NCL Jewel 4/4 Quick Review

[bulldogatl]

This was Mom's 101st cruise and I think I'm on 60 something.

 

Having vowed never to try the NCL Freestyle cruising, we took a chance two years ago on the Spirit's repo from NOLA to NYC and really liked it. So we were looking forward to going back to NCL after a couple of Carnival deals last year.

 

The SHIP Itself

Grade: A-

The ship was super clean and never came across anything that wasn't working properly. Everything seemed, pardon the pun, ship shape. We had an inside cabin on the 10th floor near the front of the ship. Never had a problem getting around or getting lost. My only complaint was that the steam room available for free was not as good as they are on othe ships and there was no real place for adults to swim and sun at no charge. I'm not one to pay $30 bucks a day to use the "thermal suite". I didn't get in a hot tub once this trip which is a first.

 

FOOD

Grade B+

The menu in AZURA and TZARS is the same but we found AZURA to be a bit more to our liking. The atmosphere was a bit more elegant and cozy. The wait staff was great - we never had a want - they even made things for us when we asked. From Coconut Ice Cream to a real shrimp cocktail. The appetizers and soups were greats. Salads were creative. There was always at least once entree that we "wanted". The breakfast buffet was the same each day but consistently good. The lunches and dinners changed daily in the buffet. Ice Cream was readily available until kids started using soup bowls .. then the waiters had to man the ice cream stations. I really liked the coffee and found the expresso machines to be very good too. We tried one specialty restaurant, Mama Mia's and were dissappointed - was much better on Spirit. Heard great reviews about Cagney's though. Again, we're not ones to pay extra. We ordered several bottles of wine and bubbly and found the suggestions to be good.

 

The ENTERTAINMENT/ACTIVITIES

Grade: B

The regular cruise director was not on board but a very hard working young man, Ian (sp?) handled the day to day operations. The Acrobatic show was the best by far, followed by "Band on the Run", Mike the Comedian. They all get high marks. Unfortunately, the other shows bring down the overall rating. The Ventriliquist with the Jamaican woman doll needed more dolls, new material or something else. The combo magician comedian was the worst I've seen. As for activities, it's hard to plan for things to do with so many port days. Since I played poker most nights (and won more than I lost), I was very easily satisfied.

 

PORTS/WEATHER

Grade: B

I put ports and weather together because I think they go hand in hand. We had perfect weather this trip. Rouotan (sp?) was the same as it was last year. Get off the ship and get out of the port shops - take a right and you'll find all the "shopping" you need for native stuff. People are always friendly there.

Belize was my least favorite port. All the shops lined up along the harbour makes shopping fast but with three big ships in port .. was way too crowded. Plus the 20 min tender over .. yuck.

Costa Maya is spring break central. Soo many drunk college kids. We bought a nice vase and wooden cross. Reminds me of a Disney shopping area more than a port. But again people were friendly. Massages on the beach are now up to $30 for a half hour .. I can get that here in the states. But I can't get a monkey to sit on my shoulder and pee on me while getting our picture taken. Priceless.

Great Stirrup Cay was better than I expected but the water was COLD. I really like HAL's Half Moon Cay and we spend the entire time on a float in the water there .. but there were tons of beach chairs at GSC, the food was good, and the tender ran right on to the beach which made things fast. I think after the upcoming investments, GSC will be right up there with HMC.

 

OVERALL B+

NCL Freestyle cruising has made cruising even more relaxing. I'm looking for NCL trips first now looking at our summer plans. We got this cruise for $339 per person and it was worth every penny. I think everyone will enjoy their time on the Jewel.

 

If you have any questions, just let me know!

 

Kevin

 

PS. Here's another nice story. My mom somehow dropped in the casino her casino bag filled with the money she saved for the trip. Nearly a grand. Obviously she was very upset as that's a years worth of savings for her. Well thanks to the camera systems they have on board the money was found and returned the next morning. So technology doesn't suck as much as you think! Great job NCL!!!

[KevinsCruising]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. Can't wait to sail the Jewel May 1st. Welcome home and start planning your next NCL trip !! I too cannot cruise any other way now then Freestyle.

 

:)

[McCutie]

101 cruises?? Awesome stuff!!! Good for her!!!

Nice review!

[marshabear]

Thanks for the review!! we sail a week from Saturday!!! :)

 

 

Curious as to why you and others have mentioned Mama Mia's not being as good...we ate at the Italian restaurant twice while on the Star and LOVED it!! Will we be disappointed and why???

 

 

 

Marsha

[KevinsCruising]

Thanks for the review!! we sail a week from Saturday!!! :)

 

 

Curious as to why you and others have mentioned Mama Mia's not being as good...we ate at the Italian restaurant twice while on the Star and LOVED it!! Will we be disappointed and why???

 

 

 

Marsha

 

We went to the Italian restauant on the Gem last year and LOVED it but now I heard NCL stopped the antipasto wagon. That was a high light for many people. I know it was for us :(

[bulldogatl]

We had tried the Italian restaurant on Spirit and LOVED it .. just wasn't the same on Jewel. Things seemed "sweeter" to the taste on Spirit that on Jewel. The waiter never told us what the anitpasto wagon was to start! The carpaccione (sp?) appetizer was almost sour to the taste. The caesar salad was way over dressed. The bolongese (sp?) sauce on Spirit was mouth watering ... the Jewel's was ugh. The steaks were over cooked .. but we were too bummed by then to say anything .. we just didn't eat it. We also specifically asked for a extra entree of Lobster Ravioli (just to say we tried it after hearing great things).. but the waiter kept forgetting it til we stopped asking or it. On the way out I almost knocked myself over on something in the middle of floor - that happened to be the appetizer wagon. Ta-Dah! It really looked good ... I was tempted to roll it to my cabin!

 

All this being said, we did pick a late dinner time at 8:00pm. But, we did that on Spirit too. Perhaps as one of the final tables that evening the staff was in a rush? Regardless, we'd not go back to Mama Mia's on Jewel. Shame because we bragged about it to everyone after Spirit.

 

I'm hungry now, going to make a pizza!!!

 

 

 

I wish someone else would go

[dinoman]

Thanks for your review. I sailed on Jewel last year and I love that: the ship, the room, the food. It was my first time on NCL and I believe there will be many more to come.

[crewsweeper]

If any of you know someone who may have lost a camera in Costa Maya on the 8th, please direct them to this thread on the Carnival board

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1182897