Jewel Transatlantic – Shoreguy Blogs - 4 September 2005

[Old Gadge]

Hi Shoreguy,

Thanks for the information on your blogs, the plaudits you receive are well deserved.I agree with most of your commrnts the crew are great, as an ex-chief engineer I even got to visit the engine room control room. I thought the hygene precautions were great with every entrance to restaurents provided with hand scrubs and crew members politely reminding passengers to use them.

One point you do not seem to have covered however is the noise from the gym.kitchens and sports facilities which appear to have plagued passengers on Deck 11 and even the courtyard has been affected by kitchens below. My personal experience of the treadmill noise leads me to beleive this will continue to be a problem for Jewel in the future. I spent many years at sea and got used to the clanking of steam pumps and diesel engines, they have a regular beat you get used to. Treadmills used by different sizes of people at different speeds give an uneven beat, whilst the sychronous vibration when they are in step, like soldiers crossing a bridge,send vibrations throughout the bulkheads. The Dawn has her Gym aft,I cannot understand why the Jewel designers positioned her Gym above the suites!!

[shoreguy]

Hi Shoreguy,

One point you do not seem to have covered however is the noise from the gym.kitchens and sports facilities which appear to have plagued passengers on Deck 11 and even the courtyard has been affected by kitchens below. My personal experience of the treadmill noise leads me to beleive this will continue to be a problem for Jewel in the future. I spent many years at sea and got used to the clanking of steam pumps and diesel engines, they have a regular beat you get used to. Treadmills used by different sizes of people at different speeds give an uneven beat, whilst the sychronous vibration when they are in step, like soldiers crossing a bridge,send vibrations throughout the bulkheads. The Dawn has her Gym aft,I cannot understand why the Jewel designers positioned her Gym above the suites!!

 

The only rational reason that the gym was put above the suites is the designer never cruised in a suite and wanted to get back at those that do :) Thats why I booked my original cabin on deck 10 and moved to the AE on deck 9. Cabins above and below.

 

You raise a good point - even the deck 11 aft cabins on the Jewel will have the Great Outdoors above.

[mafig]

Shoreguy,

 

I have a deck 11 aft cabin on the Jewel in November. Did you happen to run into anyone on your trip who had one of these cabins? Were they bothered by the noise from the Great Outdoors?

 

 

 

I have to say we knew there might be some noise issues -- but we wanted that aft so badly that we're taking that chance. Just want to know, however....

[TrinaLC]

The only advantage of the HC AE is the twin beds. The other AEs have a true queen and can not be separated. The reason I booked what was a BA was this very issue. I turned down an upsell to the owners suite since I did not want to share a king with my adult son.

 

 

I'd share a king with just about anyone for an Owner's Suite!

[Cruiser#5]

Shoreguy,

 

I would like to personally thank you for taking up your time to keep us posted on your day to day events. It was just like being there.

I have never spent so much time on logging on just to look forward to your notes. thank you!:)

Oh yes, Welcome back.:D

[Welove2cruise2]

shoreguy: I must join in with everyone else in thanking you for taking the time away from your wonderful vacation to post your daily blogs! We hope to sail on the Jewel next year, and the information and photos you posted were a great help (as well as all your other help!!)!

[Cosmopolitan]

Shoreguy:

 

Thank you!

 

Loved your posts, your pictures and your opinions.

 

Hope you get to relax now that you are home :)

[MrPete]

.......

 

Jim,

 

A far cry from our cruise on the Seaward!

 

Enjoyed the read!:)

[TITISSA]

Hi Shoreguy, thank you for your wonderful reviews and pictures. Welcome back! I have a question for you. Did you noticed if there is a Preferred Seating area for Owners Suite and Villa guests in the showrooms on the Jewel like there is on the Dawn? Thanks!

[shoreguy]

Hi Shoreguy, thank you for your wonderful reviews and pictures. Welcome back! I have a question for you. Did you noticed if there is a Preferred Seating area for Owners Suite and Villa guests in the showrooms on the Jewel like there is on the Dawn? Thanks!

 

Yes there was - the port side balcony area in the Stardust is set aside and guarded by Ruth ;)

[TITISSA]

Shoreguy, you are the best! Thank you for answering my question so fast.:)

[mrtractor]

What a great job you did sharing your experience with all of us. THANKS!!!!

 

If you would be so kind as to answer a couple of questions......

 

* Where is the Concierge Lounge, who gets to go there and what do they serve and at what hours.

 

* Why is Mama's Kitchen such a hot ticket? Do you need to make a reservation days in advance?

 

* How did the paint job on the hull survive the trip across the north Atlantic?

 

* Has the second pool taken the place of the stadium seating on the Dawn, or is there still tiered area around the pools?

 

* Is there any other "adults only" sundeck on the ship other than the "Freestyle" topless deck. While I don't mind going topless and don't mind if others do, my wife is averse to this :( and does not like to see me drool. Is there anywhere else to get away from the screeching and pitter patter of little darlings?

 

* How did you feel about the security procedures of the ship? Did you feel safer or was it just a hassle?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but we're perdy fired up about our upcoming Jewel cruise and I'm really grateful for any information about the ship.

 

MrTractor<--------doesn't think he'll be able to stand the waiting any longer!!!........

[shoreguy]

What a great job you did sharing your experience with all of us. THANKS!!!!

 

If you would be so kind as to answer a couple of questions......

 

 

Sorry for all the questions, but we're perdy fired up about our upcoming Jewel cruise and I'm really grateful for any information about the ship.

 

MrTractor<--------doesn't think he'll be able to stand the waiting any longer!!!........

 

* Where is the Concierge Lounge, who gets to go there and what do they serve and at what hours.

 

It is in the Courtyard area deck 14 midship - I never got to see it - access is limited to the Villas and Owners Suite passengers

 

* Why is Mama's Kitchen such a hot ticket? Do you need to make a reservation days in advance?

 

Why? It is free. Days in advance is a good idea. I was able to call and get a 9:30 for 2 at 6:00 pm even though the woman answering the phone at Moma's tried to tell me they don't take reservations when the restaurant is open. I helped her find the truth :D Many were shut out.

 

* How did the paint job on the hull survive the trip across the north Atlantic?

 

Just fine - I took lots of pictures of the Jewel and the QM2 in NYC. Small problem my memory card was still in the laptop...duh :o

 

* Has the second pool taken the place of the stadium seating on the Dawn, or is there still tiered area around the pools?

 

Stadium is gone - most of the seating is now a deck up like the Sun but with an greatly expanded area on the Sundeck on 14.

 

* Is there any other "adults only" sundeck on the ship other than the "Freestyle" topless deck. While I don't mind going topless and don't mind if others do, my wife is averse to this :( and does not like to see me drool. Is there anywhere else to get away from the screeching and pitter patter of little darlings?

 

No identified adult only area - clearly the area near the water slide and kids pool will be the kid magnet. I think the Sundeck will be mostly adults. Nothing there but sun and lounge chairs.

 

* How did you feel about the security procedures of the ship? Did you feel safer or was it just a hassle?

 

Normal security - If I recall the number correctly they said there are 2700 cameras on the ship. Funny thing in NYC they won't yet private vessels come close to the cruise ships. In Newport everybody just pulled their boats riight up next to the ship.

[Opinions]

Shoreguy,

On the optional formal nights on the Jewel which restaurants are casual or designated formal?

Thank you.

[shoreguy]

On other thing I wanted to share. The menus in the two main dining rooms can be completely different. Most nights two of the 3 main entrees were different.

 

Check both menus and keep in mind you can order from either one since they share the same kitchen. You just have to know what is being served in the other room.

[shoreguy]

Shoreguy,

On the optional formal nights on the Jewel which restaurants are casual or designated formal?

Thank you.

 

They did not set one resturant aside with only two main resturants. Formal optional was in fact table by table not room by room. Even though this was a crossing and an older crowd very few had Tuxes. Most had at least a blazer for formal night. Lots of suits and nice dresses.

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

Great Pics, enjoyed the running review thanks a lot.

What type of camera did you use?

 

I bet the Jewel staff have been following your blog too.

Interesting proof that they follow this board as they have used it to lift pics for their photo tour.

So be careful what we say, the walls have ears. Mind you, that is probably why you got such a good trip. You deserve it for all the free advice you give out to help people make the most of their NCL experience.

 

Thanks

[shoreguy]

I left the Nikon D70 home and just took a little Nikon Coolpix 5600. It does a decent job on Qicktime sound movies as well.

 

After seeing the pictures that another member posted using a 3600. I bought the camera for this cruise.

 

Here is a link to some great pictures from the Dawn that convinced be I could get by with a pocket size camera and leave the big bag home.

 

http://www.mikelynaugh.com/wedding/honeymoon.htm

 

[shoreguy]

Shoreguy,

 

I have a deck 11 aft cabin on the Jewel in November. Did you happen to run into anyone on your trip who had one of these cabins? Were they bothered by the noise from the Great Outdoors?

 

 

 

I have to say we knew there might be some noise issues -- but we wanted that aft so badly that we're taking that chance. Just want to know, however....

 

I did not run into anyone. The sound of the sea will cover most noise. I would think the only issue might be for a couple of hours when they clean up and move all the chairs back in place.

[teltrainer]

Let me add our thanks for the great photos and reports from sea!

 

Melissa

[shoreguy]

I bet the Jewel staff have been following your blog too.

Interesting proof that they follow this board as they have used it to lift pics for their photo tour.

So be careful what we say, the walls have ears. Mind you, that is probably why you got such a good trip. You deserve it for all the free advice you give out to help people make the most of their NCL experience.

 

Thanks

 

They did not lift them. I burned two cds of every picture I had harvested from the net and gave them two the staff at our Cruise Crictic Meeting.

 

The walls do have ears and it is not just the staff - I just got an email from Miami -

 

"I read your "blog" postings and I thank you for the various observations on

the HC room set-up. We are addressing these on the next ships and will fix

the problems on this one."

 

Perhaps having an AB in a HC room will help those that need the space :)

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

They did not lift them. I burned two cds of every picture I had harvested from the net and gave them two the staff at our Cruise Crictic Meeting.

 

The walls do have ears and it is not just the staff - I just got an email from Miami -

 

"I read your "blog" postings and I thank you for the various observations on the HC room set-up. We are addressing these on the next ships and will fix the problems on this one."

 

Perhaps having an AB in a HC room will help those that need the space :)

 

Nice to know your opinion is appreciated.

 

That little Nikon performs well, I too, was impressed with the results that Mike posted and also with the videos, especially as he was staying in the identical BA cabin opposite the one we were to go in (11612). I was able to see our cabin door when he shot video near the staircases. Sad what you will do in anticipation of your cruise.

 

BTW Do you know that the Dawn is shown on a Blakeways panorama of NY?

We bought it in the gift shop at ESB as an ideal souvenir of our trip to NY and the cruise. They should sell it onboard the Dawn and all ships sailing out of NYC. Can you suggest an email that I could use to suggest it?

http://www.panoramas.com/prodinfo.asp?number=WNY9

[shoreguy]

BTW Do you know that the Dawn is shown on a Blakeways panorama of NY?

We bought it in the gift shop at ESB as an ideal souvenir of our trip to NY and the cruise. They should sell it onboard the Dawn and all ships sailing out of NYC. Can you suggest an email that I could use to suggest it?

http://www.panoramas.com/prodinfo.asp?number=WNY9

 

Tony

 

I would think Andy Stuart VP of Marketing would be a good person to start with.

 

Stuart, Andy <ASTUART@ncl.com>

[Tomct]

Shoreguy:

 

It goes without saying how much we enjoyed and appreciated your reports from the Jewel. We have aborted two different cruise plans, one was actually booked for about a month before our plans changed.

 

As one of our main goals for going on the Jewel has been to experience some of the great staff we have seen on the Dawn, and also the Star, I was wondering if you took many pictures of staff. I do recall seeing a couple with Rehne. Many of those we had heard headed for the Jewel were senior waitpersons incl. Maitre D's. Did you happen to have any personal contact/awareness of them?

 

Also, what did you think of the entertainers, and am especially interested in hearing if the Ironics are on the Jewel.

 

Thanks

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

Tony

 

I would think Andy Stuart VP of Marketing would be a good person to start with.

 

Stuart, Andy <ASTUART@ncl.com>

 

 

Thanks for that, will pass on the suggestion