Live from Singapore to HK on the Jewel-March 10th 2018

I flew China Eastern to Beijing about 20 years ago. Their "business class" was terrible, not much better than coach. I hope your experience was better.

We did 18 days Sydney to Singapore the tendering was useless they ran out of rose wine not that I drink it I would rather lick my own armpit just 2 days after sailing from Sydney.

We were not able to get creamer or milk for our coffeemaker in our Haven Suite on day 15 from Sydney. Told they removed what we had , due to shortage. We were given CoffeeMate packets.

.Was told by friends that they could not get usual breakfast items toward end of Sydney leg, milk and fresh fruit gone.

And yes, tendering was a nightmare. Lines up,to 2 hours long to get to tender, in 95 degree heat. Being in the Haven did not make a difference, when there is no tender there for 2hours.

Haven roof broken for 2days and turned area into heated sauna because roof could not open. Hot tub was either 150degrees or 75.

It got better when new HD came onboard in Singapore.

He basically acknowledged that the previous cruise was full,of mistakes and errors on their part. He made improvements to parts of ship experience .

fantastic review

We were not able to get creamer or milk for our coffeemaker in our Haven Suite on day 15 from Sydney. Told they removed what we had , due to shortage. We were given CoffeeMate packets.

.Was told by friends that they could not get usual breakfast items toward end of Sydney leg, milk and fresh fruit gone.

And yes, tendering was a nightmare. Lines up,to 2 hours long to get to tender, in 95 degree heat. Being in the Haven did not make a difference, when there is no tender there for 2hours.

Haven roof broken for 2days and turned area into heated sauna because roof could not open. Hot tub was either 150degrees or 75.

It got better when new HD came onboard in Singapore.

He basically acknowledged that the previous cruise was full,of mistakes and errors on their part. He made improvements to parts of ship experience .

I am glad it got better for you. i have been honest on my feedback I know there were a lot of disgruntled passengers on that leg

Exceptional review, like reading a detailed book. Heading out for our 6th NCL Cruise on March 31st. Epic. All large ships with the exception of Dawn to Bermuda. Really enjoy the freestyle concept and have been fortunate to be in the Haven on the last two and the up coming cruise. Would love to hit the Far East, Australia and parts of Europe. Time will tell. Really enjoy these boards.

I flew China Eastern to Beijing about 20 years ago. Their "business class" was terrible, not much better than coach. I hope your experience was better.

We flew economy on China Eastern - we find that for short flights the increased cost (wether points or cash) is not worth it for us. Others find the slight increase in seat width and a few inches of leg room worth it.... and that’s fine too!

This, on the other hand are pictures of what Cathay Pacific’s Business Class seat looks like fully flat - able to stretch out and sleep.

I wish I could sleep upright - could use the points saved to travel a little more often!

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We were not able to get creamer or milk for our coffeemaker in our Haven Suite on day 15 from Sydney. Told they removed what we had , due to shortage. We were given CoffeeMate packets.

.Was told by friends that they could not get usual breakfast items toward end of Sydney leg, milk and fresh fruit gone.

And yes, tendering was a nightmare. Lines up,to 2 hours long to get to tender, in 95 degree heat. Being in the Haven did not make a difference, when there is no tender there for 2hours.

Haven roof broken for 2days and turned area into heated sauna because roof could not open. Hot tub was either 150degrees or 75.

It got better when new HD came onboard in Singapore.

He basically acknowledged that the previous cruise was full,of mistakes and errors on their part. He made improvements to parts of ship experience .

I am glad it got better for you too. I guess we were just lucky to board in Singapore with the new HD. I hope the next leg is as smooth as ours was.

Thank you so much for your amazing review, photos, advice and experiences! Karen

Thanks for sharing! What a great report!

A little sour note to the end of an otherwise amazing vacation.

After the cruise we toured China by land and ended in Beijing. We flew home Beijing to HK to JFK. We had our camera bag (with 2 cameras in it) and a set of headphones with and iPod stolen from my husband’s carry on bag while in one of the airports in China.

We did not notice until we were in the air on the way to JFK that this had happened. Looking back, we think it happened when we went through the security screening at the airport in Beijing. Let me know what you think.

On the screening belt my carryon went through first, then my purse, then my husbands laptop (in a tray) then my husbands carryon.

As the bags came out the other end, the belt was stopped and my carryon was searched. The laptop and my husbands carryon was in the screening area an not visible to us.

My carryon was “cleared” and the belt starts to move again. My purse was behind my carryon, then the laptop comes out THEN SOMEONE ELSE’S BAG, then my husbands carryon. My husband actually noticed and said that’s weird, how did someone else’s bag get in front of mine, but we didn’t give it any further thought. It wasn’t until he went to look for his headphones on the 2nd flight that we put 2 and 2 together. I am 98% sure that the people who screened our bags stole these items.

The other scenario is that he was pickpocketed at one of the airports. Less likely as these were large, awkward shaped items and it was an over the shoulder bag (not a knapsack which is easier to lift items out of).

Either way - lesson learned. We will now be locking our carryon’s and unlocking them if they need to be searched. And if our bags ever come out again not in the order they went in we will investigate further on the spot and I encourage everyone else to do the same!

I am SOOOO grateful that I did a live review as at least we have pictures of almost everywhere we went. I never take photos with my iPad. But because I only know how to post photos to this forum from my ipad I hauled it around and took quite a few. We will also be pulling our the memory card out of the camera when in transit - its the photos on the camera’s that we miss the most as they cannot be replaced.

We were both quite upset for an hour or so, then chalked it up to an experience. But because it’s not a pleasant experience, I am sharing this with you :)

So sorry to hear that your camera and more importantly your photos were taken. I don’t use a fancy camera, just my iPhone which was taken in Venice. I was so thankful the photos appeared in my cloud.

Do you have trip insurance? I was reimbursed by travel guard insurance. It took several months but I was successful.

I had to chalk up to a learning experience as well. I was furious with myself and the theif for a couple hours and then had to just accept that it could have been much worse and the theif must have needed more than I did.

A little sour note to the end of an otherwise amazing vacation.

 

After the cruise we toured China by land and ended in Beijing. We flew home Beijing to HK to JFK. We had our camera bag (with 2 cameras in it) and a set of headphones with and iPod stolen from my husband’s carry on bag while in one of the airports in China.

 

We did not notice until we were in the air on the way to JFK that this had happened. Looking back, we think it happened when we went through the security screening at the airport in Beijing. Let me know what you think.

 

On the screening belt my carryon went through first, then my purse, then my husbands laptop (in a tray) then my husbands carryon.

 

As the bags came out the other end, the belt was stopped and my carryon was searched. The laptop and my husbands carryon was in the screening area an not visible to us.

 

My carryon was “cleared” and the belt starts to move again. My purse was behind my carryon, then the laptop comes out THEN SOMEONE ELSE’S BAG, then my husbands carryon. My husband actually noticed and said that’s weird, how did someone else’s bag get in front of mine, but we didn’t give it any further thought. It wasn’t until he went to look for his headphones on the 2nd flight that we put 2 and 2 together. I am 98% sure that the people who screened our bags stole these items.

 

The other scenario is that he was pickpocketed at one of the airports. Less likely as these were large, awkward shaped items and it was an over the shoulder bag (not a knapsack which is easier to lift items out of).

 

Either way - lesson learned. We will now be locking our carryon’s and unlocking them if they need to be searched. And if our bags ever come out again not in the order they went in we will investigate further on the spot and I encourage everyone else to do the same!

 

I am SOOOO grateful that I did a live review as at least we have pictures of almost everywhere we went. I never take photos with my iPad. But because I only know how to post photos to this forum from my ipad I hauled it around and took quite a few. We will also be pulling our the memory card out of the camera when in transit - its the photos on the camera’s that we miss the most as they cannot be replaced.

 

We were both quite upset for an hour or so, then chalked it up to an experience. But because it’s not a pleasant experience, I am sharing this with you :)

Thanks for the warnings. I feel sad and upset for you. I lost 800 photos off my tablet last year. Petra Jerusalem. Suez Canal amongst them. The other half had photos so all was not lost. I can remember how upset I was. But we can't lose the memories (Hopefully lol).

Thanks for the Great Review... Started reading b/c we will be on the Jewel in September - Vancouver to Tokyo.

Continued reading b/c we were enjoying your review!

It was great seeing your start w/ Singapore & the Royal Plaza on Scotts. We stayed there a year ago, before & after our Singapore / Viet Nam / Thailand Cruise on the Connie.

Thanks for the memories :cool: Looking forward to the Jewel in September.

Cheers -- Von & John

Just a lil update from my cruise. Hong Kong to Tokyo March 21.

Thanks so much for a taking a pic of us leaving port. Amazing!

We had a fabulous cruise. I really don’t think it could have been much better. Every single thing was great: the ship, ports, weather. It was a trip of a life time.

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Hi! We have sailed numerous times on NCL including Hong Kong to Sydney in 2017.

In 2019, we are considering the Singapore to Hong Kong on the Jewel so if anyone can give us an update, please do.

We are very disappointed though there is no Hong Kong-Beijing-Tokyo sail for 2019 since that's the one we truly want.

There is another cruise company that does have that option and we are thinking of sailing on that after the 12 day NCL Jewel ending in Hong Kong the day prior to this other cruise line leaving for Tokyo.

Thank you for information you can provide.

Rita

On Princess they told us they were taking care all of the immigration procedures for us in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand no charge. We gave up our passports BEFORE we got on the ship, were given a copy that first night, and got them back the night before disembarkation. Never had to show anyone our passport copies in any of the 4 ports.

I s:confused:aw the mention of turning up the DSC a few times now and wondering what it means?

I s:confused:aw the mention of turning up the DSC a few times now and wondering what it means?

Reply to Love My Butler.

We are bringing the Jewel back from Vancouver to Singapore in September. We are docking overnight in Hong Kong. Did The Jewel dock at Kai Tak Runway Park? If so how did you travel about? It would appear there is a bus to the nearest train station or a short ferry ride to then catch another ferry. Any assistance appreciated. Thanks Sue

We are bringing the Jewel back from Vancouver to Singapore in September. We are docking overnight in Hong Kong. Did The Jewel dock at Kai Tak Runway Park? If so how did you travel about? It would appear there is a bus to the nearest train station or a short ferry ride to then catch another ferry. Any assistance appreciated. Thanks Sue

There are a ton of taxis to take you into town. We went to Kowloon area . There, at the harbor area is where you pick up the ferry for the harbor cruise. At night, they have the laser light show which is fabulous from the water while on the ferry. Starts each night at 8pm.

Also, you can use metro with octopus card purchased at main stations.

There are a ton of taxis to take you into town. We went to Kowloon area . There, at the harbor area is where you pick up the ferry for the harbor cruise. At night, they have the laser light show which is fabulous from the water while on the ferry. Starts each night at 8pm.

Also, you can use metro with octopus card purchased at main stations.

Thank you. Can you recall how much the taxi cost?

Just a lil update from my cruise. Hong Kong to Tokyo March 21.

Thanks so much for a taking a pic of us leaving port. Amazing!

We had a fabulous cruise. I really don’t think it could have been much better. Every single thing was great: the ship, ports, weather. It was a trip of a life time.

 

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What a great photo of you and your family!

Your very welcome for that sail away photo. Just dumb luck that our hotel room had that view and that I noticed!

We are bringing the Jewel back from Vancouver to Singapore in September. We are docking overnight in Hong Kong. Did The Jewel dock at Kai Tak Runway Park? If so how did you travel about? It would appear there is a bus to the nearest train station or a short ferry ride to then catch another ferry. Any assistance appreciated. Thanks Sue

We disembarked in HK and booked a private tour for the entire time we were in HK. The tour guide picked us up a the port so have no experience with taxi’s.

Our cruise did dock at Kai Tak port if that’s any help.

Update on theft of cameras/headphones

In an earlier post I shared our experience of having items stolen out of our carry on bag at the airport in China.

We took out trip insurance with a company called TinLeg that covered our entire 25 day trip (not just the 11 day cruise).

We phoned TinLeg within 2 days of returning to see if we could recover anything for the cost of the items stolen. The water camera was about 4 years old, the digital camera 2 yrs old, the headphones 5 years old & the iPod even older. We had no receipts.

Even without receipts TinLeg reimbursed us $300. Just took a few phone calls/emails. Although not enough to cover replacement, it did take a little of the sting out of that experience.

We were quite impressed with TinLeg. Honestly we were expecting nothing. So if you ever find yourself in the same boat (no pun intended!) give your insurance company a call and remember to pull your memory card out of your camera at the end of your trip so you don’t lose those priceless photos!!!

We disembarked in HK and booked a private tour for the entire time we were in HK. The tour guide picked us up a the port so have no experience with taxi’s.

 

Our cruise did dock at Kai Tak port if that’s any help.

Thanks for port confirmation. What company did you use?

Sue

Thanks for port confirmation. What company did you use?

Sue

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I wanted to email our “tour organizer” to get his permission before I posted his email ..... and kept forgetting to email him! Finally did .... here is the info.

We used a tour company called China Discovery. Be aware there are 2 different companies with the same name. One based in California (which does not have very good reviews) - and one in China (this is the one we used - picked it from reviews on trip advisor).

Our tour organizer for this part of our land tour adventure was Johnson - email: johnson@chinadiscovery.com

Our land tour in China was HK, Xi’an & Beijing - this included 2 domestic flights in China. We normally book everything on our own but it was actually SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper (and much easier) to custom book a tour using this company. They must get an amazing discount at the hotels. We did not join a group tour - it was just my husband and I.

We were very happy with our hotels (but we did pay for the higher star level) and more importantly extremely happy with the tour guides we had.

I’m guessing you will not be staying overnight in a hotel. But drop him an email with times you are in port and see what he can offer you. Unfortunately HK tours were expensive compared to other ports when we were researching (but for us a much better experience than the huge group experience offered by ship shore excursions)