Norwegian Jewel 4/6/14 - 4/13/14

[kcwingwalker]

Ship: Norwegian Jewel

Dates: 4/6/14 - 4/13/14

Departure: New Orleans

Itinerary: Cozumel, Belize, Roatan and Costa Maya

Cabin: Owners Suite

Bulter: "Walter" Not his real name, but the name he chose to make it easier for the guests.

Stewardess: Connie M

Concierge: Virginia

 

Recently a poster (I believe it was Sharkbait) mentioned that reviews should be in the review section if you did not wish to receive negative feedback. I agree with his opinion. So this is a summary of our recent cruise and all feedback is welcome.

 

2 Days to Departure

 

The feeling of OMG I have so much to do arrived and I'm running to the bank, etc. Made the decision to take cats to the vet a day early just in case. Glad I did because Grace made it very clear she wasn't going and it all took much longer than I planned. Such ungrateful cats and I booked them the Cancun Suite at my vet's Catnip Inn! I always feel so guilty when I leave them. But just say cruise and I'm able to deal with the guilt.

 

1 Day to Departure

 

Finished packing, loaded car and picked up DD at airport. She's on time and we hit the road. Brought along a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts for the ride. DD loves California, but who wants a healthy doughnut? Easy drive to Laffayette and dinner at the Blue Dog Cafe which we highly recommend. Then spend the night at a nearby Holiday Inn Express. We're not any smarter, but the HI was clean and well priced.

 

Day 1 Departure

 

DD driving and an easy drive into NOLA and arrived about 10:30 am. Julia Street terminal is a little rough around the edges but we were in the VIP lounge by 11:00 am and greeted by our concierge Virginia and boarded within a few minutes. Met our butler "Walter" who escorted us to Cagney's for lunch. Weather a little foggy and rainy. As the Jewel was leaving the dock the sun came out and our cruise was off to a great start.

 

The Owners Suite is wonderful and everything we had requested was ready along with wine and bottles of champagne.

 

We dined in for the first night. We had the UDP and "Walter" helped us with the menus and it was fun to order from different restaurants. I wanted Chinese and DD wanted French, no problem. We also met our stewardess, Connie M., who was delight and kept everything running smoothly. Connie seemed to be always available and helped at every opportunity.

 

Going down the Mississippi is always something I enjoy and being able to go out onto my forward balcony at night was so special. But so windy! When the wind was just too much there was a second balcony which was enclosed

 

Day 2 At Sea

 

"Walter" served our us our first breakfast and all was good and relaxing. Spent most of the day discovering the ship and especially the Haven. Lunch at Cagney's and have to say it was average. Then spent time pool side where there were plenty of lounge chairs available and enjoyed watching to the Nick kids.

 

Had drinks at the Cigar Bar and there was a couple who were sailing on the CAS program who had endless complaints. It didn't take long for them to clear the bar.............who wants to listen to complainers? Saw the woman a few more times on the cruise and she always seemed unhappy.

 

DD stopped at the Spa to see what was available and check on prices. Reps were quick on the hard sell.

 

"Walter" brought us our afternoon snack and it was mini BLTs! So good and no Bacon Police to be found.

 

Dinner at La Cucina and it was very good and the service was outstanding. I ordered the rib eye steak and honestly it was excellent.

 

When we returned to our cabin we found cookies from "Walter", chocolate covered strawberries (eventually we received a total of 6 orders) and a Tiramisu cake from Carlo's Bakery that my DS had ordered for us.

 

We also received notice that we would not be stopping in Roatan. Considering the tragic circumstances we understood completely and it was not a problem. Most passengers accepted NCLs decision but a few were unhappy.

 

More to come! Might be tomorrow but the weather guy says we can expect severe storms and should plan on power outages.

[meatball_nyc]

:D

P.S. Hope you don't lose power. Good luck with those storms.

 

 

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Edited April 27, 2014 by meatball_nyc

[albertamom]

SO excited to read your review! We have just booked a Haven 2BR Family Villa for next February, so I'm gobbling up every bit of information I can find! :D

 

I didn't realize that you could order a Carlo's Bakery cake onboard the Jewel! I have got to remember that, for a surprise for my daughter!

 

Hoping for the best for you, and all those in the path of these storms.

[kcwingwalker]

SO excited to read your review! We have just booked a Haven 2BR Family Villa for next February, so I'm gobbling up every bit of information I can find! :D

 

I didn't realize that you could order a Carlo's Bakery cake onboard the Jewel! I have got to remember that, for a surprise for my daughter!

 

Hoping for the best for you, and all those in the path of these storms.

 

Here's the link to order a cake from Carlo's Bakery http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/gifts-and-more#cakes

 

Yummy:)

[david_sobe]

Virginia is the best concierge ever! She is so sweet and SO helpful. Never had another concierge that could compare to her.

[PCLMassachusetts]

Great review so far. Can't wait for the rest.

[DDMau]

Had family on this cruise. Waiting to hear their views and the rest of yours.

 

Thank You

[kcwingwalker]

Forgot to mention that we attended the Captain's Party on Day 2. The event was held in the Haven and was well attended. Met several interesting people and all the officers. Very nice and we were pleased to have an invitation.

 

Day 3 Cozumel

 

Woke and found we were docked by the Pearl in Cozumel and it was a warm and sunny day. "Walter" delivered another hot breakfast.

 

This was my 5th visit to Cozumel and decided to pass on going ashore. DD went in and did a little shopping. About 3:00 pm a squall came up quickly and the harbor became rough and lots of wind and rain. People were running down the pier trying to get back to the ships. The Jewel and the Pearl sent out crew members with wheel chairs to assist people and continued until the storm had passed. I've never seen this before and really appreciated how well NCL was taking care of their guests.

 

Lunch at Cagney's again and it was OK. Our server was fine, but seemed disinterested. Dinner at Moderno and we loved the entire experience.

 

Day 4 Belize

 

"Walter" delivered breakfast from Cagney's and loved the crab cakes. DD enjoyed pancakes and the maple syrup I brought along.

 

We decided to wait until priority tendering was completed before going into Belize. When we arrived it was so crowded and disorganized. I think someone must have made the announcement for open tendering too soon. We were all jammed in and everyone who came off the elevator couldn't get to the end of the line and people were just merging in and doing their best. Finally the tenders arrived on both sides of the ship and everything started moving quickly.

 

A man who had been in front of us pulled out of line and moved to the top of the line and began to yell at a man and his wife and young children. This family was accused of cutting line deliberately and the episode became quite heated. Unfortunately the episode felt more like a racist verbal attack and other passengers were physically pulling the man away from the family. Officers quickly arrived and calmed things down. We boarded the tender and several people went over to the man and agreed with him that the family had cut line. Others went over to the family and offered apologies and comfort. The family was in tears and the young children seemed frightened. It was an uncomfortable situation for everyone. There was no need for this confrontation.

 

Did a little shopping in Belize and found a lovely cutting board for DS. Headed over to the Wet Lizard for lunch and a cold one. We never miss a chance to have lunch at the Wet Lizard and once again we were not disappointed. Tendered back to ship and all went well.

 

Enjoyed entertainment and drinks at Champagne Charlie's and then dinner delivered from Le Bistro. Back out again for a bit and enjoyed a few more drinks and lots of people watching from the Sky Bar.

[kcwingwalker]

Day 5--No Roatan

 

Coming Soon!