Jewel 11-15-07 to 11-18-07 report

[Lowie]

i'm sure i'll be leaving our plenty of info, but i'll answer any questions.

 

 

Embarkation was fine, we got to the port around 1:30 and were on the boat within an hour. My husband is blind and walks with a white cane and a nice gentleman routed us to the special needs check-in desk. Unfortunately we were behind a few people who couldn't get their credit cards processed and had no cash for a deposit. Because the ship was coming from a short drydock, the cabins were ready and by the time we got to ours the luggage was already there!

 

By this time the dining room was closed for lunch so we went to the buffet area and pigged out! We really enjoyed the buffet, more then we anticipated, mainly because of the set-up of the area. it was better to go to the stations rather then stand on a long straight line like we had on Carnival. The food was good, desserts very nice. the service to clear tables was very fast.

 

Our room was an inside handicapped, number 10153. It was VERY big, but very dark. the lighting was totally insufficient for my DH. Our carnival room never seemed as dark. Our steward, Vincent, came immediately and introduced himself. he remembered our names from the first time and always greeted us by name. the only problem with the room was a bad mold smell in the bathroom. not just a musty, inside cabin smell, it was an overwhelming smell of mold. vincent tried his best to clean it, but it must have been coming from the pipes. we just kept the bathroom door shut at all times and kept our clothes out of there.

 

the beds were NOT comfortable. they were badly indented, with thin mattresses.

 

the muster drill was quick and painless. especially because it was held indoors. carnival had us all on an outer deck in the June heat... here we had chairs and a/c!

 

the first night we had dinner in the Tsar's dining room. it was OK. service was terrific, in fact service all weekend was very good to exceptional. we weren't impressed by the menu selections and the taste of the foods.

 

we didn't sleep too well this night, the boat was a rockin' and a rollin'! i dont' know why, we really never saw seas over 1.5'. maybe it was due to the slow movement of the ship, or maybe there are technical issues that weren't fixed in drydock. we pretty much felt movement constantly, whereas on the carnival ship we only felt movement when the waves were about 7-10'

 

second day, freeport... one word... boring!!! not a pretty port, not much to do. we had great walking weather, but not swimming weather... well, maybe northerners thought it was, but being from Florida, we were cold! we took a taxi to lucaya marketplace and walked around, browsed the shops and gambled a little at the small casino there. then we took another taxi back to port, bought some t-shirts and went back on board to eat again! the people in this port were very nice. the taxi, if shared is only $5 per person, and the wait to fill up the van is not bad. the straw market was a waste of time, same stuff in every booth, all priced exactly the same. no bargaining, all the vendors have an agreement not to undercut each other.

 

tonight we dined in Cagney's. this was a VERY good dinner. when they say that their beef is like "butta" they aren't kidding! we each had the filet mignon. mine was a bit too salty but i didn't send it back. we had a large table near us who were drinking quite a bit and were a little loud, the wait staff were paying them a lot of attention (sure, that alcohol was ringing up the tips) and we got adequate service. not exceptional. the shrimp cocktail here was excellent, the crab cakes, so so. the desserts weren't that memorable. i had creme brulee that was heavy like pudding.

 

this afternoon we played bingo... you can buy a set of six cards per game (4 games) for $29.00 or you can get a machine, that does all the work for you. I believe those started at $49.00 and then for another $20.00 you got extra games loaded on it, plus some kind of pull tab lottery cards.

 

we went to the juggling show tonight, the guy's name is edge. VERY FUNNY! loved him! i wish we would have gone to both shows.

 

third day was nassau. we liked this port much better. again, lovely walking weather, but too cold for us to hit a beach or pool (in fact, we didn't touch water the whole weekend if it wasn't in a drink or shower). we jumped the number 10 bus to the wyndham, just to see what it was like down near cable beach. we walked through there and into the sheraton. lots of work still going on at both these locations. personally, if i was staying at either place i'd be very disappointed. it was noisy and messy. the beaches also weren't that great. so we jumped the bus back to port. $1 per person each way was certainly worth it to see the sights and go on a quick ride around.

we shopped a bit near the port, and bought very little, a pin at the hard rock for the friend who watched our daughter and dog and got starbucks!!! after cruise coffee, this was a godsend. we then went back to the ship and had lunch in the buffet (try the pretzel bread sandwich with proscuitto, tomato and pickles).

we went back into port and took a horse and buggy ride. not worth the $20 to me. we rode up a few blocks, across one and back again. the guy pointed out things like a 'travel agent' or a 'construction company'. he was nice enough though.

 

tonight we ate at tango's. our service was just ok, no personality. the chairs uncomfortable. the food, IMO, awful!! we also had a 6:30 seating, and waited in line to get a table for about 30 minutes more. there was one hostess and she was in slow motion, the tables were about 70% empty. she also pointed out to a few people that jeans were not allowed. they pretty much told her to leave them alone!

 

we saw cirque bijou this evening and really enjoyed the show... but separately... i found us seats up front, sat my DH down and went to the ladies room.. then the show started. once it is started you can't go into the bottom section of the theater! so i sat in the back row, DH in the front!

 

disembarking was pretty good. we ate breakfast in the buffet area then headed out to deck 7 opposite of the line and hung out a while, watching the fuel ship parallel park next to us. once we got on line, it only took about 15 minutes.

 

all in all, we both agreed that we really liked NCL better then Carnival, although we thought that Carnival had better food. we are, of course, going to sail on NCL again. in fact we booked our next cruise before we booked this one! but barring that, i'd still sail NCL again.

[2boyzmom]

Thanks for the review. I wonder what all that movement was about?

[idjaffe]

Great weekend trip.

 

Couple of differences/notes:

1) Did not feel the ship move at all....very calm to us.

2) Food - ate at LeBistro - HORRIBLE. Waited almost an hour for the main course, and it came out cold, soggy, unedible. Resterunt manager knew it was bad...and apologized before we could even say something....he even sent a bottle of champaign to our cabin because of the issues....

3) Our Lucaya - went to the beach, it was ok....warm in the sun, but not REALLY swimmings weather.

4) Cagneys - best meal of the weekend, but not worth an extra $20 each...wife's lamb was great, but my steak was just ok.....very thin and a little tough.

 

Did not like Edge - he was a little funny at first, but then got mean....was yelling at people to "shut up"...and not in a "funny" way.

 

all in all a great weekend.

[Gypsea]

I had heard good reviews for this ship. I was expecting a more positive one. It's too bad to hear all the negative food comments. I think the staff does make up for a world of sins but food is something that NCL needs to work on. Entertainment is almost as important to me. I get tired of the song and dance stuff. I never miss the comedy acts.

 

Did you think the ship was appealing overall, color scheme and decorating wise? I've heard from others that she is beautiful with more muted tones than some NCL ships.

 

I remember Freeport. Went there for the first time right after Floyd hit. You could tell it wasn't a great port of call even then. Still anything is better than New England when the winter sets in. Tonight is COLD!! The woodstove is not keeping up.

 

Looking forward to a few days on Gem...Dec 13 BtoB Dec 15 two two nighters.

[Lowie]

idjaffe, where was your cabin? we were WAY aft, just a few rooms before the end. i literally felt movement the entire trip, weird.

 

gypsea, i hope my review didn't sound too harsh, i really enjoyed the trip a lot and would definately sail the jewel again. i thought the ship was anything BUT muted as far as color scheme. But i also thought it was a pretty ship, not too garish.

[bronxlady]

I'll add my 2 cents.....

 

I was very impressed with our room and the ship's facilities. Everything was new, clean and bright. Our stateroom (11088 AF mini-suite) was far bigger than I had expected. It was my first cruise and my husband (who had cruised as a teenager) warned me to expect a cramped stateroom - but that wasn't the case at all. Our bathroom was even surprisingly roomy, sparkling clean and even had a great shower.

 

Also, I didnt feel that the boat was very rocky. I swayed a little here and there, but I liked it - reminded me that we were actually on a ship and not in a hotel.

 

In terms of the restaurants, I ate well overall but have a few complaints. First, we didnt realize the importance of making all of your reservations early, so on the 2nd night we got boxed out of the specialty restaurants and had to eat at Azura. We never did make it to Mama's or Cagney's - both of which we had hoped to try but couldnt get in. Second complaint was the lack of vegetarian food. No matter where we go, my husband and I have rarely had trouble finding vegetarian food to eat, but on the ship our options were very limited. Each restaurant seemed to have only 1 entree for us (usually fish) and we had to take it or leave it. Complaints aside, we had an amazing dinner at Chin Chin on the first night and another fabulous dinner at Le Bistro on the 3rd night. Both were worth the money. We thought Azura was terrible. Food was mediocre, service was terrible (we showed up at like 9:45PM so they seemed to have run out of energy). I hated the garden cafe, but my husband liked it. I think he liked the range of vegetarian options at the buffet, but the food itself was pretty bad. We also ate breakfast at Tsars twice. Good food and service the first time, but we made the mistake of going again on checkout morning. The staff was rushed and food took forever to come, but I dont really blame the staff, they had a lot of impatient nervous customers checking their watches and listening to the disembarkation announcements.

 

I was very happy with the onboard activities. We are game show dorks, so we went to movie trivia, The Newlywed Game, The Weakest Link and Family Feud. Some were better than others, but I liked them overall. For me, that was one of the big perks of a cruise (vs staying at a regular hotel somewhere) - getting to go to short fun activities with low commitment and no cost. I also went to 2 of the shows while my husband was at the casino. The 70's show was weak, but the Cirque show was surprisingly good. I had low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. My husband enjoyed the casino but felt that it was impossible to get a space at the poker or blackjack tables. My only complaint was that activities didn't run late enough. We are not drinkers and felt that we had nothing to do (except gamble) after 10:30PM. I would have even liked if the pool or hot tub had been open late, but they closed at 11PM.

 

I was very impressed with NCL's organization in getting us on and off the boat. We had no problem checking in or checking out - and in fact we got off the boat hours before I had expected - and we ended up waiting in the airport with 2 hours to spare before our flight. Overall it was a great trip and would do it again in a heartbeat. Only next time I would go for longer and bring lots of friends.

[funintehsun]

We were on the 11/15 Jewel sailing as well. My wife is a former Carnival Employee and so she had lots of opinions of how things run. I have been on 3 Carnival cruises and one Holland America cruise.

 

We booked the cruise on an Internet special at a very attractive price, so the cruise was an excellent value. The room, an interior cabin, was very small. However, since we didn't spend too much time in there, it wasn't too bad.

 

Like a few other posters have mentioned, the food was only average. The second night at sea, we ate at Azure (one of the main dining rooms) specifically because they were serving Argentenian Skirt steak, aka Churrasco. It was not a very good cut of meat. It was so chewy, that it was almost impossible to swallow. That same day for lunch, we ate at the Blue Lagoon. The potato skins, if thrown at someone correctly, could give a mild concussion. The Caesar salad dressing had a very strange taste to it. The fried rice was good however. The garden cafe (breakfast,lunch, and dinner buffet) was actually pretty good. Most of the food that we sampled was good. The desserts were also pretty good. Kudos for having a decent selection of Sugar free desserts. Unfortunately, many of them had absolutely no taste. Our one dinner at Tango's was decent. Our last dinner at Tsar's palace consisting of carved turkey and pork chops was pretty good. We were underwhelmed with the menu selection that night, but were pleasantly surprised with the quality. Over all the food wasn't terrible, but it wasn't spectacular.

 

The service was quite good, but again there are areas that could stand improvements. Our cabin steward was excellent. Our room was always promptly made up in the morning and turned down in the evening. The staff at the buffet was also very good. Quick to serve and quick to clean tables. There were a few sore spots. The service in the main dining room, particularly on the last night, was very slow. It was obvious that they were prepping for the next cruise, but we still felt neglected. I had to ask the waiter several to bring me water, because he was putting other things away. We also never received our coffee with dessert. We ended up leaving. Neglecting customers so that you can clean up is a no-no. I also noticed when another cruiser asked if that particular restaurant would be open for breakfast that they simply told him to look in the freestyle daily. I know it's in there, and I know that some people won't read something that is put right in front of them, but come on. It was a simple yes or no question. If that person did not know, she could have asked her supervisor. Overall I felt that while the service was good, it was not up to the very high standards I had experienced on other cruises. Not bad, just not exceptional.

 

I also felt the logistics for funneling a large number of people needed work. On our first night, immediately after boarding. We wanted to get a bite to eat. The buffet was closed. Everyone was sent outside to the pool area. It was madness, seats were very hard to come by. On top of that there were no self serve drink stations outside. We ended up ordering soda's. Not a good first impression to make. The garden cafe, should have been open as well that first night to minimize the wait time and crowding. Most people are going to eat as soon as they board.

 

Overall my experience was positive. I would cruise again with NCL, especially if a good deal comes around. But I think there definitely needs to be improvement to the service and food quality to compete with the other lines.

[bcs819]

thanks for the different viewpoints.

 

To the OP, I mean no disrespect, but am very curious as to something you said. If you're husband is blind, why does it matter how dark the cabin is?

 

"It was VERY big, but very dark. the lighting was totally insufficient for my DH."

 

I hope I don't offend you by asking, but I thought that statement was a little odd.

[idjaffe]

Mid ships, 5th floor outside cabin.

 

There was one other thing that bothered me - the casino.

 

I am a player and enjoy the tables...however, they were WAY to heavy on this cruise....

 

Only 1 always full $10 BJ table...rest were $25 and $100.....

 

No $5 crap table....at times no $10 crap table - $25s only...

 

3 card.....no $10 - only $15 and $25....

 

Love to play - won't play at those stakes....kept the $400 I expected to spend at the tables in my pockets.....

[Lowie]

bernie, good catch! actually my dh is 'legally blind' he has retinitis pigmentosa and in good lighting can see a little bit. mainly shapes and shadows. so in a dark cabin he sees nothig but darkness.