Live from the NCL Jewel December 24-31, 2022 with YVRteacher and her Dad

[www3traveler]

Merry Christmas  Have a wondeerful cruise.

 

I plan to sail for Her journey North to Alaska and Vancouver.

[ChiefMateJRK]

10 hours ago, SunshineGal2022 said:

There's an IKEA not far from Fashion Island mall.  If you have never been, it's quite an experience.  This doesn't quite compare to the museums, but it is something nearby. 😂😂

That's funny.  DW, DD and I actually carved out an Ikea afternoon several years ago when we were at Universal Studios.  We were at the beginning of a major downsizing and looking for some furniture options.  Long story short; I'm sitting at an Ikea desk as I type this in a room with Ikea bookcases, Ikea media stand and several other Ikea items.  Cheap, lightweight, sturdy, sustainable and darned fun for a retired ex-engineer to assemble! 😎

[bonstersd]

I see from the ship's camera that she's here in San Diego!  What time are you boarding?  I sail on her in 2 weeks so I would love any details of boarding, especially if they have the Casino at Seas boarding line (which should be separate from the regular line).  It's going to be a warm day in San Diego and even warmer tomorrow (should be warmer south as well).  

 

[YVRteacher]

4 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

Bon voyage, @YVRteacher! I love your reviews and am excited to hear all about your cruise. I appreciate the photos and recommendations in San Diego.  Enjoy that first drink. I hope embarkation is smooth and easy. 

Thank you so much! I love to write and I love to read live reviews. 

[YVRteacher]

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

Merry Christmas  Have a wondeerful cruise.

 

I plan to sail for Her journey North to Alaska and Vancouver.

Merry Christmas!  You will love Alaska on the Jewel!

[YVRteacher]

45 minutes ago, bonstersd said:

I see from the ship's camera that she's here in San Diego!  What time are you boarding?  I sail on her in 2 weeks so I would love any details of boarding, especially if they have the Casino at Seas boarding line (which should be separate from the regular line).  It's going to be a warm day in San Diego and even warmer tomorrow (should be warmer south as well).  

 

Hi! Hotel check out time is 11am and I selected a port arrival time of 11am.  I’ll take photos of the boarding process and line ups.  This is our first time embarking from San Diego too.

[YVRteacher]

Here she is!  I can the ship from my bed.

[www3traveler]

44 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Merry Christmas!  You will love Alaska on the Jewel!

I have been to Alaska many times on The Jewel almost always with Steven as GM.

[Bxc53]

16 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Hi! We have fallen in love with San Diego! Do you have any recommendations or “must dos?”

Well, you seem to be finding several good restaurants and other attractions .  My favorite places in the area are the Midway museum and up north in La Hoya, the glider port and high cliff area- great people watching and spectacular oceans views.

 But what I was actually referring to is the Airport to Cruise embarkment experience. Notably nicer/ easier than , say, the LA options.

[Samantha1212]

Did your hotel have a shuttle to the port? Have a wonderful Christmas cruise with your Dad!

[CptBoatface]

San Diego is awesome.  The Admiral and her sister are sailing out of there in January 

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, Samantha1212 said:

Did your hotel have a shuttle to the port?

Based upon post #82, it doesn't look like they needed one.

[bonstersd]

Merry Christmas!  Hoping to take a break from A Christmas Story and read some updates from you on your cruise!

[YVRteacher]

We left our hotel (Marriott San Diego Bayfront Suites) 

at 10:55 this morning and were at our suite on the Jewel at 11:08am.   Our hotel is right across the street from the pier. 

 

San Diego port operations are phenomenal.  The organization, the friendly staff and the easy process were all greatly appreciated.  There seemed to be one line for all the people who have propriety boarding (Haven, latitudes, Casino, assistance) and one line for others.  At the time we entered the port there was no line up at all.  My dad said it was our best boarding experience ever.  He is right!

 

We were escorted to our suite where we dropped off luggage then went to deck 14 and did a loop of each deck before having Haven lunch. My dad kept exclaiming how great the ship looks with her freshly varnished bannisters. It’s super clean everywhere! 

 Here is the Haven lunch menu for Day 1.  This is also the lunch menu for days 2-7.

 

I had crudités and a green salad while my dad enjoyed crab corn soup and shrimp scampi.  He didn’t eat all the pasta and our server said next time he would give my dad twice the shrimp and half the pasta.  This is perfect for dad!  My all-time favourite maître d, Kevon, took great care of us.  I’m so excited he’s here!  

After lunch we returned to our cabin to unpack.  Lots of storage but a broken closet in my room.  When we were done unpacking I said it was time for libations so we headed to the Pit Stop.  In a plot twist no one saw coming my first drink onboard was a green juice rich in vitamin C, antioxidants and lime to prevent scurvy.  It was garnished with tequila. 

 We stayed at the Pit Stop surveying the situation (any musical fans out there?) then waved to Steven.  More hugs! He called home today to talk to his 88 year old mom and she didn’t answer.  He called back and she said she was outside shovelling the driveway!

 

We had a 45 minute line up with only 3 people ahead of us at the Cruise Next desk.  That was ridiculous!  The manager refused to come out of her office to help people.  We did eventually book Sail  and Sustain, Wines Around the World (not my thing) and dinner with the officers.  NCL is still not doing behind the scenes tours but they did say they anticipate this Latitudes benefit will be reinstated in the new year.  I told her it was fine because really, how much laundry being folded can one watch?  On this ship the latitudes coupons are on photocopy paper instead of the old little booklets.

 

If you are on this cruise and you were at the sailaway party we were the ones with zero rhythm and zero dance skills!  The party was terrific and my dad turned to me and asked, “have you ever seen anything like this?”  Tahani saw us and ran to us to give us hugs and welcomes.  The Jewel is so, so special!

 

We were supposed to depart at 4:00pm and the captain came on the PA to inform us that the stores were still being loaded and we would be leaving late.  We left at 4:45, sailing west into the sunset before heading south to tequila, sun and beaches.

 

After two strong drinks I needed to walk so we did laps around deck 7 before heading to dinner.  We met Rumi just before dinner and it was wonderful to see him.  I had tears in my eyes I was so happy! He mentioned that there were supposed to be 2800 passengers on board but 250 missed flights due to weather so we have 2550 including 600 kids.  There’s a little old lady who overwinters at my dad’s senior home and Rumi always asks my dad about his girlfriend!

 

For crepe aficionados there is a crepe station and fabulous crepe maker in the Garden Cafe.  I had apple with whipped cream and M&Ms.  Someone saw my plate and said “wow.”

This is why I have salad for lunch!

 

Tonight was busy, busy, busy!  I have 4 favourite NCL lounge singers/musicians: Jim Badger, Taylor Kundolf, Leo Jostol and Alexa.  Guess who is on board?  It’s Leo!!!!

 

There was holiday trivia (we tied for the win with 19 points) followed by Christmas carols with Leo then the theatre.  The headliner who was supposed to be in Stardust Theatre tonight missed her flight (the comedian also had his flight cancelled so he will be joining the ship in PV) so we had Alex and Magdalena, world champion ballroom dancers from Poland.  They were good, but it was 45 minutes of the same twirling interspersed with video filler for costume changes.  My dad thought it was too risqué for a family cruise.

 

Tonight they had Jewel Tide Christmas Eve carolling (see what they did there?!) with management, housekeeping, entertainment staff and shop and spa staff in the Crystal Atrium. 

 Very fun, very Christmassy and very special.  At this point my dad couldn’t keep his eyes open so we headed back to the cabin.  

Unfortunately the room steward hadn’t made a bed for me so I tried to call housekeeping but no one answered.  I called our butler and the room steward came to make the bed.  He did a terrible job and it was super uncomfortable.  Look who is complaining now!  My dad is very happy and I have a complaint. (Written this next day, I explained how to make the sofa bed and he has fixed the bed set up.  All is well.)

 

We had a wonderful embarkation day/Christmas Eve.  There are Christmas trees in every lounge and restaurant, gingerbread houses at all restaurants, a huge gingerbread village in the atrium and lots of garlands, ornaments and lights throughout the ship.  Many people have door decorations on their cabins.

[YVRteacher]

[YVRteacher]

[YVRteacher]

[PATRLR]

41 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

We left our hotel (Marriott San Diego Bayfront Suites) at 10:55 this morning and were at our suite on the Jewel at 11:08am.

13 minutes?  Wow.

I assume you were in the Marriott Springhill Suites Bayfront?  

[www3traveler]

I am glad you are having a wonderful time.

 

In a few weeks Steven will  be home to help Mom shovel snow and cheer on the Packers.

 

 

 

[YVRteacher]

Day 2

What a perfect day!

We woke up to sunshine, said Merry Christmas then headed to Moderno for breakfast.  We both had eggs Benedict but mine had avocado instead of bacon.  The Haven breakfast buffet did not disappoint and they even had eggnog!  I haven’t had eggnog in years!  You bet I took a tiny amount, just for the nostalgia.

There was morning trivia with questions about technology, space, movies and comics and we pretty much tanked.  On the way to trivia I saw a woman taking a photo of one of the gingerbread houses and her husband said, “do you have a thing for gingerbread houses or something?”  That made me giggle because I too have taken photos of all the gingerbread houses.  After trivia I told my dad he could go to the look younger seminar and boy did I get a look for that one! Instead of looking younger we went to watch Santa hand out presents and take family photos.  So sweet and so special.  Lots of families have matching pyjamas.  Santa kept wiping the sweat off his brow and he stopped making the ho ho hos after about the 267 child.

 

We walked enough laps around the promenade deck to do a mile then went for lunch.  I thought the Haven might have a special Christmas lunch like the dining rooms do but they didn’t.  I brought a bowl of lentil dal from the Garden Cafe since there aren’t any vegetarian options with protein in the Haven.  It was delicious!  I also had a green salad.  My dad had the soup of the day (vegetable) and shrimp scampi with half the pasta and double the shrimp.  He was in scampi heaven!  We were too full for dessert.  

We did more trivia after lunch at which we also tanked.  I finally had my Old Fashioned and it was excellent. 

 

 We spent the afternoon up on the quiet sundeck relaxing and having drinks.  Although the ship is quite full it does not feel crowded.  The main pool deck is busy and energetic yet there are plenty of lounge chairs.  The previous cruise the Jewel just did through the Panama Canal had 900 passengers on board.  We found out today that this is the Jewel’s busiest cruise since the restart and the first Christmas cruise since 2019.  Did other NCL ships have cruises last Christmas?

 

A very loud, very tall man came up to the quiet sundeck with his buddies.  He proceeded to exclaim that the area we were overlooking was the expensive cabins that cost $25000 a night.  He said what a great view those people must get.  

 

He was looking at the crew pool.

 

We forgot to go to the Sail and Sustain mixology experience.  I’ve done it before so didn’t mind missing it and my dad was perfectly content to enjoy a cold beer in a comfy lounger on the deck.

At 3:30 a deck guy came to tell everyone on the sundeck they were closing the deck for a private wedding photo session.  Gorgeous day for a wedding and photos!  We just moved to the starboard side and kept soaking up the sun.  I may have fallen asleep, because I ended up with chair imprints all down my legs.  At 4:00 I peeked to see the wedding people but the deck was just empty.  I checked the chapel and there was Hanukkah service.  There was a massive line up in and through Spinnaker and I was worried there was a party that I was 

A) missing 

and B) not invited 

but a woman told me it was bingo time.  This is why there were so many deck chairs available: the people onboard this week are bingo people.

 

My dad just asked what time dinner is tonight.

I told him 5:30.

He said, “perfect! We miss evening trivia!”

 

In what may not have been my smartest moment, I went to the Shore Excursion desk this afternoon to ask if we needed bathing suits for our excursion tomorrow.  Looking at me slightly quizzically, the Shore Ex person said, “well, you did book the luxury sail and snorkel…” Yes, yes I did.  I had just looked at our shore excursion tickets and was in such intense vacation mode that I literally couldn’t process what we needed for tomorrow.

My dad did not like getting dressed for dinner.  He told me he is never going on a cruise again if he has to pack so much fancy stuff.  Reader, he had pants, a shirt and a tie.

Dinner at La Cucina was, at best, disappointing.  The basketball courts were supposed to be closed at 5pm but someone missed that step.  Our reservation was for 5:30 and the basketball thumping, which sounded like a Vegas casino imploding, went on until 5:45.  It was jarring and not pleasant.  Our food wasn’t very good.  It was just all blah.  We went to the Garden Cafe for dessert. It was full and everything we sampled was excellent.  We both loved the showstopper Christmas cake which had layers of white cake, tres leche and frosting.  

 

I also loved the tiny spoonful of bread pudding with caramel sauce.  I know there are people who loathe the buffet but I’m starting to feel like for my taste preferences it’s the best food on the ship.  We have had both excellent and terrible experiences at La Cucina and tonight’s lacklustre meal landed right in the middle.  We used a dining package credit and the waiter took the menu and physically pointed to each section while explaining what we could order.  I understand why this is done but it feels like getting a lecture before even getting in trouble.  If I’m going to be lectured I’d like to at least have a little adventure first…

 

If anyone else is on board, what did you think of the show in Stardust?  We lasted 5 minutes and walked out.  Thankfully Leo’s break was just ending so we happily pulled up chairs and loved his last set of the evening.  He took a lot of audience requests and one of the biggest crowd pleasers was his phenomenal rendition of Baby Shark!  

Yes, I did have another Old Fashioned.  The bar staff and waiter service is excellent.

 

My dad was very excited to see the room steward had left a little something on his bed:

(imagine a photo of an elephant towel animal right here!)

Edited December 26, 2022 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

Hmm

I can’t add photos right now.  Will try again tomorrow. 

[Uff da]

We are boarding Jewel in February for a Panama Canal cruise. I've been sad I didn't book La Cucinal as one of our dining options after our excellent dinner there on the Getaway in November. After reading your review I'm not so sad. Thanks! 😉

[mypleasure]

18 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

We met Rumi just before dinner and it was wonderful to see him.  I had tears in my eyes I was so happy!

We sailed with Rumi on the N.Sun around S.America in Feb 2007. We loved him he was such a great guy and a friend of Armando da Silva (former HD N.Spirit). If you get chance rember Mr and Mrs Morgan from England to him and give him my best regards and a hope to meet again in the future. As always I am loving your live report and the exploits of your Dad and yourself. Looking forward to the rest of the cruise fun.

 

[Crazy planning mom]

13 hours ago, Uff da said:

We are boarding Jewel in February for a Panama Canal cruise. I've been sad I didn't book La Cucinal as one of our dining options after our excellent dinner there on the Getaway in November. After reading your review I'm not so sad. Thanks! 😉

On the Jade, La Cucina was Ala Carte.  I went there after using our dining credits on other restaurants.  I just ordered a pizza there and it was delicious so much better than what they have in windjammer.

[Niffernay]

On 12/25/2022 at 4:31 PM, YVRteacher said:

 It’s Leo!!

We LOVE Leo!! I was hoping he might be on the Encore in January but I guess not. He is fantastic!!!