Jewel 1/9/09 review

[lilypi314]

Hi all,

 

we just returned last night (this morning, really) from our Jewel cruise to the southern caribbean. this cruise was AMAZING! NCL, and specifically freestyle, were perfect for us.

 

the ship:

gorgeous, and very well laid out in our opinion. we had an inside stateroom on the 11th deck, aft. the room was beautifully appointed although (big surprise!) very small. the size didn't bother us except for the occasional traffic jam with trying to get to the bathroom/closet. we really couldn't complain, it met our needs perfectly, and did not spend a lot of time in the room (until the last day, more on that later). we found the lido deck to be beautiful....two swimming pools and four hot tubs, which was MUCH more swimming opportunity than my previous Carnival experience. the stardust theater was very nice, with comfortable seating. we enjoyed the casino, although we definitely spent a little too much of our money there!

 

the food:

overall a very positive experience. we actually found that we preferred the selection/taste of food in the garden buffet over the main dining rooms for dinner. this is not to say that the dining room food was bad, just not to our tastes. on most days we did breakfast in the buffet due to time constraints. we had breakfast in Azura once, and it was delicious. i would highly recommend that you try to make it to Azura for breakfast. it was a relaxing and delicious alternative to the hustle and bustle of the breakfast buffet. for lunch we either used the buffet or the poolside grill. both were good, although there was obviously more choice at the buffet. the grill offers the basics - hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, fries, and the fixins. we did late night snacking at the blue lagoon several times and the buffalo wings were pretty good! we found that the fish and chips were DEFINITELY better quality during the day than the 2am attempt. we dined in three specialty restaurants: Teppanyaki, Le Bistro, and Cagney's. Teppanyaki was FANTASTIC! we have a similar restaurant locally and Teppanyaki surprisingly blew them out of the water. the flavor of the food was amazing, although not for those who lack a fondness for garlic. Le Bistro was also delicious. we dined here as part of the anniversary package, and the food was above our expectations. finally, we dined at Cagney's. i was a little disappointed. the quality of our steaks was very good (a filet and a ribeye), but they lacked seasoning...a little salt and pepper would have saved the meal. we also had the "cagney's fries" which were also a little disappointing. again, not BAD, but definitely could have been done better. dessert was the best part at Cagney's, but it had nothing to do with the food. the assistant maitre'd brought out an amazing engagement ring as my special dessert while my boyfriend got down on one knee and proposed. talk about a fine dining experience!!

 

excursions:

we did ship excursions for each island...we know that money can be saved by going independent, but decided that this time around we would take the easy way out. Samana, DR- we did the Cayo Levantado beach escape. it was a beautiful beach and a beautiful day. we shared the beach with the MSC Lirica, but there were enough chairs to go around and lots of fun people to meet. there was a brief rainstorm, which sent most people packing to the bar and opened up prime beach seating! Tortola- i forget the name of the excursion, but we took a catamaran cruise to snorkel at Norman Island and then spend the rest of our day at a private beach club. the snorkeling was amazing. we were the only people there, and the water was crystal clear. the private beach club was also great...this was our favorite excursion. Antigua- we did another beach day, and again i forget the name of the excursion. it included lunch and two free rum punches, as well as a beach chair. we rented a beach umbrella for $6, which was a welcome shade in the hot hot sun. we also rented a jet ski. it was $50 for half an hour. definitely worth it! Barbados- we did the Tiami five star catamaran. this was a great excursion, although the snorkeling portion was pretty crowded. the guides were VERY strict about keeping people together in a group, which led to lots of feet to the face. swimming with the turtles was amazing - the highlight of my excursions. we then went to snorkel a reef, which was nice, but not as beautiful as Norman Island. Finally, they took us to a beach stop. St. Lucia-we took the volcanic expressions tour. it was a GREAT tour, but involved a lot. first, we took a cruise by catamaran along the coast of the island. lots of local history was explained, and the scenery was beautiful. then we took a bus to the volcano...we went on a walking tour, and my fiance took a dip in the hot springs. then we went to the botanical gardens...gorgeous!! there was a lot of walking and stairs involved in the volcano and gardens, so i'd be careful about booking if you tire very easily. finally, we got lunch and were taken on a bus tour of the island. again, beautiful, but lots of people were falling asleep...it was a long excursion at the end of a very port intensive trip! it rained off an on this day, and lots of people complained. my fiance and i welcomed the rain...how many can say they've walked through a tropical rainstorm? it also kept us cooled off on what would otherwise have been a hot and sweat excursion!

 

the dreadful end:

there appeared to be an outbreak of noro towards the end of the cruise. i believe it was the 5th day that you could no longer serve yourselves...the salt and pepper disappeared...etc. i had been using the hand sanitizer religiously throughout the cruise. unfortunately, late afternoon on our last sea day, it hit me. i can honestly say this this was as bad, if not worse, as the time that i had e coli poisoning. i'll spare the gory details, but this was the point that having an inside cabin became awful. eventually the nurse came to the cabin. there was a lengthly questionnaire that my fiance filled out for me, and she had a lot of questions. it was frustrating, because i felt so awful, but i understand that the information is necessary. finally the sweet sweet moment came when she gave me a shot for the nausea and a handful of pills for the other symptoms. i did not vomit again after the shot, although the nausea remained for about 1/2 an hour. the lopridimide (spelling?) pills finally took complete effect about an hour before debarking the ship. i liked that the baggie was labelled so that i could take it on my carry-on without worries about TSA. needless to say, this was NOT a fun way to spend my return day, but i made it. i'm feeling a lot better, but still very tired and with a sore tummy. although this was a fairly horrible ending to a previously amazing cruise, at least it was the last day!

 

please, feel free to ask questions. as i said, i'm pretty tired and still recovering, so i may have left something out!

[martinchem]

What a good post!

[mafig]

Thanks for your review.

 

Sorry you were sick.:(

 

Regarding Tiami. Did this excursion also include drinks and lunch? If so, how was it?

[hazeleyes]

Hi all,

 

we just returned last night (this morning, really) from our Jewel cruise to the southern caribbean. this cruise was AMAZING! NCL, and specifically freestyle, were perfect for us.

 

the ship:

gorgeous, and very well laid out in our opinion. we had an inside stateroom on the 11th deck, aft. the room was beautifully appointed although (big surprise!) very small. the size didn't bother us except for the occasional traffic jam with trying to get to the bathroom/closet. we really couldn't complain, it met our needs perfectly, and did not spend a lot of time in the room (until the last day, more on that later). we found the lido deck to be beautiful....two swimming pools and four hot tubs, which was MUCH more swimming opportunity than my previous Carnival experience. the stardust theater was very nice, with comfortable seating. we enjoyed the casino, although we definitely spent a little too much of our money there!

 

the food:

overall a very positive experience. we actually found that we preferred the selection/taste of food in the garden buffet over the main dining rooms for dinner. this is not to say that the dining room food was bad, just not to our tastes. on most days we did breakfast in the buffet due to time constraints. we had breakfast in Azura once, and it was delicious. i would highly recommend that you try to make it to Azura for breakfast. it was a relaxing and delicious alternative to the hustle and bustle of the breakfast buffet. for lunch we either used the buffet or the poolside grill. both were good, although there was obviously more choice at the buffet. the grill offers the basics - hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, fries, and the fixins. we did late night snacking at the blue lagoon several times and the buffalo wings were pretty good! we found that the fish and chips were DEFINITELY better quality during the day than the 2am attempt. we dined in three specialty restaurants: Teppanyaki, Le Bistro, and Cagney's. Teppanyaki was FANTASTIC! we have a similar restaurant locally and Teppanyaki surprisingly blew them out of the water. the flavor of the food was amazing, although not for those who lack a fondness for garlic. Le Bistro was also delicious. we dined here as part of the anniversary package, and the food was above our expectations. finally, we dined at Cagney's. i was a little disappointed. the quality of our steaks was very good (a filet and a ribeye), but they lacked seasoning...a little salt and pepper would have saved the meal. we also had the "cagney's fries" which were also a little disappointing. again, not BAD, but definitely could have been done better. dessert was the best part at Cagney's, but it had nothing to do with the food. the assistant maitre'd brought out an amazing engagement ring as my special dessert while my boyfriend got down on one knee and proposed. talk about a fine dining experience!!

 

excursions:

we did ship excursions for each island...we know that money can be saved by going independent, but decided that this time around we would take the easy way out. Samana, DR- we did the Cayo Levantado beach escape. it was a beautiful beach and a beautiful day. we shared the beach with the MSC Lirica, but there were enough chairs to go around and lots of fun people to meet. there was a brief rainstorm, which sent most people packing to the bar and opened up prime beach seating! Tortola- i forget the name of the excursion, but we took a catamaran cruise to snorkel at Norman Island and then spend the rest of our day at a private beach club. the snorkeling was amazing. we were the only people there, and the water was crystal clear. the private beach club was also great...this was our favorite excursion. Antigua- we did another beach day, and again i forget the name of the excursion. it included lunch and two free rum punches, as well as a beach chair. we rented a beach umbrella for $6, which was a welcome shade in the hot hot sun. we also rented a jet ski. it was $50 for half an hour. definitely worth it! Barbados- we did the Tiami five star catamaran. this was a great excursion, although the snorkeling portion was pretty crowded. the guides were VERY strict about keeping people together in a group, which led to lots of feet to the face. swimming with the turtles was amazing - the highlight of my excursions. we then went to snorkel a reef, which was nice, but not as beautiful as Norman Island. Finally, they took us to a beach stop. St. Lucia-we took the volcanic expressions tour. it was a GREAT tour, but involved a lot. first, we took a cruise by catamaran along the coast of the island. lots of local history was explained, and the scenery was beautiful. then we took a bus to the volcano...we went on a walking tour, and my fiance took a dip in the hot springs. then we went to the botanical gardens...gorgeous!! there was a lot of walking and stairs involved in the volcano and gardens, so i'd be careful about booking if you tire very easily. finally, we got lunch and were taken on a bus tour of the island. again, beautiful, but lots of people were falling asleep...it was a long excursion at the end of a very port intensive trip! it rained off an on this day, and lots of people complained. my fiance and i welcomed the rain...how many can say they've walked through a tropical rainstorm? it also kept us cooled off on what would otherwise have been a hot and sweat excursion!

 

the dreadful end:

there appeared to be an outbreak of noro towards the end of the cruise. i believe it was the 5th day that you could no longer serve yourselves...the salt and pepper disappeared...etc. i had been using the hand sanitizer religiously throughout the cruise. unfortunately, late afternoon on our last sea day, it hit me. i can honestly say this this was as bad, if not worse, as the time that i had e coli poisoning. i'll spare the gory details, but this was the point that having an inside cabin became awful. eventually the nurse came to the cabin. there was a lengthly questionnaire that my fiance filled out for me, and she had a lot of questions. it was frustrating, because i felt so awful, but i understand that the information is necessary. finally the sweet sweet moment came when she gave me a shot for the nausea and a handful of pills for the other symptoms. i did not vomit again after the shot, although the nausea remained for about 1/2 an hour. the lopridimide (spelling?) pills finally took complete effect about an hour before debarking the ship. i liked that the baggie was labelled so that i could take it on my carry-on without worries about TSA. needless to say, this was NOT a fun way to spend my return day, but i made it. i'm feeling a lot better, but still very tired and with a sore tummy. although this was a fairly horrible ending to a previously amazing cruise, at least it was the last day!

 

please, feel free to ask questions. as i said, i'm pretty tired and still recovering, so i may have left something out!

 

Was happy to hear you had a great time until the end where you got sick. I am happy to hear your feeling better now.

 

We will be going on the Jewel in early March. Can you confirm a few things for me? Do you recall the prices of the specialty restaurants? Rumors have it that the italian has gone up to $20 pp. Im eager to hear what the cost of each one was on your sailing. Did you do the 5 day cruise? If so do you recall the price of the spa package? Its the package that you can use the spa for the entire week.

 

All help is greatly appreciated.

[mafig]

Azura is the smaller of the restaurants, correct?

 

This is where they serve breakfast?

Wasn't it crowded?

[lilypi314]

Thanks for your review.

 

Sorry you were sick.:(

 

Regarding Tiami. Did this excursion also include drinks and lunch? If so, how was it?

 

it did include lunch and unlimited drinks. lunch was delicious! buffet style...curry chicken, salad, cucumber salad, mac n cheese, veggies, and a lot more. they didn't have a full bar, but several kinds of rums, juices, and traditional rum punch. i believe they also had soda.

[lilypi314]

Was happy to hear you had a great time until the end where you got sick. I am happy to hear your feeling better now.

 

We will be going on the Jewel in early March. Can you confirm a few things for me? Do you recall the prices of the specialty restaurants? Rumors have it that the italian has gone up to $20 pp. Im eager to hear what the cost of each one was on your sailing. Did you do the 5 day cruise? If so do you recall the price of the spa package? Its the package that you can use the spa for the entire week.

 

All help is greatly appreciated.

 

we did the 9 day cruise, and i don't remember the price of the spa package. as for specialty restaurants: mama's and tango's were $10, le bistro was $15, Cagney's was $20 and Teppanyaki was $25. the other restaurants were either $15 or $20.

[lilypi314]

Azura is the smaller of the restaurants, correct?

 

This is where they serve breakfast?

Wasn't it crowded?

 

good eye! after reading your comment it reminded me that breakfast was actually in Tsar's, not Azura. it was not crowded.

[hazeleyes]

we did the 9 day cruise, and i don't remember the price of the spa package. as for specialty restaurants: mama's and tango's were $10, le bistro was $15, Cagney's was $20 and Teppanyaki was $25. the other restaurants were either $15 or $20.

 

Thank you so much for your response.

[uppitycats]

I'm sorry you got sick on your last day! That noro is one ugly bug!

 

The Jewel is indeed a lovely ship. We had a great time on her in October. At the time, though, the poolside grill wasn't open (it was too cold!) which was too bad. I've heard all kinds of good comments about the food there.

 

We had a rack of Lamb at Le Bistro which was the best I've ever eaten... I still dream about it.. :)

[Suebee42]

Congrats on your engagement! WOO!!!! :D

 

I'm sorry you got sick... I'm getting on the Jewel in t-minus... well, look at my ticker. LOL! I hope they nip that business in the bud before I board!

 

(and yes, the hand sanitizer is already packed! :D )

[lilypi314]

I'm sorry you got sick on your last day! That noro is one ugly bug!

 

The Jewel is indeed a lovely ship. We had a great time on her in October. At the time, though, the poolside grill wasn't open (it was too cold!) which was too bad. I've heard all kinds of good comments about the food there.

 

We had a rack of Lamb at Le Bistro which was the best I've ever eaten... I still dream about it.. :)

 

my finace had the rack of lamb at le bistro, and is STILL talking about it. i had the cassoulet, and i've never had such a decadent meal. sooooo yummy.

[lilypi314]

Congrats on your engagement! WOO!!!! :D

 

I'm sorry you got sick... I'm getting on the Jewel in t-minus... well, look at my ticker. LOL! I hope they nip that business in the bud before I board!

 

(and yes, the hand sanitizer is already packed! :D )

 

thanks for the congrats!

 

i would say, make sure you bring your hand sanitizer to the dining areas with you and use it right before you eat even if you got sprayed on your way in. i was religious about using the sanitizer provided by the ship, but still somehow got sick. my fiance noticed something interesting - on the morning of debarkation, the buffet was self serve again, and all of the salt and pepper was back on the table, despite the fact that dozens of new cases of noro had come about the night before (info given by a crew member we became friendly with). i honestly don't have a lot of confidence in everything being THAT sanitary after seeing this, as the buffet would be open for new passengers in just a few short hours.

[Restorer]

Thanks for the great info!!! We're sailing on the Jewel on the 6th of February. I hope the NORO haasw moved on by then. Do you have any comments on the entertainment aboard?

[Suebee42]

Thanks for the great info!!! We're sailing on the Jewel on the 6th of February. I hope the NORO haasw moved on by then. Do you have any comments on the entertainment aboard?

 

I promise not to personally get you sick in passing at the terminal. LOL!

[lilypi314]

Thanks for the great info!!! We're sailing on the Jewel on the 6th of February. I hope the NORO haasw moved on by then. Do you have any comments on the entertainment aboard?

 

the comedian onboard, Joe Yannety, is HILARIOUS. the second city comedy troupe was also good, but not as good as Joe. we didn't see any of the other shows, so i can't comment.

[Tutone56]

My family and I were on the same cruise. We also had a wonderful time. We did not eat at the specialty restaurants so I can't comment on them. We thought the food was very good in the buffet, Blue Lagoon, and the main dining rooms. We also felt the entertainment was really good. My favorites, the comedian, Joe Yanetty was hilarious - I haven't laughed that much in a long time. The comedian/magician, JP, was very funny. They had a Capella group, The Cats Pajamas, and they were excellent. There was always something going on for everyone to enjoy. Overall a great trip and beautiful ship. Sorry to hijack your thread lilypi314.

 

P.S. we signed up for the spa pass - best thing we did. It was a great place to unwind and relax. Never crowded, and those heated tile loungers - heaven...

[lilypi314]

My family and I were on the same cruise. We also had a wonderful time. We did not eat at the specialty restaurants so I can't comment on them. We thought the food was very good in the buffet, Blue Lagoon, and the main dining rooms. We also felt the entertainment was really good. My favorites, the comedian, Joe Yanetty was hilarious - I haven't laughed that much in a long time. The comedian/magician, JP, was very funny. They had a Capella group, The Cats Pajamas, and they were excellent. There was always something going on for everyone to enjoy. Overall a great trip and beautiful ship. Sorry to hijack your thread lilypi314.

 

P.S. we signed up for the spa pass - best thing we did. It was a great place to unwind and relax. Never crowded, and those heated tile loungers - heaven...

 

i'm glad your family had a great time too! we meant to see JP but happened to find ourselves napping instead! :)

[cck0000]

:eek:Lilyp, tell me, did they quarantine your finance when you became ill?

How long did this illness last? So far since youve been home, are you eating alright?

 

Thanks for your review. I was on this cruise Dec 26-Jan 2.

There wasnt an outbreak that I was aware of...but the crew was

very aggresssive with the sanitizers and sprays. But salt and pepper was there, and it was self serve at the buffet. So who knows.

 

Anyway I am sorry to hear of your illness, and I am glad you are still so positive about your cruise.

[lilypi314]

:eek:Lilyp, tell me, did they quarantine your finance when you became ill?

How long did this illness last? So far since youve been home, are you eating alright?

 

Thanks for your review. I was on this cruise Dec 26-Jan 2.

There wasnt an outbreak that I was aware of...but the crew was

very aggresssive with the sanitizers and sprays. But salt and pepper was there, and it was self serve at the buffet. So who knows.

 

Anyway I am sorry to hear of your illness, and I am glad you are still so positive about your cruise.

 

they did NOT quarantine him when i became ill. honestly, i think there was a different attitude because it was the last night of the cruise...in essence, anyone exposed to my fiance who caught the bug would come down with it once they were off the ship. this occurred to me when i realized that they stopped taking the noro precautions on the last morning, despite the continued progression of the bug. also, they did not quarantine me!! maybe they saw how sick i was and knew that i was stuck in the room, but i was never told not to leave the room or not to use any public facilities.

[cck0000]

That's interesting for sure.

I bet you are right.....last day/night of the cruise....hmmm.

 

Are you all better now? :)

[going2thesun]

We are leaving for Florida TOMORROW and will be on the Jewel Friday. Boy am I going to wash, sanitize and not breathe in while on ship. :eek: I would appreciate anyone's comments on the shows at night and the excursions they took any other great food they ate, wonderful music on board. Last year we were on the NCL Sun and there was a group of 70's music that was to die for- I couldn't get enough.

[cck0000]

We all loved the comedian Joe Yanetty. He is there on the first night.

Very funny. Fun for the whole family.

We also really loved Second City Comedy show. Excellent!!

That was sometime mid-week. Dont miss that one.

We didnt go to all of the shows...Let me think.

Oh! And the Hypnotist was very entertaining!

I am skeptical of the whole hypnotism on stage- thing, but everyone enjoyed her show!! She packs the house so get there early!

The Cirque De Bijou was also very entertaining. THat one was 2nd to last night.

Have fun.

[tonkadq]

After some 10 plus cruises, we've never before seen the lock on self-service and the sudden removal the last day. I've always prefered "cook to order" services... found for lunch at the Sky High Bar was great! The Blue Lagoon was a nice change of pace and not as crowded (though folks started finding it towards the end). Teppanikii was excellent! In 2006 Tango's & Mamas Kitchen were no extra charge, I was disappointed to see that they now charge. We won a dinner to Mamas Kitchen but was not impressed... other than the price was right! The main dining rooms were crowded and served the same food as found in the buffet. Made to order omelets, eggs, crepes, carved meat were good and no serving utensils were handled by others! Desserts (other than the chocolate buffet) were not as good as previous cruises. But don't miss the soft serve ice cream machine & cookes. Loved the Great Outdoors dining area. The Library, Card and Latitudes Rooms were nice quite spots for morning coffee too.

 

We've always liked NCL entertainment. Jean Ryan dancers were good as usual with Circus the best and not many Country songs sung at that show. Comedian and Magician were terrific as well as Cat's Pajamas. Not a Second City fan so we skipped the second show. Liked the Cha-Cha & Jive lessons given by the dancers from Ukrane. Also 60to80 bands & Rama 111 provided good entertainment and great dance music.

 

Had lots of concerns about things not up to previous NCL cruises and will probably write a review. This is my first experience with Cruise Critic. Thanks.

[lilypi314]

That's interesting for sure.

I bet you are right.....last day/night of the cruise....hmmm.

 

Are you all better now? :)

 

thankfully, i am feeling MUCH better now. thanks for asking!