First Sea Day

NCL Jewel 21-Day Transpacific Cruise Tokyo to Seattle

May 8, 2018 (Tuesday) -- At Sea

I usually do not have much to report on sea days because we don't participate at any of the ship activities. The best past time for us would be just relaxing in our stateroom. This is especially true for MOR who would not be bothered by phone calls or attending meetings like when he is at home. 

We did get up early for breakfast. I noticed that there were mostly older people like us having early breakfast at the buffet on sea days.

Our ship sailing towards Aomori in the northern tip of Honshu.

Cruise Critic Meet and Greet

After wandering around the ship a little, we headed over to Fyzz Lounge where the Cruise Critic Roll Call meet and greet would be. Knowing there would be many people attending this meeting, we thought it would be a good idea to get there early. Our roll-call was very active with cc members from all over the world. Naomi, our roll-call leader did a good job organizing the meeting together with Jellica, NCL Jewel Group Event Coordinator. They were already there getting things ready for the meet and greet when we got there. 

Fyzz Lounge

Steven Jacobsen, Hotel Director of the Jewel, was in charge of the presentation of ship officers.

He was the most visible hotel director that I have seen on all the ships that we have been on. He also has a mail box near the guest service area where passengers can drop him a note whenever they want. I actually did that and he called me back on the phone the next day in response to my comments. I thought that was quite impressive.

I can only recognize two officers here. JC Sanchez, Cruise Director (purple shirt), and Jellica Bisenio, Group Service Coordinator who turned out to be our go-to person later on and assisted our group with much help on this cruise. A really sweet lady!

I believe the gentleman in blue is Will Fishburn, Cruise Next Manager.

Other officers included: Mohammad Hasan, F&B Director; Eric De Leon, Executive Housekeeper; Jose Luis Piedra, Guest Service Manager; Matrice Mick, Executive Chef, and Noel Chaves, Restaurant Manager.

Huge turn-out of CC members.

I want to take this opportunity to thank a gentleman sitting near us in the front of the room who was from Australia. He gave me the Australia magnet that he got from the magnet exchange. (I did not participate at the magnet exchange.) In case you are reading sir, "THANK YOU FOR THE GIFT!" 

By the way, I am also looking for the Chinese lady who came up and talked to us before the meeting. She said she had been reading my blog and recognized MOR from the pictures posted. If you are reading this, please leave a note in my mailbox or the comment section so we can get in touch with you. I was trying to locate you during the cruise but failed. 

NCL do take the CC Meet and Greet seriously. As a one-time roll-call organizer, I can testify that they really try their best in helping with the M&G. Many of their officers would show up at the meetings and answer questions. They also provide refreshments at the M&G. I have seen several times that goodies were sent to the cabins of people who attended the meeting. Just make sure you sign-in when you attend the M&G.

Atrium

Sea Day Lunch at Tsar's
We decided to have lunch at the main dining room on this sea day. I believe they rotate this menu and the embarkation lunch menu on sea days during this cruise.

Atlantic Crab Salad

Shrimp and Arugula Salad

Meatball Sub

Roasted Rosemary Chicken Leg. Good!

Fish and Chips

Key Lime Parfait 

Fruit Plate

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

Moderno
Our first specialty dining was at 5:30 this afternoon. With a big group like ours, they always wanted us to be there early before the rush. It was fine with us since we usually have early dinner at home.
Moderno is the all-you-can-eat Brazilian BBQ restaurant. As we get older, we have been cutting back on meat intake so this is not a healthy choice for us, but I really liked their salad bar which serves a wide variety of items including ceviche, hearts of palm, several kinds of cheeses, and cold cuts. They had lobster bisque on the Getaway but not on Jewel.

From the salad bar

Waiters bringing meat to the table.

Enjoying this meat feast.

The lamb chops were delicious!

Fish wrapped in banana leaf. We decided that we can give this a pass next time.

I was so looking forward to the dessert, but quite disappointed by the Papaya Cream presented this time around. Nothing like what I had last year on the Getaway. When I brought this up to the waiter, he said, "Yes, it's an ice cream."

No. This was the Papaya Cream that I had in 2017 on the Getaway. Light and refreshing. This one had a cream sauce with a gentle touch of liquor in it. Definitely not the same thing and not just an ice cream.

We did enjoy our dinner at Moderno, even with a few minor disappointment. This is a good venue for meat-lovers and you just have to have patient waiting for the meat to go around the room.  

After dinner it was back-to-our-cabin time. We have to get up early tomorrow morning for our day in Aomori.  

Heavy-duty magnets for hanging the dailies up on the wall in our cabin.

Over-the-door shoe hanger for the miscellaneous. This is essential with three of us in a cabin and not enough drawer space.

"Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way prosperity will come to you."   Job 22:21