Jewel to Mexico: Review, Photos, and Video tour of ship

[Sheebah]

This is a crazy question, but are limited on luggage for our next trip. We have always cruised with Carnival (14 with another in the near future) and this will be our first time cruising with Norwegian (Jan 17). Do their hairdryers have a nozzle or are they flat as I use a diffuser and trying to decide if the hairdryer on board will work or if I need to bring my own hairdryer with me. :confused:

 

The hair dryer in our mini suite were industrial strength metal dryers (not the standard type that hook to the wall and are sort of miniaturure), but they were also very heavy (my arm got sore!). If you want to use a diffuser, definitely take your own dryer as the end of the dryer got super hot and may damage your attachment. I hope this helps. I'm not sure exactly what you are referring to with a nozzle vs flat, but I'll dig around and see if I can find a photo of the hair dryer for you.

[Sheebah]

This is a crazy question, but are limited on luggage for our next trip. We have always cruised with Carnival (14 with another in the near future) and this will be our first time cruising with Norwegian (Jan 17). Do their hairdryers have a nozzle or are they flat as I use a diffuser and trying to decide if the hairdryer on board will work or if I need to bring my own hairdryer with me. :confused:

 

PS- If I can find a photo of the dryer, I will post it for you.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Sheebah
typo

[Sheebah]

Thank you very much for the information and the well created videos.

 

Thanks for reading along ;-)

[Sheebah]

Your review was awesome! We'll be on the Jewel for the two week Panama Canal crossing from Miami to Los Angeles in Feb/March. With just 52 days left, this has increased our excitement beyond belief!! Thanks again for taking your time to provide us with such valuable information!!!

PS: how did your challenge to gain zero pounds go? We'll be in Miami three days before and San Diego four days afterward-so we have a BIG challenge!!

 

First, I am SO jealous of your cruise! Panama is on my bucket list. Well, the no weight gain challenge was a fail. I gained two pounds. I walked an average of 25,000 steps per day, Zumba'd til I collapsed, but the specialty restaurants just added too many calories. Sorry to report bad news, but I'll have to try it when we are NOT eating steak and lobster every night.

That was so amazing of you to remember!!!!

[Sheebah]

The buffet looks pretty good! We'll be on the Jewel next month, thanks for sharing!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My pleasure. Thanks for watching. Yes, very good variety at the buffet. I'm sure you'll find lots to like!

[zencruisers]

Thank you for the review and pics. We set sail on April 10th and we can't wait.

[djshagadellic]

Thank you so much for your phenomenal review. Puts my recent Carnival Liberty to shame!

 

We're considering this itinerary in November and you just saved us a ton of research time! I'll watch the videos tomorrow as I'm starving at the moment. I postponed my dinner to finish this [insert appropriate superlative] review.

 

A little bummed about the lack of Tom & Jerry as that one of my favorite cruise pastimes after my better half has fallen asleep :-) I grew up on the stuff and for some reason, old cartoons seem so much better at 3am!

[Sheebah]

Thank you so much for your phenomenal review. Puts my recent Carnival Liberty to shame!

 

We're considering this itinerary in November and you just saved us a ton of research time! I'll watch the videos tomorrow as I'm starving at the moment. I postponed my dinner to finish this [insert appropriate superlative] review.

 

A little bummed about the lack of Tom & Jerry as that one of my favorite cruise pastimes after my better half has fallen asleep :-) I grew up on the stuff and for some reason, old cartoons seem so much better at 3am!

 

 

You're very welcome! Let me know if u have questions and if u can, book a mini suite.

I totally agree about the cartoons.[emoji12]

[Sheebah]

Thank you for the review and pics. We set sail on April 10th and we can't wait.

 

 

Wishing you a wonderful trip!!

[djshagadellic]

You're very welcome! Let me know if u have questions and if u can, book a mini suite.

I totally agree about the cartoons.[emoji12]

 

Thanks, will do!

 

Unfortunately mini suite is outside of our budget for this trip, but who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and get an upgrade offer :-)

[myrnsey]

Thanks so much! Really enjoyed your video and reviews.

[HobbleCreek]

Wow, what a great review. We set sail this coming Sunday and I've been looking all over NCL's site hoping to find this kind of information. You have provided much more helpful information in this one thread than I have found on their whole site. The dailies you posted shed so much light on what goes on aboard this ship. The video really gives me so much better of an idea what the ship will look like. Thanks for taking the time to do this. You ought to be on their payroll! Hopefully those videos monetize for you and you can at least take a tax deduction for the cruise. :)

 

I do have one question (maybe more). At one point you said that you weren't sure that you would do the UDP again, but then you listed it at the top of the things you loved about the cruise. After a couple of months of reflection, where do you stand on the UDP? Maybe a compromise and purchase the 3 or 4 meal package and eat at Tsar's or O'Sheehans the other nights?

Edited January 20, 2016 by HobbleCreek

[Sheebah]

Wow, what a great review. We set sail this coming Sunday and I've been looking all over NCL's site hoping to find this kind of information. You have provided much more helpful information in this one thread than I have found on their whole site. The dailies you posted shed so much light on what goes on aboard this ship. The video really gives me so much better of an idea what the ship will look like. Thanks for taking the time to do this. You ought to be on their payroll! Hopefully those videos monetize for you and you can at least take a tax deduction for the cruise. :)

 

I do have one question (maybe more). At one point you said that you weren't sure that you would do the UDP again, but then you listed it at the top of the things you loved about the cruise. After a couple of months of reflection, where do you stand on the UDP? Maybe a compromise and purchase the 3 or 4 meal package and eat at Tsar's or O'Sheehans the other nights?

 

 

Thank you for your kind comments. Excellent question about UDP. I hope my reply isn't too late.Overall, yes, I'd do it again if it were in my budget and/or free. We had to choose between UDP and the free drinks and knew that we couldn't/wouldn't drink nearly enough. The main dining room food on NCL is so subpar. For our family UDP still wins my heart, but it wouldn't be right for everyone, ie a family with several small kids that don't like to sit still etc. our son is really well behaved and loves steak so UDP was amazing for us, however my brother sailed this same itinerary and ate in the buffet Nightly and loved it. Has this helped u?

[Sheebah]

Thanks so much! Really enjoyed your video and reviews.

 

 

Thank you for reading along!!!

[HobbleCreek]

I hope my reply isn't too late. . . .. Has this helped u?

 

Not too late at all. Thanks for the info. Yes, helpful. :)

[Sheebah]

Not too late at all. Thanks for the info. Yes, helpful. :)

 

 

Good. Have a wonderful trip[emoji106]🏻

[b_cruise]

Do you have any idea what is beside cabin 4565? The whole hall is an empty space. Do u know if crew cabins are there?

[Sheebah]

Do you have any idea what is beside cabin 4565? The whole hall is an empty space. Do u know if crew cabins are there?

 

 

I don't know for sure but I just looked at a deck plan and I doubt it's crew cabins, however it may be a hallway, walkway or storage area for housekeeping. I wonder if u could call NCL and ask. It is most definitely a unique cabin!

Edited January 24, 2016 by Sheebah

[Jenny:)]

Thank you so much for this awesome review! It was so thorough and informative! We are sailing on the Jewel to Mexico in November. We are already looking forward to it! I loved your photos. And just went to watch your videos, and see they are the same ones my hubby found on you tube when we were deciding before we booked. :D

[Sheebah]

Thank you so much for this awesome review! It was so thorough and informative! We are sailing on the Jewel to Mexico in November. We are already looking forward to it! I loved your photos. And just went to watch your videos, and see they are the same ones my hubby found on you tube when we were deciding before we booked. :D

 

 

I'm so glad it was helpful!! Have a wonderful trip!!

[MoyCoy]

I was just watching your YouTube channel regarding the Jewel. I liked it so much that I subscribed. Lo and Behold I find you here on CC. :cool:

 

I have a question. We are considering the Jewel for a West Coast 5 day getaway with our 5 year old twins this May. I was attempting to compare the Jewel and the Pearl because the itineraries were similar.

 

We sailed the Escape last year, and I notice the Jewel does not have all of the bells and whistle that were on the Escape. Can you tell me in detail your experience with the children's program, on board children's activities, and children pool areas. We will have a very adult itinerary , so the ship is indeed the destination for our twins. We are trying to avoid a roundtrip flight AND a cruise longer than 6 days-- therefore our itinerary choices are limited :o

 

We sailed Princess with them 2 years ago and decided we wanted to sail mostly on ships that have a lot to do with the kids like slides etc. The Princess kids club was wonderful BTW. We too are from the Wes Coast, so as you know, our choice of ships are limited. We unfortunately have a even more limited choice as we live in Seattle. We will have to fly to LA for a warm weather start. The cruise on the Jewel is in May, goes from LA to Oregon than to Victoria, and end in Vancouver with a 1 day back to back ending in Seattle on May 7th. Probably more information than necessary. But I wanted you to know so you could help me take the weather into account as far as covered pools etc. are concerned

 

Thank You.

Edited February 25, 2016 by MoyCoy

[MoyCoy]

Sorry for the run on sentence in last paragraph. I was interrupted by my Daughter and did not get back to editing the rough draft in time.:o

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

We sailed Princess 2 years ago with the twins and decided that we wanted to sail on ships in the future that offered kid friendly amenities like water slides , etc.. The Princess kids club was wonderful BTW.

 

We too are from the West Coast, so as you know, our choice of ships are limited. We unfortunately have a even more limited choice as we live in Seattle AND we are avoiding an Alaskan cruise until the twins are a bit older.

 

We will have to fly to LA for a warm weather start. The cruise on the Jewel is in May, goes from LA to Oregon than to Victoria, and ends in Vancouver on May 6th, with a 1 day back to back ending in Seattle on May 7th.

 

Probably more information than necessary. But I wanted you to know so you could help me take the weather into account as far as covered pools etc. are concerned

Edited February 25, 2016 by MoyCoy

[Sheebah]

Sorry for the run on sentence in last paragraph. I was interrupted by my Daughter and did not get back to editing the rough draft in time.:o

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

We sailed Princess 2 years ago with the twins and decided that we wanted to sail on ships in the future that offered kid friendly amenities like water slides , etc.. The Princess kids club was wonderful BTW.

 

We too are from the West Coast, so as you know, our choice of ships are limited. We unfortunately have a even more limited choice as we live in Seattle AND we are avoiding an Alaskan cruise until the twins are a bit older.

 

We will have to fly to LA for a warm weather start. The cruise on the Jewel is in May, goes from LA to Oregon than to Victoria, and ends in Vancouver on May 6th, with a 1 day back to back ending in Seattle on May 7th.

 

Probably more information than necessary. But I wanted you to know so you could help me take the weather into account as far as covered pools etc. are concerned

 

 

It's not too much information at all in fact I'm really glad you explained the detailed itinerary to me because that is a really helpful piece of information. Yes you are correct- theJewel does not have as many bells and whistles as the escape - and as you know, the jewel is a much older ship as are most of the ships that sail from our good old West Coast.

 

However we did notice that the kids areas and amenities for kids on the jewel were incredible. I should tell you right away though that our son did not participate in any of the structured kids programs. However, Of all of the ships I've ever been on I would say that the jewel seem to have one of the busiest and most active children's area we've ever seen on a ship. There were tons of activities from pizza and cupcake making ttoevening activities and on and on.

It's really hard to predict what type of weather you're going to get in May. Sometimes it's as warm as 90° and other times it's so cool that you won't even want to go in the pools... so the pools may not be a main attraction for your twins on that sailing. It's a different story when you're heading to the Mexican Riviera on the jewel because you're guaranteed about four days a very warm and sunny weather that will draw you out to the pool decks. With that said, I think you will be very happy with this particular ships children's program as long as there are other children at that time of year enrolled in the program. We have sailed on the Carnival miracle and on several princess ships out of the West Coast and I really felt a great vibe from the children center staff on the jewel. For example one day they held a pizza making class in the Italian restaurant that was open to all children not just the children who are enrolled in the kids class the staff were so lovely and engaging so later in the cruise we return for the cupcake making seminar which wasjust as fun and the whole family was welcome.

I'm sorry that I don't have more detailed information on the activities but please feel free to ask if there are any other questions that you have. Our son is seven and very much like to ship including the waterslides. However the pools are pretty darn cold on this ship and we didn't spend much time in them. We loved having a mini suite with our child because it gives us just enough extra space to move freely in the cabin.

Thanks for hanging out with us over on YouTube as well. We really appreciate it and we love putting those videos together

[Sheebah]

Sorry for the run on sentence in last paragraph. I was interrupted by my Daughter and did not get back to editing the rough draft in time.:o

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

We sailed Princess 2 years ago with the twins and decided that we wanted to sail on ships in the future that offered kid friendly amenities like water slides , etc.. The Princess kids club was wonderful BTW.

 

We too are from the West Coast, so as you know, our choice of ships are limited. We unfortunately have a even more limited choice as we live in Seattle AND we are avoiding an Alaskan cruise until the twins are a bit older.

 

We will have to fly to LA for a warm weather start. The cruise on the Jewel is in May, goes from LA to Oregon than to Victoria, and ends in Vancouver on May 6th, with a 1 day back to back ending in Seattle on May 7th.

 

Probably more information than necessary. But I wanted you to know so you could help me take the weather into account as far as covered pools etc. are concerned

 

 

I forgot to mention that I think you're really wise to wait just a tad longer to take your five-year-olds to Alaska. We took our son when he was just about to turn five and for some reason he had a really tough time with that particular itinerary. There were heated pools which we didn't find out until the very end of the cruise and he probably would've enjoyed swimming but sightseeing was really difficult and frustrating for us. We took him back when he was seven and it was one of the best trips of our lives - boy, those two years made all the difference!!!

[MoyCoy]

I forgot to mention that I think you're really wise to wait just a tad longer to take your five-year-olds to Alaska. We took our son when he was just about to turn five and for some reason he had a really tough time with that particular itinerary. There were heated pools which we didn't find out until the very end of the cruise and he probably would've enjoyed swimming but sightseeing was really difficult and frustrating for us. We took him back when he was seven and it was one of the best trips of our lives - boy, those two years made all the difference!!!

 

This is exactly why I believe this itinerary IS NOT the most kid friendly. LOTS of sight seeing. That is why I am so interested in the ships amenities. Thank You for your advice. I love your YouTube Channel . Its very informative ,even for a seasoned cruiser. I wish I could find more information on the soft blue back pack and packing totes you use. The name escapes me.

 

Oh and the 3 pairs of shoes rule, I don't know if I can do it.:eek: I am a 7 pair gal. My Husband would go into convulsions if I only carried three pairs!

Edited February 25, 2016 by MoyCoy