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

[Freespir8]

Yes, please keep going..this is so fun to read!

[jmele999]

Thanks ! Please carry on with your wonderful review, I actually get a little disappointed when I click on this thread and find you have not updated it with a new day of pictures and comments, LOL.

 

I plan on continuing with the review this afternoon - check after 6:00 pm today. It just takes a while to decide which pictures to show, upload them to photobucket and then to cruisecritic. Much more to come.

Edited January 31, 2015 by jmele999

[Marion B]

OP, please add me to the list of your fans. Thanks to you, I am seriously considering pricing out an upsell, and, if the cost is doable, surprising DH. We have been spoiled by the suite life on another cruise line, but from what you've posted, I think NCL will give that other line some stiff competition.

In looking at your other NCL cruises in your signature, I'm wondering - do you have a favorite NCL ship? If so, why?

 

Marion

[jmele999]

OP, please add me to the list of your fans. Thanks to you, I am seriously considering pricing out an upsell, and, if the cost is doable, surprising DH. We have been spoiled by the suite life on another cruise line, but from what you've posted, I think NCL will give that other line some stiff competition.

In looking at your other NCL cruises in your signature, I'm wondering - do you have a favorite NCL ship? If so, why?

 

Marion

 

Thanks Marion,

 

NCL does the suite life better than anybody else and if you can find a good deal (check out current promotionsb if you are not past final payment) then the price difference is not that much between a balcony and a suite.

 

I really don't have a favorite ship, but the Jewel is very nice. We have been on the Star, Dawn, and Jewel twice and Sky one. We recently booked a cruise for 2017 on the Dawn.

[jmele999]

I need to upload more pictures to continue with the review, but in the meantime, I wanted to offer some details about the butler and concierge and what they can do for you onboard.

 

Butler

 

The butler is responsible for getting you anything that you need in your room that the room steward cannot get for you. For example, they will refill your coffee station, bring you snacks every afternoon, serve you any meal in your room (if you desire). They will bring you DVDs if you wish to watch a movie in your room. Last year, our butler set up a party for us in our room so that we could entertain guests during the cabin crawl. The butlers are willing to do whatever it takes to make your cruise special.

 

Concierge

The concierge will help you with things that you need outside of your room. Priority embarkation and disembarkation at each port, dinner reservations, show reservations (if required) and assist you with shore excursions. The concierge is capable of getting things for you that you cannot get on your own (i.e., last minute dinner reservations).

 

Here are some tips that can enhance your suite experience.

1) Talk to your butler at the beginning of the week about what you like and don't like, and about your expectations. They like to know about what makes you happy. If you are going to be hosting a party, let them know as soon as possible as they need time to prepare.

2) Remember that each butler serves between 10 - 14 cabins - so please be patient if they cannot come to you right away.

3) If your butler or concierge is friendly, talk to them about their families back home. They really enjoy talking to people about their families since they don't get to see them often.

Lastly, please remember that the butlers and concierge depend on your generosity. They don't receive any of the discretionary service charge (DSC) ($12 per day) that NCL charges to your account. We typically budget $10 per day per person for the butler and $5 per day per person for the concierge and adjust up or down depending on what type of service we request and receive. However, you can tip whatever you feel comfortable.

Hope that this is helpful.

[jmele999]

Let's continue with the review and Day 3.

 

 

 

 

I woke up at 6:30 am to try to catch the sunrise, but I was not able to get a good pic from the aft of the ship.

 

 

But one of the good things about getting up early is that you to get to experience the arrival, which to me it is always exciting including finding out who else is in port that day. Joining us was Oceania Regatta, three carnival ships and one Celebrity ship.

 

 

 

We had breakfast at Moderno - Can anybody guess what DP had for Breakfast? After breakfast we went back to the room to get ready for our excursion in Cozumel - The Mexican Cuisine Workshop and Tasting.

Edited January 31, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

We decided to book The Mexican Cuisine Workshop and Tasting because it incorporated a lot of things that we like to do - drink, eat, relax and meet new people. We booked the excursion directly with NCL because there was only a $3 difference between booking with NCL or directly with Playa Mia. The cost of the exclusion is $79 per person and it includes a full meal (prepared by you of course), open bar, and access to all of the Playa Mia facilities.

 

We were instructed to meet at the pier by the escalator near the duty free store at 8:45 am. The meeting location was easy to find, and there were plenty of signs directing us to our group.

 

 

 

At 9:00 am, we took a short walk across the street to board a bus for a 15 minute ride to Playa Mia. The bus was very comfortable.

 

Here is diagram/picture so that you can get an idea as to the size of Playa Mia. Sorry for the poor quality of these pictures

 

Edited January 31, 2015 by jmele999

[OUgal]

Jmele999 -- I saw in your signature that you've said the Dawn from Boston to Bermuda. I'm thinking about taking that cruise. I'm curious if you did a review of your Bermuda trip?

 

Thanks, Nicole

[jmele999]

Upon arriving at Playa Mia, we were immediately taken to a bright pink building for the cuisine workshop and tasting.

 

 

The kitchen is located on the first floor and the dining room on the second floor.

 

The kitchen is big and can accommodate up to 50 cooks.

 

 

Every station can accommodate up to 4 people, and each person can cook his/her own meal.

 

 

And all of the ingredients that you are going to need are provided for you throughout the cooking demonstration.

 

 

And here is our cooking instructor, Luis. He was very funny and kept us entertained for over 3 hours.

 

Edited January 31, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

Jmele999 -- I saw in your signature that you've said the Dawn from Boston to Bermuda. I'm thinking about taking that cruise. I'm curious if you did a review of your Bermuda trip?

 

Thanks, Nicole

 

Hi Nicole,

 

Unfortunately, I did not do a review for the Bermuda cruise, but I can tell you that it is great being able to spend 3 days in the same port. It was a great trip.

[Arizona Packer Backer]

I LOVE that the chef has a bottle of tequila at his station. Now that's my kind of cooking! ;)

[Arizona Packer Backer]

Butler

 

Last year, our butler set up a party for us in our room so that we could entertain guests during the cabin crawl. The butlers are willing to do whatever it takes to make your cruise special.

 

Can I ask you, what did your butler set up for your party? I'm helping to organize a cabin crawl on our cruise, and we have several suite members in our group. I'm not sure if anyone wants to have a party set up, but I'm wondering how it works if you have your butler do it for you. Is there a charge, or did you just order some regular room service snacks and drinks? (Annie, are you still reading this thread? What do you think about doing this in March?)

 

Thanks so much jmelee999, it's been wonderful reading all the details from your cruise!!

Edited February 1, 2015 by Arizona Packer Backer

[jmele999]

Can I ask you, what did your butler set up for your party? I'm helping to organize a cabin crawl on our cruise, and we have several suite members in our group. I'm not sure if anyone wants to have a party set up, but I'm wondering how it works if you have your butler do it for you. Is there a charge, or did you just order some regular room service snacks and drinks? (Annie, are you still reading this thread? What do you think about doing this in March?)

 

Thanks so much jmelee999, it's been wonderful reading all the details from your cruise!!

 

Your butler can provide with snacks and finger food for free. If you need drinks, you have to pay for them. A cheap alternative is to get a bat set up for your cabin, which includes a bottle of liquor and mixers. He/she will also take care of the glassware and will clean up after the party. We tipped the butler extra for helping with the party.

[Arizona Packer Backer]

Your butler can provide with snacks and finger food for free. If you need drinks, you have to pay for them. A cheap alternative is to get a bat set up for your cabin, which includes a bottle of liquor and mixers. He/she will also take care of the glassware and will clean up after the party. We tipped the butler extra for helping with the party.

 

Awesome, thanks for the info!!

[mnh]

love that cooking class....last time Luis wasn't there....he was missed!

[jmele999]

After some quick instructions from the chef, it was time for us to start preparing our three-course meal. We put on an apron and a Chef's hat and starting preparing our meal.

 

 

The menu included

 

Appetizer: Devil-style shrimp sopes.

 

Entree: Fish fillet with sautéed vegetables and tamarind sauce.

 

Dessert: Caramelized plantains with a chocolate tequila sauce.

 

However, we started making our dessert first by sprinkling sugar and cinnamon on the plantains.

 

 

We then cooked the plantains in butter.

 

 

After the plantains were golden brown, we removed them from the pan, and prepared the chocolate tequila sauce by adding chocolate, milk and tequila to the pan.

 

A picture of the dessert is coming later on.

Edited February 1, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

To prepare the entree, we seasoned the fish fillet with salt and pepper.

 

Did y'all notice that my cup is empty? I need another margarita before I can continue cooking.

 

We seared the fish in olive oil

 

 

 

Sautéed the vegetables and added them to fish followed by the tamarind sauce.

 

 

 

At this point I was happy again because my cup was full. 3 or 4 margaritas by now, but who is counting - we are on vacation.

 

We wrapped the fish in the foil and cooked it in the oven until it was fully cooked.

Edited February 1, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

The last dish we prepared was the devil-stype shrimp sope.

 

We pressed the dough into flat thin tortillas.

 

 

Slowly cooked the tortillas on the grill

 

 

Pinched the edges to create a little bowl for the topping (shrimp)

 

 

We then sautéed the shrimp in olive oil

 

Prepared a chipotle sauce with heavy cream, tomato puree, salt and pepper, and added the shrimp to the sauce.

 

 

And finally added the shrimp to the Sope (tortilla bowl)

 

[jmele999]

By the time we finished cooking it was noon. We went upstairs to enjoy the fruit of our labor.

 

 

Devil-style shrimp sope

 

Fish Fillet with sautéed vegetables and tamarind sauce

 

Caramelized plantains with a chocolate tequila sauce

 

Everything was delicious and we enjoyed our lunch with a beautiful view.

 

Edited February 1, 2015 by jmele999

[Freespir8]

Arizona Packer...I will pop over to our roll call and respond. :).

 

OP ...great pics of the cooking excursion! If we weren't planning on diving we def would do this!

[jmele999]

After lunch, it was time to enjoy the Playa Mia facilities and a few more margaritas.

 

 

 

 

 

We left Playa Mia at 1:45 pm and were back at the pier by 2:00 pm. We walked around the mall area near the pier and did some shopping. As we started walking back towards the ship, I was struck by the difference in size between the NCL Jewel and Oceania Regatta.

 

[jmele999]

As some of you might know, NCL and Oceania are now owned by the same company, and we hope to one day be able to do a cruise on Oceania. Here are some pictures of Oceania Regatta taken from the NCL Jewel. Overall, it looks like a very nice ship

 

 

 

 

 

 

The water is Cozumel is so clear that we could see the bulbous bow of the Oceania ship.

[jmele999]

Around 3:30 pm, the officers and crew started welcoming everyone back onboard. Everyone was dancing a having a good time.

 

 

 

Even Mesiah, the food and beverage director, was having a good time.

 

Shortly before 5:00 pm we said good-bye to Cozumel and started sailing towards Belize.

 

[jmele999]

I am not going to say much about the sunset that day and will let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

After a beautiful sunset it was time to decide on dinner since we did not make any plans for Monday night. In order to enjoy the full benefits of the UDP, we went to La Cucina for appetizers - Soup and Pizza, followed by dinner at the Mongolian Hot Pots. Prior to this cruise, we did not know that this was option for dinner. It is interesting idea as your food is cooked in front of you in a single pot. Here is the menu and what we had for dinner.

 

 

 

We decided to have the noodle bar with chicken for our meal.

 

 

 

Duo of green tea cake and ice cream, and fresh fruit sashimi for dessert.

 

 

 

Overall, we enjoyed the experience, but not sure if we would try it again. After dinner, we walked around the ship, went to the casino, and went to bed early.

Edited February 1, 2015 by jmele999