Info on Jewel Panama/Central America Cruise

[AlanAllyn]

We just returned today from the 11-day cruise. We had a wonderful time and thought I would give some heads ups.

 

The front desk has a schedule for the whole cruise, including dinner dress, much of the programming and even what is on sale in the shops. You have3 to go there to pick it up.

 

On the 11-day cruise, the two formal nights were the two Tuesdays, both sea days. The smart casual days were the third day and Cartegena, although it was hard to tell the difference between the dress on those days and casual days. On formal night, there were a few tuxedos (maybe 5%). Most men wore jackets and ties.

 

We moved the clock ahead 1 hour the second night for Aruba, back to EST before Cartegena, back anotther hour (CST) for Puerto Limon and finally forward to EST for Grand Cayman.

 

The ship is in excellent condition. The only wear and tear we saw was the paint on the balconies, especially the furniture. Also, the balcony railings were not varnished.

 

If you have any questions, I will try to answer them and will try to post a review in a week or so.

 

Alan

[50cruiser]

Thanks Alan for the review . Im getting om the Jewell 11day jan 3rd .How Was the shows . Any stand out or any to avoid . How was Columbia people talk about yellow fever there . CARL

[askn]

Thank you for taking the time to give us a quick note. Anymore tidbits you would like to throw our way would be very much appreciated. Boarding January 3rd on Jewel.

[AlanAllyn]

I'll try to answer questions on Sunday or Monday. I am on my way back to FLL to pick up some grandchildren and their parents.

[ivansbride1955]

Thanks Alan. DH and I will also be on the January 3rd sailing. Glad to hear the Jewell is in good shape. DH wants to know what alcoholic drink prices are -- we read someone that martinis are now $95.50. can you confirm that? Also did you take any shore excursions? If so, highlights would be nice.

[island lady]

Thanks Alan for the review . Im getting om the Jewell 11day jan 3rd .How Was the shows . Any stand out or any to avoid . How was Columbia people talk about yellow fever there . CARL

 

I am on the 10 night cruise on 1/14, which has basically the same ports except for Aruba. My sister, who is a doctor that is an infectious disease specialist, insisted the DH and I get vaccines for Yellow Fever, which we did...ouch. She also gave me pills for Typhoid. One of the worst things down there is Denghi. There is no vaccine for that, or cure...yikes. :eek:

She suggests strong applications of mosquito repellant with Deet.

[50cruiser]

Thats what My Dr said . To get 100% deet and use liberly . Were too late to get the shots . Ive been to Columbia before but they didnt have an outbreak of Dengi and yellow fever before . Im highly debating of getting off there . CARL

[The Flying Pirate]

Thanks Alan for the review . Im getting om the Jewell 11day jan 3rd .How Was the shows . Any stand out or any to avoid . How was Columbia people talk about yellow fever there . CARL

 

Colombia was very nice, we booked one of the ships tours and really enjoyed Cartagena. It is a very modern city, and they seemed to have worked very hard at cleaning up it's image. The risk of Yellow Fever in Cartagena is very low.

 

We noticed many people on board refusing to leave the ship in Colombia because of various fears. Yes there are police and military personal in various areas of the city with guns. They were generally found in front of banks and govnt buildings. We talked to several and found them to be friendly and spoke very good English.

[dcruisers]

First of all, Merry Christmas all!

Second, thanks for the mini review on your Jewel trip. We leave next Monday for the 11 day trip. I appreciate the heads up on all the time changing! ..as well as the dress for dinner and which nights. I,too, would love to know about the entertainment. We enjoy the shows and don' t miss too many..unless we are given a heads up on a lousy one.

I look forward to more info after the holiday...enjoy your families.

[fletch5727]

Alan,

 

We're scheduled for the same cruise on Feb 14, and were wondering if they had the Mystery Dinner Theater available on yours? We've tried booking in online and it says to try again as the cruise gets closer. Our travel agent has called RCI and gotten conflicting answers (first was told online booking would be available 45 days out, then told it wasn't offered on our sailing).

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Jean

[ivansbride1955]

Thanks Alan. DH and I will also be on the January 3rd sailing. Glad to hear the Jewell is in good shape. DH wants to know what alcoholic drink prices are -- we read someone that martinis are now $95.50. can you confirm that? Also did you take any shore excursions? If so, highlights would be nice.

 

Correction: that should be $9.50; not 95.50 OOPS!

[50cruiser]

I was going to comment about the high price of the drinks but I figured it must be a doz. price . Quanity discount . I know you can get beer by the bucket so maybe get mixed drinks by the gal. pail . :rolleyes: CARL

[AlanAllyn]

With respect to drink prices, I cannot comment. All I drank was the free wine in the Diamond lounge and one beer that for some reason I didn't pay. I had a buy one get one free coupon for beer wine or soda. My wife got a coke and they charged for that and gave me the beer free.

 

As for entertainment, the main band was outstanding. In their closing show, they did Sing, Sing Sing; the drummer was great. They also had a comic juggler, who, much to our surprise, was excellent. The singers and dancers are very good. Although most people love the tango show, it was not my cup of tea. Marty Allen put on a great show, but he got off the ship in Aruba. The Diamonds were good. We thought the hypnotist was a bore. I enjoyed Vic Cooper at the piano bar (Schooner bar after 9:45 pm). Did not enjoy humorist David Pengally.

[dcruisers]

Thanks for the info on the entertainment!...Who was the cruise director? and how was the food? Was the first day at sea chilly and the last day? They usually are when leaving from FL.

Also, what type of cabin were you in?

As I sit here during a blizzard in the NE (we live in DE), I can't wait to get out of this weather and into some warm sunshine!

Thanks again.

[AlanAllyn]

Thanks for the info on the entertainment!...Who was the cruise director? and how was the food? Was the first day at sea chilly and the last day? They usually are when leaving from FL.

Also, what type of cabin were you in?

As I sit here during a blizzard in the NE (we live in DE), I can't wait to get out of this weather and into some warm sunshine!

Thanks again.

Keith Williams was the CD; he was very good. We eat only fin fish and vegetarian and were more than happy with the food. It was cool the first day (but not chilly), less so the last day. We had an E2, just to the front of the front elevators. It has a 50% larger balcony with a chaise and two chairs. We liked that very much.

 

Alan

[dcruisers]

Once again, thanks for the info.

We have booked an E2 as well. Usually book a guarantee.. but with 2 other couples got the last 3 rooms that were together. We will be in 8514..very front of ship.

We had a room in about the same location on the Adventure several years ago and loved being close to the elevators!

Can you take one more question???? In Panama, is there anything right at the pier,,any area to walk around? We have been there twice on 2 other cruises and have seen the canal and been through it..so don't want to do that again. I can't remember what the dock is like there and if we can just explore around the pier.

[AlanAllyn]

Once again, thanks for the info.

We have booked an E2 as well. Usually book a guarantee.. but with 2 other couples got the last 3 rooms that were together. We will be in 8514..very front of ship.

We had a room in about the same location on the Adventure several years ago and loved being close to the elevators!

Can you take one more question???? In Panama, is there anything right at the pier,,any area to walk around? We have been there twice on 2 other cruises and have seen the canal and been through it..so don't want to do that again. I can't remember what the dock is like there and if we can just explore around the pier.

There is now a new docking area, not the same as on previous trips to Panama. There are some shops and it looks like they are building more.

[negc]

Colombia was very nice, we booked one of the ships tours and really enjoyed Cartagena. It is a very modern city, and they seemed to have worked very hard at cleaning up it's image. The risk of Yellow Fever in Cartagena is very low.

 

We noticed many people on board refusing to leave the ship in Colombia because of various fears. Yes there are police and military personal in various areas of the city with guns. They were generally found in front of banks and govnt buildings. We talked to several and found them to be friendly and spoke very good English.

 

I sometimes wonder why some people book cruises that take them to ports where they are afraid to get off. We encountered a similar situation when our ship docked in Dominica. There were passengers urging everyone to stay onboard since the island was apparently not up to their standards. We got off, took a wonderful and relatively inexpensive tour that we booked onshore, and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. I think some folks shouldn't venture beyond Disney World if that is how they want to experience foreign lands.

[Sports Dr]

Just off the Jewel (dec 24). Very Christmas atmosphere...which was neat.

Food- Dining room was Good, lobster, duck (2 nights), lamb (2 nights) prime rib (2 nights). Service was terrific...in and out in about an hour. although we did not eat much in the windjammer, when we did it was better than we had expected. Excellent wings at the SeaView.

 

Stateroom: very good, we had a great attendant

 

Embarkation: smooth and quick

Debarkation: got off at 7:30, but customs was slow

 

Entertainment: Nothing spectacular, but nothing below average either.

 

Beer was 4.25 a bottle.

 

Ports: Panama:took the c026 ferry ride thru the locks. very neat

Cartegna: walked around.. but lots of pushy peddlers.

Costa Rica: looked a lot like Panama

 

Other: Ship was in great shape, guest relations staff was terrific and friendly, and every crew member spoke to you when passing by.

[island lady]

Just off the Jewel (dec 24). Very Christmas atmosphere...which was neat.

Food- Dining room was Good, lobster, duck (2 nights), lamb (2 nights) prime rib (2 nights). Service was terrific...in and out in about an hour. although we did not eat much in the windjammer, when we did it was better than we had expected. Excellent wings at the SeaView.

 

Stateroom: very good, we had a great attendant

 

Embarkation: smooth and quick

Debarkation: got off at 7:30, but customs was slow

 

Entertainment: Nothing spectacular, but nothing below average either.

 

Beer was 4.25 a bottle.

 

Ports: Panama:took the c026 ferry ride thru the locks. very neat

Cartegna: walked around.. but lots of pushy peddlers.

Costa Rica: looked a lot like Panama

 

Other: Ship was in great shape, guest relations staff was terrific and friendly, and every crew member spoke to you when passing by.

 

Cool! :) Thanks for the review. I am also prepaid and prebooked for the CO26 tour. Did not want to travel all the way down to Panama for my first time and not actually go through the locks. We are also doing the Rain forest tour in Costa Rica on the 6 hour tour to the Veraqua park.

 

What was the weather and temps like down there? Thanks in advance for the help! :)

[AlanAllyn]

Cool! :) Thanks for the review. I am also prepaid and prebooked for the CO26 tour. Did not want to travel all the way down to Panama for my first time and not actually go through the locks. We are also doing the Rain forest tour in Costa Rica on the 6 hour tour to the Veraqua park.

 

What was the weather and temps like down there? Thanks in advance for the help! :)

The weather was low 80's and humid, with some showers, although we did not see any rain. We took that tour, last time we were here, after doing a partial transit on the Brilliance OTS. I highly recommend it, particularly if you are not otherwise going through the locks.

 

Alan

[Sports Dr]

Island lady, The c026 was neat.. you pick up the bus at about 8:30 on the pier (try to

sit up front for the view) takes about 90 minutes (very scenic) to get to the Canal. You

will board a ferry (try to get on top, near the front but under roof). takes about 3.5 hours to go through. A very, very, delicious all you can eat buffet is furnished. There is free water and soft drinks, but beers are 2 bucks. The trip goes from the Atlantic to the Pacific, then you board a bus for about a 50 mile scenic drive back. We even saw a roadkill monkey. Pricey trip, but you have to do it at least once.

[island lady]

Island lady, The c026 was neat.. you pick up the bus at about 8:30 on the pier (try to

sit up front for the view) takes about 90 minutes (very scenic) to get to the Canal. You

will board a ferry (try to get on top, near the front but under roof). takes about 3.5 hours to go through. A very, very, delicious all you can eat buffet is furnished. There is free water and soft drinks, but beers are 2 bucks. The trip goes from the Atlantic to the Pacific, then you board a bus for about a 50 mile scenic drive back. We even saw a roadkill monkey. Pricey trip, but you have to do it at least once.

 

Thanks for the tour review!! :D

Yup, prepaid 150 bucks a person for that tour, but I consider well worth it to see and travel through the canal/locks for the first time.

Thanks for the tips on where to sit! :)

[island lady]

The weather was low 80's and humid, with some showers, although we did not see any rain. We took that tour, last time we were here, after doing a partial transit on the Brilliance OTS. I highly recommend it, particularly if you are not otherwise going through the locks.

 

Alan

 

Yes, looking forward to th CO26 ferry boat tour throught the locks, as the ship itself does not go through them.

And the Costa Rica tour through the rain forest and the nature center with the bus tour through the hill country will be wonderful to see also.

 

Just over 2 weeks now for us!! :D

[dcruisers]

We did that tour the first time we were in Panama and were glad we did! We have Claudia booked for Cartegena, Columbia..this is the first time for us in this city.

I do have another question ...do men need jackets/ties in the specialty restaurants? Once, on a Carnival cruise, the men weren't allowed in without a jacket. So, my DH wants to be prepared. He wasn't planning on taking a sport coat. ( He is taking his tux as are the other 2 men in our group)