Your Cruise Your Way Cruise Blog

NCL Jewel
12 day Repositioning Cruise NYC to Miami
October 28, 2008 Sailing

Living in New England I was thrilled to have an opportunity to sail from nearby NYC and visit the southern Caribbean ports of Aruba and Curacao for a fabulously low rate in a balcony stateroom. The ship also called at the Dominican Republic, Belize and Cozumel. If you think you cannot afford a long cruise I invite you to see how far you can stretch your dollar on one of these trips.

Having sailed NCL in the past I can appreciate the “Freestyle” concept and enjoyed many of the dining rooms but only ate in one alternative restaurant, Le Bistro. This was actually a raffle prize for making a cruise deposit of $250 for a future sailing. By doing this NCL credits your on board account with $100 immediately. The deposit is transferrable and you have 30 months to actually sail but the reservation must be made 24 months from the date of purchase. When made in advance and on board $250 will reserve a stateroom for as many as four guests. However, it cannot be used to reserve the villas and highest suites. If you make the deposit your name goes in the hat for one of many on board certificates for free goods, services or meals. Odds are excellent that you will win but you must be present at the drawing. This is widely publicized in the daily planner.
Since this was a long sailing our stateroom was a little small for three grown women but we managed. Packing light is key. I consider myself pretty good at this but this sailing taught me that there is room for improvement. We did enjoy our balcony and it is important to reserve midships if you possibly can. It makes ship life so much easier on sea days to be able to get to your cabin quickly. We had quite a few sea days(6) but I was never bored. I can’t really say how I passed all of that time. I like the casino but not during the day, I’m not much of a sunbather, I didn’t luxuriate in the spa services but those six days still flew by.
In the past I have joined in the roll calls on Cruise Critic and met some great friends. Luckily I did this in advance and met some fun people to spend time with on excursions and on the ship. We had a great time on Halloween especially but the other parties were made more memorable by being a part of a larger group. It also enabled us to sign up for some private tours that required 12 or more people. At the end of the cruise our flight was quite late in the afternoon. Our new CC friends from Canada, Nancy and Bruce, invited us to share their rental car and offered to take us to the airport after whiling away the morning and early afternoon. Not only were they very generous with their time but we were howling with laughter trying to squeeze all five of us and the luggage in their rental. No easy task but they were not about to leave us stranded. So, take advantage of Cruise Critic and get to know your fellow cruisers. I doubt you’ll regret it. NCL takes great care to attend the CC Meet and Greet party too.
The first day on the ship I always like to take advantage of the dining room for lunch. I recommend this. It is nice to sit and get your bearings and it’s also the best day to avoid the fray at the buffet. Plus, at lunchtime you are often in port so the opportunities to enjoy the dining room midday are few(on most sailings). It is a known fact that staff will attempt to steer you to the buffet but the dining room will be serving until the usual time. I am sure it would not be pretty if everyone decided to eat in the dining room but my experience has been that there is rarely a crowd.
We loved many of the lounges on the Jewel but seemed to be drawn most often to the centrally located Fyzz. The bartenders there were very nice to us and it became our own version of “Cheers”. I left my Halloween costume, the mad scientist, for Rowena who worked here. She was thrilled to have it and was very supportive of me when I wore it. If I had a smoking beeker it would have been much more effective but even so it was a memorable night. Rowena gave each of us a parting gift from her country, the Phillipines, which was very sweet. Our CC organizer/friends Deb and Burt won one of the competitions at the party. They were a deceased couple from the Titanic. What a hoot! I would love to go again at Halloween and urge others if they are big fans of the occasion. NCL does this up right and the crew enjoy it too. A good time was had by all.
Entertainment was pretty awesome on our voyage. Second City is an amazing addition and I never missed their shows or workshops. If comedy is your thing you will love these performers. I never cared that much for the improv show on television but this was fabulous. Great choice NCL. The other stand ups, musicians and artists were great but too numerous to mention on this long sailing. We were never bored at night with so many places to go that we often had to choose between two or more. One more thing I have to mention was the acappella group, the Cat’s Pajamas. Wow, these guys were incredible! I cannot tell you how popular they were on this ship. I have to say that the entertainment was definitely a ten on this cruise.
I am not one to go on and on about food. Many people will rant and rave on this issue. I have never sent a meal back nor lost weight on a ship. I have not in 27 cruises formed an opinion that one mass market cruise line is far superior than the next in this department. I have no complaints and always find more than enough variety to please me. NCL is as good, if not better, than any of the larger cruise lines in my opinion. I also disagree with the idea that the crew does not work hard for their gratuities because their guests (in the dining room) constantly change. If you think about it their job is more difficult because their guests are always new.
As for staff and crew I do not recall anyone being difficult, rude or unwilling to help if we needed or requested anything. This was my seventh NCL cruise and fifth ship. I still think they are a terrific cruise line and look forward to many more voyages with them in the future.

Rita.Wiley@AmericasVacationCenter.com
www.avctravel.com/RitaWiley
800-316-5312