Jewel Review Mexican Riviera 3/27-4/3

[joteacher]

There were three of us that traveled together on this cruise. We call ourselves "The Three Amigos." This was my 8th NCL cruise, my husband's 7th, and our friend's 2nd. We had planned to take a Western Caribbean cruise last year, but she suddenly lost her husband on a Bahamas cruise two years ago so we decided to try something completely different and travel across the country to the Mexican Riviera. We flew into LAX and used Super Shuttle to get from the airport to the Best Western Plus in San Pedro. This was easy and quick. Best Western was clean, offered a free breakfast and a free shuttle to the cruise port.

 

We boarded the NCL Jewel on March 27, 2016 at the Port of Los Angeles. Check-in was a breeze as they had a special line for gold, platinum latitudes members and suites. The lounge wasn’t quite ready once we checked in, so we waited about 30 minutes to be called to the VIP lounge. There, we had snacks and coffee, tea, and juice while we waited to board the ship. NCL really does a fine job taking care of suite guests. Since this was our first experience with a suite, I now know why people don’t want to go back to regular cabins! We met Joaquin, our concierge, and were soon escorted to the ship. It was as beautiful as I remembered from the last time I was on her back in 2010.

 

We were able to get into our suite to leave our carry-on bags before we headed to Moderno for lunch. It was a nice relaxing lunch, and the food was delicious. Moderno is used for breakfast and lunch for suite guests if they choose to eat there. We did every morning and several times for lunch. Because we had the UBP, we had a beverage with our lunch. Our cabin cards were imprinted with the information about the UBP and UDP promos that we had. As others have mentioned, you do not have to sign anything for drinks so I always kept a lot of ones on me for tips for bartenders, waiters, and waitresses. We generally gave them something every time they brought us a drink.

 

The ship was in good shape, very clean. The crew was always seen cleaning and keeping things tidy. There were a few instances where things looked a little worn out; some of the furniture could use replacing. The sofa in our cabin was a bit worn out. All in all, the ship was well-maintained.

 

We saw our room steward several times each day in the hall. He was quick to take care of anything we asked him to do. If you have anyone sleeping on the sofa that pulls out to a bed, definitely ask for an egg crate as the bed is not very comfortable. In fact, we asked for a second one to make the bed softer! That seemed to do the trick. Our butler was JonJon and he was great bringing snacks each day and keeping the coffee pods full for us. We did not ask for anything extra, but I’m sure he would have taken care of it if we had.

 

Our cabin was very nice: spacious, lots of closet space including many hangers, lots of drawers, and plenty of storage for everything. The dressing table with make-up mirror was very nice as was the large bathroom with tub. The aft balcony was wonderful, quite large; in fact we asked for an extra chair since there were three of us and it fit no problem. We enjoyed the aft cabin but it did require a lot of walking to everything. In fact, I recorded about 15,000 steps/day just going from place to place on the ship! The good news was that I didn’t come home with those seven-ten extra cruise pounds that I usually gain!

 

We found the food on the ship to be mostly excellent! We ate five nights at Cagney’s where the food was beyond delicious! From the shrimp cocktail to the wedge salad to the steaks…it was all wonderful. My husband had the tomahawk steak one night and really enjoyed it. Another night he had the 32 oz. porterhouse and truly enjoyed that as well. Twice I had the sea bass; it was the best sea bass I’ve ever eaten! The Maitre D’ there was so friendly and helpful; we really enjoyed her a lot. We had one dinner at Teppanyaki which was very good and one dinner at La Cucina. We were disappointed in that one. The waitress was not very friendly and the food was not nearly as good as I thought it would be. My husband had the grilled shrimp which he said was okay, but he thought the rice that it came with tasted like it was burned. I didn’t care for the veal osso bucco that I ordered; there was probably nothing wrong with it, I just didn’t like it. The polenta that came with it was delicious…I wish I could have just eaten that for dinner! Our friend didn’t care for her steak. She thought it was a little on the tough side, but hey, we were used to the steaks at Cagney’s; nothing compares to those! We had lunch one day at O’Sheehan’s and really enjoyed the corned beef and cabbage soup as well as the chicken pot pie. Both are great choices. The poolside barbecues were good; it was just too windy and cool by the pool that week to really enjoy them.

 

We went to some of the shows. We saw “Band on the Run” which was pretty good. The comedian/magician was okay. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see him again. Of course Cirque Bijou was fabulous—be sure to get there early and sit toward the back or in the balcony so you don’t miss the acts in the air! The Beatles show in Spinnakers was great; what memories!

 

We did three excursions, all through NCL since we had the $75/port promo. We went horseback riding on the beach in Cabo San Lucas. That was fun; we rode for about an hour and a half. I’d never ridden a horse before and the guides were good with a “first-timer” like me! We did the topless bus tour in Mazatlan and really enjoyed that one. It was very reasonably priced and lasted for two hours. We were able to get out and sample some tacos from a cart on the street. My husband thought that was the best part of the excursion! We took another sightseeing bus tour in Puerto Vallarta. I was disappointed in this one and would never do it again. The driver and guide took us to places that were very commercialized and wanted us to spend money. They took us to see cliff divers and while walking up to see them, some random guy placed an iguana on my shoulders (I did not ask him to do this). My husband took a picture, and as we walked away, the man told us it was $5.00 for the picture that my husband took with our camera. They took us to a street where we could shop and had us stop at a jewelry store first. It was very evident that the tour company and the store had some kind of connection as they herded all of us into that store. The place they took us to for our “free” beverage was a tiny little restaurant with the WORST margarita I’ve ever tasted. I was sorry we chose this excursion.

 

All in all, I loved the Jewel. She is a beautiful ship with a super crew! We had a great time despite the fact that the weather was less than desirable. Most of the time, it was in the high 60’s or low 70’s but very windy so it felt much cooler. Certainly, you cannot control the weather, so you make the best of it, which we did! Probably the worst thing about the cruise was the hot tubs that were marked for “Adults Only.” There are two of these by the Adult pool. Unfortunately, the teenagers (14-17) on the ship decided to take over at least one of them most of the cruise. It made it difficult for those of us who wanted to use the hot tubs to be able to use one. In spite of this one glitch, we had a great time. I would definitely go back on the Jewel again, but I’m not sure I would go back to the Mexican Riviera again. I definitely think that the Caribbean has much warmer weather than we experienced on this cruise.

 

If I can answer any questions, let me know!

~Joanne

Edited April 14, 2016 by joteacher
date

[cruisdog]

I am glad you enjoyed the cruise, my DW and I are going on the upcoming one.

 

A couple of questions, was it easy to get to the supershuttle at LAX? Did you take it back to LAX, how was that experience?

 

Where is you eat dinner while at the Best Western?

 

We are doing this also and just want a little feedback.

 

Thanks

[Clarea]

Thanks for the feedback.

[joteacher]

I am glad you enjoyed the cruise, my DW and I are going on the upcoming one.

 

A couple of questions, was it easy to get to the supershuttle at LAX? Did you take it back to LAX, how was that experience?

 

Where is you eat dinner while at the Best Western?

 

We are doing this also and just want a little feedback.

 

Thanks

 

I booked the Super Shuttle before we left home. They have a shuttle stand at the airport outside of the baggage doors. I think the sign for it was blue. It was very easy to find. Once we walked up to the stand it was only about a ten minute wait for the shuttle. We used them to go back as well. They have the same type of set-up at the cruise port. Very easy to find!

 

We arrived at the hotel around 11:45 am and ate lunch at a Hawaiian Barbecue right next door to the hotel. It wasn't that good. The hotel suggested an Italian restaurant nearby for dinner, but we were so tired we just ordered pizza to be delivered to the hotel. It was quite good and they brought it right to the door. I did forget to ask for plates and napkins, so if you decide to do that, ask for them.:p I found a pizza delivery place on Yelp.

 

~Joanne

[Perini3]

Thank you for the review We Leave Sun cant wait

[Freespir8]

Thanks for taking the time to share about your trip! We leave a week from Saturday and will be heading on the same cruise and staying at the Best Western as well. Question, what time did you check in to the hotel? We have an early flight and wondered if we would be able to check in around noon or if we would need to wait. Also, what time did you arrive at the port?

 

We are also in an aft suite. Not our first time in a suite but our first time in the aft!

Edited April 15, 2016 by annietownsend

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your review.

 

Keith

[joteacher]

Thanks for taking the time to share about your trip! We leave a week from Saturday and will be heading on the same cruise and staying at the Best Western as well. Question, what time did you check in to the hotel? We have an early flight and wondered if we would be able to check in around noon or if we would need to wait. Also, what time did you arrive at the port?

 

We are also in an aft suite. Not our first time in a suite but our first time in the aft!

 

Hi Annie...we landed at LAX at 11:00 am and were at the hotel before noon. We were able to check in right away as they had some rooms ready. I did call the day before and tell them that we had an early flight and asked about early check-in, so they knew we would be there early. I'd suggest doing that as well. Have a great cruise...you'll love the aft suite! Please tell Charlotte, the Maitre D' at Cagney's (Moderno for breakfast/lunch) that Joanne from 9170 said hi!

~Joanne

[Freespir8]

Hi Annie...we landed at LAX at 11:00 am and were at the hotel before noon. We were able to check in right away as they had some rooms ready. I did call the day before and tell them that we had an early flight and asked about early check-in, so they knew we would be there early. I'd suggest doing that as well. Have a great cruise...you'll love the aft suite! Please tell Charlotte, the Maitre D' at Cagney's (Moderno for breakfast/lunch) that Joanne from 9170 said hi!

~Joanne

 

Thanks Joanne...will do! :)