Jewel Forward Deluxe Penthouse (non-Haven) With Large Balcony - Problems?

[3OfDiamonds]

So the cruise I’m on has one category of suite available to upgrade to; a Deluxe Forward Penthouse With Large Balcony.  Based on a couple things I’ve seen there may or may not be a few issues with this particular category of suite:

 

1)  The balcony might be unpleasant to the point of not being usable due to the speed of the ship.

 

2)  The assigned butler might have to cover a lot of ground getting to the suites they cover due to the non-central location of the suite, so the availability and speed of the butler’s services could be compromised.

 

3)  Forward rooms of any class tend to have a lot of movement and could be bad for those with motion sickness (I have never been afflicted with my limited experience on boats in the ocean, but I’ve also never been on a week-long cruise).

 

I’d like to upgrade to a suite and can readily afford it, but it seems like the issues with this class of suite (which is the only one available at the moment) could make me wonder if the extra money was worth it.  So does anybody have experience with this type of suite on the Jewel?  Are the criticisms valid?  Should I try to see if I can shift what I already paid/redeemed (had a Casinos at Sea certificate) to an available Haven suite on a cruise departing a week earlier for not that much more (~$700) money?  Can I even do that at this point?  Should I just upgrade to a balcony stateroom on my current cruise, which would give me the things I really need (primarily a place where I can sleep sitting up)?  Also, if I don’t have my passport (it’s a Mexican Riviera cruise) is it going to be that big of a deal? (I plan on going into the passport office next week to apply for an expedited passport but it might not be fast enough to get to me by April 9)?  I was so excited about going on a cruise but now l’m just feeling like I should have done some things are upgrading sooner and now I’m left with suboptimal options and I just feel a lot of anxiety and some… regret?  Not sure how to describe it but I have been dealing with a lot of stuff and it hasn’t left me a lot of mental bandwidth to deal with this cruise as successfully as I’d like 😫🤪

[European_CruiseGirl]

Cannot answer all your questions but having sailed on Jewel class forward suites I can tell the following: yes, even though you would be cruising the Southern Caribbean it will be too windy (=cold) to spend much time on the balcony while your ship is on the move. It simply isn’t a pleasant place to be due to the wind. However the balcony is amazing if you stay onboard on port days/leave late in the evening from the port. 
 

Butler service is not a problem. They have butler(s) who are only assigned to the forward suites so you see your butler frequently and s/he is easily available. No delays in service. 
 

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by European_CruiseGirl

[3OfDiamonds]

It will actually be on the Pacific side, but thanks for the input; it will probably be colder than the southern Caribbean 😅  Come to think of it, I probably won’t mind a quick breather now and then, since my definition of cold tends to be a lot colder than most 🤪  Now to get their pricing consistent; I was quoted a price to upgrade to the suite that was $1500 more than it was last week, but I know the price has not moved nearly that much, and an equivalent promo is running 🧐  I’m almost tempted to say **** it and cancel the whole thing it’s becoming so frustrating to get what I want 😫

[www3traveler]

3 hours ago, 3OfDiamonds said:

It will actually be on the Pacific side, but thanks for the input; it will probably be colder than the southern Caribbean 😅  Come to think of it, I probably won’t mind a quick breather now and then, since my definition of cold tends to be a lot colder than most 🤪  Now to get their pricing consistent; I was quoted a price to upgrade to the suite that was $1500 more than it was last week, but I know the price has not moved nearly that much, and an equivalent promo is running 🧐  I’m almost tempted to say **** it and cancel the whole thing it’s becoming so frustrating to get what I want 😫

If your cabin is directly below the Bridge, it will come with a set of rules of its' own.  One being at night your blinds must be tightly closed with no light showing.  The Bridge needs totally darkness.  A good percent of your balcony can probably be seen by those standing "Watch" on the Bridge, so be careful of what you wear or do not wear.

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

If your cabin is directly below the Bridge, it will come with a set of rules of its' own.  One being at night your blinds must be tightly closed with no light showing.  The Bridge needs totally darkness. 

 

Which is a fantastic plus for any of the staterooms with forward-facing balconies.  There is little light pollution in the bow at night, and this makes for fabulous star gazing (weather permitting).  It's no big deal to keep the curtains drawn at night.  It's not as though you can see out after it gets dark.

 

From our forward-facing balcony last week on the Gem (even better in person):

 

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Which is a fantastic plus for any of the staterooms with forward-facing balconies.  There is little light pollution in the bow at night, and this makes for fabulous star gazing (weather permitting).  It's no big deal to keep the curtains drawn at night.  It's not as though you can see out after it gets dark.

 

From our forward-facing balcony last week on the Gem (even better in person):

 

 

What a perfect shot!

Brings me back to summer camp days, learning the constellations, out in the wild, away from city lights.  Not that there was nearly as much light pollution back then.

 

You must have quite a camera to get that!

 

Nice!

 

GC

[Turtles06]

50 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

What a perfect shot! . . . 

You must have quite a camera to get that!

 

Nice!

 

GC

 

Thanks for the kind words.  
 

Handheld, taken from our moving ship with my iPhone 13 Pro.

 

Ever since I got that phone last summer, I have been so amazed by its camera that I have pretty much stop schlepping a "real" camera and all the gear around with me.

[GeezerCouple]

43 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Thanks for the kind words.  
 

Handheld, taken from our moving ship with my iPhone 13 Pro.

 

Ever since I got that phone last summer, I have been so amazed by its camera that I have pretty much stop schlepping a "real" camera and all the gear around with me.

 

Uh oh.

 

I think I know what DH is going to want!

He takes amazing photos, even without decent equipment.  Good composition, etc.

(Me?  I manage to make anyone/anything... mediocre.  That is, if they/it make it into the actual photo in the first place! 😠 )

 

I can't wait to show him this photo! 😁

Hopefully, this will help with our discussion about another foreward balcony.

We had one for an amazing Alaska cruise, and the early season scenery was spectacular.

We managed to get the forward starboard suite, and had almost half of the front balcony (NCL Sun - loved that suite!).  We had most meals served there, and sat in front of the full wall of windows to watch the view as we ate.  Other times we were out on our balcony.

 

At night, we just turned of almost all lights, and kept the curtains open.   Daylight was pretty long in late May/early June.

 

I still can't believe this photo, from a *phone* (!??!) and from a moving ship!

Yes, he needs one. 😉 

(Looks like the iPhone 14 Pro is out now.)

 

Thanks!

(Could you perhaps send me an email?  e-address is just below.)

 

GC

[mertziek]

We love the forward facing suites with balconies.  Yes, windy when at sea but we love the views and seeing where we are going.

[Turtles06]

29 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

(Could you perhaps send me an email?  e-address is just below.)

 

 

You have mail.  🙂 

[mickeysgal]

We had a forward facing penthouse on Pearl.  The balcony was so very large and awesome and I loved the interior space - we had a small living room area with chairs, couch and coffee table.  Large picture windows.  Yes it can get windy on that balcony while in motion,  The balcony door in our case was more of a water tight /submarine door - not a slider.  We had this room for Alaska - it made Glacier Bay viewing such fun. That said, there was a lot of motion being so far forward.  First time ever that I got seasick and had to wear a patch.  Would I do it again?  Absolutely.

Edited February 22, 2023 by mickeysgal

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

You have mail.  🙂 

Ding Ding... 😁

[Nilbog]

We recently did a forward-facing penthouse on the Pearl (sister ship of the Jewel) to the Canal and loved the large forward balcony.  We used it quite a bit, even while at sea, and especially while going through the Canal.  We're in an Owner's Suite on the Jewel for our upcoming Alaska cruise (next door to the FF PH), and can't wait to see the glaciers from the front and side balconies.  

[BirdTravels]

On 2/21/2023 at 8:40 AM, 3OfDiamonds said:

So the cruise I’m on has one category of suite available to upgrade to; a Deluxe Forward Penthouse With Large Balcony.  Based on a couple things I’ve seen there may or may not be a few issues with this particular category of suite:

 

1)  The balcony might be unpleasant to the point of not being usable due to the speed of the ship.

 

2)  The assigned butler might have to cover a lot of ground getting to the suites they cover due to the non-central location of the suite, so the availability and speed of the butler’s services could be compromised.

 

3)  Forward rooms of any class tend to have a lot of movement and could be bad for those with motion sickness (I have never been afflicted with my limited experience on boats in the ocean, but I’ve also never been on a week-long cruise).

 

We love forward facing penthouses on small ships. They are the absolutely the best rooms on the ship. And have sailed on the Jewel on both Deck 9 (large balconies) and Deck 10 (directly under the bridge bumpout - which gives you kind of a "bay window"). They are beautiful and provide you with a 270 degree view of everything around you. 

 

The balconies are totally usable when the ship is underway. If you stand right at the rail, you will get the full wind in your face. If you step back a couple of steps or are seated on a chair or lounger, the solid hull sweeps the wind up over your head.

 

On Deck 9, the large balconies are about 100 sq ft... you could hold a dance out there. You can have your loungers out in the sun, or pulled back under the cover for some shade. 

 

You can use your balcony day and night. They ask that you draw your curtains at night (not a big deal... and there is no issues with light bleed around the edges of your curtains). 

 

We have never, ever had problems with our butler in those suites. There are really no centralized suites other than the Haven, so the butler service is fine. 99% of what you have your butler do is pre-coordinated (you place food orders in advance, you make special requests in advance),,,, we have never had an instance where we called our butler and said "come now, emergency food needed". 

 

Forward rooms will have more movement than rooms mid-ship and low. That's just physics. We have never had an issue. 

 

Two great times to have a forward facing suite is Alaska (just breathtaking day and night) and the bottom photo was from a New England cruise up the St. Lawrence up to Quebec. 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2023 by BirdTravels

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Two great times to have a forward facing suite is Alaska (just breathtaking day and night) and the bottom photo was from a New England cruise up the St. Lawrence up to Quebec. 

 

And the Panama Canal (photos taken on our just-completed B2B on the Gem):

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrsTocko]

On 2/21/2023 at 5:40 AM, 3OfDiamonds said:

So the cruise I’m on has one category of suite available to upgrade to; a Deluxe Forward Penthouse With Large Balcony.  Based on a couple things I’ve seen there may or may not be a few issues with this particular category of suite:

 

1)  The balcony might be unpleasant to the point of not being usable due to the speed of the ship.

 

2)  The assigned butler might have to cover a lot of ground getting to the suites they cover due to the non-central location of the suite, so the availability and speed of the butler’s services could be compromised.

 

3)  Forward rooms of any class tend to have a lot of movement and could be bad for those with motion sickness (I have never been afflicted with my limited experience on boats in the ocean, but I’ve also never been on a week-long cruise).

 

I’d like to upgrade to a suite and can readily afford it, but it seems like the issues with this class of suite (which is the only one available at the moment) could make me wonder if the extra money was worth it.  So does anybody have experience with this type of suite on the Jewel?  Are the criticisms valid?  Should I try to see if I can shift what I already paid/redeemed (had a Casinos at Sea certificate) to an available Haven suite on a cruise departing a week earlier for not that much more (~$700) money?  Can I even do that at this point?  Should I just upgrade to a balcony stateroom on my current cruise, which would give me the things I really need (primarily a place where I can sleep sitting up)?  Also, if I don’t have my passport (it’s a Mexican Riviera cruise) is it going to be that big of a deal? (I plan on going into the passport office next week to apply for an expedited passport but it might not be fast enough to get to me by April 9)?  I was so excited about going on a cruise but now l’m just feeling like I should have done some things are upgrading sooner and now I’m left with suboptimal options and I just feel a lot of anxiety and some… regret?  Not sure how to describe it but I have been dealing with a lot of stuff and it hasn’t left me a lot of mental bandwidth to deal with this cruise as successfully as I’d like 😫🤪

I wish I had words of wisdom on this.  The Jewel is a lovely ship and crew. and is the first ship that I am repeating with NCL.  We love the smaller ships.  I am always "am I getting the most value out of my $$"  So if you can get the room you want at less $$ by going a week earlier & you dont have other issues to consider (school or work), I say do it, that makes sense to me. Taking into consideration that there may be what are considered to be "cancellation" fees which may make the savings non existant.  Definately call and ask.  With it after final payment, who knows.   

 

We are actually on the cruise you are considering switching to.  We do have a roll call, so come join us if you do switch.

[quillwercruisers]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

 

And the Panama Canal (photos taken on our just-completed B2B on the Gem):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like what our view should look like on the Jewel next month. So looking forward to it.

[Turtles06]

8 minutes ago, quillwercruisers said:

Looks like what our view should look like on the Jewel next month. So looking forward to it.

 

You'll love it!   But despite the great view, and especially if this will be your first time through the Canal, please don't spend all of the transit on the balcony.  Be sure to see the locks from all different perspectives around the ship -- high, low, fore, aft, midships.  (Apologies if you already knew that!) 

 

Have a great cruise!

[GeezerCouple]

Are there any major difference among these forward PH or OS suites on the Jewel, Pearl, or Gem?

What other ships have this arrangement?  Dawn?

 

Thanks very much.

This IS the view that we want. 😁

And yes, we'd wander around.

We've thought about getting one of the OS, so there's also be a side balcony to peer down from.
Would that be useful?

 

GC

 

[mertziek]

5 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

We've thought about getting one of the OS, so there's also be a side balcony to peer down from.
Would that be useful?

 

GC

 

We just did the Panama Canal in an OS and think it’s the best suite.  You have forward views plus you can got on your side balcony and see the action there, too.

[GeezerCouple]

12 minutes ago, mertziek said:

We just did the Panama Canal in an OS and think it’s the best suite.  You have forward views plus you can got on your side balcony and see the action there, too.

 

Thanks!

That's what we figured.

In the Jewel class, it's also a Haven suite, which adds to the cost."

When we have a dynamite forward view, we are much less interested in going anywhere else at all! 🙂 

 

What other ships have that OS?

Dawn, I think.  And??

 

GC

[quillwercruisers]

18 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

You'll love it!   But despite the great view, and especially if this will be your first time through the Canal, please don't spend all of the transit on the balcony.  Be sure to see the locks from all different perspectives around the ship -- high, low, fore, aft, midships.  (Apologies if you already knew that!) 

 

Have a great cruise!

No apologies needed. We plan to walk around and see it from all sides. Thank you for all your insight. 

[JustAllie]

The Star and the Sun have forward-facing Owner's Suites with balconies, as well. 

[GeezerCouple]

2 hours ago, JustAllie said:

The Star and the Sun have forward-facing Owner's Suites with balconies, as well. 

 

Sorry I wasn't clear:  I was interested in other "similar" OS, the ones with forward AND side balconies.

 

All "Owner's Suites" are not created equal!

 

We've been on the Sun in the OS, and it's one of our very favorite suites.  AMAZING views ahead. We got it for Alaska, and on the starboard side for a northbound intineray.  Wow!

And with a wall of windows in addition to that balcony (with a private hot tub!), we had most meals delivered and sat there watching the spectacular views.

 

But it doesn't have that side balcony, which it seems would be very important to see some of the Canal action.

We think that Sun OS should be called an OS, but no one asked us!

 

GC

[WillCruiseForMoney]

Owners suites with both forward and side balconies on all Jewel class ships along with the Dawn and the Star.  Decks 9 and 10.  Deck 10 suites have more interior space, dining area.  Deck 9 suites have a larger front balcony, although the ones on deck 10 are definitely big enough.