Quickie review of our Southern Caribbean trip on the Jewel

[leighuf]

I finally finished writing about our July 13th cruise on-board the Jewel of the Seas. In short, it was a 5 star vacation that will be forever remembered as a vacation of a lifetime. :) The final trip report that I posted on my blog is nearly 6400 words long, so here is a 'Cliff Notes' version.

 

Room review: We stayed in room 1056, a superior balcony on the hump. Hump balconies are much larger which is why I like to snag them when they are available. Our balcony had two chairs, one table, and two loungers and was nearly the same size as our room. We used the balcony constantly. We did hear noise from the Windjammer upstairs and the running of children by the pool. Additionally, since it is the first room of the hallway, we could hear the music and parties from the Centrum every night. This usually ended by midnight and didn’t bother us, but it would not be ideal for light sleepers who tend to turn in early.

 

Ports of call: We stopped in St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba, and Curacao. In the Virgin Islands we hired Alex of SunSeaAVI and boated to St. John and the BVIs (amazing day!). In St. Kitts we went on a ship 4x4 tour to the Rainforest and a local beach (don't recommend). In Aruba we hired Bully to drive us around the island to various local sightseeing sites (highly recommended). Lastly, in Curacao we went to the Dolphin Academy for a Dolphin Encounter (expensive, but gotta try it once!). Later, we went to the downtown area to check out the bridge and local market (a very nice day).

 

Ship review: I love the Radiance class ships. They aren’t too big, yet don’t seem small because they offer many dining options and amenities. The Schooner bar and Champagne bar are excellent places to get a drink, the patio outside of the Windjammer offers comfy cushioned wicker patio furniture for you to eat your meal, and the kiddie pool has a long slide to keep the kids smiling. The Jewel shows signs of age, as do all ships eventually.

 

We were pleased with the service and the food on this cruise. Some dishes definitely disappointed, but there was enough good things to keep us happy and full!

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2013 by leighuf

[SRQfireman]

I would imagine you had a fair amount of kids onboard that time of year.....were they pretty well under control?

[leighuf]

I would imagine you had a fair amount of kids onboard that time of year.....were they pretty well under control?

 

I encountered more adults than kids that needed to be better controlled/ more well-mannered. :eek: For example, the ship had a lot of people on-board, so often times we noticed pushy adults who would literally push past us to get on a packed elevator. Or, adults being extremely loud in the hallways after midnight.

 

Sometimes we found it very annoying, but tried not to let it get to us.

[SRQfireman]

oh wow.....more problems with adults than kids......not common, but does happen. People come on ships and leave their manners at home......."hell....I'm on vacation.....I can do what I want"

It should have been really hot in those ports that time of year!

Edited October 13, 2013 by SRQfireman

[leighuf]

It was hot, but not too bad in the evenings as the sea breeze cooled things down nicely. It rained only once during the entire 10 days. And that happened in the early morning hours in San Juan precruise.

[Sand_Sun_Sea73]

Leighuf I read your full review as we are looking to book this cruise next July. I noticed you mentioned no price drops, can I ask how far out you booked? Price doesn't seem too high right now, other than 3rd passenger seemed a bit high at $875. Looking at d1, same as you had and passenger 1 & 2 are about 1400.

 

Loved your review, we were actually in Aruba that same week last July for a land based vacation, our first time there. Windy it was, but it was actually nice because we never felt too hot.

 

Thank you,

 

Kim

[BLAMBKY]

Just finishes reading both long/short of your trip, it looked amazing! Thank you for taking time to write & post it!:)