Jewel of the Seas Pictorial Cruise Review: 12-15-2011

[BecciBoo]

More!:D

[suncityga]

Thats all I have for tongiht, I will be back on tomorrow with more.

 

Thank you.... we appreciate your review and the great photos ! ! !

 

Would love to see some stateroom photos if you have them.

[B_Mc]

Great start, can't wait to see more!

[Trekker954]

Can't wait to hear the rest of your review!

 

I am sorry about your friend. Wouldn't the pair that flew in from Italy have passports though? I thought all European flights to the US required this as documentation.

 

Cheers,

 

exactly my thoughts. All foreign flights into the US require pax to have passports.

[Scotty G]

Did they offer the special dining room for Diamond members for breakfast, like they did on Radiance?

Yes they do! Bon Voyage.

[DarthGrady]

Can't wait to hear the rest of your review!

 

I am sorry about your friend. Wouldn't the pair that flew in from Italy have passports though? I thought all European flights to the US required this as documentation.

 

Cheers,

 

I don't know any more info about that couple's situation. I just know that they were being denied due to some problem with their GC.

 

Can anyone tell me if RCCL is starting to do away with inside cigar areas? It seems like some ships will allow cigarette smoking but not cigars inside.

 

Thats what it seems like to me, and I'm not happy about it. The Allure didn't even have a cigar bar. It was just a windy open deck area at night. Fine cigars should be enjoyed in a nice lounge with comfortable seating. I hope they dedicate a section of another lounge for cigars once Hollywood Odyssey is removed. Thats how they do it on Monarch, cigars are allowed one side of the VCL at night.

[DarthGrady]

The entirety of Deck 6 is dedicated to entertaining guests. Forward is the balcony of the Coral Theater. Just aft of the theater is the ship’s cinema room with stadium seating for screening feature films. Next to the cinema is the Pit Stop sport bar, a NASCAR themed room with several televisions and seating for watching the games. The casino is located between the sports bar and the atrium. The Champagne Bar, a Royal Caribbean staple is found in the atrium with large glass windows that offer great views.

The aft third of Deck 6 is the beating heart of the ship. Guests first enter another Royal Caribbean institution, the nautical themed Schooner Bar. It is a cozy lounge with leather seating and wood paneling that is very inviting for folks looking to relax. They also have live piano music in the evenings. Adjacent to the Schooner Bar are the ships two specialty restaurants, “Chops Grille” steakhouse and “Portofinos” Italian dining. Both carry a cover charge over and above the standard cruise fare. At the very back of Deck 6 is the Safari Club complex. It is a mixed-use area consisting of a card game room, a show lounge, two bars and the room housing the self-leveling pool tables.

The Casino Royale

The Champagne Bar

[dappledumpling]

DarthGrady,

From one ocalan to another your reviews ROCK! getting me excited to cruise (Have 3 booked on her)

 

Just wanted to know we appreciate your efforts

 

Rick

[DarthGrady]

The Schooner Bar

 

Christmas decorations in the Schooner Bar entryway

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

DarthGrady,

From one ocalan to another your reviews ROCK! getting me excited to cruise (Have 3 booked on her)

 

Just wanted to know we appreciate your efforts

 

Rick

 

Happy to help a fellow denizen of The Brick City.

[Loucat]

We have sailed on Jewel and Radiance and they are our favorites. What is up with renovations of these ships? If they put Shriek and Company and an H2O zone, I am off to more adult sailings. :eek:

[DarthGrady]

Chops and Portofinos

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

We have sailed on Jewel and Radiance and they are our favorites. What is up with renovations of these ships? If they put Shriek and Company and an H2O zone, I am off to more adult sailings. :eek:

 

Thankfully I don't think the Radiance Class is getting the Dreamworks rubbish.

[DarthGrady]

The Safari Club area

 

The self leveling pool tables

 

TV area adjacent to the pool tables

 

 

 

Card room in the Safari Club

[DarthGrady]

Decks 7, 8, 9 and 10 contain mostly guest cabins.

Deck 11 has the ship’s two main pools. One is located mid ship and is for everyone to use. It has two hot tubs, an area for live musicians and it’s own bar. The other pool is located in the adults-only Solarium. This area is themed to resemble an Asian jungle temple. Thankfully it has no piped in or live music, and only has soft bird sounds playing in the background. The pool is very nice and is accessed via a staircase instead of the typical ladders. The Solarium has it’s own bar and a café offering sandwiches, wraps and pizza. My only complaint about the Solarium is it’s lone hot tub. On sea days it is usually full, and sometimes grossly overpopulated with bathers. There really should have been two tubs. At the very front of Deck 11 is the lower level of the ship’s spa, which has the treatment rooms, steam baths, saunas and massage suites. Opposite the spa, at the very aft of Deck 11 is the “Windjammer” buffet. It has several stations set up offering decent cafeteria-style food options.

The Solarium

Solarium Cafe

[DarthGrady]

The Main Pool

 

 

The Pool Bar

[tnt10]

I sailed Radiance shortly after you earlier this year. I will be on Jewel January 16th. THANKS TO YOU I CAN LEAVE MY CAMERA AT HOME.

Really looking foreward to the rest of the review. Did they offer the special dining room for Diamond members for breakfast, like they did on Radiance?

 

For Diamond or Suites??

 

Thanks,

TnT

[kasane]

I have a green card, but I am also required to maintain a current passport from Canada as well. The green card is not a substitute for a passport and when I take cruises I take both. When I travel to Canada, I take both. I need the passport to get into Canada and the green card to get back into the United States. I can't have a US passport if I have a green card.

 

The people flying from Italy would have to have had valid passports to fly (possibly from Italy since they would not have had US passports - see above). I don't know why they would not have used them for the cruise. To be denied boarding due to a green card issue is that their green card expired. You do receive plenty of notice if your card is going to expire. Plus it isn't something you want to forget because you never want to have start a green card all over from scratch after going through the process the first time.

 

Also immigration matches everything up - your passport and your green card. I get quizzed from time to time - where do I live, why am I visiting so and so, how was my visit, what is my home address. My husband is a US citizen, has a US passport and has a different surname than I do. We go through immigration together and so far no one has been stranded.

[DarthGrady]

The Windjammer

 

 

 

 

 

Exterior Seating

[DarthGrady]

Forward on Deck 12 is the upper level of the ship’s spa and gymnasium. The jogging track also wraps around the front half of this deck. Above the atrium is the Crown and Anchor Lounge where past guests can go to ask questions or book cruises with the Loyalty Ambassors. Also mid ship on Deck 12 are the children’s and teen facilities. There is also a video arcade in the area, and a dance club for the older teens. A children’s pool is in this area that has it’s own water slide. The sports area is located aft on this deck. There is a basketball (half) court there, and golf simulators; a mini golf course is located one deck above.

Sky Bar

Crown and Anchor Lounge

The view down into the atrium from the Crown and Anchor Lounge's floor

Arcade

Fuel Teen Disco

[DarthGrady]

Childrens pool

 

 

The biggest attraction for me on Deck 12 has to be the lovely Sea View Café. It is a small eatery with a selection of made to order sandwiches, salads, soups, fried chicken and much more. It has both interior and exterior seating. The café is a great alternative to the often chaotic and crowded Windjammer. Unfortunately the Sea View is one of the great things that will be on the chopping block once Royal Caribbean does renovations to the ship. It will be replaced with a pay-extra restaurant. I think it is disgusting that they are eliminating a great free dining option to make way for one with a cover charge. Cruise lines are becoming so petty with their constant nickel-and-diming of customers. This is yet another example.

 

Sea View Cafe

[DarthGrady]

Deck 13 is the highest guest accessible area on the ship and is where the “Viking Crown Lounge” is located. The VCL is the signature feature of all Royal Caribbean ships. It is a great place to relax and enjoy drinks while enjoying the sweeping panoramic views it’s huge windows offer. On the Jewel and other Radiance Class ships, the VCL does double duty as the ship’s dance club at night. The “Hollywood Odyssey” cigar lounge is adjacent to the VCL. It has a dedicated bartender after 9:30 each night, and has a small humidor with cigars for sale. There were many guests enjoying drinks and fine cigars in the lounge each night. It is such a shame that they will be converting it into a private lounge for concierge level guests. I don’t have a problem with the cruise lines offering lounges only for suite guests or frequent cruisers. I do have a problem with them replacing well-used public spaces with those private areas.

Viking Crown Lounge

Hollywood Odyssey Cigar Lounge

[DarthGrady]

Rock Climbing Wall

 

Mini Golf Course

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Day 1, Tampa:

After embarkation and the problems with US Customs we went to our cabin, #7174 that is at the very aft end of deck 7. We were originally booked in an ocean view room, but upgraded to a balcony after a price drop. The cabin had a spacious aft-facing veranda with two loungers, two upright chairs and a small table. The room itself had a full size sofa, an older style tube TV and a safe. I was happy to see that the shower had the sliding doors versus the nasty shower curtains used on other ships.

Before dinner we watched sail away from the Viking Crown Lounge and stayed there for the Diamond Event. It was lightly attended, but the free wine and sodas were nice. After that we had our first dinner in the main dining room. Our serving team was pretty slow but the quality of the food was high. A buddy and I finished the night with some cigars and drinks in the Hollywood Odyssey.

Our Cabin #7174

[DarthGrady]

More Cabin

 

 

 

 

The View