5/14/2006 Member Cruise on Jewel OTS

[AFT_LOVER]

What a fabulous cruise with the greatest group of Net friends from CC (close to 100) and the best ship & crew we have sailed. YEAH JEWEL!. After 10 cruise credits with Celebrity as Elite member, I have to say that RCCL outdoes Celebrity for rewarding Diamond/Diamond Plus members, especially on a Member Cruise.

 

We arrived pronto from Cleveland at 7AM but the bus doesn't show til 9AM per RCCL gal at Gatwick. So we got luggage & cleared customs & met her at her counter. She had a love seat for us to sit on & offered coffee. So our luggage carrier next to us & a man puts a small table in front of us & we see her carrying a tray with 2 soup bowls on saucers with a pint of hot cream. Costa Coffee from Costa Rica is one strong but great cup of coffee. Jet lag left after we finished that, which took a good hour to do. 2.5 hour ride to Jewel was relaxing, sure enough the DIAMOND/DIAMOND PLUS/SUITES area was well marked & they sure knew those Diamond pins, even polished ours. 1 person in front of us to wait for & we were on in under 3 minutes. Got in an elevator, pushed 9 as we neared 8 & got off & went to our room which was quite a walk back to AFT from the elevators, but it got shorter every day. Martin Georgios was our stateroom attendant & the best in all our cruises. Mail on the bed, not for others to take as we learned later. He worked when we were gone either to breakfast in the dining room or on an early morning excursion & while at dinner & the show. But he knew when to be by our room to say good night every night.

 

Jerry is still waking into walls over all the gifts that cost them plenty, including a carry on luggage that was just to get gifts home. Not every day had a gift since they were large & worth plenty. Day 1 was a clock on a C Clamp which I thought was a radio. Day 2 was an envelope telling us that we are having dinner for 2 at Chops. Day 3 Hardcover Journal Books, Day 4 RCCL Suit-bag, Day 5 was thick banded C&A backpacks, Day 6 was Diamond member pins/Diamond Plus pins, day 7 was a RC CL doc holder, day 8 was an officer who knocked on our door presenting me with a thick RCCL beach towel, but just one. Day 9 we got penlights that say C&A Society when lit (this was quite funny that you have to take apart the batteries in it to remove a cloth piece between them, then it works). Day 10 was the shocker.A carry on size luggage with wheels & expandable handle. Good to carry the gifts home in. Day 11 was luggage tags & tip envelopes & we are off at 6:30AM. We all got magnets for Scandinavia/Baltic cruise May 14, 2006 on Jewel OTS. Meet & Mingle on Jewel OTS also.

 

So second formal night we did Chops & only 6 other folks in there with us. Prime rib for Jerry, Petite Fillet for me & it melted in your mouth, Lobster Bisque for me & Scampi cocktail for Jerry, and then the deserts of a fudge mousse cheesecake for Jerry & Mango cheesecake for me. With us raving how great it was our waiter Oscar delivers a covered plate of 2 more for breakfast. He even carried it up to 9256 with us. I told him I'd write about him here, so now he is reading & blushing. He also serves the dishes up in the Concierge Lounge, even taught me when the coffeemaker flashes GROUNDS FULL and it won't make coffee for anyone how to pull out the right hand container & dump it into the FOOD ONLY garbage area. Then put it back in & push ENTER and it works fine. SO it is freshly brewed SEATTLE'S BEST coffee, actually espresso which does latte & cappuccino also. Then hot water for tea lovers or hot cocoa folks. We drank easily $120 worth of coffees in 12 nts. And Paul, as everyone named him, as his real name was a lot of letters with 2 vowel. But he was the best Concierge yet. He even made a great Cosmo for me tho it was missing one liquor so he used half a glass of vodka, some cranberry for color, lime which he juiced also, then iced it. 2 of those & I was smashed!!!! Jerry had Jack Daniels which was half a glass with ice. WOW! Our Grey Goose stayed wrapped in dirty clothes.

 

Day 3, oh yes, the famous OOPS day on Jewel, when the computers charged folks $158 for our FREE EXCURSION in Oslo, Norway. That took 6 days to fix. That is when the Purser, a real hunk of a French Canadian named Francious. (if they are telling him I wrote about him online, those ice blue eyes may be dollar size). But he saw me at 8AM talking to his great clerk named Daniel. I had the postcard mailed to me about the free excursion for Diamond Members. He made a Xerox of it since they were flooded with phone calls from folks who were charged for this. He told me it would be fixed. So daily I was back down telling him, nope not fixed, and he blamed the computers for charging & Jerry laughed at him saying that as he told Francois that "everyone blames the computers when it is the person who input the info erroneously", so now he gets to name the perfect keypunch party to fix it. He also learned fast about Diamond & Diamond Plus members, especially UK folks who never got pins or luggage tags. When we boarded Jewel I noticed I was bleeding from my chest as I removed my pin from my blazer & put it on my S&R T-Shirt, and the back was sharp & cutting my skin. The Purser noticed it & had his Activities Director have a technician file it down to be safe & deliver it back. He never returned. Then we went in his office, I got a alcohol swab to clean it up & a band aid & he found a drawful of pins on white cards. So he gave me a new one pitching the other. That was the start to my new JOB onboard Jewel as I made folks happy getting pins. That night a knock on our door & a server with an ice bucket & champagne with chocolates on the size that resembled rice crispies in them. A note from C&A apologizing for the error. Major points from us for a mistake. Boy, what a difference from Celebrity Concierge Class as an Elite member. You get -0- extra. Drinks on trays, not what I want, and then not free. No free cappuccino, latte, express. A bottle of sparkling wine in an ice bucket, but we had Kobel Gold champagne on RCCL. Diamond class robes are thick like Celebrity CC robes, handheld shower is like Celebrity CC showerhead & even has massage setting. Toiletries in large bottles of shower gel, shampoo & body lotion with an advertising placement piece for vanity top. Shower cap & body poof included. Not on Celebrity!

 

Shows were not that terrific, casino was very cold but a few pulls that netted us $100 a night made it fun but no major jackpot. Drifters now called The American Drifters were the best & one of them freaked me out in the elevator returning from Estonia. He remembered me from a 1966 TV show called Upbeat that I was a dancer on. He stated I haven't changed a bit & I added 30# & 40 years less. So we went dancing for half an hour & then I had to hit the sheets. The sea air just relaxes me that I could sleep all day everyday at sea. The sound of the wake out the balcony door, the cool breeze, no wind in AFT. 3 blankets & I was set on our egg crate bed topping, 2 pillows each. 10 hours per night after our first night surprise when the blinds separated as the door shut when the ship turned, and it was high noon at 3:35AM. I didn't believe Jerry telling me the time, so I looked at the phone & it agreed with him. It is called WHITE NIGHTS & the sun gets milky from 2AM-3:30AM and bright by 4AM. This for 12 nights!!!!! So we had the door opener shoved into the balcony door slide & that locked it in place. Blinds shut but the air still got in til it sucked the drapes outside on the North Sea & when the sheets from the bed were headed out the door, so we closed it.

 

Parties, yes we had them besides nightly in the Concierge Lounge where he could make Cosmopolitans, named Paul's Cosmos after him, as well as tumblers with Jack Daniels filled half way then ice to top it off & Jerry was feeling good after one.... both our favorites. 24/7 free cappuccinos, lattes, espresso in the small cups & saucers too. Laptops for a price to use, but he was looking up stuff for us on his computer. But computer time was not too good out there. Out of service signs were plentiful. Continental breakfast served by Oscar from Chops daily & finger sandwiches, cheese tray & fruit for lunch & hor de horves with the drinks. Nice spread for us Diamond/Diamond Plus......... The Captains Party was nice with photo taken with Thor. Then the Welcome Back party for all C&Z members, a Diamond/Diamond Plus party, a Platinum, Diamond/Diamond Plus party, our Meet & Mingle which was a party and a few others that slip my mind. Photos were interesting also. 500 Diamond/Diamond Plus members on the helipad before our excursion in Oslo Norway for a photo. Everyone is teeny tiny. Then Meet & Mingle had one taken with a late photographer with a few folks & again at a planned time & place, the Centrum stairs with Karen but that one was out of focus. SO I wait for Jerry to give me what he took.

 

Excursions: Oslo was the gift to Diamond/Diamond Plus of the glassblowing factory & Viking ship museum and a great view of Norway from the highest point. Copenhagen: a walk of the town followed by a boat ride along the canals back to the ship. Stockholm, bus ride around sights that stopped for shopping & photography. Helsinki another bus ride that was short, since it is a small town, so we got onboard the ship to visit Seaview Cafe which is open Noon-6PM on sea days but 2-6 on port days. Dining room serves no lunch on port days, so buffet is it for lunch or room service which was better to us. But at Seaview we were served onion rings when we sat down after placing order at door. The burgers, Cuban sandwich, ruben sandwich, chicken salad, feathers & fingers (fried chicken) with fries or onion rings. SO I had a large plate of onion rings that I carried out & walked outside & was greeted by 40 gulls who were hungry. One sat on my shoulder & took a ring. So I am breaking them into pieces feed them all. Then we go to our balcony & the loungers we have to watch the folks outside & our railing is now having the gulls joining us. So we are singing, driving Jerry nuts out there. So he photographed us. Can't wait to see these shots. Disappointed that Freedom & sister ship Liberty are built 150 miles away but we got to see Anker in Helsinki where Celebrity ships are built per the guide. St Petersburg was quite unfriendly. Without a VISA you are stuck on the ship til your excursion, not even to go to their souvenir shop. No casino, no shops, no dining room til dinner, not much to do when docked overnight for 2 days there. Tallinn, Estonia reminded us of Monte Carlo with the small streets, great shops, great medieval restaurant & servers in costume.

 

Funny that the CD Karen Maybury, a great brit with a great sense of humor. She saw my heels that flash different colors & immediately wanted to wear them on stage. She was great at Meet & Mingle, giving over an hour of her time to pulling tickets for folks to choose their gift, and we had a ball. RCCL had notepads with pen attached to lanyards for everyone to put their name tag in that George & Sadie made. Another nice gift from them. So great to meet everyone I've typed to for 15 months & the food & drinks & yes, they were top shelf! Jerry was busy with Jessie, the shopping gal who wound him around her little finger quickly, so he didn't show at M&M. But he got a nice gift of a Russian Mamooska (not the spelling) with 6 dolls inside. Then he has Karen asking for my shoes, so she got them for her show with the Drifters, now called The American Drifters.

 

Even embarkation was a breeze, Diamond was off at 6:30AM porters awaiting us to get our luggage & then transport us to the buses. Then off to the airport & that was a zoo. But patience in long lines made for a smooth process. Then the flight home on Delta to Atlanta from Gatwick that took almost 10 hours. Then 2 hour wait to flight to Cleveland, so we got home at 1AM. But we had a great time, on a great cruise, with great friends we made, in a great stateroom & 2 more member cruises booked with more to come.

 

Any questions or additional comments, just write! Now I wait to see if I get a name tag ;-) To all 100 friends, I miss you all already!

__________________

Funny that a bad cruise is still better than a day at work - AGREE? One day we will cruise together..........

[MrsKnuts2]

Thank you for taking the time to write this great review. Glad you had a wonderful time. We loved the Jewel. Oscar was the best!

[JaneStarr]

We are on the July 1 sailing.

 

I have a question about the concierge. Is "Paul" the regular concierge now instead of Jason or is he a vacation replacement? Just wondering who to expect next month.

 

I can hardly wait to be back onboard Jewel OTS!

 

Jane

[AFT_LOVER]

Who's real name is Mpho Ndlovu so we nicknamed him "Paul". He was so much fun, so helpful with reservations for Chops for that night, eventho they stated they were sold out. He got involved with my mischarge for a GIFT excursions for all Diamond & Diamond Plus members who many were charged also. He also poured a Cosmo, as he made it with half a tumber of vodka, a color of cranberry, a sweeze of lime with a slice. 2 of them & I was done for the night.

 

The coffee on the ship made hair grow on your chest, so we didn't get it & went up to Paul for lattes or cappuccinos. There was another officer there also, forget his name for the last 2 days. He was also very good with folks with WIFI cards to use the laptops in the room, as well as xeroxing passports for those who forgot or didn't know for St Peterburg.

 

We estimate we drank over $240 worth of specialty coffee in 13 days. And the free booze that got you smashed, landed us a Sea Pass bill of $6.25

[AFT_LOVER]

From the Diamond member coupon booklet, free cocktails with commemorative glasses. Jewel 5/14/06 had glass tulip glasses with the RCCL logo on them & nice art wwork around it. We lucked out getting 2 more coupons from a diabetic couple I got diamond pins for, so we got 4 of them & I wrapped them in my dirty shweatshirts & they made it home perfectly.

[JaneStarr]

Who's real name is Mpho Ndlovu so we nicknamed him "Paul". He was so much fun, so helpful with reservations for Chops for that night, eventho they stated they were sold out.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

So...how *do* you pronounce Mpho Ndlovu? ;)

 

Jane

[AFT_LOVER]

PAUL

 

 

 

Thanks for the info.

 

So...how *do* you pronounce Mpho Ndlovu? ;)

 

Jane

[AFT_LOVER]

in a Navy Blue folder, addressed to you by "Paul" or whomever may be your Concierge on the desk. A white key inside to access the Lounge that is typed CONCIERGE LOUNGE. We took it home since they didn't want it back last day. So magnetic tape on the back it is is a nice magnet on my fridge reminding me of how I was spoiled & the great time we had.

 

HEAR THAT CELEBRITY!

[jbond]

Hi,

Sounds as if you had a great time. We'll be on Jewel in a couple of weeks. How many formal nights did you have? I know the book says two, but last year they had three. The concierge sounds really good. Looking forward to meeting him. Was the lounge crowded or did they open another area?

Thanks for any help.

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks for the info.

 

So...how *do* you pronounce Mpho Ndlovu? ;)

 

Jane

Jane, do you remember the old Barney Miller show, with Hal Linden as the head of the police detectives department?

 

Max Gail played "Wojo", whose name was actually Wojciehowicz. Someone would ask, "How do you spell that????" and he would answer, DISGUSTEDLY, "just the way it sounds!" ;)

[JaneStarr]

LOL, Carol, I *do* remember that :)

 

Jane

[rubrrick]

Well................he pronounces it mmmmmmmmpo.

 

Rick

[AFT_LOVER]

I guess "Paul" had folks taking their cocktails to dinner, or the show, or both to lessen the number in the lounge. Hollywood Oddyssey had it also on 13, but we never went there. I was in for Cappucino every hour I swear. Oscar from Chops was putting very good food up there also.

 

Amazing I am reading that folks found it very stuffy & rude people, not on 10 on Jewel! Most were M&M folks and we kept "Paul" entertained.

[rubrrick]

I guess "Paul" had folks taking their cocktails to dinner, or the show, or both to lessen the number in the lounge. Hollywood Oddyssey had it also on 13, but we never went there. I was in for Cappucino every hour I swear. Oscar from Chops was putting very good food up there also.

 

Amazing I am reading that folks found it very stuffy & rude people, not on 10 on Jewel! Most were M&M folks and we kept "Paul" entertained.

 

We only went to the lounge on 10 twice, as it was standing room only. The lounge on 13 had a bartender, Margarita Puzinova, that had everyones drink memorized from day one! Members would walk in, and rather than take up room at the bar waiting for her to fill their drink orders, she would have them sit and within a minute they had their drinks. As far as bartenders go, she was the best on the ship.

 

Rick