Back from the Jewel and very mixed

We boarded the jewel in Sydney for an 18 night cruise to Singapore.

Boarding was a breeze and we headed for O'Sheeans. We were sailing with another couple and had 3 nights in Sydney prior to the cruise.

We could only get an inside cabin when we booked and I have to say I don't like them. i know others have different views but it is up to individuals how they think of them. When the beds were together there was no room at all. The inside bathrooms on the Jewel are a bit larger an a shower screen not the wrap around curtain that attacks you ever time you shower.

The cabin steward was a delight always pleasant and did his job well.

we had a lot of queuing for the main restaurants only once did we go in and get a table straight off. we gave up on the Tsar after having really bad service. Asked 5 times for butter, no water, 3 starters came and were eaten and gone before any sight of mine and the main meal was poor. Not able to order wine a shambles. This was not repeated in the other dining room.

There were pockets of really good service and some of the worst that I have ever encountered on a cruise this was our 3rd time with NCL but our 17 cruise so we had something to compare it with.

Some of the staff were downright rude especially in two of the pool bars. I asked to see the beverage manager and it was supposedly noted at customer service I waited 10 days then asked again. The bars were woefully understaffed at peak times and I felt sorry for the guys there I told the beverage manager this and that I thought this was what was causing the rude customer service.

By far the biggest bone of contention with not just us but most passengers was the tendering process. This was awful. After docking at 7am in some places tender no 1 was only just going at 11am and when they change it and say the last tender back is 2.20 well you can see why people were getting frustrated.

In Cairns we waited and waited for the tender and then after a long tender in blistering heat we had to line up for an hour and 45 minutes to get on the shuttle bus. there was no way of doing private tours and they made sure we set sail at the time the trips can back so that it was impossible. 2 days there and not able to do anything unless you went on their tour at $300 dollars a throw per person.

The tendering went on just a s bad the whole way through.

The food was okay to good no problems there.

SUNBEDS ON SEA DAYS oh my oh my. Later in the cruise they started to enforce the one hour rule but not until everyone had kicked off. It was chaos on sea days.

we saw some great things and missed out on some because of the dis organisation.

Overall a fantastic trip that could have been made better.

Thank you for the review - we are booked on the reverse SIN-SYD in Nov 2018 - and needless to say I was rather disappointed to hear about the disorganization of the tendering procedures. I have been tracking the Jewel via Marine Traffic, and saw that the Jewel anchored in many of the ports of call. I was unable to see what Jewel did in Newcastle (did she dock?) or in Semarang (did she also dock?).

Can you please tell us how the tendering/docking went in other ports of call? Brisbane, Airlie Beach, Darwin, Komodo, Bali, etc. Thanks!

One item on my bucket list is to make a boat trip out to and snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef. And also we are paying $$$$ to fly out long way and back and want to be able to have our money's worth of a cruise. If you can tell me more about the docking/tendering I might bring it up with the NCL cruise consultant when we are on the Spirit in 3 weeks' time. Give them time to organize better tendering and shuttles or we cancel the cruise.

Service/food/etc - we have been on so many NCL cruises so it's crapshoot for us ... just the last cruise we had the invisible room steward - never saw him all 14 days - but he kept the cabin in good order. We find great service in some places but not so in others.

Would you care giving us any tips/advice on what to do in each of the ports of call. We plan on booking NCL excursions.

THANKS! Glad to know you had a fantastic trip. How was Sydney?

One item on my bucket list is to make a boat trip out to and snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef. And also we are paying $$$$ to fly out long way and back and want to be able to have our money's worth of a cruise. If you can tell me more about the ?

Wavelength reef charters were amazing! not sure if it works with the cruise, we flew from Sydney to Port Douglas & spent the weekend, to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.

OP sorry you had trouble with tendering

OP sorry to hear about your trouble tendering. I was on the Jewel over Christmas and made friends with a few of the bar staff, I know they were recently moved to new locations around the boat so I couldn't tell you where my favorite people are. I am considering the Jewel again this summer for a quick trip in Alaska. We only tendered 1 day and it was very smooth with help from the local tour companies at the end of the day to get everyone back onboard. I can agree with you about your room steward. I never met my room steward but he/she did a nice job. It was hard for me to tell who was working on my room because it was clearly a transition location different people cleaned the rooms on both sides of my cabin and I swear there could have been a third person cleaning the room across the hall. Oh well, at least they did a good job keeping it clean!

Hi the boat did pull into port in both Newcastle and Semarang. There was very little to see in Newcastle in my opinion and there was a a shuttle to take to town it was hampered by the fact that they were building a new tram track so difficult to get about. This may be resolved by the time you go.

Semarang is a scruffy port where the taxi drivers charge a lot of money to get you into town so unless you arrange tours or go with the ships tours it may be a no go .We got off had a beer and got back on.

In Bali we booked a hotel overnight to save getting on and off the boat and I am glad we did in hindsight I wish we had done this in Cairns.

The trip on Komodo we did with the ship as you had to have a trip booked to be allowed off the boat. We did not do too badly just a bit of waiting around but some who did the trip were waiting 2 hours plus in the searing heat for the tender back. If you have no small change here be warned you will be inundated by small children. I had no change but I had pens in my bag and some chocolate.

Cairns we visited the Lagoon on the broadwalk and the second day the casino and the aquarium.

Airlie beach we just walked the sea front and had coffee.

Brisbane we wentnet to the Koala sanctuary and tour with the ship it was great but we had terrible rain cant be helped.

In Bali i booked the Puri santrian hotel for the night as a treat and I am glad we did we could have got the driver that picked up to drive us round but we decided to just chill, we bought Lunch nine beers during the day and a wine, dinner, leg and foot massages for us both, shower gel and hair conditioner and I had my finger and toe nails painted and nail art for around £46 for the lot !!!!

Two bottles of wine in the hotel was 1,385,000 About £73

We had booked a trip to the GBR and had bought 2 full face masks to use. The forecast was for rain so we cancelled it I did not fancy rocking about on a catamaran and a pontoon all day the trip had cost us $300 each so I wanted to enjoy it

My husband was ill the entire trip we had been to spain at the end of November where he had been hospitalised for food poisoning and he had net really been right since then we went ahead with the cruise thinking he would get better but he was ill for all of it he has been hospitalised on our return home and is still not right and awaiting test results so the messing about made it even worse.

I have been told that these were new ports and that they did not realise what trouble they would have. The customer service desk took some severe flak.

Anyone else who encountered this on the cruise please feel free to add your tuppence worth.

as with anything it is not just the cost of the cruise by the time you finish with hotels dog sitter trips on your stay before and after and general spends there was not much change from £10,000 for an inside cabin This was a trip for my 60th birthday.

Well hey ho I hope that from the complaints they have had and there will have been lots the make tracks to put things right

we were on this cruise and had a fabulous time yes there where issues with tenders but you have to be organised if you get up early and get the tender tickets we did not have any problems getting off the ship at any time

In Newcastle we organised a private Hunter Valley wine tour via cruise critic roll call Lisa from hunter valley wine tours was amazing friends we met said Newcastle was lovely with very good beaches

Yorkies Knob we went to the lagoon and Cairns on the first day, the second day we had arranged another private tour and did sky rail and Kuranda another fabulous trip

In Airlie Beach we we had pre booked a boat charter and went to the Whitsunday islands

Darwin was very hot we went to Crocodilus park and walked around the town

Komodo Island was lovely again we had booked a tour through the roll call saw the dragons and then had a snorkeling trip to the pink beach yes there were children begging but if you said no they went away

I do agree Samarang was a horrible port dirty and smelly got a taxi for 20 USD return with another couple not much to see

Bali we had been to before so I had pre booked a taxi and a group of us got a taxi to the beach had nusa dua and had a very relaxing day

my advice is to not book ships tours but with a lot of research and organisation do it yourself

we had an inside cabin and I would estimate with everything the trip cost at the most £6,000 for a months all inclusive holiday we thought it was great value

We boarded the jewel in Sydney for an 18 night cruise to Singapore.

Boarding was a breeze and we headed for O'Sheeans. We were sailing with another couple and had 3 nights in Sydney prior to the cruise.

We could only get an inside cabin when we booked and I have to say I don't like them. i know others have different views but it is up to individuals how they think of them. When the beds were together there was no room at all. The inside bathrooms on the Jewel are a bit larger an a shower screen not the wrap around curtain that attacks you ever time you shower.

The cabin steward was a delight always pleasant and did his job well.

we had a lot of queuing for the main restaurants only once did we go in and get a table straight off. we gave up on the Tsar after having really bad service. Asked 5 times for butter, no water, 3 starters came and were eaten and gone before any sight of mine and the main meal was poor. Not able to order wine a shambles. This was not repeated in the other dining room.

There were pockets of really good service and some of the worst that I have ever encountered on a cruise this was our 3rd time with NCL but our 17 cruise so we had something to compare it with.

Some of the staff were downright rude especially in two of the pool bars. I asked to see the beverage manager and it was supposedly noted at customer service I waited 10 days then asked again. The bars were woefully understaffed at peak times and I felt sorry for the guys there I told the beverage manager this and that I thought this was what was causing the rude customer service.

By far the biggest bone of contention with not just us but most passengers was the tendering process. This was awful. After docking at 7am in some places tender no 1 was only just going at 11am and when they change it and say the last tender back is 2.20 well you can see why people were getting frustrated.

In Cairns we waited and waited for the tender and then after a long tender in blistering heat we had to line up for an hour and 45 minutes to get on the shuttle bus. there was no way of doing private tours and they made sure we set sail at the time the trips can back so that it was impossible. 2 days there and not able to do anything unless you went on their tour at $300 dollars a throw per person.

The tendering went on just a s bad the whole way through.

The food was okay to good no problems there.

SUNBEDS ON SEA DAYS oh my oh my. Later in the cruise they started to enforce the one hour rule but not until everyone had kicked off. It was chaos on sea days.

we saw some great things and missed out on some because of the dis organisation.

Overall a fantastic trip that could have been made better.

Sorry your service wasn't up to what you had expected. We have only had that happen on one cruise and it can be a downer for sure. Oh occasions, almost on all cruises we will have one or two bad experiences with service but not as bad as you got. As for inside cabins, know what you mean.Everyone has his/her own ideas about inside but we have tried it twice, neither time on NCL and we will never do it again.

I am glad you had some positive experiences as well. Hope your next cruise it so positive you will forget about the negative you just experienced. :(

It is interesting to read a report from someone else on the same ship and have it so different. I guess we all look for different things and what pleases one person will not always please another.

I am just off the next leg - Singapore to Hong Kong.The embarkation was really good in Singapore. We had an inside and it was really the smallest we have ever had - but if you move the square table to under the round table and pop the stool in the wardrobe you do gain a little more space. We were in 9079 the steward Andy(?) was rude and ignorant - he never spoke - my case was missing on the first day so I asked him if they were all up and he didn't even look at me just mumbled 'go to guest services'. I along with practically half the ship had our cases confiscated due to having a multiplug extension in it - if the cases were open they already took them out - mine were locked! Have to TOTALLY agree about the restaurant service. It was dreadful. All the napkins were damp - so when put on your knee your clothes got damp. No water - requested more butter but it never came - they got starters completely wrong - mains were poor and cold - waiter would not get us any extra veg (it would take too long he said) but Maitre D managed to get it in seconds!!! Only bothered the once. We booked Moderno - brilliant - good food and good service. Italian - awful - awful service, awful food and FREEZING - the air con was sooooooo cold - we asked for it to be warmer but they couldn't. Cagneys was ok - but we could see our mains sitting while we were eating our starters. The bars were really badly manned - all of them. Couple of smiley waiters in O'Sheenans - Reetish was good but Magnums had the most unfriendly waiters - I even heard someone say "have you ever tried smiling" to one of them. The Outdoor bar usually only had one barman on and he was constantly shouting 'line up or I not serve you'. No problem with sunbeds but we don't sit round the pool - always plenty of beds around. We had 2 tenders Koh Samui and Ha Long Bay. Koh Sumai was a 40 minute tender but the day is short there and the line to get back on the ship was really long and out in the very hot sun. We had a comedy Juggler who had also been on the previous cruise how he got a second chance amazes me - he was really really rubbish but all the other entertainment was really good - especially the aerial dance shows. Disembarkation was far too simple we were off an hour before I time and had to wait for our taxi pickup. Overall we preferred the Sun

Thank you for your review.

Keith

I am just off the next leg - Singapore to Hong Kong.The embarkation was really good in Singapore. We had an inside and it was really the smallest we have ever had - but if you move the square table to under the round table and pop the stool in the wardrobe you do gain a little more space. We were in 9079 the steward Andy(?) was rude and ignorant - he never spoke - my case was missing on the first day so I asked him if they were all up and he didn't even look at me just mumbled 'go to guest services'. I along with practically half the ship had our cases confiscated due to having a multiplug extension in it - if the cases were open they already took them out - mine were locked! Have to TOTALLY agree about the restaurant service. It was dreadful. All the napkins were damp - so when put on your knee your clothes got damp. No water - requested more butter but it never came - they got starters completely wrong - mains were poor and cold - waiter would not get us any extra veg (it would take too long he said) but Maitre D managed to get it in seconds!!! Only bothered the once. We booked Moderno - brilliant - good food and good service. Italian - awful - awful service, awful food and FREEZING - the air con was sooooooo cold - we asked for it to be warmer but they couldn't. Cagneys was ok - but we could see our mains sitting while we were eating our starters. The bars were really badly manned - all of them. Couple of smiley waiters in O'Sheenans - Reetish was good but Magnums had the most unfriendly waiters - I even heard someone say "have you ever tried smiling" to one of them. The Outdoor bar usually only had one barman on and he was constantly shouting 'line up or I not serve you'. No problem with sunbeds but we don't sit round the pool - always plenty of beds around. We had 2 tenders Koh Samui and Ha Long Bay. Koh Sumai was a 40 minute tender but the day is short there and the line to get back on the ship was really long and out in the very hot sun. We had a comedy Juggler who had also been on the previous cruise how he got a second chance amazes me - he was really really rubbish but all the other entertainment was really good - especially the aerial dance shows. Disembarkation was far too simple we were off an hour before I time and had to wait for our taxi pickup. Overall we preferred the Sun

So he was still shouting get in line on the next leg then. Did no good talking to the beverage manager then.

Yes the napkins were always damp we commented on it every night.

Don't get me wrong we made the best we could and there were parts we really enjoyed. When we had day after day of bad tendering it started to get very tedious.

They repeated time and again not to get the tender tickets until you were ready to leave the ship.

There was a bad vibe amongst some of the staff and when that happens it usually comes from bad organisation from the management

I am just off the next leg - Singapore to Hong Kong.The embarkation was really good in Singapore. We had an inside and it was really the smallest we have ever had - but if you move the square table to under the round table and pop the stool in the wardrobe you do gain a little more space. We were in 9079 the steward Andy(?) was rude and ignorant - he never spoke - my case was missing on the first day so I asked him if they were all up and he didn't even look at me just mumbled 'go to guest services'. I along with practically half the ship had our cases confiscated due to having a multiplug extension in it - if the cases were open they already took them out - mine were locked! Have to TOTALLY agree about the restaurant service. It was dreadful. All the napkins were damp - so when put on your knee your clothes got damp. No water - requested more butter but it never came - they got starters completely wrong - mains were poor and cold - waiter would not get us any extra veg (it would take too long he said) but Maitre D managed to get it in seconds!!! Only bothered the once. We booked Moderno - brilliant - good food and good service. Italian - awful - awful service, awful food and FREEZING - the air con was sooooooo cold - we asked for it to be warmer but they couldn't. Cagneys was ok - but we could see our mains sitting while we were eating our starters. The bars were really badly manned - all of them. Couple of smiley waiters in O'Sheenans - Reetish was good but Magnums had the most unfriendly waiters - I even heard someone say "have you ever tried smiling" to one of them. The Outdoor bar usually only had one barman on and he was constantly shouting 'line up or I not serve you'. No problem with sunbeds but we don't sit round the pool - always plenty of beds around. We had 2 tenders Koh Samui and Ha Long Bay. Koh Sumai was a 40 minute tender but the day is short there and the line to get back on the ship was really long and out in the very hot sun. We had a comedy Juggler who had also been on the previous cruise how he got a second chance amazes me - he was really really rubbish but all the other entertainment was really good - especially the aerial dance shows. Disembarkation was far too simple we were off an hour before I time and had to wait for our taxi pickup. Overall we preferred the Sun

Sorry to hear all these issues. I am on the Jewel in June to Alaska, first time with NCL, so I hope things are better by then. Fingers crossed.

So he was still shouting get in line on the next leg then. Did no good talking to the beverage manager then.

Yes the napkins were always damp we commented on it every night.

Don't get me wrong we made the best we could and there were parts we really enjoyed. When we had day after day of bad tendering it started to get very tedious.

They repeated time and again not to get the tender tickets until you were ready to leave the ship.

There was a bad vibe amongst some of the staff and when that happens it usually comes from bad organisation from the management

My only-ever unpleasant cruise (out of 28) was on Jewel in April 2017. And on that cruise, all the staff I encountered seemed miserable. There was lots of speculation in my post-cruise CC commentary about the potential cause, including theory that a popular member of the crew had a heath crisis. But I agree that the cause is the management on that particular ship. I don't sail NCL much anymore; I have one more European cruise planned and then that's likely it.

Sorry to hear all these issues. I am on the Jewel in June to Alaska, first time with NCL, so I hope things are better by then. Fingers crossed.

Keep a positive thought. Most people really love the Jewel class ships and the Jewel was the first one. We cruised her when she did her maiden crossing from Dover to NYC> She isn't our favorite NCL ship but she is a good one.:cool:

Keep a positive thought. Most people really love the Jewel class ships and the Jewel was the first one. We cruised her when she did her maiden crossing from Dover to NYC> She isn't our favorite NCL ship but she is a good one.:cool:

none of the issues would stop us going back on NCL I just hope they have learned from the mistakes they made with the tendering.

Interesting note about the napkins. We recently cruised for a couple weeks on a different NCL ship and had the same issue. The cloth napkins were always damp, almost wet. When I inquired I was told the air conditioning caused this. Funny, after dozens of cruises with NCL I never ran into damp napkins before. For it to be a thing on two different ships leaves me scratching my head.

jaxw17 and AnnenAlan - thank you so much for additional reviews - appreciate you taking time to write them.

We have now decided that our 19 day SIN-SYD is still a go! And we have decided to book to stay in hotel off the ship in each of the 3 overnight ports - Bali, Darwin and Cairns. Thank you for the idea, jaxw17! This will give us a break away from ship and add to our experience.

We will raise the Jewel's tendering issues with the cruise consultant when we are on the Spirit next month and ask if NCL will be expected to resolve the tendering issues by the time we cruise in Nov.

AnnenAlan: we will do NCL excursions anyway - we have had good experience with the NCL tours so we'll stick to them. Plus we'll get $50 credit per port - that will be $250-350 by the end of the cruise.

jaxw17 and AnnenAlan - thank you so much for additional reviews - appreciate you taking time to write them.

 

We have now decided that our 19 day SIN-SYD is still a go! And we have decided to book to stay in hotel off the ship in each of the 3 overnight ports - Bali, Darwin and Cairns. Thank you for the idea, jaxw17! This will give us a break away from ship and add to our experience.

 

We will raise the Jewel's tendering issues with the cruise consultant when we are on the Spirit next month and ask if NCL will be expected to resolve the tendering issues by the time we cruise in Nov.

 

AnnenAlan: we will do NCL excursions anyway - we have had good experience with the NCL tours so we'll stick to them. Plus we'll get $50 credit per port - that will be $250-350 by the end of the cruise.

Glad that you are still going. the hotel was a success and we plan to do it on the next 2 cruises where we have an overnight. it is like a little holiday in a holiday. i would have loved more time in Darwin and it relation to other stops in Australia we found it cheaper. Not as cheap as Bali mind you ! I wish we had done it in Cairns. I am sure that you will have a great time. Enjoy

We are on The Jewel in September for 35 days so hope it's a good experience. We had 57 days on The Star last year with very little complaint. Have done the Sun twice with no problems. Hope this won't be the last time we use NCL!!!!

Hi all,

My wife and I are looking to book a cruise over Christmas and New year through New Zealand, but have read reviews and they don't paint a good picture. Everyone seems to dislike the a la carte food and most comments are around the paid dining.

Is the food on the ship that bad? We have just come from NCL spirit and although it didn't change my life, the food was ok.

I would appreciate any comments you have on this.

The food depends on what you are used to. If you are used to 5 star dining don't bother to cruise at all.

We like Le Bistro and Cagneys if we want to pay (or use our freebies). Teppanyaki and Moderno are OK but we don't bother to even think about La Cuchina.

If you want to eat good food at no cost at a reasonable standard then the MDRs are for you. If you treat the wait staff right they will see you are well fed at the speed you want. Learn how to complain with a smile and remember that almost all have English as a second (or third) language and hiccups can occur. If they do the staff will do everything in their power to put it right.

We very rarely eat in the buffet, too much like a free McDonalds on steroids!! O'Sheehans is OK when you come back from a shorex famished and want something simple quickly but with service.

OP sorry to hear about your trouble tendering. I was on the Jewel over Christmas and made friends with a few of the bar staff, I know they were recently moved to new locations around the boat so I couldn't tell you where my favorite people are. I am considering the Jewel again this summer for a quick trip in Alaska. We only tendered 1 day and it was very smooth with help from the local tour companies at the end of the day to get everyone back onboard. I can agree with you about your room steward. I never met my room steward but he/she did a nice job. It was hard for me to tell who was working on my room because it was clearly a transition location different people cleaned the rooms on both sides of my cabin and I swear there could have been a third person cleaning the room across the hall. Oh well, at least they did a good job keeping it clean!

Nelsj099, how did you find the Christmas Cruise with NCL? Did they do anything special for Christmas Day and New Years? We are booked for the 16 nights this December but are getting a bit nervous after reading some of the reviews. Apparently the Jewel goes in for a refurb before our cruise but I don't know if they will do a staff change at the same time. Did you enjoy all of the ports?

Thanks in advance.

Apparently the Jewel goes in for a refurb before our cruise but I don't know if they will do a staff change at the same time.

The refurbishment is in Singapore and is scheduled for 3 weeks so it looks as if it will be a major one. Then there is a "shake-down" 7 day cruise Singapore-Singapore.

I cannot see them doing a full staff change as there will have to be some on board to "oversee" the refurbishment. They will also have to "test-runs" of many things before they leave port. The "shake-down" and the Singapore-Sydney cruises could be a little hectic especially if there are too many new crew.

Apparently the Jewel goes in for a refurb before our cruise but I don't know if they will do a staff change at the same time.

 

The refurbishment is in Singapore and is scheduled for 3 weeks so it looks as if it will be a major one. Then there is a "shake-down" 7 day cruise Singapore-Singapore.

I cannot see them doing a full staff change as there will have to be some on board to "oversee" the refurbishment. They will also have to "test-runs" of many things before they leave port. The "shake-down" and the Singapore-Sydney cruises could be a little hectic especially if there are too many new crew.

Thanks Mike. Appreciate your comments. It will be interesting to see how much they change in 3 weeks. It seems like a short period of time but I daresay they will throw a lot of resources at the refurb in that time. Hopefully they work out all the bugs before the cruise at Christmas through Aus/NZ.

Another point I had thought of is that they will almost certainly have some workers on the boat from Hong Kong to Singaporre doing preparatory work on things such as the electrical systems. We have been on board before a dry-dock in the past and they seem to start work in a small way on the cruise prior.

My only-ever unpleasant cruise (out of 28) was on Jewel in April 2017. And on that cruise, all the staff I encountered seemed miserable. There was lots of speculation in my post-cruise CC commentary about the potential cause, including theory that a popular member of the crew had a heath crisis. But I agree that the cause is the management on that particular ship. I don't sail NCL much anymore; I have one more European cruise planned and then that's likely it.

 

Went on the Jewel just last March. Have never been on a ship that had this low staff morale and it showed with how things ran. Actually met and spoke with a couple of head staff members at the restaurants - both of them requesting to be moved from the Jewel because they are just so unhappy working on it. Ship is just so disorganized - even the top management of the ship does not seem to care. We were supposed to travel on the Jewel again for Alaska. But after that experience, we have decided to postpone it for awhile in the hope that NCL assigns another ship along that route. Now concentrating on South American cruises ....and NCL is not strong in that area :(