A review from the Aft of the Jewel - January 17, 2015

So let's continue with the review.

I woke up early on Sunday only to find out that it was cloudy and that I was not going to be able to get any pictures of the sunrise. However, I prepared a cappuccino and sat in the balcony until DP woke up.

Around 8:00 am we went to breakfast, which is also served in Moderno.

It is such a great way to start your morning because nobody else is there.

And the breakfast buffet is great.

The menu does not change throughout the week, but there is always something for everyone.

DP always had the same thing for breakfast - Muesli, followed by the Tahitian French toast. Trust me, he had the French toast 7 days in a row.

Sorry, there are no pictures of the French toast because DP ate too fast.

As for me, I was a little bit more adventurous and tried almost everything on the menu.

My favorite is the Crab Cake Benedict (regular eggs Benedict shown below, but you get the idea), but the smoked salmon frittata is also great.

PS. I only enjoyed one breakfast item per day!

After breakfast, we went back to the room to enjoy the aft balcony and took some nice pictures in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.

The meet & greet was held in Le Bistro at 11:00 am. It was well attended by about 45 cruise critic members.

Here is a list of the officers onboard the Jewel.

Thanks divamimi312 for the heads up on the e-docs.

OP, I have learned more about NCL from your thread than the NCL site, especially about the suite life. This is a trial run for us, but I wouldn't be surprised to be back again - in a suite next time.

Marion

So I managed to find a picture of the infamous french toast that kept disappearing from DP's plate every morning. They are very tasty as well as the french press coffee that you see in the picture.

After the meet & greet, it was time for lunch, followed by the Latitudes welcome back reception. The reception was held in the Spinnaker lounge at 1:00 pm. The reception was well attended by about 200 guests and the drinks were flowing for about one hour. There were so many free drinks that we were even given some drinks to go and who are we to say no. :)

After the Latitudes reception, DP went back to room to take a nap and enjoy the sunshine in the balcony while I went to O'Sheehan's to watch the Seahawks - Packers' game.

O'Sheehan's was very busy and the fans were somewhat segregated. The whole ship was literally rocking with excitement about the game.

For the first two quarters, the game was a blowout. DP joined me at O'sheehan's at 3:30 pm so that we could get some appetizers before the martini tasting. Service at O'sheehan's was very slow, but totally understandable considering the number of guests that were watching the game. I had some buffalo wings, which were great while DP had the spinach dip.

One of my favorite event onboard are the martini tastings, which are typically held on sea days at 4:00 pm. For $15 you get 6 different martinis (3 oz each).

There were 3 martini tastings on this cruise (Sunday, Thursday, and Friday), and we attended all three of them. The selection of martinis is different for each tasting, and typically starts with a classic martini such as the traditional vodka martini

Followed by something a little bit sweeter or a designer martini like a cosmopolitan

And ending with a dessert martini. Before you know it there is a bunch of empty martini glasses in front of you, and you ask yourself "Did I do that"?

Over the last year or so, NCL has started to offer martini flights any day of the week for $15. You can get them at selected bars throughout the ship.

You can purchase the Martini Flight any day...correct? Do they also have a Mojito Flight?

So loving following your review....I check in several times a day :D

We can't wait until our time on March 7th arrives!

This is a great review! Thank you so much for the detail, photos, menus, and daily programs. I'm already thinking of all the things we can do on our sea days... so many martini and wine tastings, so little time... :D

Loved the photo of the football game in O'Sheehans; I'm assuming it was taken well AFTER half time, since the Packers fans all look kinda depressed. I could have used 6 martinis by the 4th quarter!! :( Oh well. I'll get over it. Someday.

Back to the cruise, I do have a question about the breakfasts at Cagney's for suite guests. I know you can order a "regular" breakfast in your suite, but can you get items from the Cagney's menu delivered to your room? We love to eat breakfast on our balcony, and that French toast looks fabulous! (Thanks for finding the photo. ;))

You can purchase the Martini Flight any day...correct? Do they also have a Mojito Flight?

 

So loving following your review....I check in several times a day :D

 

We can't wait until our time on March 7th arrives!

Thanks your comment. Yes, they do have a mojito flight. I have a picture to share later on.

This is a great review! Thank you so much for the detail, photos, menus, and daily programs. I'm already thinking of all the things we can do on our sea days... so many martini and wine tastings, so little time... :D

 

Loved the photo of the football game in O'Sheehans; I'm assuming it was taken well AFTER half time, since the Packers fans all look kinda depressed. I could have used 6 martinis by the 4th quarter!! :( Oh well. I'll get over it. Someday.

 

Back to the cruise, I do have a question about the breakfasts at Cagney's for suite guests. I know you can order a "regular" breakfast in your suite, but can you get items from the Cagney's menu delivered to your room? We love to eat breakfast on our balcony, and that French toast looks fabulous! (Thanks for finding the photo. ;))

Thanks.

Actually, the picture was taken before half time because we went to the martini tasting during the half time. Not sure why the packers' fans look so depressed since it was a blowout at that point.

In terms of breakfast and lunch, it is served in Moderno now, but the menu is the same. If you are in suite you can order anything from the Moderno menu and it will be delivered by your butler. You can also order from any of the specialty restaurants (fee applies) and your butler will deliver it to your cabin.

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Over the last year or so, NCL has started to offer martini flights any day of the week for $15. You can get them at selected bars throughout the ship.[/size][/font]

That looks SO yummy! They appear to be on a little tray. Do you think that it would be possible to carry them back to your room to enjoy on the balcony, or would that be a disaster waiting to happen? :D

After the martini tasting, we went back to room to get ready for the VIP reception and dinner at Le Bistro that night.

Upon arriving in our room, we found some goodies that were left by our butler. If you are in a suite, your butler will deliver snacks every afternoon. If there is something that you like or don't like, please let your butler know on day 1 and they will bring you what you like. Typical snacks include cheese and crackers, chocolate-covered strawberries, cookies, sweets, etc. Here are some pictures of the snacks we received during the week.

Sorry that this picture is missing something - DP could not keep his hands to himself for 2 seconds.

That looks SO yummy! They appear to be on a little tray. Do you think that it would be possible to carry them back to your room to enjoy on the balcony, or would that be a disaster waiting to happen? :D

Really depends on how much you had to drink:D, but probably not a good idea. You might be able to ask the bartender to put them in regular glasses for you so that you can take them with you. If should be ok if you are traveling a short distance.

The VIP reception (for suite guests or other VIPs) was held in the Haven at 6:30 pm. The captain and other officers attended the reception, and it was a very nice event. Once again, the drinks were flowing for about 45 minutes. Not sure how NCL decides who is a VIP, but an invitation will be in your room the first day.

For those of you not familiar with the Haven, it is private courtyard complex only accessible to Haven's guest. There are only 12 cabins in the Haven (Deck 13) and guests staying in the owner's suites also have access to the Haven. We were in an Owner's suite last year and really enjoyed the Haven. Here are some pictures of the Haven.

At the VIP reception, we chatted with several other couples and we ended up going to pre-dinner drinks with them. After that night, we often met up with them before or after dinner for drinks.

In terms of breakfast and lunch, it is served in Moderno now, but the menu is the same. If you are in suite you can order anything from the Moderno menu and it will be delivered by your butler.

Thanks for the reply; good to know! All these food photos are making me hungry...

After drinks with our new friends, we went to Le Bistro for our 8:15 pm dinner reservation. I apologize, but I forgot to take pictures that night. Here are the menus from last year.

DP and I both had the escargot and mushroom soup. If you ever go to Le Bistro, make sure to try one or both of them - they are delicious. For entrees, DP had to steak and I had the butter roasted lobster tail. My lobster tail was very fresh and tasty. Our free dinners (Platinum benefit) also came with a free bottle of wine. Unfortunately, the bottle of wine that I wanted was no longer available, so I selected another bottle. We skipped dessert because we were too full.

Here is a tip for those of you considering the Ultimate Dinning Package (UDP). Some entrees, like my lobster tail, require an additional fee in addition to the cover charge. (see menu). If you have the UDP that fee is waived.

After dinner, we stopped by our room to change and found our first towel animal

We stopped by the spinnaker lounge for the Norwegian's Night Out Party, but did not stay long. We also stopped by the casino to make our contribution to NCL.

End of Day 2. Day 3 - Cozumel

Thanks your comment. Yes, they do have a mojito flight. I have a picture to share later on.

I am waiting on the mojito flight picture. :D I could use the martini and the mojito flight right now since we went out grocery shopping today and it was crowded we forgot many hard working people are off on Fridays. Note to us---stick to Monday-Thursday.

How was Le Bistro ? I am really looking forward to eating there on our upcoming cruise on the Sun.

We were supposed to be in the same cabin as you on the Jewel this April, but cancelled when we learned that you could not even buy the UBP, this was before the rules changed. So I am living this cancelled cruise vicariously through you :)

Is the steak at Le Bistro better then Cagneys in your opinion ? I also love Escargot :) We have the UDP also and if Le Bistro is better we may just keep going there lol

Many many thanks for all the details, dailies and photos!👍💞 You would absolutely make a fabulous cruise writer🍸 You bring the "Suite" life to a new high!🚢. I can't wait to read tomorrow's report. We will toast in your honor at Meet n Mingle and Latitudes parties. NCL should be paying YOU!😘. Fabulous!💞

Many many thanks for all the details, dailies and photos![emoji106][emoji179] You would absolutely make a fabulous cruise writer[emoji483] You bring the "Suite" life to a new high![emoji568]. I can't wait to read tomorrow's report. We will toast in your honor at Meet n Mingle and Latitudes parties. NCL should be paying YOU![emoji8]. Fabulous![emoji179]

I wish Cruise Critic would get a "like" button. [emoji106]

Couldn't agree more about OP's review.

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My family is cruising March 21(maybe the 20) and my in laws are in 10164. Your cabin pictures are wonderfully helpful as this their first cruise.

Looking forward to your Belize review!

How was Le Bistro ? I am really looking forward to eating there on our upcoming cruise on the Sun.

 

We were supposed to be in the same cabin as you on the Jewel this April, but cancelled when we learned that you could not even buy the UBP, this was before the rules changed. So I am living this cancelled cruise vicariously through you :)

 

Is the steak at Le Bistro better then Cagneys in your opinion ? I also love Escargot :) We have the UDP also and if Le Bistro is better we may just keep going there lol

Thanks for your comments.

I personally like the steak better at Le Bistro than Cagney's, but I like Le Bistro more than Cagney's. DP said that his steak was very good. Since you have the UDP, I would suggest that you try the steak in both places and decide for yourself - please come back let us know about it.

I wish Cruise Critic would get a "like" button. [emoji106]

 

Couldn't agree more about OP's review.

 

 

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Thanks LoungeAlot and OUgal for your comments. While writing a review is a lot of work, I enjoy doing it because it makes me feel like I am on vacation for another, or two, weeks.

Thanks for your comments.

 

I personally like the steak better at Le Bistro than Cagney's, but I like Le Bistro more than Cagney's. DP said that his steak was very good. Since you have the UDP, I would suggest that you try the steak in both places and decide for yourself - please come back let us know about it.

Thanks ! Please carry on with your wonderful review, I actually get a little disappointed when I click on this thread and find you have not updated it with a new day of pictures and comments, LOL.