Review of Jewel Feb.23-Mar.2

[Mel&Ken]

Having experienced our first suite on NCL I wanted to post some of our thoughts. It won’t be a full trip review but just some key points I wanted to share.

 

About us; we’re in our 40’s and travel 3-4 times a year if we can. Food is a key part of our travels, not only quality but trying local cuisines etc. This was our 4th cruise in 2 years and our second with NCL – the other 2 were with Celebrity.

 

We did the exact itinerary on NCL as we did last year – Costa Maya, Cozumel, Belize and Honduras. Our trip last year was rainy and when we were offered a free balcony room through our casino we decided to try it again later in the season and we’re glad we did – the weather was perfect.

 

Our Cabin: We used the “free” balcony as a chance to upgrade to a suite. We chose the aft penthouse suite – cabin number #10664 which was right on the corner. Some noise from the hall as we were across from the steward’s closet and next to a service stairway but nothing that kept us awake. I loved the vanity area and large closet. There were not enough hangers for us but we were able to get more eventually. Drawers are very small but between them and the shelves we found a spot for everything. There are two safes so we used one for stuff we wouldn’t touch all cruise the other for our daily in/out. There was some garbage on our balcony each morning from the decks above but by afternoon it was cleaned up. The size of the balcony was ok – not as large as I had expected or hoped but certainly big enough for what we needed. A table in the room was a nice change from eating breakfast on your lap or on a tiny foot stool. Overall I loved the bigger room and it will be hard going back to a standard balcony next time for sure.

 

Butler: Our butler was Henry and he was pretty much useless to us. We met him the very first day when he brought our afternoon canapés. Right off the bat I let him know that we don’t eat seafood or cream cheese and asked if this was what we could expect daily. He took them away with him and assured us that it would be a variety and he would ensure we didn’t get them again – we got them three times.

 

Next he showed Ken how to use the coffee maker and asked if there was anything we needed. I requested half and half for our coffee, juice, the mini fridge to be cleaned out, firm pillows and extra hangers – no problem.

 

Long story short….we never got the juice, it took 2 days for the fridge to be cleaned out and 1 day to get hangers – by then I was hanging 3 items per hanger and sticking things where I could. The room steward ended up getting our pillows and half and half after he kept telling us to ask our butler and we kept telling him we did. It was frustrating. I don’t need a butler and really if you aren’t prepared to follow through then just don’t ask us if we need anything. I based my requests on things I read here on CC and didn’t think I was being overly demanding. So did I enjoy having a butler? Absolutely not.

 

Concierge: Fantastic! From the moment we met her in the suite lounge (which is a great perk by the way) she was always helpful. To start she knew when we checked in that we wanted the Chef’s Table and she had us signed up. Then the following morning for breakfast she asked about dinner reservations and I said I wanted to see the 7 day MDR menus first so we could choose around the days we didn’t care for. That afternoon in our suite were all 7 days marked with the port etc. From there we determined we’d eat in the MDR twice and we wrote out choice of restaurants and times each night and she booked it all. We then had delivered to our room a letter with confirmations of each night and time. That was all we did with her but I was very impressed with her and her service.

 

Drinks: On Celebrity we get the drink package as it includes everything from bottled water to cappucinno in addition to your alcohol. On this cruise our drinks in the casino were free. So instead we opted for a 6 bottle package for water and one for wine. The water was delivered to our room and for the wine we received 6 vouchers that you hand to your server. Here is where they need some tweaking. There are 3 levels of wine – basic, mid and premium – and each group has a price point. It was explained to us that if we pay for the premium then we can choose a wine from any of the three levels which is what we did. We ended up loving a wine from the premium section and drank it three times. The last time, in the MDR, this caused a big issue that took 25 minutes, 3 staff members and our last nerve to rectify. There has to be a better way to manage this or at least ensure all your staff understand how it works.

 

Food: We ate at Le Bistro, Cagney’s, Italian, Teppanyaki and the Chef’s Table leaving us in the MDR only twice.

 

Service and food in Bistro, Italian, Teppanyaki and Chef’s Table was perfect. Food in Cagney’s was great but the service was VERY rushed. We do not like to eat quickly as we want multiple courses without feeling stuffed. So we asked our server right at the start to really slow it down for us. Despite that, and despite leaving our steaks sitting under the lamp for at least 10 minutes because we weren’t ready – we had a 4 course meal in just over an hour. Way, way too fast.

 

Our MDR experience was not any better. The first night was the worst. Our concierge had made us a reservation for 8pm. We were sat at a table with nothing but a cloth on it – no salt/pepper, bread, candle….nothing. Our server came and dropped off our menus and we gave her our wine voucher with our new favourite wine written on it and off she went. She came back a few minutes later (still sitting at a bare table) with a different wine from the basic section and said the bartender said we couldn’t have the wine we chose with our package. We explained we paid for premium, that we’ve done this before without incident and that we can chose from all the categories. Next she tried to take our food order. Uh no…..I’d like to have my wine first please. So off she goes again, this time we end up with a manager at our table and then a bar manager all arguing with us. It was embarrassing. Next an officer comes over and actually has our slip from when we bought the package and confirms that we do have the premium and we can have this wine. Everyone leaves and we sit (still at a bare table) while people keep looking to see why we’re making such a big fuss. Sigh. The table next to us even said to the server “don’t worry, we’re not difficult like some tables”. Jeez. All I want is the wine I paid for. :confused:

 

Soon a server from the Chef’s Table the night before sees us and comes over to say hi. She snaps her fingers and we suddenly have glasses and cutlery and she offers us a cheese tray while we wait. Our night is turning around.

 

25 minutes after we are seated our wine arrives and we finally order our food. 30 minutes later we have eaten three courses and are sitting at our table finishing our wine. Just too fast for our taste. I agree some people are rushing off to a show so in hindsight we could have told our server we were in no hurry. She was probably doing her best to get us out of her station!

 

Our second MDR experience was not much different minus the wine issue. Our first apps came at different times. Ken had his a good 3-4 minutes before me and I insisted he start while it was hot. Mine followed and then immediately so did our next course. Our main courses were served while I was standing in line in the ladies room which took almost 10 minutes. Just not good service. The food was ok –nothing to rave about but also nothing wrong with it. As far as MDRs go – Celebrity is way ahead in this area.

 

Room Service: 3 breakfasts and all were great!

 

Blue Lagoon: We ate here twice and the food is good. Ken loved the chicken wings and I had cheese sticks and potato skins as an app – both ok. For mains we had fish and chips, Panini, meatloaf and a burger – all good. Again the issue is timing. Ken’s fish came out when he was 3 wings into a 10 wing platter – we saw every table with 2-3 plates sitting there as there is no consideration for timing. Even as a table – when it’s ready, it comes out, no matter what. Such an easy thing to control if they tried to.

 

Shows: didn’t step foot in the theatre.

 

Casino: We went every day. Slots are hard to come by and by the end of the trip you knew which were paying and which weren’t. I won a few jackpots and did ok. We played cards every night and the dealers and pit bosses were great – we met some great people. If you gamble you start to see the same people each night which is fun.

 

Ship: The Jewel is a great ship. We’re not big on laying around the pool all day and there is lots to do. You can be as busy or as lazy as you want.

 

Ports: Because we have done this itinerary before we opted for a quieter cruise and didn’t book any excursions. We walked around a few ports but our only outing was in Honduras when based on Mitsugirly’s reviews we booked a day at Little French Key. I will tell you this goes down as one of the best days of my life. So beautiful, peaceful and relaxing….the food was great, the people were super friendly and helpful – anything you needed they were on it. We’re actually looking at a trip to Roatan for a week just so we can go back here a few more times.

 

Disembark: We self disembarked due to some lost luggage last year and we’re not ready to trust our bags out of sight just yet. But I must say lugging everything through the port and to the taxi stand is a huge task! The taxi line in New Orleans is quite a walk and we waited for a very long time to get a taxi. I will look into a private transfer next time for sure. People were getting really upset that had a lot of bags and they were asking why there weren’t porters etc. to help them. Aside from the wait the process was smooth.

 

Final thoughts: I will always take a free cruise offered on NCL. :p I will also purchase the dining package next time as we just don’t care for the food in the MDR. The crew is very helpful and friendly and there is a huge presence with the Officers – you see them everywhere and speak to them often. They seem genuine about wanting feedback and knowing how they can improve which is refreshing. I have been spoiled by the suite experience so in the future if the budget allows I will do my best to upgrade whenever possible. It's nice to feel pampered on vacation.