Jewell or Adventure for Souther Caribbean?

[legion3]

Thinking of doing a southern out of San Juan.

 

I have not sailed on RCL since the early 1970's on the Song of Norway pre-stretch.

 

Which of these two ships would we like better? is one class better than another? We are a family of 4 and two are or will be 8 and 5. We don't usually do the mega ships and don't necessarily need all the extras.

 

One trip does : Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao

 

The other : Tortola, British Virgin Islands; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Roseau, Dominica; Bridgetown, Barbados

 

To be honest I wish St.Lucia was one of the choices.

The CCl Valor does both Barbados and St. Lucia. However Aruba and Curacao are two places of interest.

 

Any advice or help is appreciated. Thanks

[Clarea]

Seeing as you don't do mega ships, I'd choose Jewel because it's the smaller of the two ships.

Edited December 16, 2013 by clarea

[slyster]

I personally LOVE Aruba. I also love St. Lucia which is why we are sailing there again this November. You didn't say when you are sailing but both ships sail there in either October (I think it was one sail date) and in November a few times. We chose Nov. 1 because it also goes to Grenada which I think is a one time sailing (I only looked in the fall)

 

I really love either ship too. Adventure would be best geared towards kids, but Jewel works too. Adventure is bigger than Jewel though

Edited December 16, 2013 by slyster

[voyager89]

I had the very same dilemma, very same itineraries between those 2 ships. I picked the Jewel as you can easily go to the ports the adventure does on any other ships. Dominica and Tortola are not that common ports.

 

Plus the ship is newer and prettier IMHO.

[Cshgrand]

I wish I could help! We faced the same dilemma and ended up booking b2b. Jewel first week, adventure second. We fly to SJ next Friday!

Also travelling with a 5yo and generally prefer smaller ships too.

Would be happy to come back and let you know

We get back on 13th Jan and I will try to put together a little review of sorts.

[At Sea 4Ever]

For many different reasons I would pick the jewel.

[bouhunter]

Thinking of doing a southern out of San Juan.

 

I have not sailed on RCL since the early 1970's on the Song of Norway pre-stretch.

 

Which of these two ships would we like better? is one class better than another? We are a family of 4 and two are or will be 8 and 5. We don't usually do the mega ships and don't necessarily need all the extras.

 

One trip does : Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao

 

The other : Tortola, British Virgin Islands; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Roseau, Dominica; Bridgetown, Barbados

 

To be honest I wish St.Lucia was one of the choices.

The CCl Valor does both Barbados and St. Lucia. However Aruba and Curacao are two places of interest.

 

Any advice or help is appreciated. Thanks

 

I'd choose the one that goes to Tortola, Barbados and St. Martin. As for ships, for a "first timer" I'd generally recommend Adventure (we sailed her out of SJU 3 straight years). The promenade is nice and arcade, etc for the kids slightly better. But we were on Brilliance (Jewel clone) last year and will be on Jewel next March. I guess we like those ships too:) You really can't go wrong with either, if a friend was asking my advice I'd tell them to let the ports be the deciding factor.

[Ocean Boy]

For many different reasons I would pick the jewel.

 

Interesting. For many different reasons I would pick Adventure.

[DonnaK]

We were on Jewel in May. While it's a gorgeous ship, we thought that the entertainment was the weakest of any cruise we've been on. MDR service was also not up to usual RCI standards.

 

Those are just 2 of the main reasons I would choose Adventure over Jewel.

 

I would also like to clarify something another poster said. While Adventure would be the better choice if you have kids, it is NOT geared towards kids. It's a great ship for younger adults and more mature folks too.

Edited December 16, 2013 by DonnaK