Just off the Jewel

[Divers82]

I am currently on the Jewel, in Port Canaveral. It is every bit as good as the Gem (the only other NCL ship I've been on). Having a great time, with wonderful food, and an amazing crew.

[jlacy1987]

I'll try this in list form, as it seems the easiest way for me to highlight each:

 

Priority Embarkation - Fabulous way to start a vacation, because once you're through security, you're whisked through check-in and escorted to the Concierge Lounge. Meet your Concierge, check on reservations & special requests, then relax in a comfortable chair, and enjoy some coffee and danish while you wait to board. After an extremely brief wait, enjoy a swift boarding and an escort directly to Cagney's for lunch. (bypassing the often lengthy queues of folks waiting to check in or board)

 

Breakfast and lunch in Cagney's - quiet venue with servers who quickly learn your preferences and are always at the top of their game. Excellent menu, and in the morning there is also a buffet of fruits, cheeses, meats, cereals, yogurt, muesli, danish and juices in addition to the menu. Steak and eggs, crabcakes and eggs, indulgent french toast, and most importantly... divine french press coffee.

 

The suites - spacious, well-appointed including the amazing Bliss Bed, and Lavazza coffee machine (which even heats the cups as they sit on top), huge bathrooms with upgraded amenities, many also have jetted tubs. Plenty of room to relax and dine en-suite if you choose, or simply unwind at the end of the day either inside, or out on your balcony with cushioned chairs and loungers.

 

Butler service - Ask and ye shall receive, whether it is a full meal en suite, or simply the desire to have a particular type of fruit available at all times. Want to throw a cocktail party in your suite? Your Butler will handle everything beautifully. Want the refrigerator to always have a pitcher of V8 in it? Done. Oh, you enjoy small sandwiches in the afternoon? Poof, there they are every day. You prefer skim milk for your coffe? It will be in your fridge at all times. You get a hankering for chocolate chip cookies at odd hours? No problem, there will be a plate of them in your suite every day. The possibilities are endless, and although you could certainly do all these things for yourself, it's quite nice to be pampered while you're on vacation (particularly if you're the one who does all the pampering the rest of the year).

 

Concierge - Need a reservation for 6 at LeBistro for tonight, no problem. Running late at dinner, and really want to see the show? Don't worry, there are seats already reserved for you. Need to make contact with someone on the ship to help resolve a problem? Concierge at your service. The possibilities here are endless as well.

 

Priority Tendering - No need to start lining up on deck 4 at the crack of dawn. Enjoy a leisurely breakfast, and then stroll to the head of the line when it's time to start tendering.

 

Priority Disembarkation - Escort off the ship, past the throngs of folks in line, and enjoy an escort directly to the VIP luggage area (which, incidentally, is directly adjacent to the custom's area, hence no need to schlep your bags through the endless hall). Grab a porter, and let him whisk you directly to the custom's agent, bypassing the queue of folks snaked for half a mile waiting to get to an agent.

 

Those are some of the many reasons why I feel the price of a suite is money well spent. We work extremely hard for our earnings, and when it's time for us to vacation, we enjoy the opportunity to avoid long lines and crowds, and to have someone else handling all the little details that make the vacation so much more enjoyable. We've sailed in inside, oceanview, and suite, and while we've never ever had a bad cruise, the ones where we've been in a suite have been immeasurably better. ;)

 

While the priority embarkation is nice, we were only in line for an hour and a half for our first cruise on Spirit. It really wasn't that bad. And we were off the boat for disembarkation by 8:30 or so, which again wasn't that bad. The Cagney's perk sounds nice, but my husband has Celiac and must be gluten-free. While I'm sure they can accommodate him, we talked to one of NCL's cruise consultants yesterday and he mentioned we would probably do better with the main dining rooms versus the specialty restaurants. For me, the coffee machine is the biggest in-room suite perk. I could care less about a larger bathroom since other than to shower and use the toilet, we wouldn't be in there. The balcony rooms have a space to dine in even though it isn't a designated dining table. And it has a balcony, even if it isn't as big as the suite's one. But it will just be the two of us so we don't need a whole lot of space. The butler and concierge services are also pretty big, but we were perfectly content in our OV room without those.

 

Now don't get me wrong. I would love to have a suite. It's my husband that needs convincing that it's worth the extra cost. I had to talk him into a balcony room to begin with since he would've been happy with an OV room again.

[lilypi314]

I am currently on the Jewel, in Port Canaveral. It is every bit as good as the Gem (the only other NCL ship I've been on). Having a great time, with wonderful food, and an amazing crew.

 

 

Tell Chris AKA Boston that Laura & Tanya say hi. He may run away from you!

[Divers82]

Tell Chris AKA Boston that Laura & Tanya say hi. He may run away from you!

 

I gave him the message. He is directing our debarkation this morning.

[dongordon]

Who is the Cruise Director.......any comments?

 

Do they still have the "White Hot Party" or whatever it is called?

What about the outrageous (x-rated) scavenger hunt?

Great times on the GEM last time I cruised NCL

 

Going in 3 weeks....can't wait and thanks for your review!!

 

Don

[Hopes4]

Who is the Cruise Director.......any comments? Dan the Man is the CD.

 

Do they still have the "White Hot Party" or whatever it is called? Yes, they do.

What about the outrageous (x-rated) scavenger hunt? It is called "The Quest" and yes they do. Jersey Jules did it on this trip, not Dan. It was very fun but also more tame than others I've seen.

Great times on the GEM last time I cruised NCL

 

Going in 3 weeks....can't wait and thanks for your review!!

 

Don

Have a wonderful time.

[antsnanny]

Do you know the name of the house band? Did they do a Beatles show in the atrium. We sailed on the Jewel last January and they were fabulous, especially the Beatles show.. Were sailing on the 1-20 sailing this January and looking forward to it...

[Hopes4]

Do you know the name of the house band? Did they do a Beatles show in the atrium. We sailed on the Jewel last January and they were fabulous, especially the Beatles show.. Were sailing on the 1-20 sailing this January and looking forward to it...

 

This past week, Next Stage did a Beatles tribute on day 4 in the atrium.

[antsnanny]

Thanks so much ! Looking forward to it once again.

[gizmo911]

Enjoying your review. Planning on cruising the Jewel in March. Does Jewel have outdoor movies, speacialty lunch like "best of" or presumed dead, etc,