My Experience on the Norwegian Jewel - February 11 2012

[krzi]

I just got back from the February 11 cruise to the Bahamas. Overall the experience was amazing, however the food service once again was not up to par. I have listed some pro's and cons below.

 

Pros -

- All you can eat wings at a bar overlooking atrium as always in the Blue Lagoon

- Eat anytime, anything you want with anytime dining (read cons)

- Reasonable prices on drinks

- Rewards card for casino

- The bridge viewing room (this one is 2x larger than the Gem)

- Comfortable rooms, great room steward

- Shower has door instead of curtain (huge plus)

- Shore excursions were fun and felt safe with all third party tour providers

- Casino staff was fun and energetic

 

Cons -

- Poor service at Main Dining Room (azura and tsar)

- No TV on the ship is larger than 50"

- Atrium elevators do not overlook atrium (no windows on elevators)

- Atrium is not as grand as most other ships

- Casino did not have many games (they did not have pai gow poker, 4 card poker, caribbean stud and baccarat)

- No Bowling alleys

- Pursers Desk Receptionist were rude and very sarcastic when asking about charges

- Pursers Desk showed attitude when asked to break 2 20's (needed 5$ bills to tip room steward additional daily as she worked really hard and was amazing)

 

Undecided

- Decent shows and entertainment (only 2 headliners, rest were done by Production cast compared to other ships with 3-4 headliners on a 7 day cruise)

- If you enjoy trying luck, Becareful, a lot of gambling on ship outside casino (optional and additional charges)

- Chocoholic Buffet was there, but did not have as much as I expected

- Blackjack Tournament feels like a ripoff, but appears to be across the entire line (tournament is a $15.00 fee with jackpot at a set $200.00 jackpot with only 1 winner the entire trip on the final day at sea, most other lines have jackpot winners on same day with multiple tournaments during the cruise)

 

I have posted on my blog a more descriptive post on my vacation on the Norwegian Jewel with a lot of pictures I took as well - http://vincentwong.info/blog/?p=1147

[deladypilot]

Vincent

 

Thank you for the review. Very nicely done as you listed things in pros and cons and from there everyone can make up their own mind.

 

What type of room were you in?

 

Also, thanks for the link to see your pictures. They turned out great. Looks like overall you have a wonderful time.

[johnmpcny]

Thank you I will read your blog on it.

 

I was the Jewel and my family and I loved it. I did see some of the things you did and others I did not.

 

Never had met a rude staff member anywhere.

 

Our experience with the MDR staff was excellent, even if the food could have been better.

 

I missed complaining about the TV's not being bigger than 50 inches <G> (I did complain about in the room tv being 1970's vintage.

[che5904]

Thanks for the review.

 

I can't say I've ever experience rude from the front desk, but i certainly have found that the front desk staff have never matched the rest of NCL's crew. I have found them inattentive, not overly knowledgable and not overly friendly. I think that area of NCL's ships could use some improving.

 

You say you had issues with "Poor service at Main Dining Room (azura and tsar)". Obviously since you feel that you received service that was not to your liking in both, then it must have happened more than once. Did you bring this up to anyone higher up?

[welove2cruise232]

Vincent, thanks so much for posting your review. We are looking forward to a week of relaxing on the Jewel next month!

[cliffd64]

Thanks for the review.

 

I can't say I've ever experience rude from the front desk, but i certainly have found that the front desk staff have never matched the rest of NCL's crew. I have found them inattentive, not overly knowledgable and not overly friendly. I think that area of NCL's ships could use some improving.

 

You say you had issues with "Poor service at Main Dining Room (azura and tsar)". Obviously since you feel that you received service that was not to your liking in both, then it must have happened more than once. Did you bring this up to anyone higher up?

 

Thanks for asking this... I was wondering the same thing... I wonder how many service issues go unreported until Cruise Critic... It's better to bring it to the attention of the maitre'd when it happens I would think.

[che5904]

Thanks for asking this... I was wondering the same thing... I wonder how many service issues go unreported until Cruise Critic... It's better to bring it to the attention of the maitre'd when it happens I would think.

 

Well this is always something I am most interested in, when someone has an issue, a complaint or whatever. For a couple of reasons.

Companies hire employees, employees are humans, humans make mistakes or they simply may not be very good at what they do. Companies put in systems, systems may not always work in reality like they do on paper. In this case, according to the OP’s blog, part of this issue may have been caused by the servers appearing to be overworked to give the attention needed, therefore this could be an NCL system error. But most certainly if that is the problem it can’t be fixed if no one is aware of it. If a company does not know about a problem they cannot fix it.

Also how a company addresses a complaint, tries to rectify a problem or resolve an issue tells me far more about a company than they had a problem. All companies have problems.

The OP did not give very much detail in the original post but was kind enough to put a link to a blog that gave more details of what the issue, as they see it, was that they were actually addressing. Therefore it leaves readers to make up their own mind whether this would impact them or not. Also allows anyone that this may be a problem for to possibly be proactive in how they may deal with this if they find this on their upcoming cruise.

Great job krzi

[passlineman]

They did have baccarat on this cruise, I played 4 days myself. The table was in the main pit the first night and in the high limit area for the remainder. I too wanted pai-gow, but had some good baccarat.

[pjnj40]

I sailed in December and never encountered a rude staff. My friend only dealt with lack of communication for tendering process because of his latitude status. However since this fuss is making him mad and complicated, he spoke to concierge and got free wine and strawberries. After that, it never bothered him. So, instead of waiting to tell us your problem you observed, always seek higher worker and they will be happy to talk to you. When you speak to higher people do it at normal talking voice. they won't tolerate if you yell at them. Thing happen . Do you think land vacation is any better then what you describe? I don't think so.

[rpb718]

Thanks for the review.

 

Not to nitpick, but I do question the "No bowling alleys" as a CON. The ship doesn't list "Bowling alleys" as an available activity. Had it done so, but they were closed, then "Bowling alleys were closed" would be CON.

[SuiteCruiser]

Great review, Vincent.

 

Thanks for pointing out some of the differences between the Gem and the Jewel. I've been on the Gem twice and heading for a third, and considered the Jewel for the next trip. I do like the big screen in the atrium as I love watching the kids play wii on it, they get so excited :)

 

Sorry the dining room and food wasn't up to par, but glad you enjoyed yourself overall.

 

Great review and blog.

[russianmom]

Thanks for the review. I enjoyed your photos in your blog.

 

Looking forward to being on the Jewel, again, in April

[Kosi]

I sailed in December and never encountered a rude staff. My friend only dealt with lack of communication for tendering process because of his latitude status. However since this fuss is making him mad and complicated, he spoke to concierge and got free wine and strawberries. After that, it never bothered him. So, instead of waiting to tell us your problem you observed, always seek higher worker and they will be happy to talk to you. When you speak to higher people do it at normal talking voice. they won't tolerate if you yell at them. Thing happen . Do you think land vacation is any better then what you describe? I don't think so.

You are assuming they raised their voice. I did not get that impression at all by the OP. I have to say I thought the people at this area left a lot to be desired as well.

[my_crib_too]

I also enjoyed the pictures in your blog and your review.

 

I chuckled a bit at the Bowling alleys comment. Maybe this is considered a basic requirement now with all the new, big, wonderful ships. Some of the ships in the NCL line may be showing their age a bit.

[krzi]

Vincent

What type of room were you in?

 

Also, thanks for the link to see your pictures. They turned out great

I was in a mini-suite - 11534

 

You say you had issues with "Poor service at Main Dining Room (azura and tsar)". Obviously since you feel that you received service that was not to your liking in both, then it must have happened more than once. Did you bring this up to anyone higher up?

I am one of the few people who will bring each and every issue up to management, however in the dining room staff, they had a staff change at port canaveral which resulted in my original complaint being disregarded. I reported each incident directly to the manager / officers of the department but not much was done immediately as I understand it will take time.

 

They did have baccarat on this cruise, I played 4 days myself. The table was in the main pit the first night and in the high limit area for the remainder. I too wanted pai-gow, but had some good baccarat.

I must have missed it, I only went to the casino on the sea days, my casino experience was amazing, the staff I had a great time with and as a former casino dealer myself I feel they are overworked and would wish they have a better system for dealers.

 

I sailed in December and never encountered a rude staff. My friend only dealt with lack of communication for tendering process because of his latitude status. However since this fuss is making him mad and complicated, he spoke to concierge and got free wine and strawberries. After that, it never bothered him. So, instead of waiting to tell us your problem you observed, always seek higher worker and they will be happy to talk to you. When you speak to higher people do it at normal talking voice. they won't tolerate if you yell at them. Thing happen . Do you think land vacation is any better then what you describe? I don't think so.

I spoke with the higher ups, and I never raise my voice, this I know as I work for the service industry as well. There were many things that factored into my review and even after reporting an incident it may take some time to even remotely see any improvements and thats understandable, however I am writing about the experience I had.

 

Not to nitpick, but I do question the "No bowling alleys" as a CON. The ship doesn't list "Bowling alleys" as an available activity. Had it done so, but they were closed, then "Bowling alleys were closed" would be CON.

I understand that the ship does not list bowling alleys, its just a con because it was lacking it and could have been a added bonus on the jewel. Either way the Jewel is still an amazing ship.

[forsberg]

Cruise staff in general are the best in the world.

 

We always only hear one side of the story on this forum, so I'm willing to bet that all the problems about service the OP encountered is because of his entitlement/attitude problems and not the cruise staff.

[Kosi]

Cruise staff in general are the best in the world.

 

We always only hear one side of the story on this forum, so I'm willing to bet that all the problems about service the OP encountered is because of his entitlement/attitude problems and not the cruise staff.

 

Wow , while I enjoyed NCL , I sure to do not think their staff is the best in the world. I did not get this person had any sense of entitlement or an attitude. They do have staff problems in different areas, sorry but they do. I kept wondering if they were happy working on this ship often. Was it the ship or would they act this way not matter what cruise line they were working on?

[newmexicoNita]

I just got back from the February 11 cruise to the Bahamas. Overall the experience was amazing, however the food service once again was not up to par. I have listed some pro's and cons below.

 

Pros -

- All you can eat wings at a bar overlooking atrium as always in the Blue Lagoon

- Eat anytime, anything you want with anytime dining (read cons)

- Reasonable prices on drinks

- Rewards card for casino

- The bridge viewing room (this one is 2x larger than the Gem)

- Comfortable rooms, great room steward

- Shower has door instead of curtain (huge plus)

- Shore excursions were fun and felt safe with all third party tour providers

- Casino staff was fun and energetic

 

Cons -

- Poor service at Main Dining Room (azura and tsar)

- No TV on the ship is larger than 50"

- Atrium elevators do not overlook atrium (no windows on elevators)

- Atrium is not as grand as most other ships

- Casino did not have many games (they did not have pai gow poker, 4 card poker, caribbean stud and baccarat)

- No Bowling alleys

- Pursers Desk Receptionist were rude and very sarcastic when asking about charges

- Pursers Desk showed attitude when asked to break 2 20's (needed 5$ bills to tip room steward additional daily as she worked really hard and was amazing)

 

Undecided

- Decent shows and entertainment (only 2 headliners, rest were done by Production cast compared to other ships with 3-4 headliners on a 7 day cruise)

- If you enjoy trying luck, Becareful, a lot of gambling on ship outside casino (optional and additional charges)

- Chocoholic Buffet was there, but did not have as much as I expected

- Blackjack Tournament feels like a ripoff, but appears to be across the entire line (tournament is a $15.00 fee with jackpot at a set $200.00 jackpot with only 1 winner the entire trip on the final day at sea, most other lines have jackpot winners on same day with multiple tournaments during the cruise)

 

I have posted on my blog a more descriptive post on my vacation on the Norwegian Jewel with a lot of pictures I took as well - http://vincentwong.info/blog/?p=1147

 

I have to say you gave a very fair and balanced assessment of your experience. I agree with some or most of it. As for the casino, how many games are offered depends on the market, more and more people seem to be cutting back on table games on cruise ships. Service in the MDR, we sailed the Jewel when she was brand new and overall had great DR service,but we have had hit or miss a few times on other NCL ships. of course we had the same on Princess and RCI last year, so go figure??? The chocolate buffet has really turned into more of a photo op then anything else. The atrium situation does bother some, not me, but has been a disappointment to some. AS for the TV I guess I am just not into the TV thing, I could care lss what size the TVS are.

 

Again, thanks for a very fair mini review.

 

Nita

[krzi]

Cruise staff in general are the best in the world.

 

We always only hear one side of the story on this forum, so I'm willing to bet that all the problems about service the OP encountered is because of his entitlement/attitude problems and not the cruise staff.

 

Cruise staff in general are the best in the world, however that entirely depends on the Cruise Line and how stretched out the staff are. I have worked in the service industry and I know how hard working all service staff are. I know for a fact the crew are understaffed/overworked and which is most likely what caused the poor service I received, however I am not blaming the staff for the poor service, I am blaming the Cruise Line for not hiring enough staff and overworking the crew.

 

I spoke to my stewardess who was amazing - Winnie. Someone very close to me works as a housekeeper in New York City. In NYC housekeepers only clean 12 regular rooms OR 7 suites per day. When I spoke with Winnie we found out she had to clean 17 mini suites two times a day. We were shocked and asked what happened to their partners only to find out NCL cut costs and room stewards now have 3 less rooms (used to be 20 mini-suites for 2 people) but have to clean all the rooms on their own.

 

That is just one example, looking into the dining room staff, I saw 1 server and 1 assistant for 9 tables (each with 4-12 people). That is 2-3 times more than what a normal server has in New York City has and they are working 14 hour shifts. I am certain that if the dining room staff on the Jewel were working with another line where they only have 6 tables with 12 tables total per night they would all have been outstanding and exceeded expectations. Freestyle Dining is still young and NCL needs to re-evaluate the staffing system for it.

[HppyCamper]

Cruise staff in general are the best in the world.

 

We always only hear one side of the story on this forum, so I'm willing to bet that all the problems about service the OP encountered is because of his entitlement/attitude problems and not the cruise staff.

 

I have found the only way I can stay on this site to reap all the wonderful information from the more reasonable posters on this board is to simply ignore people that post things like this.

 

I will try this one last time. This type of zealousness really turns off thinking people and gives this entire forum a "combative" undertone that I, frankly do not appreciate.

 

Thank you to all of the people who listen well and respond appropriately.

[forsberg]

I have found the only way I can stay on this site to reap all the wonderful information from the more reasonable posters on this board is to simply ignore people that post things like this.

 

I will try this one last time. This type of zealousness really turns off thinking people and gives this entire forum a "combative" undertone that I, frankly do not appreciate.

 

Thank you to all of the people who listen well and respond appropriately.

 

Thank you for invaluable words of wisdom. I'll learn from my mistake and take every post from every OP as fact from now on. Once again, thank you, you've really opened my eyes.

 

That said, I will be on the Jewel this Saturday and I am SURE that I will be 100% satisfied with the service.

[dwjoe]

We always only hear one side of the story on this forum, so I'm willing to bet that all the problems about service the OP encountered is because of his entitlement/attitude problems and not the cruise staff.

I didn't get that at all from OP's post.

 

OP was quite specific about the things they did/did not like and did not exaggerate or use over-the-top drama to get their point across.

 

When someone posts details about what and why they didn't like something, like the OP did, it makes it more relevant and applicable to other cruisers.

[che5904]

I didn't get that at all from OP's post.

 

OP was quite specific about the things they did/did not like and did not exaggerate or use over-the-top drama to get their point across.

 

When someone posts details about what and why they didn't like something, like the OP did, it makes it more relevant and applicable to other cruisers.

 

 

I too thought it was a very balanced and fair take on their cruise. Not necessarily what I would have said, since things like TV size, windows in elevators and the Wow factor of the Atrium are not important to me. But if they are important to the OP or the readers, they now know.

 

I certainly didn't get the impression that the OP had an entitlement issue or went in with any sort of negative attitude.

[newmexicoNita]

I have found the only way I can stay on this site to reap all the wonderful information from the more reasonable posters on this board is to simply ignore people that post things like this.

 

I will try this one last time. This type of zealousness really turns off thinking people and gives this entire forum a "combative" undertone that I, frankly do not appreciate.

 

Thank you to all of the people who listen well and respond appropriately.

 

We have had some less than great service from all lines, but I do think saying ship crew members are the best is a pretty true statement. I have never gotten the service from a hotel or all inclusive that we get on cruise ships.

 

Nita

[forsberg]

We have had some less than great service from all lines, but I do think saying ship crew members are the best is a pretty true statement. I have never gotten the service from a hotel or all inclusive that we get on cruise ships.

 

Nita

 

Exactly.

 

When it comes to a cruise, there's two things I don't know how people can find a reason to complain about:

 

1) food

 

There's hundreds of things you can choose to eat and nothing suits you?

 

2) service

 

The staff on cruise ships are top-notch. Most issues come up because of difficult customers. I can't stand it when I see rude guests.