just returned from the Jewel into Bayport

[Galleon1234]

We had quite a long wait to get off the ship. We could not get clearance to disembark. Heard rumors that some people were arrested. Would love to hear the details if someone has heard. Hope the people boarding today were not delayed too much.

[tarps14]

We got off this morning as well and the delay was the Jewel's card reader system went down. We were off by 10a and had no problems making our 12:30p flight. Saw nothing to indicate anyone was arrested, however, there was a medical evacuation, hence the reason for the ambulance and fire truck pier-side (and before anyone asks, it was NOT Ebola related).

Edited October 26, 2014 by tarps14

[kabbie]

Welcome home!

 

I hope you don't mind if I pepper you with questions. I leave on the Jewel in 21 days. :-)

 

1. How was embarkation? What time did you get there and how long did you wait?

 

2. Do you happen to have copies of dailies to share?

 

3. Did you do the Chefs Table? Which night was it offered?

 

4. Did anyone get the spa passes (day or week)? How crowded was it?

 

5. Did they offer the Nick pajama jam breakfast?

 

Thanks in advance for any input you can share!

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Galleon1234]

Embarktation went smoothly. We just had delays this morning getting off the ship. There were various rumors going around.

[Rudyard]

At least they let us wait in our cabins until the crowd thinned out on deck 7. We finally left our cabin around 10:15 and were on the sidewalk in front of the terminal in about twenty minutes.

 

I was surprised with how smoothly embarkation went. We got there last Saturday around 11:15 and by the time we entered the terminal the security line was backed up almost to the door. It was actually kind of misleading though as it seemed to be constantly moving. Same with check-in. It took us about an hour to get onboard and we were pleasantly surprised to find our cabin ready so we could drop off our carry on bags and start exploring.

[tarps14]

Embarktation went smoothly. We just had delays this morning getting off the ship. There were various rumors going around.

 

We happened to be about 10 people back when the system went down. Don't know what other rumors there might have been, but, the issue was the card system. One unit inside was still operational but most waiting hadn't gotten that far yet or were already lined up on the outer deck waiting.

[Galleon1234]

We were in Tsars eating breakfast at 7:00. We had the gray 8:30 tags. The announcements we kept hearing was that the ship hadn't been granted clearance, over and over again. People did see 2 men being led off in handcuffs, I was told.

 

Sure wish they would have been upfront and told us the machines were down and that was the reason. People were speculating and that is never a good thing.

The toilets also had intermittent problems of not flushing for the last 2 days. 50 cabins were affected plus the last day I was told all the restrooms by Spinnakers were not flushing. When I called to report mine each time they acted like that was the first time they had heard that. Which of course was not the case since friends of mine in other cabins were having the same problem and had called. I felt they were less than upfront with known issues. inmho be truthful about what is going on... be upfront...do not keep people in the dark. I have cruised many times. This was my first cruise on NCL. I was not happy with this aspect of the cruise.

[tarps14]

While the plumbing issue did not affect our cabin directly, we were told by our butler that someone had flushed a towel and that is what caused the clog (really, people? a towel? who does this crap?). He said it was in danger of clogging the entire system if they didn't find it soon (which they did soon after that conversation).

 

Unfortunately, with this cruise, there did seem to be a fair share of little niggling things. Not so many as to say I would never cruise on the Jewel again, but just little things. The card reader system going down, the plumbing issue, woefully understaffed in Moderno, the food/bev guy who walked in on us in our cabin, without knocking, at a very inopportune moment even with the do not disturb posted (use the deadbolt, people!!), the quality of the food in Teppanyaki on the first night (dramatically improved for our second visit the last night, though), the new preparation of the lobster in Le Bistro (no more full tail, now cut up in small pieces and mixed with a cream based sauce, yet still charged the extra $10? barely enough lobster meat for an appetizer, certainly not entree). There were several more but I think you get the drift.

 

P.S. Please do not let our experience color your excitement for your own cruise in any way. Most of these things can be one time issues and your sailing may be trouble free (as long as some idiot doesn't decide to flush a towel!).

Edited October 26, 2014 by tarps14

[Galleon1234]

Sorry to hear about some of your incidents too. Glad they found the towel, however my toilet was not able to flush even on the day we departed the ship

:(! We were on the 10th deck. Hopefully all has been fixed and the current passengers are having an excellent cruise:)!

[mistshar]

the food/bev guy who walked in on us in our cabin, without knocking, at a very inopportune moment even with the do not disturb posted (use the deadbolt, people!!)

 

We have taken one NCL cruise before the one we have booked in April. We had the same thing happen except it was the room steward. We didn't understand why he came in when he had already turned down the bed for the night. He had no business coming in. We made up our mind after that to never take another NCL cruise. However, since they are going out of Houston now we decided to try them again. If this happens again, we probably won't be cruising them any more.

 

Sorry to hear about some of your incidents too. Glad they found the towel, however my toilet was not able to flush even on the day we departed the ship

:(! We were on the 10th deck. Hopefully all has been fixed and the current passengers are having an excellent cruise:)!

 

We are booked on the 10th deck. I hope they get everything fixed by the time we go.

[realcindylouwho]

While the plumbing issue did not affect our cabin directly, we were told by our butler that someone had flushed a towel and that is what caused the clog (really, people? a towel? who does this crap?). He said it was in danger of clogging the entire system if they didn't find it soon (which they did soon after that conversation).

 

Unfortunately, with this cruise, there did seem to be a fair share of little niggling things. Not so many as to say I would never cruise on the Jewel again, but just little things. The card reader system going down, the plumbing issue, woefully understaffed in Moderno, the food/bev guy who walked in on us in our cabin, without knocking, at a very inopportune moment even with the do not disturb posted (use the deadbolt, people!!), the quality of the food in Teppanyaki on the first night (dramatically improved for our second visit the last night, though), the new preparation of the lobster in Le Bistro (no more full tail, now cut up in small pieces and mixed with a cream based sauce, yet still charged the extra $10? barely enough lobster meat for an appetizer, certainly not entree). There were several more but I think you get the drift.

 

P.S. Please do not let our experience color your excitement for your own cruise in any way. Most of these things can be one time issues and your sailing may be trouble free (as long as some idiot doesn't decide to flush a towel!).

 

I noticed you had a butler and thought you could answer this question. At two other ports (MIAMI and N.O.) we have sailed out of we were screened and passed through security and then found someone holding a clipboard wearing an NCL shirt. We gave them our name and they showed us to the Suite/VIP area? Is there an area at Bayport? Second, where is it located? Was this your experience as well?

 

We are a party of 6 and one will need to be able to sit frequently due to his health (he does not need a wheelchair) so I would like to be confident in our boarding situation to keep him comfortable.:)

[rjm11]

welcome back! Did you by chance happen to do the new NCL excursion in Belize that involved traveling to Caye Caulker and swimming with the sharks and rays? It doesn't have any reviews, and I'm hoping to get some questions answered.... namely, does it tender right from the ship, or does it go to the Belize City and then leave from there....

thanks!

[bebe1977]

welcome back! Did you by chance happen to do the new NCL excursion in Belize that involved traveling to Caye Caulker and swimming with the sharks and rays? It doesn't have any reviews, and I'm hoping to get some questions answered.... namely, does it tender right from the ship, or does it go to the Belize City and then leave from there....

thanks!

 

I took this excursion back in March. At that time, we tendered to Belize City first.

[rjm11]

I took this excursion back in March. At that time, we tendered to Belize City first.

 

Thanks! Did you enjoy the excursion? Was it worth it to you?

 

Also- how was the lunch at Caye Caulker? I know it's not included- did they accept credit cards there, or did you need cash?

 

Did they take you to the reef too? Or just with the sharks/rays?

 

I'm sorry for all the questions.... there's not much on here about it!

[Laszlo]

welcome back! Did you by chance happen to do the new NCL excursion in Belize that involved traveling to Caye Caulker and swimming with the sharks and rays? It doesn't have any reviews, and I'm hoping to get some questions answered.... namely, does it tender right from the ship, or does it go to the Belize City and then leave from there....

thanks!

 

Thats got to be a good hour boat ride out to Caye Caulker, hope its for the whole day

[bebe1977]

Thanks! Did you enjoy the excursion? Was it worth it to you?

 

Also- how was the lunch at Caye Caulker? I know it's not included- did they accept credit cards there, or did you need cash?

 

Did they take you to the reef too? Or just with the sharks/rays?

 

I'm sorry for all the questions.... there's not much on here about it!

 

Here is a thread from July about it. Maybe it will answer some of your questions. We did enjoy the tour, and yes it was worth it. We paid cash at the restaurant, so not sure about credit cards.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2056617

[GrabMyWrist]

Welcome home!

 

2. Do you happen to have copies of dailies to share?

 

Thanks in advance for any input you can share!

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Jewel Dailies from Houston

[tarps14]

I noticed you had a butler and thought you could answer this question. At two other ports (MIAMI and N.O.) we have sailed out of we were screened and passed through security and then found someone holding a clipboard wearing an NCL shirt. We gave them our name and they showed us to the Suite/VIP area? Is there an area at Bayport? Second, where is it located? Was this your experience as well?

 

We are a party of 6 and one will need to be able to sit frequently due to his health (he does not need a wheelchair) so I would like to be confident in our boarding situation to keep him comfortable.:)

 

Happy to help. Once we got through security there is indeed someone who will direct you to the suite check-in. If I remember correctly, it is just past security on the left side, not much of a walk at all. It is a separate area with quite a few sofas and chairs and also drinks and snacks for those who had to wait. We got there about 11:30ish and while the security line was quite long, it moved constantly so not a lot of standing around in a line. After we made it thru security, it was probably a total of 20 min and we were on the ship. Bayport really impressed us with the set-up. Everything was quite organized and the personnel were incredibly friendly.

Edited October 27, 2014 by tarps14

[british lady]

Thank you for all the information.

My question did you buy duty free goods and have to pay the Texas tax?

I think it is going to start this fall.

[gooch47]

We had lunch once with the chief engineer on a Princess ship who told us about an elderly couple on one cruise who flushed towels numerous times. He said they found out both were in the early stages of Alzheimer disease and didn't really know what they were doing.

[cruisinmeme]

We had lunch once with the chief engineer on a Princess ship who told us about an elderly couple on one cruise who flushed towels numerous times. He said they found out both were in the early stages of Alzheimer disease and didn't really know what they were doing.

 

Shame on their family letting them go on a cruise "unsupervised "

[tarps14]

Thank you for all the information.

My question did you buy duty free goods and have to pay the Texas tax?

I think it is going to start this fall.

 

We received complimentary liquor with our suite so we didn't actually purchase that or cigarettes (which are the other thing currently being taxed). The liquor that was left over we wrapped securely in our suitcases and walked right off and through customs with no issues. We did, however, see the table set up for the collection of taxes and anyone who was passing through with the cardboard travel boxes of liquor were being directed to this table. I guess if it's out of sight (i.e. packed out of sight) then they would be none the wiser. They certainly weren't going through anyone's bags looking for it.

 

One thing I did remember specific to Bayport that I haven't seen done elsewhere is when first arriving at the pier to embark, if you chose to carry on your own luggage (lg bags, not carry-ons) they would direct you to the right entrance of the terminal. If you had given your large luggage to the porters, then you were directed to the left entrance. They attempted to send us to the right as we had a 22" rolling bag, however, we basically ignored them and went with the crowd. I believe the reasoning in this is the lg suitcases will not fit thru the security scanners therefore they were being checked a different way, I would assume by hand. I would much rather let someone else do the heavy lifting and me walk onto the ship unimpeded. Just sayin'.

 

Also, when embarking on 10/18, the ship was positioned with the port side toward the pier, however, when returning on the 25th, they docked it starboard side towards the pier. Thought this was interesting. Anyone know the reason for the change?

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your report.

[rvsullivan]

We received complimentary liquor with our suite so we didn't actually purchase that or cigarettes (which are the other thing currently being taxed). The liquor that was left over we wrapped securely in our suitcases and walked right off and through customs with no issues. We did, however, see the table set up for the collection of taxes and anyone who was passing through with the cardboard travel boxes of liquor were being directed to this table. I guess if it's out of sight (i.e. packed out of sight) then they would be none the wiser. They certainly weren't going through anyone's bags looking for it.

 

One thing I did remember specific to Bayport that I haven't seen done elsewhere is when first arriving at the pier to embark, if you chose to carry on your own luggage (lg bags, not carry-ons) they would direct you to the right entrance of the terminal. If you had given your large luggage to the porters, then you were directed to the left entrance. They attempted to send us to the right as we had a 22" rolling bag, however, we basically ignored them and went with the crowd. I believe the reasoning in this is the lg suitcases will not fit thru the security scanners therefore they were being checked a different way, I would assume by hand. I would much rather let someone else do the heavy lifting and me walk onto the ship unimpeded. Just sayin'.

 

Also, when embarking on 10/18, the ship was positioned with the port side toward the pier, however, when returning on the 25th, they docked it starboard side towards the pier. Thought this was interesting. Anyone know the reason for the change?

 

Yes, the ships rotate the docking side in all ports unless there is a specific restriction. Many posts asking what side is the best for any given cruise. There is no answer. The ship alternates for many reasons, wind, tides, training etc.

[2Ccruisers]

Also, when embarking on 10/18, the ship was positioned with the port side toward the pier, however, when returning on the 25th, they docked it starboard side towards the pier. Thought this was interesting. Anyone know the reason for the change?

I noticed this also since I look up the Bayport web cam every Saturday morning in months before our cruises (little excited maybe? lol) and the Caribbean Princess never docked Star Board side and this was the first time I've ever seen one docked this way at Bayport. Of course, I only paid attention this past December and January and have been watching for the last month since we cruise this Saturday. I though it a little odd myself but good to know they all do this sometimes.