Jewel to Mexico: Review, Photos, and Video tour of ship

I love your videos!!! Your voice is so soothing, I want you to read me a bedtime story!!!!!!

I love your videos!!! Your voice is so soothing, I want you to read me a bedtime story!!!!!!

Aw, thank you! Let's give it a try:

'Twas the night before the cruise, and not a creature was sleeping

NOBODY was packed and Mommy was weeping...

Get your sunscreen!, your swimsuits!, she was cracking the whip!

You all must get packed, so we can get on that ship!

So they packed their clothes, their shampoo and of course, some beach toys,

Finally, their heads hit the pillow, then "boom"! they heard a loud noise....

'Twas the alarm clock you see, waking those boys...

It was time to depart and head for the port!

They fumbled and grumbled and loaded all in the car

The port after all, was not very far

In just a few hours, they would be on the ship!

They could swim, make new friends, and the grownups could SIP!

Sailaway came and they watched the sinking sun

They dined on escargot and french onion soup

Then retired to their cabin, a happy, weary group

Their heads again hit the pillows, exhausted from fun!

Their heads again hit the pillows, exhausted from fun!

And it happened all to quickly and then their cruise was all done.....

Waaaaaaaaa..... (throwing tantrum on the floor)

-Sean

And it happened all to quickly and then their cruise was all done.....

 

Waaaaaaaaa..... (throwing tantrum on the floor)

 

-Sean

Bravo! Exactly!

Thanks so much! Love the review and pictures!

You're most welcome!

Thank you for the information. We are traveling on the Jewel on January 24th and are interested in the El Cid Hotel. Could you elaborate a little on how that works. Do you really just walk into the hotel and sit in one of the lounge chairs?

Thank you for the information. We are traveling on the Jewel on January 24th and are interested in the El Cid Hotel. Could you elaborate a little on how that works. Do you really just walk into the hotel and sit in one of the lounge chairs?

Yep, you really do. This should apply at the other el cid hotels in mazatlan too as well as many hotels un the golden zone..they are very cruiser frindly. There are several el cid properties (a lot of cruisers go to El moro), but we choose the marina beach, even though it's a pretty long cab ride. We did our research on tje forums at trip advisor and that helped.

Have a lovely trip!!!

Where do the find the best times on the boat. What time does the show's run and what is best bar for a couple to enjoy. Were older but young at heart and love to enjoy great conversation with other couples . We will be on Feb 6 cruise out of LA........... Drop us a note of what you feel is the best times on the boat.. Hey what is weather that time of year like ??????????????

We will be sailing this itinerary in three weeks, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review! Thank you so much for taking the time to post it. I will be watching your videos next! I really appreciated the small details you put into it, and the photos really boosted my excitement for the trip. Also, seeing the dailies was really helpful to our planning. You posted the menu for O'Sheehans, but I couldn't quite tell from the photo....do you know if they serve Guinness? It's my son's favorite, so he's hoping they do. Also, this is probably a strange question and you may not have the answer.....I'm a bit different in what I like to eat for breakfast lol. Do you know if it's possible to get food in the breakfast hours that isn't traditional breakfast food? Like say, a burger, fish n chips, hot dog, etc.? I know I'm kinda wierd :o but did you happen to notice?

Karen

Great review. I a west coaster like you and enjoy a good Mexico cruise. Thanks for sharing!!!

Thank you for such an awesome review! We're booked on the Jewel for April and can't wait. Our last 2 cruises were on the Miracle and the Ruby and we're looking forward to sailing NCL again.

Thank you for such an awesome review! We're booked on the Jewel for April and can't wait. Our last 2 cruises were on the Miracle and the Ruby and we're looking forward to sailing NCL again.

You're welcome! How did you enjoy Miracle? We love that ship!

We will be sailing this itinerary in three weeks, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review! Thank you so much for taking the time to post it. I will be watching your videos next! I really appreciated the small details you put into it, and the photos really boosted my excitement for the trip. Also, seeing the dailies was really helpful to our planning. You posted the menu for O'Sheehans, but I couldn't quite tell from the photo....do you know if they serve Guinness? It's my son's favorite, so he's hoping they do. Also, this is probably a strange question and you may not have the answer.....I'm a bit different in what I like to eat for breakfast lol. Do you know if it's possible to get food in the breakfast hours that isn't traditional breakfast food? Like say, a burger, fish n chips, hot dog, etc.? I know I'm kinda wierd :o but did you happen to notice?

 

Karen

I'm so sorry for the delay in responding..yes, they serve Guinness!

Unfortunately no luck on the lunch and dinner food during breakfast. They switch menus, sadly. I tried too! I am weird too and Luke salad 24/7, but no-go!

Have a fabulous cruise.

Where do the find the best times on the boat. What time does the show's run and what is best bar for a couple to enjoy. Were older but young at heart and love to enjoy great conversation with other couples . We will be on Feb 6 cruise out of LA........... Drop us a note of what you feel is the best times on the boat.. Hey what is weather that time of year like ??????????????

Tom, try the martini and champagne bars for mingling!

The weather is amazing in February, less humid but still warm during the day and in port. Plan for chilly sea days though and possible rain on sea days! And, Lucky you, it's whale season!!!

As for best times, look at the freestyle dailies in my earlier posts on this thread. You'll find schedules for everything, including shows! Happy sailing

Hi everyone, and Merry Christmas!

I entirely forgot to post my last bit of feedback here, so sorry. For those of you still following along, this post isn't meant to be negative, just the follow up to the "what we loved" list. We are still working on a food slideshow, focused on the specialty restaurants, and will post that here soon.

So, here's that "what wasn't so great" list:

Of course, like with any vacation, there were a few things we didn't love (don’t worry, I won’t subject you to photos of them!):

Day 1 was weird. Embarkation was awesome but our luggage was late and dented and we never saw our room steward. We just didn't get that WELCOME ABOARD! feeling. You know the one.

No guest irons onboard..grr…I’m not paying to have my clothes ironed.

Our stateroom steward was lackluster. We've been spoiled though...really...the things that bugged me were small. Nightly chocolates rarely came, we never saw a services guide or room service menu (and no, it's not on the TV) and he just wasn't good at refilling ice. He seemed slow, was on his cell in the halls on port days and just didn't have the energy we've seen in former stewards.

The buffet occupies one side of the ship only and gets crowded at times. This happens on every ship, but because you have to walk through the buffet to get to the pool and other areas on Deck 12, it gets an uncomfortable thoroughfare feel that makes you want to get the heck outta there. Not my favorite design.

The buffet salad bar is pretty limited. The only "toppings" were croutons. No bacon, raisins, sunflower seeds or anything like that. It's not awful, just not the best selection for a salad lover like me. On the bright side, the dressings were high quality and better than average for a cruise.

I didn't like having to sign for dinners, when they were free with the UDP. It gave us a chance to tip, which was good, but it was a pain... and they brought 3 checks every time, for each person in our party. Kinda annoying.

Unless you read the fine print of the UDP contract, read the cc boards or had a friend who sailed on NCL with the UDP, you'd never know exactly how it worked...that you should reserve early, that you can have free upgrade items, etc. We happened to encounter some helpful staff that explained these things to us, but NCL could provide a how to guide to make things easier to comprehend. I can't imagine being a first time cruiser and trying to navigate the program. I.e.- that maybe your ship offers lunch Teppanyaki on sea days, etc. Catch my drift?

Chair hogging by the pool. Seriously. When will this practice go away?

The TV and channels in our room were lame. No cartoon network? Nickelodeon instead, which makes sense because NCL partners with them, but I like to watch Tom and Jerry with my son on cruises (a little tradition) because we don’t have cable at home and I never watch TV. No complaining though because this is a vacation and TV is not a central part of it.

THANK YOU FOR reading about our family vacation. We had an incredible time and would love to make Jewel our home for another week someday. Questions welcome. More video to come soon.

Merry Christmas, from our home to yours!

Your puking pumpkin is adorable!

Thanks so much for this great review! Your pictures are fantastic and I love your videos. My family has booked their first ever cruise on the Jewel, sailing next April to the Mexican Riviera. This review has given me great info re: what to expect and I so appreciate that! Now all that's left is to see what kinds of specialty menus will be rolled out on the ship by April. We're cruising with the drinks package and the SDP. Can't wait!

Hey all!

Here's our video of the food in the specialty restaurants. The menus are in the notes area, not the video itself.

You'll see food pics and video from all of the surcharge spots: La Cucina, Teppanyaki, Moderno (Brazilian), Cagney's, Le Bistro and the free 24 hour place- O'Sheehans. Enjoy!

Hi everyone. Here is our last video from this ship, the buffet food. It's pretty realistic, i.e. As the food really appears, for better or for worse.

Thanks for re-living all the memories with me. Happy cruising!!

The buffet looks pretty good! We'll be on the Jewel next month, thanks for sharing!!

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A GREAT review - fun, informative and very professional. I welcome reading anything you post. Thank you very much!!

Your review was awesome! We'll be on the Jewel for the two week Panama Canal crossing from Miami to Los Angeles in Feb/March. With just 52 days left, this has increased our excitement beyond belief!! Thanks again for taking your time to provide us with such valuable information!!!

PS: how did your challenge to gain zero pounds go? We'll be in Miami three days before and San Diego four days afterward-so we have a BIG challenge!!

This is a crazy question, but are limited on luggage for our next trip. We have always cruised with Carnival (14 with another in the near future) and this will be our first time cruising with Norwegian (Jan 17). Do their hairdryers have a nozzle or are they flat as I use a diffuser and trying to decide if the hairdryer on board will work or if I need to bring my own hairdryer with me. :confused:

LOVE the video. Shared with all our sailing companions and they love it too. Do you have pics of Chin Chins menu?

Thank you very much for the information and the well created videos.

LOVE the video. Shared with all our sailing companions and they love it too. Do you have pics of Chin Chins menu?

Thanks so much for sharing. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the Chin Chin menu, but it looks like they can be found on this website:

http://www.beyondships2.com/uploads/8/2/4/5/8245255/chin.pdf

Also, another reviewing "summed it up" with a bit of an explanation, however I did NOT see the Shabu Shabu tables onboard. I hope this helps:

Chin Chin Asian Restaurant (Deck 7); with a la carte sushi: A pan-Asian eatery (Chinese, Japanese and Thai), Chin Chin offers a dinner menu that includes hot and sour soup, vegetarian spring rolls, lemon pepper shrimp, noodle dishes and fried rice. You also can order sushi and sashimi at a la carte prices, as well as a Szechuan stir-fried lobster tail entree for an additional $10 surcharge. There are also four tables with small built-in oven tops for a special type of Japanese meal called Shabu Shabu, where sliced beef is cooked in a noodle pot in front of diners. Food is a bit hit-or-miss, with some dishes being quite tasty and others a tad mediocre. On full or half sea days, the sushi and sashimi also are available for lunch at the small sushi bar.