

TIP: Don’t forget you need BOTH your room key and picture ID.

We saw a few people who forgot picture ID and had to go back to their rooms before they could leave. They were frustrated. But it states clearly in the dailies every day and there are announcements made that you need both.

 

TIP: read your daily!! There is a lot more info in it that just the planned activities for the day.

 

Disembarking:

We always choose anytime disembark and take our own luggage. We packed the night before . We had a 12:30 flight so we slept until about 7 or 7:30 went for breakfast and left the ship around 9:30. Taxis were waiting and we had no trouble getting to the airport in plenty of time without being rushed in the morning.

 

Conclusion: we had an excellent cruise.

The ship was perfect for us. Clean, friendly, easy to get around good food and good entertainment. Excellent service over all.

 

If you like a more traditional type of cruise with the NCL freestyle component the Jewel or any of her sister ships will be an excellent choice for you.

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meatball_nyc

meatball_nyc

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Loved reading your review, especially all the nice tips! Thank you for taking the time to share your cruise experience with us. Well done.

Our first cruise with NCL will be this summer (my anticipation for it is the only thing that's getting me through this brutal winter!).

 

Cheers and Smooth Sailing.

 

 

 

~robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 6, 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

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gardiner41

gardiner41

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Just what I needed today! :D I'm home in bed with a sinus infarction and it's snowing like mad outside...

Less than 2 weeks for me! :D

Thanks for cheering me up.

 

:):o awe thank you! I am sorry to hear you are not feeling well. Glad I could help cheer you up a bit :)

Your turn will be here before you know it!

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dasmonkey

dasmonkey

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Great well balanced review! I was on the Jewel in October and again in November and will be back in a few weeks.

 

I do have a question about this,

 

TIP: Don’t forget you need BOTH your room key and picture ID.

We saw a few people who forgot picture ID and had to go back to their rooms before they could leave. They were frustrated. But it states clearly in the dailies every day and there are announcements made that you need both.

 

I typically take some cash and my ship card and leave other ID behind.

Never had any trouble getting off and back on. So are you saying they now check to make sure you have a photo ID before you get off the ship? :confused:

Edited by dasmonkey
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RJ2002

RJ2002

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Great review, thanks very much for taking the time to share your experiences.

 

(btw - we are not proponents of tipping in advance either; we will most always tip over and above the DSC at the end of the cruise based on the service we have received)

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LAKECLIFF

LAKECLIFF

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Great well balanced review! I was on the Jewel in October and again in November and will be back in a few weeks.

 

 

I typically take some cash and my ship card and leave other ID behind.

Never had any trouble getting off and back on. So are you saying they now check to make sure you have a photo ID before you get off the ship? :confused:

 

 

All good tips! We loved traveling with you and LOVED the Jewel. But, I am also confused by this tip since we were on the same cruise...We never took anything but our Ship Card and were never asked for a picture ID since they just scanned it and our picture was on their computer. Do you think it was because you were not a US citizen? Or maybe you didn't look like the picture they had of you on file? :confused: I actually think I am much thinner and more beautiful than the picture they had of me on the computer. :D

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gardiner41

gardiner41

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Great well balanced review! I was on the Jewel in October and again in November and will be back in a few weeks.

 

I do have a question about this,

 

 

 

I typically take some cash and my ship card and leave other ID behind.

Never had any trouble getting off and back on. So are you saying they now check to make sure you have a photo ID before you get off the ship? :confused:

 

No NCL does not require it. What I am saying is you are entering a different country at each port. As when traveling across boarders on land one should always have proper photo ID with them as if one should be stopped for any reason by security, police, etc etc and not have their ID. It can be a big problem. Ships key card is not proper identification and though it is all that is required to get back on the ship...it is not sufficient identification for security or policy in foreign countries.

 

Though it is not usually an issue, in some countries especially mexico in the Caribbean. should they decide to question you for any reason while on land and you not have ID you may not need your ship key to get back aboard, as they will provide you with new less appealing accommodations :)

Several people ein line to leave ship when asked by the NCL crew if they had their ID said no and were told to go get it..not to get off the ship but to prevent problems while ashore.

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lynneamycruise

lynneamycruise

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Thanks for the great review

Wanted to ask about your taxi experience in NOLA. I assumed you were staying fairly close to the cruise port (French quarter area?) how much was the taxi supposed to be compared to what you paid? We are staying very near the French quarter and assumed a taxi to the port would be nominal.

 

Thanks for the tip on the taxi queue and where to be dropped off as well!

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gardiner41

gardiner41

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All good tips! We loved traveling with you and LOVED the Jewel. But, I am also confused by this tip since we were on the same cruise...We never took anything but our Ship Card and were never asked for a picture ID since they just scanned it and our picture was on their computer. Do you think it was because you were not a US citizen? Or maybe you didn't look like the picture they had of you on file? :confused: I actually think I am much thinner and more beautiful than the picture they had of me on the computer. :D

 

hahahah oh PAMA you make me laugh! Check out my response to this in another post. Nothing to do with NCL everything to do with being in a different country with out proper identification :)

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gardiner41

gardiner41

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Thanks for the great review

Wanted to ask about your taxi experience in NOLA. I assumed you were staying fairly close to the cruise port (French quarter area?) how much was the taxi supposed to be compared to what you paid? We are staying very near the French quarter and assumed a taxi to the port would be nominal.

 

Thanks for the tip on the taxi queue and where to be dropped off as well!

 

Your Welcome. It was supposed to be 14 for 2 pax. He charged 21

Yes were were close to port Hyatt French Quarter. Excellent hotel BTW

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