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Celebrity loyalists try NCL Jewel 9 nights r/t from Sydney on Dec 14.

Beh789149

By Beh789149,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Beh789149

Beh789149

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About us: (me) Brian (still 39), Keith (37), Thomas (13) and Timothy (11) from Maui, Hawaii. Celebrity loyalists who decided to try NCL for kids sake and a much lower price point. It was the boys first cruise as they recently joined our family permanently..,we are foster parents.

 

Purpose of trip: Celebrating my 40th (I mean 39th repeated) birthday.

 

We booked roughly one year out. Paid $3,800 for 4 in a mini-suite with a beverage package, and $140 onboard spend. About 30 days out, price dropped significantly on a two bedroom family suite (11524) and we jumped on it. So glad we did! Having two bathrooms and the living room made all the difference. Well worth the extra $1,900...plus we got the dining package, shore excursion credit and internet package thrown in too. Many videos online of these suites state there is no curtain by bathtub, meaning anyone on balcony can watch you have a tub. Our suite had the curtain and it wasn’t an issue at all. Our suite had a pretty new sofa and relatively new carpet. Seems like some soft goods were updated somewhat recently.

 

Boarding: There is no separate waiting area for suites in Sydney. Not a big deal as we arrived around 11:15 and were sitting in Moderno for lunch at 12noon. Scallops and shrimp risotto was good although the risotto was slightly undercooked. Brownie & ice cream for dessert was good (nuts in brownie).

 

Service at front desk and poolside bar were great. Butler honored all requests sent to pre-cruise concierge and all was in our suite when we arrived around 1pm. The butler (Flor) had us unpacked and settled in by 4pm. On the drinks package, I love that you can buy two drinks on drink package with one stateroom card. Celebrity requires one card for each drink. The wine list on Jewel was rather limited. Luckily, I found one Chardonnay and one sparkling I liked so I stuck with them.

 

Dinner in Azura was great, although service was definitely better in Tsars. The decor in Tsars is an acquired taste....we only dined there once. The first night in Azura I loved the flank steak salad although it was small. Hubby had the pork loin which had good flavor but was salty. Kids enjoyed the sushi for the appetizer. Thomas enjoyed his salmon but Timothy was disappointed in the quantity of clams in his pasta (5 small clams). Lava cake was great.

 

Breakfasts at Moderno were good and service was relatively quick. Priority tendering in Eden was super smooth. Tendering in Kangaroo Island was very rough but safe. Dinner service was frustrating one night in Azura as staff wasn’t trained on new regional wine offerings for cruises out of Sydney.

 

Other culinary high notes include:

- MDR Crab cake appetizer was good as was prime rib despite no creamy horseradish even though it was listed on menu.

- filet in Cagneys

- vegetable napoleon in Le Bistro

- Oreo cheesecake in Cagneys

- chocolate Napoleon in Le Bistro

- Salmon burger in MDR.

- Flank Steak salad in MDR

 

Kids club was a huge hit for the boys. Both made lots of friends and we had to drag them to dinner a few times just to see them!!

 

We went to Band On The Run. Stayed for 10 minutes...we weren’t impressed with the lead singer and we were tired so we left. Both of the shows by the Burn the floor crew were great, as was Le Cirque Bijou. Appreciated the reserved seating in theater for suite guests.

 

Both boys had a great time in the kids programs (one teen and one 10-12yo). Neither were back in the stateroom before 10:30pm each night. I like that they can can check themselves out after staying for two hours. It gives them so responsibility but with good boundaries.

 

Casino was too smoky. Spent all of 30-40 minutes in there, normally I gamble a fair amount but it was too smoky.

 

The hotel director Steve Jacobsen was quite visible during the cruise but the captain wasn’t seen very much.

 

Conclusion:

 

Food: Celebrity is clearly a step ahead but NCL was good (not great).

 

Entertainment: NCL is clearly ahead of Celebrity here...much higher quality shows.

 

Service: I’d say they are both pretty equal. Perhaps our NCL experience was skewed a bit since we were in a suite...but service was great on both lines.

 

Value: I’d put up with some okay meals on NCL to save a bucks....or sail in a suite. Speciality dining package is a must for us though on NCL.

 

Would we return to NCL: yes, for the right deal/package! I wouldn’t pay a premium for NCL though.

 

 

P.s. sorry if this review is a bit rushed. I’m sitting at Luna Park putting this together while boys ride all of the rides!

 

 

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

Posted
Posted
About us: (me) Brian (still 39), Keith (37), Thomas (13) and Timothy (11) from Maui, Hawaii. Celebrity loyalists who decided to try NCL for kids sake and a much lower price point. It was the boys first cruise as they recently joined our family permanently..,we are foster parents.

 

Purpose of trip: Celebrating my 40th (I mean 39th repeated) birthday.

 

We booked roughly one year out. Paid $3,800 for 4 in a mini-suite with a beverage package, and $140 onboard spend. About 30 days out, price dropped significantly on a two bedroom family suite (11524) and we jumped on it. So glad we did! Having two bathrooms and the living room made all the difference. Well worth the extra $1,900...plus we got the dining package, shore excursion credit and internet package thrown in too. Many videos online of these suites state there is no curtain by bathtub, meaning anyone on balcony can watch you have a tub. Our suite had the curtain and it wasn’t an issue at all. Our suite had a pretty new sofa and relatively new carpet. Seems like some soft goods were updated somewhat recently.

 

Boarding: There is no separate waiting area for suites in Sydney. Not a big deal as we arrived around 11:15 and were sitting in Moderno for lunch at 12noon. Scallops and shrimp risotto was good although the risotto was slightly undercooked. Brownie & ice cream for dessert was good (nuts in brownie).

 

Service at front desk and poolside bar were great. Butler honored all requests sent to pre-cruise concierge and all was in our suite when we arrived around 1pm. The butler (Flor) had us unpacked and settled in by 4pm. On the drinks package, I love that you can buy two drinks on drink package with one stateroom card. Celebrity requires one card for each drink. The wine list on Jewel was rather limited. Luckily, I found one Chardonnay and one sparkling I liked so I stuck with them.

 

Dinner in Azura was great, although service was definitely better in Tsars. The decor in Tsars is an acquired taste....we only dined there once. The first night in Azura I loved the flank steak salad although it was small. Hubby had the pork loin which had good flavor but was salty. Kids enjoyed the sushi for the appetizer. Thomas enjoyed his salmon but Timothy was disappointed in the quantity of clams in his pasta (5 small clams). Lava cake was great.

 

Breakfasts at Moderno were good and service was relatively quick. Priority tendering in Eden was super smooth. Tendering in Kangaroo Island was very rough but safe. Dinner service was frustrating one night in Azura as staff wasn’t trained on new regional wine offerings for cruises out of Sydney.

 

Other culinary high notes include:

- MDR Crab cake appetizer was good as was prime rib despite no creamy horseradish even though it was listed on menu.

- filet in Cagneys

- vegetable napoleon in Le Bistro

- Oreo cheesecake in Cagneys

- chocolate Napoleon in Le Bistro

- Salmon burger in MDR.

- Flank Steak salad in MDR

 

Kids club was a huge hit for the boys. Both made lots of friends and we had to drag them to dinner a few times just to see them!!

 

We went to Band On The Run. Stayed for 10 minutes...we weren’t impressed with the lead singer and we were tired so we left. Both of the shows by the Burn the floor crew were great, as was Le Cirque Bijou. Appreciated the reserved seating in theater for suite guests.

 

Both boys had a great time in the kids programs (one teen and one 10-12yo). Neither were back in the stateroom before 10:30pm each night. I like that they can can check themselves out after staying for two hours. It gives them so responsibility but with good boundaries.

 

Casino was too smoky. Spent all of 30-40 minutes in there, normally I gamble a fair amount but it was too smoky.

 

The hotel director Steve Jacobsen was quite visible during the cruise but the captain wasn’t seen very much.

 

Conclusion:

 

Food: Celebrity is clearly a step ahead but NCL was good (not great).

 

Entertainment: NCL is clearly ahead of Celebrity here...much higher quality shows.

 

Service: I’d say they are both pretty equal. Perhaps our NCL experience was skewed a bit since we were in a suite...but service was great on both lines.

 

Value: I’d put up with some okay meals on NCL to save a bucks....or sail in a suite. Speciality dining package is a must for us though on NCL.

 

Would we return to NCL: yes, for the right deal/package! I wouldn’t pay a premium for NCL though.

 

 

P.s. sorry if this review is a bit rushed. I’m sitting at Luna Park putting this together while boys ride all of the rides!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

thanks for your objecive comarason of the two lines.

don't feel bad it was rushed, you hit the high spots and that is what most of us want to read.

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Beh789149

Beh789149

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Thanks for the comparison. How was the itinerary?

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

The itinerary was pretty good. Kangaroo Island was our favorite. We rented a car and saw a lot of stuff, fed some kangaroos at the wildlife park, saw Flinders Chase park etc. Melbourne requires more than the allotted time. We went to Handorff while in Adelaide which was neat. Nothing to really do in Burnie. In Eden we went on a oceans to plate tour, snorkeled and caught our lunch. Great tour in Eden!

 

 

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gwsster

gwsster

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Good balanced report. Congratulations on the new family, lucky boys to find a home, lucky parents to find the boys.

I find that the food on NCL is generally good and always a hit or miss. Our first Celebrity cruise was OK but more alike to other lines that different. The food day by day was hit and miss. The food in the Tuscan Grill (specialty restaurant on Celebrity was excellent though)

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SeaShark

SeaShark

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Just wondering aloud here, but why (and this thread certainly is NOT the only instance of this) do people still like to refer to themselves as "loyalists" when they are sailing on another (being disloyal) line?? :confused:;)

 

Its like sleeping with someone else while claiming to be "loyal" to your spouse. :eek:

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ColinIllinois

ColinIllinois

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Just wondering aloud here, but why (and this thread certainly is NOT the only instance of this) do people still like to refer to themselves as "loyalists" when they are sailing on another (being disloyal) line?? :confused:;)

 

Its like sleeping with someone else while claiming to be "loyal" to your spouse. :eek:

 

 

Because the vast majority of their past cruises have been with one particular line, but I suspect you know that and are trying to make a funny.

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SeaShark

SeaShark

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Because the vast majority of their past cruises have been with one particular line, but I suspect you know that and are trying to make a funny.
Oh...so what you're saying is that they said "loyalist" when they should have said "experienced" instead.
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