Norwegian Jewel questions?

[Galleon1234]

I have mainly cruised Rccl... never cruised Norwegian how do they compare?

 

How are the inside cabins? do they have a loveseat? sofa?

 

Free style dining? So no set time traditional dining? is it all included? or only certain Venues?

 

Anyone cruised to Banana coast yet?

 

Thanks for any and all information!

[triptolemus]

Inside cabins... no loveseat, no sofa... balcony cabins... small sofa.

 

Freestyle dining... no set times. There is a reservation system, but it's not required. There are multiple dining options... some are included in your fare, others cost extra. See...

 

http://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/jewel/onboard/dining#tab_detail

[DMH15]

The first banana coast cruise is this week. Look for upcoming reports.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Galleon1234]

Thank you for the dining information! just booked my first NCL cruise on the Jewel so please keep the info coming!

Thanks

[FF Woman]

We've cruised both lines three times each. They are pretty comparable so you will most likely enjoy NCL as much as you have RCCL. We've always had friendly crews and good service on both.

 

We are going on the Jewel for the third time this coming January and will be going to the Banana Coast also. I'm hoping that when the passengers on this week's cruise come back they will be posting about it since they are the first ones to stop there on an NCL ship.

 

The Jewel is a nice sized ship and was in for refurbishing and there are a couple of changes since we were on her last. We like that we can just show up at a dining room for dinner whenever we want to and unless it's the prime time dining hours, we can usually get right in. It's up to you how informally or formally you want to dress. NCL is more casual than RCCL. But we enjoy dressing up so usually do that one night. The other nights I like to wear nice capris and top or sundresses. DH wears khakis and polos as a rule.

 

If you have any other specific questions, I'll be glad to try to answer them.

 

Oh, one last thing, join your cruise roll call. You'll learn a lot from those on it and enjoy getting prepared for the cruise.

[Galleon1234]

Is there a place to get morning (free) coffee like the Cafe Promenade on RCCL? or do you just need to go to the buffet?

Thanks

[Doandroidzdream]

Hi FF. I wasn't too keen on the buffet with NCL, how would RCCLs dining in general compare?

[jeffregpuck]

Hi FF. I wasn't too keen on the buffet with NCL, how would RCCLs dining in general compare?

 

I'm not a fan of the buffets on any of the cruise lines, and the coffee is not great. If you have a balcony or higher cabin, there will be a coffee maker in your cabin. The coffee in the restaurants is much better. The easiest and fastest service will be at the Blue Lagoon restaurant, but their menu is slightly more limited than the main dining room. I think you can get free regular coffee at the coffee bar too, or you can go for one of the fancier selections.

Edited October 13, 2014 by jeffregpuck

[FF Woman]

Is there a place to get morning (free) coffee like the Cafe Promenade on RCCL? or do you just need to go to the buffet?

Thanks

 

The Blue Lagoon is gone and in it's place is O'Sheehan's--one of the new changes. From what I've read you can get breakfast there so shouldn't be a problem getting coffee there.

 

Also, if you go to the buffet and want a better cup of coffee, look to the side of the regular coffee machine and you'll see one that brews fresh ground beans and makes a small cup of coffee. It's not too bad. We are real coffee lovers so none of the coffee tastes as good as what we get at home but it works to get me going in the morning.

[FF Woman]

Hi FF. I wasn't too keen on the buffet with NCL, how would RCCLs dining in general compare?

 

We usually eat breakfast and some lunches in the buffets and think they are about the same for that. I like oatmeal and fresh fruit for breakfast so I'm not much of a judge for breakfast food. I do like NCL's pretzel rolls for sandwiches.

 

The only time I thought a buffet was really better than others was when we were on the NCL Pearl. They have the best buffet of any ship I've been on.