Guinness1000

2 hours ago, DeBo12RR said:

Glad to hear from some whom have sailed recently on the Jewel and that she is clean and in good shape.  We don't really like sailing on ships that old - but going with a group in a few weeks (including some that have never cruised) - so hoping the Jewel doesn't disappoint.  I've never really met a ship I didn't like - but do prefer some over others.  😉

 

We just got off 12/31. It was clean, but could definitely use some freshening up. The sofa in our room was quite ratty, to be honest. We thought the food in the WJ was a little better than the MDR. At least the few times we went to the MDR. Giovanni's was okay, but not sure it was worth $106 for two people who drank water. We had a great trip though. We always do. Just pointing out a couple of things I noticed.  🙂

We're leaving tomorrow. Our daughter and her husband were on their honeymoon on the Jewel in 2013. Excited!  🙂

On 12/20/2022 at 3:18 AM, Janet&Carl said:

 

 

Just returned from Azamara Pursuit - we tried it with a view to booking a World Cruise on Azamara.  I'm glad we tried it - we won't book a WC and are still looking for a suitable ship for us.  The ship is lovely, the staff fantastic, the food is delicious.  The entertainment is a let down.  The ship is old and creeks when at sea - all night every night, and I'm a light sleeper.  The major drawback for me was the three nights we had (2 of) 5 meter and an 8 meter swell.  We sailed the Med and I have done the med and crossings before and not had a problem on bigger ships with stabilizers but I was not well on this older, smaller ship. 

Wow. Thank you so much for posting. I think right now it looks like HAL or Oceania for us. Waiting for HAL to post their -25 itinerary. 🙂

10 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

When some random person posts an absurd number in a comment on a YouTube video, don’t believe it.

 

 

Which is why I decided to come here and ask you folks. Thank you all for your replies. We are looking forward to our cruise and some warmer weather.  🙂

1 hour ago, BND said:

I just went back to confirm what I saw last night and this is the post I see.  Where did the part about the CC member come from?  There is no "read more" after this quote:

 

Topofthelinetommy

6 days ago

I just got off this ship 2 days ago. I was incredibly disappointed by Royal Caribbean. It's a very nice renovated ship. The ships capacity is 2700 and we had 800 people, you would think it would have better service. The restaurants were not very good. I highly recommend getting off at Port and exploring. Chopped was pitiful, I had better steak at Outback and when the manager was told about the food he replied with "we will leave it at that"... Izumi was great, the mailing dining room alright. The ship also has steam and sauna which is completely free and great after the gym.

That is more in line with what I read as well. The food I don't worry so much about since we're still experiencing issues after the pandemic even here at home, so I give them a break on that. I just didn't want a ghost ship feel over the holidays, but it seems that is not going to be the case.

1 minute ago, BND said:

 Every other cruise since Jewel returned to PC has had over 2200 people onboard.

This would've been a better answer in the first place...

Peace.

Just now, BND said:

So, someone in the comments says there were 800 on board.  

Yes. Any reason I should ignore? He said he was on the ship two weeks ago. Should I call him out?

Just now, BND said:

No, I'm saying you didn't provide the video.

Didn't know we were allowed to post links. Whatever...

3 minutes ago, BND said:

The OP saying they just "came across" it doesn't carry any weight.

Are you saying I made it up? 

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

Are you sure it was RC's Jewel of the Seas, and not Norwegian Jewel?

 

Pretty sure, because the video was a walk through of the ship.  🙂

27 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

That seems rather unlikely as other Jewel sailings have sold well.  (Maybe that could have happened 54 weeks ago, but I really doubt two weeks ago) In any case, there seem to be only two available cabins for Thursday’s holiday sailing.  Expect a full ship.

I hope you're right. I'm okay with lighter than full capacity, but less than 1/3 seemed kind of dull. 🙂 

I came across a post on YT where someone who sailed two weeks ago said there were only 800 pax on the ship. I think it has a 2700 capacity. Can this be true? We're leaving next Thursday.

On 12/10/2022 at 5:27 PM, 2552phxcrzr said:

OCEANIA INSIGNIA ATW 2023 BLOG

 

Greetings ... I will be blogging our 200-day+ voyage.  However, I have set my FindPenguins blog for this particular trip to Followers Only.  (The only difference between this and a public blog is that you need to receive a "private link.")

 

You do not need to set up a FindPenguins account to follow the trip ... simply click the "private link" whenever you want to check for new postings ... no notification when new footprints are uploaded unless you are a Follower (for which you would need to set up a free account). 

 

If you would like to receive the "private link," send me an email at eerkun (format for yahoo).  Please mention your CC handle in the email so that I know the request is not spam.

I sent you an email.  🙂

1 minute ago, flamingos said:

January 6 - Jewel to the ABCs.

 

We're leaving on the Jewel in 12 days!  🙂

Allure in May from Galveston. First time for me at that port.  🙂

2 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

But the problem is that cruise line workers, especially mass market cruise lines, do not get paid a suitable wage and need the gratuities to supplement their wages. 

What is a suitable wage? A US annual wage of $60k? Indian average of less than $3k? I don't think they will ever pay some of these workers similar wages across the board. It would be interesting to know though how much they pay a crew member from India vs any European country for a similar position.

19 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

I have not yet sailed Azamara, but have three b2b cruises booked for next year.  I'm considering cancelling them because of shoreside issues.  I would like to read those reviews.  Please post a link to them.

I don't think we're allowed to post links to websites, but I read them on a site that rhymes with bruises...  It was for Azamara Onward. It also says New Ship, but I think that one is an old Princess ship, so I'm a little confused. Loved the itinerary though.

I just looked at Azamara's 2025 world cruise and they have a really great port to sea day ratio. Like 108 days or so in port for a 155 day cruise. Anyone here familiar with Azamara? I read some pretty bad reviews, sadly.

On 11/5/2022 at 6:32 PM, SargassoPirate said:

One thing I was wondering about is how one defines "rich".  

I was asking my three kids, all in their mid 30s, if anyone had bought a Powerball ticket. Our daughter answered, don't need to, I've already won the lottery. 🙂

My husband is retiring in two years. I think one thing that helps as we get older is that our house is paid for, cars are paid for, we owe nothing and just being the two of us makes our expenses pretty low. Also, all the kids are doing really well, we do not plan on leaving anything behind. Everyone's situation is different.  🙂

43 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Just reread my post as I made an addition!

Thanks for the update! The room we selected were not one of those, but thank you for telling me.  😊

Thank you both! That was my thinking as well, but wanted to doublecheck before hitting that book now button.  👌😊

I've been on hold forever and the chat thing doesn't seem to work. Does anyone here know if there are any obstructed view Signature Suites on New Amsterdam? This would be deck 6 midship.

Thank you!  🙂

10 hours ago, NCCruzQueen said:

My only world cruise so far has been a similar cruise on Crystal in 2016.  We started in Miami, through the Panama Canal to San Francisco.  Then the world cruise started.  It was a total of 120 nights.  We got to see so much of Asia that it satisfied us as a World Cruise.  Start and end didn’t mean that much to us,

 

Will be on Regent in 2024!

How was Crystal? We had planned on their website to do their F1 in Monaco in 2023. Were going to put down a deposit this past spring... 

Yes, it doesn't necessarily have to be starting and ending in the same port, but should be pretty close. In the end though, I'm always willing to go on any cruise. I'm always happy on the water. 🙂

Actually, my idea of an around the world cruise is the idea of circumnavigating the globe. Starting in one port and ending in the same and crossing all time zones. After that, I'd love to go on more specialized cruises where the areas are more important. 🙂