Our week on the Jewel 1/14-1/21

[bean24]

Trying to be efficient since we brought the computer with us I will do a review of each day as it happens. First some background the group I am traveling with includes myself, DH, DS (2), and my mom and dad. We have all been on cruises before and we will be traveling in an SC suite because we gave my parents the trip and we love NCL suites.

 

Embarkation: Hard to believe that just a week before it was 60 degrees when the Jewel pulled out of NY. It was snow flurrying and very cold. Since the Jewel is the only ship in port it was a quick 15 minutes or so until we were being escorted into the concierge lounge. We met Ryan the concierge and also met Mary and Jeff two fellow Cruise Critics. On the way to the ladies room I ran into Pat who set up our meet and greet, and Terry one of our members who was about to embark on her first cruise. By the time I got back to the concierge lounge everyone else had already boarded, it was 11:30am.

After our first lunch in Cagney’s we headed to our room. We had one piece of luggage that lost its tag but it was found and returned to us by about 8:30 that night. A quick review of the room, we(DH & I) were in the big room, which did not give us enough room to put the baby’s pack & play, so he wound up sleeping in the changing/ bath area. My parent were in the children’s bedroom which really isn’t big enough for two adults, halfway through the trip my mom started to sleep on the couch in the living room which she decided was much more comfortable.

Since the specialty restaurants were 20% off the first night we decided to try Teppanyaki . We actually try to eat there every cruise, it is one of our traditions. This was the first time we went with my son. He had the chicken and noodle dish and it was a full size portion, which we were not charged for since he was under 4. He didn’t get the soup or dessert but he didn’t really need it he shared my fruit and definitely had enough to eat. After dinner we went to the welcome aboard show, the magician was the most impressive act. After that I made a donation at the blackjack tables and then called it a night.

 

Sunday morning first Cagney’s breakfast of the trip now I really feel like I am on vacation. I love the fruits de mer in brioche. Last cruise I ate it every morning for breakfast, but this time I promised myself that I wouldn’t eat it every day. We then had a very well attended meet and greet, thanks again for a fantastic job Pat. I forgot to mention one of the things I like most about Norwegian when we were boarding Hugo the hotel director with whom we have previously sailed with on the Dawn recognized us. It really does feel like coming home. At the meet & greet Hugo invited us to sign up for a raffle to have dinner with an officer for Wednesday night, so we signed up.

After the meet & greet we went to the best of all luncheon, it really was the best. I love escargot but usually don’t go to LeBistro because my DH doesn’t really like that kind of food, so I was excited to be able to have it. I like that you had some things on a buffet and ordered other things. The ordered food came out nice and hot which doesn’t always happen. After the lunch we had the Lattitudes party, it was pretty typical, but my mom won lunch for two at the big band lunch, she and my dad were planning to go so that worked out well.

After that we went to the casino for a little while and then went to watch the football playoffs. They had set up an area with wings, hot dogs and stuff. It was a lot of fun and the teams I was rooting for won. We also had the suite party that night and wanted to go to the show so we did dinner in the Garden Café. Nobody really enjoyed that meal, I think we are better with sit down meals. We did really enjoy the Band on the Run show, then off to the casino and to bed.

 

Monday today is Port Canaveral and the plan is just to hang out. We get off the ship and there is a tour being offered for $6 a person, it takes you to the Marketplace shopping area, a flea market and restaurant area. We had lunch there at Rusty’s a really nice reasonably priced restaurant on the water. Then we caught a shuttle to Cocoa Beach where Ron Jon’s beachwear was located. There were also other stores including a CVS, Walgreen’s, souvenir shops. You could also take another shuttle to Wal-Mart if necessary. We went to dinner at Azura’s that night and had a wonderful waiter named Pedro, we liked him so much we requested him for dinner the next night also. We went to the show and then back to the casino.

 

Tuesday today was Great Stirrup Cay and it was terrific. We were given priority tender spots and were on the island by 9:45. We rented clamshells and were very comfortable on the island. The lunch buffet was really good, they were constantly refilling the food and there was a nice variety including hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, ribs, corn and all sorts of salads. The water was a little cold so I swam for awhile, but none of the rest of my family did. Tonight we again ate at Azura’s and had our favorite waiter Pedro.

 

Wednesday today we were in Nassau and went on the ship excursion Discover Atlantis. I had never been there before and was very excited to finally see it. There was a beautiful aquarium that we got to tour, and then we had lunch there and took a shuttle back to the pier. We hit the Del Sol store, Dunkin Donuts, and a t-shirt place and then headed back to the ship. Tonight was also the dinner with the officer, we were lucky to wind up with Staff Captain Richard Svardmark. He told very interesting stories about his life on the sea, also gave us some background on NCL’s emergency policies and procedures in the wake of last week’s tragedy. Some of our friends wound up with different officers and didn’t have as much fun so your experience may vary. Also Captain Svardmark leaves for his 10 weeks off on January 28 so there will be a new staff captain.

 

Thursday was our first sea day heading back north and already it was getting colder. It was a very quiet day for us, we just slept late, enjoyed Cagney’s for breakfast and lunch (lunch just being a shrimp cocktail) planning to eat at Blue Lagoon for chicken wings later. My mom and dad took my son to the magic show and we actually ran into them there. That night we went to Mama’s for dinner, one of my DH’s favorite NCL restaurant. It was good and we skipped dessert because tonight was the Chocoholic Buffet. We sampled a few treats and then off to the show. This show was LeCirque Bijou which turned out to be my favorite of the week. The acrobatics were amazing, there had actually been a show by them earlier in the week on Tuesday, but it was the only show of the week my son didn’t make it through.

 

Friday today was finally the day for my massage. It is a bit of a tradition for me to have a hot stone massage on every trip, I love it. Before this we were invited to take a bridge tour. We met with Ryan the concierge and a group of about 15 people and were taken onto the bridge. It was very cool and I joked how many two year olds get to tour the bridge, so I made sure to take pictures for when my son is old enough to understand. My parents went to the big band lunch, they said the food was good and the music even better. My DH took my son to Cagney’s for lunch and I had my massage. We went to the jackpot bingo and didn’t win and then it was back to the room to pack. We decided to go back to Azura’s for dinner but it was too crowded to get Pedro again, but we did get to see him one more time and say goodbye. We went to the Variety show that finished up with Fountains, if you’ve never seen it, it is an interesting thing. When it ended my mom went back to the room to finish packing and she took my son to put him to bed, so I decided to make one more donation at the casino. I am very happy to say I won back most of what I had donated during the week.

 

Saturday we were scheduled to meet for disembarkation at 8:45am so we went to Cagney’s at 7:30 and then it was a quick easy walk off into the snow. Welcome home.:(

[tokidoki]

welcome home!!! I will be cruising again n the Jewel, as she has will take the pearls' place this fall, did you see any of the shows?? we love the 2 production shows, is Cirque Bijou still performed?? thanks:cool::cool::cool:

[retiredAF]

Thanks for posting your review.

[gelo7]

Excellent review.

[bean24]

welcome home!!! I will be cruising again n the Jewel, as she has will take the pearls' place this fall, did you see any of the shows?? we love the 2 production shows, is Cirque Bijou still performed?? thanks:cool::cool::cool:

 

Cirque was one of the best shows I have ever seen. The second production show Band on the Run was also very good, but it was my 4 or 5 time seeing it so it was enough

 

Sent from my DROID Pro using Tapatalk

[Poipu04]

Great review, Bean! We had such a wonderful time too.

[dutchess43]

Thank you for your review it was written quite well. I will be traveling with my GS age 3 turning 4 on the cruise in a couple of weeks did your son go to the Kid's Club? If so can you tell me how he liked it? Did he like the food at Cagney's we have a penthouse cabin so I hope to eat there from time to time? Thanks

[Gregor4500]

Thanks for the review Michelle, sounds like I missed a good one.

 

Gregg

[bean24]

Thank you for your review it was written quite well. I will be traveling with my GS age 3 turning 4 on the cruise in a couple of weeks did your son go to the Kid's Club? If so can you tell me how he liked it? Did he like the food at Cagney's we have a penthouse cabin so I hope to eat there from time to time? Thanks

 

We signed up for the kids club, the activities looked nice, but we don't see him much during the week and really enjoyed just spending time with him. I love Cagney's food and service, it is one of my favorite perks.

 

Sent from my DROID Pro using Tapatalk

[bean24]

Thanks for the review Michelle, sounds like I missed a good one.

 

Gregg

 

Gregg,

Thanks, sorry you missed it. I hope things are doing better at home. Hope to sail with you someday in the future.

Michelle

 

Sent from my DROID Pro using Tapatalk

[FortySeas]

On Sat. we will be going on this same cruise. Can you tell me more about the $6.00 tour? How did you find out about it? What time ? Where? Thank you.

[bean24]

On Sat. we will be going on this same cruise. Can you tell me more about the $6.00 tour? How did you find out about it? What time ? Where? Thank you.

 

You just walk off the ship and there will be people selling tours right on the pier. There was one doing a tour to an antique area, but that is not really our thing so we skipped it, the next person we spoke to was offering this I believe it is called the marketplace tour, and the vans picked us up right there. They run until I think 3 pm and the shuttles back run until 8pm maybe. We are in port till 10. Enjoy your cruise, the ship is a beauty.

[Lorri44]

Thank you for your reveiw, we will be cruising on the Jewel in April. We would like to go to Cocoa Beach when we get there. Do you recommend that we just do the ships shore excursion which is $15.00 per adult and $8.00 per kid. Or should we just get off the boart and she if there is a shuttle we can take? We have a lot of peopl in our group, so I'm a little worried about mass confusion.

 

thanks,

[Plut0]

Hi Michelle,

Welcome home. Great review. It was so nice to spend time with you and your family.

 

I had not talked to anyone about swimming at GSC. I did not see many people in the water even though it was a gorgeous day and now I know why - the water was cold.

 

Gregg,

Good to hear from you. I hope that your family is doing okay.

 

Mary

[trivia nut]

Hi Michelle and Gregg,

Hope you are all settled and back to reality. Hope next time we have you on our Trivia Team...not so intense on this cruise.

 

Do you know about the Social Groups link on this website? It's another way for us to talk. I started a thread to continue talking with our CC friends from last week. Just click on Quick Links.

 

Gregg, if you are still reading here, we missed you. Brandon and his wife were the life of the party, especially at the Newlywed game. Susan and Alex (Susangotmail) and her team won Quest...so funny.

 

Your family has been in my prayers. Hope things are looking up.

PAT