Jewel review 1/31-2/7

Two middle age females on a girls cruise...quick review. Caught the NCL shuttle t airport..fast and efficient. It was pouring rain so they had us sit in bus till porters could unload us...took our luggage and we went to check in. It was about 11.. Hardly anyone there and we were checked in and on the ship in about 20 minutes! I was Latitudes..she was not but they let us both go thru my line.

Went to eat at Tzara..nice quiet lunch while everyone was heading for buffet. Rooms were ready by 1:30! Cabin 10588..decent sized cabin..balcony with 2 chairs..not loungers. I was surprised over the shower..normal u can squeeze one person in..with a shower curtain u need to fight to stay closed. This had a shower where 2 1/2 people could have fit ..with a door! And the toilet was on the other side with a door...nice! Beds were comfy...our room Stewart was Will..very sweet young man.

The ship was clean and you never felt crowed..EXCEPT in the Buffett..oh Lordie that is another story! All seemed in good shape. The first night and all the next day we were affected by the Cal storm and the ship was really rocking and rolling...many people sick.

Ok. Food.....while always subjective..here are my thoughts. Buffett...different themes each day and actually some pretty good dishes IF you were willing to fight the crowds! SO many people..so few tables as people would stay and chat after they eat as people wandered around looking for a place. The Great Outdoors area was a great place and not so crowded but in the wind your food cooled fast. We did go the the Italian sit down that was available to sit in for breakfast and lunch....nice and quiet and lots of seating..shhhhhh keep it your secret. Juice bar open all day..that was nice...coffee was scary bad!

Had the UDP offered for free.. Went to Teppenyaki...that was a fun show and the chicken and shrimp I had was SO good! Went to Cagneys...great shrimp appetizer and had 5 oz Filet Mignonette...go for the 8 oz.. 5oz is TINY..also have several sides. The lobster and shrimp looked great..wish I had it! Great service!

Brazilian Steak house...fun but was not thrilled with offerings of salad bar and meat took SO long to come around...ok but not my favorite. Last one was French Restaurant..had the lobster. Very good.mfriend had the escargot and mussels..said they were yummy. crem brûlée was yummy. Breakfast in free dining rooms...have LOTS of time..pretty slow. AND coffee is nasty. All servers were very friendly!

The pool.....some chair hogs but not as bad as on many ships I have seen. There just isn't enuf chairs in the shaded area as they have tables and chairs in the shady areas. The hot tubs..UGH..will not do public hot tubs..people sitting in them for hours with skin flaking off and WHATEVER..ugh!! At one time there were TWELVE people in a hot tub..12 of them being children!! Nasty! Two were marked as adults only..guess parents don't read or care anymore!

Tendering in CABo...by ticket..no gangway rush...get your tickets early! Actually pretty organized! If you have purchased an excursion you can go at any time.

Drinks...unless you have the UPB..OUTRAGEOUS!! $7 for a beer and $10-$12 for mixed drinks..PLUS the 18% gratuity! Bought a bucket of beer..buy 5 get one free..with tip $42!!!!! Good thing it lasted me all week! I pity anyone who did not have the beverage plan when they got their bill! TOOO easy when drinking to just keep handing over that card!

PORTS...in Cabo did ships harbor cruise and whale watching. Don't usually do ships trips but friend wanted to. Fun little cruise..unlimited beverages..saw six whale. Cabo is SO commercialized anymore....had lunch at place on shore..fish tacos..amaZing!! if you need WIFI..go out..turn right and walk to the port buildings..white...and there is free WIFI

MAzatlan. Walked out of port..got water taxi to Sone Island..went to CARMELITAS...sat and relaxed..had beer,coffee,cokes,nachos..all day bill was $30. Great day but it was windy so not enuf people there so the vendors were relentless. Next time I will make up a NO GRACIAS sign and hold it up! Water taxi round trip is only $3.... No undercurrent in ocean...great day!

PV..went on Pirate Cruise..again thru ship..can't book it on shore. It WOULD have been fun but the waves were awful a d it was SO rocky..had unlimited drinks and fed breakfast and lunch. Only problem by the time we tendered in to shore with all the waves..we only had about an hour on shore instead of the 2+we were supposed to have.

Entertainment..youMUST go see the Russian Acrobats..amazing! Comedian was very funny. Also if you see NEXT STAGE..whether it be their Beatles Tribute or the band in another venue SEE THEM!!!! They are amazing!!! classic rock..heavy metal..country..modern..you name it...they can do it!

Debar King was very smooth..DONT go to the Buffett if you have later color..go have a nice quiet sit down. The carry your own luggage out was wrapped half way around the ship so be prepared! our color was at 9:15..we got called at 9:05..we cleared customs..got our luggage and on the shuttle bus by 9:45!

All in all it was a nice trip..loved the Jewel and would do it again! Sorry this got a little long winded!

Thanks for taking the time to post a review. We board the Jewel in a few days for the Panama Canal.

IDKaren,

I left the ship the day you boarded. I had so much fun that I have now booked the 13th of May 2017 Alaskan cruise out of Seattle.

sunand snow,

Enjoy your cruise. Your Hotel Director Claus Pascher is a super nice guy from Austria.

We got off the day you got on. We had a great time. It was rough our last day

Thanks so much for your review. We're on the Jewel in April and were planning on doing the pirate ship in PV. My understanding is that I can prebook it through the company directly, but you mention that you did it through the ship. I thought that was only an issue with Carnival, who requires a booking through the ship. Is it NCL, too? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Also, I'm like you. Hot tubs packed with random strangers is SO not appealing!

Thank you for your review.

Keith

Thanks so much for your review. We're on the Jewel in April and were planning on doing the pirate ship in PV. My understanding is that I can prebook it through the company directly, but you mention that you did it through the ship. I thought that was only an issue with Carnival, who requires a booking through the ship. Is it NCL, too? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

You know.....you may be right!!! I have another cruise on Carnival coming up and it may have been on that one! It all kinds of run together getting ready for two cruises. Month apart! You will love the Pirate Cruise if the weather is better.it was lots of fun with the pirate show,the drinks and food etcbut it was SO windy and rocky that day we could not to the snorkeling, the banana boats, or the kayaks and it was crazy getting off and on the ship!Ahoy and have fun!!

Thanks for your review! We're sailing on the Jewel at the end of March and were wondering about the shows. It sounds as though they were really good! Looking forward to seeing them!

~Joanne

Thanks for your review! We're sailing on the Jewel at the end of March and were wondering about the shows. It sounds as though they were really good! Looking forward to seeing them!

~Joanne[/QUOT

 

The ships dance/singing group is not really that great on their review show..looking forward to the 70's/disco show..could not wait for it to end! Like stated prev the RussianAerial Acrobat show is AMAZING..don't miss it! The magician/comedian was maybe a 5 out of10. The comedian Rod Long is very funny..did not make his "adult" show but I hear it was funny. NEXT STAGE is absolutely amazing...they do the Beatles Tribute..be sure and get there EARLY as the Spinnaker lounge fills up fast. In fact..get to ALL the shows early to get a seat!.the last night they have Cirque de Rouch...amazing acrobatic show...we got there 25 minutes early and it was already packed....another amazing show! Have a great time on your cruise! If you don't smoke....stay clear of the casino..it is SO bad with smoke and does not seem to have a ventilation system that works well!

Thanks for the review, considering NCL and this was interesting.

Hello Karen, I was wondering if you would please post where the Juice bar is located on the Jewel, and if you noticed if one can get smoothies (hopefully with protein) there or elsewhere. This is rather important for MDH as he is a cancer survivor & has difficulty chewing & swallowing. I need to know if it is necessary for us to bring packaged protein beverages or not. thanks so much!

:)

p.s. We are doing the 12-day Pacific Coastal / Mexican Rivera at the end of Sept.