Jewel Review (4/8 - 4/15)

[momofmab]

Just back from the Jewel Eastern Caribbean. Had a fabulous time – here’s some highs (and a couple of lows)

 

Highs:

 

Our AB Penthouse was beautiful (the Garnet Suite). The extra kids’ bedroom suited our family perfectly. Our butler, Rogin was sweet and attentive. The concierge, Ruth, was nice, although we didn’t use her too much. Her assistant was the person who expertly handled our restaurant reservations. My only complaints about the room, was the noise from above (pool deck), and that the balcony was not quite as impressive as when we stayed in the owner’s suite on the Sun last year ;) . However, it was great to be able to enjoy our balcony at any time and not be blasted by wind.

 

Loved the itinerary (San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua & Samana). Did the Cayo Levantado beach excursion this year at Samana. It is a MUST DO! One of the most beautiful (and cleanest) beaches I’ve ever seen! My daughter and I did the Antigua Highlights and Lobster Lunch excursion and enjoyed it. We got to see much of Antigua and ended up on a beach with a view of Montserrat (sp?) and the volcano. In San Juan, we took a $7 taxi on our own to El Morrow. Spectacular views at the fort. No return taxis, however, so we walked almost half the way back down hill to the ship before catching another taxi (it was 88 degrees and we had our 3 y.o. with us). Shopping was the activity du jour in St. Thomas while DH and the girls went to Maegan’s Beach.

 

The staff couldn’t have been nicer. I’m so impressed this aspect of the NCL experience and it is probably the main reason we are repeat NCL cruisers. Service was excellent, with the exception of lunch at Tsars on embarkation day (took over and hour with only a dozen or so tables in the restaurant filled) and the breakfast and lunch dining at Cagney’s. I tried it a couple of times and for some reason, despite only a handful of diners, they were unable to get us out of there in under an hour.

 

The food was…..very good! I had lots of complaints about the regular restaurants when we were on the Sun last year, but on the Jewel I enjoyed everything I tried, whether it was in the Garden Café or Le Bistro. Thanks to the ravings of fellow cc’ers I tried the eggs benedict for the first time on the Jewel and was hooked! We ate at most of the regular restaurants and specialty restaurants with the exception of Tango's and the Blue Lagoon (which I don't think was open the entire cruise :confused: )

 

We only got to two shows, but thoroughly enjoyed the Jean Ryan “Cirque Bijou”. Pretty impressive for a cruise ship!

 

The Low:

 

Really, the only thing that I could complain about the entire cruise was the embarkation process at the Miami Port. Even with suite priority, passengers are required to stand like cattle in the parking lot in the hot sun. Very uncustomer-friendly! I don’t know where the new terminal is being built, but I hope they get it completed before the next Miami sail season. I will say that once we made into the “tent”, we were able to zip through the penthouse/gv/chv line pretty quickly and were escorted up to our cabin. I just can’t understand what NCL is thinking with this system.

 

All in all, a wonderful vacation!

[lgfromdg]

Thanks for the review. I re-lived my trip while reading about yours.

[Cosmopolitan]

Really, the only thing that I could complain about the entire cruise was the embarkation process at the Miami Port. Even with suite priority, passengers are required to stand like cattle in the parking lot in the hot sun. Very uncustomer-friendly! I don’t know where the new terminal is being built, but I hope they get it completed before the next Miami sail season. I will say that once we made into the “tent”, we were able to zip through the penthouse/gv/chv line pretty quickly and were escorted up to our cabin. I just can’t understand what NCL is thinking with this system.

 

All in all, a wonderful vacation!

 

I don't know..haven't sailed from Miami..BUT I believe that is a Miami PIER problem not the fault of NCL.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise:)