Just got back - Norwegian Jewel-9/27-10/9

[pinoy1]

What a wonderful trip and itinerary. Cairo is the highlight of the cruise and it was well worth the money we spent for the overnight stay. Just watch out for those nasty vendors at the pyramids and all over the tourist spots. Pretty hard to get rid of them.

 

The Greek Isles especially Santorini and Mykonos are must see. That goes for Istanbul too at the tail end of the cruise. Let me know if you have any questions and I will try my best to answer them based on my experience and recollection.

 

Danny

[curiouscat]

Hi. Sounds like wonderful ports. Would like to hear more about your experiences with the Jewel. Service, food and amenities etc.

 

We're leaving next week.

 

CuriousCat

 

PS We too are from Atlanta!

[Carey and Kerry]

Was your overnight stay in Cairo with the ship excursion or on your own? Which hotel did you stay and was it nice?

[pinoy1]

Hi. Sounds like wonderful ports. Would like to hear more about your experiences with the Jewel. Service, food and amenities etc.

 

We're leaving next week.

 

CuriousCat

 

PS We too are from Atlanta!

 

The Jewel is brand new and thus smells and feels new all over. Freestyle has a great advantage in that you can eat anytime and you can dress casual anytime. No need for jackets, ties, tuxedo, long gowns but one can't wear jeans, tanktops and round neck tshirts and shorts in the restaurants. The buffet cafe allows them.

 

Service is excellent. Food at the main restaurants is a 7, 10 being the highest. Not that great but adequate. Portions are small. The specialty restaurants are good if you are willing to pay for the service. Food is available 24 hours a day. The Blue Lagoon on the 8th deck is open from 10pm to 4am and serves chicken wings, fried rice, chinese noodles, etc. for late night party people. We seldom ate there after loosing in the casino at 2am.

 

Casino is open 24 hours except in port. It is one of the biggest at sea. My DW loved it.

 

Food at the buffet is served, that is, there is an attendant at every station. We love the stir fry station. Hand sanitation is a must at all restaurants. This is very good and thus prevents the norovirus incidents.

 

Entertainment is a 7. The comedian on board got to go. The Filipino band, Ironics with the 3 female singers is excellent. I believe they are the best and they played 60s, 70s, 80s music. The 3 piece string group that plays at the atrium is excellent too for soft listening music.

 

Good luck on your trip. I'm sure you will enjoy the Jewel.

 

Danny

[pinoy1]

Was your overnight stay in Cairo with the ship excursion or on your own? Which hotel did you stay and was it nice?

 

We decided to take the overnight trip in Cairo with the ship excursion for security reasons. Cairo is 3 hours away. There was an armed guard in each bus with police escort in front and at the back of the convoy of 20 buses. We felt really safe.

 

The hotel was the Conrad(might be a Hilton) and is a 5 star hotel. Well worth it and comparable with best US hotels. The balcony with a beautiful view of the Nile and the city is excellent. Our tour guide was very well versed with Egyptian history and his service was outstanding.

 

Danny

[Carey and Kerry]

Great - that's what I needed to hear. We were debating about the overnight and wanted to see the show at the pyramids at night, but weren't to sure about the hotel accomodations. Good to know about the security and the knowledgeable tour guide. Where was your room on the ship?

[Ken&Vivian]

We just came back last night from NCL Jewel. We stayed overnight at Istanbul at Hilton Istanbul. Not recommended. Hotel is too far away from old city, no complimentry bottle water, no fruit, and we paid US275 + 18% taxes for one night. Yes, I am kind of spoiled.

 

We stayed at Conrad at Cairo overlooking the Nile river. Good breakfast, so-so dinner buffet.

 

Regarding Cairo, you have to be careful when you arranged your own private tour. We had a good time on our own, but the three hour drive from Alexandria to Cairo was an odeal. I was like"Oh, my god," the whole three hours. Our Egytian friend arranged everything for us. We had a small car, the driver would drive between a bus and a truck in a two-lane road. Then we would pass cars using the opposite lane. We were nearly hit by a truck, a bus, three cars. I was so happy to be back to the ship in one piece.

 

The food in NCL Jewel is about 6 out of 10. But Chin-Chin, Le Bistro, Teppanyaki are really worth the extra you paid. We had most of our meals there. However, the lunch and breakfast were generally good.

 

Corfu, Santorini and Mykonos are kind of over-rated. Not much there. Don't spend the money on the excursion to Oia and Fira Museum. The excursion took us to Oia, gave us 90 minutes to wondering around the few street, then took us to the small and over crowded Fira Museum for 20 minutes. Then you are on your own. Save your money to see all the ruins in Athens, Izmir and Istanbul. The best excursion is Ephesus. Don't take the one with House of Virgin Mary unless you are Christian and believe Virgin Mary was indeed used to live there. No proof was found so far. But the museum of Ephesus is worth to see. Almost a must, even thought a lot of them are replicas.

 

We did the Capitals of two empire with NCL in Istanbul. What a waste of money. 20 minutes at Hagia Sophia, 20 minutes at Blue Mosque, passed by the Hippodrom and 1.5 hour at the grand bazzar. Please note most of museum or palaces in Istanbul has English audio tour guide, my hubby and I had spent 4 hours at Topkapi palace on our own with an audio guide the following day. The best 60 Turkish Lira we ever spent. Don't miss the kitchen at the palace. Really good collection for Silver and China. My hubby almost convinced me to skip it at the end. However, due to Ramadam, it's very hard to get a taxi after 4:00p.m. It costs us 12 Turkish Lira around US$9 from Hilton to the Topkapi palace in the morning, but the return fare outside the Grand Bazzar, most of the taxi drivers ask 30-35 Turkish Lira. You can wait for 30 minutes to get a taxi or pay the 30 Turkish Lira.

 

Being rid-off is a norm in Greek Islands. At Athens, even the meter showed Euro 15 they will charge us 26 from the Airport to Electra palace Hotel. From the hotel to the port, the meter clearly showed 14 Euro, he wants 25. My hubby did not like to argue with a taxi driver, so he paid accordingly each time.

 

From 1 to 10, our trip is about 8.5. We really enjoyed Athens, Izmir and Istanbul. Strongly recommended.

[pinoy1]

Great - that's what I needed to hear. We were debating about the overnight and wanted to see the show at the pyramids at night, but weren't to sure about the hotel accomodations. Good to know about the security and the knowledgeable tour guide. Where was your room on the ship?

 

Is the Jewel going to Cairo again? I thought she had 2 trips to Cairo only. I would suggest that you take the overnight since Cairo is far, i.e., 6 hours RT from Alexandria. I believe it is well worth the expense and peace of mind.

 

The night show at the pyramids is nothing to talk about. I was expecting laser shows but didn't happen. It was included in the overnight tour so that I can't complain.

 

We were on Deck 5, mid ship. Nice location. Close to the elevator and the laundromat.

 

Danny

[Carey and Kerry]

Yes, there are several scheduled in 2007, same kind of thing - 1 from Istanbul to Athens and then in reverse. I believe in May and September. We are booked for September, but are thinking about trying to go in May instead if we can work it out. If we can't then I will just count the days until Sept 14th! The good thing is the more information we have about the excursions and the ship, the more informed decisions we can make about what to do in port. Sorry about the light show, I had always thought that was supposed to be so good. What about the river cruise on the Nile as part of that package? Was that nice?

[mandiecandie5]

Really interesting to hear about this new itinerary. I too am surprised about the evening pyramids show. Did anyone go to the Cairo museum? How are the crowds when you're at the pyramids, is it just loaded with tourists and is it possible to enjoy your time there or is it just too much going on? :confused:

[pinoy1]

Yes, there are several scheduled in 2007, same kind of thing - 1 from Istanbul to Athens and then in reverse. I believe in May and September. We are booked for September, but are thinking about trying to go in May instead if we can work it out. If we can't then I will just count the days until Sept 14th! The good thing is the more information we have about the excursions and the ship, the more informed decisions we can make about what to do in port. Sorry about the light show, I had always thought that was supposed to be so good. What about the river cruise on the Nile as part of that package? Was that nice?

 

 

The river cruise on the Nile was after the light show at the pyramids. Since it was at night, there is really nothing to see outside. The food was buffet style and sufficient. Wine, beer, or soda is included. I had the 20 oz. bottle of beer which was very refreshing during a warm night. There was local entertainment on the river cruise, i.e., traditional dance, belly dancing, audience participation. Not bad since it came with the package.

 

I hope the NCL will still use the Conrad. The room was huge, with separate shower and tub. The bathroom was large. It even had a bidet separate from the toilet. Bottled water is provided free. They even turned over the bed covers at night. The bed was very comfortable. At par with the Palms in Vegas.

[pinoy1]

Really interesting to hear about this new itinerary. I too am surprised about the evening pyramids show. Did anyone go to the Cairo museum? How are the crowds when you're at the pyramids, is it just loaded with tourists and is it possible to enjoy your time there or is it just too much going on? :confused:

 

The evening pyramids show was nothing special. Since it was included with the overnight package, I went for the ride. The Cairo museum has a lot of antiquities. The highlight is the King Tut exhibition. We didn't see his mummy since I was told it is in Luxor. The museum has its own character of Egyptian history. I personally enjoyed the historical aspect of the museum tour.

 

All tours lead to the pyramids. Since it is massive, there's plenty of elbow room inspite of the hundreds of tourists. But do not concern youself about the tourists too much since they are well behaved. Worry about the vendors and the camels. They will hustle you until you get mad. They stick with you like glue. The vendors are pest. They cheat, hound, pester and make your visit miserable so that you have less time to enjoy the pyramids. I nearly kicked one of the vendors for touching my wife during one sale encounter. I soon as I raised my hand and in attack position with a scream, the vendor backed off. BTW, there are police all over. I wish the government or the police does something about these vendors. They give the pyramids a bad experience.

 

Inpite of the above, please do visit the pyramids. It is a must see. Just be alert. Do not make eye contact with a vendor. If you do not intend to buy, do not bother asking for a price quote.

[Arlington22207]

My wife and I plan to take this cruise in Sept 2007 -- we're a younger couple and were wondering about the demographics of the cruise? What was the average age of the passengers, roughly? We're expecting to be on the younger side of the spectrum given the location and timing. Thanks!

[curiouscat]

Pinoy1

 

Thanks for the tip. We are going to try Le Bistro,Chin Chin and Cagneys. Do you recall if they serve Sushi in Chin Chins. My DH likes Sushi and I don't.

 

In RE: to the pyramids a friend of mine visited(on a land tour) and they took a moonlit camel ride out to the pyramids. She said it was divine. That sounds good to me:)

 

CuriousCat

[Mountaineers2]

Here is link to review I did on this itinerary

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=422416

[hotspur]

Egypt is a remarkable place worth a trip in itself. We did a Grand Circle Travel two-week trip (six nights at the Cairo Marriott--breakfast buffet a ten out of ten--and seven nights on a five-star Nile riverboat) for less than $2000 including airfare from Boston. Highly recommend.

[VicKen]

We are on this itinerary on the Jewel May 19-31, 2007 so this is great information. I know free-style dining means no formal nights but my TA says they dress up more in Europe than say the Caribbean - did you find that to be the case? It would be nice not to take formal clothes but we do want to fit in.;)

[pinoy1]

Pinoy1

 

Thanks for the tip. We are going to try Le Bistro,Chin Chin and Cagneys. Do you recall if they serve Sushi in Chin Chins. My DH likes Sushi and I don't.

 

In RE: to the pyramids a friend of mine visited(on a land tour) and they took a moonlit camel ride out to the pyramids. She said it was divine. That sounds good to me:)

 

CuriousCat

 

 

Sushi and sashimi are available at the Japanese restaurant for an extra fare. We didn't go for it since DW is not into it and besides she was inclined to avoid raw food while travelling. Just a precaution.

[Mountaineers2]

Not a lot of people went full formal. I wore a blue blazer a couple of nights. Ordinarily I might have gone formal but with this long of an itinerary I did not want to take up luggage space with a tux and accesories.

[pinoy1]

Here is link to review I did on this itinerary

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=422416

 

 

Wonderful review. Everyone should read this. I didn't hear of any health incidents during our cruise. I guess having an attendant in every station was an excellent idea and so was the antibacterial rub at every restaurant entrance and the casino.

[pinoy1]

We are on this itinerary on the Jewel May 19-31, 2007 so this is great information. I know free-style dining means no formal nights but my TA says they dress up more in Europe than say the Caribbean - did you find that to be the case? It would be nice not to take formal clothes but we do want to fit in.;)

 

There were 2 formal nights but wearing formal attire was optional. I would say that 10 percent wore evening gowns and tux. I used a sports jacket on both occasions and no tie. The guests were wearing sunday clothes in the restaurants. Shorts and tshirts are ok at the Garden Buffet.

[pinoy1]

Not a lot of people went full formal. I wore a blue blazer a couple of nights. Ordinarily I might have gone formal but with this long of an itinerary I did not want to take up luggage space with a tux and accesories.

 

 

Isn't freestyle neat. I love NCL because of that. I miss the old Norway though. It was a unique ship.