ctrlbrk

Doing my first ever solo in November on Jewel.

Honestly I have just two concerns.

On ship, I want to primarily eat dinner at the specialty restaurants and would like more detailed info on seating. Where do they sit the tables for one? I would kind of want to be in a corner and not on display in the middle of the room. I figure I will bring my tablet or something so during the wait I am not twiddling my thumbs.

Second concern is ports. For instance Belize has a small crime problem so I would prefer to do a group tour, which is easy enough to schedule. But I also want to do a taxi to a pharmacy to pick some things up I can't get easily in my home country. So that would be on my own...

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Thanks johnql!

Only thing, there aren't any entrees? Like eating in one night, steak, potato, veggie etc.

Is it possible to order from the MDR menu for room service?

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For the OP and others who may be new to NCL: Most ships have two MDRs. The larger, fancier one is typically in the back of the ship with big aft-facing windows and that's where the dress code is a bit more formal.

 

So if your husband wants to wear the longer shorts and sandals in the evening and that's not enough for the "fancy" MDR, you can go to the other, smaller MDR where they serve a nearly identical menu.

Great info. Does this apply to Jewel?

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I hear the $5 pizza is pretty good, I look forward to trying it.

When I was on Allure last year I really loved their pizza place. Man it was awesome! Looking forward to trying NCL.

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I do not understand why they charge for pizza. Other room service is free.

OK awesome, thx!

Still would love to see a menu if someone has it.

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Can someone post a room service menu please? For Jewel if it matters.

I just realized I thought room service was free on NCL, like on RCCL but read a post just now about it costing $5 for a pizza.

I love ordering room service! But not if it's expensive!

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Mine is on Jewel in Houston.

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Thanks. I know with RCCL I needed to double check to make sure both reservations were "linked" as a back-to-back. There was a special "back-to-back" department to talk to for this.

With NCL I am not sure if this is needed or not. I just want to make sure it's a seamless experience and they realize I am coming back on the ship :)

Hi guys,

I've done B2B on RCCL before but this is my first time sailing NCL. I will be on the Jewel Nov 1 and Nov 8, and was wondering about their B2B procedures and process.

I am in the same stateroom on both legs of the trip.

On RCCL you simply leave all your belongings in the room and walk off with just your passport and seapass card. They assemble you in a wait room for about 30 minutes around noon if I remember, and you are the last group to walk off the ship and the first group to walk back on the ship. The entire process took maybe one hour from the time you arrive at the wait room, walk off ship, wait again at terminal, then walk back on ship.

There is also a special B2B lunch prepared at one of the specialty restaurants, and it was a nice perk.

Can anyone tell me the process with NCL? I assume much of the same but would like to know the details.

Thanks for the review. I was recently considering POA but decided on Jewel instead, even though I am a bit tired of Caribbean ports.

I wanted a taste of NCL without the "special" part from POA.

One of my main concerns was the crew. Being American. I'm American but live in South America now, and let's be honest, I think American's are spoiled and was concerned this type of service industry is not well suited for most American staff.

But the real concern was the exact same itinerary for so many years straight can really be bad for moral of the crew.

Plus I booked a back-to-back on Jewel for barely more than a single on POA.

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It looks fantastic!

Are those beers only available at the irish pub, or can you get them anywhere on the ship?

I prefer the pre-tip route, usually I make a few simple requests at the beginning of the cruise (like a fan for the room to help me sleep) and then I'll tip and say "Thank you very much! Here is a little tip to get started and I'll do more at the end of the cruise if everything goes great! I really look forward to this being a great cruise!".

I think it helps. And lets face it, money is a strong motivator. There are plenty of bad tippers out there. I imagine I am an above average tipper, so I think letting them know this ahead of time is good for both them and me. I will get above average service from them and in exchange they get an above average tip. Everyone wins!

I have witnessed how much harder they work for you after you give them a nice tip. It is obvious. So really I don't see any downside.

Agree that without the pools it might not be much fun. I think of Alaska as an older destination to do w/o kids, but could be wrong.

You might consider going without him and instead booking him on a shorter Caribbean cruise as his graduation present. I say shorter because it will have more young people, and Caribbean because the pools will be popular as will the ports.

If that isn't an option, maybe you could at least sign the waiver for him so he could have a few drinks :D

Even if your wifi is turned on, you have to LOG IN to use it. You do have to logout, or the minutes will keep running though.

 

Sorry, no unlimited. Personally, I am surprised the few ships that have offered unlimited can do that. People can get very hooked on the pc/laptop/phone and spend lots of hours.

OK, I will make myself some sticky notes "REMEMBER TO LOG OUT!!" hehe.

I have a piece of software for Windows that lets my notebook become an access point, so when I was on Allure of the Seas for example I got the unlimited internet but it let me have my notebook, phone, and my friends tablet all share wifi in-cabin.

The unlimited thing was more a convenience than a requirement. Just easier to not have to worry about how many minutes you are online. But for per-minute charge, I will compose emails off-line and upload them all at once for example.

Just googled it - here you go.

Thank you. I am used to Royal's unlimited package, not by the minute. It concerns me a little because if I forget to disable wi-fi on my phone it could use all the minutes in the blink of an eye and cost me $100!

They don't seem to have an unlimited option.

But there is in-cabin wifi on Jewel which is nice.

Can someone post a spa menu from the Jewel with prices please?

Internet runs from $.40 to $.75 per minute, depending on package you buy, for somewhat slow service. Same price no matter how you get it. Laptop, tablet, phone, or their computers.

Can you point me to a list of packages with prices? I wasn't able to find it on NCL's website.

Also does this mean there is wifi in cabin?

Is there wifi in-cabin on the Jewel?

What is the cost for internet on a 7 day?

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Does anyone know if the dry dock included other things like new carpet, new TV's in staterooms, new lounge chairs etc?

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I'm new to NCL and doing a B2B on Jewel, Nov 8 and Nov 15. I've been somewhat disappointed by other cruise line spa services (Royal and Princess) and was wondering if I should expect more of the same from NCL, or if by chance they take it up a notch? The disappointment was mainly I felt for the price it should have been a really top notch massage, and it wasn't (on other lines).

Does NCL operate its own spa or is it a third party?

Should I book ahead of time on the website, or are there better deals to be had on the first day on board?

Does anyone have a recent spa menu they can post (with prices)? I checked on NCL's website but there are no prices listed, unless I missed it somewhere.

I know another option would be to get a massage in the ports on the beach by locals, it is sometimes a much better value. But it also takes away a lot of time from excursions.

No it did not based on reports.

Thanks. I guess I won't miss it, having never experienced it before :D

I just booked a B2B on Jewel for Nov 8 and Nov 15. My first on NCL, very excited!

I searched this thread but couldn't find any mention of whether or not Jewel will receive the 'Illusionarium' in dry dock. Can anyone confirm?

I'd go during whale watching season. The peak is middle February thru late March.

Thanks. I am not overly focused on the whales, as I get to see them here in South America. I am more interested in having as little rain as possible, but I am not really sure of the 'true' climate of Hawaii and some of those historical weather websites say rain every day but they don't make it clear it may only rain for 10 minutes a day.

So just trying to figure out based on others actual experiences.

Hi guys,

I'm looking to jump ship from RCL and try NCL, I need some new ports!

I'm considering the Pride of America's Hawaii 7-day, and having never been to Hawaii I wonder if I could get some advice on the best time of year to book her. I prefer to go when there are fewer kids, but also want to have the best chance of clear skies and no rain.

Any advice?

Although not specific to solo specials the weekly RC sales do have some reduced single supplements and can be found here

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Multi_Dest/Special_Offers/rci_sales_event.pdf

I have not found any e-mails for this information yet.

Is there a list to get on in order to get the brochure/pre-sales event info? I am a C&A member but did not get any email or notice on this.