Just off Jewel of the Seas

[mein18]

Just completed our cruise on Jewel of the Seas on 12/7. Unfortunately no time to do a review but will post some positives and negatives and am happy to answer any questions.

 

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[Clarea]

What time was muster? Was there more than one? Did they change dining times on the first night to accomodate muster?

[mein18]

Muster was at 8pm. Only the one. No change to the traditional dining times and they closed the MTD at around 6:45 so that everyone could have time to finish dinner prior to the muster. The MDR reopened shortly after muster was completed. The MDR was empty on the first night. We assume that most ate at the Windjammer so they did not have to adjust their timing or rush through dinner.

 

Since we are on the topic, I will post one of the negatives. We have always ate 100% of our dinners in the MDR on past cruises and rarely ever stepped foot in the Windjammer due to some previous poor experiences with the food quality in the Windjammer on other ships and what we have always considered above average food quality in the MDR. However, on this cruise, we ate lunch in the Windjammer almost every day. The food in the MDR was the worst we have had on any cruise. DW and I almost always order different items and I always order 2 different from each course. I will start with the appetizers which were on average very good. There was a banana soup as an appetizer that really should have been a dessert. We had it as both that night. The prime rib and rack of lamb were excellent. Most all of the other main course dishes throughout the week were poor to average at best. On the last night, we had the lamb shank and the turkey. Both were close to inedible. The lobster on night 6 was inedible. Lobster was very tough, difficult to cut with a knife and totally tasteless. We realize that food quality is relative but you are hearing this from someone who has always enjoyed and looked forward to eating in the MDR mainly due to the good quality of food and service. To add, we heard the same complaints from many other passengers.

[Clarea]

Muster was at 8pm. Only the one. No change to the traditional dining times and they closed the MTD at around 6:45 so that everyone could have time to finish dinner prior to the muster. The MDR reopened shortly after muster was completed. The MDR was empty on the first night. We assume that most ate at the Windjammer so they did not have to adjust their timing or rush through dinner...

Thanks for the info. Did they have a show on the first night?

[mein18]

They had a comedian on the first night but if I recall it was very late around 10:45. Someone please correct me if my time is incorrect. Show times varied each night

 

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[Clarea]

They had a comedian on the first night but if I recall it was very late around 10:45. Someone please correct me if my time is incorrect. Show times varied each night.

Thanks very much. I was curious about the show because the first night's show is usually between the two dining times. However, you had muster during that time. Interesting, and different from any cruise we have had out of San Juan.

[Keith1010]

Look forward to reading your comments.

 

Keith

[mein18]

As promised, going to give a list of what we considered positives and negatives.

 

POSITIVES:

 

Embarkation: We arrived at 10:45 and already had our first drink by around 11:10. Blink and you would have missed it. Could not believe how early and fast the process was.

 

Ship: The Jewel as a ship itself is now our favorite (short of the MDR food). Barely showing her age and we really liked the Centrum with it's nightly music etc. Everything is convenient to get to on the ship.

 

Room: We were in GS 1036. Beautiful, in great shape, seemed a touch larger than other GS we have been in. We liked the closed and drawer arrangements in the bar area better than the other ships we have been on. Balcony is huge with full glass panels. This room is the one that has the ladder at the very end used to clean the glass. Really didn't notice it after the first day. Obstructs the view very little looking aft. Do not let this hinder you from selecting this room. It was fantastic.

 

Room Steward. She was fantastic. This quickly however her name escapes me. Room was as clean as we would expect. Towel animals 3 times during the week. Everything done to perfection.

 

Windjammer: We usually steer clear of the Windjammer and buffets as they were not too appealing on previous cruises however on the Jewel, the food, cleanliness, layout and seating were great. Enjoyed lunch or snack there most every day.

 

Itinerary: Fantastic!!! Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Domenica and Barbadow. Add that to an extra day in PR and couldn't ask for a better Itinerary. Quite a mixture of ports.

 

MDR bartender/beverage manager: Fantastic. Every night had our after dinner drink ready for us. Got to the point where he would glance over and my DW would give him the thumbs up or down whether we were ready or not for our drink. Very personable and great service. Even gave us the recopies on the last nigh. Wrote them by hand and delivered personally to our room.

 

MDR/MTD host: Fantastic. We should have asked for a different waiter staff after the 2nd night but loved our somewhat private table for 2 at the window. He made sure we had that table every night.

 

Excursions: All of our excursions were great. Tortola, beach break. Quaint and quiet beach. Not crowded with food and beverages available. St. Maarten, ATVs. Well worth the cost. Lost track but must have traveled well over 20 miles with a brief stop at Orient Beach. Do not like Orient Beach as it is overcrowded and too commercialized. St. Kitts. ZipLines. Fun and beautiful views. The spring breaking feature can be a problem with those towards the upper end of the weight limit or anyone with any physical issues such as back, neck etc. You get a nasty jolt from the springs when stopping. No way to avoid it. Other breaking methods on other ziplines we have tried are much smoother. Domenica. Domenica favorites. Excellent tour although you are in an enclosed bus. We do not care for bus tours as it is difficult to see the surroundings especially if on the other side of the bus. Tour guide was great until her cat story. We love cats and it turned us off. Will not go into any further details on that. Barbados. 4x4 and beach break. Got to see a large part of the island with great narratives from the tour guide. 4x4 needs better shocks. It is really a pickup truck with 10 seats in it and a roof. Very rough ride but saw and learned a lot. Stopped and Copacabana Beach which is one of our favorites in the Caribbean. Great locals, great service and food plus chairs and umbrella included.

 

Passangers: Probably the biggest mix of nationalities that we have experienced and this was our 3rd time out of San Juan. I believe they said it was around 35% locals and around 30 different countries represented. Everyone we encountered were extremely friendly and for the most part, courteous. Did not experience the pushing way on elevators before those at their floor exit. Kids were excellent that we encountered. Little bit of running and noise at times but that is expected. Very few kids in general and very, very few in what appeared to be the teenager years.

 

Music and shows: The big bands, 60s, 70s and 80s music in the Centrum were VERY enjoyable. Each era having their own night. Shows were good.

 

NEGATIVES:

 

Food: Main course dishes in MDR on average were poor at best. See my previous post.

 

Service in MDR. Waiter and Assistant Waiter were terrible. We had a table of 10 next to us who were from PR and the W and AW spent all their time with them. We had to ask for some staple every night whether it was to please bring bread or butter or please take our order or can we please have some coffee. Sometimes waited over 15 minutes sitting there with either them chatting to the table next to us or having had disappeared somewhere for extended periods of time. We had one girl who was the AW in another area come over to assist us on at least 4 or 5 occasions as she saw us just sitting there. I am sure everyone is now asking as to why we didn't ask to be changed to another table. Most of the tables for 2 are packed tight next to each other. Might as well be at a table for 10. My DW is thin and she would not have been able to squeeze through between the tables to get to the seat. Also very noisy in that area.

 

Concierge: She appeared to sit at her desk and ignore those around her. Tried twice to introduce ourselves but she seemed to sit on the phone. We gave up. She made no attempt to mingle at least while we were there, never stopped by the room like previous Concierges we have had.

 

Concierges Club: TOO SMALL. It was to open at 5:00. If you did not arrive by 4:50, you did not get a seat. They did have an overflow up in the Vortex but the one time we went up there it was empty. One night we were in the Concierge's club standing around sipping on a drink. Concierge made no effort to do anything. This was prior to us knowing about the Vortex. The bartender came over and opened the door and said you can sit out there (in the centrum). We just went back to our rooms. Looked like everyone other than those arriving early would just stop in, grab a drink and leave. Was also a number of people saving seats for others arriving later. Was only around 16 seats in the club to begin with.

 

Internet and Internet Cafe: As expected, the Internet is very slow. Very few computers in the Internet Cafe were operational. Most of the time only 2 of the 5 computers worked. There is a secondary Internet Cafe on deck 4. I never tried those but did not hear any complaints other than you can not print from there. Computers in Concierge's Club were extremely slow. Was able to connect with laptop in the hotspot areas but unable to connect with my Galaxy S 4. Not sure if the phone connection issue is something in RCI system or in the Galaxy phones. Will need to resolve.

 

Late night food: Very poor availability. After 10:00, all you can get are pizza and hot dogs in the solarium unless you go through room service. No ice cream or sandwiches. They should at least make ice cream available. Saw some kids and parents searching for some only to be disappointed.

 

The infamous ESCARGOT: Available on first formal night. All other nights were the scallop substitute. Not sure if it was the anticipation or not but they were not that good. The escargot themselves were tasty but the butter garlic sauce was actually thick and almost pasty. Still ate them but wasn't too good for the dipping.

 

 

I am sure other positive and negatives will come to mind however the 1 policy change coming up (keeping this out of this thread) was making us think of trying other lines. With the food experience on this cruise adding to that, we are definitely branching out.

 

Any comments from fellow passengers either agreeing or disagreeing with above comments are appreciated to give another view on the subject.

 

Any questions, please ask.

 

Any questions, please ask.

[mein18]

Thanks very much. I was curious about the show because the first night's show is usually between the two dining times. However, you had muster during that time. Interesting, and different from any cruise we have had out of San Juan.

 

The 8:00 muster really messes up the first night. We were supposed to sail at 8:30 but due to the terrible weather, many flights were delayed and passengers were still getting on with the last to board at almost 8:45 then we sailed almost immediately. I wonder if they had their own private muster to meet regulations.

[swsf99a]

We will be on the jewel in march......are you diamond C&A members? If so did you go to it or just the concierge club? How was te entertainment on your cruise? Have read various comments on it! Thanks!

[mein18]

We will be on the jewel in march......are you diamond C&A members? If so did you go to it or just the concierge club? How was te entertainment on your cruise? Have read various comments on it! Thanks!

 

See my negative comments above on both the concierges club and conciegre.

Entertainment was par in the theater. No better no worse than otber RCI cruises but the live music in the Centrum can not be beat.

They had entertainment in theater 6 of 7 nights. 2 single comedians were so so. A comedy duo who were hilarious but that was aided by us waloing in a few minutes late and getting heck from them. One singer/impersonator who was fantastic and 2 nights of the dancers and singers. The singer and dancer talent was best we have experienced but we did not like the content.

 

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[bouhunter]

Most all of the other main course dishes throughout the week were poor to average at best. On the last night, we had the lamb shank and the turkey. .

 

Two reasons we've given up on MDR:

- poor to average food

- entrée choices - good example above, turkey. Really, I want to eat turkey on a cruise? I only eat it once a year at Thanksgiving and that's enough. Your lobster experience pretty much the same is ours the last couple times we had it on RCCL. Dry, tough, small. I can make better lobster at home with what's available frozen at Sam's Club.

 

On Jewel in March it will be Chops/Portofino for us 4 of the 7 nights. The other 3 we'll find something at Windjammer. Food will be as good as MDR and the atmosphere is better.

Edited December 8, 2013 by bouhunter

[39august]

Re: late snacks. Was the Seaview Cafe not open late? On our Jewel cruise last May it was open most nights till 1 AM.

[mein18]

Re: late snacks. Was the Seaview Cafe not open late? On our Jewel cruise last May it was open most nights till 1 AM.

 

Sorry yes it was open but not up for fried greasy sandwiches that time of night. We had the reuben and cuban one day and could not find any meat on them. People were raving about them so maybe we just got a cook having a bad day.

 

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[drarill]

Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise and opinions with us!!:):)

[mein18]

Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise and opinions with us!!:):)

 

It was difficult to post. Any previous RCI cruises would have been almost 100% positive comments. We loved the ship.

 

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[Emdee]

mein18- Is there still a Suite breakfast at Chops and how was it?

Glad to hear about the storage room in GS- am down the hall in a few weeks (1550)

[mein18]

mein18- Is there still a Suite breakfast at Chops and how was it?

Glad to hear about the storage room in GS- am down the hall in a few weeks (1550)

 

Chops does have the suite breakfast. Ate there once and was good. Pretty much same from room service which is what we normally do since we always had a morning excursion to get to.

 

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[jt1120]

POSITIVES:

 

Ship: The Jewel as a ship itself is now our favorite (short of the MDR food). Barely showing her age and we really liked the Centrum with it's nightly music etc. Everything is convenient to get to on the ship.

 

Hate to disagree but we were on the cruise right before yours and felt the old girl could really use a refurb. The furniture in the Centrum was extremely worn, the theater seats were also in need of reupholstering and the Solarium fake plants were blue instead of green. Other areas were very nice, but she most certainly is showing her age in several locations on the ship.

 

Food: Main course dishes in MDR on average were poor at best. Service in MDR. Waiter and Assistant Waiter were terrible.

 

 

Again, I have to totally disagree. We felt that the food in the MDR was much better than we expected. Everything we had was fantastic, and that would include the lobster. Also, our service was spectacular. So much so that we tipped them extra at the end of the cruise. I guess it was the luck of the draw for you. Some tables can get excellent service and the very next table have bad service. It happens. But as far as the food goes, we had some awesome meals in the MDR.

 

Concierges Club: TOO SMALL. It was to open at 5:00. If you did not arrive by 4:50, you did not get a seat. They did have an overflow up in the Vortex but the one time we went up there it was empty. One night we were in the Concierge's club standing around sipping on a drink. Concierge made no effort to do anything. This was prior to us knowing about the Vortex. The bartender came over and opened the door and said you can sit out there (in the centrum). We just went back to our rooms. Looked like everyone other than those arriving early would just stop in, grab a drink and leave. Was also a number of people saving seats for others arriving later. Was only around 16 seats in the club to begin with.

 

I can't comment on the Concierge Club because we used the Diamond lounge every night on deck 13 (Hollywood themed lounge) and there was never more than 12 people in there at any given time. I'm not even sure where the Concierge Club is on the ship. Must have missed that.

 

Internet and Internet Cafe: As expected, the Internet is very slow. Very few computers in the Internet Cafe were operational. Most of the time only 2 of the 5 computers worked. There is a secondary Internet Cafe on deck 4. I never tried those but did not hear any complaints other than you can not print from there. Computers in Concierge's Club were extremely slow. Was able to connect with laptop in the hotspot areas but unable to connect with my Galaxy S 4. Not sure if the phone connection issue is something in RCI system or in the Galaxy phones. Will need to resolve.

 

Totally agree. Some of the worst internet service we've ever experienced.

 

Late night food: Very poor availability. After 10:00, all you can get are pizza and hot dogs in the solarium unless you go through room service. No ice cream or sandwiches. They should at least make ice cream available. Saw some kids and parents searching for some only to be disappointed.

 

I totally agree with you regarding availability, but I'm enlightened to know that you at least found pizza because we didn't know that it was available at the Solarium (like, why would they offer it there in the first place). The Seaview Cafe on deck 12 was NO substitute for the Windjammer, which should have been open long past 9pm. This was one part of our cruise that really disappointed us.

 

Is this something new that RC is doing? On every cruise we've taken acrossed the six different lines that we've sailed, the "buffet" restaurant has always had food at least until midnight. And that includes MSC, and their food is not the greatest to begin with. This was the first time that we found it closed at 9pm. If this IS something that RC is doing, this definitely will reflect on our future cruise bookings.

Edited December 9, 2013 by jt1120

[cruisenfever]

We will be on the jewel in march......are you diamond C&A members? If so did you go to it or just the concierge club? How was te entertainment on your cruise? Have read various comments on it! Thanks!

Just to clarify, but Jewel does not have a Diamond Lounge as of yet, but does hold a nightly Diamond Event, in a designated lounge, where you will receive complimentary wine, champagne and soft drinks with all other beverages available at 25% off their normal selling price.

I can't comment on the Concierge Club because we used the Diamond lounge every night on deck 13 (Hollywood themed lounge) and there was never more than 12 people in there at any given time. I'm not even sure where the Concierge Club is on the ship. Must have missed that.

 

Is this something new that RC is doing? On every cruise we've taken acrossed the six different lines that we've sailed, the "buffet" restaurant has always had food at least until midnight. And that includes MSC, and their food is not the greatest to begin with.

The current Concierge Lounge on Jewel is located on Deck 10 mid-ship.

 

The WJ (buffet) on RCI ships has always closed at 9:00-9:30PM. Depending on the ship, there are other venues that offer food later in the evening.

Edited December 9, 2013 by cruisenfever

[mein18]

Again, I have to totally disagree. We felt that the food in the MDR was much better than we expected. Everything we had was fantastic, and that would include the lobster. Also, our service was spectacular. So much so that we tipped them extra at the end of the cruise. I guess it was the luck of the draw for you. Some tables can get excellent service and the very next table have bad service. It happens. But as far as the food goes, we had some awesome meals in the MDR.

 

You are the first of all the passengers we have spoken (30+ at least) to who was happy with the food in the MDR and especially the lobster. We quickly found out why the MDR was empty most of the nights.

 

Do agree that service is totally dependent on the Waiter. We just had a bad one.

Edited December 9, 2013 by mein18

[mjldvlks]

. . . felt the old girl could really use a refurb. . . .

 

Not to disagree with much of what you said, but "old" may not be the right adjective. Jewel is less than 10 years old and is the newest ship in the fleet after the Freedoms and Oasis class.

 

Having said that, when we were aboard in 2010, we did notice some worn furniture and the like. I know they have repair facilities on board, but I imagine it is hard to keep up.

Edited December 9, 2013 by mjldvlks

[mjldvlks]

. . . Do agree that service is totally dependent on the Waiter. We just had a bad one.

 

So did we on Jewel. But staffs rotate and another cruise or another table may have had a completely different experience. On our Jewel cruise I havce my first, and hopefully only, experience of seeing the waiter verbally berate a lady in our group for eating what he served her when he realized he had served the wrong person.

Edited December 9, 2013 by mjldvlks

[critterchick]

We are onboard now. Jewel has been our favorite ship since we first sailed her in 2006 and that hasn't changed. I haven't noticed much wear and tear in the venues that we've visited, but we haven't spent any time in the Centrum (one quick merengue and that's it's so far:D).

 

We had a few passengers miss the ship because of weather, and saw some boarding in St Thomas yesterday. I imagine that they had a mini-muster drill for them at some point. Late seating was pushed back 15 minutes to 8:45 because of the drill, but is at 8:30 for the duration, it appears.

 

We gave up on her MDR several cruises ago. The food has never been all that good, and the layout is such that it's noisy and chaotic. So far we have been to Portofino twice and are going to Chops tonight, then will retire to the Windjammer.

 

Jewel has gone to the electronic coupons. Chops had a special tasting dinner early on Day 1 and closed after muster drill, so they let us use our BOGO coupons on nights 1 and 2. Tonight the casino is offering a free match play coupon kith the purchase of any cocktail.

 

Although we are CL eligible, we are spending little time there - we love the Champagne Bar and so have decided to spend some money on our beverages. Patrick and Daniel are terrific. The CL is crowded at 5:00 but clears out at early dining. Hollywood Odyssey is the overflow and the VCL is the site of the Diamond Event.

 

The cappuccino maker in the CL is Broken, so we are allowed lattes and cappuccinos at Lattetudes (no iced drinks). It works out fine. Our JS only has a hot water kettle, which is the standard on JW. We've found it less messy to bring packets of instant coffee, and have done that even when we do get the coffeemaker.

 

What I love most about Jewel is that the crew really make you fell like you've come home. A favorite cabin steward works around the corner from our cabin, and we made a point of finding her - she sent us a floral arrangement last night to welcome us home. If only we could bring the dogs and cats, it would be an interesting idea!:D

 

Several crew we have spoken with have commented that there have been a lot of changes to the way they operate, and they didn't seem happy about them. I haven't gotten any specifics, but will see what I can find out.

[voyager89]

... felt the old girl could really use a refurb ...

 

Are you talking about the concierge? or who is the old girl? I guess I got lost at some point :confused: