Disappointed with the Jewel

[Usc90grad]

We just returned from a week on the Jewel (11/5-11/12) and I have to admit I was slightly disappointed. After hearing so much about the Jewel, I expected much more. While there were a lot of great things about the ship, I wanted to rant for a second and see if anyone else had the same experiences:

 

1. We were very disappointed in the atrium, which is extremely small and only two stories (unlike other ships that have a multiple floor atriums with glass elevators, etc). Also the ship lacked some of the more common ammenties other new ships have (rock climbing walls, putt putt course, etc). They did have a basketball court, but the back boards were missing the rims. Also the kid's pool area was very disappointing (very, very small).

 

2. The cruise director was pathetic (sorry if that sounds harsh). We didn't see him until the last day when we were leaving the ship. He made several announcements over the ship's PA system during the week, but other than that, he was not to be seen. He didn't do the get-to-know-the-staff meeting that you typically get on your first day on the ship. Also the activities for the week were rather sparse.

 

3. The two main dining rooms are small, although I assume they had to do this to accomodate the several specialty restaurants on board. Speaking of which, unless you made reservations for the entire week on your first day on the ship, you could forgot about eating in the speciality restaurants. We called on Tuesday and the only times Mama's Italian and Cagneys had for the rest of the week was at 9:30 or 10:00. The food in the main dining room was good, but not as good as past NCL cruises.

 

On the positive side, the mini-suites we had were very nice (loved the larger bathroom). And the stops in Antigua, St. Thomas and the private island were awesome.

 

Thanks for letting me vent! :) I would love to hear from others who have been on the Jewel.

[ute_fan]

We were also on the Jewel last week -- sorry we didn't get to meet you. As far as the atrium goes, I really don't care. The one on the Sun was definitely more striking, but that isn't something that has much affect on whether I enjoy the cruise. Ditto for climbing walls, mini-golf, etc. I guess if you have kids they would be nice, but for a middle-aged couple I find them unnecessary. I think NCL is addressing those issues however -- the Pearl, which is due out shortly, has both a rock climbing wall and a bowling alley. I have a hard enough time getting my balls to go straight -- I can't imagine what would happen on a moving ship :eek: , but we probably would at least try that one.

 

We don't spend much time at the pool deck, but my impression was that it was a very small area for the size of the ship. My main complaint is the lack of lounges available in the shade. I don't tolerate sunlight well, and all the areas under deck 13, in the shade, but still by the pool were occupied with tables. We ended up spending a lot of time on deck 7, sitting in the chairs there, to get away from the sun but still enjoy the outdoors and the view of the ocean.

 

As far as the cruise director, he was missing from the ship the first couple of days, so that probably explains part of it. There was some conference going on in Miami, and he and at least one of the other senior staff joined the ship either in San Juan or Antigua. We did see him at the nightly shows, and I found him quite funny. Not my favorite cruise director (hard for anyone to compare to Colin), but not as bad as the one we had on the Sea the year before. I also felt like that daytime activites were a little lacking.

 

I didn't particularly notice the dining rooms being small. We ate almost every night in Tsar's, and didn't really consider the size. I agree that the food was good but not up to our prior NCL cruises -- at least in available choices. We liked what we had, but it was harder to find something we thought sounded good. I'm definitely not a fan of the reservations policy -- to me, making reservations at the beginning of the week for the entire time is totally contrary to freestyle dining. Luckily, we were satisifed with the food in the main dining rooms, but I think NCL is making a big mistake with the current policy.

 

We will be cruising NCL again -- we had a good enough time that we're still not being tempted with a traditional cruise line.

[mikedw]

Actually NCL doesn't do the Atriums on any of there ships. They prefer the more cozy lobby feeling which was once common on all cruise ships. Also atriums take up useful revenue generating space. As for climbing walls and putt putt, I guess I'm a ship buff and think they have no business being on a ship in the first place. It's basically comes down to what type of experience you want, which is where a good TA can help explain the difference on different ships and lines. You take care and thanks for your review.

 

Michael

[Usc90grad]

Ute,

 

Sorry we didn't get the chance to meet up on the ship. If you saw a couple pushing a 2 year old boy in a stroller with a DVD attached, that was us!

 

I didn't know the cruise director wasn't on the ship initially. I got the impression the whole cruise was rushed. I didn't know this was the ship's first trip this season to the Caribbean and it was coming off a European voyage the week before. Last week probably wasn't the best time to sail on the Jewel

[hotspur]

1. Multi-story atria are a waste of space and irrelevant to my enjoyment of a cruise. Stay at a Hyatt Regency and sit in the lobby if a large atrium is important to you.

2. With a pasta, seafood, vegetarian, two or three other daily menu choices, and the always-available sirloin, salmon, or chicken breast, I don't understand how anyone can complain about lack of "choice" in the main dining room--unless they're of the "I-don't-eat-seafood-and-I'm-only-happy-if-I-get-filet-or-beef-Wellington-or-Chateaubriand-or-rack-of-lamb-every-night" type.

3. It would be impossible to have the smaller specialty restaurants without a reservations policy. Try going to a good steakhouse or French restaurant on a Saturday night without a reservation. Why should a full cruise ship be any different? On the Jewel's recent booked-solid trans-Atlantic we had no problem making reservations a day or two in advance, although the cheapie half-price early slots were already taken. Also, both Chin Chin and Teppanyaki were available at lunch during sea days on the trans-Atlantic for anyone who might have trouble making a reservation in the evening.

 

Still beats by a long-shot all other mass-market cruise lines in terms of choice and flexibility during the dinner hour, particularly since you can always go to one of two main dining rooms at any time and either have a table to yourselves or join others, as opposed to being told where to sit and when to eat and who your dinner companions must be. Boggles the mind how anyone can complain about this incredible feature of NCL cruising.

[ute_fan]

USC90grad --Actually, I do remember seeing a stroller with a DVD attached -- so "hi" in arrears. I remember thinking that was a clever idea to keep a toddler entertained. I've decided I probably don't want to book the first sailing after a change in itinerary either. It really did seem to affect the service levels and they seemed a little disorganized in many ways.

 

hotsput -- You hit the nail right on the head. We have friends who came back from a cruise in January complaining about the new menus -- and he IS expecting a main beef dish every night. That really wasn't available last week. Prime rib the first night, but no beef wellington, no variety of steaks available -- yes, the always available one, but if you wanted a variety of beef dishes, they really didn't exist, except possibly in pasta combinations. The menus on the Jewel were the same ones he complained about. We had a variety of things -- lamb, pork, seafood, chicken, but the beef choices were definitely limited. It will be interesting to see what the changes are on the new menus which are due out fleet-wide by the end of November.

 

I do agree that you need to be able to make reservations for the specialty restaurants -- I just don't think you should be able to schedule the entire week on boarding day. For our cruise, we heard lots of complaints about the specialty restaurants being totally booked and passengers not being able to try them. We don't normally choose to eat in the specialty restaurants anyway, so it doesn't affect me personally -- I just don't like the current system, as I think it detracts from the whole "freestyle concept" of being able to eat when, where, and with whom you want -- and making reservations for the entire week just doesn't fit with that concept to me.

 

As far as freestyle -- we LOVE it. We've never tried any line but NCL, and have no plans to do so in the near future. It's what led me to grudgingly try cruising and now has me thoroughly hooked.

[mbisson]

The absence of the "traditional" atrium was noticable to me for the first day or two when we sailed the Jewel, but later, I really started to enjoy the appearance of the Crystal Atrium. And I enjoyed sitting, sipping coffee, as as there was usually someone playing the piano. As for the ship not having a rock climbing wall or mini golf...I'm surprised that with even a small amount of checking in advance about the ship, you weren't aware that those weren't there. Sounds like your last couple of sailings have been with Royal Caribbean ;)

 

I know that many seem to place a lot of importance in the CD, The only times I really notice them are when I find them annoying, but that's just me. Personally, I don't want my CD to be a cheerleader and it seems that many of them are.

 

I didn't notice that Tsars was especially small at all and never had to wait to get into either main dining room, so they were big enough for me :) . BTW-I also think that maybe allowing booking the spec dining rooms for the entire week might be a bit too much. Maybe they should only allow bookings for a couple days in advance OR allow them for the week BUT only one or two active bookings at a time.

 

-Monte

[sjbdtz]

Actually NCL doesn't do the Atriums on any of there ships. They prefer the more cozy lobby feeling which was once common on all cruise ships. Michael

 

 

Huh? The Sky had an atrium, so does the Sun....I'm pretty sure others do, too.

 

It's only the Dawn, Star, & Jewel Class ships which don't.

[hotspur]

hotsput -- You hit the nail right on the head. We have friends who came back from a cruise in January complaining about the new menus -- and he IS expecting a main beef dish every night. That really wasn't available last week. Prime rib the first night, but no beef wellington, no variety of steaks available -- yes, the always available one, but if you wanted a variety of beef dishes, they really didn't exist, except possibly in pasta combinations.

Seems to me we had beef Wellington in the main dining room, perhaps on the optional formal night (Captain's Gala dinner, I think). Sorry, I'm not sympathetic to someone who has to have an "impressive-sounding" beef dish on the menu every night. If you insist on beef, order the always-available sirloin and keep quiet. Stop telling others there was nothing to choose from, when it's your taste in food that's so narrow. [And, no, I don't mean "you," ute_fan. I mean the complainers.]

[ashleycrew]

Seems to me we had beef Wellington in the main dining room, perhaps on the optional formal night (Captain's Gala dinner, I think). Sorry, I'm not sympathetic to someone who has to have an "impressive-sounding" beef dish on the menu every night. If you insist on beef, order the always-available sirloin and keep quiet. Stop telling others there was nothing to choose from, when it's your taste in food that's so narrow. [And, no, I don't mean "you," ute_fan. I mean the complainers.]

 

doesn't it always seem to be you who is complaining about all the other mass markets lines as soon as someone say anything about an NCL ship that is less that perfect?

[cruisingfromMN]

Huh? The Sky had an atrium, so does the Sun....I'm pretty sure others do, too.

 

It's only the Dawn, Star, & Jewel Class ships which don't.

 

The Star has an atrium.

[cruisingfromMN]

The absence of the "traditional" atrium was noticable to me for the first day or two when we sailed the Jewel, but later, I really started to enjoy the appearance of the Crystal Atrium. And I enjoyed sitting, sipping coffee, as as there was usually someone playing the piano. As for the ship not having a rock climbing wall or mini golf...I'm surprised that with even a small amount of checking in advance about the ship, you weren't aware that those weren't there. Sounds like your last couple of sailings have been with Royal Caribbean ;)

 

I know that many seem to place a lot of importance in the CD, The only times I really notice them are when I find them annoying, but that's just me. Personally, I don't want my CD to be a cheerleader and it seems that many of them are.

 

I didn't notice that Tsars was especially small at all and never had to wait to get into either main dining room, so they were big enough for me :) . BTW-I also think that maybe allowing booking the spec dining rooms for the entire week might be a bit too much. Maybe they should only allow bookings for a couple days in advance OR allow them for the week BUT only one or two active bookings at a time.

 

-Monte

 

Hey Monte, We always seem to agree on our cruising viewpoints! I wouldn't change a word in your post to how we felt about the Jewel's reception area or lack of an atrium, the CD or reservations for specialty restaurants. Captains don't make or break a cruise for me either.

[mbisson]

Hey Monte, We always seem to agree on our cruising viewpoints! I wouldn't change a word in your post to how we felt about the Jewel's reception area or lack of an atrium, the CD or reservations for specialty restaurants. Captains don't make or break a cruise for me either.

 

WOW-thanks, but by agreeing with me, you probably just got placed in 4 or 5 peoples "ignore" lists. LOL

 

Guess what. Capts don't matter to me much either.

 

Keep us posted on your cruising plans. Maybe someday we can meet on a ship. I enjoy talking with those I've met on the boards.

 

-Monte

[ute_fan]

Hey Monte -- I like your suggestions for the reservations policy. I don't even know why it bothers me, since we don't normally eat there, but we heard several people around us complaining that they hadn't been able to try any of the specialty restaurants as the reservations were all gone by the time they tried to book them.

 

I think either limiting the time period, or like you suggested, allowing cabins to only have 1 or 2 specialty reservations booked at a time, would go a long ways towards promoting the "freestyle dining" concept. It would also give more people the opportunity to try the specialty restaurants without all the reservations being taken by the guests with advance knowledge of how to play the system.

 

Also, in defense of our friend who likes an impressive beef dish every night, he normally maintains a pretty strict diet, eating chicken almost every night when they are home. He doesn't care for seafood, and to him, the "impressive" beef or lamb dishes are important. When he started cruising, that was the normal menu choice -- and to have them eliminated like they were in January was a big disappointment to him.

[cruisingfromMN]

WOW-thanks, but by agreeing with me, you probably just got placed in 4 or 5 peoples "ignore" lists. LOL

 

Guess what. Capts don't matter to me much either.

 

Keep us posted on your cruising plans. Maybe someday we can meet on a ship. I enjoy talking with those I've met on the boards.

 

-Monte

 

Oh well on the ignore lists!!!

 

I just looked at your Sun pictures. We are considering her for our next cruise for the March 18th sailing. Only concerns, spring break and will the first and last day of sailing be cool with leaving from New Orleans. Since we are from the north we want hot weather and as quick as we can get it. Really liked the Mexican Riviera itinerary but it would be our 5th time on the Star. Yup, the Star is our favorite but we would like to branch out a bit and experience other ships. The Pearl is very tempting but prices are higher compared to the experienced ships. Your pictures looked great! Should you decide on the Star, let me know so I can get you hooked up with some great contacts.

[Retired not Expired]

Oh well on the ignore lists!!!

 

I just looked at your Sun pictures. We are considering her for our next cruise for the March 18th sailing. Only concerns, spring break and will the first and last day of sailing be cool with leaving from New Orleans. Since we are from the north we want hot weather and as quick as we can get it. Really liked the Mexican Riviera itinerary but it would be our 5th time on the Star. Yup, the Star is our favorite but we would like to branch out a bit and experience other ships. The Pearl is very tempting but prices are higher compared to the experienced ships. Your pictures looked great! Should you decide on the Star, let me know so I can get you hooked up with some great contacts.

 

People from MN come to Branson in the winter and wear shorts and T-shirts while we are in parkas. NO in March should be like summer for you all.:cool: :D

[Usc90grad]

I guess my problem was that I was comparing the Jewel to the Sky, which I sailed on 3 times. I just assumed since the Jewel was newer that it would be 10 times better.

 

I love the freestyle cruising concept, but not being able to make a reservation at ANY of the speciality restraurants by Tuesday for the entire week was absurb. I agree a limit to the number of reservations you can make would be a great idea.

[flvol77]

Seems to me we had beef Wellington in the main dining room, perhaps on the optional formal night (Captain's Gala dinner, I think). Sorry, I'm not sympathetic to someone who has to have an "impressive-sounding" beef dish on the menu every night. If you insist on beef, order the always-available sirloin and keep quiet. Stop telling others there was nothing to choose from, when it's your taste in food that's so narrow. [And, no, I don't mean "you," ute_fan. I mean the complainers.]

 

 

Sorry - But I have read enough -

 

First of all its not a sirloin and second it was HORRIBLE.. I ordered TWO the last night for dinner, both tasted like rubber and then I got Mahi Mahi and it was a bad piece of fish (I have caught plenty of Mahi right off shore where I live and I know what a bad piece of Mahi is)

 

The list of food in the Main dining room is very unimpressive...which I have a feeling NCL does on purpose so that they can move more people into their "pay" restaurants.

 

I started looking at how much money I spent for a Mini on NCL and a Mini on Princess and what I spent onboard and I spent less money on a mini for princess, which is a larger room and a larger balcony. On NCL we spent more money onboard and we "felt" that the food, service, and the overall experience was much better on Princess...Plus they also offer anytime dining.....so for us we are staying with Princess.

[ute_fan]

By the way, USCgrad -- one of our roll call members had his 2 kids -- 8 & 10, approximately, traveling with him. As your toddler gets older, you might want to know that they loved the kids club. It was the first time cruising for any of their family. They fell in love with the concept of family time and adult-only time, all in the same vacation, without feeling like they had to keep the kids amused every minute of the cruise.

 

His DW was laughing at dinner one night -- saying the kids club almost made the trip too structured, as their kids were adamant about being taken to the club for certain activities, and it allowed them less free time than they had anticipated.

[uneamie]

 

BTW-I also think that maybe allowing booking the spec dining rooms for the entire week might be a bit too much. Maybe they should only allow bookings for a couple days in advance OR allow them for the week BUT only one or two active bookings at a time.

 

-Monte

 

If I remember correctly, on our last cruise on Dawn (1/30/05 ), you could not book these restaurants for an entire week ahead. You could only book either the day before or the day of. I don't know when they stopped doing this but we never had any problem reserving a table and it seemed like a more fair way to go about it.

[Gabgab]

If I remember correctly, on our last cruise on Dawn (1/30/05 ), you could not book these restaurants for an entire week ahead. You could only book either the day before or the day of. I don't know when they stopped doing this but we never had any problem reserving a table and it seemed like a more fair way to go about it.

 

I like this idea much better that way more then just the people in the "know" has a chance to try the specialty resturants. Also I think it helps keep the freestyle concept alive, which I luv. Mabey if we say it enough that NCL might notice it and change it, hey stop laughing, a girl has to have hope.

 

And honestly I rather NCL use every space possible instead of waisting it on a big lobby, but that just me.

[hotspur]

I started looking at how much money I spent for a Mini on NCL and a Mini on Princess and what I spent onboard and I spent less money on a mini for princess, which is a larger room and a larger balcony. On NCL we spent more money onboard and we "felt" that the food, service, and the overall experience was much better on Princess...Plus they also offer anytime dining.....so for us we are staying with Princess.

Then stick with Princess. Please.

[Giorgi-one]

Actually NCL doesn't do the Atriums on any of there ships. They prefer the more cozy lobby feeling which was once common on all cruise ships. Also atriums take up useful revenue generating space. As for climbing walls and putt putt, I guess I'm a ship buff and think they have no business being on a ship in the first place. It's basically comes down to what type of experience you want, which is where a good TA can help explain the difference on different ships and lines. You take care and thanks for your review.

 

Michael

 

NCL Sun has an atrium which extends to the top floor. However, I believe that NCL bought the hull from Costa and finished the ship.

[newmexicoNita]

My understanding is the Dawn has one as well. When we were on the Jewel some made comments about missing the atruim after doing the Dawn., NMNita

[newmexicoNita]

I like this idea much better that way more then just the people in the "know" has a chance to try the specialty resturants. Also I think it helps keep the freestyle concept alive, which I luv. Mabey if we say it enough that NCL might notice it and change it, hey stop laughing, a girl has to have hope.

 

And honestly I rather NCL use every space possible instead of waisting it on a big lobby, but that just me.

Yes, it used to be you could only book 24 hours in advance, but after so many complaints from those who had cruised the other lines that even allow booking specialty dining via email NCL changed the policy. NMnita