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Why do you Love the Jewel?

michelle028

By michelle028,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Got Tequila?

Got Tequila?

Posted
Posted
Hi everyone,

 

I have been on Carnival and RCI and its the first time on NCL.

 

Tell me what you enjoy most about the Jewel.

 

Also:

 

I have 3 days at sea....so what are things that I shouldn't miss or should do while on board?

 

After a few cruises on the JEWEL it feels like home for us. The officers and crew are awsome, and always smiling and will go above and beyond.

 

Don't miss going to the Meet and Greet, NCL sends down many of the top officers on the ship to chat and they typically give out their personal phone extensions in case any issues come up during your cruise. They prefer you give them the chance to help or fix the situation on the ship rather than coming back to the boards and complaining.

 

Check out the bridge viewing room on deck 11 all the way forward on the port side.

 

NCL's evening shows are excellent, take in as many as you can.

 

In the evening up in the buffet they offer crepes made to order...yummm. Pretzel rolls in the buffet also are excellent.

 

I'm sure there is quite a bit more that I'm forgetting......tequila does that to me....LOL :D

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STARFISH*4

STARFISH*4

Posted
Posted

the crew were Fantastic, made us feel WELCOME the minute we stepped on board...John O'Hara (HD) at the time went out of his way to make our cruise WONDERFUL.

 

i love their colors in the atrium and the Great Outdoors and that fact we just had a GREAT cruise--hope to sail her again one day soon!!

 

be sure to read your FREESTYLE Daily that is delivered to your cabin each night that will give you the list of EVERYTHING there is to see and do!!

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pattydifer

pattydifer

Posted
Posted

Where to start

:)Blue Lagoon, 24 hours, great comfort food

The crew - the most enthusiastic I have encounter on NCL - even if you have an inside cabin, the stewards will get you robes and coffee service set up and ice whenever you need it, they will anticipate your needs!

:)The Spa- they often offer BOGO half price all cruise spa passes which give you access to the thermal and relazation rooms. I think they are piping in more than comforting music, couldn't read more than one paragraph before I dozed off - love that spa!

:)The Main Dining rooms, The staff are always attentive, you can sit with othesr or by yourselves your choice.

:oCasino - the staff is great and remember you!

:eek:The only issue I have (and this is true of every ship We have been on) absolutely nothing is done about pool side deck chair HOGS.

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pattydifer

pattydifer

Posted
Posted

BOGO free martinis - check the Freestyle daily for time and location

The great outdoors in the afternoon with a bottle of wine and some snacks from their buffet

Ordering coffeee and juice delivery every evening for a wake up in the AM

After coffee and juice walking the track for at least a mile then heading for a full brakfast in the main dining room. (I really hate exorsize, see I can't even spell it, but I have do do something so that they don't need a crane to get me off the ship at the end of the cruise.

We love leaving out of NY (guess we will need to fall in love with another NCL ship after May 2012 when Jewel leave for West coast and Alaska!

Too much to list. We will be on the Jewel again in November (26) can not wait!

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davesgirl51

davesgirl51

Posted
Posted

One word...HUGO....the current hotel director...

Amen :)

 

AMEN !! And all the crew who are happy because of him !!

Amen :)

 

Actually, the current Hotel Director is Brian Williams - and he was wonderful, and the crew was fantastic!!

 

Actually, it's Brian Walters and Amen to him and the crew as well. :)

 

What isn't to love about the Jewel ?

You'll have a great time. :D

 

 

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shepherdqueen

shepherdqueen

Posted
Posted

 

Actually, the current Hotel Director is Brian Williams - and he was wonderful, and the crew was fantastic!!

 

Actually, it's Brian Walters and Amen to him and the crew as well. :)

 

What isn't to love about the Jewel ?

You'll have a great time. :D

 

 

 

Thank you for correcting me - you are so right and I am ashamed I bungled his name! We actually had dinner with him one night - what a wonderful man he is!! It has been a long week...

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davesgirl51

davesgirl51

Posted
Posted
Thank you for correcting me - you are so right and I am ashamed I bungled his name! We actually had dinner with him one night - what a wonderful man he is!! It has been a long week...

 

Don't be ashamed ... most of us try to get to know as many of them as we can. It's hard. Family :)

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  • 3 weeks later...
Seamo

Seamo

Posted
Posted

Hi,

Going Alaska on Jewel and thinking about adding 2 more going all the way ...Miami. :)

Do you feel this is the right ship for 28 days onboard??

 

And we love the trios of classical strings (sometimes piano is there too)

... is there music like that on Jewel??

 

Thanks mucho, Seamo

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spacewoman

spacewoman

Posted
Posted

Peggy--

 

no BOGO at all this September on our cruise - that was a bummer. No margarita specials nightly at topsider either. They did, however, have an ALL DAY $4.95 margarita special at topsiders one of the days.

 

I don't recall any stringed instrumental playing other than Don Dunn playing guitar. There was also a a fella near shaker's and le bristro playing piano and singing.

 

Coming off of RCI and CCL you may be used to the 5:30,8:30 structured meal times. NCL is called freestyle for just that reason - no dictated time to eat your meals. Some folks don't seem to like that but, for me and the DH, we don't like having to keep an eye on a watch. We enjoy eating when we feel like AND never feel as though we need to eat in a specialty restaurant to enjoy a great meal.

 

The staff on board NCL are eager to please their guests, by the end of day 1 they know you by name, and they work very hard to see that you are getting the best vacation ever.

 

If you have a balcony cabin, ask your cabin steward to get you a coffee maker. We did and got to enjoy a cup of coffee while getting dressed for the day.

 

Cabins on NCL are smaller than they are on CCL, but that doesn't mean they are not manageable. I have been able to put our suitcases under the bed so they don't take up space in the closet. I rather enjoy the shower layout as it is oblong with a door. It keeps you from slopping water all over the place and having the shower curtain stick to your body:D (like CCL showers).

 

The Jewel's layout is easy to manuever. One thing to keep in mind is the aft elevators. The lowest floor is 6 and it only takes you into the dining area. So - if you want to go forward you have to take any floor from 7 up. The other nifty little thing they did was to put fish in the carpeting. Follow the direction the fish are "swimming" and you're heading forward. Doorways to cabins are very distinctively marked - they will say either Port or Starboard and list cabin numbers.

 

Food choices on the Jewel are pretty endless. You have two main dining rooms Tsar's and Azura, Tsar's the larger of the two. There is a large buffet area on Lido. They have the buffet laid out quite nicely as it seems to disperse people a lot better than the CCL ships I've been on. They also use Mamma's Italian Kitchen for overflow and the great outdoors (at the very rear of the ship). You have the blue lagoon 24 hours a day. If you're in the mood for something else you have the choices of Cagney's steak house, Le Bistro (French), Teppanaki, Chin Chin, the sushi bar, or Mamma's. The new menus this year were quite interesting. You have one side of the menu that will be there for every meal. The opposite side will be what they have on special for that day including a "chef's special." Your server will tell you what that is. Typically for us, we enjoy having breakfast at Tsar's in the morning. Very quiet and what a view when you're seated all the way at the back. The staff have no problem changing a dish to the way you would like it. Not one of the 5 of us sent any meal back for any reason. My DH is the world's fussiest eater and he always found something to eat. In fact one night in the MDR he asked if he could get meatloaf (like is served for lunch at blue lagoon) and he was told he could. He did wind up with the penne off the every day menu, but was thrilled he could order the meatloaf if he wanted it.

 

You will find most posters agree that NCL has some of the best shows. I fall into that category. Cirque Bijou is fantastic. The crew show on the last day is always entertaining. This cruise fire and ice were a huge hit with fellow passengers. The theater seats are comfy. The only downfall of its layout is if you are very tall. Your legs will be rammed into the seats in front of you and the air conditioning comes out of the top of seats in front of you. Our friend was freezing his artificial knees off:D After that we sat together in one of the large handicap sections with the agreement we'd separate if someone was in need of our seats. If you are handicapped, I'd suggest the areas on the sides as the ones in the middle seem to be everyone's cut over to the other side lane. You just get comfy and have to move your legs to let traffic pass in front of you. Not an easy task if you have mobility issues.

 

We did our very first M & G last year. A lot of posters here say that NCL far outweighs the others for the M & G. I have to say I was really impressed with all the officers who took the time out of their very busy days to chat with us. They were more than happy to field questions as well.

 

Any one else who can add something I forgot?

 

Kathy

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Veronica Beaverhausen

Veronica Beaverhausen

Posted
Posted

We were lucky enough to book a Courtyard Villa. It was wonderful! We also had THE BEST concierge ADRIAN. The combination of the two made it a very pleasant cruise. I wish the courtyard was available on our November Gem sailing. :( Another thing I really enjoyed was the CHOCOLATE BUFFET!!! They didn't have that on POA..

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auntierobin

auntierobin

Posted
Posted

"How do I love thee, let me count the ways"

 

1. First and foremost a wonderful staff from window washer to captain and everyone in between. Friendly, helpful, knowledgable, and willing to help in any way.

 

2. Sparkling clean ship.

 

3. Great entertainment - particulary like the different ensembles playing in smaller venues throughout the ship.

 

4. Food - great variety and very tasty - no one could go hungry on this ship. Have eaten in all at least once and some way more than once. All good.

 

The Jewel is a jewel. You could not sail on a better ship, but then all of NCL's ships that we have sailed on (Pearl, Star, Jewel) are terrific, but the Jewel is the best. We have booked two more on her, and as soon as the new itineraries are released will probably book another two.

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AmberTeka

AmberTeka

Posted
Posted

trivia trivia trivia...DO THEY STILL HAVE A LOT OF TRIVIA GAMES?

 

My husband..nicest man in the world........is a total addict. Last time we were on the Jewel..we won some nice prizes.Lunch bags....better than a ship on a stick...even though we love winning those too.

 

And when we don't win...we enjoy the company of very nice Way too SMART People!

 

It is always great fun for us...and we really do meet some of the nicest people playing Trivia of all things!

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Jezo

Jezo

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:eek:The only issue I have (and this is true of every ship We have been on) absolutely nothing is done about pool side deck chair HOGS.

 

What about just tossing their towels or $1 store trinkets someplace else if they don't show up?

 

I usually give a person 20 or 30 minutes, if they are no where to be found, sorry bud, that chair is not yours to keep. I am not letting someone claim a chair at 6 am only to not show up again until 3pm.

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