Just got back from NCL Jewel

[ute_fan]

The captain is Tommy Stensrud. I'm pretty sure he was Norwegian.

[theonlyjoie]

...generally, aren't the main people on the bridge Norwegian? I am asking 'cause I really don't know. I would guess that a little further down the pecking order it would be Brits & Yanks. Input, anyone?:confused:

[Cosmopolitan]

We are booked on the 11/26 sailing in 2 Courtyard Villas (A3 & A4) for 5 of us & the other reviews have me worried...I'm hoping that the perks of being in the Villas will overshadow any less than perfect meals...my questions are -

 

- Did you have dinner served in your cabin? How about breakfast?

- You can have dinner served in your cabin any evening. Main restaurant menu, no charge. Speciality restaurants you will still pay the service charge. Just try to give your butler some advance notice.

We almost always have breakfast served in our suite from the Butlers menu. If there is something that you want that is not on the menu, just write it in. They will do their best to accommodate you.

- I'm an "ice queen" - are there any issues with getting lots of ice delivered/keeping it in the cabin?

- Ice should be refilled AM and at turndown. If not, just inform your butler or room steward. I always bring "post-it" notes in the event that I have to leave them a request.

- How busy/crowded was the Courtyard Area?

- Courtyard area was not crowded at all Oct., 2005, I believe they are trying to keep it private for Courtyard and Owners suite passengers.

- What kind of snacks/drinks did they put out for you?

- Sorry, didn't go up there for snacks.

- Did you get passes to the spa for the week & and 1 free night at an upcharge restaurant for the cabin?

- "no" to both questions.

- Were there any issues with the seating for the shows?

- Concierge was in the "reserved seating" area every evening to ensure that Garden Villa, Owners Suite and Courtyard Villa passengers had seating.

- Did you have any problems with making same day dinner reservations?

- No

- What was the latest you could get off the ship when you returned to Miami?

- We returned to NY

 

Any other tips you can provide would be much appreciated!:)

 

We were on the Jewel in October, 2005 in an Owners suite. Owners suite passengers can also utilize the courtyard area so I tried to answer your questions.

 

Have a wonderful cruise:)

[TITISSA]

We are booked on the 11/26 sailing in 2 Courtyard Villas (A3 & A4) for 5 of us & the other reviews have me worried...I'm hoping that the perks of being in the Villas will overshadow any less than perfect meals...my questions are -

 

- Did you have dinner served in your cabin? How about breakfast?

- I'm an "ice queen" - are there any issues with getting lots of ice delivered/keeping it in the cabin?

- How busy/crowded was the Courtyard Area?

- What kind of snacks/drinks did they put out for you?

- Did you get passes to the spa for the week & and 1 free night at an upcharge restaurant for the cabin?

- Were there any issues with the seating for the shows?

- Did you have any problems with making same day dinner reservations?

- What was the latest you could get off the ship when you returned to Miami?

 

Any other tips you can provide would be much appreciated!:)

 

We are in a A3 Courtyard for Christmas. Please let me know what you thought of the Courtyard and its perks when you come back. Have a wonderful time! Thanks. Leticia.

[electricron]

...generally, aren't the main people on the bridge Norwegian? I am asking 'cause I really don't know. I would guess that a little further down the pecking order it would be Brits & Yanks. Input, anyone?:confused:

 

You asked for input. NCL uses mostly officiers from Scandinavia countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. I've seen Captains from Norway and Sweden aboard NCL ships. On the Prides NCLA uses only American officiers. Therefore, you'll see American Captains aboard them.

 

I don't think you'll ever see a Britian as a Captain on a NCL/NCLA ship.

[Planer's Edge]

The captain is Tommy Stensrud. I'm pretty sure he was Norwegian.

 

Yes, Captain Tommy is Norwegian but he resides in Canada. As for the other captains...yes most all of them are from Scandinavian countries with the exception of Constantino Fafalios who is Greek.

 

PE

[ScubaJim]

Wow I hope they work out the bugs and improve the services by Dec 3rd. We had cruised with Princess and thought that they were great. We will see how our Dec 3rd Cruise turns out and will have a review when we return Dec 10th.

[ScubaJim]

I am getting kinda bummed. We are on the Jewel on 12/3.

 

What was really good or things not to miss? I live in a big city and I guess there is always a wait for everything here it seems, so I can deal with that and will probably make reservations where possible. Can you make dinner reservations before boarding?

 

We have the anniversary package and will be dining at Le Bistro one night. Anyone have anything that was good?

 

I guess in comparison to chain resteraunts what do you think the food is like, qualtity wise. I just want to set my expectations.

We too have boought the Anniversary Package. What night are you going to celebrate? Maybe we can have dinner together.

[Marti2]

We are booked on the 11/26 sailing in 2 Courtyard Villas (A3 & A4) for 5 of us & the other reviews have me worried...I'm hoping that the perks of being in the Villas will overshadow any less than perfect meals...my questions are -

 

- Did you have dinner served in your cabin? How about breakfast?

We had dinner served one evening by our butler, Maxi. We called him at 5:30 he brought the menus from all restaurants we requested and we later called him back with out order. Rates apply for specialty restaurants. We ordered breakfast every day and it was always served at the time we requested. We also ordered bottled water and sodas from our butler, no charge.

- I'm an "ice queen" - are there any issues with getting lots of ice delivered/keeping it in the cabin? Our ice bucket was filled no matter when I checked it.

- How busy/crowded was the Courtyard Area? The courtyard area was usually very quite; no more than five others were in the courtyard when I was out there.

- What kind of snacks/drinks did they put out for you? Mornings: water/juice; breakfast muffins/pastries. Afternoon: water/juice; cookies/cakes.

- Did you get passes to the spa for the week & and 1 free night at an upcharge restaurant for the cabin? No spa passes; however, one free night at a specialty restaurant which had to be used on the first or second night of the cruise.

- Were there any issues with the seating for the shows? There is reserved seating in the balcony area; we never used it as we were always able to obtain seats in the main theater.

- Did you have any problems with making same day dinner reservations? Reservations were made by the concierge, Alex Forbes or his assistant, no problems...I was told that there were always tables available and to call at any time.

- What was the latest you could get off the ship when you returned to Miami? I don't know the answer to this one; we got off using our VIP luggage tags and were walked off by the concierge, Alex.

 

Any other tips you can provide would be much appreciated!

Don't be shy about asking for anything within reason. Both our butler and concierge were very obliging and were frequently checking in to see how we were faring.