kdzkatz

Roland! So friendly and helpful. He is our gold standard we compare other butlers too from now on as he was our butler on our last cruise. :D

They could hire zoo animals to be PCC's at NCL. I have talked to several of them and 90% of them didn't know their head from their backside. I had booked one cruise through them and it went ok but the next year confirmed that I will never book through them again. If NCL's cruise experience was anything like the ineptness of their PCC's I wouldn't be taking my 7th cruise in 8 years with them. I love cruising with them but their booking department is amateur hour. Just my opinion and personal experience.

Here goes:

We were on the same cruise as Toyotaford (you were sooo nice, ty for the room tour!) Virginia was so great! Very accessible and helped my our cruise even more special. I find it hard to believe the negative comments I have read about her on this post. But then again some people have unreasonable expectations. I'm not saying that was the case but geez she was so wonderful it's hard to imagine her not bending over backwards for all the suite passengers. I do hope to have her as a concierge again in the future :D

I believe she is going to the Gem.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - Jim

I think that is correct. She told us the next couple ships she will be on and I think the Gem was one of them. We are keeping our fingers crossed she will be on the Jewel next May :D

We just got back from a wonderful cruise on the Jewel. I took a pic of all the current staff on the ship as of May 31st 2014. The concierge Virginia got off the ship this morning and it sounds like Bruno is taking her place. Virginia is so nice! We really enjoyed her. I will post more names of the staff in the next day or two. I need to go remember how to cook and clean for myself again :p

The Breakfast and Lunch on the Jewel in 2012 was in Cagney's. I wish I could find out if this is true because the Poster on the May 17 Roll Call posted this information and that their Roll Call was in Cagney's at 11 am. Perhaps they got it mixed up but we will find out when they get back. I will be on the Jewel in October and just want to know.

The Meet & Greet is being held in Cagneys. I organized the May 24th M&G and the originally had us in Moderno Deck 13 Mid but just a few days ago relocated us to Cagneys. That would make sense if they are using Moderno for suite passenger breakfast and lunch. I'll will know 100% in just a couple days :D:D:D:D

I am glad they moved it. Moderno is occupying the old overflow area for Cagney's. We ate in that location in 2009 and it is more intimate than Cagneys. We didn't mind Cagneys but enjoyed the overflow area more. It is just across the hall from Cagneys so not moving a long distance. I am not sure if that is being done fleet wide. I would imagine at least for the jewel class ships once they each complete their dry dock.

DD29 and I will be on Jewel in Nov. We thought we would try a specialty restaurant for the first time. Which one do you suggest and what is the extra fee?

We have been on 5 NCL cruises to Alaska and have had very minimal experience in the specialty restaurants. We decided to get the UDP so we could try them all. If we went to one and did not care for it we could simply get up and go to another one without having to complain and try to get a refund. I doubt that would happen as we are very easy going but that is just one reason. We also like to graze more than sit down for a huge meal. This way we can eat a small meal right when they open then later before they close we can eat another small meal at another restaurant. Once we get back from our cruise we will be able to share our opinion of all the specialty restaurants on the Jewel (except for sushi which we don't care for and is only offered a discount with the UDP).

OT - I just noticed your signature line. Congrats on your marriage, and I hope you have a wonderful honeymoon!!

Thank you very much. We got married on May 17th so almost to our 1 week anniversary :D:D So far so good. We are going to have a great time on our cruise! :D:D

Here on this board we say "food is subjective". That's i.e. for yes, a lot of NCL food does suck!

 

But I do have to say, I think NCL has gotten the message. When NCL has the reputation for the worst food at sea, I do think they finally are listening. It is better. The thing that hasn't changed is the very, very slow dining room service. It shouldn't take 2 hours to eat dinner and then you shouldn't have to leave after 2 hours without getting dessert just to make your show! This is where Royal has it all over on NCL.

 

The problem with long waits and standing around with a pager to eat in the main dining rooms does still exist. I think this (as well as the very slow 2 hour dinner service) will be a continued problem for you and especially during the Christmas holiday. The ships are loaded to capacity and then some. This makes for a recipe for disaster in a situation where they don't have the dining worked out. You would think with 10 or more years now doing this Freestyle thing a better system could be worked out. The ships that already have a hard time managing the dining service will have a really hard time with significantly more people on board that week of the Christmas holiday!

 

I think you should give NCL another try but not during the Xmas holiday. You will wish you were on Royal where they know how to manage people thru diner. Now I think you will miss out on the better entertainment that NCL has. I think the decor or NCL ships is better, younger, funky, fun. The suites and suite perks are wonderful. If you are lucky enough to cruise in the Haven, you are lucky enough! But you are right, dining will be an issue during the Xmas holiday. If you can't get over that, go Royal that week.

***DISREGARD THIS OBVIOUS BIAS RCCL CHEERLEADER POST***

This person obviously has nothing worthwhile to contribute

Opinions about food are so subjective. It really is a personal thing in my opinion. I think you should give it a try as there is a new menu since you cruised and you will be on a new ship.

Hopefully the new menu rolled out on the Jewel on her first cruise after dry dock. Fingers crossed here as I will be on her in a few days :D

Nope. The sites mentioned, and others will provide you with satellite AIS updates, for a membership fee, but most of them only update every 24 hours still. Ships will appear and disappear from vessel tracking sites regularly.

That is incorrect. Do a google search "where is my cruise ship" Look for one of the top couple searches.

http://www.***********/ship_tracker/norwegian_cruise_line/norwegian_jewel.php

Fill in the asterisks with "cruisin dot me"

Free and constant updates. No memberships and no signing up for anything. Track pretty much any kind of ship anywhere in the world.

For those of us interested in the Jewel's dry dock we certainly have been spoiled by those gracious enough to keep us informed from their first hand accounts :D:D

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for all of us. It is greatly appreciated! :D:D

We really enjoyed the aft a couple years ago. Up to Alaska we have been on both sides, the top (Haven) and the aft. Next year we have a penthouse on the front of the Jewel. We will then know our favorite location on the ship. I know my soon to be DW loved spending time on our aft balcony more than any other balcony. It is very peaceful back there (on deck 10 anyway).

I think you should do the aft. It's kind of like cruising, you should experience for yourself to make your own determination. You will get opinions saying they love it and others that don't care for it. Until you do it you will wonder. If you absolutely love it you will be so happy you did it. If you don't care for it then you will know and don't get a room there again. We did not notice any issues with motion or vibrations.

No matter what you do you will be on a cruise so it's all good :D:D

Northern lights in May? You'll be lucky if it even gets darkish out! Have fun! Great cruise night or day. :)

It is early May so we will get a little bit of night time. We would have to set a wake up call for between 1-3 am though probably to get maximum darkness. I know end of May there was a couple hours of night surrounded by lots of dusk & dawn lol:D

Hopefully the will have the new menus on the Jewel after her dry dock is finished in the next couple days or so. :)

Another question, can we bring our own lavas a pods in flavors we like,more can we bring our own tea and will it just dispense hot water? Yes, I am crazy planning so far ahead...we are just so excited for this cruise!!

Thank you for starting this thread. We have #10000 booked on the Jewel next year for a 9 day to Alaska. We have been on both sides, the back, the top (Haven on the Pearl, a cruise within a cruise) and now we will get the try the front. From doing a bunch of research it seems that 10000 and 10500 are most the often the desired forward penthouses. I do like that it has a full size sofa instead of a small love seat. I am very anxious to experience coming into port as many have said it is amazing on the front of the ship. I am also hoping for at least one clear night as the front of the ship is supposed to be the darkest...maybe get really lucky and have the northern lights give us a show :D

Still almost a year away but we have our cruise in a week and a half in a 2 bedroom penthouse :D That bedroom/bathroom is sooo nice!

Ohhh **crossing fingers** that the Jewel will be getting an O'Sheehan's during her drydock.

She will be. Our Meet and Greet is going to be held at Moderno that is listed at Deck 13 Midship. That was the location of the Star Bar. We will see all of the changes in about a week and a half. As I am sure many are anxious to see pics we will do our best to get some posted once we return on May 31st. :D

Why?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - Jim

because any significant delay could delay their cruise. Last time Jewel was in dry dock there was an issue with a crane at the end of dry dock and it delayed the cruise by 1 day. That means missing a port and those flying in have to find accommodations. There was a delay at the very beginning of this dry dock but hopefully it will not affect their schedule.

Odds are you are safe either way you go. If you get it and you don't get your full value you are probably close. If you would have saved money by getting it, it probably would not be much.

If you knew you were planning on eating in Cagney's almost all the time that is a different story but it sounds like for you there will not be a huge savings either way.

We are opting to get it. Our reasoning was that we will be platinum after this cruise and we have never stepped out and and experimented much with the specialty restaurants. It will be our honeymoon cruise and by getting the UDP we don't have to think about it. I think we will be trying each restaurant once and double up our favorite.

In attempt to give some sort of option...if your TA and/or NCL are not able to do anything as far as future credit or refund would they be willing to let you transfer your reservation to someone else? I know normally there needs to be at least one name from the original reservation on the cruise but if they would wave that requirement maybe you could sell your reservation at a discount to a friend or family. They can help you recover some of your money and they get rewarded with a wonderful vacation. If possible it may be a way to make the best of an unfortunate situation.

Prayers coming from Everett WA that your daughter gets through this as quickly and painlessly as possible so she can get back to being a kid worrying about silly things like homework again :)

Wow! What a shocker. I agree with you this time 100%. He is a class act. I am not looking forward to his retirement in a few years. Will be back on with him in October.

 

 

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LOL!! I laughed out loud when I read this. love my butler is usually so negative 99.9% of the time. I'm just like you in that respect I read posts first then who wrote them and I am so surprised when I read something with a positive spin from them. I'm guessing it hurt you a little to admit you were on the same page as them ;):eek:

At the time of your original booking you were indeed given a complimentary upgrade as you said yourself you booked an MX for $799 and were given an M1 at no additional cost.

 

Since you are now in an M1 you can't compare what you paid for the MX. You have to compare pricing to the M! now.

 

Repricing your fare in the future comes with different rules if there is a different promo running.

 

It happens on all lines.

 

Sorry if you feel they are playing fast and loose and not rebooking but if try different cruise lines you'll run into the same problems.

 

Carnival recently had a promo where they let you book with a $50 deposit. After that sail ended they had another sale where the prices were even lower but you had to pay the full deposit.

 

When people applied for the lower fare they were given the new fare but nobody told them that now they had to pay the full deposits and they were cancelling cruises for non payment of the full deposit.

 

Bill

Thank you for responding to that post in a much more tactful approach than I would have. It is frustrating when people blame their inability to understand something on someone else. Don't blame the teacher that 2+2=4, you think it's 5 and you think the teacher is a jerk because they tell you it is 4. Sorry for the rant.