Just back from Jewel.... Fantastic trip.!

[tommy2811]

Ill cover my negatives first. again these are mine and not yours;)

 

grand Atrium... How how I missed the big ol grand style Atrium. it was always(3 other cruises) our starting point for the evening. (Dawn and two Carnival) ships. just loved the grand staircases and soft live music every night. this never really came together for us on the Jewel.... that said Bar city turned out great for us.

 

The bathroom and shower. although it did work for us I am not sure how it would work for anyone bigger then us... you can hardly get dressed in there. it was that small... but again. it worked for us.

 

I will cruise carnival or ncl. best price and destination is how i book. I still have to give a slight edge to Carnival for entertainment in the bars(not the shows). after a while on the jewel it was the same act over and over. that said the guitar player we kept seeing was very good.

 

dont misunderstand. we had a blast on this ship. these negitives are very small..

 

oh one more:D the pool set-up with the two pools took alot away for loungers on the bottom deck. i prefer stadium type seating. again. small. also the chair hogs were in full forse. not NCL 's problem.

 

Positives-

 

Food-

 

OUTSTANDING. and we only paid at Mama because the buffet and the two main dining rooms were that good. And I have worked in restaurants cooking for 25 years so I do no food. + i tend to eat alot:)... standouts were the salads and vegies were always cooked perfect and fresh. the crepes everynight were wonderful(banana whip cream and chocolate) were yummy. breakfast everyday eggs benedict and fresh fruit. perfect. blue lagoon wings great. again lunches dinners and breakfast was fantastic in my book.

 

BBQ poolside was always perfect for us. food just always seemed tasty and never over cooked.

 

the only bad i can remember was the Prime Rib on the last night and rib eye in one of the main rooms. ny strip however was V. good.!

 

Bar City-

 

Outstanding set-up and a great night starter for us. french kiss martini were great. music always sounded good. just perfect for us. and right next to the casino were i can go for a quick smoke.

 

Shows-

 

Band on the run was great. outstanding and being a big Queen fan made it better. met with all the entertainers and took some pics. good people.

 

Pool-

 

loved it. we figured out real quick that we needed to get up and out there by 730 to get a prime spot. now because two wrongs dont make it right one of us took turns hanging out all morning at our seats. I just thing it wrong to throw your towels on the seats and leave so we stayed. no big deal for us. music by real vibe poolside were outstanding. we also figured out real quick that those fruity drinks will only make you brokes searching for a small buzz. we are not big drinkers but do like to feel a little buzzed after 50.00+ dollars. beer buckets were key and great on a hot day. and 27.00 for 6 beers. nice.!

 

Id like to mention the country hoe down poolside one evening. outstanding.! so much fun learning to line dance and just getting goofy. great Idea by NCL and one that never seems to get talked about here.

 

the great outdoors is beautiful but never seems to get going.. maybe some live music out there would help.

 

Port canaveral-

 

coco beach=dump!!! its funny because jersey beaches seem to get a bad rap but the last two beaches in florida i was at(coco and daytona) were dumps. not to worry we went to ron jons surf shop was great shopping for us- back to the pool=great day.!

 

 

Private Island-

 

WOW has this place changed since 6 years ago. it was perfect. plenty of loungers music and food. again the food on the Island was outstanding. chicken, salads, ribs = yummy.! it was a great day.!!!!

 

Nassau-

 

we decided against the Hilton day stay and WOW AM SO GLAD WE DID.

we walked around and did some shopping and then came SENOR FROGS. food with some real bahama mama drinks hit the spot. the bahamian conch fritters were outstanding... and then came the CONGO LINE. I FELT LIKE A KID ON SPRING BREAK. free shots squirted in you mouth over and over then some dancing was a big Highlight for us. and it was funny cause we did the congo right passed the windows were you can see the Hilton and knew we made the right choice.

 

casino, bar city, spinikers two main dining rooms buffet and staff were always perfect for us. I have tones of pictures that ill post too this thread. and more memories will come to me i am sure. so all in all it was one of the best vacations for us. myself and wife with my daughters in college proved a great time.

[Hopes4]

Glad you had a great vacation. Thank you for posting your review.

[Diamond60]

Welcome back Tommy! Glad to see you and your wife had a great time. We (my husband & I) are leaving next Saturday. We're very excited.

 

Can't wait to see your photos. Will it be this week? That would be a good fix to my excitement this week.

 

Again, thanks for the review.

[Susie51]

Thank you for sharing. I was on Jewel last year and will be on Pearl this year. I liked everything about the Jewel except for the pools. I thought there was not enough shallow area for the children to play in and the adult pool did not have easy access steps into it.

 

Are the pools the same on Pearl?

 

Glad you had a nice time.

[rzdj96]

Nice review! We were on the Jewel last month and although GSC is coming along, it'll be nice when finished. To us (from our previous cruise on her) she's showing some wear. I mean the air conditioning was going out all over (especially the casino). Our balcony slider was stuck always and the window seals was hanging on the deck. The beds had two "egg crates" on them and when you picked them up, WOW were they ever worn. You haven't lived until you tried a shower on the Caribbean Princess. No shower door but a curtain with half the space size of the Jewels (it stuck to you). There has to be something they can do about the chair hogs as mentioned. Otherwise, like you, we had a fantastic time and the crew was superb (even though they had to put up with the NORO conditions that was on-board). Glad to hear you had a great time.

[Sheils65]

Thanks for sharing. Friends of ours were also on the same sailing. I am waiting for her to get settled in back home to give her a call!!!! November cant come soon enough. :D

[vivavegas]

Nice review! Thanks for sharing.. Can't wait to see your pictures.:)

[Ghengis Klown]

Great review.. thanks for sharing.. I can't wait to see that ship

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review and glad you had such a good time

[DMH15]

Excellent review that did not have the same old same old.

 

Even your negatives were upbeat.

 

You and your family sound like the kind of folks I enjoy cruising with!

[Hikini]

We will be on the Jewel for the first time, come September. We've been on the Pearl which is a sister ship, so I can agree with you that we really miss the grand atriums of the other ships. The Pearl's 2 story atrium (like the Jewel's) was underwhelming for us. Pretty, yes, but not 'grand' and soaring like the other atriums on all of the other ships we've been on. A small complaint, but none-the-less it is part of our experience from previous cruises that we miss.

 

The Pearl has a funky lounge called Bliss. I don't see that or anything like that on the Jewel. Do you know about it?