Jewel 5/23 Report - SC Suite, Young Kids, Autism, Alaska, and More!

[hunterjackson]

We just returned from the 5/23 sailing of the Jewel out of Seattle.

 

What a killer vacation!

 

We are a younger family in our late 20's (I turned 30 during the cruise) with 2 Children (DS - 3.5 , DD-1.5) and we brought my inlaws for their first cruise ever (early 50's).

 

This is our 2nd Alaska cruise with NCL and have done several others.

 

Pre-cruise:

 

We traveled from SC to Seattle a day early and checked in to the Edgewater. This is a killer location with great staff! I had shipped in several things (diapers, snacks, etc) and they were waiting in our hotel room when we arrived.

 

After naps for the kids and DW, we did some sight seeing and ate dinner at Blue Acre. Great restaurant!

 

I would really like to mention how awesome the staff at the Edgewater are. Super easy to work with and their bellman took our luggage to the terminal for us. With 6 people, we had a ton of luggage.

 

Embarkation:

 

We arrived at the port around 10:30 am. The bellman took us over to the parking lot and we saw the Suite Check In. A porter came over and grabbed our bags and took them all for us.

 

We were given a "VIP" yellow tag, went through security, and within 3 minutes were in the VIP lounge. We checked in in about 5 minutes, met the concierge (Florentina) and her assistant, and were taken to Moderno for lunch.

From this point on, I will go over generals for days. I may lump several things together etc, any specific questions, please ask!!!

 

Day 1 and Thoughts on dining, Kids Club etc:

 

Lunch in Moderno was great. Throughout the week, I believe we ate everything.

 

We met an awesome server, Jacqueline, who is truly a star. She kept up with us all week, even when not our server.

 

The food was always great in Moderno, as was the service.

 

After lunch, we found our suite and met our steward Jayson. This was around 11:30 or noon. Though the sign was still on the door that the suite wasn't ready, Jayson told us to go on in.

 

About 15 minutes later, Jayson came by and checked on what we needed, preferences on the 2nd bedroom, etc. He had it all taken care of asap!

 

The only issue with the suite (11006) was that the dvd player was missing from the sitting room. They had to steal it from the smaller bedroom, which was now missing the dvd player.

 

Kids Club:

 

We decided to give my in laws a tour of the Jewel, and I got my son signed up for kids club.

 

My son is autistic and non verbal. He is fine around other children but does not actively engage them...or care if they are there. He likes adults best.

 

We met Fizzy, the manager of the kids club. She had already been alerted about my DS by the access desk. She sat us down, talked with us, and made us feel very comfortable. She also was frank and honest about times that would not be best for him to be at kids club. ie: parades etc.

 

Throughout the week, my DS went to kids club 4 times. HE LOVED IT! He has never enjoyed going to places like this...it was the staff 100%. They engaged him, kept him entertained, and if he had no interest in the activity, someone would split off with him and do what he wanted.

 

I will say this 100%, the Jewel Kids club staff is awesome. One day in port, a couple of them had the day off, saw him, and called him over. He ran to them. Walking anywhere on the ship, you always heard someone saying "Hey ____", and going on and on about how he is a rock star. Thanks to everyone there!

 

Meals with Kids:

 

We ate breakfast each day in Moderno. 2 high chairs. We were early every day and they saved "our table" as my son really liked the location.

 

My kids are messy. It is what it is. My daughter eats like a horse, then as soon as she is done...well, throws the food to the dogs before we can stop her. Only problem, on a cruise ship, there aren't dogs in the kitchen at breakfast.

 

The staff made sure we never felt bad about the mess. Always made sure blueberries were around. etc.

 

We had the UDP and ate Dinner each night somewhere on the specialty list. We ate early as the kids were on east coast time (up at 3 am, asleep by 7). All the staff was great, got us whatever we needed, and made sure we had a great time.

 

Cagney's was the best run restaurant on the ship and the tastiest in our opinions. The manager was previously on the Dawn when we were on and remembered us.

 

Moderno for dinner was great as well!

 

Le Bistro was just ok on this ship. I have always had better on others.

 

Teppanyaki was the best one of its kind we have been to. Killer food on the Jewel.

 

O'Sheehans - Food was great for what it was. Horrible service. Horrible service.

 

Butler:

 

Rodney was our butler. He attended to every need we had. If we called, he answered and was right there. More coffee? No problem.

 

Every day, along with the usual snacks, he delivered peanut butter sandwiches for the kids and cookies.

 

We dined in our suite 5 times. Never a fuss. Never seemed too busy. Always asked what he could do for us. Did we need help carrying the stroller? Etc.

 

We had filled out our pre-cruise concierge request for Milk, yogurt, iced tea, etc. It was all there when we got on...and it was never empty. It was magic! Rodney was awesome. Plain and simple, he made our vacation what it was.

 

Steward:

 

Jayson was a dream. He kept everything perfectly clean, stocked, and maintained. Anything we needed, he got.

 

We were in for the night with the kids sleeping typically before he got to our cabin in his cleaning rotation. He figured that out quickly, and changed his rotation.

 

Concierge:

 

Once again, perfect! Effective. Florentina made anything happen we needed. Got us off the ship early, got us on quickly, and just made everything run smoothly.

 

Ports:

 

Ketchikan - Fishing with Ketchikan Charter Boats. Awesome!

 

Juneau: rented a car from Juneau rental cars. Right at the dock. Awesome

 

Skagway: Avis rental. Great car! Great ride!

 

 

Disembarkation:

 

Easy. We were the last ones off the ship more or less. Took 5 minutes to exit and get to our baggage. No problems!

 

Knock on wood, but our whole vacation went off without a hitch. Traveling with 2 kids 3 and under....one who is autistic, is always scary. But everyone we met along the way made it their mission to make sure it was easy for us.

 

A huge thanks to everyone we encountered who made our trip what it was.

 

I know this sounds like a cheerleading report, but seriously, everything was perfect...and I am picky. If something wasn't perfect, it only took a call to the right person to make it right. And it was made right.

[Perini3]

Love your review on the Jewel the main reasons we are going with NCL is the suite life. Thank you

[poly3503]

We saw your family quite often- usually at breakfast. Your kids are adorable. We were in an owners suite on deck 10 and I totally agree with everything you said about Rodney and Florentina- they were superb ! It was an awesome cruise and I'm sorry it is over!

Now to plan the next!

[jenseib]

Thanks for the review!

[hunterjackson]

Thank you poly3503! I am patiently waiting for 2017 Alaska iten to be released!

 

Would love to go next season...but Disneyland is in our future.

[poly3503]

We're looking at Venice and the Greek Isles for next year, and possibly Alaska the following. We're Disney nuts and are taking a self imposed sabbatical :)

Thanks again for the report.

Oh, did I mention how adorable your children are? :)

[jenseib]

We're looking at Venice and the Greek Isles for next year, and possibly Alaska the following. We're Disney nuts and are taking a self imposed sabbatical :)

Thanks again for the report.

Oh, did I mention how adorable your children are? :)

 

I'm a Disney nut too!!! ;)