Insert catchy Jewel review title here

[jamminlion]

I'm not coming up with any title catchier than that. Hopefully this review will be at least informative, and useful to someone!

 

Let's start with my family of 4 travelled to New Orleans from Texas for the March 9-16, 2014 Western Caribbean sailing on the Jewel. It was spring break for us. As we found out when we registered our girls for Splash Academy, there were just under 800 kids on this sailing. Wow! Through the week, talking with different people, some of them were shocked about the number of kids on board. They hadn't taken into account it might be Spring Break.

 

We had been on the Pearl two years ago, and loved her. In fact, we booked the same cabin on the Jewel. It was just like coming home. We were in a mini suite on deck 11. Cabin was great. Laid out exactly as we expected it to be. My only problem with anything in the cabin was the bed. Oh my. This being my 4th NCL cruise, I had come to expect the pillow like comfort of a bed that lets me sleep like a rock. Not so for this cabin. This bed was like sleeping ON a rock instead of LIKE a rock. I was up early every morning because I just couldn't lay there any longer.

 

We stayed at the Courtyard hotel on Julia Street Saturday night. It was adequate, clean, and served it's purpose. No big frills (free Wi-Fi), buy your own breakfast, and the one important thing to us was valet parking. That was great. We were walking distance to the Riverfront and the French Quarter. And Harrah's if you're so inclined.

 

Getting to the port was easy - or so we thought. Street signs indicated for us to go one way, while barricades wanted us to go another. We ended up waiting in the same line of cars of people trying to board the CCL ship at the same time. Once we figured out to move to the left for NCL we were directed to drop our bags at door 3 or 4 I believe. A porter took them, and we went on to park. Super easy then! We parked in the whale lot, got our carry ons, and walked the short distance to the entrance for check in. Going through security was relatively quick. We are Latitudes of course, and were directed to that line. The CAS folks were in line in front of us. When I looked over to the 'regular' registration, there was no one in line. We waited just a few minutes, checked in, provided the credit card, pictures taken, and on our way to the waiting area. I think we sat down for maybe 10 minutes when they started calling our Group A.

 

Once on board, we had lunch in the Garden Café. Since we were on early, there wasn't much of a rush yet. Then we wandered the ship, ended up in the Spinnaker because my girls love those funky white chairs. I was disappointed that there were more cocktail tables along with windows in the Spinnaker. Some of the funky green couches were moved up to the front of the room, but seems to me there were some missing. There was also a very annoying electronic black jack game in there, on the side by the chapel. Difficult to have a quiet relaxing time in the Spinnaker with the machine constantly blabbing if I want to play black jack. It should have been in the casino. Maybe this was the only space for it. I don't know, but it took away from the Spinnaker for me.

 

Our rooms were ready at 1:30, so off we went to unload some bags. We registered the girls for Splash Academy, and then is was time for the Muster Drill. After that, we went to the pool deck to secure a spot for the sail away party. It was a beautiful day in New Orleans. People were ready to party!

 

Dinner was the Garden Café again, while we sat in the Great Outdoors. This became my very favorite spot on this trip. Nice breeze, shady (or sunny if you prefer) and generally less crowds and chaos. My husband and I spent a lot of time out there while the girls were in Splash Academy.

 

That evening, we were very tired from the long drive and just excitement of starting the trip. Our fabulous room steward was kind enough to turn down our room very quickly for us. He made it a habit of turning our room down first every evening so we could get the girls settled before it got late. He was a gem, and by far the friendliest, most easy going, and hardest working room steward we've had. He spoiled the girls with extra towel animals every night, which they loved. At the end of the week, the girls cried when they hugged him and said good bye. They had come to love him that much.

 

Monday sea day - girls went to Splash Academy for the day, except for meals. They were having a lot of fun practicing for the circus at the end of the week. This was dress up or not, night, and while I prefer NOT to dress up, the girls wanted to, so we did. We ate in Tsars that night, and enjoyed the meal very much. I had the roasted chicken, very good. My husband had the strip steak. It was tender enough, just didn't have any flavor. Our server that night was very good, quick service, and very efficient. Enjoyed him very much. He too was spoiling the girls, chatting them up, and flattering them about their dresses.

 

Tuesday in Cozumel, was had an early breakfast in the Garden Café (you will start to see a trend here, as this is my girls' favorite place because there are so many choices). We disembarked and walked through the shopping area to the taxi stand. We were in a taxi in no time at all to Chankanaab. I cannot thank you all enough for recommending it, and for all the info about Dolphin Discovery. We arrived pretty quickly, checked in, got wrist bands, changed in to our suits, and waited for our turn. We were their early, so we enjoyed watching the groups ahead of us. The girls were so excited to swim with the dolphins. They didn't know it was the Royal Swim I had booked. They just thought they would get to swim around with the dolphins swimming around them. Funny girls. There were 8 in our group, which was just about perfect. The dolphins were Luke and Laya, very well trained. When we were going down the steps to get to the plat form, at the bottom, I was expecting another step, and instead of find one, ended up putting one of my toes through the grate of the platform. When I pulled it out, I had cut my toe. My oldest daughter did the exact same thing. We continued with our program, which was fabulous. We had a lot of time with the dolphins (though we of course would have loved more), the foot push was by far the most amazing! At the end of our program, we were escorted into the gift shop to view our photos. Before we could do that though, I asked to see first aid because my toe and my daughters were bleeding, and needed some attention. It wasn't a lot of blood, just a scrape and needed cleaned out and a bandaid. Well, the staff started to get nervous that someone needed first aid (they do have a designated room for it, next to the gift shop). It took about 5 minutes for a life guard to come over to us and take us to the first aid room. We got our toes cleaned out, and bandaids. I was asked to fill out an 'incident' report. I was told it was to justify the use of the supplies (bandaids basically). And I guess so I don't sue them when I return to the US? I don't know, it was a simple enough form. And I wasn't worried about it. Our toes are fine, and all healed up by now. Then we went back to the photos to review them. We suckered in for the $200 cd of all the pics. I have to admit, they got all great shots. There are almost 160 pictures on the cd, so just over $1 each of priceless memories, that I can print in whatever size, and post on facebook as many times as I want.

 

We changed our clothes, got a taxi and were on our way back to the port. It was getting hot in the sun, and the girls were anxious to get some shopping done. Quick ride back to the port, and some shopping, and back on board for showers. I have to say, the cold towels and the lemon and orange water on the pier is a welcome site when coming back to the ship. I looked forward to that every time. That night, dinner in the Garden Café. There was a Mexican theme that night. Big pan of paella was delish! Early to bed, and another night sleeping on a rock.

 

Up next is Belize.

[BritChickBN1]

Sounds like you had a good time! Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[nycmode]

Glad you had fun. As much as I love sailing on new ships, I do have a soft spot for the Jewel. She was a nice ship

[jamminlion]

Thanks guys. We loved, loved, loved the Pearl, so are partial to her. The Jewel is a very close second though. Like I said, having the exact same cabin on Jewel was like coming home.

[jamminlion]

Belize:

 

We didn't have any plans for this day. I had read a lot about Belize, because I was nervous about this port. I read the good and the amazing experiences, and I read about armed guards in the port, and don't go out of the port without a plan, etc.

 

Well, taking two young girls into that just didn't thrill me. So, we elected to stay on board. I have no regrets at all. It was very hot in Belize. We saw so many people returning absolutely worn out from the heat, and sun burned and everything.

 

The girls spent most of the day at Kids Club. There were a few other kids in their age group, so they had a good time. I took advantage of the spa, and then reading a book. I don't often have time to do that any more, so that was a luxury for me. The girls had been planning to use the pool while everyone was off the ship. They took one step outside and decided it was too hot for them. Now, being from Texas, we are used to heat. But we are also smart about heat. We stay out of the heat! Besides, I can sit at home and sweat myself silly watching the girls in the pool. They were content in kids club, and I with my book.

 

I will say that in the afternoon there were arts and crafts. This day was a journal. If you have the chance to get one, absolutely do. They are very nice, customizable, and perfect for recording memories, doodles, or otherwise keeping kids busy. Our girls spent about an hour with all the stickers and everything. It was completely free, and you just had to show up. Our meeting place was Magnums I believe. Each day there was a time for arts and crafts, usually during port when everyone is gone. There was a treasure box (which we missed in Roatan) and a picture frame (we also missed in Costa Maya). While the girls worked on their journals, we spent the time talking with Big Ben. It was his day to entertain those of us still on board. Very nice guy, perfect for the Cruise Director's Staff. It was his last sailing before his vacation, so he was excited and talkative, and overall very fun. He was on his 7th contract, with plans for an 8th. He loves seeing the world, and interacting with all the passengers for sure.

 

Lunch was Garden Café and dinner was Blue Lagoon. I'm not a huge fan of Blue Lagoon, but stopping by a time or two on a sailing is fine with me. This night we did not get what we ordered, but it was close enough. For instance fries instead of chips. My husband and I both ordered the wings. The server said, "OH, ok, 10 wings then?" Yes, that'll work, we thought 10 wings to share, right? Well, we each got 10 wings. Not a big deal, but just the little things if you are a stickler for that kind of thing. Overall the food was fine, and it wasn't really a problem. Just has been my experience in Blue Lagoon. We were also like 1 of 3 or 4 tables at the time.

 

Next: Roatan.

[Lovemy3boys]

I'm looking forward to hearing about the rest of your cruise. We're going on the Jewel in Nov. :) Your day in Cozumel with the dolphins sounded wonderful (except for your injuries). Glad you guys are ok.

[True Texan]

Thanks for the review. We are on the Jewel in April (first time on NCL) so I like reading anything regarding the Jewel.

[jamminlion]

Roatan:

 

Again, many thanks to Cruise Critic for recommending Victor Bodden. What a day! We disembarked, walked through the little shopping area - actually, we stopped at the "Get your passport stamped here" little shack right along the waterfront. The lady there, a Brit, was happy stamping and chatting us up. We made our donation to the cause (putting running water and toilets in schools on the Island), and pointed us towards Victor.

 

Victor actually greeted us - and for a second I was star struck, because I've read so much about him. Ha. Anyway, he was very nice, and took one look at our girls, and gave us Kayla as our guide. She was fantastic. She has a daughter about my girls' age and the took to each other immediately. She drove us through down town, pointing out city offices, churches, schools, etc. The girls were intrigued that kids in Roatan wear uniforms to school. Kayla told us there is no crime in Roatan. The Mayor insists on it, because they are so dependent on tourists. If there is a crime problem, ships won't come to port anymore. We drove all over the Island. Kayla pointed out some of the flora - banana trees, cashew trees, and told us about the coconuts. Green and yellow are good for coconut water/juice, and the brown are good for cooking and the oil.

 

She took us to see the West End - very nice, and touristy beach area. Completely opposite of the other end of the Island. We drove up to the top of one of the 'mountains' or hills - depending on your definition - and there was a little open air market. Some of the people selling up there were friends of Kayla's. Prices were cheap, and products were nice. I bought a small mahogany bowl with a lid for $5. And we bought some Honduran money. Kayla told us that $1 US = $20 Lempiras. The girls wanted paper money ($1 lempira) and some change, all for $1 US. Cheap souvenir, and the lady made a lot of money on selling money. Great idea! She even told the girls a story about the person pictured on the paper money. From the top of this hill, there was a great view down to the port. We went back down the hill, and Kayla took us to another place to do some shopping. Grocery store on first floor, other souvenir shopping on the second. These were also people Kayla knew. My husband and I were both a little nervous in there. There were a lot of employees, and no one else shopping but us. The prices were much higher, a bowl similar to what I bought for $5 was $19.99. Of course we were given a 'coupon' for up to 30% off our purchase. We felt obligated to buy something, so the girls picked out a wooden book marker, which one of the employees burned her name into the back of, and a woven bracelet with "Roatan". Then we went downstairs to the grocery store. The girls wanted some snacks, so we went up and down the snack aisle. Of course the girls pick our Pringles because those are most familiar. There were also Fritos with different flavors than the US. And we picked up some plaintain chips. (Yummy!). They took our US Dollars with no problem. In fact the receipt had the total in both US and Lempira.

 

The girls had been asking to see the monkeys at Victor's house, so that is where we went next. Here is where we paid for the tour and the monkey visit. $120 total. Bargain for what we got I think. Victor's house is very nice. There were lots of people both visiting and working there. There is also a restroom for everyone to use (mens and womens), which was welcome relief. After paying, our grounds guide I guess, took us to see the monkeys. We got to meet one, Coco. And we were with her for less than 10 minutes. We each got to take pictures with Coco on our shoulders and the girls got to talk to her a bit. The guide was giving Coco sips of Gatorade and nibbles of sun flower seeds. I was hoping for longer, but we moved right along. We got to pet a lemur, and look at lots of different birds. The grounds were very nice and the enclosures seemed very well maintained. The animals seemed very well cared for also. There were some Macaws that were flying around and fighting or something. There was a worker carrying one of the Macaws out of the enclosure because she had gotten hurt during the fighting. Again, they seemed to be concerned about taking care of the bird. At the end of the tour, there is a little gift shop of sorts that we looked around in, but decided to move on. My husband tipped the guide, and then we found Kayla again who was waiting patiently for us. Overall, we were very impressed.

 

Then we went to the butterfly farm, because the girls were interested in that. Admission was $5 each, so affordable. The person who runs the farm took us to see some birds, told us all about the birds, and there were even some not in enclosures. Those birds we got to hold on our fingers, or on our shoulders. The girls thought that was a lot of fun. After the birds, he took us into the butterfly enclosure. There were not a lot of butterflies around, but he did show us eggs on leaves that were going to change into caterpillars, and he had some caterpillars at different stages so it was a good education for the girls. The man was very nice, and seemed very knowledgeable. I will say we were not as impressed with here as we were with Victor's animals. The enclosures were smaller and not as well maintained. It was a nice visit, but not one I would make again.

 

Then we headed back to the port. The girls were anxious for some lunch, and I think we had all had enough of the very bumpy ride around the Island. Yes, first world problems. But it was starting to make me motion sick. Closer to the port is a new road, which is very nice, it's just not very long. Kayla said they are working on improving all of the roads. We saw some kids getting out of school, snacking on some bananas.

 

Kayla showed us pictures of her beautiful family. She said that she was from the mainland, but had lived in Roatan for 15 years, with no plans to go back to the mainland. She was perfectly happy living in Roatan. Her husband also does tours, for a different company.

 

She said Victor treats them all very well, and that he has 60 drivers who work for him. They were getting to the slow season, and in the summers she just stays home to care for her family. She was so friendly, and so funny. And always, always had a smile. She stopped and picked flowers for each of our girls, which thrilled the girls. That is, until I told them they could not take them on the ship, but for a little while, they were Island girls with flowers in their hair.

 

One of the things I found most interesting is that Roatan has American TV, that Kayla was very interested in. She mentioned HBO as her favorite. My husband got a kick out of Bojangles is the only American fast food on the Island. Kayla said her family loves it!

 

We got back to the port, Kayla gave us all big hugs, we took some pictures with her. I promised her I would talk about her, and tell everyone how great she is. And truly, she IS. I would have another tour with her in a heartbeat.

 

That night the girls went to Splash Academy and stayed for dinner. When we were on the Pearl two years ago, there was a kids dinner, where they took all the kids to the kid's corner in Garden Café(no fee, one night only), and the adults got to have a meal to themselves. Well, it's similar now, they took the kids to Tsar's Palace. But there was a fee. They do this for breakfast I believe, and maybe lunch (not sure on that because we didn't use the service for breakfast or lunch). Anyway, we thought the fee was $3.95 each, and we figured, bargain! It was $6 each, and while still a bargain, just a change from our last sailing. I don't fault NCL for charging for it at all. It's well worth the price, just an adjustment. The girls had so much fun doing it on the Pearl, they couldn't wait to do it this time. So, off they went for kid's dinner. My husband made reservations at Cagneys for us. He's a steak guy, and I'm good with that. Our service was excellent. We were there for the 5:30 seating. The food was very good. The steak could be cut with a fork, and was very flavorful. Very different from the steak he had in Tsars. We were stuffed! So, we asked for our dessert to go. Our server told us she would have it delivered to our cabin between 9:00 and 9:30. Fantastic! Even better than taking it with us.

 

We got the girls from the kids dinner, and got them settled into bed. About 9:15, the phone rings from Cagneys. They are on the way with our dessert, making sure we were in the cabin to receive it. What a great service, and a nice tip for bringing it to us. I felt for a moment that I was living the 'real' Suite Life, not just mini-suite life.

 

Next, my favorite. Costa Maya.

[jamminlion]

Costa Maya:

 

My new almost favorite port. My favorite port is Skagway. I love that little town. Our day in Costa Maya though, fantastic!

 

Once again, I owe it all to the kind and wonderfully knowledgeable folks here at CC for recommending Maya Chan Beach.

 

We definitely wanted a beach day on this trip, even though we are not sun worshippers at all. A little time on the beach is always good for the soul. Doing the research there were so many options. What really sold me on Maya Chan were 2 things, it was small and all inclusive, and they use bottle water and filtered ice for everything. With 2 kids along, the last thing we wanted was Montezuma's Revenge or anything similar.

 

So, Maya Chan it was. Booking was so easy, and getting there was so easy. It's a little walk to the meeting point, but it's flat, and not a problem at all. We get in our van/taxi and off we go. I guess we were so excited, because it seemed like it took forever to get there. I didn't think that little sandy road was every going to get us there. But, we got there, were warmly welcomed, shown to our palapa and give drinks and chips with salsa and guacamole, and of course the beach. There is the sea grass issue, which really isn't terrible. They have someone constantly raking and raking trying to contain it. It's the ocean, and this is what happens. We have seen far, far worse on North Padre Island with sea weed. That is scratchy, and piled 6 or 8 inches high, and 3 feet across. So, a little sea grass was nothing to us.

 

It was a very windy start to the day. I had watched the ship gently guided sideways into the pier. We were parked next to a Holland America ship, I forget which one. Anyway, people should pay more attention when they are readying themselves for the day, and they are parked right next to another ship. That is all I am going to say. Except close the curtains people!

 

Anyway, because of the wind, and the rough surf at Maya Chan, they told us that the port authority had told them not to have anyone out very far in the water. The surf was rough of course, and the current even worse. So we didn't get to use the floating chairs, or kayaks, though a few people did try the banana boats later in the day. We were fine with that. The girls were happy on the beach, and I was happy in my chair with my cool Maya Tai drink of the day.

 

About every 15 minutes or so, someone was coming around asking if we needed anything, if we were having a good time, how things were going, checking on us. It was nice, and not intrusive. The people who work there are so very nice, and laid back, and friendly. I think everyone there that day sat in the bar for a few and caught up on emails and facebook, as they do have Wi-Fi. After being disconnected for a few days, we were are glued to our phones for at least a few minutes.

 

Lunch time rolled around and Carmella had made a wonderful lunch for us all. Home made tacos with our choice of beef, chicken, fish or pork. The pork, whos exact name escapes me, and I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of it, was a traditional Mayan recipe. It was similar to pulled pork. It was fantastic. Wow! There were also beans, and then toppings for our tacos, chips and guacamole (best ever!), and more Maya Tai for me! The food was so fantastic. Of course the girls had been eating in the garden café, avoiding protein despite my insistence on at least some protein. But they weren't starving, so it was good. At Maya Chan, they went back for thirds! They were so in love with the food. We kept telling David that it was amazing, and how they can tell because even the kids love it. My youngest daughter wasn't so into the tacos, so they made her some quesadillas too. She felt spoiled, of course! I want to add that living in Texas, we get tacos all the time. There are probably 15 taco places within 3 miles of my house. We get all kinds. Americanized Taco Bell and Del Taco, to authentic local tacos too. This was among the best tacos I've ever had. I can't say enough about them, or about Carmella, who cooks them right in front of you.

 

One more Maya Tai and it was time to get ready to head back to the ship. The girls wanted a Costa Maya souvenir, of course. We went to the little showers and rinsed off the sand and sea grass. Got into the taxi at our arranged time, and headed back to the ship. The girls were patient enough to shop a little bit, but were ready to hit the shower. Apparently we hadn't gotten all the sand off, so they were wanting their suits off. My husband took them back, while I finished up shopping.

 

When I got back to the cabin, I went out to the balcony and took a very long, deep sigh. It was inevitable. There was one sea day and a 9 hour drive ahead of us. Sigh again. How beautiful is Costa Maya. How fantastic is Maya Chan Beach. What a great trip we have had.

 

That night we went to the Garden Café again. Of course. The girls were large and in charge, and knew what they wanted. Their favorite was the make your own pasta station. They were regulars. We at in my new favorite part of the ship, the Great Outdoors. Then the girls went to Splash Academy. They wanted to practice some more for the circus. My husband and I sat outside at the Great Outdoors watching the sunset, watching the wake, and just trying to take it all in. And of course make the most of the fleeting time we had left.

 

We did finally wander down to the Duty Free shop. We had been hemming and hawing about whether or not to buy liquor. We had looked at is several times during the week and just couldn't decide. We even looked in port, but still were on the fence. So, we had seen in the daily that there was a raffle drawing in for liquor sales that night. We figured, what the heck? Bought 2 bottles of Crown Royal, and got our raffle ticket. I said to the crew member, "I'm going to win, right?" "Seriously, I'm going to win." He kind of chuckled and poo poo'd me, and I said, "Well, we're the only ones here, so I'm bound to win". And with that, people started making their way to the liquor counter/checkout. And you know what - I DID win! On the first ticket. The prize was half off my purchase. SO - for $17.50 I brought home two litres of Crown Royal. I wished I had bought more, of course, but we were concerned with Customs and having to pay duty, or getting delayed when we got back to New Orleans. Truth be told, the Customs agent didn't even look at the box with the liquor. Oh well, half off is still great, right?!

 

Up next, sea day, disembarkation, and final thoughts.

Edited March 20, 2014 by jamminlion

[jamminlion]

Before the sea day info, I wanted to talk about the chocolate buffet for a moment.

 

This was Friday night. 9:45. I went up about 10:00. I had read reviews about certain guests were admitted first, or early, and got irritated that they were not the absolute first guest to see the displays and choose what they wanted. I thought a 15 minute window would give enough time for those people who are more important than others -(tongue in cheek).

 

When I got there, it was crazy. I think there was a line out the door at the mid ship entrance to the Garden Café. I 'snuck up the back' aft entrance. There was at least one ice sculpture. There were other decorative items around, and lots and lots and lots of people who were acting like they hadn't eaten in a week. From what I could tell, there were mostly the same items at each station. More or less. I did enjoy the chocolate truffle cake. The rest - meh. NCL is not known for their desserts. I'm not a big dessert eater anyway. I couldn't wait to get outta there. I took my plate back to the cabin, and sent my husband to pick for himself. Though I gave him a warning how crowded it was. I guess because a show had just gotten out and everyone bee lined to the buffet.

 

He agreed, it was unnecessary craziness. It's just chocolate, people!

[BritChickBN1]

I'm still loving your review.

 

My husband made reservations at Cagneys for us. He's a steak guy, and I'm good with that. . We were stuffed! So, we asked for our dessert to go. Our server told us she would have it delivered to our cabin between 9:00 and 9:30. Fantastic! Even better than taking it with us.

 

We got the girls from the kids dinner, and got them settled into bed. About 9:15, the phone rings from Cagneys. They are on the way with our dessert, making sure we were in the cabin to receive it. What a great service, and a nice tip for bringing it to us. I felt for a moment that I was living the 'real' Suite Life, not just mini-suite life.

 

 

COLOR="Magenta"]I love Cagney's. Did you have the raspberry crème Brule? It's amazing. [/color] [/color]

 

We were parked next to a Holland America ship, I forget which one. Anyway, people should pay more attention when they are readying themselves for the day, and they are parked right next to another ship. That is all I am going to say. Except close the curtains people!

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

 

When I got back to the cabin, I went out to the balcony and took a very long, deep sigh. It was inevitable. There was one sea day and a 9 hour drive ahead of us. Sigh again. How beautiful is Costa Maya. How fantastic is Maya Chan Beach. What a great trip we have had.

 

Oh, I know that feeling. :(

 

We at in my new favorite part of the ship, the Great Outdoors. Then the girls went to Splash Academy. They wanted to practice some more for the circus. My husband and I sat outside at the Great Outdoors watching the sunset, watching the wake, and just trying to take it all in. And of course make the most of the fleeting time we had left.

 

 

The great outdoors is the best spot on the ship to eat. I have to agree.

[jamminlion]

We did not have the raspberry crème brule. I did had apple crisp and I think my husband had cheese cake or something. Both yummy.

[jamminlion]

Sea Day:

 

This is the day of the free bingo card. Whoop! Take the one you get with your daily, go to Bingo, and they will give you another free card. Share it with your spouse. The Spinnaker was packed to the gills with people and their free bingo cards. It was the second game that was free, and there was a mass exit when the game was over. It was a 4 corner game, so it went fast.

 

Thoughts on bingo to come.....

 

Last sea day, was the bumpiest sailing day, and it wasn't bad at all. We had pretty much calm seas the entire trip. It was windy and rough docking in Costa Maya, but better when we left.

 

Girls went to Splash Academy for their final practices before the big circus. We sat in Great Outdoors, and did our last browsing in the gift shop. There was a tshirt sale, buy 2, get one free, $10 watches, bags, pashminas and scarves, etc. We looked, but nothing called our names insisting we buy it.

 

Lunch was in the Blue Lagoon. We thought we'd give it another try. We got what we ordered, though it seemed out of order. Entrée before appetizer kind of thing. We didn't mind, it was kind of funny though. The girls loved their triple decker pb&j sandwiches.

 

We stuck around for the free cruise drawing. Again, Spinnaker was packed to the gills. The lady who won was 2 people in line ahead of my husband for buying bingo cards and pull tabs. We were *THIS* close to a free cruise, along with the duty free. Oh well...it was fun. Again a mass exit.

 

I went to the Star Dust during the crew show, so I could get a front row seat for the circus. I very much enjoyed the Fountains. Very fun, and a little gross, too. Got my circus front row seat, and cheered on my girls for their performance. All the kids did such a great job. It was a lot of fun, and the girls loved it!

 

It was time for the dreaded packing up before dinner. Got that done and we headed to Azura for dinner. Walked right in at 5:30. We were served pretty quickly, too. I had the pork tenderloin medallions. Eh - they were tough and not very flavorful. My husband had the porkchop which was small and left him still hungry.

 

The girls went back to splash academy in the pjs for the party for a while. We figured if they were up later this night, they'd sleep more in the car during our long drive home. We picked up our liquor from the duty free shop, and had one last hour in the great outdoors. Sigh. It was getting chilly, so we went in. Got the girls, gave our hugs and said our good byes to our fabulous room steward, and got the girls in bed. The oldest cried herself to sleep that we had to leave the ship, and the friends she had made. Parting is always such sweet sorrow.

 

The next morning I was up before 5:00 because I could not force myself to lay on the rock bed another second. I went out to the balcony, and it was raining. I watched the lights go by. And the fleeting time. I slipped up to the buffet for a bite of breakfast, watching the city come into view and docking. It was a drizzle of rain, nothing horrible. And much cooler.

Went back to the cabin and got everyone up and dressed. Sent them for breakfast while I cleaned out the stuff from the bathroom, gathered up stuffed animals, and last shoes, etc. We headed out about 8:15. One more hug for the room steward (more tears from the girls as they said goodbye), and down to deck 7 which was a hot mess. The line to get off the ship wrapped the whole way around deck 7. I am not sure how I found the end because I just kept getting turned around. I am totally ready for the Platinum Latitudes status of priority disembarkation. Seems everyone was driving back to somewhere and wanted to hit the road early. Once we made it off the ship, the walk to Customs seemed very long, but maybe that was because of the heavy luggage and liquor I was toting. Like I said earlier, the Customs agent didn't even look at the box of liquor. He made sure our Passport pictures matched our faces, and waved us through. No big deal.

 

We were out the door and to the car in 5 more minutes. It was sprinkling, but not bad. We were thankful for that. Once in the car, and out of the lot, it started pouring. We were so glad we did not get caught in that. It would have made for an uncomfortable drive home. Once we hit I-10 west, it was pedal to the metal and on our way.

 

Always sad to leave the ship. Who isn't right? My goal is to do a B2B someday.

It was a great trip, with just the right amount of adventure for us. I would do the itinerary again, but NCL is moving the Dawn to New Orleans next year, and taking out Costa Maya. The only way to get there now is through Tampa. The Jewel moves to Houston, which will be so much closer to us. But also leaves out Costa Maya. Bummer.

 

Final thoughts coming up.....

[jamminlion]

Some random thoughts:

 

We did not play bingo, other than the free game. We did the pull tabs and got about 10% back in 'winning'. The bingo packages were too rich for our blood. The pay outs I saw were in the $200-$300 dollar range, and you might have to share that. Seems like a poor ratio to me, if you are dropping $69 for the largest card package. That's just me though.

 

We also played Deal or No Deal. The girls love that game. Out of 2 cards, we ended up with 1 free pull tab. Which got us $0. The girls had fun though.

 

We were invited to 2 Latitudes parties. First was the general all Latitudes party, that was Monday at 1:00. Splash Academy was closed for lunch, so we didn't go. The girls would have been bored stiff. The second was later in the week at 5:30 or something. We also did not go to that one. I would have liked too, but it was dinner time, and we had the girls again. It just wasn't working out with our schedule.

 

More than one night the girls came out of Splash Academy with face paint on. Thursday they were painted up like butterflies. The paint was beautiful, but what a mess to get off. I'm so glad I packed the baby wipes just in case. That is what we used to get the face paint off. I'm not sure how wash cloths could have ever done the job.

 

The areas of the ship around the Casino were awful to walk through. We are non smokers, and live in a place where smoking is not allowed indoors. So, we are somewhat sensitive to it. Oh - it was horrible. Even outside on deck 7 where the vents are, was awful. I spent some time walking laps there, and hated that corner of the ship. It's right by the shuffleboard. Now, don't go flaming me for being down on smokers. To each their own. Choose for you. But please NCL, you gotta work on the ventilation for the Casino. Whew.

 

The laundry special came on Tuesday and Wednesday. The price increased on us from $25 to $27.99. I still got 3 pairs of pants, 14 shirts, and 3 pajamas in the bag. Roll them up. It is your best bet. Everything was returned to us pressed and on hangers. On the Pearl it was folded and put in a basket for us. I like the hanger idea much better. And if that costs me and extra $2.99, then so be it.

 

While there were a lot of kids on board, we didn't notice the kids so much. The teenagers though - oh my. They walked and ran around in packs like they do at the mall. There was one kid who we saw everywhere. Always walking, talking, eating ice cream. (more on ice cream in a minute). We followed him and his pack off the pool deck, through the Garden Café and to the Great Outdoors. And he stopped suddenly. Asked me where Topsiders was. So, as a joke, I said, you go all the way down to deck 4, then you walk all the way forward. You can't miss it. I thought my husband was going to fall over laughing. All this kid did was walk and talk and eat ice cream. I just thought I'd give him somewhere else to walk!

 

The ice cream......oh the ice cream. Pearl had hard packed ice cream for dessert in the evenings in the Garden Café, and I guess in the dining rooms. I never saw soft serve on Pearl. This sailing was ice cream central. Chocolate in the front of the Café, Strawberry in the back, until one day they switched flavors on us. Everyone was walking around with ice cream every time I turned around. I'm not sure how many cones they went through, but it was surely in the thousands. The crew was also very protective of the machines, and there was someone stationed at each one making the cone for you. I believe it was the last sea day when there were some teenagers doing what they do, eating ice cream at the mid ship elevators, right outside Garden Café. One of them dropped their ice cream, scooped it up with their hands and put it in a trash can at the elevators. There was ice cream dripping down the outside of the trash can, and a big dollop on the carpet. They all kind of stood around laughing and looking at each other, while another lady and I were looking at them. One of the friends finally told the kid he needed to clean it up, which he did. The lady and I got in the elevator and looked at each other, and both agreed that we were about to say something to the kid about cleaning it up. Glad the kid made the right choice.

 

As for cleaning of the ship, I found it very odd, or maybe my memory doesn't serve, but there was a lot of vacuuming going on in stairways at busy times of the day, like people coming back on board after being in port, and there is someone vacuuming in the busy stairway. Same in the aft with people coming or going for food in the buffet. I know it has to be done, it just seemed to be getting done when there was a lot of traffic. I don't know if that's new or has always been and I just never noticed. It wasn't a big deal, just odd to me.

 

One final thing we did, was go out to the balcony before leaving port and watch for runners. I've read about them all on here, and never seen any. I can still say I've never seen any. There were some drunk guys coming back from Cozumel who were funny. They were feeling no pain. No one got left behind in any port. There were some pages in Cozumel and Roatan if I remember correctly. Good to know that NCL makes every effort to get everyone back on board.

 

Overall, we had a great cruise. One of the few things I would change is the bed. Everything else is pretty much what we have come to expect from NCL. And we like the free style, it's my vacation, I'll do what I want kind of thing. I know some people say that you should try other lines to compare. I just shrug and say, we're happy with NCL and plan to stay with them. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

We do love the Jewel class ships. Just the right size for us, with the right spaces that we enjoy. The mega ships may be all that, but not for us. We bought a FCC, so we'll be looking to try out Gem and Jade...... and NCL if you are reading this - don't get so caught up in the mega ships. Jewel ships are so much more versatile as far as ports and itineraries. Don't forget about the ships that got you where you are! Mega is not always better.

 

Questions let me know.....I have the dailies if you have something specific.

Thanks for taking the time to read, too!

Peace.