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Jewel of the Seas Review Jan 10-14th 2013

irishgal432

By irishgal432,
in Royal Caribbean International

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irishgal432

irishgal432

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A little about ourselves. I am Mari 48 and Bill 50 from Atlanta. This was our first vacation away from the kids in 15 years. It was well worth the wait.

 

We drove from Atlanta to Ocala, Fl and spent the night and continued on to the Port. I will have to say, that it is not easy to find the port using Google Maps, or Iphone Maps. It took us in some weird ways. We arrived at Port about 10:30 and used the Prepaid Valet Car Service. If you go this route, make sure you pay ahead of time on the website so you don’t have to pay after the cruise is over.

 

 

We were in a Grand Suite and there was no line for check-in at security or at the counter. WE had a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne which went through without a problem. We were checked in and seated in the Suite area where they provided cookies, pastries and drinks. About 11 am Suite guests and Pinnacles were called to board. I don’t think they were quite ready for us though. We boarded on Deck 4 and were told to go towards the Aft through the Shops of the Centrum, but came to a locked sliding door which opened just as we were starting to turn back. We rode the glass elevator to the top deck where there were so many staff members directing you if you had questions.

 

 

We ended up in the Windjammer where we were one of the first in there and was greeted by the chef and personally welcomed. We grabbed some salads and headed out to the very back of the ship in the open area. Once again, the staff was always there asking for refills, etc.

 

 

After lunch we explored the ship and had our first drink at the sky bar. After relaxing for a while, we went to our room to find our stateroom attendant had already put our luggage in our room. Our next door neighbor was a fellow cruise critic member who was on the roll call, who I recognized from his hat. Our attendant was Bernadette from Jamaica and was very sweet. I did find the bathroom soap holder s rather crusted with old residue which I cleaned, but everything else was great. We wanted champagne for sailaway but ice couldn’t be delivered until after 4. One irritating thing was we put our wine in the icebucket and it clearly wasn’t big enough, but we did not get a larger plastic bucket until the last day of our cruise, so we couldn’t keep the bottles cool and ended up bringing the champagne home. I guess I should have asked earlier, but we have never had white wine that needed to be chilled before. Another bonus on the Jewel was the fact there were 3 pool towels in the bathroom, so checking out towels was not required.

 

 

We had an informal meet and mingle at 2:30 at the Skybar and met some fellow cruise critic members from Florida and Michigan. That was quite fun.

We were on the top deck for sailaway and then went to the Concierge Lounge for a few drinks and met Diego. He was wonderful and very personable. I think he really enjoys his job and is very happy. Once again we met some very nice people, both Suite and Diamond Plus. There were also some Pinnacles that were in there as well. Maybe one day I will be a Pinnacle. :)

 

 

We had 6pm seating, but wanted to go under the sky bridge, so Diego ordered our dinner for us and set up a 7pm delivery time. When we were on Oasis Dinner seemed to take almost an hour to arrive, so this was a wonderful service for him to be able to order early with a delivery time. We made it to the Welcome aboard show and then some casino time.

We ended up (somehow ?) in the Schooner Bar. The night turns a little fuzzy after we hit the Schooner Bar, but we met 2 couples traveling together on their first cruise and then as the night wore on a group of cruisers that are all friends from previous cruises that get together once or twice a month and cruise. They were so much fun and we saw them quite frequently. I lost my key card and went to get another one made and ending making even more new friends in the elevator.

 

Day 2 started with a great breakfast on the balcony and a walk around the ship’s track. I had a mid-morning nap after feeling a little “sea sick” and missed the Captain Cocktail Party for Suite guests, but got up in time to win the Final Jackpot of Bingo that I ended up splitting with another winner. Off to lunch at the SeaView Café. What a great little place. It is too bad that they are getting rid of it, It was such a great alternative to the Windjammer. We were lazy all day and went to our early dinner in the MDR with our waiter from Slovenia. I do not remember his name, but he was so very personable. We were at a table for 2 by a window and it was so relaxing watching the sunset and dusk appear. It was our Anniversary and we had singing waiters, which was cute. After dinner, we went to the Crown and Anchor in the Safari club and then met back up at the Schooner Bar. Still had a good time, but most of the songs were the same from the night before. My husband went to watch the football game for awhile and then we met back up in the room.

 

 

Day 3 was the Cozumel Bar Hop tour. WE ate in Chops and it was wonderful. There was only one other group in there and the waiter and asst were wonderful. I wish we would have done it the day before, but it is a hard choice eating on the balcony in your robe and slippers watching the waves or having Chops all to yourself.

 

 

We got off the ship around 9 am to get to the meeting point and met up with our 2 couples from our roll call who signed up after I posted I had signed up. We had such a great time. The other side of Cozumel was gorgeous. In fact, one of our Roll Call people said he had been to Cozumel many times and had never gone over to that side. Our group did not get too wild and crazy, but it was a blast! Each Bar has a house specialty and no electricity. Ice is carried over in coolers and everything is run from generators. They dropped you off at your pier and then we stopped in Senor Frogs for a Final Bar-Hop drink. Once on board, we ended up going to the Hollywood Odyssey overflow lounge and met up with cruisers from the Schooner Bar, which was much more livelier and had great views outside. The lights get turned down at 7 and everyone does the wave to get the night started. We missed dinner that night and had a late room service.

 

Day 4. We decided to do breakfast on the balcony again and take an easy day. WE did a galley tour in the morning. It is really amazing to see all of the procedures they have in place to efficiently run the kitchen. We did Lunch in the MDR and sat with some really nice people. One group of ladies walked to our table and asked the Head Waiter, “Can we sit someplace else,” rather rudely. We all chuckled, and someone said, “We only want happy people at our table anyway” and proceeded to get two lovely twin sister, one from Florida and one from Michigan. The sister from Michigan is a Stage 4 pancreatic Cancer . survivor for 2 years. They gave her only 2 months to live upon diagnosis. What an inspiration she was. We had to do a quick lunch because we went on a Bridge Tour. Talk about a panoramic view. This was the best view I have ever seen on a ship. We watched some pool games and then of course football.

 

 

We ate in the MDR again. This time the table next to them invited us to sit with them as their table had a vacancy. Again, we made new friends. After Dinner we went to the Juggler. It was okay. One major disappointment was they cancelled Karaoke because they had a group that was holding an event. It was a Credit Union Education Service on board for a conference. I do feel quite sorry for the Activity Staff person who had to stand there and tell everyone it was off. We went and enjoyed the beautiful night, strolling on the decks. It was quite windy and felt so good. We ended up at the Seaview because, I didn’t eat my Turkey in the MDR. I guess partly , I wasn’t hungry and partly the taste was a little off. My tablemate who ordered it as well didn’t eat it. At the Seaview, we ran into one of our Bar hop buddies and had a great time socializing. On to Quest. It got a late start and we ended up going to the room and relaxing on the balcony hoping to stay up for the Adult Comedian. Well, sitting on the balcony finishing our wine did us in and we didn’t make it.

 

Day 4 We had a quick breakfast in the Windjammer and then off to Chops to be escorted off the ship by Diego after the walk-offs were off. WE were late and saw him heading back upstairs and he gladly turned around and escorted us off the back entrance, so we did not have to stand in the line. The whole process of getting of the ship, retrieving our luggage and getting through customs and retrieving our car was 10 minutes.

 

Summary:

I have sailed on Monarch 21 years ago, so I can’t remember much from that and then Disney when the kids were little and then back to Royal Caribbean last year, Doing Liberty, Oasis and Jewel. We have been in Grand Suite on all three classes as well as an AFT corner on Liberty 1400 and I will have to say that Jewel has to be my favorite. Maybe because the kids were not with us, but the fact it is a smaller ship, you can really make some great friendships and memories. We met so many fantastic, fun people that we continued to see throughout the whole cruise. The crew seem to be very happy and the service is outstanding on the Jewel compared to the Liberty and Oasis.

 

Another thing I loved about the Jewel is you could see the ocean from just about anywhere on the ship other than the theater. Even guest services had huge portholes.

 

The only downside is that you could feel much more movement on this class, but it was not unmanageable and you could feel as if you were on a ship.

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irishgal432

irishgal432

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Thanks for your review.

I am thinking about taking the Jewel on a Southern Caribbean cruise.

 

Were there fun things to do at night (i.e., nightclub, dancing, etc.)?

Was there a wide range of age groups?

 

There were lots of fun things to do at night. We did go to the dance clubs one night as well as the Schnooner Bar. There were more shows as well we didn't make it to. They also have Quest and the Adult Comedian late at night. They also had a couple of groups of musicians that played at different venues. There's always lots to do.

 

Since it was January it was mostly adults, and not too many kids. I did see a few but no more than about 20. The majority of Adults seemed to be over 40, but I did meet some Under 40.

 

I guess depending on the time of the year, you may have more kids.

 

The Jewel was fabulous and sailing out of San Juan should be great.

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beachpearl

beachpearl

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There were lots of fun things to do at night. We did go to the dance clubs one night as well as the Schnooner Bar. There were more shows as well we didn't make it to. They also have Quest and the Adult Comedian late at night. They also had a couple of groups of musicians that played at different venues. There's always lots to do.

 

Since it was January it was mostly adults, and not too many kids. I did see a few but no more than about 20. The majority of Adults seemed to be over 40, but I did meet some Under 40.

 

I guess depending on the time of the year, you may have more kids.

 

The Jewel was fabulous and sailing out of San Juan should be great.

 

What did you think of the food overall - I know food is subjective in opinion, but still insterested in what you thought.

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irishgal432

irishgal432

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Could you tell me what the over all condition of the Jewel is?

 

The overall conditon was great. I can be really nit picky and say the brass finishes in our bathroom were a little Worn and our balcony door was next to impossible to open from the outside. I really look in great detail of how the ship is and can say it looks great. There were freshly painted hand rails on the decks and people constantly carrying bags around with cleaning supplies wiping surfaces down. It is well kept.

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irishgal432

irishgal432

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The food was overall was good. Some things like the prime rib, ribs, nachos was great. I didn't care for the turkey in the MDR. The food in chops for breakfast and room servi e were superb. The seaview cafe was resturant quality. They have a lot of seafood options that my husband had which he enjoyed. I think there may be so many negative reviews about the food because you are just sick of eating and nothing would taste good.

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molly361

molly361

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Did you happen to see if the drink package was available? I read somewhere on here that it is now available for sailings 4 nights and longer but haven't read anyone else posting the same information. Thanks very much.

 

 

We were on the 5 night 1/5 and the package was available then

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RoyalPrincess0622

RoyalPrincess0622

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The bartenders at every bar I went to made strong drinks especially at the schooner bar.

 

Silly question...did you happen to meet a bartender named Ida (male) from Indonesia? I sailed with him on Allure twice, and he told me that he was moving to Jewel. He was one of my favorite bartenders, and always mixed good, strong drinks.

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