NCL Jewel in Australia

My wife and I had a most enjoyable voyage on the NCL Jewel during her Nov 30-Dec 14 sailing in Australia and New Zealand.

I wanted to share some information for anyone about to sail or considering sailing on NCL in Australia.

Our travel blog: rayandtraci.blogspot.com has the diary of our experiences in Sydney as well as the NCL Jewel.

The daily schedules for our 14 day voyage are found at:

https://drive.google.com/

open?id=1ZuPKvkqhNGm6lXYCJ8YRsguaYFgMojUO

Some other information of interest -

The NCL Jewel showed NFL games on Sunday (I am not sure how they picked the 1pm EST and 4pm EST games but they also showed the national Sunday night game). The Monday and Thursday night games were also shown.

NCL was charging $14.95 for 6 - 1 liter bottles of water, $27.95 for 12 bottles, and $44.95 for 24 bottles (US dollars)

List of NCL Jewel movies being shown:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1m3LivnTS2hVtsnNVkGdYNyI4-DsJ9JvH

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MHkkTcIX6-hitKEYodSKfQbFDO_KuByf

https://drive.google.com/open?id=16ltuofa2gioC012nkPQc4lmvy-mFQEg7

Current Suite Breakfast Menu:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MoXp1B48GZrX2fmHqO-_59rZWEmSsz4M

Current Suite Lunch Menu:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ohvKri6KZywgpUbW_qsAqBUdw6o7tQF1

I would be happy to answer any questions as well...

Ray

Thank-you for the report and scans.

Ray, thank you very much for the information.

Keith

Thank you. We are finalizing our cruise/land trip plans for Australia this week. Your timing could not have been better.

Any chance you took pix of the current Cagney's, Le Bistro and La Cucina menus?

Thank you Ray for your info!

We (my husband and I) will be boarding the Jewel in Singapore in 80 days! I am wondering if you could tell me what cabin you stayed in (I am assuming you were in a suite as you posted the suite breakfast/lunch menus).

I ask because I am considering upgrading from our current Aft suite to the Haven Courtyard Suite. But I am torn. I don’t know if the increase cost is worth it.

I tend to get seasick easier than most and thought that the Haven Courtyard seems to be more midship and therefore maybe less “rocky”.

Access to the Haven area is of little importance to us. The cruise is quite port intensive and we are not the type to lay around by the pool. It’s more about priority tendering, room size and location.

Honestly I am leaning to staying put - but always like as much information as possible.

Any thoughts?

My 3 friends and I were on this sailing with you - wonder if we ran into each other? We were 4 "girls" in a 2 bedroom Haven suite. We loved it, and also are ready to move to NZ - wish we had 30 years of work experience there to benefit from their wonderful social benefits system! Loved your blog, and agree with your reviews. A great trip....

Thank you Ray. I will be looking at this a little bit later I get on the jewel on Saturday I’m super excited I’m on a bush animal safari type thing now!

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Any chance you took pix of the current Cagney's, Le Bistro and La Cucina menus?

Sorry, I didn't....We have eaten at Cagney's and La Cucina frequently on our 10 NCL cruises and didn't notice any significant changes on either of the two restaurants. Cagney's does now have a Mac Nut Ice Cream Sandwich (between two sugar cookies) which was quite delicious!

My 3 friends and I were on this sailing with you - wonder if we ran into each other? We were 4 "girls" in a 2 bedroom Haven suite. We loved it, and also are ready to move to NZ - wish we had 30 years of work experience there to benefit from their wonderful social benefits system! Loved your blog, and agree with your reviews. A great trip....

I'm sure we did...we were in 14012. Glad you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Ray

Thank you Ray for your info!

 

We (my husband and I) will be boarding the Jewel in Singapore in 80 days! I am wondering if you could tell me what cabin you stayed in (I am assuming you were in a suite as you posted the suite breakfast/lunch menus).

 

I ask because I am considering upgrading from our current Aft suite to the Haven Courtyard Suite. But I am torn. I don’t know if the increase cost is worth it.

 

I tend to get seasick easier than most and thought that the Haven Courtyard seems to be more midship and therefore maybe less “rocky”.

 

Access to the Haven area is of little importance to us. The cruise is quite port intensive and we are not the type to lay around by the pool. It’s more about priority tendering, room size and location.

 

Honestly I am leaning to staying put - but always like as much information as possible.

 

Any thoughts?

We were in Haven 14012. As you probably know the suites (at least the 2 bedroom ones) are the same whether in the Haven or on a lower floor. Most of the perks are the same - Access to the Haven is nice for sea days to lie around but there's a lot of activity elsewhere on the ship even on the relatively long sailing. For port intensive cruises it is probably not worth the extra expense. The other difference is haven balcony reserved seating area for the headliner shows - Even the very crowded shows like Haijame & Maud or Cirque Bijou, there is last minute seating available on the lower 6th floor in front at the far left & right.

Over 10 NCL cruises we haven't had too many rocky days, but second sea day on the Jewel (one right after leaving Melbourne) was significant. Even our butler was loading up on meclizine. Personally, I don't think it makes that much difference on the 14th floor mid ship or a lower floor and aft especially if you don't spend your whole day in your cabin. The staff ended up draining the Haven hot tub that day due to the rough seas - something I haven't ever seen before.

Have a wonderful cruise!

Hey Ray I am taking a very similar trip on Saturday. I was told by some people on my tour yesterday that the sea is very rough on the way back. Is that true?

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We were in Haven 14012. As you probably know the suites (at least the 2 bedroom ones) are the same whether in the Haven or on a lower floor. Most of the perks are the same - Access to the Haven is nice for sea days to lie around but there's a lot of activity elsewhere on the ship even on the relatively long sailing. For port intensive cruises it is probably not worth the extra expense. The other difference is haven balcony reserved seating area for the headliner shows - Even the very crowded shows like Haijame & Maud or Cirque Bijou, there is last minute seating available on the lower 6th floor in front at the far left & right.

 

Over 10 NCL cruises we haven't had too many rocky days, but second sea day on the Jewel (one right after leaving Melbourne) was significant. Even our butler was loading up on meclizine. Personally, I don't think it makes that much difference on the 14th floor mid ship or a lower floor and aft especially if you don't spend your whole day in your cabin. The staff ended up draining the Haven hot tub that day due to the rough seas - something I haven't ever seen before.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

Hi Ray,

We will be in that exact cabin in Feb/Mar cruise. B2B Sydney to Singapore toHong Kong. We ended up with this cabin because it was the only one available when we were booking. Now we are looking forward to the experience . Do you have any thoughts on how to make the most of being in the Haven? This will be our first Haven cruise and as it will be 29 days, we should be able to enjoy it on sea days.

We have had forward and aft Suites. We prefer aft Suites as Forward Suites are too windy to get much use out of the balcony and you have to do much more walking to get to restaurants.

We were able to use Aft Suite Balcony on our Alaska cruise in September. No wind and had great views.

Thanks in advance.

Hey Ray I am taking a very similar trip on Saturday. I was told by some people on my tour yesterday that the sea is very rough on the way back. Is that true?

 

 

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Our experience was the Tasman sea was much rougher on the day after we left Melbourne and set sail to New Zealand. The following day was much better, and I don't think it was especially rocky the two days we sailed back from Auckland to Sydney. That being said, the main deck swimming pools were both closed on the way back so the seas weren't calm.

Have a great time!

Ray

Hi Ray,

We will be in that exact cabin in Feb/Mar cruise. B2B Sydney to Singapore toHong Kong. We ended up with this cabin because it was the only one available when we were booking. Now we are looking forward to the experience . Do you have any thoughts on how to make the most of being in the Haven? This will be our first Haven cruise and as it will be 29 days, we should be able to enjoy it on sea days.

We have had forward and aft Suites. We prefer aft Suites as Forward Suites are too windy to get much use out of the balcony and you have to do much more walking to get to restaurants.

We were able to use Aft Suite Balcony on our Alaska cruise in September. No wind and had great views.

Thanks in advance.

I'm sure you will have a great time on the cruise. The Haven is well staffed with a great valet who makes sure you will have ample drinks, food and snacks. He even managed to get me some potato chips which I didn't see anywhere else on the ship! The Haven Sun Deck was great for pictures but pretty windy for most of the sea days. The Jewel Haven has a retractable roof and can accommodate weather, temperature and guest preferences.

The Haven is a relaxing place on Sea Days, but there are many other places on the ship to relax as well - the Spinnaker has very comfortable loungers, Cagney's was open during the midday for people to sit and play cards. You can tell by the Dailies that lots of activities were available on Sea Days.

I'm sure you will have a great time!

Ray

Thank you Ray for your info!

 

We (my husband and I) will be boarding the Jewel in Singapore in 80 days! I am wondering if you could tell me what cabin you stayed in (I am assuming you were in a suite as you posted the suite breakfast/lunch menus).

 

I ask because I am considering upgrading from our current Aft suite to the Haven Courtyard Suite. But I am torn. I don’t know if the increase cost is worth it.

 

I tend to get seasick easier than most and thought that the Haven Courtyard seems to be more midship and therefore maybe less “rocky”.

 

Access to the Haven area is of little importance to us. The cruise is quite port intensive and we are not the type to lay around by the pool. It’s more about priority tendering, room size and location.

 

Honestly I am leaning to staying put - but always like as much information as possible.

 

Any thoughts?

I would like to invite you to our Roll Call for this cruise. Some of us are doing 29 days , Sydney to Hong Kong , some are 18 day Sydney to Singapore and 11 day Singapore to Hong Kong and some are doing the whole 40 day Sydney to Tokyo. We have a great group and a couple of cruisers have organized tours for this cruise.

Do the suites still have DVD players?

We asked our butler, and she brought one and hooked it up for us.

We asked our butler, and she brought one and hooked it up for us.

Thank you... it wouldn't have occurred to me to ask for one. :)

I would like to invite you to our Roll Call for this cruise. Some of us are doing 29 days , Sydney to Hong Kong , some are 18 day Sydney to Singapore and 11 day Singapore to Hong Kong and some are doing the whole 40 day Sydney to Tokyo. We have a great group and a couple of cruisers have organized tours for this cruise.

Thanks for the invite!

I am following the roll call but we haven’t joined any of the tours organized by the groups yet. We don’t think we will ever get to this part of the world again and are leaning towards doing private ( just hubby and I) tours. But I’ve learned so much just by following the roll call. It really does seem like an amazing bunch of people.

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