FYI: Jewel Obstructed view may equal NO view!

[DreamingBig1]

I can understand why your upset. What's the purpose of paying for an obstructed view lol.

 

Maybe their reasoning was that un-frosted window was actually unobstructed so they had to obstruct it. Haha

 

That's one that deserves an explanation at the least, in my opinion. You paid for that.

Edited February 20, 2015 by DreamingBig1

[NewEnglandNANA]

I am also booked in an obstructed view on the Pearl 8562. I too am concerned about the frosted windows. I assume the Pearl and the Jewel would be the same since they are the same class of ships. I have tried searching for information on these cabins but basically have come up with nothing informative. I don't book inside rooms because I need to be able to see something outside. I wonder about the reason for the frosted glass and how many obstructed view rooms have them???

 

I agree , I wish they would at least put in their description under obstructions "frosted windows". I called NCL the CC did not know the answer. But did say "Well that is an obstruction" OK well it would be nice to know in advance.

Edited February 20, 2015 by NewEnglandNANA

[mbisson]

This really is the damnedest thing I've heard of in a while

...I wish someone from NCL could interject the reasoning :(

[OceanDreaming2]

This really is the damnedest thing I've heard of in a while

...I wish someone from NCL could interject the reasoning :(

 

Agree with you 1000%! We have a call in to our PCC. She said after 9 years, it was the first time she'd heard of the windows being completely opaque. She's checking on the issue. I hope she'll be able to contact someone on the Jewel who will report back with their findings.

[jtheile]

We had 8052 and 8054 on the Jewel two years ago and those windows were not frosted.

[OceanDreaming2]

Here's the information straight from the Jewel's hotel director:

 

8568

8570

8572

8064

8066

8068

8070

8072

8574

8576

8578

8580

8582

8584

8586

8588

8074

8076

8078

8080

8082

8084

8086

8088

 

There must be a reason why these windows have been opaqued. My guess is we will never know the reason.

 

I'm also posting this list on the cabin selection sticky.

[mking8288]

Frosted glasses on some of the obstructed cabins seemed to be new as it wasn't back in 2011.

"Complaints" coming those that sailed in this category of obstructed view used to be that some folks got "surprised" inside their cabins with working crew members (usually in white jumpsuits) passing thru on the outside, right in front of those obstructed views.

[DreamingBig1]

Is the Jewel the only ship with this issue?

[JuneauWhatIMean]

Frosted glasses on some of the obstructed cabins seemed to be new as it wasn't back in 2011.

"Complaints" coming those that sailed in this category of obstructed view used to be that some folks got "surprised" inside their cabins with working crew members (usually in white jumpsuits) passing thru on the outside, right in front of those obstructed views.

 

I'm not sure why everyone is so confused. ^^^This is the obvious answer.^^^ And it was previously noted that there was a catwalk outside.

 

Thanks for the heads up, OP. :cool:

[OceanDreaming2]

Is the Jewel the only ship with this issue?

 

Our PCC contacted the Jewel but is not aware if other ships have this issue.

[djmess]

Here's the information straight from the Jewel's hotel director:

 

8568

8570

8572

8064

8066

8068

8070

8072

8574

8576

8578

8580

8582

8584

8586

8588

8074

8076

8078

8080

8082

8084

8086

8088

 

There must be a reason why these windows have been opaqued. My guess is we will never know the reason.

 

I'm also posting this list on the cabin selection sticky.

 

Thank you so much for this information. I'm on the Pearl in April for 21 days in an Obstructed OV. The cabin number is not listed here for the Jewel, so keeping my fingers crossed that I actually have a view of a lifeboat and not opaque glass. I will check things out on my cruise to see if the Pearl has the same issue. Maybe others will post here before I go or on the Cabin Stickey

[EllieinNJ]

I sure hope someone from one of the other jeweled-class obstructed view cabins comes back to tell us if these other ships have the windows frosted. I am on the Gem in cabin 8566.

[saxgirl84]

Frosted glasses on some of the obstructed cabins seemed to be new as it wasn't back in 2011.

"Complaints" coming those that sailed in this category of obstructed view used to be that some folks got "surprised" inside their cabins with working crew members (usually in white jumpsuits) passing thru on the outside, right in front of those obstructed views.

And I wonder if the windows had not been frosted, and the OP got a "Surprise!" From a crew member, if this thread would have been about how the crew can see right into your room and "beware" etc etc... it sucks that you pay for an Ocean VIEW and get a frosted window, but there was obvious need for them to frost those windows. Hopefully NCL will update the list of "obstructions" for these rooms so people booking them know what to expect.

[tominabox1]

And I wonder if the windows had not been frosted, and the OP got a "Surprise!" From a crew member, if this thread would have been about how the crew can see right into your room and "beware" etc etc... it sucks that you pay for an Ocean VIEW and get a frosted window, but there was obvious need for them to frost those windows. Hopefully NCL will update the list of "obstructions" for these rooms so people booking them know what to expect.

 

Well I know when we've had a balcony and the crew was expected to be out there cleaning, they left a note in our cabin giving us advanced notice. I would expect the same from an OX cabin if they were going to be out there.

[saxgirl84]

Well I know when we've had a balcony and the crew was expected to be out there cleaning, they left a note in our cabin giving us advanced notice. I would expect the same from an OX cabin if they were going to be out there.

Typically to get to a balcony, the crew would need access to your cabin, u less they would use the "spiderman method", which may be why they left the note... I guess they could leave a "by the way, our crew members may have to access the life boats outside of your cabin at several times during this cruise, therefore you may see someone right outside your window" warning in the cabin, but I'm guessing they don't have a "schedule" of when someone may be walking past a window...

 

It also seems as though they heard the complaints of past guests and did something to try and remedy the situation. Maybe now that it is a known "issue" they will make the info more readily available to those booking those rooms...

[jjdshoe]

Obstructed View is more like NO View.

very disappointed in the cabin view. we were ok with having an obstructed view but there is "frost" covering that prevents ANY view. had a fantastic vacation aboard the Jewel but this was a big let down and wanted to make sure others were aware of the "obstructed" view in cabin 8568.

 

 

https://jewelcruise21415.shutterfly.com/pictures here is the link, not sure how to attach??

[mking8288]

First, I can understand & appreciate the frustration as written here. The layout of these OBSTRUCTED Oceanview staterooms are practically identical, whether it's the Jewel, Star or Gem (and not much different from the Dawn, which we missed sailing too) -

Pulled these photos from my collection, from 2012 - the tender boats are right up there & in front of the cabins, and there's NOT much to see out, except for natural light & depending on the specific cabin, partial view of the distant horizon. These are usually the lowest priced OV cabin category and often, are GTY ones, to be randomly assigned - and a money saver to some. We will book these over an INSIDE and the location is good for us - deck 8 MID/AFT and close to the elevators and/or stairs - and if/when my knees start acting up like lately, I'll take these.

With that long list of "frosted" cabins provided by the Jewel's hotel director, it's pretty reasonable to assume that they have reasons to make the changes - recently?? We didn't stay in one of those GEM cabins then & I don't recall "no views" out the obstructed OV being a "hot" topic then.

Look closely at the pic, there is a walkway outside these OV cabins and crews are up there WORKING while in ports. And, yes - they did leave a note about upcoming maintenance with a reminder to keep the curtains closed, etc.

These 2012 showed the GEM's oval shaped slim window pairs, it looked like possibly being "frosted" then - ??? The "other" complaints" used to be about bright light(s) being left on at night outside some of these obstructed cabins while the ship is at sea, and folks couldn't sleep and AGAIN, had to close their curtains and no views being the indirect result. If the "dissatisfaction" with these cabins stopped completely, then - something else is WRONG here on CC, LOL. :rolleyes: :confused:

 

Personally, even with a regular & unobstructed balcony, we don't spend a whole lot of time in the cabin worry about what we can and cannot see from inside, let alone it's the lowest price "obstructed" OV stateroom.

[tominabox1]

I'm sure there's plenty of reasonable explanations for frosting the windows, the point is that they are marketed as "ocean view" which they most certainly are not, especially since the description of "obstruction" on NCL's website does not list a completely frosted window as an expected obstruction.

[tallyho8]

These are OK cabins . OX cabins do not have frosted windows.

 

I think it is highly deceptive for Norwegian to market these cabins with frosted windows as "obstructed ocean view" as there is no view at all.

 

I have booked OK cabins on the Jewel, Dawn, Pearl and Pride of America and never had the frosted glass and have been alright with my obstructed view since I saved money by getting these cabins but friends who went with me on the Jewel on a 15 day cruise had cabin 8076 which had no view and we immediately went to guest services to demand a cabin with an obstructed view or better.

 

We were lucky that they had another cabin available to switch to but I am sure that if everyone had tried to switch they would not have been able to.

 

Most cruise lines would not market a cabin with no view as being an obstructed ocean view cabin. For example, Carnival has cabins on many of its ships with portholes or obstructed ocean view that they market as inside cabins and many of these have great views of the ocean.

[rvsullivan]

We returned from 7 glorious days on the Jewel on Saturday with this piece of advice: many of the obstructed ocean view rooms on Deck 8 have NO OCEAN VIEW. That's right, the windows are frosted, which in my opinion is not an ocean view but a *no view* stateroom. If you follow the logic, an inside could be considered an obstructed ocean view...

 

So be wary of booking an OX guarantee on the Jewel, you might not get an ocean view at all.

 

I read all of these posts before responding. If you book an OX guarantee, it clearly states in the description that it can be obstructed to NO view!! Since NCL clearly markets them as possibly being NO view, what is the issue? It appears from some of the other posts, it was a security issue in frosting the windows. If guests complaints about workers outside the windows, what should they do? Board them up? They are being sold at a discount for a reason and are described that way.

[djmess]

I read all of these posts before responding. If you book an OX guarantee, it clearly states in the description that it can be obstructed to NO view!! Since NCL clearly markets them as possibly being NO view, what is the issue? It appears from some of the other posts, it was a security issue in frosting the windows. If guests complaints about workers outside the windows, what should they do? Board them up? They are being sold at a discount for a reason and are described that way.

 

But not everyone books as OX. Many of us booked as OK and selected our cabin number and there is NO indication that there will be NO VIEW.

 

This is very deceiving on NCL's part, especially if they changed the category without notifying the people that were booked in it a certain way.

 

If you booked a balcony cabin and then boarded the ship and found out that you were not allowed to open the door and access the balcony, you would be very upset. Well, it could be said you have a balcony, no one specifically says you have the right to use the balcony. I know that is a crazy analogy, but it is the way I feel. I booked one thing and am given something else

[tallyho8]

I read all of these posts before responding. If you book an OX guarantee, it clearly states in the description that it can be obstructed to NO view!! Since NCL clearly markets them as possibly being NO view, what is the issue? It appears from some of the other posts, it was a security issue in frosting the windows. If guests complaints about workers outside the windows, what should they do? Board them up? They are being sold at a discount for a reason and are described that way.

 

If you book an OK cabin there is NO description that says you may get no view and they show a photo of a cabin with a lifeboat blocking about 20% of the view and then the odds are you get a cabin with no view.

 

The deception of booking a guarantee OX cabin is that there are only 2 OX cabins on the ship and they have desirable views so when people book OX guarantee they think they will get one of the OX cabins but these are always booked first so there is no way they will get an OX cabin. They are always "upgraded" to an OK cabin with no view.

 

If guests don't want to see workers outside they can always close their drapes. I had balconies the last 3 cruises I was on and there were workers on the balconies cleaning them 2 days each cruise. It doesn't bother me if they can see in because if I don't want them to see in I just close the drapes. All oceanview, balcony and suite cabins occasionally have workers outside the windows who can see in.

 

These cabin prices are discounted because the view is partially obstructed just as it is on all other Norwegian ships. The Jewel is the only ship to completely block the view while leading people to believe they will still have some view of the ocean.

[Luau lady]

We are booked in an obstructed view on The Jewel too. Not impressed if this will be the case. Don't expect much but frosted, bummer. We got a smoking deal so can't really complain but I am claustrophobic so it could be huge for me. We are on for 19 days so am a bit worried. I may be out of the cabin all the time if this is the case. What happened to truth in advertising, the pics showed views of the lifeboats but at least a bit of natural light. Argh!!!

[sundercruiser]

Compare and contrast with Carnival's Glory class ships, with 4J "Obstructed Walkway View" Inside class cabins. They are priced a little higher than regular Inside cabins, yet they have a nice OV-size window that is partially blocked by the chest-high bulkhead on the deck outside. You can (just barely) see the horizon, anything closer to the ship is pretty much hidden behind the bulkhead. But you can see the water, sky, sun, etc.

 

I suppose Carnival COULD follow NCL's example and call these "Obstructed Oceanview" cabins (which would be a lot more honest than NCL is being here!) but they wisely err on the side of caution, and they are listed as Inside (though, correctly, as one of the top Inside categories).

 

Not very impressed by this, NCL.

[djmess]

If NCL would just be honest and list obstruction as frosted or opaqued, then I think all would be fine.

 

It's funny if you look at what NCL says about the bathrooms on Epic. Those doors are frosted or opaqued and they claim they can not be seen through, but in this case frosted or opaqued is apparently just an obstruction.

 

Hopefully more CCers will go on the Jewel class ships and report back. I know i will when on the Pearl