NCL Norwegian Jewel

[Ron Clark]

Originally posted by JeffS:
We do want to take a cruise in March, and have just started to look around at what is available. We are 2 married couples in our early 40's who live in Nashville. We would like about a 7-10 day cruise to the western or southern carribean. We definitely dont want to go on the low end, but dont want to break the bank either. Food and service are of utmost importance. The free style dining on NCL appealed to me because of the variety of restaraunts one can select. We also like to play Poker so a casino with poker tournaments would be nice. Our wives would probably enjoy spa facilities. What would you guys recomend? What should I stay away from?

The Western Carribean Cruises I recommend for March:
The brand new Norwegian Jewel. Today's cheapest prices are for the March 5 departure.
Inside $649 Oceanview $749 Balcony $999 Suite $1,279
DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART
Sun Mar 5 Miami, FL 5:00pm
Mon Mar 6 At Sea
Tue Mar 7 Bay Islands, Honduras 8:00am 4:00pm
Wed Mar 8 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 11:00am 7:00pm
Thu Mar 9 Ocho Rios, Jamaica 8:00am 6:00pm
Fri Mar 10 At Sea
Sat Mar 11 Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas 7:00am 4:00pm
Sun Mar 12 Miami, FL 8:00am

Later in March, the Sun has a slightly cheaper cruise. Although not brand new, it's not old either. I really enjoyed my last cruise on her earlier this month.
Inside $629 Oceanview $729 Balcony $999 Suite $1,329
DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART
Sat Mar 25 Miami, FL 5:00pm
Sun Mar 26 At Sea
Mon Mar 27 Costa Maya, Mexico 8:00am 6:00pm
Tue Mar 28 Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala 8:00am 6:00pm
Wed Mar 29 Belize City, Belize 8:00am 6:00pm
Thu Mar 30 Cozumel, Mexico 8:00am 6:00pm
Fri Mar 31 At Sea
Sat Apr 1 Miami, FL 7:00am

If you prefer an older, smaller ship, here's the Majesty cheapest March Western Caribbean cruise.
I enjoyed my cruise to Bermuda on her last summer. It doesn't have as many restaurants as the last two, but it has significantly lower prices and an extra at sea day for you to gamble at the casino.
Inside $569 Oceanview $599 Suite $1,499
DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART
Sat Mar 18 Charleston, SC 4:00pm
Sun Mar 19 At Sea
Mon Mar 20 At Sea
Tue Mar 21 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 7:00am 3:00pm
Wed Mar 22 Cozumel, Mexico 10:00am 6:00pm
Thu Mar 23 Key West, FL 3:00pm 10:00pm
Fri Mar 24 At Sea
Sat Mar 25 Charleston, SC 8:00am

The NCL ship doing 10 and 11 Day Southern Caribbean cruises this winter, the Spirit, switches to 6 and 8 Days Bahamas cruises on Feb 20. So in March, there's no NCL ship doing Southern Caribbean cruises.

The Dawn from New York City, doing 10 Days and the Jewel from Miami, doing 7 Days, will be doing Eastern Caribbean cruises in March too.
I didn't include their Eastern Caribbean cruises because you didn't ask for them.

Which of these cruises interests you? Each have a slightly different itinerary. I just about covered the whole month between three different ships, including prices of the cruises today.

[Sandy]

Sandy, this is the discussion forum for Norwegian Cruise Lines, not Disney Cruise Lines.

Of course my earlier answer included only the NCL ships.

Ah, my mistake. Sorry.

Sandy

[annj52]

I am interested to know the approx costs of the cagney steak house for a good steak meal. Unfortunately i do not have a menu as yet because i do not sail till aug 2006. Any info on prices in the freestyle restaurants would be appreciated

[Oggy Boy]

I am going from memory, but I believe that Cagny's Steak House is a $25 service charge and well worth it.

Tom

[annj52]

Thanks ,tom, but please excuse my ignorance .Does the cover charge mean eg. my meal would cost $25 plus extra for drinks and 15% service charge on top.I;m new to freestyle cruising and thought i'd give the Jewel a try out being a new ship. Also love the Itinery as i have a penchant for Barcelona. Can you direct me to a site where i can get answers to my queries about the Jewel and costs for Childcare etc. as NCL dont give enough info out.
thanks ann

[Oggy Boy]

Actually, the service fee of $25 is the gratuity. Each of the restaurants has a "service fee" which is the per-person gratuity to dine there. I would highly recommend the alternative restaurants on any of NCL's ships as you will have an excellent dining experience and it is one of the reasons to cruise them even though it does add to the cost of the cruise.

Tom

[Ron Clark]

Originally posted by annj52: Can you direct me to a site where i can get answers to my queries about the Jewel and costs for Childcare etc. as NCL dont give enough info out. thanks ann

NCL does provide info on childcare services, but you must look for it as it is fairly deep within their web site. Here's the page you are looking for:
http://www.ncl.com/more/kidscrew_mini.htm

As for other infor you might be interested in, using the site map page gives a listing for other topics, and makes searching for answers much easier.
http://www.ncl.com/more/kidscrew_mini.htm

I hope this helps!

[annj52]

thanks tom what an idiot i feel of course i knew that really
By the way tom i enjoyed the write up on Barcelona wish i had your Job!
Also Thanks ron info appreciated i hadn't gone deep enough, one more click would have found it.
Im looking forward to the NCL Jewel experience,it does look as though Freestyle cruising isn't everyones cup of tea, but the more formal cruises didn't quite seem right this year because i'm taking the children 14 and 4 and the age gap makes it more difficult.I just hope that Kids crew junior sailors is as good as it sounds.
I am sailing on the 30th July from Barcelona but staying in Barcelona the week before the cruise.I prefer pre cruise ratherthan post cruise stays. Anyone else going then?
ann

[Oggy Boy]

Thanks for the kind words. Barcelona is an easy place to spend a week and it will fly by quickly. Both of your children will find fun environments on the ship and will have the time of their lives, I guarantee it.

Tom

[bonnie610]

To Annj52:
My name is Bonnie and I will also be on the 7/30 cruise out of Barcelona. I also posted a reply to you on the cc board. We are traveling with our 11 yr old son. We will be staying at the Hotel Majestic for 4 nights before the cruise. I already booked a private tour in Naples, the rest of the ports we are doing on our own by train. Thank you Tom for all your great train info!
Bonnie