Jewel to Mexico: Review, Photos, and Video tour of ship

More about the taxi, aka pulmonia…which I didn’t get a DECENT photo of, sorry! The open air ride cost $15 each way and was a fun change from the usual air conditioned cab experience. On the way over, our driver had an amazing stereo system and rocked some fun tunes, like Neil Diamond at high volumes. We loved it!

 

This shot sort of shows what it looks like from inside the pulmonia:

 

 

At the resort, margaritas and Pina coladas were tasty, and the pool was refreshingly chilly.

 

 

Hubby jumping w/GoPro

 

 

We enjoyed the resort so much and unlike our visit in August, iguanas were EVERYWHERE. We fed iguanas lettuce provided by the servers.

 

 

 

Like I said…there were tons of them:

 

Great info about the resort! Maybe we will do that next time. We went to old town and checked out the market.

We'll be on the jewel next month. Thank you for taking the time to do this review!

You're welcome. Have a relaxing voyage!

Great info about the resort! Maybe we will do that next time. We went to old town and checked out the market.

Nice! Great pic!!!

Sheebah, I'm loving your review and photos. DH and I took only our Samsung Galaxy S6 phones on our recent cruise, and we were thrilled with the results.

 

We've been cruising with HAL lately, but we just booked the Jewel for a return to Mexico in 2017. We've been on the Jewel three times and are excited to get back onboard. Your great review has confirmed our decision.

I love it. My husband is often asked what camera he recommends and he tells people "the best camera is the one you'll use". I love HAL too...the staff are extra caring. Wishing you a great 2017 sailing. We will have a full ship video tour coming soon - you'll like seeing the renovated areas if you haven't been on Jewel In a while.

I love it. My husband is often asked what camera he recommends and he tells people "the best camera is the one you'll use". I love HAL too...the staff are extra caring. Wishing you a great 2017 sailing. We will have a full ship video tour coming soon - you'll like seeing the renovated areas if you haven't been on Jewel In a while.

Finally, we headed back to the ship just in time for all aboard. The return trip by pulmonia was much better than the ride over because there was less traffic and the driver kept us by the sea a bit more, which was great because the exhaust smell was bad on the way over. He even drove us through the historical district and pointed out many primary schools where we saw kids in uniform adjourning for the school day.

And a dance studio:

View from the backseat of the pulmonia:

We had to shower and primp fast to make our 5pm loyalty party in spinnaker lounge, but we made it. I had a glass of champagne and we all settled on to one of those giant teal chaise lounges that are big enough for a family of 4 to sleep on. I still can’t believe they hold TWO loyalty parties with free drinks for people at our low (silver) level of loyalty. Carnival and Princess do not complete in this area.

In the cozy lounge:

From that spot, we sailed away from Mazatlan while the sun set and lounged until our Cagney's reservation. This second loyalty party was far more mellow with no raffle or lingering announcements. Just a nice group of cruisers mingling and enjoying the sunset sailaway.

My pleasure...you packed yet? We will try to get the ship video tour done in time for your cruise so you can see it in better detail.

Already packed in mind and spirit but not in reality....yet!

Really enjoying this, getting some great on shore ideas that we hadn't thought of yet.

Thanks so much again for the time putting this together, looking forward to the video!

Already packed in mind and spirit but not in reality....yet!

 

Really enjoying this, getting some great on shore ideas that we hadn't thought of yet.

 

Thanks so much again for the time putting this together, looking forward to the video!

I'm glad you're getting some good ideas. Mexican Riviera cruises are now the only cruises where we don't book shore excursions. There is SO much to do on your own, usually for much less money. If you need any more suggestions, just let me know what types of things you like to do and what activity level, and I'd be glad to throw out some ideas.

Someday, I'd love to take a jeep tour and stop at some of the isolated beaches along the shore in Cabo. I've also heard this is fun in PV. Now that our son is getting older, we'll probably spring the $ for it sometime.

Service was great at Cagney's and we ordered a little differently than our first night there. We tried some different starters:

The potato soup for our son- creamy and filling:

Sliders for hubby, also way too filling:

The lobster and shrimp Linguini was tasty (though I swear I tasted Velveeta in the sauce)….

And my husbands mac and cheese side was divine.

The apple crumble dessert:

The citrus dessert (YUM after a heavier meal…lots of grapefruit):

Another day of perfect sunshiny weather. Vallarta is so pretty in the morning. The green lush hills and calm bay...humidity not quite setting in...so tropical and a sharp contrast to Cabo's desert feel.

Our plan was to stay onboard today, to film the ship, enjoy the pools in relative quiet before the crazy sea day crowds and to rest a little. We love going ashore in Vallarta but wanted more to just enjoy the ship and lovely weather and watch the budget. On previous trips, we've walked to Krystal for day passes and swimming, gone ziplining, visited yelapa and majahuitas, shopped, snorkeled, and more. But this day was about enjoying the ship.

I watched several morning tours depart from the open deck while having a quick omelet breakfast at the Great Outdoors. The AC in the main buffet area was too cold for my liking, and the aft restaurant offered a balmy alternative. In no rush to get off the ship, I wandered the decks, making sure I had not missed any nooks or crannies in the days prior and checked out photos in the gallery. I love the digital viewing on this ship but don't understand why they still print the photos??? Strange, but whatever.

After a slow start, my son and I hit the waterslides and pool again for a few hours of uncrowded fun. We met some nice people (there were so many warm friendly folks on this sailing!), and the pool was warmer today. The slide was moving slowly for some reason so all the kids were sharing tricks to speed up, from arching your back to pooling water before you slid to diving like gangbusters with a running start (yah, I'm not going to do that.... did I mention I'm 42???)

Finally we had to make the choice about whether to get off the ship for a quick shopping run. We ultimately decided to go for it around 3pm and hit the little Mercado just off the ship for some new flip flops for my hubby whose sandals had turned to squeaky nightmares. Braving the aggressive merchants we found a great pair of leather shoes for $20 and spent the remainder of our cash on a little guitar for my son and a traditional white dress/top for $10. Note to self- pack more cash next time. I had spent it all on cab fair and tips. No bueno. Depleted of cash and sweating from humidity, we walked back onboard.

Here’s the little market off the ship:

I don't believe I've mentioned how impressive Ncl's port side setups are. As you're approaching the gangway, there were tents with cold water and punch, cookies, and staff handing out cold wash cloths. Such a classy touch and a warm welcome back on board. I wish I had snapped a photo.

Back at our room, I tried to secure a Moderno reservation for the last night, in lieu of Cagney's on request of our son. He became obsessed with the brown sugar grilled pineapple and wanted to return. No reservations before 8pm were available for the remainder of the cruise, but I wasn't surprised. I ended up trying again the following morning in person and was able to get a 6:30 reservation.

After sailaway, it was already time for our Le Bistro dinner reservation. Service was absolutely spot on and we learned tonight the up charge items are free with UDP. Whaaat??? We started with grilled asparagus with orange Hollandaise, a salad, french onion soup and the quatre of fancy little cones. Our Entrées were the beef filet for our son, seafood in puff pastry, and lobster (prepared in a cream with potato and artichoke hearts). For dessert, fondue, creme brulee and apple tart tatin.

A delicious meal with attentive service in a classy, comfortable setting but not our overall favorite. However the booth we were seated in was velvety and cozy and I could have stayed there all night.

Here are some photos of our food at Le Bistro, the French Specialty Restaurant onboard:

Menu:

Starters:

Asparagus:

Salade Gourmande:

Les Quatres Cornet (4 cones):

French onion soup, but of course!

Ready for dessert? I'll post them tomoorrow ;-) G'night everyone.

Desserts at Le Bistro are fun. We had to order several, including the fondue for two, which is served mostly with sliced fruit, but a few little pastry puffs for dipping too.

Menu:

Apple Tatin- better than it looks.

Crème brulee:

Fondue for two at Le Bistro! SO delicious!!!

Day 6- At Sea

I showed up an hour early for my Zumba class next to the sapphire pool - I didn't set my clock back...oops...oh well, a great opportunity for my morning coffee and to wander the pool decks. Unfortunately, the number of chair hogging before 8am did NOT surprise me. It was a windy day, but the pool chair hogs had that one figured out with handy pool towel clips that secured their towels to the chairs, for HOURS, with nobody sitting on them.

Such a bad habit. I don't get it.

After Zumba (with a gentler instructor this time), I collected my family for a fun filled day. We had a lot planned, which is unusual for us on sea days:

Morning - walk the promenade deck and take photos

Quick sunbathing before lunch. Gotta catch those last rays!

Noon- Teppanyaki reservation

3pm- family cupcake making in La Cucina

4pm- martini tasting

5:45- dinner at La Cucina

And more....maybe....

Teppanyaki @ lunch was again wonderful and the menu was identical to dinner. I wasn't crazy about the scallops, but the shrimp and filet mignon was superb and my son again gobbled the chicken Yukiudon. We skipped dessert, full and not interested in topping off our perfect meal.

The day was flying by and before we knew it we were decorating cupcakes (another great kid friendly activity outside of the organized kids center). From there we headed to martini and champagne bar for the 4pm martini tasting which to my surprise was nearly an hour long guided event. The boss - bartender led the event, discussing the origins of martinis, their ideal composition and the ingredients in each. The flight of 6 mini martinis packed a punch and was well worth the $19 (there is also a $15 package but the $19 comes with a nice shaker with the ncl logo). Now that I’m home, and have tried the shaker, I can’t recommend it. It leaks. But it’s cute.

Here is the mini flight…I’d guess the alcohol content is at least that of 2 full sized martinis because I was feelin’ it after drinking these puppies. That may be because I am 5 foot, 0 inches…but everyone was commenting on how generous they were with the servings.

Guess what, they gave us the recipes! Here they are:

On our way back to the room we stumbled upon a nickelodeon tshirt decorating party for kids in Fyzz, so we dropped in and colored a shirt with my son.

Sheebah, this is one fine review, and I'm enjoying the heck out of it! Thank you again for taking the time to do this right.

You're making me so excited for our cruise, and we have over a year to wait. :eek:

Sheebah, this is one fine review, and I'm enjoying the heck out of it! Thank you again for taking the time to do this right.

 

You're making me so excited for our cruise, and we have over a year to wait. :eek:

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

The full ship video tour is finally complete:

Wishing you all a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving.

Thank you so much!! Love the video. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hi everyone,

The full ship video tour is finally complete:

 

 

Wishing you all a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving.

Fantastic Video!

Thanks for taking the time to put that together. Great job setting up all the camera shots and thanks for spending the extra time in your trip to get up early to get them! Nice to see the ship with no one around. Definitely one of the best cruise ship review videos I have seen.

-Sean

Hi everyone,

The full ship video tour is finally complete:

 

 

Wishing you all a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving.

Wow, not what I was expecting! Great professional video. Thanks for putting it together, that took some considerable effort. Much appreciated.

Wow, not what I was expecting! Great professional video. Thanks for putting it together, that took some considerable effort. Much appreciated.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Sheebah.

I agree! Very professionally done. Was the video also shot with your cell phones? If we stop by your house on the way down to our cruise, will you give us a tutorial? :D

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Sheebah.

Yes, come on by! I'll pass your compliments to my husband. He has a steady hand, and lots of practice floating through the rooms to get the footage. I could NEVER hold the camera that still.

But to answer your question, no, we don't use our cell phones at all for the video tours. He uses a GoPro on a hand-held stabilizer (you can see a wide angle look on those shots) and two other traditional video cameras- a Sony and a Nikon.

Hope this helps!

Your video was wonderful! It's really getting me excited for our cruise in March. I noticed some changes to the Jewel since we were last on her 5 or 6 years ago. I can't wait! Thanks for taking the time to do such a great job with the pictures and video!

~Joanne

Awesome video!! I can't wait until Jan. 2017 to sail on this ship!!

Yes, come on by! I'll pass your compliments to my husband. He has a steady hand, and lots of practice floating through the rooms to get the footage. I could NEVER hold the camera that still.

 

But to answer your question, no, we don't use our cell phones at all for the video tours. He uses a GoPro on a hand-held stabilizer (you can see a wide angle look on those shots) and two other traditional video cameras- a Sony and a Nikon.

 

Hope this helps!

Lovely review. Thank you.