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

[mncruiser84]

These pictures are great. Thanks a lot for sharing. Do you happen to have any pictures of the tender boats in Belize? Both my wife and I get a little motion sick at times and are wondering if that could be an issue on the tenders. Don't want the short trip to ruin the rest of our day.

[jmele999]

These pictures are great. Thanks a lot for sharing. Do you happen to have any pictures of the tender boats in Belize? Both my wife and I get a little motion sick at times and are wondering if that could be an issue on the tenders. Don't want the short trip to ruin the rest of our day.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the tender boats, but some of them are fairly big and can hold over 100 people. This time we were in a smaller tender because we left the ship at 1:00 pm. If you leave the ship early in the morning, you are likely to be on one of the bigger tenders, which in my experience are better for people who can get motion sick.

[Marion B]

OP,

Your review and food pictures continue to excite and inspire me to book, so much so that I have booked all 7 nights of the cruise. I figure it's better to have our preferred times locked in and cancel later if we change our minds.

I'm happy to report that the online reservation is easy and with the UDP, the confirmation shows no charge.

Looking forward to your next installment.

Thanks again,

Marion

[jmele999]

OP,

Your review and food pictures continue to excite and inspire me to book, so much so that I have booked all 7 nights of the cruise. I figure it's better to have our preferred times locked in and cancel later if we change our minds.

I'm happy to report that the online reservation is easy and with the UDP, the confirmation shows no charge.

Looking forward to your next installment.

Thanks again,

Marion

 

You are very welcome Marion.

 

Glad to hear that you can book your reservations ahead of time and not have to pay if you have UDP. We have the UDP for our January cruise on Escape.

 

Will continue posting tonight.

 

Johan

[Tricialy]

Playa Mia looks like fun. I have a shrimp allergy so I will skip the filling but I am sure my DH could have his arm twisted into eating my shrimp too..LOL

 

Playa Mia is great - they'll substitute chicken for your shrimp if you have an allergy (or like me - just don't like shrimp)

[BritChickBN1]

I'm loving your review. I'm now craving the raspberry crème brulee from Cagneys. :D

 

 

The Jewel seems to have the same entertainers as when we last cruised on her in 2012. Deja Vu and Davis Naster were very good. Looking forward to the rest.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Playa Mia is great - they'll substitute chicken for your shrimp if you have an allergy (or like me - just don't like shrimp)

 

Thanks a bunch!

[EasyPeasy]

I am really enjoying your review! The mojito flight looked fantastic. I am a big fan of the martini tastings, but next time I think I will try the mojito flight as well.

 

I was on the Jewel last year in March and November. I sure wish I would have known about the secret area up on deck 15. We had a heck of a time finding chairs to land on.

 

Carry on! I am looking forward to hearing what you did in Roatan.

[scubamom4]

Hi there...

Saw a few of your nice photos and wish I had time to read all the posts..but you know how it goes a couple days before leaving! :D

 

About how long did it take to disembark and go through customs at the end of the cruise? We need to get off as early as possible to catch a noon flight from IAH and are thinking to use SuperShuttle. We are just wondering how long to estimate the disembarking process there first thing in the morning.

 

Thanks for any help! So glad it looks like you had an awesome cruise! :)

[jmele999]

Hi there...

Saw a few of your nice photos and wish I had time to read all the posts..but you know how it goes a couple days before leaving! :D

 

About how long did it take to disembark and go through customs at the end of the cruise? We need to get off as early as possible to catch a noon flight from IAH and are thinking to use SuperShuttle. We are just wondering how long to estimate the disembarking process there first thing in the morning.

 

Thanks for any help! So glad it looks like you had an awesome cruise! :)

 

It only took us 30 minutes from the time we left our room to the time we were outside waiting for our friends to take super shuttle. Fog could be a problem.

[jmele999]

Arriving in Roatan is always a treat as you get beautiful views of the island.

 

 

 

 

 

As we were getting ready to dock, we noticed that Holland America was approaching from the other side of the island.

 

 

Here is a view of the cruise terminal.

 

Edited February 4, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

Everyone was off the ship very quickly since we were only in port from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm. We inquired about a ride to the beach, but it was too expensive and we had to find our way back.

 

I love the color of the water in Roatan.

 

 

Instead of going to the beach, we decided to go to the straw market because there was a big sign advertising free wifi and $2 margaritas. The straw market is located on the second floor of a two story building located right outside the cruise terminal. We made some purchases and found the Crusty Crab Bar.

 

 

We quickly learnt that wifi was not free ($3), but we decided to stay there and enjoy a few margaritas ($2 each) with a beautiful view.

 

 

Edited February 4, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

After a few Margaritas and using the not so free wifi to text family and our friend, RK, back home, we stopped by the duty free store to buy some alcohol. Please note that any alcohol you purchase while in port will be confiscated and return to you the last night of the cruise. You will get a receipt indicating the number of bottles and when and where to pick them up.

 

We had lunch at Moderno and enjoyed a quite afternoon - DP enjoyed his private courtyard while I relaxed in the hot tubs.

 

We then enjoyed a beautiful sunset off the coast of Roatan from our balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bellabaloo]

thanks for your review! loving it :)

[jmele999]

As some of you might recall, one of the benefits of being a Platinum Latitudes member is one bag of free laundry per Platinum member.

 

The bags that you need to use are in the closet. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of the size and how much you can put in them. Don't forget to fill out the laundry form indicating how many items you have in the bag, and also don't forget to include the voucher indicating that you are entitled to a free bag of laundry.

 

 

[jmele999]

We had dinner reservations at the Brazilian steakhouse, Moderno, at 7:00 pm. There is a $20 fee per person.

 

Here is the description of the restaurant as provided by NCL.

Start with an impressive salad bar of imported cheeses, olives, cured meats, ceviche and specialty salads. Be sure to save room for the delicious skewers of slow-roasted meats including beef, pork, lamb and chicken – all carved tableside by our authentic Pasadores.

 

 

 

You can eat as much as you want. If you want to continue eating, simply flip the card to the green side and the Pasadores (waiters) will bring you more meat. If you are full, simply flip the card to the red side.

 

NCL has now expanded the menu to include two seafood dishes - Bacalhau Escondido (Baked cod in banana leaves) and a shrimp stew. I tried both of them and was not impressed with the shrimp stew as it was just shrimp in a tomato sauce. The baked cod was very tasty. The meats were very good especially the lamb and the filet mignon.

 

 

 

The salad bar was as always very impressive, but remember to only try a few items from the salad bar if you want to enjoy the slow-roasted meats.

Edited February 4, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

We concluded Day 5 of our cruise by attending the show in the Stardust theater. Jean Pierre Parent is a very talented magician and comedian. His show was very good and I highly recommend it.

 

[scubamom4]

It only took us 30 minutes from the time we left our room to the time we were outside waiting for our friends to take super shuttle. Fog could be a problem.

 

A big THANK YOU for your help! :)

[herdingdogmom]

We always take advantage of the laundry bag platinum benefit. Looks like the bag is a bit narrower than before. Our last cruise was in March. Did you notice a change in the size of the paper laundry bag?

[jmele999]

We always take advantage of the laundry bag platinum benefit. Looks like the bag is a bit narrower than before. Our last cruise was in March. Did you notice a change in the size of the paper laundry bag?

 

Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the size of the bags before because this was our first cruise as platinum members. If you fold or roll up your laundry, you can get a lot of laundry in the bag. It is a very nice perk and it was nice getting home and only having to do half the laundry. For our upcoming Alaska cruise, I am sure that we are going to get creative about stuffing the bags since we are doing a land tour before the cruise and we are going to have more laundry than we did on this cruise.

Edited February 4, 2015 by jmele999

[jmele999]

 

 

Edited February 4, 2015 by jmele999

[Arizona Packer Backer]

Those Roatan sunset photos are stunning!! Wow.

[Aprille]

Thank you so much, Johan, for your wonderfully detailed review and spectacular pictures!

 

I discovered this thread on Sunday and it inspired me to check cabin availability since it was the day before final payment for our cruise on the Jewel. I had a corner aft penthouse suite on deck 9 booked but really wanted one on deck 10. Well, lo and behold 10644 was available so I called (and was on hold for over an hour because of whatever promotion was going on over the weekend) and got our cabin changed. Woohoo! :D

 

This will be our first NCL cruise and I'm really excited after seeing your pictures and review.

 

One quick question - is Moderno's open for lunch to suite guests every day (including port days)? Seems it is from your review but just checking. I know it's open for breakfast. Just double-checking about lunch. Thanks. :)

Edited February 4, 2015 by Aprille

[jmele999]

Thank you so much, Johan, for your wonderfully detailed review and spectacular pictures!

 

I discovered this thread on Sunday and it inspired me to check cabin availability since it was the day before final payment for our cruise on the Jewel. I had a corner aft penthouse suite on deck 9 booked but really wanted one on deck 10. Well, lo and behold 10644 was available so I called (and was on hold for over an hour because of whatever promotion was going on over the weekend) and got our cabin changed. Woohoo! :D

 

This will be our first NCL cruise and I'm really excited after seeing your pictures and review.

 

One quick question - is Moderno's open for lunch to suite guests every day (including port days)? Seems it is from your review but just checking. I know it's open for breakfast. Just double-checking about lunch. Thanks. :)

 

Thanks for your comments. Congratulations on 10664. It has a great balcony.

 

Moderno is open for breakfast and lunch everyday. Please note that on port days they stop serving lunch at 1:30 pm. They are also open for breakfast on disembarkation morning.

[jmele999]

On Day 6 I managed to sleep until 7:00 am - after all it was a sea day and we were not going anywhere. The beautiful morning and the sound of the waves inspired me to start working on the review. Hope that the video works.

 

 

"][object Url] - Does anybody know how to insert a video from Photobucket?

Edited February 5, 2015 by jmele999