kdzkatz

I was on the Jewel last month in Mexico and that Tomahawk Chop was insane. Loved it. I've always wanted to try one, but they are at least $100 at a good steakhouse. It was included with the UDP, but $39 is still a good price if you're paying for it.

 

We're on the Pearl next summer for Alaska, so hopefully they have it there too.

What is the Tomahawk Chop?

Thanks for your review. I'll be on Jewel in 9 days!

We'll get the Jewel warmed up for you. We will be on her tomorrow! We get to experience an owners suite too! Excited is an understatement! :D:D

What type of suite did you get?

 

Thanks!

Sue

Texsylvanian was in a category SF which is an aft penthouse.

thanks. just sharing my experience. wasn't looking for solutions. i'm glad you are a platinum NCL cruiser. enjoy!

I hope I didn't come across as condescending. :o I reread my post and I can see how that could seem that I was. I know there is so much to learn about cruising. So much small print to try and find the answers too often. Cruise Critic is such a wonderful resource! We have learned so much and I am certain we are only scratching the surface.

I think it is helpful for people to post their personal experience on here and I am certain it will help others.

Once again I would like to apologize if my post seemed mean spirited.

You need to do your due diligence to avoid several of your situations. Cruising is definitely a learning experience.

2 days!!!

I'd sure want to know if view of our balcony were available to anyone :eek:

 

But also beware the OS.

On some of those (Jewel class, not sure exactly which ships or which OS), there is a side security camera (NOT webcam, thank goodness), and it has views through the bathroom window to... the bathtub...

 

Just something to keep in mind, and keep that one window covered!

Nothing is going to happen on that balcony that we care if anyone sees.

The deck 10 OS's have the mystery cam outside the bathroom window. We are on deck 9 which doesn't have that window so we are good to go in that department as well. :)

Thanks for the heads up though. :)

We will be waving to all of you from my parents balcony this Saturday. It is the one the guy is standing on in the OP's pic. We will be right next door in the OS. So excited! It's not very often you are able to have a family photo taken from the bridge cam. :D:D We will do a screen capture from our laptop while we are in Seattle.

Thank you triptolemus for pointing out where the cam is located so we know where to look. :D

I think it all hinges on who the head chef is on board.

Are there any head chefs you would like to see running the show on your cruise? Any you would be not thrilled to see?

Texsylvanian once again you are extremely helpful! Thank you so much for all the great info you have provided on a few different threads. :D

roger001 I know this is a tough question I have asked as food is so subjective. I will take all opinions with a grain of salt (of course bad pun intended) ;):rolleyes::p:o

We are in the owners suite but plan on visiting the Haven on the Jewel often. I know some are saying on here to ask your butler to bring you a drink but that is not covered under the UBP. But can you get a UBP cocktail ordered to the courtyard in the Haven through the courtyard valet?

I know food is very subjective but I am wondering if there is anyone that has cruised on the Jewel last year and then again recently?

In May 2014 we were on the Jewel and we thought the food was incredible. Then last year (May 2015) we thought it was good but not nearly as good as the year before. The UDP was in full swing last year and we wonder if that was the culprit in the downturn in overall quality.

I have read that on other ships cruisers have noticed the overall food quality has improved since last year and I am hoping to get some opinions to that effect from the Jewel as we will be cruising on here for the 4th May in 4 years.

I'm sure we will enjoy the food but hopeful it returns to the level we experienced in 2014. :D:D

Your review and information are very much appreciated! My in-laws were on your cruise and I was watching the weather through the bridge cam. I am so happy for all those on your cruise to get such incredible weather throughout! Very rare. In 2010 it was cold, windy and rainy in Seattle. Meanwhile up in Alaska it was sunny and 70's to 80's. It was spectacular and it's always a little more fun when you get back to hear the weather was lousy while you were enjoying your warm weather cruise in Alaska. :D:p;)

Just off the Jewel (5/7 - 5/14 Alaska) with pamrob and can confirm that the menu still has the pot pie, mozz sticks and chicken fingers, but there are wings on it as well.

 

During the CC Meet & Greet I specifically talked to the F&B Director about the menus on the Jewel, and he said basically that the updated non-MDR menus may take as much as another 6 months to get rolled out to Jewel-class ships, so they may not make it until the end of 2016. However, they are rolling out some very specific menu items little by little, like adding the tomahawk steak to the Cagney's menu.

 

I was a little disappointed that the Le Bistro menu was the same as the last 2 cruises I've been on (in 2013 and 2015)...I really wanted to try some of the newer dishes that are on the updated menu I saw (like what's currently on the BA/GA). Still, what they have is delicious!

Great information! Thank you for sharing. I am guessing the suite dining menu will be part of the same roll out as the rest of the ship?

It will be great either way. I will either be welcoming the new menu with great gluttony (for me) or saying my final goodbye to the dishes I will miss next year also with great gluttony. :p;):D

If the Jewel is confirmed to still have the old menu up to this point I will report back here after our cruise to let you know if it has changed yet. I will also give my 2 cents of the new offerings if available as I plan on trying just about everything.

My DW and I have been in training for this cruise lol. We have both lost about 10% of our total body weight and about 33 pounds between the 2 of us over the last 6 1/2 weeks. Just a few more days of "training" before we jump off the wagon for a week. :D:D

We have to try and restrain ourselves a little better than last year. We normally eat pretty healthy and we had too much rich food too fast and we might as well have drank too much as we did not feel well later that first evening into late morning the next day. Our bodies were adjusted by then and we indulged without a care in the world. We have 51 other weeks of the year we can be concerned with what we eat and drink. :D:D

I thought I would bump this thread back up to see if the people that returned on the Jewel on May 1st can verify if the new menu in O'Sheehan's has been changed to the new one yet. Also if possible to find out if the lunch menu for suite passengers has been updated as shown in an earlier post in this thread? I really hope so as we cruise later this month.

I think this will be the last bump as I will know the answer first hand this Saturday. I'm hoping someone has any info about the pending menu change.

My common sense and good judgement tells me it is not allowed but I also believe it doesn't hurt to ask. I really think this is a question to ask the cruise line directly.

I have never seen a single kite hanging off a cruise ship which also leads me to believe it is a no-no.

We had 2 aft balconies until we recently upsold to an owners suite and connecting forward penthouse and my dad would joke about brining a fishing rod and do some trolling. Unfortunately I think fishing from the cruise ship may also be a no-no (and I think the ship will be going a little too fast for trolling). :p;)

It sounds like they almost need to go with a pager system like they do for the restaurants when they are full. Go pick up your pager, do something other than stand in line for 20 minutes and when you are just a person or 2 away from the front of the line they can buzz you. They can also create a certain window of time for you to show back up or you forfeit your spot or simply just become the next one in line if it is within a reasonable amount of time.

Just a thought.

We sail next week and we are hoping the Jewel updates their menus by then. As of the last sailing I believe it was still the old menu.

lol....I have to admit I was going to flame you OP but with some of the answers I changed my view on your post. I initially took it as an elitist 1%er situation but it really isn't.

You aren't demanding that they do it. You are simply wanting to find out if anyone else has had this done for them as you would rather spend those 30 minutes doing something other than standing in a line.

I think asking with the understanding that the answer is probably going to be a polite no, you can only be pleasantly surprised or get the answer you expect. I am sure there are many variables on whether this is possible or not.

It certainly doesn't hurt to ask. I recommend asking as nicely as possible and don't get upset if the answer is no. At that point, if they aren't able to do this for you, ask if they have any suggestions.

Another possibility is to perhaps bring a nanny or other family member that would take care of these kinds of things for you while on the cruise in exchange to be able to partake in a wonderful experience.

Wow! This totally got off topic:mad:

I think the second response (from Roger001) to your questions answered them as well I have read anywhere.

You may also want to search out the threads on what you use a butler for. They have some great insight.

You are definitely being much more proactive than we were for our first suite experience. We didn't ask our butler for a single thing as we did not know how to use him.

We always ask for a bowl of gummy bears and a bowl of m&m's. We have a few meals in our suite that he delivers. We have made our own specialty coffee, one cup black coffee from the machine in the suite, one packet hot chocolate and whipped cream. A chocolate chip cookie goes very nicely with it to. We will ask him for hot chocolate and a bowl of whipped cream.

Sorry for the earlier departure from your questions but I have been trying to find out who the concierge and our butler may be and was excited to see any current information on it. :o I am very happy to hear we may have Roland again. He was great!

There is a Youtube video of room 9502 on the Jewel which is the mirror image of your room.

Howdy Neighbor as we are from Marysville. Wife and I will be in 9002 two weeks after your cruise. Hope you post some photos of your view from your Penthouse although I don't think you have the same room.

 

This is our first time returning to NCL after a 20yr absence and cruising on Holland America and Princess during that time. Look forward to NCL as a precursor to a possible Panama Canal Cruise Fall 2017.

I have good news for you. Even though we aren't in 9002 we are right next door and my parents will be in that room! I will be sure to get pics of the room and balcony for you. I will try to get a video of it and post it to YouTube for your room and our owners suite.

We were in room 10000 last year on the Jewel up to Alaska. That was our first time being on the front of the ship. It is our favorite location! It is very peaceful up there. It is like a little neighborhood of 12 rooms. :D

We just got off of the Jewel last week. Bruno was the concierge and Roland was our butler. Roland has quite a while left on his contract. He was in the haven but was rotating to night butler for two weeks, then deck nine suites for 2 weeks, followed by deck 10 for 2 and then back to the haven. Bruno had just came to the Jewel so I would expect him to be there for a while. If you are in the haven you will find the Haven Valet, Jon, to be a really nice addition for your cruise. He will serve breakfast and lunch in the haven for you using the standard suite menu from Modernos. Bruno, Roland and Jon made our cruise very special.

We have a chance to have him then. :D We will be in a deck 9 owners suite and my parents will be in the connecting forward penthouse. That is great that you have so much info on his schedule. :D So if my math is correct it will be his first week on deck 9.

This would be our first time having a repeat of a butler. So do you know if he will have all the deck 9 suites or just the front or just the back? Thanks for all your help. :D:D

We just finished a Jewel SF suite cruise about a month ago. Roland was our butler and Joaquin was the concierge. Both were very nice persons, always ready to assist you if requested. However, we just didn't need their services very much. Roland tried his best to keep us supplied with afternoon snacks even when I assured him that we just couldn't eat any more food (we had the 7 night UDP, plus had platinum 2 nights of specialty dining, plus Modernos for breakfast and lunch if desired). He kept the coffee machine supplied with the coffee things. He would have done much more if we had just asked or let him. Joaquin met all suite guests in the suite boarding lounge and escorted us on board. We frequently saw him up in Modernos for the suite guest breakfast. And he escorted suite guests up to the Haven for a "cocktail" party. Once when tendering, while we were in no hurry, had platinum tender passes, he saw us in line. We assured him that we were in no hurry. However, he still insisted that he escort us over to the suite guest priority head of the line area. He would have loved to do more for us, but we just didn't need it. We were in no hurry debarking so didn't need him for that. We though they were both just great and typical wonderful NCL crew, liked them both very much. Reference tipping, you will see heated discussions, no correct answer, and monetary extremes in both directions. So for us, we felt that $100 for Roland and $75 for Joaquin was very appropriate. We also left a $50 for the room steward. Oh, I also tip the breakfast server $5 each morning. But....all this is neither right or wrong. As I said, we have very little need for their services and leave a very neat cabin for the room steward to take care of. So just tip what you feel their services have been worth to you. You will not be wrong.

Roland was our butler a couple years ago and he was great! We will be in a suite again in a week and a half and that would be wonderful to have him as our butler again. :D:D

Do you know if by chance how much longer his current contract is? Hopefully he will still be on the ship. For some reason I am someone people tend to remember but if he doesn't I won't be offended. We will have to make sure we have some pics we took with him from our cruise 2 years ago. I'm sure he will remember us as he has only seen thousands of people since we saw him last ;):p:rolleyes: