Jewel vs. Sun are they both part of NCL???

[luv2bcruzng]

We traveled on the 9 day Jewel cruise over Xmas and just returned from a 7 day cruise on the Sun this past Saturday. These two ships are so different it is hard to believe they are both owned by NCL. We were so disappointed with the Jewel that we were about to cancel our cruise on the Sun, but decided to give NCL another chance.

 

For example:

1. Reservations at specialty restaurants made only the day before at 7am on the Jewel. On the Sun, when you board, you make reservations for the entire week.

2. Jewel - only have processed frozen "ice cream" in cones for snack. On Sun - hand scooped ice cream, at least 4 different flavors, in cone or bowl.

3. BB cabins on Jewel barely liveable on Sun they are about 50% larger.

4. 7:30am on Jewel and no chairs available to sit on; 9am on Sun and all the chairs that you want are still available with room and little tables in between chairs.

5. Lobster tails are served on the Sun; seafood extravaganza on the Jewel (pieces of lobster, mixed with some other seafood).

6. Casino - on Jewel - no recognition of my husband's gambling, never met a host, even though gambled every night for 9 nights. On the Sun - the casino sent to our room, two times, little goodies and made a point to introduce themselves to us.

7. Latitudes Club - had one get together on the Jewel and two get togethers on the Sun - one specifically for silver members or above.

8. And most important of all - on the Jewel you have two pool towels in your room and carry them with you anytime you go to the pool. Don't lose them or it is a $25 fee. On the Sun, pool towels are available at the pool - not in your rooms!!!

 

I could go on and on about the differences but these are some of the main points. It is just so hard to believe that policies can differ so much between two ships owned by the same cruise line.

[ChBoxers800]

I can't answer your questions but sure am glad that I'm booked on the Sun in two weeks! :)

[chrisbd1]

The Sun is older, the Jewel is newer.The things you mentioned don't matter so much to us.

[Toyz711]

on the spirit:

towels in the cabins..yes, $25 if you lose them

reservations only for that night and the next, unless in a suite.

1 latitude party for all latitude levels and one for silver and above. i hear there is a special invite for a captain's party.

scooped ice cream in the buffet area.

(on the star, the ice cream is up near the gym)

 

the people in the casino get friendlier with each time you cruise/gamble and depending on the casino host. our dealers/host on the spirit were not that friendly,(several of them were leaving after that cruise) you got lucky on the sun. neither of the casinos, star or spirit, did anything other then a few comped drinks. the only treats we got were from the latitude group...cookies one time and chocolate covered strawberries the next.

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

Thanks REBA!

 

That's some good differences you noticed!

 

I'm with BOXERS in being glad I'm heading out on the SUN in less than a month now! :D

 

Glad you gave NCL another chance or you never would have known!

I guess it must be like some McDonald's restaurants are nicer and have different decorations and food items than others. Different crew, facilities, and market, I guess?

[slowhand]

8. And most important of all - on the Jewel you have two pool towels in your room and carry them with you anytime you go to the pool. Don't lose them or it is a $25 fee. On the Sun, pool towels are available at the pool - not in your rooms!!!

 

 

Towels were always available by the pool on the Jewel when we sailed last June.

[luv2bcruzng]

Towels were available on the Jewel at the pool but you had to hand in a wet towel to get a dry towel.

[newmexicoNita]

We traveled on the 9 day Jewel cruise over Xmas and just returned from a 7 day cruise on the Sun this past Saturday. These two ships are so different it is hard to believe they are both owned by NCL. We were so disappointed with the Jewel that we were about to cancel our cruise on the Sun, but decided to give NCL another chance.

 

For example:

1. Reservations at specialty restaurants made only the day before at 7am on the Jewel. On the Sun, when you board, you make reservations for the entire week.

2. Jewel - only have processed frozen "ice cream" in cones for snack. On Sun - hand scooped ice cream, at least 4 different flavors, in cone or bowl.

3. BB cabins on Jewel barely liveable on Sun they are about 50% larger.

4. 7:30am on Jewel and no chairs available to sit on; 9am on Sun and all the chairs that you want are still available with room and little tables in between chairs.

5. Lobster tails are served on the Sun; seafood extravaganza on the Jewel (pieces of lobster, mixed with some other seafood).

6. Casino - on Jewel - no recognition of my husband's gambling, never met a host, even though gambled every night for 9 nights. On the Sun - the casino sent to our room, two times, little goodies and made a point to introduce themselves to us.

7. Latitudes Club - had one get together on the Jewel and two get togethers on the Sun - one specifically for silver members or above.

8. And most important of all - on the Jewel you have two pool towels in your room and carry them with you anytime you go to the pool. Don't lose them or it is a $25 fee. On the Sun, pool towels are available at the pool - not in your rooms!!!

 

I could go on and on about the differences but these are some of the main points. It is just so hard to believe that policies can differ so much between two ships owned by the same cruise line.

well everyone has his/her own ideas but you are one of the few I have heard about that didn't care for the jewel. As for the cabins, I agree they are a little smaller but the bathrooms on the Jewel are much nicer.

 

Much of what you mention has to do with new policies versus old ones. As for the $25 fee and the towels, we experienced the very same thing on Princess last month.

 

I don't know why only one get together, on the Star just a few months ago there were two: one for repeat guests and a second one for silver, gold and up.

 

The availbility of lounges has nothing to do with the ship, this is a complaint you see over and over, all lines and can happen to any ship. There will always be chair hogs, sometimes you experience more than other times.

 

The booking reservations for the specialty dining rooms was changed about a year ago and the same policy is used for all NCL ships. At the beginning of freestyle the policy was, you can only book the day of or day before. People requested allowing bookings the first day for the entire week (I loved it) but too many complainted it did away with the true meaning of freestyle. So many complained that NCL went back to the original policy. NOw passengers are complaining about this; it is a no win situation for NCL>

 

The Lobster versus Seafood plate will be changed at 2.0 takes over. I happen to prefer the Seafood platter as the Lobster served is nothing more than small frozen tails and can be good or very bad.

 

I hope this explains some of the differences you experienced.

 

Nita

[luv2bcruzng]

My questions pertained to why the differences between two NCL ships? We cruised Dec and then again Feb - 6 weeks later and the reservation policies were totally different between the two ships. We much preferred booking the entire week right up front instead of having to set the alarm clock for 6:45am to get up and make the phone call to hope to get a dinner reservation for the next day.

 

As far as the Latitudes Party goes - on the 9 day cruise only one party and on the 7 day cruise there was the additional one for the silver members. That second party should be throughout the fleet.

 

On the Jewel there were at least 200 lounge chairs piled in the back of the ship needing repair work. I guess on the Sun all the chairs were usable and therefore no shortages.

 

To sum up newer is not always better! Stick with the Sun.

[newmexicoNita]

My questions pertained to why the differences between two NCL ships? We cruised Dec and then again Feb - 6 weeks later and the reservation policies were totally different between the two ships. We much preferred booking the entire week right up front instead of having to set the alarm clock for 6:45am to get up and make the phone call to hope to get a dinner reservation for the next day.

 

As far as the Latitudes Party goes - on the 9 day cruise only one party and on the 7 day cruise there was the additional one for the silver members. That second party should be throughout the fleet.

 

On the Jewel there were at least 200 lounge chairs piled in the back of the ship needing repair work. I guess on the Sun all the chairs were usable and therefore no shortages.

 

To sum up newer is not always better! Stick with the Sun.

I certainly can't answer all your questions, but the towel situation has been in affect for a year now. I don't understand why they were not enforcing it 2 months ago. As for the dinner reservations, the same, you say you could make them the first day when you sailed in Dec, I have a gut feeling, from what I have seen, what I know as an agent and what I have read others would dispute this. the same with the Lobster versus the seafood platter.

 

We have found on the last couple of NCL sailings, since the new reservations policy went into affect, it is best to just go to the desk after breakfast and make reservations. We have only had a problem once, we tried to get reservations in the Italian restaurant the last night (same day) and we couldn't.

 

Did you have a suite or mini suite on the Sun? I am asking, because what you are saying doesn't jive with what others have said including some of the recent reviews?

 

I have also read some of your other postings, some don't match up too well.

 

BTW, I just re-read your comparison: I thought you cruised the Sun first< it sounds to me like maybe the Sun is implementing freestyle 2.0 so, if I understand you correctly (I might be confused) you liked your latest cruise on the Sun muck better than your holiday cruise on the Jewel. Remember it was the holiday season which is a very different ball gaem. Again, when I read some of your statements, I do see some condradictions.

[electricron]

NCL is in the process of making some minor changes to it's Freestyle Cruising product. The differences, besides the physical makeup of the ship, is caused by these changes being implemented on different ships at different times.

You cruised on the Sun significantly after Freestyle 2.0 was announced and cruised on the Jewel as Freestyle 2.0 was announced.

Norwegian Cruise Line Announces Significant Enhancements to Its Onboard Product as Part of Its Freestyle 2.0 Initiative

Miami - Dec 20, 2007.

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/pressroom/pressRelease.html?storyCode=PR_122007_Freestyle2.0

 

Even so, you had already seen a few Freestyle 2.0 things implemented on the Jewel, and not on the Sun, and vice versa.

Not every part of Freestyle 2.0 is going to implemented on every ship at the same time, or in the same order.

 

My question, how great was the service given on both ships by the crew? Did one ship give better service than the other, or were they pretty much the same?

[greywillow]

3. BB cabins on Jewel barely liveable on Sun they are about 50% larger.

Someday people will understand that hyperbole like this simply destroys all credibility for anything said in the rest of their post. We crossed the Atlantic in a BA on Jewel and to say it's "barely liveable" is simply preposterous. As a result, the remainder of the post is simply not credible in my eyes. Sort of like the whiners who claim the food is "inedible." Ridiculous.

[Parr1sh]

Part of the differences may be due to number of people too. When I was on the Sun, it was about 1/2 full. This made it nice for lines at dining rooms, pool space, etc... I was on 2 different cruises on the Dawn. 1 was a school vacation week ( FULL SHIP ) The other was a "normal" load. I saw many differences there too. Sometimes there is better service on the older, less populated ships. It sometimes seems the crew is trying to make up for not being on the newest most popular ship.

[Beachbum1944]

1..We were on the Pearl in January and we made reservations around 8 or 9 AM for that day or next. Never had to get up that early.

 

7..Lattitude get together...A complete waste of time IMHO.

 

8..Pool towels were readily available at the pool all day. We didn't have to sign for any.

 

I think many people like to complain about anything. I see a lot of it on this board. Just try to relax and have fun.

[bluesea777]

1. Reservations at specialty restaurants made only the day before at 7am on the Jewel. On the Sun, when you board, you make reservations for the entire week.

 

When we boarded Spirit about 2:30 pm in NYC in Dec 2006 the queue for dinner reservations was a mile long so we decided to return later. When we returned later (about 6pm) our jaws dropped when we tried to make reservations - most were fully booked - we were able to bag the LAST Teppanyaki sitting on the LAST night of the cruise ... and the cruise was 12 days long!! We managed to get reservations at 2 out of 4 speciality restaurants (plus Teppanyaki), but they were outside our desirable time.

 

Later on during the cruise we heard from somebody else that one large family booked one whole Teppanyaki sitting for EVERY night of the cruise ... Spirit has only one Teppanyaki table and there are 3 sittings!!

 

So I prefer the short reservation to the entire week, and by the way they have changed the morning time from 7am to 8am.

[luv2bcruzng]

To state once again, we were on the Jewel over Xmas and last week on the Sun. I don't see any contradictions - the differences were obvious to us, just as I stated.

 

On the Jewel if you happened to be wandering around the ship and decided to stop and sit by the pool, first you had to go back to your stateroom and grab your towels, unless you happen to carry them with you everywhere on board. You could not get a towel at the pool unless you handed one into the attendants first.

 

We were in a balcony on both cruises and there are very noticeable size differences. Villas and suite people on Jewel have many advantages as far as dining reservations go. Interesting they are also supposed to get off the ship first in each port, but they had to push by all the people on the stairs waiting to get off already saying "we get off first, we are from the suites". Boy did they get people angry at them!! There was no crew around to organize anything.

 

The crew on the Sun did seem to have more personality and care towards the guests. Both ships were full at the time of our sailings.

 

I would much rather make dinner reservations at the beginning of the week and then not have to worry about them again. Who wants to set an alarm clock to wake up 7am just to get a dinner reservation when you are on vacation?

 

Maybe we did sail in the middle of the implementation of 2.0 and that could account for the many differences between the two ships. We did speak to the Latitudes staff about the differences and they never mentioned 2.0 and were unaware that policies are different amongst the ships.

[snorklinbarb]

Not to get in the middle of this (as I much preferred Jewel over Sun), be assured freestyle 2.0 does not account for any differences.

 

The program has not yet been rolled out on any ship and neither Jewel nor Sun will be the first to get it.

 

That said, a few things like champagne on embarkation have been rolled out on a few ships and more things will appear as they go along.

 

As for the 2nd Latitudes gathering for silver and up, that is a new thing. When we were on Gem in Dec. and Jan. it was a wine & cheese and the cruise consultant said this was just rolling out. So that may account for why reba experienced that on Sun but not Jewel.

 

Also as for towels, the policy (unfortunately) has been inconsistent even on the same ship. For example, on Gem on the Jan. 16th sailing we could exchange towels as we wished and there was no $25 deposit. However, the very next cruise they were "going back" to the "new" policy and would be as reba described. One of the goals of freestyle 2.0 (as was explained to us) is to improve consistency throughout the fleet.

 

BTW, Reba you can get another towel at the pool (without giving them one) with a $25 deposit. When you take it back, they negate the slip.

 

Even about lobster - the Sun did offer a lobster night (tail) when I was on late Oct. 2007 but just a few weeks later on Gem it was the seafood extravangza dish. Freestyle 2.0 promises to change lobster policy for the better.:)

 

This leads to a lot of confusion and misunderstandings on the boards. It does not mean one poster is wrong or "missing something" because there are, in fact, quite a few inconsistencies like reba mentioned.

 

BTW, reba, I remember you and Alan (hope that's right?) from Dawn May 2003 repo. That was still one of our very best cruises.:D

[luv2bcruzng]

Wow - Barb - that does go back a long ways!!!! That Dawn repo cruise was still one of the best cruises we ever went on - what an itinerary. Over the years I have searched for similar itineraries and have found none to match that one.

 

Obviously we are still actively cruising - the Sun cruise was now our 22nd cruise and our 8th with Norwegian. After our experience with the Jewel we had just about written off NCL until going on the Sun and now they have redeemed themselves.

 

Good to hear from you again!

[Cruzin2paradise09]

We traveled on the 9 day Jewel cruise over Xmas and just returned from a 7 day cruise on the Sun this past Saturday.

 

I've not sailed NCL yet, but having sailed during Thanksgiving twice on different lines (RCI and Carnival) and then sailing at other times during the year, holidays make a huge difference on a cruise.

 

The biggest difference between your two sailings, in my opinion, are the fact that you went during Christmas when there are about 2-gazillion people and then during February, only half-gazillion people. So, maybe they keep a tighter "rein" on things during a Christmas cruise than one at the end of February.

 

Just a thought.