A review from the Aft of the Jewel - January 17, 2015

[Linda the Book Lover]

I was not able to get an aft PH on 10 either. But will suffer through it. Wink.

 

Lol my heart goes out to you...;):D

[AF-1]

Just what I needed on this cold day in Jan. I am in 10666 on Jade; so your pictures gave me a heads up on what to expect. Thanks.

[jmele999]

Thanks to all for the comments. I will continue with the review tonight since I have the pictures on my home computer.

 

In the meantime, feel free to ask if you have any questions.

 

Johan

[kumar247]

What footwear did you wear for the majority of the cruise? For me, if I'm not at work, I am always in tennis shoes. I was planning on bringing tennis shoes to wear for the entire cruise. Is that recommended? Or did you wear some sort of bathing sandals/shower shoes all the time?

 

I have never been on a cruise before and I just don't want to get my only pair of shoes/socks drenched from water on the decks (if that exists...)

 

Lastly towels, did you happen to bring your own or is there towels in the rooms? Also do they replace the towels in your rooms or do you have to get more after you use them? Just worried I'll come out of a shower and won't have anything to dry myself with...

[jmele999]

What footwear did you wear for the majority of the cruise? For me, if I'm not at work, I am always in tennis shoes. I was planning on bringing tennis shoes to wear for the entire cruise. Is that recommended? Or did you wear some sort of bathing sandals/shower shoes all the time?

 

I have never been on a cruise before and I just don't want to get my only pair of shoes/socks drenched from water on the decks (if that exists...)

 

Lastly towels, did you happen to bring your own or is there towels in the rooms? Also do they replace the towels in your rooms or do you have to get more after you use them? Just worried I'll come out of a shower and won't have anything to dry myself with...

 

Very good questions.

 

We always bring a pair of sandals to wear around the pool, and a second pair of sandals to wear around the ship.

 

In terms of towels, they will be in your room, but there is a also a towel station right next to the pool.

Edited January 27, 2015 by jmele999

[bobnpaml]

We were in 10666 on the Jewel last October. The only negative with this cabin (and all aft cabins) is the soot that get on the railing and chairs. Also the balcony is wet every morning from washing down the decks on 12. This was our first suite on NCL. Great experience and have another one book on the Star transatlantic in 2016. Very small inconvenience and DID NOT changed our enjoyment of the cruise one bit. Just look before you set. Beach towels work great as covers.

[kumar247]

Thanks for the response.

 

So 2 pairs of sandals to wear around the ship is recommended? I think I need to go buy waterproof sandals - I don't have any. Is there like tons of water everywhere? Like if you step out onto the deck are you guaranteed to be splashed or get a little wet? How about for lounging on the sun decks (which is what I plan on doing) - shoes/sandals/barefoot - what is your recommendation?

 

And obviously you would recommend the tennis shoes right? When you leave the ship, you want sturdy shoes?

 

Thanks!

[jmele999]

We were in 10666 on the Jewel last October. The only negative with this cabin (and all aft cabins) is the soot that get on the railing and chairs. Also the balcony is wet every morning from washing down the decks on 12. This was our first suite on NCL. Great experience and have another one book on the Star transatlantic in 2016. Very small inconvenience and DID NOT changed our enjoyment of the cruise one bit. Just look before you set. Beach towels work great as covers.

 

Agree that the soot can be a problem. Another way to deal with it is to flip the cushions up at nighttime so that they are not exposed to the soot. In the morning, you can flip them back down again. We did it the second night and our room steward did it the other nights for us.

[jmele999]

Thanks for the response.

 

So 2 pairs of sandals to wear around the ship is recommended? I think I need to go buy waterproof sandals - I don't have any. Is there like tons of water everywhere? Like if you step out onto the deck are you guaranteed to be splashed or get a little wet? How about for lounging on the sun decks (which is what I plan on doing) - shoes/sandals/barefoot - what is your recommendation?

 

And obviously you would recommend the tennis shoes right? When you leave the ship, you want sturdy shoes?

 

Thanks!

 

Don't think that it is necessary to have two pairs of sandals if you like wearing tennis shoes. I would like recommend something for pool area and you can easily wear your tennis shoes around the ship and when you get off the ship.

[Kells3738]

We were in 10666 on the Jewel last October. The only negative with this cabin (and all aft cabins) is the soot that get on the railing and chairs. Also the balcony is wet every morning from washing down the decks on 12. This was our first suite on NCL. Great experience and have another one book on the Star transatlantic in 2016. Very small inconvenience and DID NOT changed our enjoyment of the cruise one bit. Just look before you set. Beach towels work great as covers.

 

We were in aft balcony suite 9672 a few weeks ago. Not sure why, but we never had any soot and our cushions never got wet (except the one morning it rained). Our balcony was a little smaller than yours, but it had room for a full size lounge chair, a second chair that reclined and hat an outdoor ottoman, and a small table. Love the aft balconies; no wind and very quiet.

[Tricialy]

I was not able to get an aft PH on 10 either. But will suffer through it. Wink.

 

 

Keep checking the NCL website - when we booked our trip for 3/7 in September, we could only get an aft-penthouse on deck 8 or 9. Since we'd already stayed in one on 8, we chose 9 - then in early December I was looking at the website and one was available on deck 10 - a quick call to my travel agent and she had us moved to the new room. It doesn't hurt to keep checking for the room you'd prefer.

 

I kept hearing about the bigger balcony and wanted to see it for myself.

[Hºoºwie]

thanks for all the info and pics; we have 10166 booked on the pearl for the 15 day repo cruise from LA to Miami in Oct 2016; can i assume the cabins and balconies are the same on both ships?

[jmele999]

thanks for all the info and pics; we have 10166 booked on the pearl for the 15 day repo cruise from LA to Miami in Oct 2016; can i assume the cabins and balconies are the same on both ships?

 

You are correct, All of the Jewel class ships (Jewel, Pearl, Jade and Gem) are almost identical and the rooms have the same layout.

[jmele999]

Overall impression of aft penthouse 10166

 

We were supposed to be in 10166 last year (2014 cruise), but we received an upsell offer from NCL and moved to the Owner's suite. So this year we were really looking forward to staying in this room because we had heard some many positive things about aft cabins.

 

Overall, we loved this cabin and would book it again. The bed was very comfortable, there is lots of storage, the balcony is great. We did not mind the walk all the way back to the aft.

 

There were two things that we did not like about this room 1) The hallway leading to bathroom is very tight especially if somebody is using the closet. 2) The bathroom is not great compared to other suites that we have had (Family suite and Owner's suite).

 

Overall, we would give this suite an 8 out of 10.

Edited January 27, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

Platinum Latitudes Benefits

 

Since I just finished describing the suite, I though that it would be appropriate to describe the benefits that we received as Platinum Latitudes members. On the first day of the cruise, each Latitude member will a receive a packet with a letter outlining the benefits and coupons (depending on latitudes tier).

 

 

As a Latitudes member, you will be invited to a welcome back reception (typically held on the first sea day at 1:00 pm). Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the invitation for the general Latitudes reception.

 

If you are Silver or above, you will also receive an invitation to a second reception.

 

 

if you are a platinum Latitudes member, you will be invited to a behind-the-scenes tour. You will need to contact the cruise consultant onboard to let him/her know that you are interested in attending, and they would let you know when the tour will be held. Our tour was held at 10:00 am on Friday (last sea day). More about the behind-the-scenes tour later on.

 

 

Each platinum member also receives a coupon for a free bag of laundry. 25% off a bag of laundry if you are a gold member.

 

 

You will also receive chocolate-covered strawberries, a bottle of sparkling wine, and chocolates at night. But make sure that you don't eat too many of them as they are really big - see picture below.

 

Edited January 28, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

Platinum Latitudes Benefits

 

One of the best Platinum benefits is free dinner for two at Le Bistro (per platinum member) with a free bottle of wine. You can also go to one of the restaurants listed on the coupon. In total, we had 4 free dinners at Le Bistro and two bottles of wine that you can select from a separate menu (see below).

 

 

Here is the wine list for your free bottle of wine.

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

Before moving on with the review, here is the freestyle daily for day 1.

 

 

 

 

Next - Lunch at Moderno

Edited January 28, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

After dropping off our carry-on in the room, we went to lunch. Breakfast and lunch for suite guests in served in Moderno, which is located on deck 13 right across from Cagney's. Here is the menu and some pictures of the appetizers and lunch entrees. Anybody feeling hungry right now?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jmele999]

And no lunch would be complete without dessert.

 

 

 

[mncruiser84]

How long are you in Texas waters for? Curious about the Texas tax on alcohol.

[jmele999]

How long are you in Texas waters for? Curious about the Texas tax on alcohol.

 

Hard to say, but they did not offer a full bar menu until the next day. We did not receive our free bottle of wine until the next day.

 

Technically, I would say that we left Texas water after 8 pm, but cannot confirm that.

[jmele999]

I am stopping here for tonight, but free to ask questions. It is taking me longer than expected to organize and post pictures. Hope you are all enjoying the review.

[Linda the Book Lover]

We were in aft balcony suite 9672 a few weeks ago. Not sure why, but we never had any soot and our cushions never got wet (except the one morning it rained). Our balcony was a little smaller than yours, but it had room for a full size lounge chair, a second chair that reclined and hat an outdoor ottoman, and a small table. Love the aft balconies; no wind and very quiet.

 

That is nice to hear as we will be on the a Dawn class ship and with the dry dock coming up I am thinking there will not be a soot issue on deck 9.

[albertamom]

I am stopping here for tonight, but free to ask questions. It is taking me longer than expected to organize and post pictures. Hope you are all enjoying the review.

 

Loving every minute of it! Your pictures are fabulous! :D

[jmele999]

Loving every minute of it! Your pictures are fabulous! :D

 

Glad to hear that you are enjoying the review. You will be there soon.