LIVE from Jewel - Med

[Duff Man]

Hi there. Yes, this is intended to make you jealous!

 

Sitting on our mega balcony at the front of the ship (AC penthouse on deck 10) while I type this (thanks for the tip Shoreguy, the 25 foot ethernet cable works wonders!).

 

Internet speed at sea is surprisingly good, only a little slower than dsl.

 

We left Istanbul a couple hours ago. Wonderful trip so far. This is our first time on the Jewel, and she is still fabulously new. We last were on the Star, so the layout is much the same.

 

Embarkation was unbelievably easy. We stepped out of our taxi at exactly 12:00 noon, and we were in our cabin by 12:09! Really. Luggage came at 2:00. We went to the penthouse/VIP line, but there were no lines at any counter. After the usual check in procedure the clerk told us to "go right" to get on ship. Then a woman came up and asked us to please step aside. DW thought we were getting called to the naughty room (although no reason to). Alas, it was just concierge Ruth saying hello and introduced herself. She passed us off to our butler, Flor, and she escorted us to our cabin. Flor is very nice, and she has already done a great job taking care of some little things. Steward and stewardes also going above and beyond. In fact the whole crew has been a joy. Haven't seen one person who has not given us a friendly greeting when we pass.

 

Last night in Spinnaker lounge we were chatting with a woman, turns out she lives a few miles from us. Other side of the world, go figure.

 

We have specialty restaurants lined up for most of the trip, but we ate at Azura last night. Food was great, DW thought is was one of the best mahi mahi she ever had. Service was excellent, almost too fast for me. The waiter & his assistant asked us to request them if we come back. :cool:

 

Captain's VIP cocktail party tonight at 7:00, followed by Band on the Run, followed by Teppanyaki dinner. Life IS good.

 

Thanks to all you CC folks who gave us so many great tips it is helping to make our trip awesome. :)

 

DM

 

:) :)

[travellady]

I would be jealous, but booked the Jewel 8/26 Western Med a few weeks ago :) .

 

Thanks for the report and keep them coming - we can't wait and want to hear all about it.

[angeljt]

I'm jealous! ;) Glad you're having a good time. Thanks for the report. :D

[coka]

Hey Duffman! Are you in cabin 10000? I stayed in that one with the awesome balcony last November. If the Captain, HD and FBDir are the same from last Nov., tell them Coka from cruisecritic says hello. Not sure if they will buy you a cocktail or throw you out of the lounge...hahaha

Have a great time and I look forward to reading your reports!

Coka

[whatawonderfulworld]

Looking forward to even more posts! Where is your next stop?

 

Ciao,

W A W W

[cmh]

I am booked on the Jewel for October of this year. I can't wait to hear more about your trip. Have a great time!

Carolyn

[shoreguy]

Hi there. Yes, this is intended to make you jealous!

 

 

:) :)

 

Well you did an excellent job of it ;) Enjoy your cruise while we sit here living it online.

[dodge9]

Hi!

 

I am booked in AC cabin 10000 on the Gem next year, any info on the cabin would be great. Since we are doing Europe and the prices really increased on the owner's suite, we are in the AC instead of AA (maybe we will get an upsell though)... any comments on the cabin would be great!

 

PS I am jealous, so jealous!

[Fishbait17]

So very jealous! Would love to know how windy your balcony has been for this sailing. Although our itinerary is different on the 7 day, I have been wondering if it's as windy as on Miami sailings, esp along the coast of Italy.... Can't wait for my own trip in Aug!

 

PS. We are in an AC in Deck 9.. Can you see down from your balcony onto the ones below you?

 

Robin

[cmel]

How do you have internet access from your room? cmel

[FishWoman]

So very jealous! Would love to know how windy your balcony has been for this sailing. Although our itinerary is different on the 7 day, I have been wondering if it's as windy as on Miami sailings, esp along the coast of Italy.... Can't wait for my own trip in Aug!

 

PS. We are in an AC in Deck 9.. Can you see down from your balcony onto the ones below you?

 

Robin

 

Fishbait - we were in one of the Deck 9 AC's for our January 2006 cruise (9002? 9004? the starboard one!). The balcony is amazing! If you are at the front of your balcony, and the deck 10 guests are at the front of their balcony, then yes, they can see down on you. But they really have to be peering over the edge.

 

I am jealous of all you mediterranean cruisers - DH *hates* to fly, so DC to Miami is as long as I can get him on a plane.

[FishWoman]

Sorry - double post.

[mrazfan]

You are definately making me excited. We are booked on the Western Med. 8/12 also but will be in aft suite!!

[Cosmopolitan]

So very jealous! Would love to know how windy your balcony has been for this sailing. Although our itinerary is different on the 7 day, I have been wondering if it's as windy as on Miami sailings, esp along the coast of Italy.... Can't wait for my own trip in Aug!

 

PS. We are in an AC in Deck 9.. Can you see down from your balcony onto the ones below you?

 

Robin

 

On the Dawn and the Jewel, deck 10 can look down on deck 9, IF they (on deck 9) are at their rail.

 

On Deck 9, all we could see was the staff pool.

 

If it gets too windy, we lay on our lounge chairs and CLOSE your door to the suite...cuts the wind;)

 

Have a great cruise:)

[snorklinbarb]

Your trip sounds fantastic!:D How did you like Istanbul?

 

Sounds like you're in excellent hands. Pls give Ruth a big hug from one of her devoted fans. She recently sent me a picture of her and I almost didn't recognize her out of uniform.;):) Great gal.

 

Also if you run into Sladan please tell him hello from Bob & Barbara from NY. We sailed with him last year on the Dawn and on the Pearl. Don't know if he's Restaurant Mgr. or Asst. F & B this contract. See him about anything - he's simply the best!

 

Is Paul Baya back as CD or is there someone else? How did you like Band on the Run? Don't miss Cirque Bijoux, get there early and don't sit too close to the front as you'll miss some of the aerial stunts.

 

Wish we were there, too, but please take us along with you "live."

 

How did you like Teppanyaki? Where are you going tonight? Don't miss Mama's and we loved the Il Popo now being served in Tango's.

[Cruise_Dreamer]

So happy to read all this. I'm cruising the Med on the Jewel on 7/8 and will be in an AF mini-suite on deck 11. Glad we got the balcony, should make for a nice cruise. :) Good tip about closing the sliding door to lessen the wind.

 

Can't wait to try all the restaurants, hope we can get a reservation for Teppanyaki, my friend is a huge fan of Benihana's so this should be a nice treat.

 

Happy cruising!

[Duff Man]

Sorry for the delay, just too much to do!

 

Internet is much slower at sea today.

 

Istanbul, very interesting place. Language barrier is an issue when you are on your own.

 

We have cabin 10502. The wind is not much of an issue. The ship speed really has nothing to do with it, it just depends on how windy it is. The second night was too windy to hang out, otherwise it has been fine. Out there now. :p

 

Food has been great. Tangos, Teppanyaki, and Cagneys so far. Got the serenade last night in Cagneys for our anniversary. Teppanyaki was "interesting". Everyone else at are table was from Brazil, and none of them spoke English! In the end, it made it a much more memorable event as there was a lot of sign lanugage, and much toasting of our home cities.

 

Band on the Run was good, but how can you do a 70s tribute without one Bee Gee's song?

 

Gotta get in the shower, reservations at Mamas.

 

Ciao,

DM

[cp556]

Duff Man--

Another jealous CCer here! So glad you're having a wonderful time.

We're in 10500 on Norwegian Jade ATH-IST next year ... and we can't wait.

Tell me, are you offered breakfast in Cagney's as an AC guest? Anything else wonderful we should know.....?

Keep enjoying your cruise....and keep us posted.

[Paint Horse]

From the photographs I have seen it looks like the bridge is right above the deck 10 AC cabins. Is this correct? Is this a problem? In other words, does it feel like someone is staring at you all the time.

[ZZROX]

Did you make dinner reservations, as soon as you got on the ship?