Live from Singapore to HK on the Jewel-March 10th 2018

[deefer]

Embarkation day

 

Sail away was 5pm. We grabbed the metro to Little India this morning and did some exploring.

 

 

I have to say that people in Singapore are incredibly friendly. If you look at all confused someone stops and asks if you need help. We had the equivalent of 2 full days - in retrospect I could have used one more full day in Singapore - unfortunately can only take so much time off work!

 

We grab a taxi to the airport - $12 SGD. Arrive around 2pm. Dropped our bags curb side and went in.

 

1st stop is security. Prior to clearing security you are given a health questionnaire (for those who have sailed with NCL before, it’s unchanged). And also you fill out a customs form for Thailand.

There is no line for security.

 

What makes this cruise different is that not everybody is embarking in Singapore - we are only doing 11 days but there are people who are doing the full 40 day cruise (I believe it started in Sydney). That is why I think the lines were all so short.

 

After security, check in

 

And again line is reasonable

 

We are in a suite (non haven) so checked in the suite/haven check in.

 

A nice little lounge - we didn’t wait at all but if we had to wait it would have been comfortable.

 

Your passport is collected at the beginning of the cruise and given back to you at the end. We have never been close to missing the ship but I asked Bruno (the concierge) what happens as we always bring our passports “just in case”. If by chance you miss the ship your passports will be handed over to the port authority. Hopefully I will not be reviewing my experience with this procedure in a later post!

 

As Canadians we do not need a Visa for Thailand but they did collect our customs form (1st port of call is Thailand). I believe the same is for American citizens.

 

We do need a Visa for Vietnam - the ship will do this for you if you don’t want to do it on your own ahead of time. I know that this is true for USA & Canada - check if you are a citizen of another country. We took advantage of this service - one less thing to do ahead of time. We filled out the forms and our room account will be charged $69pp.

 

My husband filled out the form, I only glanced at it but I saw there was a charge for assistance with Thailand Visa - if you are from a country that needs a Thai Visa - look into it.

 

Then we board the ship. Because of immigration procedures we were not allowed to be escorted to our room - instead they stuck a big VIP sticker on your lapel and this would bypass any line you encountered. There was one fairly short line just before the gangplank where passengers who use general boarding were handing in their passports/Thai customs forms. As we had already handed our in we walked right by right onto the ship.

 

 

 

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Edited March 11, 2018 by deefer

[deefer]

Wow...that is good! Did you have to search long to find those flights?

 

 

This is the standard award cost when booking with Alaska Airline Mileage program. We didn’t have to “search” per se, its just what the cost is through Alaska’s program. But seats are very few - we booked as soon as they became available, about 10 months out.

[deefer]

The Cabin

 

We are in an aft penthouse. I think we’ve done about 12 cruises with NCL and we bounce between balconies to suites. The biggest perk of a suite to me is priority tendering/disembarkation in ports. Gets us off exploring ASAP. We tend to book suites for the “overseas” cruises, the ones that are more port intensive for that reason.

 

So the Jewel is going into dry dock for a refurbishment soon and our room does need it. I knew this going in from doing research but even if I didn’t I would have been okay with it. It takes quite a bit to ruin a vacation for me. The room is worn and tired looking BUT very clean and we are pleased with the space. The balcony is big.

 

Here’s some photos - only snapped a few but happy to take more if you want to see the vanity/bathroom area.

 

 

Still have the lavazza espresso maker - love making my own lattes, my understanding is this will be replaced with an nespresso machine with the refurbishment

 

We did have the opportunity to upgrade through the bidding process - for us the minimum bid for the haven courtyard penthouse was $400pp. This would have given as a bigger cabin (which is always nice) and access to the haven area. For us, on this cruise, it was not worth it. We did have offers for the other suites also but sorry cannot recall what the minimum bids were.

 

 

 

 

 

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[deefer]

The Freestyle Dailies

 

I do have the pictures of the Freestyle Daily but did not know if anyone would be interested in them - if you are, let me know and I will post them.

[SallyStrawberry]

I can't see the photos, is it just me?

[sumjang]

The Freestyle Dailies

 

I do have the pictures of the Freestyle Daily but did not know if anyone would be interested in them - if you are, let me know and I will post them.

 

Thank you for the fantastic trip report. I was looking for a recent suite experience on NCL Jewel trip report and could not find one. Can’t wait to see the rest of your journey.

 

I will sail on the Jewel in May, and would love to see the Freestyle dailies. Thank you :)

[GUEST080219]

I can't see the photos, is it just me?

 

Photos work here for me, safari on mac

[deefer]

Internet

 

Usually the 250 minute free internet is enough for us. This time we upgraded to the unlimited because my 81 yr old father recently learned how to use FaceTime and I now FaceTime him everyday!

 

We were not sure if it would work on the ship - happy to report it does!

 

You get a $125 dollar credit towards the unlimited plan - for the 11 day cruise it was $204.93 for the upgrade. The rate was 29.99/day. Bruno (the concierge) arranged this for us - otherwise you just have to go to the Internet cafe when the internet manager has office hours to get this done.

 

The speed of the internet on the cruise is incredibly fast compared to our previous cruise experiences. Almost as fast as on land - not kidding.

 

I’m guessing that’s because many of the passengers are on this cruise for 40 days - and unlimited plan would cost $1200 - that cost may be prohibitive for many. Also the age of the cruises on this trip is older, many I am assuming are retired so don’t need to email for work etc. So overall I’m thinking less users means faster speeds.

[shadowmeboy]

Enjoying your trip so far! Please include as many pictures of the Jewel’s common areas as you can!

[deefer]

Day 2 - Sea day

 

So yesterday the sea was a little rough - walking like you are drunk. I really do mean just a little - I’m sure others would report not rough at all. Unfortunately for me I am a lightweight with motion - I did take medications and did venture out. The ship was incredibly empty - maybe others felt the same way.

 

So I spent most of the day in the room - when I lay on the bed I feel fine. We really aren’t sea day people - usually just eat, hang out in the casino, have a spa treatment of some sort & go to the thermal spa. I find the sea days a day to recoup/relax - maybe even a little boring.

 

We have a thermal spa pass - but I have learned from previous experiences the front of the ship is the worst place for me when feeling this way.

 

I am typing this at 5am on day 3. Sitting on the balcony in the dark - happy to report seas are calm - no issues this am with motion sickness!

 

Food so far:

It’s strange but I am not eating Iike I normally can - I think the time change is still playing a factor in this. Today wide awake at 430am so getting better.

 

We had dinner on Day 1 at the Azure dining room. I had the meat lasagne & my husband had 3 appetizers as his meal, salad, French onion soup, & the beef slider. He was hoping the beef slider would have been like the one they used to have at Cagneys - it was not. My meal was satisfactory - at an Applebee’s level for those in North America as a reference.

 

Day 2 - because of the motion sickness missed breakfast and had a late lunch/early dinner at the Great Outdoors around 3pm. It was delicious!! I made myself a sandwich, the bread was so fresh. I’m forgetting to bring my iPad with me - will try to remember for pictures.

 

 

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[deefer]

Freestyle Daily Day 1

 

 

 

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[deefer]

Freestyle Daily Day 2

 

 

 

 

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[deefer]

Today is day 3 - Koh Samui

 

We have a tour planned and will report back at a later time but I just wanted to share this amazing summary sheet that what given out with the Daily on day 1.

 

 

This makes it so much easier to organize what documentation is needed for each port.

 

 

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[JJAuckland]

Loving your review - thank you for taking the time to bring us all along on your cruise. I am loving all the photos, dailies & descriptions of food

[deefer]

Day 3 - Koh Samui

 

Breakfast

 

The buffet is very full this morning at 7am - we headed to moderno’s and cut through. It would have been a challenge to find a table.

 

I had a light breakfast, just a muffin from the self serve area.

 

My husband had the waffles with fruit.

 

We both enjoy the French press coffee

 

 

Tendering

 

1st tender was supposed to be at 8am. We had arranged to meet our tour guide at 830am so needed to be on the first tender. This is the best part of being in a suite for us - met at the designated spot & time and we were on the first tender - the tender took about 20 mins.

 

 

I am typing this review while laying on the stone chairs in the spa and just realized only have 4% left in my iPad battery - signing off and will continue with the actual tour later.

 

The view from my heated stone chair

 

 

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[deefer]

The tour of Koh Samui

 

Let me start by saying we had incredibly active, seasoned, experienced cruises on our roll call. Many different tours with many different options were organized. I only hope that your roll call for these unique itineraries has people like this for advice etc.

 

Having said that, we did not join any of the group tours. We just don’t think we will ever get back to this part of the world so decided to do truly private tours at each port - just my husband & I. This gives us the flexibility to stay longer in an area if we want - skip something all together, get an earlier start etc.

 

For Koh Samui we booked a few months ahead with a company called Tours Koh Samui. The Private 4x4 off Road Island Safari tour.

Total cost for the 2 of us $8700 THB (about $280 USD). Deposit of $4000THB was paid at the time of booking online. Remainder was paid in cash today (stopped at an atm).

 

The tour started at 845am and were back at the tender at 3p. I feel like we got a good sense of the Island. The guide sat in the back with us.

 

Here is our guide and the driver with our “safari” truck

 

Our first stop was at an elephant camp - per our guide there are quite a few camps on the island and the one we went to was the one where the elephants are treated the best. At this camp we could have gone trekking through the jungle for 30 mins on the back of the elephant, but we saw a documentary about elephant abuse some time ago and how it actually is bad for them to carry weight on their backs- so we skipped the ride - instead just petted/fed and hung out with our elephant for a bit. The elephants looked good (no scars) and seemed relaxed, calm. No signs of distress.

 

Then we went to the grandma/grandpa rocks. It was high tide, one of the rocks could not be viewed. I’ll let you guess which one was visible

 

We stopped and did a walk through the Muslim fishing village and it’s local market

 

We saw a demonstration of how monkeys pick coconuts, and then later on the drive saw actual harvesting of coconuts by the locals using monkeys.

 

Stopped to see the mummified Monk.

 

Toured the magic garden

 

Saw the Big Buddha on the top of the mountain - it had just stopped raining so the views were a bit misty - have no good pictures of the view.

 

Saw my first live scorpion

 

And in the middle of this had lunch on the top of a mountain (which was delicious).

 

Fresh squeezed watermelon juice - highly recommended

 

This port was the hardest to plan for. I would recommend this tour to get a sense of the island.

 

 

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[deefer]

Dinner on Day 3 - La Cucina

 

On this cruise we have 4SDP plus our 2 platinum dinners. We decided to use our platinum certificate tonight at La Cucina as we were only in the mood for a lighter dinner and the platinum certificate has more restrictions.

 

My husband for his appetizer had a pizza & chicken cacciatore for his entree.

 

I’m not sure if pizza is back fleet wide in La Cucina or only available on the Jewel, but it definitely was not available on our cruise a few months ago on the Getaway.

 

I had the shrimp risotto and the lasagne. Both appetizer sizes at my request - one of them could have been entree sized.

 

I purposely ordered the meat lasagne to see if it was the same as the meat lasagne that I had in the main dining room on the first night.

 

It is not the same - much preferred the lasagne at La Cucina. I know La Cucina gets a lot of negative reviews but I really enjoy the food there.

 

We passed on desert.

 

 

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[deefer]

Freestyle Daily Day 3

 

 

 

 

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[GUEST080219]

Thank you so much. If Nathaniel is the guy who was playing the piano a couple of years back on the Jade I hope he will still be around in May. Have good memories about him. No pizza in La Cucina on the Gem last month. Really excited about the additional choice.

[Mellylucy]

Enjoying every single bit off this awesome review.

Thank you for your efforts on doing this.

[Tniel183]

Leave for the airport in 3 days... will be boarding the Jewel in Hong Kong. Thanks for the review. So exciting and we can’t wait.

 

 

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[deefer]

Day 4 - Bangkok (overnight)

 

The ship docks in Laem Chabang - which this morning was a 3 hour drive to Bangkok. We knew from research that the drive was long so decided on doing overnight in Bangkok. Using mainly tripadvisor & the Asia thread on cruise critic we booked BKK Tours for a 2 day Bangkok Highlights Tour.

 

The cost of this tour was 21300THB (about $680 USD) for the 2 of us. This includes pickup and drop off at the port, lunch both days - water, and all entrance fees. We prepaid - but you can pay cash/credit card the day of the tour.

 

Does not include overnight hotel cost.

 

We met this morning for priority disembarkation but did not need it. At 815am there already was no one in line to disembark. We were scheduled to meet our guide at 830am - we were a bit early, but so was the guide so we got a head start to the day.

 

Around the 1/2 way mark we stopped for a bathroom break & Thai coffee. **Tip: have some tissue with you when you use a bathroom, toilet paper not always supplied**

 

As I mentioned earlier - it took 3 hours to get to our first stop today.

The ride was a pleasant surprise. Incredibly comfortable, wifi available along with a charger!

 

The seats almost fully recline - would have been no problem taking a nap if needed.

 

 

There is room in this van for 8. I know this company caters to cruise critic groups organized on roll calls - would strongly consider them as an option if you want a smaller group tour.

 

This photo shows you the leg room we had as well as the charger on the right hand side.

 

There is not much to see on the drive so these little extras made the drive go by quickly.

 

Our first stop is the Grand Palace - the pictures do not reflect how amazing/ornate this place is.

 

We tour this area for about an hour. A highlight of this property is Wat Phra Kaeo (the emerald Buddha) - pictures are only allowed from the outside - hence my excuse for this poor quality photo

 

We then go for lunch....fantastic!!! We had 5 dishes - my favorite was the Pad Thai and Green Curry.

 

The Green Curry

 

After lunch we have a canal tour by a long tailed boat - just my hubby, the tour guide and myself as passengers.

 

It’s tricky getting in & out of the boat with the movement of the waves - we were a little awkward but did not fall into the river so success!

 

At one point we stop and feed the catfish - I know, a real “touristy” thing to do but it was fun! They even swam up and took the bread from your hand in the water.

 

We the head to the Vegetable & Flower Market. The heat must have been getting to me because I only have one photo and it’s of the vegetables not the flowers!

 

Our guide pointed out various spices, vegetables etc. The eggplant looks completely different than the eggplant in North America and no photos to share.

 

We finish the days touring by going to Wat Pho (the reclining Buddha temple). He’s quite large - 15 x 46 meters (if my memory is correct, I may be off by a meter or two). They built him first, then the building around him.

 

We sweated through our clothes a bit today - the tour company provides plenty of water throughout the day and every time you return to the car cold towels are given to you.

 

The touring has come to an end and we are taken to our hotel. The Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn. This hotel was picked to give us as much time as possible tomorrow. With last boarding at 330p, to be safe the tour company recommends we target a 2pm return - for unexpected traffic.

 

In so, the Eastin Grand is easy on/off from the freeway which we need to be on for our first stop tomorrow.

 

For one night with breakfast the cost was $143 USD(with tax) - best price was through hotels.com. With our hotel in Singapore the best price was directly with the hotel web site - forgot to mention this.

 

Nice hotel - Lobby of Eastin Grand

 

Some room pictures

 

Fyi.... coffee is instant, which is why you do not see a coffee maker (surprising as this is at least a 4 start hotel).

 

The hotel apparently has a beautiful infinity pool, we did not bring our swim wear, but if I remember I’ll try to snap a photo. We are hoping to get to one of the night markets tonight.

 

**Tip: have a copy of your passport with you (remember the ship has your actual passport) - we did (by dumb luck bc. our tour instructions said at times a copy of your passport is needed for the Grand Palace)- the hotel said that we would not have been able to check in without it.

They also said this is the case for all hotels. On our hotel confirmation it just said government issued ID needed - I didn’t argue the point - but to avoid any issues I would just bring copies**

 

 

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Edited March 13, 2018 by deefer

[kiwicruisers51]

Thanks so much for your blog and all the helpful information. Will follow with interest.

[timtam2]

I am doing Jewel Yokohama to Singapore in October - it also has the overnight stay in Laem chabang.

 

Did NCL have any overnight tours and what arrangements if any, did you have to make with the ship for your overnight stay on your private tour.

 

Enjoying your thread very much

[kiwicruisers51]

Day 4 - Bangkok (overnight)

 

The ship docks in Laem Chabang - which this morning was a 3 hour drive to Bangkok. We knew from research that the drive was long so decided on doing overnight in Bangkok. Using mainly tripadvisor & the Asia thread on cruise critic we booked BKK Tours for a 2 day Bangkok Highlights Tour.

 

The cost of this tour was 21300THB (about $680 USD) for the 2 of us. This includes pickup and drop off at the port, lunch both days - water, and all entrance fees. We prepaid - but you can pay cash/credit card the day of the tour.

 

Does not include overnight hotel cost.

 

We met this morning for priority disembarkation but did not need it. At 815am there already was no one in line to disembark. We were scheduled to meet our guide at 830am - we were a bit early, but so was the guide so we got a head start to the day.

 

Around the 1/2 way mark we stopped for a bathroom break & Thai coffee. **Tip: have some tissue with you when you use a bathroom, toilet paper not always supplied**

 

As I mentioned earlier - it took 3 hours to get to our first stop today.

The ride was a pleasant surprise. Incredibly comfortable, wifi available along with a charger!

 

The seats almost fully recline - would have been no problem taking a nap if needed.

 

[ATTACH]416315[/ATTACH]

 

There is room in this van for 8. I know this company caters to cruise critic groups organized on roll calls - would strongly consider them as an option if you want a smaller group tour.

[ATTACH]416316[/ATTACH]

 

This photo shows you the leg room we had as well as the charger on the right hand side.

[ATTACH]416317[/ATTACH]

 

There is not much to see on the drive so these little extras made the drive go by quickly.

 

Our first stop is the Grand Palace - the pictures do not reflect how amazing/ornate this place is.

[ATTACH]416318[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]416319[/ATTACH]

 

We tour this area for about an hour. A highlight of this property is Wat Phra Kaeo (the emerald Buddha) - pictures are only allowed from the outside - hence my excuse for this poor quality photo

[ATTACH]416320[/ATTACH]

 

We then go for lunch....fantastic!!! We had 5 dishes - my favorite was the Pad Thai and Green Curry.

 

The Green Curry

[ATTACH]416321[/ATTACH]

 

After lunch we have a canal tour by a long tailed boat - just my hubby, the tour guide and myself as passengers.

[ATTACH]416322[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]416323[/ATTACH]

 

It’s tricky getting in & out of the boat with the movement of the waves - we were a little awkward but did not fall into the river so success!

 

At one point we stop and feed the catfish - I know, a real “touristy” thing to do but it was fun! They even swam up and took the bread from your hand in the water.

[ATTACH]416324[/ATTACH]

 

We the head to the Vegetable & Flower Market. The heat must have been getting to me because I only have one photo and it’s of the vegetables not the flowers!

[ATTACH]416325[/ATTACH]

 

Our guide pointed out various spices, vegetables etc. The eggplant looks completely different than the eggplant in North America and no photos to share.

 

We finish the days touring by going to Wat Pho (the reclining Buddha temple). He’s quite large - 15 x 46 meters (if my memory is correct, I may be off by a meter or two). They built him first, then the building around him.

[ATTACH]416326[/ATTACH]

 

We sweated through our clothes a bit today - the tour company provides plenty of water throughout the day and every time you return to the car cold towels are given to you.

 

The touring has come to an end and we are taken to our hotel. The Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn. This hotel was picked to give us as much time as possible tomorrow. With last boarding at 330p, to be safe the tour company recommends we target a 2pm return - for unexpected traffic.

 

In so, the Eastin Grand is easy on/off from the freeway which we need to be on for our first stop tomorrow.

 

For one night with breakfast the cost was $143 USD(with tax) - best price was through hotels.com. With our hotel in Singapore the best price was directly with the hotel web site - forgot to mention this.

 

Nice hotel - Lobby of Eastin Grand

[ATTACH]416327[/ATTACH]

 

Some room pictures

[ATTACH]416328[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]416329[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]416330[/ATTACH]

 

Fyi.... coffee is instant, which is why you do not see a coffee maker (surprising as this is at least a 4 start hotel).

[ATTACH]416331[/ATTACH]

 

The hotel apparently has a beautiful infinity pool, we did not bring our swim wear, but if I remember I’ll try to snap a photo. We are hoping to get to one of the night markets tonight.

 

**Tip: have a copy of your passport with you (remember the ship has your actual passport) - we did (by dumb luck bc. our tour instructions said at times a copy of your passport is needed for the Grand Palace)- the hotel said that we would not have been able to check in without it.

They also said this is the case for all hotels. On our hotel confirmation it just said government issued ID needed - I didn’t argue the point - but to avoid any issues I would just bring copies**

 

 

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You were lucky to be able to do this tour. I have just had contact with BKK Tours and they are not now operating excursions out of Laem Chabang as it is too far from Bangkok.