Mini Review - Jewel 12/3 - 12/10

[wdwfamily]

Just off the Jewel this morning so thought I'd do a quick mini review.

Embarkation: Once parked it was a matter of pulling our stuff to the elevator, going down 2 floors and handing it off to the porters. Once that was done we hit the check in line where we waited for 3 or 4 minute max before it was our turn. Our paperwork took all of 5 minutes at most and we were on the ship. Quick and easy.

We were on the ship by 12:10pm and went straight to Tzar's for lunch. Before we were finished they announced that the rooms were ready so the timing was perfect.

Stateroom: Mini Suite Aft 11156. Attendant was Eric. Room was more than adequate for 2 people. It was perfect for the windy days that we had as there was no wind facing the back of the ship. My only complaint was that it seemed louder because of the propeller than any of the other balcony cabins we have had in the past. TV had some channels but the same stuff was shown over and over and over. I wasn't there to spend the week watching TV but it would have been nice to have a bit of variety on the few occasions we turned it on. They did play some decent movies and I was able to catch The Help one sea day late afternoon.

Dining: Most of our meals were very good with a few exceptions. Dinner - we ate 4 nights in Tzar's, 1 night in Azura, 1 night at Mama's and 1 night at Tango's. Service in all but Azura was excellent. Tango's food was delicious. Tzar's was OK but the menu was very uninspiring to me. At one point we wondered if they had uninspired menu's to get people into the restaurants with the cover charges. Lunch - we did 2 lunches at Tzar, 1 at Blue Lagoon and 3 at Garden Cafe / BBQ on deck. No complaints about any of them. Breakfast - we ate twice at Tzar's and the rest at Garden Cafe or the Great Outdoors. Fresh OJ each morning was what I looked forward to the most.

*Note to those with allergies: they did fairly well with this aspect of our dining experience. When eatting in the main dining rooms we ordered in advance. Only one night was this a problem (in Azura). Both of the specialty restaurants we wentn to were able to accomodate us. Tepanyaki was not able to accomodate but we were told the other ones would be able to.

Beverage: My husband picked up the soda card on day one and got his monies worth. No problem finding a bar or server to get him a soda. My only issue, which is more because of dislike of "real" ice tea is that if you didn't get a soda card you didn't have any other drink option besides unsweetened ice tea, water or coffee (and milk if you grabbed a carton in the morning). On Royal Caribbean and Carnival there was always a lemonade or punch option. Water was fine so I stuck with that but it would have been nice every once and while to get something else.

Ports: Cape Canaveral - we did our only NCL excursion here. Kayaking with the Manatees was lots of fun. Tour guide was a little long winded but all in all it was worth the expense. If this is an excursion you are looking to do I highly recommend a waterproof camera bag that allows you to take pictures while in the bag and a strap to go around your neck. By the time we would get our camera's out and ready the manatee were back under water! Sandals are also a better bet than sneakers even though it says there is some exploring on an island. The exploring was on a small island easily accessible with only sandals.

Great Stirrup Cay - it was fine for just the two of us but wasn't impressed from a family standpoint. We were in Labadee last year and thought that was much better for the kids. They are renovating so who knows, maybe it will turn into one of our favorite private islands down the road.

Nassau - this was a difficult day for us because of things going on at home. By the time we had decided to finish out the cruise and not fly home it was early afternoon, most of the excursions were done and we didn't feel comfortable heading off to explore via taxi so close to departure so we did a walking tour ourselves. Hit the shops as well as the fort, water tower and Queens Staircase before returning to the ship.

Entertainment - overall we thought it was wonderful. Duo Eglesia was fantastic. The ships dancers were OK (I thought the men were much better than the women). The comedian (Peter Sasso) was funny at times and in my opinion, rude at others. We enjoyed the magician (Jean Pierre Parent) but was turned off at the end of his main show when he was selling Empire Magic kits for $20 that sell between $3.50 and $7.50 at local shops. I understand everything on a cruise ship is marked up but that was ridiculous for these cheaply made sets. Fountains was interesting, although a bit immature.

BINGO, Let's Make a Deal - Bingo was priced higher than I remember any other ship being. I believe prices started at $39.95 (3 cards each game) and went up to $69.95 (6 cards each game with a bonus board). Games were long (the last bingo game lasted 1 1/2 hours (4 total bingo games). Let's Make a Deal was fun with 2 $1,000 winners in the first two shows.

Debarkation - We walked off the ship with our luggage at 7:40am and called home to tell them we were on our way at 7:55. With one stop we were home in 3 hours and 15 minute. Perfect way to end a great week!

[Partyatsea]

wdw sorry to hear of problems back home, hope all is well.

 

We were on this cruise also and had an awesome time. Weather was great for this itin. and time of year.

Emarkation was record time for us, 18 minutes curbside to lunch, awesome.

 

We were aft deck 10, sorry we never waved, we had a nice roll call with a good turnout.

 

We ate at Blue Lagoon 3X and thought it was the best service we've gotten in any NCL BL.

Agree it would be nice if NCL offered lemonade, not a fan of unsweetened iced tea, Liz is fine with it tho. I always threw a few chocolate milks in the fridge for middle of the night thirst:).

 

If you missed Fire and Ice in the atrium, you missed the best show of the cruise. The women was amazing, I think only BMG had a better show. I heard they were leaving with us today, I hope NCL gets them back.

 

I think the way less than full booking made it a unique cruise in many ways.

Can't wait to go back, again hope your issues at home work out.

[SuiteRose]

We were on this cruise also and had an awesome time. Weather was great for this itin. and time of year.

Emarkation was record time for us, 18 minutes curbside to lunch, awesome.

 

Can you tell me what time you arrived at the pier? Trying to decide what time to leave our home in PA.. Thanks!

 

If you missed Fire and Ice in the atrium, you missed the best show of the cruise. The women was amazing, I think only BMG had a better show. I heard they were leaving with us today, I hope NCL gets them back.

 

I heard such good things about Fire and Ice... I hope whoever is on board in the atrium when we sail in January can measure up... my DH loves to sit in the Atrium and listen to music!

 

Glad you had a great time!

[Partyatsea]

Can you tell me what time you arrived at the pier? Trying to decide what time to leave our home in PA.. Thanks!

 

 

We got to the pier around 1, had a suite, and were sitting in Cagney's by 1:20. Our sailing was only 80% full.

 

Fire and Ice seemed to do a show every night. They played the Stardust for a Tina Turner show which we didn't make, the amazing show in the atrium we did see, another show in atrium and the last night an 80's show in Bliss. Best entertainers we have seen on a cruise yet.

[SuiteRose]

We got to the pier around 1, had a suite, and were sitting in Cagney's by 1:20. Our sailing was only 80% full.

 

Fire and Ice seemed to do a show every night. They played the Stardust for a Tina Turner show which we didn't make, the amazing show in the atrium we did see, another show in atrium and the last night an 80's show in Bliss. Best entertainers we have seen on a cruise yet.

 

wow.. only 80% full... we did the same sailing on the Gem a few years ago and you could see the prices drops... but I do think the ship finally sailed pretty full. We had some trouble getting through the Lincoln Tunnel last time... don't know about traffice on a Saturday morning in late January... December was pretty bad.. We are in a suite too so hopefully we'll get on fast as well. Thanks!

[Rahi]

We were on this cruise also and had an awesome time. Weather was great for this itin. and time of year.

Emarkation was record time for us, 18 minutes curbside to lunch, awesome.

 

Can you tell me what time you arrived at the pier? Trying to decide what time to leave our home in PA.. Thanks!

 

If you missed Fire and Ice in the atrium, you missed the best show of the cruise. The women was amazing, I think only BMG had a better show. I heard they were leaving with us today, I hope NCL gets them back.

 

I heard such good things about Fire and Ice... I hope whoever is on board in the atrium when we sail in January can measure up... my DH loves to sit in the Atrium and listen to music!

 

Glad you had a great time!

 

We are in Northeast PA. We leave for a cruise from our home around 2 1/2 hours before you want to be there, cause on weekends it really isn't a problem with traffic. We like to be there for 11 AM. I have seen hugeee lines at say 1PM ish from the ship you can sometimes see inside the terminal. To us 11 is perfect. BUT this is in FEB., I would bet traffic is not the same for xmas holiday month of Dec. , some of Nov. and NYE