Just returned from the Jewel

[sadiecat]

We just completed our cruise on the Jewel from New Orleans and it was fantastic. We had to travel with a wheelchair since I have been having severe knee problems and I had some concerns before departing that there would be problems, but it was smooth as good be. People were very gracious with the exception of the buffet. People were always sitting in the handicapped tables and that was quite frustrating to say the least and made it very difficult.

 

We had a Penthouse with large balcony #10000. It was very spacious for the three of us and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Plenty of storage space and hangers. The only drawback was the butler Melanie. We only saw her twice the entire week. Our room steward David was exceptional he should be a butler he was so attentive and met our needs since the butler didn't. This was our second cruise with Virginia the concierge and she is fantastic always willing to bend over backwards for you.

 

Regarding the food. We were pleasantly surprised with the buffet with the exception of seating. There was a good variety and everything was hot. Maybe we were just lucky on previous cruises it was always cold and we had been avoiding the buffet for years for that reason.

 

We at ate Cagneys for breakfast three times and once for dinner. As usual everything was great. Really enjoy the crab benedict.

We ate at the Italian restaurant once and thought it was very good. Lebistro was disappointing. From all the good things I have read I might have had my expectations too high. The food was not seasoned that well

and was lukewarm at best. I will say the wine list was excellent.

 

We arrived at the port at 10:30 and was onboard at 11:00. Went very smoothly. Disembarkation was just as easy.

 

Our first stop Cozumel we did the tequila tasting tour. There was very little tour wise that would accommodate the wheelchair, but we enjoyed it very much. Even brought back some tequila. It did storm toward the end of the tour but by the time we got back to the ship it had passed so we managed to not get wet.

 

Roatan we missed due to the murder of one of the Pearl's crew. Very sad. So, we had an extra day at sea.

 

Belize I was not able to tender very well so my husband and niece just went in for a little shopping.

 

Costa Maya was beautiful the weather was beautiful. My niece did the dolphin swim and it was great to watch her.

 

The entertainment was good. I thought the entertainment on the Dawn was better, but we did enjoy it. This was the first time we went to the White Hot Party and we were not impressed. Seemed like just a bunch of teenage kids jumping around so we didn't stay long.

 

The casino was a bust. Could not hit a thing the machines just ate up your money. Par for the course, but still fun to try and win.

 

Well that is about all I have to say except to mention again that we had a great time.

[Love my butler]

Should have called your butler on the phone if you needed her or talked to the fantastic concierge about your concerns with the butler.

[2red4u]

Thank you for the review! We will be on her at the end of May, for Alaska. Hmm don't know what to think about the butler. Hopefully he get a vacation during dry dock and steps it up, as we plan on using him for some meals in our cabin. I would be bummed about missing a port also, but support NCL decision.

[stobrien]

Thank you for your Review, we are new to cruising and will be boarding the Jewel April 20th for its repositioning Cruise. Were very excited. We are considering boarding at 10:30 but many have told us this was too early. Is this a good time to board?

[sadiecat]

We did call the butler on the phone and David the room Steward did the followup and I was not going to complain because I just figured it would make matters worse. She knew her job and she did not do it.

[tonyd285]

We were on the Jewel in February. I am happy to hear of your very positive experience with Virginia. IMHO she is the best concierge working for NCL. She was in regular communication with us to ensure everything was good. She arranged all of our dinner reservations, even comped my birthday dinner at the Italian restaurant. I hope NCL realizes what a treasure they have with Virginia on the Jewel.

[dasmonkey]

 

We at ate Cagneys for breakfast three times and once for dinner. As usual everything was great. Really enjoy the crab benedict.

We ate at the Italian restaurant once and thought it was very good. Lebistro was disappointing. From all the good things I have read I might have had my expectations too high. The food was not seasoned that well

and was lukewarm at best. I will say the wine list was excellent.

 

I love reading reviews just to see the vastly different experiences to the same venues when I was there, especially food.

 

I ate at Le Bistro twice on the same cruise last week, Tuesday and Thursday evening. Both nights had almost the exact same thing, French onion soup, escargot, the duck and walnut salad and the filet. One night I swapped the snails for the scallops.

 

Was warned each time they placed one of those hot items on the table about it being hot. "Cindy" was not kidding as they were all straight out of the oven and smoking hot. Nothing I had either night was "lukewarm". All my dishes were seasoned to perfection.

 

The only problem is it made it "tough", pun intended, to eat the beef items in the MDR the other nights.

 

I am Platinum so it was all gratis but wouldn't hesitate to pay the extra $20 to dine there.

[Richpontone]

I love the "Jewel" class NCL ships. They are not too small nor too big, but they are "just right" like Papa Bear in that children's tale of Goldilocks. And they are always clean and well maintained. Of course, I had Sinan, the best Cruise Director in the fleet but I think he is on the bigger ships now.

I know that I am going to start a war about tipping but I had excellent steward service on my Oceanview cabin and I gave him 30 bucks for the 10 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean.

If anyone has trouble with an employee, you get that name and phone extension of the Hotel Director at the CC "Meet and Greet" and you call him or her. I never had a problem but when I needed a coffee maker in my room, one call got it to me in less than an hour. Complaining to the front desk is a severe waste of time that produces no constructive results.

[candydane]

Did Virginia say if she was leaving the Jewel shortly?

 

Our cruise leaves Sunday but NCL sent us an email saying our Concierge was TBA.

 

Hope it's Virginia -- she really is great!

[cruisetraveler2]

I'm so glad you enjoyed your cruise. We were also lucky enough to have Virginia as our concierge. She is excellent. We were a bit disappointed in our butler. Luckily we are low maintenance and don't require much. We did have to finally track her down to find out how to work the coffee machine. I think she was very busy with requests from other passengers. I certainly didn't feel it was something to complain about. Some butlers are definitely better than others.

Edited April 16, 2014 by cruisetraveler2

[Waterloomarc]

We were on the same cruise on deck 11. I just wanted to say that I noticed the same thing in the buffet. I'm not handicapped but remember thinking EVERY time I went there that none of the people sitting at those tables were either! Sad.

 

We had a great cruise and very much enjoyed the ship. We never received a notice in our cabin that we were skipping Roatan, so that was an unpleasant surprise when we got our Daily the previous night :( No biggie though, I enjoy sea days and didn't have anything planned. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little put off by it.

 

We got caught in the storm in Cozumel. My 10 month old thought it was hilarious in her stroller! As the one pushing the stroller... Not so much.

 

 

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[Redheel Girl]

Didn't your Butler bring you "Canapes" each day. On the Star we heard the Butler next door and he never did come to our Cabin so I told Belkey and she asked if I had my do not Disturb sign on because even she would never come in or knock on the Door. Believe me we were very careful after that!...And yes some Butlers are better than others.

[ksimpso3]

We were on the Jewel in February. I am happy to hear of your very positive experience with Virginia. IMHO she is the best concierge working for NCL. She was in regular communication with us to ensure everything was good. She arranged all of our dinner reservations, even comped my birthday dinner at the Italian restaurant. I hope NCL realizes what a treasure they have with Virginia on the Jewel.

 

I totally agree!! Virginia was extremely professional and pleasant when we were on the Dawn last January. She seemed to be everywhere on the ship. We loved her and hope to cruise with her again soon.

 

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