wvfrogg

Slow service in the MDRs seems to be a common, frustrating occurrence. So disappointing to experience the same thing in O'Sheehan's.

I ate in the MDR many times on my Cruise 11/15-11/22 and did not find the service to be that slow. It usually took me about 45 minutes, which for a 3 or 4 course meal is not bad, IMHO. I only had a "snack" at O'Sheehans, so do not know about the timing there. My one time at Azure I felt was the worst service I had the whole week. Guess what I am saying is, especially when it comes to food or service, everyone has a different experience. But it sounds as if you had a nice cruise -- I know mine was absolutely fantastic.

I had 14052 on my Epic Cruise, and as you will note on the deck plans, it is right next to the kids area as well as the elevators. It was one of the most quiet cabins ever; I never heard the elevators or the kids. The way the halls are and the dead space is around the cabin, it was a great one for me.

A couple of years ago I was in the Pearl's Haven. Parents left 11 and 12 year olds while they went on a private excursion. Yep - you guessed it. They missed the ship and the ship waited an hour for them. We could hear the girls crying every time the door opened. It was my impression that NCL had a female crew member spend the night with the girls. This was the last port of the cruise, with the next stop being back in Miami after a day at sea. They had to find transportation from the island back to Miami. No one was hurt, but it was a long two days for those two girls.

If I were to do that, I would only take NCL excursions -- the ship will wait for you then!

Is this really worth getting upset about? We are talking about waiting until 6 p.m. to start drinking!

Just curious what your overall impression of the condition of the Jewel in the public area's and the daily activities onboard ? Also did you get much rain on your trip or just an occasional shower? What were the average adult beverage prices for well drinks if you recall? Thanks in advance for your response.

The public rooms on the Jewel may not be as "glitzy" and formal as some ships, but for me they are very comfortable and welcoming. We really only had rain on Wednesday, when I chose to spend part of the day at the spa instead of doing the historic tour of the Trujillo area. Am not sure about the cost of alcoholic drinks -- do know that "virgin" salty dogs and "virgin" Marys were 2.25! Also, I didn't partake in many daily activities -- I like just vegging out and totally relaxing. Spent a lot of time on my balcony reading and contemplating the sea. Man, I could do that forever. :cool:

Enjoyed the review. A couple of questions. Did you fly into Houston Hobby and if so what did it cost to get to the pier and who did you use? Also What did you do at the ports ? Finally how warm was the weather leaving Houston and your first day at sea?

Yes, I flew into Houston Hobby on Friday. Stayed at Springhill Suites ($100), and they had a free shuttle from the airport. Met people at the hotel who had arranged for a limo to the port ($70), so I tagged along with them and gave the driver the tip ($35 - which is what a taxi would have cost me, I think).

In Belize I just wandered around the port and bought a couple of t-shirts for the kids (old kids). I have been to Belize many time so really didn't do much. I took a cooking class in Cozumel, which I enjoyed. Stayed on the boat while at the Banana Coast due to weather and having a cold.

The weather leaving Houston was colder than normal (for Houston, but warmer than usual for Chicago!), so that put a little damper on the sail-away party (although there were some good times to be had in the hot tubs). First day at sea was wonderful -- upper 70's, sunny, and a little bit wavy.

Just a note: I have a tendency to have euphoric recall, thus rendering all of my cruises perfect!;)

Thank you for all the info on board the ship. We've enjoyed the Jewel too.

 

We'll be back on her in January and just wondered if you stopped at the new Banana Coast port on this cruise and took any tours. We've done this itinerary before except we stopped at Roatan in Belize. Next time we'll be stopping at the port in Trujillo.

 

It sounds like you had a great cruise. :)

I woke up with a cold on Wednesday, it was raining, so I decided to do a spa day instead of the Banana Coast tour. I heard comments that ranged all over the place -- some were able to enjoy the beauty of the area even with enduring mudslides, rain, and choppy tenders. Others were not as "graceful" with their comments!

FYI - if you need cold medicine while in port, and the ships' store isn't open, you can get some DayQuil from the reception desk!

This cruise was unbelievably good! Truly not much of anything to complain about.

EMBARKATION: Very easy. Got to the port a little before 11 a.m. and was onboard by 11:30. Dropped off a couple of things in my room and my cabin steward, Victor Hugo (yep - Victor Hugo) introduced himself and asked if I had any special requests. Victor was wonderful all week -- efficient and friendly. Always had a big smile on his face. Any requests were handled immediately. A true find, that Victor is!

CABIN: 9608. Good, quiet cabin. Plenty of space, storage, hangers, etc. Bed was fine, the pillows were wonderful (would have really like to bring home a couple with me). Really no complaints concerning the room. Balcony was fine, two chairs and a small table. I liked the location of this room -- only a few steps to the mid-ship elevators, and an easy walk up 3 flights to the pool and buffet or 2/3 flights down to dining rooms.

FOOD. The new menu was very, very good; a much more sophisticated and appealing menu. I ate in the MDR 4 times, Azure once and LaCucina once. Each of my meals in the MDR took approximately 45 minutes; service was timely and professional. I did not have dessert, so the timing probably would have been around 60 minutes if I had added that to my meal. A couple of the salads were truly remarkable: 1) red grapefruit, fresh pineapple and a light basil-agave vinaigrette and 2) a spinach, roasted beet, shaved pear again with a light vinaigrette. Both were outstanding. Other main courses in the MDR that I enjoyed were: grilled shrimp w/ aioli sauce, chateaubriand, and wonderful salmon (twice). The food always arrived at the correct temperature. I had Osso Bucco and Carpaccio at La Cucina and they were excellent. My only "iffy" meal was at Azure -- but I kind of knew when ordering the prime rib that it might not be the right choice. Flavorful and the right degree of rareness, but the slice was very thin. The service was also a little spottier. But not a bad meal by any measure. The Garden Buffet is set up very well. I personally had no trouble finding seating or waiting in any lines. Sometimes I took my plate to the Great Outdoors, and sometimes I ate in the Garden Cafe. LaCucina was also available for seatings at lunch and breakfast. Although the breakfast and lunch offerings remained basically the same each day, there was so much variety that there had to be something for everyone. Again, most of the time food was at the proper temperature, although once the poached egg was a little cool. No big deal, I just chose not to eat it.

MISC. There were some "chair hogs" on the sea days, but not to a great degree. Most of the time people were not even using the chairs on the upper deck, and there always seemed to be enough chairs. One reason, perhaps, is because there was not an over-abundance of children on this cruise. Smoking: no problem noted by me. I didn't even notice much smoking in the smoking area of the pool. In the casino there was more smoking, but not nearly to the extent that I noticed it on other ships, esp. The Epic. It only bothered me a couple of times, and the smokers were very conscious about keeping the cigarette away from the non-smokers. So I thought that worked out well.

CREW. As always, they were great. I noticed almost no grumps among them.

ENTERTAINMENT: Again -- very good. The Neil Diamond singer was wonderful!

DISEMBARKING: Smooth. There did not seem to be long lines for the "walk-offs". I had a yellow tag, which is the first off after the walk-offs. It was easy the whole way -- and would have been even smoother if everyone had filled out their forms before getting to the Immigration official!

The Pearl has always been my favorite ship, but the Jewel may have just edged the Pearl into a slight second favorite. Wonderful cruise!:)

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com

 

Had to do envelopes on DCL. NCL is so much easier! I also tipped $1 per drink, $10 in specialty restaurants, and $50 for the cabin steward. And of course $2 per bag to the porters.

This is basically what I also tip in addition to the DSC. I usually give the cabin steward his the first time I see him/her and have to admit I always get great service!;)

My favorites are the Seared Salmon on white beans and the osso buco. Both are excellent. Also, the carpaccio and the bread with different oils are wonderful. I also enjoy the affogato. Have never tried their pasta or pizza. I know a lot of people don't seem to like La Cucina, but it is probably my favorite, and I have been there on all of my cruises.:D

Am I the only one who keeps their keycard in their bra :p

Nope -- not the only one! :rolleyes: I always know where it is and haven't lost it yet!!

Went to one years ago.. It got really ugly.. ;)

 

OP , toss it in the trash... That is if the trash doesn't mind..

I also went to one a couple of years ago and it was AWFUL! It wasn't 90 minutes, it was closer to 3 hours and was such a hard sell. You have to listen to all 3 hours if you want your coupons -- and then it still costs you "application" money. Not worth 20 minutes of your time, let alone 3 hours.:mad:

Also on the Dawn...we were badgered relentlessly during lunch in the buffet on embarkation day.

On the Dawn, I didn't have lunch in the buffet on embarkation day, so I must have missed the opportunity to be badgered. I know they had a table set up outside the buffet where you could look at the menus and make reservations if you wanted to do so, but I don't remember anyone coming up to me about them. They may have said something as I walked past them, such as would you like to see the menus, but I don't even remember them doing that.

Guess different cruises, even on the same ship, each have their own hawking and personalities. Or perhaps I just didn't pay any attention to them as I wasn't interested. I usually eat at a couple of the specialty restaurants each cruise, but truly don't remember anyone ever trying to get me to do so. It was always my idea.

;)

On the Dawn, they had a huge push to get you to eat in the specialty restaurants.

On all of my NCL cruises, I have never had anyone "pushing" specialty restaurants. I truly don't think they care where I eat, with whom or when. It is one of the things I love about sailing with NCL. As a solo cruiser, I love the flexibility of dining, activities, entertainment.

But ... I admit I am a NCL cheerleader; they treat me right!!

:D

I thought the water was very good -- my understanding is that it is filtered. I personally would not bother with bottled water, as this water is excellent.

I will "turn" platinum on this coming cruise, which will be my 8th. Everything from OV to Haven. My only complaint is that for 5 of these cruises I have been a solo cruiser, paying double for my balcony, and only getting 7 points (and I think I should have gotten double points for my double payment -- but that's not the way it works!).

There are a couple of advantages of going through the casino host. 1) they will turn off a machine in advance so that you can have the machine you want - usually where it is easy to have 20 people or so standing around. I'm sure all they were doing was turning the machine back on when the slot pull started. And 2) they gave us 2 bottles of wine - one red and one white. The slot pull "chairperson" can keep them if he/she wants. When I set up the slot pull, I gave first choice to the highest total pull, and gave the other to the second highest. I know on another cruise, the "chairperson" kept the wine for himself, which is fine too.

On the Epic, we had 18 (I think) doing the slot pull. Everyone put in $15, and I think we each ended up with $40. I hit for $500 (and sort of silently cried over that one as it became part of the pot!). We just let the money stay in until everyone had finished their 3 pulls, and then we split the proceeds. It was fun.

The next time on the Pearl I think we pretty much broke even.

No noise what so ever. We didn't even hear slamming doors from the cabins close to us. I think it was the quietest cabin we've had in our last several cruises.

Thanks! I can't wait!:)

Thanks for the pictures! That is going to be my cabin 11/15 cruise. Was there any noise from O'Sheehans which is right underneath the cabin? That was my only iffy about the room.

It was a little unbelievable! I agree. I was going for a little humor...maybe missed the mark.

 

I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I disagree with some poster's assertion that suite guests are somehow trying to avoid steerage pax. I have had nothing but the best time, as you said, with pretty much everyone I interact with wherever I happen to be on the ship. I, of of course, don't ask what category they're staying in!

 

Glad I have a fan... I'm sailing 2 weeks behind you... I hope you enjoy your voyage!

 

Edit to add... I've never done the Haven....only aft PH suites. Perhaps a different breed up there! :)

I may be the one who missed the humor mark -- had a root canal this afternoon, so nothing much is that funny right now!

I plan to enjoy every moment of my cruise -- and I wish the same for you.;)

Hint: it's not the entertainment venues the suite guests are trying to avoid...it's not the casino, it's not the speciality restaurants, it's not muster.

 

It is two places where, generally speaking, people tend to devolve to an amazing and often sickening low. I will list them now:

 

1. Boarding wait area.

2. Buffet.

I'm sorry, Triptolemus. I usually enjoy reading your posts, but this one is unbelievable. I have stayed in The Haven on a cruise, and to be honest, found the rudest, least friendly and most self-absorbed people there than I have ever found anywhere else on the ship. They let their kids run all over the place, "sampling" cookies and putting them back, etc. Several thought nothing of letting their kids take over the private pool while they took over the hot tubs for hours. Their "right", of course. Very important people.

Often I eat breakfast and lunch in the buffet and have never noticed people devolving to an amazing and sickening low. Once, departing from Tampa when fog had delayed embarking for several hour, people were getting testy thinking that NCL owed them compensation for the fog delay. Other than that one time, I have found the huge majority of people are kind and considerate while boarding.

What I do know is that 98% of the people respond to me in the same way that I interact with them -- with courtesy and kindness. And this is regardless of where they are staying on the ship. I have always been grateful that the people I run into on the cruises seem a lot friendlier and nicer than they do on these pages!

Sailing in 6 weeks and can't wait!!:)

I've been on X only once, but have to say I was disappointed. The staff kept telling us that they excelled at food and service, and I was disappointed in both. The best food on X was the "free" sushi every afternoon from 5-6. Our waiter was much more interested in our table mates than he was with us -- perhaps because we weren't ordering wine. I don't know. I will admit that perhaps part of the problem was that half the ship was on an "award" trip, so that made things more difficult. Just comparing the two, I would stay with NCL -- hand towels and wandering beach towels not withstanding. I didn't feel that X was worth the extra money. But each to his own, and no cruise is a bad one!

I've done 6 solo cruises, and love going by myself! The biggest tip I've learned (and it only took 5 solo cruises to figure this out!?!) concerns dining. If I want to share a table, when I get to the MDR I ask if a "sharing" table has already been started. If one has already been started then I ask to join it. However, if none has been started, then I ask for a table by myself. Too many times I was the first one at a table for 6 or 8 and no one else showed up to share the table. So I waited, and finally ordered, and had the big table to myself feeling silly.

I've taken part in roll calls (the best ever was on the Epic). But with the exception of the Epic, I never did anything with people from the roll calls. I did not stay in the Studio cabins, although I did join the lounge group prior to dinner a couple of times.

Although I am outgoing and literally can talk with anyone and everyone, I really enjoy doing what I want when I want to do it without having to consider what other people want to do. Just relax, lay back and do what you want to do!!;)

I had the second bedroom on the Jewel ;)

It was the Pearl, not the Jewel.