realcindylouwho

Thanks so much for the wonderful review. I really enjoyed your unique format.

 

Could you tell me more about 'cream of coconut'? Is it a liquid? I looked at the grocery store and found 'creamed coconut', which was like a thick paste (similar to marzipan). Is this what goes into the drink? If so then I imagine the painkiller would need to be blended. Hoping to mix up a pitcher or two of these over the holidays :)

 

 

Rochelle

Hello Rochelle! The Cream of Coconut I use can be found in the liquor department of our grocery store, with the mixers (such of pineapple juice, colada mixers, ginger ales, etc.) Depending on what state you live in, it may be found in a different location.

I use COCO REAL it is packaged in a white squeeze bottle with a dark brown lid. 21 ounces. It says "Real Gourmet Cream of Coconut" on the front. Just shake up the bottle before you use it and squeeze the amount needed into your pitcher. It stirs very easily into your liquids.

When I purchase it from the store I always pick up the bottle and shake it first. If it has been sitting unsold for awhile, it will thincken up. Try to find a bottle that feels like the contents are more fluid than thick.

Enjoy! These taste like heaven, but beware, they can pack a punch! I like to think I am doing my body a favor by drinking all of that wonderful Vitamin C and boosting my bodies immunity to all of the crud going around right now!!!;)

Also in response to ncklhaus's question if any of us play the piano... I took lessons for 6 years while I was in elementary school. I also played the synthesizer in my high school's Jazz Band. I play, but need sheet music. My husband can play one or two songs, which we heard over and over and over and over again. We also heard our neighboring G.V. occupants playing their piano! The sound really carries and is quite loud in the living room. Since it is also a player piano, you can make it play on its own. We pushed lots of different buttons but I don't remember it actually playing songs, just "warm up" types of songs and running through scales. I'm sure we could have spent more time trying to figure it out, but there were too many other things to spend our time doing.

Absolutely loved reading your review, and always looked forward to the next installment! Our family checks into the same GV you were in this Saturday, so I'll look for your flat iron! You never know... maybe it's still there... :)

That would be so great of you to check. Run it by Roland or Florentina, maybe they turned it in. The same drawer held the attachments to the blow dryer, so maybe someone came across the flat iron and thought is was also part of the amentity of the suite bathroom? All I know is I miss that darn thing so much! If you can get your hands on it, I will give you our e-mail address and I can forward you our address and cash to cover the shipping.:D

Please tell Florentina, Roland and Alexandro hello from us. We are all healthy and doing well! Enjoy the suite, the space and have a relaxing time.

I have been loving this review, it's really engaging, and thanks for it!

 

Just one small hope, that you missed the 2nd 's' in the red word above. Or, maybe you didn't.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

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There may or may not have been mouse in my mousse ;) it was delicious!

One thing to note about rental cars being covered by your credit card - if there is damage to the car, you are responsible right on the spot to pay for it. Your credit card won't, but you will have to somehow. Your credit card may or may not reimburse you in the end after they investigate and if you can afford to replace the car, then don't worry about it. Otherwise...

 

Besides my credit card covering it, so does my regular car insurance. But it still won't pay immediately. Same issue.

I want to bang my head against the counter when Kent purchases the liability insurance when we rent a car. I hate any additional expenses and love to research costs and benefits, trying to find the best option for us. Now I need to more closely check into our credit card to see exactly how they handle this type of insurance/re-imbursement/etc. Thanks Carmen!

However, we had our rental car's windshield crack in June on vacation at Ormond Beach (we have no idea how it happened) and we simply turned the car in and walked away. Our personal car insurance was not notified and there were no forms to fill out. We had to have two of our own car's windshields replaced in 2013 and the price was less than our deductable, so we paid it out of our pocket. Since we had a reasonable idea what it costs to replace a windshield in our town and the additional insurance we purchased at the car rental agency is less than that, we came out ahead.We figure if there are no claims, then there will be no increases to our policy's yearly cost because of a filled and paid claim. Debit costs us a fortune on our insurance since he is an 18 year old driver and they have some of the highest rates due to distracted driving, inexperience, etc.

While there may be a less expensive way to be fully covered, Kent prefers the simplest, easiest way for us. Hand them the keys and walk away.

Our decision that we NEED insurance is based on fact (not fear) that my Father in Law has Pulminary Fibrosis and can become critically ill very quickly. From what I have read, Medicare doesn’t cover health care services you get when the ship is more than 6

hours away from a U.S. port. There is a good fact sheet that can be viewed at medicare.gov concerning medicare coverage outside of the United States for those who would like to check the facts before purchasing travel insurance. A supplimental policy is a necessity. I don't have time to wonder if we are covered or not in a foreign country while sitting in their E.R., while my loved one is fighting to breath, fighting to live. In addition, the cost of canceling the Garden Villa for six people before a cruise would be painful to the wallet. Maybe Bill had gotten sick ten days before the cruise and was hospitalized in serious condition? NCL's cancelation policy allows for a re-imbursement of 0% of the full payment at 55 days and less when a high-end suite is booked. That is the price of an entire semester of out of state tuition, dorm fees and living expenses and we would never throw that amount of money away! We happily paid NCL $X amount of money with the guarentee that we would receive $XXXXXX amount of money back had we needed to cancel based on the health of Bill and his pre-existing condition. Just this re-assurance alone was worth the price for us. Everyone needs to make their own decisions based on facts, risks involved and amount of money lost.

Our family fully participates in life and doesn't sit in the bleachers watching from safety. We snorkel, climb, hike, zipline, swim, play tug-of-war and dive. We break ribs, wrists, arms, hands, fingers and elbows. Two of the four of us have had emergency appendectomies, myself and Debit. Life happens and you can't control accidents or illnesses. I had five surgeries in six year, three accident based and two illness based. Our friends joke that the Peterson family must have paid for an entire wing of our local hospital. I sometimes think it is partially true!:rolleyes:

As for the reference to needing travel insurance, the Jewel was diverted off path back to Cozumel so an injured passenger could receive quicker medical care rather than stay on the ship and wait an additional two days for medical intervention inthe U.S.. I certainly hope they had insurance to cover this unplanned event. Many people do not have any type of medical coverage. Last year I worked with a gal who loved to cruise on Carnival once a year. She and her husband did not have health insurance, as they preferred to spend their money in other ways. My family personally knows the extreme cost of a spinal cord injury as my father broke his neck resulting in full paralysis in '93. He had excellent federal employee health insurance but blew through the million dollar policy in 6 months. He had to sell all of his assets to recieve Medicaid. A serious injury can wipe out all best laid plans and turn a life inside out.

We are thankful that the money we paid to NCL for travel insurance was thrown into the wind and blown away. Had we needed to use this policy, we wouldn't be happily typing away at our computer recalling all of these crazy memories!!!:D

Thanksgiving cruise, no way, too many kids out of control running everywhere, darting in front of people, temper tantrums, etc. These are some of the thoughts that went through my head when we booked this cruise. However the reality on THIS cruise was not what I had imagined. Yes, there were a bunch of kids, over 700 I think I had heard. But either we weren't in the thick of things when there was disruption or I was able to put on my "In my happy place" cruise vacation glasses and barely noticed. We spent plenty of time outside of the Garden Villa, so please don't think we hid away from the hustle and bustle. I wanted to point out that it wasn't anything like I had imagined or have read about on C.C.:D

Kill them with kindness I say! Last year after stalking prices 15-20 times per day, we got a shout-out on C.C. that prices had crashed for the remaining Haven 2BR suites. We were booked on the Pearl in a deck 10 aft SF (love that deck/suite combo!) I was at work and couldn't take the time to call of PCC so I contacted DH who called him. Lo and behold. Moved from the SF to the Haven 2BR for NO additional cost AND kept all of our OBC and our Lattitudes points for the early booking/suite/etc. This happened 2 weeks before our cruise, so it isn't always the week of type of situation. In 2010 we were also called by the Upsell Fairy for a move into the Pearl's GV #14000 for our two deck 10 aft SF's and a bit of cash. You bet we jumped on that also!

It is super exciting to move from one category of cabin to another. You must be gathering up all of the information and details you can find on your new suite. Enjoy it immensely!

We appreciate all of your "thanks" for our ongoing review. It has been fun trying to piece together our week! This was a discussion from last night:

Kent: We went to the show the first night.

Me: No we didn't.

Kent: Oh yes we DID go to the show the first night!

Me: No. Mom and Bill went to the show, we did not.

Kent: *starting to get really frustrated with me now...

Me: The first night was the preview show of the dancers, the singers, the comedian, the magician and the acrobats. We DID NOT go to that show. We went to the show the second night. Band On The Run.

Kent: *dejectedly answers, Oh, that's right.

However, tonight we need to decorate the Christmas tree, so it will likely be late tomorrow evening before we post our next installment. It will be featuring: "Your Mother and Father didn't eat breakfast this morning!" "No Judy, it isn't a Wonkavator." " It would be easier if they were five years old and I could put a leash on them to keep them by my side." "Welcome to the Meet and Greet", and "THE ALCOHOL IS HERE!!!"

I am truly loving your review! What a clever idea! :)

 

I have heard so many lovely things about Florentina. Did it possibly come up in your conversations with her how long she'll be on the Jewel? We sail in the Haven in February, and would be thrilled to have her as our concierge.

Oh no! This may be another "He said, She said" moment! She has twin sons that are now six years old and she has newly returned to NCL. I believe she will be on the Jewel for at least 8 months. This makes it a strong possibility that she will be on the Jewel in February. I'm not certain if they get any little break or two during their contract.

really enjoying it!

 

Could you please let me know if the Texas liquor laws mean they don;t serve any alcohol until the ship is at sea or just that the suites dont receive their bottles?

 

Any info on the casino?

 

Thanks

jmele999 answered your question well. Yes, alcohol is served from the limited menu at all bars that are open at embarkation. Now that I think about it, I wonder if you board and purchase the wine package if NCL would give you your wine then, or would you have to wait until the next day for that as well? Any answers out there?

As for the casino, we walked through it numerous times but never ended up playing. We aren't gamblers at home (except DH's twice weekly lottery purchases) so it isn't a big draw for us on the ships. Of course Debit was excited to see the key game and was certain he could win on it. After walking by a few days and seeing only one gift had been won, he deemed it and wisely so, a rip-off! It is fun to watch people playing though!

Embarkation Day will be posted by 2 p.m. CST!!!

I forgot to add that if you have ore-ordered alcohol from NCL, it will not be delivered until day two. And it might just be mid to late afternoon. So, budget accordingly for your spending at the bars while waiting for the bottle in your room.

Hopefully NCL will be making adjustments to the current procedures, which stink, in my opinion. It was frustrating to us to be paying for drinks when we had free stuff we were waiting for. Fortunately, we brought 5 bottles of wine onboard, so I was a happy girl!

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We were on the Jewel in the Garden Villa for the 11/22/14 sailing out of Houston. The GV comes with 6 bottles of alcohol (choosen by the suit occupants from a short list) and a bottle of champagne. We had two passengers who were platinum and since we are also NCL shareholders and had received OBC for booking more than 9 months in advance we could not get the shareholder OBC. However, you can email a department at NCL and attach proof of stock ownership and get a dinner at "Cagneys" and a bottle of wine. We had heard that this wine may actually already in the suite, others saying no to this.We selected our alcohol at the port before boarding the ship. However, the alcohol and the champagne were not delivered until mid to late afternoon on day two of the cruise. The shareholder wine was able to be ordered off of an enhanced (a little bit pricier than house wine) at dinner later that week. Also, drinks could be ordered from any bars on embarkation day, but the selection of drinks was limited. For example, one could order a basic mojito, but could not order a specialty one. At embarkation lunch in Moderno, we were not able to order a non alcoholic beer. Later in the evening, if my memory is not failing me, full drink menus were available.

If you want to toast sail-away, I would strongly suggest you bring what you enjoy drinking onto the ship, step over to the right to the table to give your name, cabin number, and have each bottle stickered. Your room card will be charged later in the week $15 for each 750 ml bottle you bring aboard.

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Most of the time our meals took 2 hours.

 

I will not blame this totally on Norwegian. We did have 8 people in our group. And they did like to order multiple appetizers, but it did drag out several times over 2 hours.

 

It did not ruin our cruise. It will just make me rethink some of our choices and timing.

We sailed with you and experienced dinner service times an hour and a half to two hours. We were dining with 4-6 people with no additional appetizers, etc. per person. I do not think this was entirely due to being the week of Thanksgiving. I feel NCL may have stretched their crew to the maximum of work with the minimum of employees, sadly. However, as we left the ship we were told there are approximately 600 plus fewer passengers this week than our week. Of course this contributes to a back-up in the kitchens but this isn't the first circus NCL has performed in (:rolleyes:)

We are sailing on Jewel on Saturday too - we can not wait!!!!!!

 

 

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I saw this was your first post so Welcome to Cruise Critic! If you would like, please go to the Roll Call section on these boards and join our group! We are meeting in our Garden Villa and NCL will be providing light refreshments and some beverages, several of the ship's officers will be in attendence giving us information about themselves and their positions/services and we will mingle and take a tour of our suite! Just go the the Roll Call section, click on Jewel and them locate our date. Or you can click this: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1785420&page=33 and you should be taken to the last page!

Again, welcome to C.C.!

Surely I can't be the only person who can't wait for mitsugirly to return from her cruises and post about her experiences! We set out on the Jewel on Saturday and I am enjoying keeping my mind in cruise mode. Are there others that follow her as well? In addition, I need a coka fix as well. Where has she been?

Although we do not sail until later in November, I did check our Amenity Confirmation pages and it lists "Cagney's" and Item "#1358" (of a listed value of $25.30 which I assume is the bottle of house wine) and the delivery day as "day 1 in cabin". Again, I will assume this will be waiting in our suite for us on the day we board. However, we will be bringing along our printed Amenity Confirmation pages to make certain we receive this as an NCL Shareholder. We enjoy Cagney's and will likely not ask to dine elsewhere.

If we sail before you, and I can remember to do so (!) I can return to this post and answer your questions.

One of our best Butler experiences occured on the Star in 2012. We were in an Aft Suite and he quickly realized that after a busy day at a port city we would arrive back late in the afternoon HUNGRY! After the first day he had sandwiches, cookies and chips waiting in the room for us and we had not asked for them to be delivered. He also set up a wonderful in suite party for a Cozumel sail-away with C.C. and other friends we had met on the ship. He was a warm and friendly person and had family in Jamaica that he was able to see every week while the Star did that itenerary.

We have only been on 5 cruises with NCL, each time in a suite ranging from an Aft Penthouse SF to the 2 Bedroom Haven to the Garden Villa. Every butler has been different. Some are warm and friendly, some are more quiet and reserved. Some do their jobs while others anticipate and fill a need before you realize you even have that need!

I will say that our last cruise we met a couple who were disappointed in their butler. They requested cream/half and half for their Aft Penthouse SF refrigerator and the butler told them they needed to get this from the buffet. When they asked us about this request being denied, we told them this was a simple request and that yes, the butler should have taken care of this for them. We later learned that this was a new butler and possibly was still being trained.

I would say that the level of personalized service from the Conceirge and the Butlers have lessoned somewhat since our first cruise in 2009. The amount of suites have increased with the addition of the aft deck 8 and 9 now being Aft Penthouse Suites and the only suites back then were the 4 "Romance" Aft Suites on deck 10. Also some of the Spinnaker Lounges have been modified into Suites. In addition, the Lattitudes levels were changed which possibly bumped some guests up into Gold/Platnum status more quickly and I "think" (please correct me gently if I am mistaken) they recieve Conceirge services or benefits that some of the Butlers may be helping to provide. Lastly, NCL can make any guest a V.I.P. and those guests may be receiving services from the Conceirge and Butler, thus increasing the workload.

We sailed on the first Norwegian Jewel sailing out of Houston Bayport and the porters would NOT take soda or water cases at check-in. Three ladies carried 2 cases of water and several 6 packs of soda into the suite/VIP check in area and then wanted to know who was going to carry them on the ship when the porters would not. Pack them as luggage and there will be no problem.

 

Great port and great ship!

Would you be able to tell me where the Suite/VIP location is in Bayport? We are a party of 6 in one of the Garden Villas and will be traveling with someone who will need to sit frequently. I want to be confident in the location so we can make certain he will be comfortable. At this time he does not need a wheelchair, and would likely NOT sit in one if we made certain to have one with us! He is a bit stubborn, like many of us!:D

While the plumbing issue did not affect our cabin directly, we were told by our butler that someone had flushed a towel and that is what caused the clog (really, people? a towel? who does this crap?). He said it was in danger of clogging the entire system if they didn't find it soon (which they did soon after that conversation).

 

Unfortunately, with this cruise, there did seem to be a fair share of little niggling things. Not so many as to say I would never cruise on the Jewel again, but just little things. The card reader system going down, the plumbing issue, woefully understaffed in Moderno, the food/bev guy who walked in on us in our cabin, without knocking, at a very inopportune moment even with the do not disturb posted (use the deadbolt, people!!), the quality of the food in Teppanyaki on the first night (dramatically improved for our second visit the last night, though), the new preparation of the lobster in Le Bistro (no more full tail, now cut up in small pieces and mixed with a cream based sauce, yet still charged the extra $10? barely enough lobster meat for an appetizer, certainly not entree). There were several more but I think you get the drift.

 

P.S. Please do not let our experience color your excitement for your own cruise in any way. Most of these things can be one time issues and your sailing may be trouble free (as long as some idiot doesn't decide to flush a towel!).

I noticed you had a butler and thought you could answer this question. At two other ports (MIAMI and N.O.) we have sailed out of we were screened and passed through security and then found someone holding a clipboard wearing an NCL shirt. We gave them our name and they showed us to the Suite/VIP area? Is there an area at Bayport? Second, where is it located? Was this your experience as well?

We are a party of 6 and one will need to be able to sit frequently due to his health (he does not need a wheelchair) so I would like to be confident in our boarding situation to keep him comfortable.:)

We have packed CoCo Real (Cream of Coconut) in our checked in bags for several years and have not had any problems. It comes in a 21 ounce plastic squeeze bottle and we use it to make Pain Killers with rum we pre-order for the suite. The suitcase just shows up in our room with our other bags.

However, a couple of years ago we purchased 8 plus bottles of Tobasco Sauce (in glass bottles) in New Orleans as a Christmas gift for our college aged son. The shop wrapped them up well, knowing they needed to survive the cruise and then flying home. NCL scanned our bags at the port of N.O. and we received notice that we needed to go to the "naughty room" to pick up this particular suitcase. When DH told them what was in the well wrapped and taped up packages, NCL gave us back the suitcase and sent him on his way. No need to unwrap and prove what was inside.

I would wrap them well but maybe secure them with rubber bands so if you needed to unwrap the bottles, you could easily secure them again. I would then place them into my to carry onboard totebag/roll-away bag so you don't have to spend any of your vacation time standing in a line to bail out your maple syrup! I'm sure someone will enjoy your delicious gifts!!!

I am 5'7 and 135 pounds, however at age 48 I have experienced the "southern slide" where all parts of my body have become soft and are sliding down to my feet. I've purchased and worn different brands of shapewear. Most of it did its job but they were extremely tight and binding. Also, where the shapewear ended, the elastic would be so tight that everything would squish out above and below. Not a good look under some types of clothing, for other clothes, it would work out ok. However I found a line of shapeware from Jockey that breathes (you girls know what I mean here!) provides just the right amount of light to moderate shaping and is super stretchy and not tight. Also the waistband and leg bands are wide and do not roll or cause your extra skin/fat to squish out of the top/bottom and cause bulging. Sometimes I wear shapewear because no matter what type of underwear I have on I have pantylines. This product works perfectly for me so you may want to look for it at your stores. I found mine at JCPenney.

It sounds like you have done lots of research and are well informed!

Yes, we find a bartender that we like and then make certain to use them throughout the cruise. We do throw in an extra tip per drink ordered. This has been beneficial to us as we find our service to be fast, our drinks strong and some drinks "gifted" by the bartender. We also bring along a box of Thank You cards and handwrite our thanks to the crew memebers who have gone above what we would consider just doing their job and include a cash tip.We aren't big drinkers so the UBD would not benefit us.

I can't add my opionion to the bingo, Deal or No Deal, Spa, photos, souveniors, casino as we spend very little money on these activities.

We do purchase the FCC on each cruise. They will add $250 to your charges and then subtract $100 as well. Any way you do the math, it will cost you $150 at the end of the day/week.

Enjoy your first cruise! May you have a wonderful time on the sea and have the opportunity to cruise many, MANY additional times.

I love the blog puttingmetogether.com she shows how she works her wardrobe in different ways with belts, accessories, etc. She will show before and after photos of how just tucking in a shirt or untucking it and adding a belt can change the look. Links to clothes she uses if you want to buy that specific item and she shows you other low priced items that have a similar cut and color. She is a down to earth gal, check it out!

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We spoke to our PCC last night. NCL does offer transfer from Hobby at $35 from the airport to the port. I did not inquire about the price from Bush, as we are not landing there. However, because we are arriving a day early AND we have already booked a hotel on our own near NASA, this option won't work for us. NCL uses and recommends Ground Link, their phone # is 1-877-546-6146.

Since we are traveling as a party of 6 and do not wish to take two taxis and divide our group of kids/parent/gradparents, an SUV might be the best option for us. I've checked around to numerous companies and the prices are all very similar...pricey!!!:eek:

We have flown into Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and New Orleans. We have severe sticker shock about the transportation prices in Houston!!! Maybe this information can be helpful to others who have not booked their hotel. I wish we would have investigated costs before jumping into booking the hotel so early. It looks as though the cost from Hobby to the NASA hotel area and then the hotel to the port for 6 people, 7 pieces of luggage in an SUV/Van will cost us just under $300 all fees and tips included! OUCH! The plus side to our transportation story is NCL is paying (like we didn't already pay for it in our cruise fare, hehe) for our limo ride post cruise, from the port to Hobby as we are staying in the Garden Villa.