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Just returned Jewel B2B

trish99

By trish99,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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trish99

trish99

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Just returned from a fabulous time on the Jewel, b2b out of New Orleans. First off, I thought I had made it home with the dailies, but can't find them anywhere. So sorry! This was our first experience at freestyle cruising, and I am a convert. Absolutely loved it. Were there a few hiccups? Absolutely, but we rolled with them. We did have to wait for about half an hour at peak times in Azura, but no biggie. Grabbed a pager and our free bubbly coupons and off to the bar we went. The ship is showing her age, carpets were a little stained in places, some chipped paint here and there, but certainly nothing earth shattering. Embarkation was a breeze, arrived to the port about 10:45 and were on the ship before noon.

 

Entertainment was good, really enjoyed all of the live music around the ship. Food was hot when it should be hot. Previous reviews about the desserts were spot on, not great, other than in the specialty restaurants. Cabin service the first week was ok, nothing special, but nothing really wrong either. We did find out that it was the last week of his contract, so that probably explained things. Next week was better.

 

This is probably the most visible I've ever seen senior officers when on a ship. They were everywhere and very approachable.

 

 

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions.

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kcwingwalker

kcwingwalker

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Just returned from a fabulous time on the Jewel, b2b out of New Orleans. First off, I thought I had made it home with the dailies, but can't find them anywhere. So sorry! This was our first experience at freestyle cruising, and I am a convert. Absolutely loved it. Were there a few hiccups? Absolutely, but we rolled with them. We did have to wait for about half an hour at peak times in Azura, but no biggie. Grabbed a pager and our free bubbly coupons and off to the bar we went. The ship is showing her age, carpets were a little stained in places, some chipped paint here and there, but certainly nothing earth shattering. Embarkation was a breeze, arrived to the port about 10:45 and were on the ship before noon.

 

Entertainment was good, really enjoyed all of the live music around the ship. Food was hot when it should be hot. Previous reviews about the desserts were spot on, not great, other than in the specialty restaurants. Cabin service the first week was ok, nothing special, but nothing really wrong either. We did find out that it was the last week of his contract, so that probably explained things. Next week was better.

 

This is probably the most visible I've ever seen senior officers when on a ship. They were everywhere and very approachable.

 

 

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions.

 

Glad you had a great B2B and thanks for sharing!:)

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BayouGirlUSA

BayouGirlUSA

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Welcome Back Trish! Glad to hear you are a NCL convert. After two Princess cruises, I became a NCL convert too. Not that anything was wrong with Princess, it's just I felt NCL was a much better fit for us!

 

One day in a land far, far away; I may do a B2B also!!!

 

It was great meeting you!

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JimCo

JimCo

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Just returned from a fabulous time on the Jewel, b2b out of New Orleans. First off, I thought I had made it home with the dailies, but can't find them anywhere. So sorry! This was our first experience at freestyle cruising, and I am a convert. Absolutely loved it. Were there a few hiccups? Absolutely, but we rolled with them. We did have to wait for about half an hour at peak times in Azura, but no biggie. Grabbed a pager and our free bubbly coupons and off to the bar we went. The ship is showing her age, carpets were a little stained in places, some chipped paint here and there, but certainly nothing earth shattering. Embarkation was a breeze, arrived to the port about 10:45 and were on the ship before noon.

 

Entertainment was good, really enjoyed all of the live music around the ship. Food was hot when it should be hot. Previous reviews about the desserts were spot on, not great, other than in the specialty restaurants. Cabin service the first week was ok, nothing special, but nothing really wrong either. We did find out that it was the last week of his contract, so that probably explained things. Next week was better.

 

This is probably the most visible I've ever seen senior officers when on a ship. They were everywhere and very approachable.

 

 

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions.

 

I just got off the Jewel yesterday as well. Just haven't posted my review yet.

 

You are right, this was my first NCL cruise but I've never seen so many senior officers out and about on the ship on any Carnival cruise I'd been on.

 

This cruise also had the least number of children on a ship I'd ever encountered on previous cruises (Carnival) as well.

 

Was your wait getting into Azura during the first night? We tried to get in and were told to go to Tsar's (aft dining room) because it had the same menu. Absolutely no wait to get into Tsar's, no crowds.

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trish99

trish99

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I just got off the Jewel yesterday as well. Just haven't posted my review yet.

 

You are right, this was my first NCL cruise but I've never seen so many senior officers out and about on the ship on any Carnival cruise I'd been on.

 

This cruise also had the least number of children on a ship I'd ever encountered on previous cruises (Carnival) as well.

 

Was your wait getting into Azura during the first night? We tried to get in and were told to go to Tsar's (aft dining room) because it had the same menu. Absolutely no wait to get into Tsar's, no crowds.

 

We only ate in Azura for dinner with the exception of the specialty restaurants and the dinner with an officer night. That was by design as the guys in our party intentionally only brought 1 pair of long pants, LOL. The first week we were on there was at least 1 person turned away for wearing shorts to Tsars (saw her complaining at guest services afterward). My guess is that this would be the reason Azura stayed so busy.

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trish99

trish99

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Teppanyaki was lots of fun, try to get Frederick as your chef. Cagneys was very good, but I thought the filet was just as good in Le Bistro for less $$, but the Cagney fries might have been worth the price of admission, lol. Best value for me was the Italian restaurant. Didn't try Moderno, so can't comment on that one. Service was very good in all of them.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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ahaught

ahaught

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Do both dining rooms have the same menus?

 

The portions of the menu that are the same each day are different, the portion that changes each day is the same.

 

Here is a link to the menu's

http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-jewel-menus.html

 

Example: In one dining room you can get a New York Strip every night, in the other it's a Rib-Eye.

Edited by ahaught
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realtorlady42

realtorlady42

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Teppanyaki was lots of fun, try to get Frederick as your chef. Cagneys was very good, but I thought the filet was just as good in Le Bistro for less $$, but the Cagney fries might have been worth the price of admission, lol. Best value for me was the Italian restaurant. Didn't try Moderno, so can't comment on that one. Service was very good in all of them.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Really glad to see some positive comments coming for Mama's. One of our booking perks was a comp dinner at Mamas and while the menu looks good to me, many were saying they didn't like it.

What were some of the menu items you and your party ordered that you enjoyed and what to you made it best value?

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trish99

trish99

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Really glad to see some positive comments coming for Mama's. One of our booking perks was a comp dinner at Mamas and while the menu looks good to me, many were saying they didn't like it.

What were some of the menu items you and your party ordered that you enjoyed and what to you made it best value?

 

I had the osso buco which was falling apart tender. SIL had the lobster fettucine and the guys both had chicken parmesan. Everyone loved what they had. I thought the service in there was as good or better as any of the other specialty restaurants. I couldn't finish my dessert and asked the waiter to pack it to go for me. When he smilingly brought it back, there was my dessert along with a serving of tiramisu. Didn't try the steak, but I wish someone in our party had, just for comparison sake. Had we tried the place earlier in the week, we probably would have done it again.

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terrydtx Great Review Rare

terrydtx

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I had the osso buco which was falling apart tender. SIL had the lobster fettucine and the guys both had chicken parmesan. Everyone loved what they had. I thought the service in there was as good or better as any of the other specialty restaurants. I couldn't finish my dessert and asked the waiter to pack it to go for me. When he smilingly brought it back, there was my dessert along with a serving of tiramisu. Didn't try the steak, but I wish someone in our party had, just for comparison sake. Had we tried the place earlier in the week, we probably would have done it again.

 

My DW and I love Osso Buco and that alone is why we will try Moma's on the Jewel, you are the 2nd person who has said it was good in a review from this fall.

 

I see you live in Cedar Park Texas, I lived there from 1997 to 2004 and was on the Planning and Zoning commission most of that time too. We lived in Forest Oaks subdivision.

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trish99

trish99

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My DW and I love Osso Buco and that alone is why we will try Moma's on the Jewel, you are the 2nd person who has said it was good in a review from this fall.

 

I see you live in Cedar Park Texas, I lived there from 1997 to 2004 and was on the Planning and Zoning commission most of that time too. We lived in Forest Oaks subdivision.

 

Small world! We just moved there this past summer after living in Pflugerville for almost 30 years. Lots of changes.

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