Carnival/Royal family cruises NCL Jewel - Picture review

[mpcaruth]

Yes!! I am interested also about the underwater photos, and the camera you used!! They are beautiful!!! Loving your review, and looking forward to the next installment...... It's a balmy 4 degrees here, and looking at these photos is a nice diversion!!! :)

 

Wow: 4 degrees! Sounds so much more horrible than my 12 degrees. Stay warm, and thanks for the compliment!

[Perfect Stranger]

Beautiful photos!

 

I'm enjoying your review!

[mpcaruth]

PORT DAY 2: BELIZE:

 

 

On the second port day we stopped in Belize. Since Belize is a tender port, I got up early to get my tender boarding ticket. If you were VIP or had booked an excursion through the ship, then this process was not necessary. We booked a private excursion though CaveTubing.BZ. The Daily indicated that tender tickets for be obtained on the pool deck beginning at 7:00 and only one family member needed to be present. I arrived at 6:45 to a short line. I received Ticket #2 around 6:55. Yippee!

 

I went back to the cabins and woke the family up. We ate breakfast at the buffet. I forgot to mention earlier about our favorite options for breakfast. I really liked the eggs benedict. They had two choices: salmon Florentine and Canadian ham. However, it seemed that every other day the Florentine was salmon-less. I also really enjoyed the sticky buns loaded with pecans on top. My daughter said the bacon was soooo much better than the other cruises. My husband and son got an omelet most mornings. Back to the port day excursion…

 

 

We took an early tender to the small dock, exited the port area and easily found our tour guides. Once we filled up the van (about 15 minutes) we headed out for the 90 drive to the cavetubing park, The van was in good shape and was air conditioned to the point many of us were cold. One of the guides discussed his county and provided information on the surrounding area as we traveled.

 

Photos from the drive:

 

 

 

 

Funeral taking place:

 

 

 

[mpcaruth]

BELIZE CONTINUED:

 

One more photo from the drive to the park:

 

We arrived at the tour company’s “hut” and paid our fees (We got 10% off for reserving early, so we paid $180 for our family of 4).

 

 

 

We headed back out to the national park. The park had bathrooms for changing clothes. We left our stuff locked up in the van.

The hike to the caves was around 1 mile and was extremely informative. It was lightly raining, but that just added to the rain forest ambience. We made numerous stops along the trek to see caves, various plants, and a TARANTULA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mpcaruth]

BELIZE CONTINUED:

 

Interesting spiked tree:

 

 

 

Along most of the trek, I noticed one of the tour guides taking a thin small straw like stick and poking it into holes. I told him, "In my country, we don't poke sticks into dark critter holes." Well, after about 5 tries, he coaxed this gently out of the hole:

 

 

 

 

And my daughter's expression says it all:

[mpcaruth]

BELIZE CONTINUED:

 

With this particular tour excursion, we did not have to carry our tubes along the trek. The tube were waiting for us near the beginning. Actually, they were located at the first cave entrance where the other excursions started. We were lucky, and got to go a little further to an upstream cave. So we actually got tot tube through two caves!

 

Finally:

 

And here we go!!!

 

 

Coming out of the first cave to where other tours were just beginning:

 

 

[mpcaruth]

BELIZE CONTINUED:

 

 

 

As were are tubing along, we hear rushing water. The tour guide says, "We are approaching the waterfall". My kids flipped out!!!! Only to find, that were were not going down a waterfall, yet rather a waterfall was entering the cave. Hehehe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a FUN tube ride!!!

[mpcaruth]

BELIZE FINAL:

 

 

The end of the tubing was back near the entrance of the park. We took our tubes back, changed clothes, then loaded up the van to head to the Cavetubing.BZ hut for lunch.

 

Lunch was really good, and I think almost everyone in our group got seconds. Also, bottomless rum punch was available both at the lunch hut and on the van trip back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We shared this excursion with 11 others, including another family from the NCL Dawn ship, AIMATHY. You can read her review of this excursion too at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1976074

Edited January 25, 2014 by mpcaruth

[ABCGreys]

Thanks for the review! We're doing the same cave tubing excursion as you on our March cruise. 43 days!

[Name Of The Game]

Really cool review and photos! :cool:

 

As an aside, no way would I eat beans before a long bus ride in Belize! :eek:

[mpcaruth]

Really cool review and photos! :cool:

 

As an aside, no way would I eat beans before a long bus ride in Belize! :eek:

 

Thanks!

 

And hahaha. Everyone seemed to manage their beans just fine. Now, the rum punch...that's another story.

[LrgPizza]

 

There were a lot of Italians at Mr. Sanchos. I believe they were on the Costa cruise that was docked in port. One lady decided it was okay to be topless - which my son liked. While all the men were in speedos, regardless of age or size - which my daughter hated. LOL.

 

That photo is priceless, following your caption. HAHA!

[aimathy]

What a great review so far! I can't wait to read the rest. And it is SO fun to see ourselves in the background of your pictures. It's like cruising's version of "Where's Waldo". :) You also got so many great pictures that day, that I couldn't get. I only had my iPhone and although it's waterproof, I realized when we were waiting to get in the tubes, that one bump or accidental push from my daughter (she was on my lap) would mean that my phone would be gone forever! So sadly, I put it away and didn't get any cave pictures. I can't wait to see how the rest of your trip was, and which places you went to.

[sprint180]

Waiting for the rest of the review. Great Pics.

[mpcaruth]

KIDS PROGRAM

 

This is one area where NCL DID NOT MEET our expectations. My kids love cruising and have always loved Carnival’s program. We typically cruise with the kids in January, and the number of fellow kid passengers is small, but ample. We booked the Jewel specifically because we thought the Nickelodeon activities would make up for the lack of outdoor deck activities: Jewel does not have a waterworks (and their slide is a joke), no mini golf, no rock climbing, etc. Honestly, when looking at the deck plans prior to cruising, the pool and upper decks did not seeming exciting. The Carnival Sunshine was docked next to the Jewel in NOLA, and my daughter really wanted to know why were we not crusiing that ship with the colorful water park on top.

 

My kids were so excited before the cruise to see, or rather partake in, the Slime Time Live show on the theater stage. We watched numerous videos on YouTube of the show on the Jewel stage, and we were PUMPED! Based on my research on CC, I figured it would be held on the last sea day, so we waited patiently, when we got the last Daily, it was not listed. There was to be a Poolside Nickelodeon event at 11:45: frustratingly scheduled concurrently with the Splash Academy Circus rehearsal. We checked the kids out (Yes, we had to check our 11 & 12 year old out – uugggghh ---will get back to that point later), and headed poolside for the show. What a bust, only about 6 kids there, and the stage faces only about 2 rows of lounge chairs. The folks in the lounge chairs were obviously disinterested in the Nick show and had their chairs facing the other direction. The Nick games were cute, but no one was there. It was also very COLD and windy on the deck, and the poor kid that got slimed was freezing afterwards.

 

No one paying attention:

 

 

At the end of the show, I went up and asked a Nick staff when the Slime Time Live show would be held. I was merely informed, “We are not having the show. There are not enough kids on board”. WHAT?!?!?!?!? They announced earlier in the week that there were 124 kids on this sailing. I think it was just poor planning: they had a poolside show during one of the critical Splash Academy activities, and they cancel the main show. NO SLIME TIME LIVE was a huge disappointment for us, as it was one of the main reasons we decided to try NCL.

 

There was another Nick Poolside show on the first sea day, and there were many more kids there and participants.

 

 

 

 

 

[mpcaruth]

KIDS PROGRAM CONTINUED:

 

Splash Academy: My daughter is 11 and she was excited to be in the 10-12 year old Dolphin group. My son was 12 and turned 13 on debarkation day and was NOT happy when told he was to be in the 10-12 Dolphin group too. The rules are completely rigid, and NO EXCEPTIONS. Wow! Carnival has always been accommodating and allowed him to choose which group (since we usually travel during his birthday week). Carnival even let my daughter move up 3 months before her birthday. Here is the rule NCL told me: if the birthday falls within the cruise, the child will move up groups on the exact day of his birthday. What a bad idea: move a child up to the teen group a few days after the existing teens have already made friends and formed groups.

 

We completed the paperwork for both kids to be in the Dolphin group. I checked yes, that they could sign themselves out. But NCL has another restrictive rule. Kids cannot sign themselves out until they have been at the academy for a minimum of 2 hours. This rule required either me or my husband to check back at the academy every 30 minutes the first night to see if the kids wanted to stay. Guess what? My almost 13 year old son, who 5'-6" with a mustache sprouting, was bored to tears. They combined the Dolphins with the 6-9 year olds and were doing little crafts.

 

Combining the age groups continued the entire week. My daughter went to the kids program only two nights, and one night, she did not even check in. She was so disappointed, as she spent every night to Camp Carnival. She didn't check in one night because when we got there, there were probably twelve 6-9 year olds, and no kids her age. It appears by combining the younger kids, they drove off the older Tweens.

 

My daughter, who is all about activities, complained that the Splash Academy Daily was not specific enough. It would just block out 2-1/2 hours of time and give a 2 sentence write up about the theme of the activities, without listing specific activities. She prefers the Camp Carnival schedule which lists specific activities every 1/2 hour. That way, she can plan to attend the activities she likes (crafts and social games) and skip the ones she doesn't like (sports competitions). But since NCL would not allow her to check herself out until after 2 hours, a detailed schedule may have been mute for allowing her to select activities. Based on the check-out restrictions, and lack of detailed schedule, I would say NCL's Splash Academy is NOT FREESTYLE.

 

On a POSITIVE note, my kids really enjoyed the Circus tricks, and went a few times during the day to practice the tricks: Chinese yo-yo, plate spinning, feather balancing, juggling, stilt walking, etc. They gave “free time’ for the kids to practice their favorite, and even had a family workshop in the Fyzz Lounge, which was fun.

 

 

[mpcaruth]

On the final sea day, the kids performed a Circus show in the Fyzz Lounge. It was wonderful! I loved the little kids doing their tiger tricks, and the older kids did a great job with their tricks. Even my shy, reserved son performed his Chinese yo-yo trick. My kids enjoyed the tricks so much, that they have ordered the yo-yo's and spinning pates online to perfect at home.

 

Balancing a feather on the elbow:

 

Tossing the Chinese yo-yo:

 

 

 

 

 

Passing the spinning plate - They did it!

 

[mpcaruth]

That photo is priceless, following your caption. HAHA!

 

I saw that in the background when I took the picture and just giggled like a school girl. My son was clueless!

[mpcaruth]

OTHER KIDS/FAMILY ACTIVITIES:

 

There were various activities for families to do on their own time.

 

 

 

The slide was pretty much a joke. I only saw two kids who could make it down without getting stuck or stopping. I saw at least four people, including an adult, who ended up walking down the slide. I recommend the slide be replaced with one that has one less turn to enable a steeper slope. It looks pretty, but it is just not fun:

 

 

 

Kids only hot tub:

 

 

 

We played shuffleboard a few times:

 

Wii Bowling Tournament:

[mpcaruth]

OTHER KIDS/FAMILY ACTIVITIES:

 

 

My son spent a few dollars in the arcade. It is much smaller that Carnival's and is more expensive. On Carnival, games are typically $1.00, while most games on the Jewel were $1.50. That adds up. We give each kid $30 to spend however they choose onboard. The 50% higher cost, gave my son less time in the arcade.

 

 

The Jewel had a great sports court, but it closed everyday at 5:00. So, no b-ball on port days. I am sure it is because the court is directly above the Italian restaurant. It is LOUD in the Italian restaurant during the day when kids are playing ball.

 

 

 

We went to the Spongebob meet and greet. My daughter loves Spongebob, and even used her onboard $ to get a Spongebob NCL Lanyard.

 

 

 

 

The pool deck at night was deserted most of the time. We really missed having an outdoor theater, like on most Carnival ships. Often, after a busy port day, we would chill out as a family and watch a family movie under the stars on the big screen and eat ice cream. So, the kids didn't want to go to splash academy, no movie to watch... our evening choices were dwindling...

[mpcaruth]

FAMILY/KIDS ACTIVITIES CONTINUED:

 

Deal or No Deal. My son was all about this! They announced that kids could play, so he and I got a ticket. I really think he expected to win big. Unfortunately, all we won was a strip of instant win tickets. We enjoyed the Deal or No Deal, as it was much more entertaining than bingo. It felt like the odds of winning were better, as the audience got to play along with their own card if they were not selected to go on stage. I think we made the most of our free OBC when we bought the Deal or no Deal card:

 

Free $20 card > 5 instant win tickets > $1 win > 4 free tokens > 4 tries at coin dozer > busted! We really spread out that free $20 before ultimately loosing it. My son got a smart phone for his birthday (debarkation day) and downloaded the Deal or No Deal app and played for a few hours on the drive home.

 

 

We attended a cooking demonstration one day and learned how to prepare the perfect steak. The demo took place in the small atrium, but we watched one level up from the Blue Lagoon.

 

[mpcaruth]

PORT DAY 3, ROATAN:

 

 

Woohoooo!!! I LOVE Roatan. This was our second time to Roatan, and the first time we took a private taxi and purchased a day pass to the Mayan Princess Resort on the West End. That place and beach were amazing and has been one of my favorite port days ever! So, when I booked Maya Keys through NCL, I was wondering if I had made a mistake of not going to the West End beaches and snorkeling. Honestly, Mitsugirly’s review of May Key convince me that it would a great day, even if we only ventured out ½ mile from the ship. And Mitsugirly’s review did not steer me wrong – Thank you.

 

We used our free OBC to book the Maya Key excursion. We disembarked the ship and the small dock with the boat to Maya Key was right there waiting for us. No need to exit the port area.

 

View of the May Key island through the plexi-glass at the front of the Jewel. This is of the backside of the island opposite of the beach and snorkeling areas:

 

 

 

We were one of the first to arrive at the island, but there were a few folks already there from a Carnival ship. The island never got crowded that day. I am not sure why more people did not book this excursion, especially since it was one of the cheaper NCL beach excursions. The resort contained an animal wildlife reserve, Mayan cultural center with replica structures and temples, a small pool, small beach, lovely pier to amazing snorkeling, shaded deck area with tables, free lunch, bathrooms, store/gift shop, and paths around the island. What else could you want???

 

We immediately choose our front row beach chairs and the kids and I geared up for snorkeling. I brought our own snorkeling gear which consisted of two full sets including fins and vests, and two additional snorkels and masks. My son, who is a Sheldon-germ-a-phobic (think Big Bang Theory), will not use anyone else’s snorkel. Okay, I really, really, took a lot of photos here and am having a hard time condensing them. So, forgive me if I post too many.

 

A long pier was constructed to take the snorkelers out to the reef. See the snorkelers to the right of the pier hut? Yep, that is how close the amazing reef is!

 

There were a couple of guides available to assist inexperienced snorkelers. We decided that we were fine without a guide. We got in the super cold water, followed the marked trail to the opening in the reef, and we were off...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mpcaruth]

ROATAN - MAY KEY CONTINUED:

 

More snorkeling photos:

 

 

Aaaahhhhhhh...my happy place. Loved swimming with these guys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I swear, this parrot fish smiled for the camera!

[mpcaruth]

ROATAN - MAY KEY CONTINUED:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My daughter is tired and is ready to go play on the beach, so we make our swim back to the pier.

 

[mpcaruth]

ROATAN - MAY KEY CONTINUED:

 

Next we decide to explore the island and take a look at the animals. We were informed that all the animals were rescued or confiscated from illegal owners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These birds were not caged and we found them perched along the path nears the Mayan temple.