Please tell me about the Jewel.

[satchiesmom]

We will be sailing on the Jewel for our first NCL cruise and would love to hear any comments/suggestions about the ship.

 

Susan

[jasbo49]

We will be sailing on the Jewel for our first NCL cruise and would love to hear any comments/suggestions about the ship.

 

Susan

Your best bet is probably to check the member reviews under the "reviews" heading at the top of your CC home page.

 

I just got off the ship June 2 and can rattle off a few things shotgun style:

 

-- We enjoyed the ship itself (herself?) quite a bit. Nothing is too big like some ships. It's fairly fresh and clean. We really liked the Freestyle dining and casual dress.

 

-- My wife and I both enjoyed the entertainment, though as I mentioned in my official review, we're from the sticks. Maybe we're easily impressed.

 

-- As for food, I'd say the buffet was a step above some I've seen in the past, but the main dining room food, while often good, seemed somewhat uninspired occasionally.

 

--If you go on the spa tour the first day, be prepared to endure 8-10 sales pitches strung together to eat up something like 45 minutes of your first afternoon. I was trying to be a good guy and go along with my wife. Next time, I think I'll grab a drink at the pool bar while she deals with the sales pitches.

 

Also, run a search on the NCL forum for threads with "jewel" in them. One you'll find is one I tossed in a few days ago called "Random Thoughts on the Jewel May 26 cruise" or some such thing. Nobody had much to add, but it had a few of my other recommendations.

 

Jim

[RIvacationgirl]

We just sailed for our 1st cruise on the Jewel. We loved every part of the cruise. We really enjoyed the Moderno restaurant, great food and overlooking the central atrium. There were many activities to do, and each day they give you a listing of all the action. The casino was basic, and we enjoyed the bingo too. Try not to miss the Mr. Norwegian Jewel contest by the pool, it wa hysterical. The spa was overpriced, but nice.

The staff was always ready to serve with a smile!

I hope you enjoy the ship as much as we did.;)

[Shelli]

In 2010, the Jewel was my first NCL cruise since sailing on the Norway in the late 80s. I had rather low expectations, but the price was right, and hey, it was a cruise! Well, it turned out to be one of my very favorite ships and cruises (and I've been on 16 of them)! Foodwise, we enjoyed The Great Outdoors more than I can say; found the buffet to be the best of any ship so far; and had such a great waitperson in the main dining room that we requested a table in her section every evening (they actually started putting a reserved sign on "our" table after the 3rd night). I found the layout very easy to get to know, and the staff was just the best! Really liked the theater because of the stadium seating and a/c vents (on the back of the seats in front of us-- very cool, both meanings of the word). The entertainment was just wonderful. Loved, loved, loved it all! Hope you do, too!

[soaringfalcon]

We love the Jewel!! The staff is amazing.

 

The entertainment and food are both good.

 

Any specific questions?

[kcfoxy]

Just back from our first NCL Jewel cruise to Alaska...a new itinerary for the staff, with a shake down cruise from Vancouver (vs our Seattle to Seattle route) the week before.

 

The ship was beautiful, very clean and well kept, medium sized and easy to get around after the first day. Staff wearing smiles, mostly eager to help...I think the few others would too, but slight language barrier.

 

NCL is general quite hygiene conscious with Washy Washy girls and self-clean hand sanitizer stations at each restaurant.

 

Food good to very good. Blue Lagoon and Garden Buffet fine for breakfast,

main dining room (MDR) good for lunch or dinner. Tried Chin Chin (Asian) and Moderno (Brazilian Grill) of the Specialty (read: pay) restaurants, and both was very good to excellent...service top notch overall.

 

Jazz Brunch held the last Sea Day (Thursdays on this route) $15. Tasty, with a few choices such as the Filet Mignon, beyond the basic breakfast buffet augmented with some extra desserts. But LOUD (especially that blaring trumpet).

 

Casino had a decent variety of slot machines, several poker tables, roulette and so on. Overall tighter than Las Vegas, looser than Indian casinos and our CC M&G group doubled our pot on the Wheel of Fortune Slot Pull :p

 

Cabins are average sized, helpful room stewards furnish ice, clean linens and towel animals. Recommend window or balcony for this gorgeous cruise zone.

 

Didn't partake of bingo, Spa, youth program or major shows as the early port time (7 a.m.), excursions and wave action lulled us to sleep each night, but thought the Cruise Director and Hotel Director kept everything organized and enough variety to suit most. Enough small nooks, bar city spots/venues with good music and generous bartenders to help make the Jewel seem less crowded than the max pax on board...no towering atrium but the central seating area on Deck 7 midship was a good resting/meeting spot.

 

The casual dining/dress were other deciding factors, and overall can see booking another cruise on the Jewel, or Jewel Cass ships in the upcoming years :D

[tne1106]

 

Casino had a decent variety of slot machines, several poker tables, roulette and so on. Overall tighter than Las Vegas, looser than Indian casinos and our CC M&G group doubled our pot on the Wheel of Fortune Slot Pull :p

 

 

Did the casino have quarter waterfall machines? I know my family said the Gem did, so hoping the Jewel does to.

[garycarla]

We will be sailing on the Jewel for our first NCL cruise and would love to hear any comments/suggestions about the ship.

 

Susan

 

starting with:

food?

rooms?

staff?

bars?

entertainment?

decor?

casino?

drinks?

ports?

policies?

excursions?

checkin?

movement?

???

[relic2]

We are booked on the jewel in January 2013. Have been on Star, Gem, pearl, Epic and Sun. I believe the Gem is a sister to Jewel. We LOVE NCL! Always book balcony mini suite with our traveling companions next door. Love our balcony time together. Last cruise we had dinner in LeBistro and really enjoyed it. Have dined in Cagney's several times but liked LeBistro even better.

Lots of activities available on sea days. My DH usually prefers to stay aboard even on port days. I think he is challenging me to object, but I figure we should each do what we prefer. Has worked for nearly 45 years.

I know you will enjoy NCL. Welcome aboard.

Love your cat. I have a lilac point Himalayan.

Margaret

[johnsak123]

My first cruise with NCL was on the Jewel. Really enjoyed the ship. The spa was a great get away from the crowds and hustle and bustle of the ship. Enjoyed the italian specialty restaurant immensely as well as Le Bistro. Cagney's to me was OK but I would go back.

No matter what you do on the ship it will be fun

Enjoy!!

[Arzeena]

We will be sailing on the Jewel for our first NCL cruise and would love to hear any comments/suggestions about the ship.

 

Susan

 

Wonderful ship, Wonderful crew!

[johnql]

To the OP: here's a link to my somewhat outdated review of the Jewel. Even though it's a bit dated, you may still get a decent idea of what to expect from the ship. There are also links in the review for my photo albums, so you can get get a good idea of what the ship looks like, the public rooms, some of the cabins, etc.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1075320

[davesgirl51]

Yes, the casino has waterfall machine for "quarters".:)

[slotaddict]

We loved everything about the Jewel....just a great ship all around....

[ncklhaus]

Make sure to go to the "Best of All" Lunch on the first at sea day. It is in Le Bistro and you get to sample dishes from all of the specialty restaurants. I think it was $15 per person. It was well worth the $$. I made sure to make our reservations for it as soon as we got to the pier.:)

[ncklhaus]

Also, the first night in the main dining room is Lobster night. You get a piece of snapper and a rock lobster tail. If you want, you can ask for more lobster and they will bring as much as you want.;)

[blindrid]

The Jewel is our favorite ship regardless of which line. We have had good luck even though we've only been on her a few times.

 

I would book again in a heartbeat (and will).

[Oumom2014]

I would recommend getting the spa passes which cost around 120 per person for anyone over 18 is only allowed. My husband and I would spend every evening going to the spa it wasn't crowded and the tile loungers are lovely. We enjoyed this time so much that on the Epic for our cruise in Dec we got the the spa balcony so the passes were included with the stateroom. Great way to get ready for the late night activities.

[satchiesmom]

Thanks so much for all of the great info. So far our definitely will dos include the Mystery lunch (if offered), Chef's Table, "Best of" lunch and spa passes. We got a perks package that includes dinners at Cagney's and the Italian restaurant and plan also to try Moderno. Any other don't misses?

 

Susan

[johnql]

Thanks so much for all of the great info. So far our definitely will dos include the Mystery lunch (if offered), Chef's Table, "Best of" lunch and spa passes. We got a perks package that includes dinners at Cagney's and the Italian restaurant and plan also to try Moderno. Any other don't misses?

 

Susan

For whatever reason, the Asian fusion restaurant (Chin Chin, not Teppanyaki) doesn't get a lot of buzz on CC, but I have found it to be one of the best surcharge restaurants on every NCL ship that I've sailed, including the Jewel. Unless you're not a fan of Asian cuisine, I would highly recommend checking it out. The banana pancakes with coconut ice cream for dessert is tremendous.