Jewel 7/23-7/30

[ariel865]

Okay overall this was my 11th cruise. Second with NCL. Traveled with two friends. Ages 40,45, 50. I'll break the cruise down as best I can

 

Embarkation: Was an absolute breeze. Arrived at 10:10 and was seated waiting with boarding ticket #22 by 10:30. They began boarding groups 1 and 2 around 11;45. Thankfully they next called groups 21 and 22. Yay us. We went up to the garden buffet since the cabins would not be ready until 2:30. Just as I suspected and heard about. the buffet was a zoo. More on that later. We walked around, had drinks and an announcement was made at 2pm that the cabins were accessible.

 

Cabin: We had cabin 11014 which is a mini suite. It was exactly as the pictures showed. The bathroom was nice but the room was narrower than I expected. It was defenitely tight when the sofa was open. Reminded me of being in a college dorm after the first night. I had to climb over the beds to get across the room but we laughed. Beds were comfortable. The shower however was an obstacle. Being 5'10" I could barely stand underneath it. Our steward was Roselle and she was phenomenal. Luggage arrived before the drill

 

Food: Okay we tried the following Tsar's- nobody acknowledged us at the table for 15 minutes and it was less than half full. Food was good. Chalking it up to being the first night

 

Azure- Service from beginning to end in 50 minutes. Staff was great, as was food

 

Teppanyaki- Best money spent. Loved the meal and it was my first time doing hibachi

 

Tango's- Enjoyed the food. Staff very friendly

 

Cagney's- Okay TA gave us all credit for this meal and everyone I know has raved about eating here. Gotta say, least favorite meal. All 3 meals came out not cooked as ordered and meat was very fatty. Not what I expected. Again chalking it up to an off night.

 

Blue lagoon- Enjoyed the food. especially the wings. Very hot

 

Okay the buffet, what were they thinking when they were designing this area. Lets cluster stations together, serve practically the same food every day and not have space to accomodate the guests. We ate there but some days it felt like a challenge. Gotta say the staff was very friendly considering the rudeness that was directed at them. I understand people are on vacation but that doesn't excuse them from using manners. Okay onto the excursions..

 

Port Canaveral- Never got off the ship. Stayed by the pool

 

GSC- Got the first tender over, no problems and stayed until about 2pm. Beach was nice and we got chairs right up front

 

Nassau- We did the sea lion excursion on Blue Lagoon and loved it. Wish it was more interaction but it was fun. A note about the excursion desk. I booked this back In January for the 10am spot. When I received my tickets they were for the afternoon. Went down to excursion desk and the woman I spoke with was wonderful . She explained they bumped us because not enough people were booked. If that changed she would notify us and automatically switch us. Well 15 minutes later she called me, said come down, dont wait on line and she would pass me the new tickets. Very happy

After we went shopping and to Senor frogs. Watch out if you go to the big tent area by Frogs. They told us one price and then demanded a diffrent price. Got out of there fast, Didn't want any trouble. 3 people heard the same price each time, and each time they demanded a higher price than what was quoted. No thank you.

 

Entertainment- We saw all the shows. Everyone was entertaining. some more than others. particuraly loved the hypnotist and comedian. Fire and Ice was also very good.

Did bingo once for a $15 special and did Deal or no Deal twice. Won 2 free photos with Deal.

 

Disembarkation- We chose to take the colored luggage tags and went with the approx 9am departure. Got off ship at 9:15 and waited for customs for a 1/2 hour. Carnival Glory was in and customs couldn't handle 7000 passengers. Was outside by 10:30 looking for my ride

 

Overall I had a great time on my vaction. The ship was immaculate and 99% of the staff was wonderful. They worked hard and I enjoyed speaking with many of them.

 

I hope this review helps,as many of you helped me. If there are any questions please let me know. I'll do my best

[computerworks]

Sounds like you had a great time... the Jewel is a nice ship.

 

The shower however was an obstacle. Being 5'10" I could barely stand underneath it.

 

Should have mentioned it to your cabin steward...she would have shown you that the head is probably adjustable up and down. ;)