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Jewel-March 17th sailing review


tinker

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Just back from the Jewel and one of our best cruises ever. Firstly, the weather was near perfect with only a bit windy on our Nassau day. We took a cab to the Sheraton Hotel and purchased the day pass and had a beautiful day there.

 

I heard complaints about "cut backs" on the food but we found the food good. I love the cesear salad and pretzel rolls and do not miss the crepes in the Garden Buffet at the station near the Great Outdoors. We love the Great Outdoors and had dinner out there several times and two nights in Tsars which is very nice. We also had dinner in Teppanyanki one night and have to say we are probably the minority in not enjoying the meal itself. It is entertaining and we had gone with friends celebrating a birthday but would not choose to go again in the future.

 

We had a balcony on deck 9 and it was one of the smallest cabins we have ever had but sufficient storage. We were taken by surprise with the new no smoking policy in the staterooms and ironic we had this balcony booked as DH is unfortunately a smoker. I am not really sure when this was put into effect and we do not usually book balconies and again it worked out well that we did.

 

The best part of this cruise was the crew!! Having been on the Jewel before, I must say that this time the crew went out of their way. Our cabin attendant Joseph was wonderful, made sure to say hello several times a day and ask if we needed anything.

 

It was spring break and many college students onboard and we enjoyed watching them have such a great time, especially on the pool deck. The music on the pool deck was geared to the younger crowd but we do enjoy it. There was a DJ daily and several different bands on other days.

 

Also, there was entertainment nightly in the Atrium which I don't remember from other cruises and we enjoyed the Tribute to the Beatles.

 

We haven't been to Great Stirrup Cay since the improvements and very much enjoyed our day there. Plently of lounges there now, a new building for the buffet as well as new restrooms and bar serving areas.

 

In Port Canaveral we booked the Pontoon Boat Wildlife excursion and very much enjoyed seeing dolphins, manatee, many birds and the beautiful homes along the Banana River and was also a highlight of this cruise.

 

My only complaint would be disembarking, which is never fun, but I believe NCL needs to be more clear with the walk off instructions for those who choose to carry off their own luggage. This started out a little after 8 a.m. but it seems that many people assumed they could "walk off" at any time and many chose 9:30 to 10:00 which caused a jam up and delayed those of us with colored luggage tags with assigned times. We were "light blue" for a 10:00 a.m. disembark to meet our bus which was to begin loading at 10:30 but at 10:20 we had not been called and took it upon ourselves to get in line as not to miss the bus.

 

Getting off the ship is never fun, but again there was a major delay due to everyone wanting to walk off at the same time. Once downstairs in the luggage area we had a very nice porter assist us with our luggage and there is a separate line on the side of the customs area for those with porter assistance which was very convenient and quick.

 

For those who are sailing on the Jewel, you will have a fabulous time I am sure. The entertainment was also very good and don't miss some of the game type entertainment in the Fizz Lounge and Spinnaker. We enjoyed "Bandeoki" with passengers singing with the band and saw some very good talent.

 

Good job NCL, we love sailing from NYC and will be back to do it again!

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My only complaint would be disembarking, which is never fun, but I believe NCL needs to be more clear with the walk off instructions for those who choose to carry off their own luggage. This started out a little after 8 a.m. but it seems that many people assumed they could "walk off" at any time and many chose 9:30 to 10:00 which caused a jam up and delayed those of us with colored luggage tags with assigned times. We were "light blue" for a 10:00 a.m. disembark to meet our bus which was to begin loading at 10:30 but at 10:20 we had not been called and took it upon ourselves to get in line as not to miss the bus.

 

Glad you had a great cruise!

 

About the disembarkation, I wonder if they don't explain it the same way between different ships? The way that it was explained to us on the Sky was that people who were taking their own luggage off would be allowed to start going right away. There was a half hour window to do this. But then they also said that we had the option to wait to disembark "at our leisure" any time after that. DH and I waited until the last call since we didn't fly out until the next day. Several others were also doing the same, but the Cruise Director had actually said that this was ok.

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thanks for the review, leaving on Saturday ...our departure weather won't be nearly as good as yours.

 

We are thinking about the Pontoon Boat excursion; did you book on board or pre-book? Also, can you tell me if you take the same bus back and forth from the ship? That may seem like a silly question, but if we take my mom, she will need a wheelchair to get to the bus, and we want to make sure we get on the same bus with our wheelchair going back<G>! TIA,

 

el henry

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It was great sailing with you Tinker, and thanks to Dolores for the Meet and Greet. We also had a absolutely magical cruise and didn't want to come home. We got off the ship around 10:45 AM with one of the last color groups and it wasn't too bad getting off. Fortunately most of the bags had been claimed, so our's were easy to find.

 

We really enjoyed Moderno's opening on Thursday and we ate there Friday night, and what a lot of food! So delicious.

 

I'll post my review later today. We had three young girls with us, so it'll focus on slightly different points, including Nickleodeon which was very well done.

 

Hope to sail with you again sometime.

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thanks for the review, leaving on Saturday ...our departure weather won't be nearly as good as yours.

 

We are thinking about the Pontoon Boat excursion; did you book on board or pre-book? Also, can you tell me if you take the same bus back and forth from the ship? That may seem like a silly question, but if we take my mom, she will need a wheelchair to get to the bus, and we want to make sure we get on the same bus with our wheelchair going back<G>! TIA,

 

el henry

 

Yes you do take the same bus and they told us we could leave things on it. It is a very short walk once to the Pontoon boat and she would certainly enjoy it.

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thanks for the review, leaving on Saturday ...our departure weather won't be nearly as good as yours.

 

We are thinking about the Pontoon Boat excursion; did you book on board or pre-book? Also, can you tell me if you take the same bus back and forth from the ship? That may seem like a silly question, but if we take my mom, she will need a wheelchair to get to the bus, and we want to make sure we get on the same bus with our wheelchair going back<G>! TIA,

 

el henry

 

We booked it the week before we left and it was sold out so you may want to book it now.

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You do not miss the crepes? Does this mean they weren't offered or you did not care for them?

 

Sorry the way I typed that. Yes I DO miss the crepes (lemon was my favorite!!) and what I meant to say was for those going on the Jewel, do not miss having the crepes!

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Thanks. Went back and read what you wrote. I misread it. The sentence before talked about rumored food cutbacks, so I think i might have panicked about the crepes. I love the crepes, too. I like mine with a sprinkle of brown sugar.

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Thanks for taking the time to give your thoughts.

 

the Great Outdoors is one place ill be spending a lot of time... can you expand on the food there... any live music at night?

 

also Sheraton Hotel drinks food expensive?

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Thanks for taking the time to give your thoughts.

 

the Great Outdoors is one place ill be spending a lot of time... can you expand on the food there... any live music at night?

 

also Sheraton Hotel drinks food expensive?

 

The Great Outdoors has a limited buffet in the morning and up until 5:00 or so. We would usually get our food at the Garden Buffet and take it out to a table at the Great Outdoors. It was really nice out there the night we sailed out from Nassau at 6 p.m. I remember entertainment there in the evening on other cruises, but we were not out there much past 7 this cruise.

 

Food is very expensive at the Sheraton and $14 for a wrap or sandwich at their outdoor restaurant. A cup of soda was $3 and we didn't have any alcoholic drinks there. All in all it is still worth going if you just want a relaxing day.

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