Jewel 8/20...we're back!

[callmebetty]

Just got back from the Jewel today. I am working on my review and my letter to NCL. If anyone has any questions, please ask away :)

[Davechipp74]

Just got back from the Jewel today. I am working on my review and my letter to NCL. If anyone has any questions, please ask away :)

why are you gonna write a letter to NCL? all good i hope

i may post a review or two but i dont write to NCL right after a cruise

[callmebetty]

A little bit of background. My name is Jackie, not Betty. I have been working undercover (I used to post under jixjix6305)... DH and I surprised his family by showing up on board the first night/first full day.

We are early 30's and booked an SF suite #10666.

I am going to break this into sections because I tend to ramble

 

Embarkation

We got to the pier at 9:15 (we wanted to get there early to avoid running into the suprisees). At about 10:20 they took us over to the VIP check in line. This took about 2 minutes. Off we went to a little room with coffee, orange juice, cookies, and sandwiches. We waited here and eventually people started to show up. I met a CC buddy and we chitchatted. After about 20 minutes Monika, the concierge came and tried to give a talk (which we couldn't hear over the music). We got our Daily and our room keys. Some butlers escorted us out of the little room, behind the check in desk, through a door, through the gerbil tunnel, and we were on the boat!

The butler took us to Guest Services so we could drop off some cash. He took us up to the spa to get my pass, and then he disappeared. We wandered around for 2 hours and found our room around 1:25.

After hanging out in the room for about an hour, our butler came to meet us.

The Room

We walked in to find a bottle of champagne that came with the suite. The colors are a little bright, magenta and tangerine, but they are festive. Moving clockwise from the entry hall...coffee maker and refrigerator and glassware, hall to the vanity area (which has a double entrance closet in case you need to escape)and bathroom,The bed was to the left and had a heavy gold curtain you could close the bed in (making it look like you are in a red lighted room when the sun is out). Next to the bed was a nightstand and next to that was a little loveseat. In front of the loveseat was a little round glass coffee table with a flower arrangement on it. 90 degree angle from there was a chair with an ottoman and behind that was the balcony. In the corner past the balcony door was a table and 3 chairs.

The furniture is very dated. We had plastic straw furniture on the balcony with dirty cushions (they cleaned them eventually). The table and chairs inside are beginning to rust. The carpet is worn and is definately showing age (though the hallway carpeting throughout the ship looks good).

[callmebetty]

Spa

I bought the spa pass for 119. It was not worth it in my opinion. For those familiar with Princess' Thermal Suite, you will be disappointed. There is a men's side and a women's side. There is a common "relaxation area". There are standard showers with glass doors, a wide shower that can be tropical or icy spray, a hot tub (not very hot at all), a sauna, a plunge tub, and a steam room. There are some other rainfall showers as well. In the common area there are 6 or 7 stone loungers and a hydrotherapy pool (again not very hot). A few times the steam room was incredibly dirty (hair on the walls, dirty on the floor). Once I told them, I think they sent someone right in to clean. Overall, I went everyday to try to make it seems like it was worth what I paid, but compared to other ships, it wasn't.

 

The Pools

There are two pools. One is for kids, the other adults (or so they say). There is a waterslide and a bunch of hot tubs.The pools are salt water. The first day someone had too much seafood chowder so they closed the kids pool and had everyone in one pool. 3200 people, one pool that was maybe 20X40. The pool was deep, there were pipes/rails you could hold onto, or you could sit on the edge in about an inch of water and dangle your legs, or sit on the bench and have your feet splash in the shallow water. The 4th day our nephew cut his foot open on a random screw in the kids pool. They patched him up and drained the kids pool.

Overall, I think the pools are way too small for the amount of people on the boat. They last day we were watching from the bar as two kids jumped from the ledge of the hot tub to the adults pool. We finally got the bartender to get them to stop (I was in the middle of kicking into teacher mode and heading down there). There was a waterfall going into the adults pool which was nice for a back massage (if you like them strong).

If you venture to the bottom of the pool, you may find treasures like DH...a coffee cup and a plate!

[callmebetty]

why are you gonna write a letter to NCL? all good i hope

i may post a review or two but i dont write to NCL right after a cruise

 

Our experience was less than ideal. I don't want anything, I just want to vent my frustrations to the line instead of on the boards where I am likely to get flamed.

[Davechipp74]

Our experience was less than ideal. I don't want anything, I just want to vent my frustrations to the line instead of on the boards where I am likely to get flamed.

by all means vent

you will get flamed

but take it with a grain of salt, and try to reflect on the good memories of youre cruise. i look foward to youre review :)

[callmebetty]

I am home and don't even miss the food that was on the cruise. Usually you have that just back from a cruise, I'm in the mood for (insert favorite cruise food here).

Cagney's

We tried Cagney's once for lunch and ended up leaving. We were ignored because the waitress was busy fawning over a guy that had come in after us and apparently they knew each other. We gave her a good 15 minutes and nothing.

We had breakfast from Cagney's delivered once. My belgian waffle could have been slipped under the door ...it was that thin and soggy, and tasteless. It was covered in a mound of artificial whipped cream. DH had Eggs Benedict and he didn't finish them...usually he can eat!

Azura/Tsars

Basically the same food, just different names. Mushroom Quesadilla is the exact same thing as the Torilla crisp with mushrooms. Even more disturbing, the ribeye and NY Strip are interchangable too. These steaks are tragic. And at no point should a waiter tell a passenger to go to a cover charge restaurant if the steak in the dining room is not cooked properly. Last I checked, rare is not brown throughout, though when the steak is 1/4 inch it's probably difficult to cook rare. The potato leek soup was pretty good.

Room Service

Chicken tenders were good. Greek salad was excellent. Everything else was not worth talking about.

Blue Lagoon

first night wings were good. It was all downhill from there. One night I ended up with raw wings. Next night they were so rubbery I could bounce them off the walls. That was enough to discourage me from going again.

Buffet

Not great, not terrible. Seemed to be a lot of focus on Indian dishes this cruise.

Free standing grill

Out by the pool from 11:30 to 1 or so, I had some grilled chicken that was great, though others that were with us had very dry chicken. I think the chicken was the best thing I ate the entire cruise.

[callmebetty]

The casino was by far the best part of our trip. The hosts Hanna and N....her name escapes me always came up and chatted with us. The drinnk servers were always friendly and there were snacks put out a few times a day. There was a "snack lady" that would come up and tell us it was snack time and ask if we wanted anything. We got a few nice notes from the hosts along with wine in our room and ended up with a drink card for free drinks in the casino for the last 4 days of the cruise. We also got $100 knocked off our final bill. It was fun to play the quarter drop machine that pushed quarters and occassionally a chip for a bottle of bubbly or a t-shirt (we got one of each). The only thing I did not like was the format of the tournaments. On other lines, it was a one day slot or blackjack tournament. This tournament spanned 3 days. I played once, stayed on the board until Friday and got knocked out. The lotto ticket sales got a little annoying, but the cashiers were great (even when I cashed in the 59 vouchers I had saved up all cruise...they were small). We had the best luck on the 2 cent machines (Red Hots, one with chariots, one with dollar bills, and one with pots of gold). The respin machine on the ends of this aisle with little cats or bears was no good to us, but a CCers hubby hit it for $400 the last night!

Drinks in here were very good and it's nice to chat with some of the dealers when they are sitting there at an empty table.

[yoyocruiser]

Wow, definitely not my experience of the food on the Jewel. . .or my experience of the pools or cleanliness. . .but i have to say that you give a very balanced view and point out positives also, so I am reading your review with great interest. I hope all in all you had a good cruise and can remember it as a good time. Thanks for posting and thanks for pointing out positives as well as the concerns. :)

[mrsbuddha123]

My story is somewhat similiar except we arrived at the port closer to 10:15 so our process was rather quick.

 

The food was a disappointment and my DH being a vegetarian we also found out there lots of synonyms for the same dishes at the two main dining rooms. We ate at Cagney's, LeBistro, Chin Chin, Tappenaki (sp?) and the Japanese was our favorite. Blue Lagoon wings were ok chicken tenders were great and so was the pound cake.

 

I also had the spa pass and went daily to avoid the pool crowd. The water was luke warm at best but it was never densely populated. DH had 2 massages and I had full body wrap. It was ok but for 20 bucks per day and I live in NY it was a steal.

 

We also had SF suite room 9670 it was very bright but DH enjoyed the aft balcony. We went to celebrate DH aunt's 20th anniversary their party was 17 including us. Most had suites and the special couple had the owners suite. I loved our butler Totaram and our steward Freddie both were very attentive. We tipped them well for their excellent service. Monika did very little for us but we tipped her anyway.

 

The casino: several member's of the wedding party were big winners including the "best man" winning the poker tournament twice and his wife hitting the slots big, DH aunt won roulette table and his uncle was also a winner. I won $150 on the 2 cent slots and DH won $400 not bad from the slot play card that cost $25.

 

Ports: we didn't get off in Florida, the private island had many jelly fish but I was able to snorkel and swim. They skipped the Bahamas and I would have liked if they did port there and skip Great Stirrup Cay.

 

I have already booked NCLs Pride of America for Hawaii next year but that was before sailing. I did not purchase any future cruise credits. For the price the cruise was ok.

 

I am saddened Irene has forced the cancellation of the Disney Dream segment of my vacation (rescheduled for Feb 2012). Actually it was my flight out of NY that was cancelled they should be sailing away tomorrow evening.

 

I met some very interesting people and it is not my intention to take over the thread. I like Jackie very much!!! She was one of the highlights of my cruise.

 

Tracey

[callmebetty]

Thanks Tracey! I had fun hanging in the hot tub with you even when I did hit the blower button along with massage lol

Jim had fun at the tournament with Lenard (someday ask him if 3 pairs exists in Hold Em...he will laugh!)

 

 

Looks like about 270 days until our next cruise. I would go insane if I started a countdown at this point!

 

I will continue my review when I am not drinking rum blended with berries and pineapple....

 

And what is the deal with the first shower after a cruise? I couldn't stay upright! Happens every time (and this was pre-rum mind you!)

[mrsbuddha123]

Thanks Tracey! I had fun hanging in the hot tub with you even when I did hit the blower button along with massage lol

Jim had fun at the tournament with Lenard (someday ask him if 3 pairs exists in Hold Em...he will laugh!)

 

 

Looks like about 270 days until our next cruise. I would go insane if I started a countdown at this point!

 

I will continue my review when I am not drinking rum blended with berries and pineapple....

 

And what is the deal with the first shower after a cruise? I couldn't stay upright! Happens every time (and this was pre-rum mind you!)

 

I had a bit of a time getting my land legs back lol. I haven't had a drink yet :O But I did do laundry and am still trying to decide what hotel to book from Mon til Thur morn when I check into Disney's Boardwalk Inn. Still on the fense about a car rental for 2 days. I have one more night. I will see what alcohol the airport's duty free shop is holding on Monday. April will be here before you know it!

[friskat]

OP if you haven't written your letter to NCL yet I do request that you do one thing if possible. Please mention how great the casino staff were. I wrote a letter after my last cruise about how great they were and it really meant a lot to them. It can have an impact on their lives. I encourage anyone who has had exceptional service to do that. I understand that your cruise experience wasn't exceptional overall. However, if you mention the fantastic casino staff it would balance the letter and improve their lives.

 

Just my humble suggestion :D

[callmebetty]

Here are a few more positives...

 

Armondo our room steward was excellent. I have 2 "friends" (a male and female monkey) I travel with and he would involve them with the towel animal theme. Guest relations, particularly Emilia were fabulous. She helped us surprise our brother in law by calling him down to the purser's desk under false pretenses so we could pop out behind him.

Juremar, our butler, really went all out the last night for our dinner on the balcony. We had a nice chat about our cat at home, his kids on Skype, and life on a cruise ship. He also taught us some key phrases...Salama is thank you in his language (Filipino? not sure what they call the language of the Phillipines)I can't say enough good things about Hanna. We got a card towards the end that said "As promised by Jim on the first night, you were both so much fun". That really made me feel like she took an interest in us (which is her job, I know).

The time I spent with my husband just watching the waves was priceless (though be careful if you are on deck 10, they hose down deck 12 and it splashes onto the balcony late at night...kind of like a personal waterfall). I also really enjoyed being able to take a bath (even though I had to fill it up with the showerhead since we had no faucet. Jim was too tall for the shower and had to do acrobatics to wash his hair.

I have to give a shout out to the guys in the sky high bar...they were great :) It's nice to find someone willing to make a Pink Squirrel for a Granny!

Elliot the poolside server...THANK YOU! You were amusing and quick with the drinks.

And if the ladies that laughed at my hubby because they thought his hair (dyed for disguise) looked like Anna Nicoles baby daddy...you made us laugh when you laughed.

One more...the room steward down the hall from us that greeted me during my 7 walks back and forth and told me I had a lovely smile...you made that long hallway walk a bit shorter!

 

To be continued tomorrow when I pull out my list.

[callmebetty]

I had a bit of a time getting my land legs back lol. I haven't had a drink yet :O But I did do laundry and am still trying to decide what hotel to book from Mon til Thur morn when I check into Disney's Boardwalk Inn. Still on the fense about a car rental for 2 days. I have one more night. I will see what alcohol the airport's duty free shop is holding on Monday. April will be here before you know it!

 

Be on the lookout for Watson!!!! yum!

[callmebetty]

OP if you haven't written your letter to NCL yet I do request that you do one thing if possible. Please mention how great the casino staff were. I wrote a letter after my last cruise about how great they were and it really meant a lot to them. It can have an impact on their lives. I encourage anyone who has had exceptional service to do that. I understand that your cruise experience wasn't exceptional overall. However, if you mention the fantastic casino staff it would balance the letter and improve their lives.

 

Just my humble suggestion :D

 

I have a list of positives to include in my letter. I will definately be complimenting Hanna and the snack lady, as well as the blond bartender whose name I didn't catch (I hope if I mention dirty martinis and she reads something she will know it is for her). I strongly believe in complimenting where it is due and will not send a strictly negative letter. It is a work in progress as I relax and reflect.

[SeaShark]

I wouldn't flame you for writing a letter...negative or positive, but I do hope that you discussed ALL of your issues...negative or positive, with the Hotel Director onboard so that your concerns could be addressed.

 

If there is one little thing that everyone on Cruise Critic knows, it is to discuss issues ONBOARD....not after the fact when nothing can be done.

[mommyto2girls]

Maybe I am having a stupid moment but what do you mean you have been working undercover?? Are you like a mystery shopper?

 

We have sailed Courtyard Villas twice this year and it was amazing...Juremar was out Butler in the CY. I hope you filled out your cards for all those employees before you left the ship. I did miss the food from Le Bistro when I got home and I definitely missed the pretzel rolls..all just my opinion

[Kaye from Chicagoland]

WOW! First time cruiser on NCL in Feb. (Princess - platinum) Not a way to sell this cruisline. Am I scared? Not in the least ---- We will make our own good time! But then we are not 'foodies'.

[khaide612]

Anna is the blonde bartender. She is awesome!

 

Interesting reading your review & sorry we never met up! Probably did as I was in the casino a lot...

 

Blue Lagoon advice for everyone - order wings without sauce or sauce on the side & you will get a piping hot fresh batch each time. Really hit the spot after the bar crawl!!

[callmebetty]

Maybe I am having a stupid moment but what do you mean you have been working undercover?? Are you like a mystery shopper?

 

We have sailed Courtyard Villas twice this year and it was amazing...Juremar was out Butler in the CY. I hope you filled out your cards for all those employees before you left the ship. I did miss the food from Le Bistro when I got home and I definitely missed the pretzel rolls..all just my opinion

 

By undercover, I meant that I know our family checks this board. Since we were surprising them, I was a bit secretive on the boards. Perhaps I should have worded it differently :)

 

There was a letter in our stateroom about NCL changing to online format for comment cards so I will do them when I figure out where they are. I looked for cards on the ship but could not find any.

[JrzCruiser]

Juremar, our butler, really went all out the last night for our dinner on the balcony. We had a nice chat about our cat at home, his kids on Skype, and life on a cruise ship. He also taught us some key phrases...Salama is thank you in his language (Filipino? not sure what they call the language of the Phillipines)

 

Salamat (Tagalog) :D

 

We sailed on the Jewel in Penthouse 10000 (forward) on July 30th and we had a great time. It was our first NCL cruise, so it could have been because we had no expectations. There were definitely some minor issues, but all in all, it was a really great cruise for us.

[mommyto2girls]

by undercover, i meant that i know our family checks this board. Since we were surprising them, i was a bit secretive on the boards. Perhaps i should have worded it differently :)

 

there was a letter in our stateroom about ncl changing to online format for comment cards so i will do them when i figure out where they are. I looked for cards on the ship but could not find any.

 

got it!