Jewel of the Seas - New England Cruise 9-12-05

[Cruishappy@aol.com]

although somewhat a bit aprehensive - we are anxiously looking forward to sailing on the Jewel of the Seas - our experiences with RCI have been mostly satisfactory - Diamond Plus Members - however on our last cruise we could not help but notice the cutbacks -these of course would not be noticed by the new cruisers --- and what you do not have -- you perhaps do not miss - we made a decision to try the HAL cruise line --- and found it to be extradinary - the service- food- accomodations- ambiance - excelled - the only weakness appeared to be the entertainment -- which was only fair - still feeling royality towards RCI we did decide to make our reservations once again with RCI and we are hoping that we will not be disappointed - this is for an eleven day cruise which we have done before - the itinery is really quite nice --- and of course - if we are fortunate enough to have Captain JIm McDonald - we just know that it will be great ---- he runs a super ship - and is quite visible to the passengers which always made you feel not only special - but very welcome ----once again -- just my opinion--- opinions are like noses -- we all have one -- and they can be very different

[Honey's Gal]

I hope this will be a great cruise, as we will be on this one also. We have been on the Serenade and loved it so certainly looking forward to the Jewel. We like RCI, and with this cruise will become Diamond members and have enjoyed every cruise. I am not sure what cutbacks you mean, as I don't pay much attention to that. I just go with the flow.

 

Have you signed up for the M&M on this cruise? We do not have a lot of people as yet, can't figure out why....some do, some don't.

 

I like your "nose" and "opinion" reference, you are correct. It would be a boring world if we were all alike.

[bobbie0253]

We just became Diamond. We recently completed a Jewel cruise. The ship is beautiful. The prettiest RCCL ship we have ever sailed. The layout of the ship was great. The food was even better than it has been on previous cruises. We saw some new things on the menu.

 

We have only been cruising a couple of years, and while I noticed a decilne in areas, I probably wouldn't notice the same things you do. Still I think you made the right decision with this ship. So far it was the "best" cruise for us yet. (We still prefer the size of the Voyager class ships)

 

Bobbie

[Cruishappy@aol.com]

thanks for all of your input ---we will look forward to this cruise -- I am not going to mention the cutbacks that we noticed -- the reason is that "Why rain on someone's parade" as long as we can keep everyone happy what is the point of mentioning something that will probably not matter to anyone else - - so my theory is --- keep cruising --- keep smiling - and remember --- the glass is half full --- not half empty ---lol

[ISABELLA]

I share your feelings - to be or not to be. We are booked on JOS on 9/22/05.

Our last RCCL cruise on Adventure in 2003 was not as good as we remember previous RCL cruises - we noticed a lot of cut backs and low quality of food and service were visible. So, last year, we switched to Celebrity and Princess. It was fabulous.But sailing from home port of Boston got our attention. So we booked it. I hope we will not be disappointed. I will love not to fly.

[jstducky]

i hope you guys have a great cruise! you will love the Jewel. Absolutely breathtaking ship. i was on jewel's first sailing in Canada/New England this past September. We had Captain MacDonald and he was terrific. the ports were all great. If you stop in Saint John and like a little adventure, I would definitely reccommend the " Ride the Rapids" excursion. It was excellent. And if you get "The Devil" as your guide, its even better. A couple of other people on this board have taken that excursion, and everyone has loved it so far. But be prepared to get wet!

 

If you want to, check out my review of the ship as well as about 200+ pictures of the ship and the cruise. Just follow the links in my signature.

 

She truly is an amazing ship!

[negc]

We won't be with you on this cruise but we will be delivering the Jewel to Boston for your cruise. I hope you are right about having Capt. James as Ship's master. He was Captain of the Brilliance two years ago when we sailed on the Transatlantic from Harwich to Boston and again several months later when we did an 11 night Circle the Caribbean cruise on Brilliance. During both cruises he was quick to alert us to changes in our route or itinerary and to explain the reasons for them. We really enjoyed sailing with him and I must say it was a bit odd to hear daily reports from the bridge delivered without a Norwegian accent. :)

We will also be on the October 22nd cruise from Boston which, unfortunately, will spend only one day and night in Bermuda (leaving at 7am instead of 5 pm). Nonetheless we expect to have a wonderful time.

Jewel is a beautiful ship and I am sure you will enjoy her.

[Mur-cruiser]

I share your feelings - to be or not to be. We are booked on JOS on 9/22/05.

Our last RCCL cruise on Adventure in 2003 was not as good as we remember previous RCL cruises - we noticed a lot of cut backs and low quality of food and service were visible. So, last year, we switched to Celebrity and Princess. It was fabulous.But sailing from home port of Boston got our attention. So we booked it. I hope we will not be disappointed. I will love not to fly.

We are also booked on that cruise. I don't fly at all so I continue to hope there are more ships going out of the east coast. this is our first time on RCCL, as we have done most all of the others, so far Celebrity was the best. Didn't care for HAL at all. Just think only 6 months to go!!!:D :D

[LJR213]

I will also be on the 9/22 sailing. I haven't sailed on the Jewel yet but I have been on a tour of it. She is beautiful. I don't think any of us will be disappointed.

 

Mur-Cruiser make sure sign up for the Meet & Mingle and check out the roll call thread and catch up with others that will be with us. Welcome aboard.

 

( L J )

[constantcruiser]

Like you, my husband & I are diamond members on RCI...but we too have sailed NCL, Princess, Celebrity & HAL. I enjoyed the traditional style of HAL, but frankly missed some of the pizzazz that goes along with RCI ships. You might like Celebrity -- it's a good balance between the two.

 

Just this week we booked a balcony cabin on the 9/12/05 sailing of the Jewel, so we'll be right there with ya!