mlbcruiser

If you have sailed on NCL’s Jewel within the last few years and took kids along, how did your kids like it? Our DD is thinking of booking this ship in Alaska for her family. Her children will be newly eight, almost 10, and almost 17 at the time of sailing. They were all on a Disney cruise about two years ago and Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas about a year ago. I’m just trying to make sure there are things the kids will enjoy doing on this ship, because if they are happy, the parents will be happy. if you have cruised with your children on the Jewel, did it iseem like NCL’s facilities and activities for kids in these age group were very good? Were there good hosts & fun things scheduled for these age groups? I would really appreciate getting some good first-hand reports - asap!

Thanks. I’m sure it’s beautiful.

Yes I have. I definitely will before deciding to book the cruise. I am certain that anything that is the slightest bit complicated or isn’t super easy, DH will veto! Even getting him to wear rain pants will be next to impossible. Maybe he will just have to use a cane and get drenched or stay on the ship when I venture off. Sound mean, don’t I? I guess the amount of trouble a person is willing to go to is often connected to how badly they want to do something. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks so much for the information, JSR. (I was a bit late in reading your reply it as we were gone for almost 3 weeks on a cruise and visiting my brother. I pretty much stayed off of the net most of that time.) Great suggestion about trying to cover parts of the scooter, but I fear it would be quite a feat as there electrical parts in the steering column, dash, and floor of the scooter. I thought of bringing a very large garbage bag, and if it starts to rain heavily, folding up the scooter and putting the garbage bag over the top, then trying to get to cover. DH isn’t the type that likes to prepare for any situation. I am the opposite. You’re always unexpected things that arise when traveling and so much boils down to attitude when things aren’t going just right. Glad you enjoyed your trip in the rain didn’t really hinder you or your enjoyment. once again, thank you for all of the information you have gone to the trouble to put on here to help the rest of us.

Thank you, JSR, for creating this very informative thread. We are thinking of doing a cruise to Norway in a few months. Although my husband can walk pretty well, and generally a fairly good distance, he had a stroke over seven years ago that compromised his right leg and arm. He can walk on his own, often for some distance, and he can even climb a flight of stairs. Very uneven terrain, and hills cause problems, however. And physically, some days are better than others. A couple of years ago I got him a folding travel scooter that weighs about 50 pounds. It is the size of a medium rolling suitcase when it is folded up. Although he probably will not always take it off the ship, there will be times when it could be very handy, I am sure. However, I am worried about the amount of rain and how likely it would be to get caught in a downpour. That definitely would not be very good for the scooter and could really damage it. I know weather changes constantly and no one can predict exactly what it will be. Do you think it’s quite likely that the rain will often be heavy or does it more often tend to be light drizzle, often just damp and misty, or are heavy rains and downpours, quite common on most days from what you have experienced? I’d appreciate hearing anything you have to say regarding the weather and rain, and whether or not you felt it impacted your experience negatively. Thanks again for the good information you are providing for so many!

Great and very entertaining and informative review. Thanks so much! Things I was wondering about I now have information on, and in some cases you provided answers I wasn’t able to get any other way.

Well, my husband won’t be using a wheelchair, but will likely be staying on the boat. Yes, it doesn’t go to a dock there where passengers can disembark. Pretty sure it is not going to be the same catamaran because surely they wouldn’t give some people lunch and not others. Frankly, I doubt about goes to pigeon Island. I think it will make a stop where people can swim if they want or snorkel for a little while and that the boat will stay at sea in that location. Glad you enjoyed your excursion with no motion, sickness!

I believe there is an explanation on the Celebrity app and/or website. I don’t know the exact location but know that I saw it. I have always interpreted it as casual, but on the “nicer” or slightly more dressy than regular casual side. Like something you might wear to a very nice or upscale restaurant at home that does not require formal wear or glitzy dresses like you might wear on New Year’s Eve. Celebrity even mentioned jeans being ok, but only dressier ones. They had s particular comment on the acceptable type along the line of not jeans that look over worn, faded out, stained or full of holes. Even the intentionally ripped ones - even if expensive and trendy - may be out of line. They also said cocktail dresses and jackets for men were appropriate. Yet remember, those are NOT REQUIRED! Hope this helps.

reedprincess, thsnks so much for that info and the website! It’s not me I am converned about but I don’t think it will be much of a problem based on your reply.

We have been to St. Lucia before a couple of times but it’s been many years. I know there were two cruise ship docs in Castries. One is La Carenage (I THINK) which os pretty much right by downtown. The other one is a bit north of there. Not sure yet which port our ship will dock at. Looking for information on how long the piers are at both of these port docks, and how long the walks are for most large ship passengers to reach areas with tour pick ups, etc. Also wondering where catamaran and other boats dock to pick up their tour passengers? Usually a long or short walk from the ships? If these areas require a long walk, is there any on pier transportation to the land edge of the piers? Thank so much for any information!

Good question. It seems that different cruise lines sort of intermix eastern and southern Caribbean itineraries. For instance, we will soon be doing a cruise with Celebrity that I have generally seen referred to as an eastern Caribbean cruise for years and by most cruise lines doing that or very sililar itineraries. When it gets to the point of visiting destinations from the Panama Canal, or maybe Costa Rica, on down, like Cartagena, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Trinidad or Tobago, those itineraries are usually referred to as southern itineraries. So don’t worry about the designation. Just pay attention to the ports and see if they are places you are interested in. Or when you are doing a search, search itineraries under both categories .

Great to know! Thanks for posting everyone! Looking forward to dining there.

Thanks for the info & for replying Treasure Hunter. Should have read over the prior posts again and I would have noticed you had mentioned above that it took about an hour and a half. We once went to a specialty restaurant on a Celebrity ship with 5 others we met onboard years ago. The dinner literally took 3 hours! As a result we all missed the main show that evening!

I noticed next to our Eden reservation on the app it tells the reservation time and in parentheses it says four hours. Does it honestly take four hours to dine there? 😳

Ahhh, clever! I’ve read some live from threads on various cruises, but didn’t know we could even get in to another bunch of information for a cruise we aren’t booked on from our app. Learn something new every day!

Thanks for answering my question, RICruisers. We’ll certainly check it out!

Thanks for the information! OrcaGirl, where did you find the listing for the chic nights?

Wondering which lights are evening chic nights on an Edge 10 night itinerary. There are two days at sea on the front end of the cruise snd 2 at the end. Also, I assume those nights offer food that is a bit more special than other nights? (Lobster?) Thanks for any info!

Thanks treasure Hunter. Sounds yummy!

Thanks so much for this info! Very helpful. I also don’t think I would want my dinner interrupted by characters or performers coming to our table. (Except Minnie Mouse at Disney during a kid’s Minnie shaped waffle breakfast! Did that years ago when our kids were little.) Certainly not at a nice evening dinner. With regard to the Eden lounge upstairs, can anyone answer if, in order to have a cocktail in the bar you must have a reservation for dinner to access it? Now the trick is to try and get a reservation. I’ve seen posts about 5 and 9 pm mostly being the only reservations available in about every restaurant, the cruise is several weeks away. Seems that is so when I have checked a couple of the main complimentary ones. How long do you think one should allow for dinner if there are only two people in the party? It probably says on the app, but I prefer hearing from people who have really eaten there. We won’t be doing the special wine pairings and drink very little so that shouldn’t affect it. (Just asking due to show times on board. Have heard the main ones are always at 7 and 9. Customer service said they didn’t know.) Any other input welcome. Thanks again!

I think I’m a bit confused about the Eden restaurant on Celebrity’s Edge. I know many people like it a lot. However, I am seeing little things here and there and wonder if it’s kind of a supper club with shows, or if there are only shows sometimes? I’ve heard the food is good however, the only menu for that restaurant that I’ve seen looks like it has some pretty “different” dishes. Don’t think we I would care to order most of it. Does the menu change nightly? (Maybe somehow I missed other night’s menus on the on the app.). Additionally, I thought they serve lunch, but apparently not. I’d appreciate any helpful information or explanation pertaining to this particular restaurant.

Can you recall how long of a walk it was from the ship to where are you board the catamaran? Do you have to walk out of the cruise ship port docks and to a docking location for the catamaran?

Maybe you could look on TripAdvisor dot com for St. Lucia. There will be topics such as hotels, restaurants, things to do, and forums, etc. Under things to do there will be various ideas. Maybe you can contact a couple of the tours companies you could contact. Also read posts on cruisecritic and you may find some tour vendors mentioned. If your ship gets in at the port at 1 PM, there may likely be taxis and locals, hocking, various trips, activities, etc. of course hopefully your ship staying a little bit later to give you time to visit the area you want to want to. Good luck!

Thanks for the info.!

njsweetie, thank you SO much for the info re the dock they use at Pigeon Island. Eased my mind a lot. Interestingly, I saw two excursions that sounded so similar. One was on the Celebrity app. The other one was listed with a different title kin an email I received about making plans for my cruise. I called about it, and the lady told me both were basically the same. It’s just that one is six hours & comes with lunch. The other one is 4 1/2 hours and does not include lunch. We booked the one that did not include lunch,. I asked her about the titles, and she said don’t worry, it’s the same excursion. Just without the lunch. Fivelinks, with regard to sea sickness, if I were you, I’d use thie version of Dramamine that says less drowsy Dramamine on the package. You can usually find it at Walmart, Target, Walgreens, etc, and some grocery stores. The regular Dramamine tends to make people sleepy. It certainly did me when I first used iBonine is basically the same medication as the less drowsy Dramamine, so either is OK. Absolutely do not wait until you are in a situation where you might start to feel motion sickness! That is very important because it’s usually too late by then. If you’re concerned, I would take one of these medications about a half hour before you even board the catamaran. Or anytime you are worried about motion sickness. But even five minutes before you get on is better than not at all.Good luck!