Few quick ?'s

[princesslondon]

Just booked our first NCL on the Jewel for November!!! We cruise Disney a lot but are excited to try ncl.

First, do they give you shampoo and bath products or should I pack them?

How is disembarktion compared to DCL?

We have a 9 yr old? Kids clubs good?

Is there bowling onboard? Thought I saw a pic of it, but not sure?

We are doing a mini-suite so any info about those would be great?

Also, how is the Miami port? We have never cruised out of anywhere but Port Canaveral?

Guess thats enough ?'s for now

THANKS!!!1

[garycarla]

I would strongly suggest you scan through postings from the past week or so. You will find answers to questions you did not even know you have.

 

But.

They have shampoo and bath products, but we often take our favorite.

 

Getting off works well. You can even self disembark and get off when you want and take your own bags.

 

Lots of great postings about kids clubs are shared here. Not Disney, but great.

 

No bowling on Jewel. Only newer ships of that class.

 

Mini suite is closer to a deluxe balcony. That topic comes up every few days if want lots of opinions

 

Miami? Port is fine. They can handle LOTS of people. Airport can be a zoo,but it is only 15 minutes and 15-20 bucks from the port, unlike Orlando.

[dexddd]

Having been on both DCL and NCL more than once, keep an open mind and I think you will have a good time on NCL but don't expect everything that you get on Disney (e.g. no free soda, can't BYOB, etc.). However, the open dining on NCL really is a benefit to us with kids so we aren't locked into dinner at the same time every night.

 

Our kids are 10 and 6 and have been on NCL 3 times. Our kids have always enjoyed the NCL kids clubs, but note that they are not open as many hours as the DCL clubs are. That generally isn't a problem though as during the day the kids are usually with us on an excursion or by the pools.

[floridacruiser63]

Just booked our first NCL on the Jewel for November!!! We cruise Disney a lot but are excited to try ncl.

First, do they give you shampoo and bath products or should I pack them? Yes, but I would take my own.

How is disembarktion compared to DCL? You will be disembarking at a much busier port, therefore it might take a little longer.

We have a 9 yr old? Kids clubs good? Excellent

Is there bowling onboard? Thought I saw a pic of it, but not sure? No bowling alley on the Jewel, only on the Pearl (its sister ship).

We are doing a mini-suite so any info about those would be great? It is a bit larger than a balcony room, There is a curtain that separates the couch from the beds, I believe there is a tub in the bathroom, not many other differences.

Also, how is the Miami port? We have never cruised out of anywhere but Port Canaveral? The Port of Miami is a busy port, but very organized.

Guess thats enough ?'s for now

THANKS!!!1

 

Have a great trip! :)

[redlef]

Just booked our first NCL on the Jewel for November!!! We cruise Disney a lot but are excited to try ncl.

First, do they give you shampoo and bath products or should I pack them?

How is disembarktion compared to DCL?

We have a 9 yr old? Kids clubs good?

Is there bowling onboard? Thought I saw a pic of it, but not sure?

We are doing a mini-suite so any info about those would be great?

Also, how is the Miami port? We have never cruised out of anywhere but Port Canaveral?

Guess thats enough ?'s for now

THANKS!!!1

 

First of all, the Jewel is a great ship. I've been on her twice and had a great time on each trip.

 

The Jewel has shampoo and liquid soap dispensers mounted in the shower.

 

Disembarkation is fairly calm - you can choose to carry your luggage or pick it up, and can choose what time you're going to disembark.

 

No bowling, that's on the Jewel's sister ships.

 

I've had the mini-suite. It's nice for a family, you'll be able to let your 9 yr old sleep on the pull out couch, and pull a curtain between him/her and the bed if you like. You'll have a tub instead of a stall shower. The mini suite gives you a little more elbow room than a standard NCL balcony stateroom, but not much. I've never been on DCL so I can't compare, but I can tell you an NCL mini-suite is almost the same square footage as a Carnival standard balcony stateroom.

 

Another nice thing about the Jewel's mini-suites is that there is a door to the toilet that's separate from the sink and the shower. So you can makeup at the sink while your hubby uses the toilet and your kid is in the tub.

 

Miami port can be hectic if a lot of ships are in. When I sailed into Miami on the Jewel last November, there were 6 other cruise ships unloading. They didn't clear the ship for disembarkation until almost 10AM. Then, it took a long time (over an hour in line) because there weren't enough customs/immigration personnel.

 

OTOH, I sailed into Miami this past February and we were off the ship and through customs in about 10 minutes.

[TG2005]

Just booked our first NCL on the Jewel for November!!! We cruise Disney a lot but are excited to try ncl.

First, do they give you shampoo and bath products or should I pack them?

How is disembarktion compared to DCL?

We have a 9 yr old? Kids clubs good?

Is there bowling onboard? Thought I saw a pic of it, but not sure?

We are doing a mini-suite so any info about those would be great?

Also, how is the Miami port? We have never cruised out of anywhere but Port Canaveral?

Guess thats enough ?'s for now

THANKS!!!1

 

When in November? have you looked at the Roll call for your cruise?

[Ginny, not Hermione]

Just booked our first NCL on the Jewel for November!!! We cruise Disney a lot but are excited to try ncl.

First, do they give you shampoo and bath products or should I pack them?

How is disembarktion compared to DCL?

We have a 9 yr old? Kids clubs good?

Is there bowling onboard? Thought I saw a pic of it, but not sure?

We are doing a mini-suite so any info about those would be great?

Also, how is the Miami port? We have never cruised out of anywhere but Port Canaveral?

Guess thats enough ?'s for now

THANKS!!!1

 

Bring Conditioner!!! There is liquid soap in the shower and sink and shampoo in the shower but there is no conditioner!!!

[LadyShiva]

The NCL minisuite is like DCL's Cat 5. No concierge or butler service. NCL calls it a suite in order to wow people about their "low suite" prices. :)