vawalkers

We are considering a cruise out of San Juan, PR in May 2019. Because of where we live in Virginia, we can fly out of Raleigh Durham, nc, Richmond, VA, or the Washington DC area airports. Do the fares generally go down after Christmas? Is there a tool that helps keep track of price changes for certain flights? Last year we scored some good fares out of IAD, but what I have seen so far, current rates are much higher. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Final Thoughts:

We love The Jewel. She is beautiful and graceful without being snobby and over the top. She was about relaxing. She never felt crowded oddly enough. We did not spend a lot of time on the pool decks but when we were there we could find a couple of loungers. Reminder that we spent our sea day on deck five which was quiet and wonderful for us. We feel like The Jewel is a bit nicer than the Carnival ships we have been on. No Statue of Liberty faces for light fixtures....however, we do want to try the Carnival Valor one day. Royal gets the nod for ship appearance and atmosphere.

MDR - Carnival gets the nod here. Remember, food is indeed subjective. Our experience in The Jewel MDR was not as good as expected.

Windjammer vs Carnival Lido Deck - whereas we truly enjoy Guys Burgers and The Blue Iguana, Royal gets the nod. The buffet pods works. The food really good. In fact, when we cruise Royal again you may find us dining there in the evenings as you don't miss a lot. We found out later in our cruise that The Windjammer also has much more than snacks when you come back in after a long day in port. They have food food! Wish we had known that earlier. A good salad with a baked potato may have been a better option for us than pizza.

Steakhouse - Carnival gets the nod for being more consistent, but if Royal had gotten the last night right, it would not have even been close.

The Battle of the Pizzas - Carnival gets the nod. Royal's pizza needs more sauce. It is not terrible, just not as good as Carnival.

OV Cabin - hard to judge. We loved the location and the bedding. We prefer the lay out of the Carnival room. A tie for us but if traveling with our 6 foot 2 son, it would be easier to be in a Carnival OV.

Staff - Cabin stewards are about the same. Both kept an ice bucket full for us and were tipped well for it. We are not messy people so there was not a lot to do anyway. It is a tie. We did notice that there were two times someone spilled a drink in the Windjammer going to a table. The closest officer began to immediately get it up. A surprise...a pleasant surprise.

Entertainment - Carnival wins for performances even though they are not what they used to be. Royal's live musicians is great for sail away. Royal wins for musicians throughout the ship. Much better than our last Carnival cruise. However, we disliked how late Royal had karaoke. We did not do the comedy shows.

We enjoy both lines. We enjoy cruising when we can. For us, the ship is our taxi cab to the islands. We would be thrilled if Royal had ports and prices that worked for us. But, if we cruise Carnival again, that is OK as well. The Jewel has dethroned The Carnival Miracle as our favorite ship. A little unknown tidbit about The Miracle. It was not originally built to be in the Carnival line. It has the same nicer polished wood and upgrades that The Jewel has. I think The Miracle was built for Holland America ( sister line for Carnival ). The black and white photos of the turn of the century is really eye catching, but the grapes in the MDR allows the Jewel to pull ahead of Carnival. The Jewel is a classy little lady without being fancy smancy.

Thank you for making it to the end. One day we will do the picture thing. Our limited internet can get a little dicey with pictures. We hope to see you around on Rayal!

Even though the week began nice and slow, it was coming to an end all too fast. Our last day on board was a very lazy day for us. We are both bookworms who rarely have time to read unless on vaca. Our last day was spent on deck five in relative privacy lounging and reading. Deck 5 is right below the lifeboats. It is the deck we did our lifeboat drill on. One side is dedicated to smoking; the other is not. Rarely were there more than a half dozen smokers at one time. We were able to sit in sun or shade on the other side whenever we wished. Our lives at home, like everyone else's ,can get hectic. Finding a place to just sit in quiet was a great treat for us. We saw the water and heard that sound we love so well....the ship cutting thru the water.

Chops was our dinner destination for this evening. We were really excited after our delicious meal earlier in the week. However, another delicious meal was not to be ours. Every restaurant can have an off night. This was an off night for Chops.

It began with a very crowded room. We were seated in the middle where the conversation from some of the tables were really loud. In retrospect, the last night may have been a bad night to choose for a quiet dinner. A lesson learned. The more the wine at some tables were poured, the louder it got. Don't get me wrong. There were other quiet people there. We just happened to be near a couple of very loud groups with no where else to go.

We were so impressed with the meal earlier in the week, we actually ordered almost the exact same thing. We were so ready to end our cruise on a high note. Not to be. The Parmesan potatoes were missing the Parmesan, the asparagus over cooked, and the fillet was unseasoned and a bit tough for medium. We chose not to send anything back, just ate a little here and there and got our dessert to go.

The next morning, we woke up before six and found ourselves docked in San Juan. We got a little breakfast and was in the theater, deck 5, to wait for departure. We were called to disembark a few minutes before scheduled. We were taken down and there was absolutely no line to wait to scan our cards one last time. How organized Royal is.

We found our luggage quite easily. It was then we noticed two rather long lines for customs. A porter came over and asked if he could help us out. For $10 he took our two bags and went to a third line with no one there. We went thru customs with no effort at all, were deposited into a taxi to OSJ for our last day before flying back.

The Sheraton took our bags until our room was ready. We were able to walk those streets one last time , stick our heads into shops, and eat fajitas once more. Our room was ready by one which was a pleasant surprise. We did not return to the hotel until after that. They called to let us know it was ready when we were. When we finally made it to our room, it was so cool we took a nap to be fresh for the evening.

One last evening in OSJ; a couple hours the next morning then it was time to pack it all up and return home. A mostly uneventful flight home. We were late departing Ft Lauderdale. It began with a 10 minute delay boarding, then sitting on the plane another 30 while waiting for a connecting flight and a problem with our bathrooms that was supposed to clear up with gravity in the air that did not clear up. We almost landed in Raleigh to get a new plane ( said it would take 2 hours to switch planes ) but we all voted to keep on going the last 50 minutes to Dulles.

Vaca was over.

Thank you for the anniversary wishes. It was all we dreamed it would be.

Our last port was Grenada. This was the only port we had a planned excursion and guide. We chose Viator. We were not disappointed. We had about 30 minutes before we had to meet, so we went out to the street. An older man came up to us and asked if we were American.....well.....sometimes, you just don't know how to answer that question.....we have hosted four exchange students over 20 years. We know first hand that the news they hear about what the US is or is not doing is sometimes....well...sometimes it is not quite right...... so we were not sure how to answer the question. We were also aware of the medical students that were held hostage years ago and the US forces went in to free them. You can imagine what we were thinking. How do we answer, and do we get back to the ship. We decided the truth is always the best, so Yes, Sir. We are both Americans. The man went into a big grin and said "We love Ronnie Reagan". He went on to tell us how Nancy Reagan had walked 'right there on the street" and later Bill Clinton had done the same thing. Huge sigh of relief.....

It was then time to meet our guide. We , and five others, were taken to a waterfall. It was quite nice. There was a man who played a ukulele and sang as you passed. He tweaked his song to include those who passed by. He called Tom - Tom Cruise. He called me Sandra Bullock. He got a tip!

There were several young men who would jump from the top of the falls into the water below. They would yell out your name for those who paid them $10. It was probably a 50 foot drop. Pretty impressive to this girl.

There was a trail that had so many beautiful plants and flowers. To be honest, we could have stayed a couple hours admiring all that beauty. But, we were part of a group. It was time to move on.

The next stop was to old fort. The view was quite hazy. The fort is small, but they had a nice little three piece local music band. One of the members was using a brake drum as her drum. That with the steel drums was really cool.

Our last stop was the beach. It was the nicest, wide, white sand, incredible water we had seen since Antigua. In fact, I think Grenada beats Antigua or anywhere else hands down....including my dream Barbados. We were at Grand Anse. We were taken to an entry near a wonderful restaurant that had the best food. I forgot the name.....sorry....it was a beach bar/restaurant with indoor / outdoor seating..... the indoor being out of the rain but not enclosed with air condition.

I had seen a really tasty looking burger at another table. I found it was called an umbrella burger. A really, really good umbrella burger. They also had some type of root vegetable for fries that was tasty.

After some water play, beach, and food it was soon time to return to the ship. Viator had let us choose when to return. Our group split into two different times which were both accommodated.

We managed to snag a few spices to bring back before boarding The Jewel. They made sure to double wrap and seal them. No problem bringing them back thru customs.

That evening was formal night. As we have to dress up from time to time at home, we decided to forego dressing up and hit the Windjammer. I am so glad we did. Nothing wrong with dressing up for a fun evening. We have several nice pictures from those evenings on board. We just decided we were too lazy to get all gussied up when shorts and tee shirt seemed more comfy to us. We decided to do separate courses just like the MDR. We found The Windjammer mostly empty. A table outside and out back under the "sail like roof" and next to one of the lights that looked like a light on the wharf completed the illusion of eating at a fine seafood restaurant over the water. We had a soup course, a salad course, an entree/ veggie course, and a tiny dessert course. ..... all this with the stars out and the nice water noise of the ship gliding thru the water.... the right decision for us for the evening.

We have been having thunder storms this evening that have been playing havoc with our internet. I will try to get this review concluded if the internet holds. We did family hiking yesterday to Apple Orchard Falls near Bedford, VA. Any of you that live within drive distance ought to get out there after one of these rains. The falls are incredible...but no internet.... hahaha

After our wonderful day in Martinique, we returned to the ship and decided to try early dinner in the MDR. We walked in and were given a window seat. We enjoyed the meal and hit the cinema for a movie.

The next morning we arrived in Barbados. I could not wait! I had wanted to see Barbados for two reasons: I fell in love with The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Kit was raised in Barbados and talked about the sand and water when homesick; my first experience with reading about an island)...... and.... my dad's family came to the US many generations ago from England via a couple of generations spent in Barbados.

This was our day to spend solely at the beach. The Barbados dream....our Barbados Dream.... we took a taxi to Pirates Cove. What a great choice for us. A palapa, two chairs, beautiful water, and white sand. What an incredible time we had.

There is a restaurant and bar at Pirates Cove as well as an outdoor restroom. For those of you who are unsure if you want to go to The Boatyard or Pirates Cove, they are a five minute walk from each other. We walked up to see The Boatyard ( we like to walk on the beach anyway ). There were a few water toys but not a lot, and it was not crowded. Pirates Cove was not crowded either. The jet ski rentals were between the two beaches. You could also pay to go swim with the turtles. We did not see anyone go, but they may have.

The water felt great, and as the day went on the waves became a little harder. Not hard, just harder. I made it a point to ask about undertow. I was told no...not quite true. Tom got caught in it but was able to make his way to the shore in just a couple minutes....which seemed like hours to him he said later.....I was reading a Nora Roberts book and looking up every five minutes and missed the whole thing....feeling guilty.......

All too soon it was time to pack it up and head back to the ship. We had reservations at the Japanese restaurant that evening. We opted to sit out under the stars to dine as the dining room was rather cool. It was a nice evening on deck. We ordered Hot Rocks. Tom had beef; I had seafood. We had never seen hot rocks before. Nothing like that in our little piece of paradise at home.

The square rock ( cooking surface ) is a good inch thick and is maybe 6 inches square. It is heated over 500 degrees. The food is placed on the hot rock, and you cook your food including veggies. That was really unique and fun. I think we were told it took 18 hours to heat the rocks. We truly enjoyed this meal.

After our nightly ritual of star gazing, it was time to drift to sleepy land and begin our last day in port.

For our anniversary, we went to Chops. It was quiet, and we were given a table next to the window. Not a lot of people which made it nice as space is a premium anywhere on any ship. The meal was really nice. The Lobster Bisque was not my cup of tea, but Tom had ordered a Peppered Bacon that was large enough to share and would want to make you smack your mamma!

The fillets were perfect. The sides fabulous. The Key Lime dessert was equally delicious. The meal was so perfect we cancelled our last night meal at another restaurant to return to Chops.

It was then time for a little dancing and a little star gazing.

The next morning was Martinique. We were blessed as our ship was assigned the pier right at the water taxis. I have read where sometimes the Jewel is assigned a pier about 25 minutes by foot away. So, off the ship we go to a water taxi. We paid our $7 roundtrip pp and were transported to a little community that had a resort.....and a quiet public beach area.

We almost turned to the resort and those comfy chairs, when we decided to try the other area. I am so glad we did. No, there were no chairs nor bar, but there were two wonderful places to enter the water that had rocks nearby for snorkeling. We did not see a lot of colored fish, but we had a good time. Some of the rocks are so large you could lay your towel on them. One was even a perfect fit to sit on and read a little. We were blown away by how clear the water was. You could stand shoulder deep and see quite clearly to the bottom.

We played a couple hours then took the water taxi back.

We found the church and the library. Both were just surreal. So beautiful. I wanted so badly to get to the second floor of the library and see how old the books were, but that section is not accessible. Both buildings would take your breath away. We had heard that the ferries can bet busy in the late afternoons. Did not want to miss the ship!

There was a little bakery/food shop next to the library. We don't speak French, but there was a nice lady who just smiled as we pointed to what we wanted. We did take Euros so paying was no issue. Amazing what a simple smile does.

We walked around a little more, but by then we were ready to return to the ship and have a nap. We did not try to get tickets earlier in the day to see the fort, but it looked cool from the outside.

St Marteen:

May 1st was our day in St Marteen. We were excited to return to St Marteen as we had only been there once a long time ago. What a way to spend our anniversary!!! We were early off the ship as we wanted to make sure we had time to visit......well....I guess I need to make a confession here....I'm a Trekkie....and a Star Wars fanatic.....at least the first three Star War movies which are now considered 4, 5 and 6....so we were off the ship early as we wanted to stop by That Yoda Guy and get our son a new print. Yoda is one of our fav characters...after all, who doesn't love the little green guy? Nick Marley has a cool museum of all things Star Wars. He envisioned what Yoda would look like, helped with special effects, etc.

Unfortunately, That Yoda Guy was not open yet.

We decided instead to take a taxi to Maho Beach. Tom was amazed by the planes when we were there before, and we always said we wanted to return. It was only about 20 minutes give or take a few. Traffic was easy. We arrived and wanting to do something fun for our special day, we decided to get a table at the restaurant/bar next to the edge so we could see the planes. NOPE. We were only a part of two. You must have a party of at least 4, preferably 6, to park your shoes at those tables. Hum..... so we decided not to get anything there. Sometimes, it is all in how you say something....

The beach was really crowded even though it was early morning. We had not planned to take towels or anything like that as we only wanted to eat by the water and enjoy the view / atmosphere an hour or two before going back. So, we sat on the low wall that separates the beach from the road and gazed at the water.

The water was still incredibly beautiful. The waves were pretty rough. The beach narrow as before and maybe a little more than years ago, but definitely a lot steeper. We sat for a while and smelled a wonderful smell....food....we followed our noses to the other side of the beach where there was a small hamburger stand and bar. They had a few tables and the most incredible hamburger. Maybe it was eating on the beach, seeing the water, seeing a few planes, but that burger was really good.

We caught another taxi and made That Yoda Guy before most of the stores closed for a parade. On the drive back ,we saw a lot of hurricane damage. So many boats half submerged, turned on a side in the sand with holes, a small plane turned upside down, etc. It just touches your heart. I can only imagine what it looked like six or eight months ago. WOW.

I think if we return to St Marteen, I would just stay right in the town area. There is a nice long beach with many places that rent an umbrella and chairs for around $25. I would not spend the money for the taxi when there is a great beach with many restaurants right there. It is like the best boardwalk around. Stores, food options, water, proximity to the ship, etc. The beach area is so large it would not seem overly crowded with a crowd. And, any store you would want to go to is right behind the restaurants. There is no worry about getting back to the ship. I can't say how the water is there other than beautiful. I can say the ice cream shop is wonderful....

The next morning we woke to the promise of a beautiful day and land barely in sight. St Croix here we come! We knew from CC Boards, that to get to Sandcastle that we take a right and walk approx a mile. The day was nice with a light wind blowing. The walk was easy. We have come a long way since our first beach excursion a decade ago. We travel light.

We love that Royal issues you a beach towel as you leave the ship ( turn it in there as well so no wet towels in your stateroom ). All we needed was a large bottle of water, my ever present Berts Bees, and a little sunscreen. We did take one back pack with wet wipes, germ-x , band-aids, Neosporin, After bite.....OK, I am always prepared....but it was a small backpack.... hahaha

We had poured over the CC Boards but was still uncertain what we would find. We find a narrow but nice sandy beach. There were large flat rocks here and there which made for cool little fish hanging around. We grabbed two chairs and an umbrella for my freckly and fickle skin. $20 for two chairs, an umbrella, and a rum punch that was more punch than rum. But hey, we are on the beach!

We met a really nice young couple from OSJ. They had been without power for five months. They stayed with his mom the first month who had power. They decided to return to their own home and managed as he is a Chef at a restaurant; she worked at a local store. They seemed glad they managed but were thankful their power was restored. They did share that approx 300,000 had left San Juan not to return due to the hurricane.

We enjoyed the beach for a couple hours and walked back enjoying the view. The road you walk is beside the ocean for most of the way. It was surreal to walk beside such a beautiful ocean. We never encountered fast cars. We only saw a few. We would immediately move to the shoulder of the road and wave. Everyone slowed down, returned our wave, etc ( look at the funny tourists, mommy )

As this was our first beach day and we did not want to fry ourselves, we were back onboard in about four hours total. That included walking around outside the fort at the port and poking our heads in a few tents to admire the wares. I have actually had my head peel from being burnt, so I am almost too careful now. My hair is pretty thin on top from the chemo. Our Carnival Cruise in 2008 was our Celebration Cruise with a couple from church who also had to battle the C demon. Her hair is thick as ever; mine - not so much. At least it is hair...

We returned to the ship, hit the pool for a bit, and went back to our room to change for sail away. I learned something form this Board a long time ago. We travel with plastic clothes hangers and a few clothespins. When we shower, we wash out our swimsuit/trunks. We then hang those on the hangers and use the clothespins to keep the hangers from sliding together. Our clothes are dry by morning.

We returned to the MDR tonight. Even though we had a "reservation" for 8:15, we tried to eat around 7. They gave us a pager, and we expected a lengthy wait. Nope. Maybe 8 minutes tops. We had a table for two that had more space but it was really strange. We were the only ones in that section. We didn't even get a hello or anything until the rest of that section was full. Maybe we threw them off by coming earlier than planned. The food was better this time. Still saltier than what we are used to or on Carnival, but better. Not bad at all.

I think this is the night we hit the theater. If not, it was the next evening. We left after a few minutes. The show was not...well....there is a reason they don't let me in the church choir....and maybe.. well...maybe the sound mixer did not mix well enough for seats on the side of the theater... I have to say that Carnival is lacking in shows as well. The last Carnival show we saw worth a dang was the Beetles one as well as the Big Easy. Those were great. Carnival stinks on shows now. We did see a show later on Royal that was pretty good. That was about tango...sure wish I could move like that. I will say that the two times we were in the theater, they were not full. We missed the last show of the trip. That was not intentional. We really meant to make that one.

Time for a little family time. Tomorrow is about St Marteen.

The lifeboat drill was crazy simple and fast. We are used to standing in the hot Florida sun close to 20 or 30 minutes. On Royal out of SJ they are organized. Instead of having everyone herd together in a group, you are in lines....lines with space between you...space means air flow....air flow is good. They check off your cabin on their clipboard. The presentation is made shortly afterwards and BOOM, you are done.

Tom and I opted for any time dining, but we made a "reservation" each evening for 8:15. We enjoy seeing the ship leave each port. We often stand or sit outside until almost dark watching land fade away, dolphins jumping beside the ship, etc.

Our first evening in the MDR was different. It started off well enough. There was only a few people ahead of us, and with a reservation they kinda know you may show up so they have planned for you. We were sat at a table for two (elbow to elbow with other cruisers at a table for two). The couple on my right was very pleasant. They were both young and both work for Royal in Miami. One is on the reservation side; the other on the complaint after the cruise side. We had a nice time chatting with them. The couple on my left was a pure hoot. I called the gentleman "Jersey" the rest of the cruise . He was always laughing and you could not help but laugh with him. His wife was equally charming.

Neither Tom nor I enjoyed the food. The company was excellent; the food - not so much. Maybe it was what we ordered as Jersey's wife had the salmon which she said was excellent. We had a beef entrée that was salty otherwise tasteless. No meat flavor; just salt. Tom never got his sour cream, and we never got a pepper shaker (I love pepper). I understand it was the first night, but hey, the staff does this every week. Still, the food was hot and not lukewarm. The cheesecake excellent.

We had wanted to do our traditional after dinner karaoke. We love listening/watching on Carnival. Tom will even sing with our friends if they are traveling with us. On this trip, Karaoke was each night at 11 pm. Did I mention earlier we are early risers? We settled for watching the stars instead before turning in.

We started out in an interior room on deck 2. We ended up in an OV room on deck 4. The location was really nice. When you come in hot and tired after a day in port, walk up two flights of stairs and go 15 or so doors down to your room. Ready for dinner in the MDR, go up one flight (we did the Any Time Dining so were on deck 5). Want to go to Guest Services, 15 doors away. Need something in the shops or stop and look for your pictures, one floor up. Our room was actually below the picture area and was QUIET.

We were amazed by how quiet the room was. We had a bad experience on one of our Carnival cruises when we mistakenly booked a cabin that had a connecting door. Normally, it would have not been a big thing. That time it was. There was a toddler in there in which the parents let their child cry it out every evening for about two hours. They must have been on a diff time zone at home as the child began around 11pm and ended around 1... or 2 am..... We don't book cabins that have a connecting door anymore....

Even on nights there was something going on in The Centrum, Royal would close a door to the hall to keep things quiet. The hallway is more narrow than Carnival. Not a problem, just different. The stateroom doors on Royal have a little edging on them. Just another little thing that probably most people don't notice. Even the color of the doors was more like a door at home than the Carnival as they tend to use the same muted multi color pattern as the hallway walls.

Royal's OV room is smaller than Carnival. However, the blue fabric sofa of the Royal cabin is a nice touch. The Royal room we had was configured differently than the OV on Carnival. Our bed was up under our window. Whereas we like being able to stand next to the window to peer out instead of being on your knees on the bed, it was not a deal breaker.

The Royal cabin has storage areas for small items on either side of the mirror next to the TV. There are two sets of 3 drawers. We liked the extra drawer space. The Royal cabin had one area for hanging in which you could divide the hanging space with a rod that you could pull down or keep pushed up. The other side of the closet area has narrow shelving for folded items. We missed having the third Carnival closet as we always used the 3 area for housing soiled clothes. We did not like putting worn clothes right below your dresses/suit/shirts. But, it worked.

The Royal bed is better than Carnival. It was not too hard nor too soft, but just right. The bedding seemed to be nicer as well. The Royal monogram on the sheets a nice touch. Tom uses a C-Pap at night. They had placed two gallons of water and a heavy duty extension cord in the room. I wish there had been another plug in beside the right side of the TV for the cord. I was always afraid Tom would trip during the night, but he slept like a baby.

The room was nice. We liked it. It was great for two. Not sure we would have felt that way if our youngest had been with us. He is a little over 6 foot, and the room would have been cramp to move around in. I think Carnival gets the nod for space but for us, our Royal cabin was perfect.

The Carnival bathroom is a bit larger and does not have the shower tube. So, it is a give and take thing. I like that Royal has storage behind the glass. I like to keep things tidy. I like putting things out of sight.

Spices delivered. Any guesses where they were from????? Who is the Island of Spices?

After lunch at the Windjammer, we decided to walk around the ship a bit. This is a new lay out for us. We wanted to get the lay of the land so to speak. The adult area was themed well. I mentally questioned the glass ceiling, but I found out later the slightly tinted glass is really nice on a hot day. It was never hot inside. The lush atmosphere with trees, loungers, tables and chairs was a nice touch.

The theater was pretty much as expected. The casino smaller than anticipated and less room to maneuver between chairs but no real issues. We were excited to find a little movie cinema between the casino and the theater. The cinema held 50 or so people and showed movies at 3, 6, and 9 pm. We saw two entire movies and part of another. Boy, it sure is hard to walk in half way thru Dunkirk. We understand the same movies were shown on the big outdoor screen, we just never managed to make it there. I am not sure why the cinema is behind the casino. Seemed odd to put it there when children are not allowed in the casino (not in Carnival anyway, not sure Royal). There may have been a stair near the theater; not sure. Just seemed strange, but kids made it there so it must not have been an issue.

We loved the Safari Lounge. Nice seating areas with sofas, dim lighting on the tables, etc. I am glad we made use of that area later in the evening as it was often a private party area and off limits. Too bad, it was the nicest area on the ship. Had its own bar, dance floor, etc.

We also saw two pool tables, a game area, a TV area, and a reading area. The Chef's Table room was open so we wandered in there. Boy, Sure would love to do that one day. The room was nice, the table beautiful.

We also saw thru glass doors the shopping area. Seemed a bit small to us even later. But, we don't buy a lot anyway. We snagged a luggage tag there later when needed and sunglasses straps when Tom's became MIA. And...I bought a new wallet.

The Centrum was really classy. Looking up was a nice treat for the eyes. Looking down from the Loyalty Lounge was pretty cool as well. We stumbled in there by mistake the first day. All part of learning your way around.

The MDR was really nice. It was done nicely. Not harsh on the eyes. Simple and elegant. That seemed to be the theme of The Jewel. Understated elegance. Not over the top. Just fine bones and classic.

Think we are experiencing a few technical difficulties. Welcome to living in the country and having a love/dislike relationship with Hughes.net....

The Windjammer is where we first saw a big difference in Carnival and in Royal. We have had some great cruises on Carnival. We are Guys Burgers and Blue Iguana fans. We love their salad bar, but the rest of the food on the Lido Deck is not always our fav. Food is subjective however. Two people can get the same food out of the same serving dish and have two completely different opinions.

For us, Royal gets the nod on buffet dining. They employ buffet pods. When I first read about the pods, I was not certain I believed that the pods allowed for faster moving of cruisers thru the various buffets. After all, they are set up in one space instead of using the kitchen like Carnival does to divide the buffets which puts cruisers into two separate spaces. I still don't exactly understand WHY the buffet pods work, I only know that they do! It was never long lines even during high occupancy dining times.

I guess I notice quirky things, but sometimes it is the small things that make a big difference. The serving spoons are heavier and fit into your hand better. It makes it easier to serve and faster. The food is hot not lukewarm. This is achieved by having warming ovens in each pod. Run out of turkey breast? No problem. The Chef simply opens an oven door and pops another one out. No cooling off period. No stand and wait.

The food in the Windjammer is better than Carnival's buffets. At first, I thought it was just the first day and would diminish over the cruise. Nope. They are just that good. I do think Carnival has a better salad bar, but Royal gets the nod overall.

The Windjammer itself is nicer than Carnival. Both have polished wooden tables, but Royal does a better job of incorporating wooden railings, better lighting for ambiance, etc. The only real negative is that they could not keep the Purell sanitizer stations filled. Even in the MDR. We wash our hands or course, but as we frequently take the stairs or come form outside where we have held onto a rail, it is nice to have the stations filled.

I need to take some spices from Grenada to my new neighbor. I will continue later.

We had seen The Jewel from a distance earlier in the morning during our walk over the bridge to Coronado Beach. But, the long distance view did nothing to prepare us for being close up and in person. Even though she is not the largest ship, she is a grand ship. The taxi dropped us off right where they take your baggage. There were two lines with one couple each in line. Quick and easy. They took our bags but did not tell us where to go next so we followed the couple in the baggage line ahead of us. There are few people around at 12:15 pm. Totally unlike the Florida ports. We were beginning to wonder if we were in the wrong place. Then we saw a Royal official who welcomed us and told us to go inside the building. Great. It's kinda hot outside. Maybe the lines of people are in there. We go in, and there are NO LINES! NO LINES!!!! Whereas there are different check in ques for the various levels of loyalty, there are maybe one or two groups of people waiting in the different ques. To our left inside the building is a little store. They sell wine, water, soft drinks. We had read that you can't carry water onboard. But, they are selling water. We stop and ask if the items are to take on the ship. Yep! We are not sure if this is just a San Juan thing or if they do this elsewhere as well . We just know we purchased a couple 8 packs (yes, 8 pack cans) of Pepsi and five large bottles of water. Then we walked further down to the que for newbies....the que in which there was only one couple ahead of us to check in. This is surreal. Within a few minutes we were shown to a check in desk where we were processed, given our cards, and told to board. No wait, no calling of zones to load, just get on the ship. You do board currently on deck two just as if you were returning from a shore excursion. I have read this is due to hurricane damage to the glass walkway from the building to the normal boarding deck of deck four. Didn't matter to us. We were boarding. Normally on Carnival, we board and skip the elevator to the Lido Deck as there is such a wait. On The Jewel, there was rarely a wait ( maybe around dinner times on Formal Nights ). Even if there was a wait, it was never more than five minutes. Since the Windjammer is on the 11th deck we took the empty elevator and made our way up.

We had seen The Jewel from a distance earlier in the morning during our walk over the bridge to Coronado Beach. But, the long distance view did nothing to prepare us for being close up and in person. Even though she is not the largest ship, she is a grand ship.

The taxi dropped us off right where they take your baggage. There were two lines with one couple each in line. Quick and easy. They took our bags but did not tell us where to go next so we followed the couple in the baggage line ahead of us. There are few people around at 12:15 pm. Totally unlike the Florida ports.

We were beginning to wonder if we were in the wrong place. Then we saw a Royal official who welcomed us and told us to go inside the building. Great. It's kinda hot outside. Maybe the lines of people are in there.

We go in, and there are NO LINES! NO LINES!!!! Whereas there are different check in ques for the various levels of loyalty, there are maybe one or two groups of people waiting in the different ques.

To our left inside the building is a little store. They sell wine, water, soft drinks. We had read that you can't carry water onboard. But, they are selling water. We stop and ask if the items are to take on the ship. Yep! We are not sure if this is just a San Juan thing or if they do this elsewhere as well . We just know we purchased a couple 8 packs (yes, 8 pack cans) of Pepsi and five large bottles of water.

Then we walked further down to the que for newbies....the que in which there was only one couple ahead of us to check in. This is surreal. Within a few minutes we were shown to a check in desk where we were processed, given our cards, and told to board. No wait, no calling of zones to load, just get on the ship.

You do board currently on deck two just as if you were returning from a shore excursion. I have read this is due to hurricane damage to the glass walkway from the building to the normal boarding deck of deck four. Didn't matter to us. We were boarding.

Normally on Carnival, we board and skip the elevator to the Lido Deck as there is such a wait. On The Jewel, there was rarely a wait ( maybe around dinner times on Formal Nights ). Even if there was a wait, it was never more than five minutes. Since the Windjammer is on the 11th deck we took the empty elevator and made our way up.

Youth group was interesting last night. We took them to Locked Up which is like Escape Room. They have one hour working together using clues in the room to get out. There are several different scenarios to choose from. Their was the youth's first time doing this.....lets just say their focus needs more focus....

Back to my review....

We are used to getting up at 5:30 EST for work so we were always up early on our trip. After a restful night at Hotel Miramar we woke up with intense Morning of the Cruise excitement. We had some time to waste so we walked to the Coronado Beach area that is connected to where we stayed on the inlet side by a bridge. This is the beach area we could see from our room. The walk was maybe 10 minutes at best.

Several of the hotels were still closed or parts of them were closed. You could see work in progress however. We walked along the sidewalk until we found the public beach access. Then we waded out to about our knees. You just have to get wet!

After an hour or so we were famished and ready for breakfast. Hotel Miramar does not have a breakfast buffet....they have something better. Across the street is Joe Pino's Cafe Miramar. Oh, my! What a yummy and inexpensive breakfast. Wish I had a cup of their coffee right now.

Then it was back to the hotel, read a little, and check out by noon. A taxi sits at the corner at the hotel. There was no wait. We jumped in and were at the cruise port in maybe five minutes.

We enjoyed reconnecting with OSJ. We saw many families flying kites on the Green at El Marro. It was the first time we were not hot there. The breeze comes in nicely late afternoon. We walked around the Green, the sidewalk to the other fort, through our beloved streets.

We were starved by now. We found the best fajitas at El Parnaso. We decided to eat outisde to continue enjoying the breeze. The inside is small. Doesn't matter to us. We were more than enjoying being outside after a long , cold winter and all to cool spring. (even in VA we had three snows in early April ). To say that the fajitas were great is a big thing when you are married to a Texan. The food and the margarita hit the spot. ( we enjoy splitting a margarita every now and then).

We spent a little more of our evening wandering around OSJ before taking the bus back to Miramar. Our hotel room awaited two weary travelers who had been up since before 5 am catching our flight out of Dulles. We had to see the view at night from the hotel patio first. Then it was off to dreamland. I can't say the bed was the best, but it was certainly not horrible. The room was clean which is more important to us. We slept well with the air condition drowning out any street noise there may have been. We were glad for the "white noise" of the ac as we sleep with the noise of a fan year round.

Will have to continue this post tomorrow. We have a youth event tonight at church. Gotta get moving.

Part of our dream cruise had been to spend extra time in San Juan. We both love history. The forts, the buildings, the blue ballast bricks in the streets.....we just love it! We read about Hotel Miramar on Cruise Critic. We snagged a room there for the night before the cruise. And, what a room. Hotel Miramar is not large. It has 9 floors with no more than 10 or so rooms on each floor. The top of the hotel is all patio. We could see the marina, the inlet, the ocean.....in the evening, the patio had wonderful low lighting.

Our room was at the front of the hotel with the same inlet/ocean view as the patio. We had a king bed and a wonderful air conditioner. The bathroom was large enough for us. A nice counter in the room itself with small refrigerator underneath. We also had a sofa and a couple of chairs on one side of the bed in a little "sitting area" as well as a small round table and chairs on the other side.

The local bus costs 75 cents pp one way to Old San Juan. The stop is within site of the hotel. It took approximately 10 minutes including the three stops it made. We had intended to take a taxi over, but the front desk staff suggested the bus. We were the only tourists on the bus, but that was not a problem. It is good to immerse yourself in the local flavor. You can get a better feel for a place than sticking to the tourist path. The bus takes you to the bus terminal in OSJ less than a block from the cruise terminal for Carnival.

First of all, THANK YOU for all the help you provided with our Royal "newbie" questions before our cruise. Your feedback help to make our cruise perfect. One of you asked us to return to the Royal site and post our thoughts as we have cruised primarily Carnival.

A little about us. We live in rural Central Virginia where Tom is the pastor of a wonderful church. I work at Social Services in an adjoining county. We had dreamed of sailing out of San Juan for our 20th anniversary, but we never quite made it. After Tom's heart attack last year (March), we decided we ought to make our dream come true for our 25th anniversary.

We had originally booked with Carnival. However, we cancelled that cruise in the summer when we moved out of the parsonage and into our own little home. We needed to be responsible adults paying off a mortgage in 15 years instead of 30. Security was our thought; home = security.

The day after Christmas, Tom was surfing the net. For grins he ran Carnival's cruise for our anniversary.....out of our reach when he calculated airfare. He pulled up Royal's site....the ports were far better, and the price for an interior was something we felt comfortable doing. Interior rooms don't bother us as we don't live in the room. We save the money for excursions. Still, airfare is required to get to San Juan as we can't drive there as we normally do to Florida. Southwest Airlines had a deal. Push a few buttons, and we have an anniversary plan!!

While I can't say that I know if they have Lobster in the Windjammer on Lobster Night, I CAN say that my husband and I totally loved eating in the Windjammer a couple nights on the Jewel. We sat outside at the back of the ship. The strategically placed lights and the sails in the ceiling gave the illusion of eating at an over the water restaurant....it was even better. The stars, the ocean breeze, very few people at adjoining tables.....think that is where we will visit a little more often.......

We ate at Chops on our first Royal cruise last month while we were on the Jewel of the Seas for our 25th anniversary. It was incredible with the fillet and the sides being perfect! We were so impressed we changed our reservation for the last night of our cruise from another specialty restaurant to Chops. I wish we had not. The fillet was OK, the sides had little to no seasoning ( ordered the same exact meal as before), but the noise was the real killer. We could not hear ourselves talk. We were seated in the center of Chops with the conversations from some of the other tables drowning us out. I think it was a combination of some people being loud and the acoustics of the room. There seemed to have been a lot of wine flowing that night, and we could clearly hear word for word the conversations from a couple of tables. We took our dessert to the Windjammer to eat. Chops was a lot busier the last night of our cruise which may account for the food being off. Chops was certainly on their game earlier in the week when they were better than the steakhouses on Carnival.

Guys Burgers and Blue Iguana Tacos

Thanks for all the detail in your review. We are on he JOS on April 29. What is the common dress for men and women on non-formal days in the dining room? Have not cruised RCI before. Thanks for your help.

So excited to read your review and will be following!!! My husband and I are celebrating our 25th anniv on the same cruise in two weeks. We have always enjoyed your reviews and feel you are pretty much spot on! We have held out planning a couple of our ports waiting for your thoughts.

We like the separate adult pool area. When our boys were smaller, we enjoyed getting up on sea days and eating breakfast.... playing a few games together, explore the ship a little...aka ....family time.....before dropping them at Camp Carnival for a little adult fun around the ship. By the time we hit the decks for a little sun, the Serenity area was usually full with not a chair to be found. It was nice to have the adult pool area to retreat away from the playful sounds of children that we heard daily. That was an attractive part of a cruise vacation for us. We could usually find a chair and chill without the sounds of children who naturally squeal with excitement. Another huge thing for us was having a pool SEPARATE from the adult pool when we wanted to take our children for a swim or splash. The adult pool area typically has more alcohol and sometimes more of a party atmosphere. No harm; no foul. After all, those adults were on THEIR vacation just as we were on ours. Just did not always want out boys around that as sometimes the language that slips out when the tongue becomes relaxed is not something we wanted them to ask about. The bottom line is that the ships are big enough to accommodate everyone and should continue to do so with separate pool areas. It simply makes good sense. Good vacation sense and good customer satisfaction sense.

Thanks to all.