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Norwegian Jewel December 16-23 2012 - Florida and the Bahamas

xenagurl

By xenagurl,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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zonap

zonap

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Great review. We are on the Gem doing the same run in June (2nd time). We booked the private cabana as a group indulgence. We have been to Great Stirrup multiple times and the crowd shot vs. the private cabana reinforces a reason to do it.

 

FWIW, we had cabana 10 on the Dec 16-23 sailing at GSC, and while the cabana was nice, we ended up with A LOT of bug bites; in fact, so many that we left our cabana at lunch time, after just a few hours despite the $299 we paid to have it for the whole day. :(

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xenagurl

xenagurl

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583 photos of day 4 & 5

here!

 

 

Day 5 – Nassau, Bahamas

The only thing that we knew that we wanted to do when we reach Nassau was to get some rum cakes from the Tortuga rum shop. So we donned our sunscreen and sunglasses got off the ship and started walking. We aimlessly strolled in the warmth of the Bahamian sun until we came upon the Bahamas Cultural Center. We went inside and were greeting by a Bahamas scholar named Tony who told us about the area from the Lucayan Indians through the time of colonialism and slavery until present day.

We bought a book on the history of the Bahamas, made a small donation and I started preliminary plans in my mind to hear to Eluthera one day. A place that I'd heard of but knew nothing about. It happened to be Tony's ancestral home and after hearing a lot more about it, it's definitely on the agenda of places to go in the future.



We continued out walk about 2 blocks to the Queen's Staircase area. There we happened to meet a courtesy guide named Antonio who gave us a very comprehensive overview of the canyon area, Queen's Staircase and water tower. Over 5000 slaves died digging out the canyon area in order for the Governor of the area at the time to make his way to safety if the island was ever raided. That day never happened while he was there. A sad and poignant reminder to us in the modern day never to accept inhumanity of this sort and a reminder about the preciousness and worth of all human beings no matter where we are from or what we look like.

We head up the Queen's Staircase, each of which represents a year that she ruled on the thrown of England.

From there we made a right and walked over to take photos of the water tower and Fort Fincastle on Bennett's Hill. Fort Entrance is only $1 and it's a good to have a panoramic view of the cruise ships as well as take photos of yourself next to the canons. The fort this day was a little less military and prettier than usual as they were decorating in preparation for a wedding taking place that evening.

After we head on over to a small restaurant next to water tower in order to have a bite. I had tasty conch fritters ($4) hubby had a beer and I had a coconut something or other, which while good didn't have an alcoholic punch. Total $13.50. They serve about 8 nice sized conch fritters which is definitely enough for 2 people.

Making our way back down we walked around, bought some Bahamian rum and rum cake from a small shop and then went over to the Tortuga shop and stocked up on Rum cake. Being pretty weighed down with bags after our last stop we decided to go back to the Jewel and drop them off.

Next stop was Senor Frog. I'd been there about eight and a half years ago on my very first cruise on the Carnival Miracle, which also happened to be docked in Nassau this time as well. The Mr. had never been there so it seemed like a good way to end an afternoon. Somehow I managed to forget that eight years ago I was eight years younger and what was amusing to me then isn't necessarily amusing to me now. So after a drink and watching drunk frat boys dance we decided not to get a table walked down the street and around the corner across the street from the British Colonial Hilton to a take out place named 'Imperial'. Very well cooked and fresh but too much money for what it included. I had a small piece of corn on the cob, 6 fried shrimp and french fries which came to $8.50

Walking past the pirate museum and gift shops we took a few photos in front of the cartoon caricatures of the female pirate Anne Bonny (of whom Bonnie of Bonnie and Clyde fame took her name) and then moseyed along to the Straw market to buy a couple of gifts, from there it was time to head back to the terminal where I bought some island spices. There's free wifi in the area next to the large Junkanoo costume, at the cross :streets” of Queen's Highway and Settler's Way.

Waiting on the long but fast moving line through customs we took a few more photos with the Jewel in the background of the setting sun and danced up the gangway going back inside of our floating hotel.

When we reached our stateroom we went onto the balcony to take video of people dancing while boarding and well as watching those on the Disney Dream watching all of the merriment below for those entering the Jewel. It was a cute scene to take in, I was dancing on my balcony watching people on the Disney Dream dancing on theirs all to the beat of the Wobble, Danza Kuduro and Gangnam Style while getting ready for dinner.

Teppanyaki was on the menu for dinner. We had a chef that like all of them really seemed to enjoy his job and made it an enjoyable experience. I asked for a mix of scallops with Tofu instead of Scallops and Shrimp for my Hibachi which was a good combination. We shared a Japanese Martini finished up with Green tea cake and ice cream.

Jean-Pierre Parent had two performances at 7:30 and 9:30pm, we caught the second show which was impressive and funny as usual. JP puts a lot connecting with the audience and making sure that they're having fun. If you're interested in learning more about magic tricks on the second sea day (the day after his full performance) he gives a workshop, which on this sailing takes place at 1:00pm in the Stardust theater.

Once again the best laid plans...the goal was to go dancing but once I got to the room and sat down for a few minutes my body began to relax and that was that. :)

Notes: Courtesy guides work for tips, so if you accept their services it's nice to leave them with a few dollars. --- You need a valid form of photo ID and your ship card in order to get past customs in the terminal. Your state drivers license will do, there is no need to bring your passport. --- You can use USD in the Bahamas and for the most part will get back U.S. Dollars in change. If your chance is only a dollar or two there are times that a vendor will let you know that they only have Bahamian dollars for your change (1:1 currency exchange). They do make a nice souvenir of your day in Nassau.

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Hockey19

Hockey19

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FWIW, we had cabana 10 on the Dec 16-23 sailing at GSC, and while the cabana was nice, we ended up with A LOT of bug bites; in fact, so many that we left our cabana at lunch time, after just a few hours despite the $299 we paid to have it for the whole day. :(

 

Do the bugs not like the good life (snark). Seriously- was that an island problem or just something around the cabanas. Was it something that better bug sprays- DEET etc., would have helped with?

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xenagurl

xenagurl

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Do the bugs not like the good life (snark). Seriously- was that an island problem or just something around the cabanas. Was it something that better bug sprays- DEET etc., would have helped with?

 

Hopefully zonap will come back but I have to say I didn't notice any bugs on the island where I was, so it might have been in a certain area.

 

How are the beds? We were on the Pearl a few years ago and they were very comfy!

 

Very comfortable! We slept well each night.

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zonap

zonap

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Do the bugs not like the good life (snark). Seriously- was that an island problem or just something around the cabanas. Was it something that better bug sprays- DEET etc., would have helped with?

 

Bugs seemed to just be a cabana issue as my daughter seemed to have way fewer bites than me and she spent most of her time down by the water building sand castles, floating on the mats, etc.

 

I'm not sure if bug spray would help. The reason is that my husband and I think it was actually little biting ants, not Mosquitos or gnats. But honestly, I'm not sure.

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xenagurl

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Day 6 – Second Day at Sea

I left the door to the balcony slightly open in order to take in a bit of sea breeze while sleeping buy the time I woke up in the morning the wind had kicked up quite a bit, signaling of course that we were actually on our way up North.

I slowly washed up and got dressed and by 11:00 we walked over to the Java cafe where I had an Cappuccino Aroma and started to catch up on writing about this trip.

Noon meant that it was time to have lunch at our favorite spot, Tsars. Vietnamese Summer Rolls and Portobello mushrooms for me again along with Shrimp Caesar salad.

Next up was an interview with Captain Lars Bergstrom. I'll be posting that soon. Captain Lars is a very pleasant welcoming personality and the kind of person one looks forward to meeting again. So it was nice to have the chance to get to know a little more about him.

We had a table near the window that evening in Tsars and we could see that the waves were quite high! It was fascinating to watch and was indicative of what we would see the next day as we continued sailing along the Atlantic coast.

Food rave: And as much as I love, love, love creme brulee, there is a Pecan Pie adorned with chocolate Ice Cream in Tsars Dining Room that will make you smile for days. It's delicious times 2 and worth trying when it's on the menu.

Day 7 – Third Day at Sea

Another late morning, ah how I love those. The ship was moving quite a bit now, thankfully neither of us are really effected by sea sickness, here and there I'll feel a little off, albeit nothing major. JP the Magician shared a tip and that's to put some sugar under your tongue and suck on it. Sure enough it seems to work for motion sickness.

We went to the buffet for lunch and said hello to Felix Esprit the Restaurant manager on the Jewel and Angelito Santos the Executive Chef. Both of them have done a great job because the food style and flavor of the meals that we had on board was very good and simply delicious. There's a Tilapia meal that I'm looking forward to tasting again the next time I'm on board when Chef Santos is there. One of the reasons his style of food prep ranks high with me is that I feel fish and seafood in general should be well done. I don't want to have to send it back and ask to have it cooked further. If it's juicy on the inside I'm not going to touch it. The fish dishes on the ship always had the right touch of moisture and were easy to eat and flavorful just as I like it. If only all places made seafood in this fashion.

Felix was very kind and treated my sweetie and I to dinner wherever we chose that evening. Since Le Bistro is my husband's favorite I went with that one. We had a chance to have some of our favorite dishes twice as a treat from NCL, first from my Platinum Latitudes status and the second from Felix. What a nice happening on vacation! Thank you Felix!

After we dined we went to the question and answer session with Brenda Kaye the Hypnotist, Jean-Pierre Parent the Magician and Comedian and the acrobatic couple Celia & Julien.

Right after the Q&A I sat down with JP to do an interview with him for my travel blog. It was interesting, insightful and of course funny! If you haven't already looked at it, you can check it out here.

About an hour after that we went to Stardust theater for the Officer Profile, it was then moved to Spinnaker Lounge before starting so we went upstairs 6 flights (yes we walked, staircase climbing was out major exercise for the week.) and made our way to the front with cameras ready. Captain Lars Bergstrom, Hotel Director Hugo Vanosmael, and newly appointed Chief Engineer Tihomer Hirdalo. The Chief Engineer for our sailing was Terje Bjerkan from Norway but he was not at the profile.

Afterward Captain Lars was nice enough to take photos with the crowd that swarmed him for photos after. It was pretty cute, there were a lot of young kids that were thrilled with the chance to have a picture with the man that runs the ship; and it was my chance to grab a photo with Hotel Director Hugo Vanosmael. I'd heard a lot of good things about him on the Cruise Critic board and they are true. He's a very approachable HD.

After the officer Q&A in Spinnaker lounge we decided to stay so that I could take photos with Cosmo and Wanda from the Fairly Odd Parents. Yes I was the only big person standing there for a photo that didn't have a little person with me. :p

That evening we said our goodbyes to Rocelle our lovely room steward from the Philippines. A kind personality and a friendly disposition we really enjoyed meeting and getting to know her. Hopefully we'll see each other again on a future voyage.

Day 8 – Disembarkation Morning

After a week of fun, sun, food, and people it was time to go. Never easy to leave a place of comfort and entertainment we nevertheless woke up finished packing and left stateroom 10520. It was a nice comfortable room that we'll miss having. We'd originally booked a room in a different category grade, but were very nicely upgraded into the balcony room. Thanks Norwegian Cruise Line!

Since Hurricane Sandy still effects Pier 88, the immigration process getting off the ship was basically taken care of on the ship. We waited about 35 minutes on this line before being able to see one of the 3 immigration officers on board. Probably a bit shorter than what the wait would have been outside, and thankfully in the warmth. I would recommend that different color tags are called spaced apart a bit more to prevent the congestion, but in the end there would be a long line anyway either on or off the ship, and I can only imagine how much tougher it must be for the crew to prep for the next wave of passengers when hundreds of us are still on the ship, so kudos to them for all of their hard work.

We've nothing but good things to say and great memories of our end of the year cruise on the Jewel and are happy to have had a chance to cruise on her again after a year and a half. We're Looking forward to cruise number for on her...perhaps this year.

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xenagurl

xenagurl

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We are contemplating a trip during the same time of Dec. this year. Just wondering when into the cruise it's warm enough to enjoy all the outside activities? and when on the way home it starts to really cool down?

 

It starts warming up by the first sea day, by then you're far enough down the coast for the temperature to have risen significantly barring any unusual weather patterns.

 

If I remember correctly from New York I think that there are 2 sea days coming back. By the middle of the last sea day it seemed particularly cooler to me.

If you have any other questions I'm happy to try and answer them.

 

HTH and have a great trip! :)

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