Jewel of the Seas Review 3-10 May So. Caribbean

[surfnsun]

Hello to all you cruise addicts and first timer cruisers. My husband and I just returned this evening from Jewel of the Seas 3 May sailing and I just can not wait to share our experience with all of you.....because....I deeply appreciate all of you that posted reviews before our cruise as they were helpful and fun to read and I want to return the favor... because....it's fun for me to relive the experience...and because...while others may post a full review as well, others can take this opportunity on this thread to chime in and add to the experience. (Don't let me down here Docsdrillers, dancer19, Lpn6268 and monicuba23 and any others that get the urge to participate).

 

Ok....with that out of the way, I'll begin and it's likely to take me few days to get this done. So, sit back and relax and I hope you enjoy our cruise experience and that you find it helpful in planning and anticipating your future cruise experience!

Edited May 11, 2014 by surfnsun

[sjpsoccer14]

I am looking forward to reading all about your trip! I will be on the Jewel next March and I am reading everything I can to help pass the time. Thank you so much for posting about your experience.

 

 

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[surfnsun]

I am looking forward to reading all about your trip! I will be on the Jewel next March and I am reading everything I can to help pass the time. Thank you so much for posting about your experience.

 

 

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It's my pleasure! March is a great time to cruise! :)

[surfnsun]

About Us: We are husband and wife married 35 years with two grown children and three grandchildren from the DC/Baltimore area. We are in our mid (that would be me) to later (that would be DH) 50's. DH is active constantly and me not so much (unless you count this cruise and ohhhhhh I was more active that I thought I would be and it was a very good feeling to "feel" so alive, considering I have a desk job. Anyway...we've cruised a little, compared to some (see my signature for more info).

 

About the Ship and Itinerary: Jewel of the Seas 3 - 10 May Southern Caribbean. Departing from San Juan to St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados and a sea day before returning to San Juan. We chose this cruise because the itinerary was very similar to our first cruise together on Princess 10 years ago. I loved the fact the Radiance class ships give you a "feeling of connecting with the seas" compared to some other class ships. We always cruise with a balcony as we love it and chose our first aft balcony this cruise. We had aft stateroom 9658. More on that later.

 

Excursions: We had planned excursions on every port. Actually, a long story, but we had to change a few of our excursions at the last minute as I started having issues with the disks in my neck (must be a mid-50s issue) just a few weeks before the cruise and the doctor advised against water/boat excursions so we cancelled a couple of water excursions. We sorta rebooked some later. More on that during the review. I'll go into detail on the excursions as for us, they really made our trip great!!! Port intensive itinerary so the ship was great and planning the right excursions was equally, if not more, important.

 

I'll add a few editorial comments as I go through each day. OK? :D:)

Edited May 11, 2014 by surfnsun

[surfnsun]

I won't bore you too much about packing several days before, not sleeping for at least two nights before, avoiding work on the last work day, watering all the plants before we left, making sure there was gas in the car, asking the neighbors to get our mail, calling the credit company and letting them know we would be travelling, setting the house alarm, making that last phone call to family....yada, yada, yada...are you bored yet? LOL :)

 

We took Southwest non-stop to San Juan to arrive 30 April which was three days...yes...THREE days before our 3 May departure! Actually, we had planned to fly out 1 May. We booked the cruise last August and a week before the cruise the anticipation got to us and we changed our flight and hotel to leave a day early on 30 April. Woohoo!!! :)

 

We stayed in Old San Juan at our all time favorite hotel....El Convento hotel right in Old San Juan.

 

Next up...pics of flying into San Juan and El Convento.

Edited May 11, 2014 by surfnsun

[surfnsun]

The proper way to fly into San Juan is to sit on the left side of the aircraft while facing forward as you will get a great view of Old San Juan and the Condado area. See what I mean in this pic? El Morro fort is to the far left and Condado to the far right with Old San Juan sandwiched in between and you can even see a cruise ship at the port about the middle of the photo.

 

[dancer19]

That was fast!

[surfnsun]

That was fast!

 

Hi there! Yep...couldn't wait! We should all be in bed, EH?! LOL The only thing I've unpacked is the camera and actually, I never really packed that. More important than even our passports. :)

[At Sea 4Ever]

About Us: We are husband and wife married 35 years with two grown children and three grandchildren from the DC/Baltimore area. We are in our mid (that would be me) to later (that would be DH) 50's. DH is active constantly and me not so much (unless you count this cruise and ohhhhhh I was more active that I thought I would be and it was a very good feeling to "feel" so alive, considering I have a desk job. Anyway...we've cruised a little, compared to some (see my signature for more info).

 

 

 

About the Ship and Itinerary: Jewel of the Seas 3 - 10 May Southern Caribbean. Departing from San Juan to St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados and a sea day before returning to San Juan. We chose this cruise because the itinerary was very similar to our first cruise together on Princess 10 years ago. I loved the fact the Radiance class ships give you a "feeling of connecting with the seas" compared to some other class ships. We always cruise with a balcony as we love it and chose our first aft balcony this cruise. We had aft stateroom 9658. More on that later.

 

 

 

Excursions: We had planned excursions on every port. Actually, a long story, but we had to change a few of our excursions at the last minute as I started having issues with the disks in my neck (must be a mid-50s issue) just a few weeks before the cruise and the doctor advised against water/boat excursions so we cancelled a couple of water excursions. We sorta rebooked some later. More on that during the review. I'll go into detail on the excursions as for us, they really made our trip great!!! Port intensive itinerary so the ship was great and planning the right excursions was equally, if not more, important.

 

 

 

I'll add a few editorial comments as I go through each day. OK? :D:)

 

 

Following! Taking this trip in October. Did you also visit St. Croix?

 

 

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[surfnsun]

So....Husband and I had a queen room booked starting 1 May and when we changed to arrive on 30 April, they could offer us only a twin room at the same mid-week special rate. After 35 years of marriage, that might....ahem...work. After all, this is a previous Convent turned into a hotel with a church next to it...nuff said. Anyway, we were pleasantly awarded with a deluxe double room upon check-in. Very roomy. I'll just post a few pics and if any of you want more pics of El Convento, just let me know. Ponce Deleon is buried in the church and several have been married there, including JLo.

 

Lobby area:

 

 

Deluxe Double:

 

 

[surfnsun]

Following! Taking this trip in October. Did you also visit St. Croix?

 

 

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At Sea 4Ever!? Ohhhhhhh, I LIKE that screenname! :) Sorry, but we did not visit St. Croix. If you visited the other islands, I will be biased and say you will like some of our experiences on the other islands and others will chime in to add, I'm sure! :)

[At Sea 4Ever]

At Sea 4Ever!? Ohhhhhhh, I LIKE that screenname! :) Sorry, but we did not visit St. Croix. If you visited the other islands, I will be biased and say you will like some of our experiences on the other islands and others will chime in to add, I'm sure! :)

 

 

I'm excited about your review! I've been waiting for a Jewel Southern to pop up!

 

 

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[surfnsun]

I'll just start this by quoting the saying "to each his own". Personally, we love El Convento for the location and the experience of a small, luxury hotel. It is right in the heart of Old San Juan and we like that experience and "culture". The rooms are luxurious and you feel pampered just being in the room. They have a wine and cheese social that is no additional cost to participate every evening for one hour starting at 1800. The rooftop pool is super small (maybe 10x12) and there is one Jacuzzi. So, don't go here for the pool and beach experience. Although, they do have an agreement with two properties (LaConcha and Courtyard) to use those facilities via shuttle. We had so much fun touring Old San Juan we didn't even use the beach option and we had PLENTY of pool and beach once cruising.

 

A view from the room balcony:

 

 

A view from the rooftop terrace:

 

[surfnsun]

I'm excited about your review! I've been waiting for a Jewel Southern to pop up!

 

 

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So glad to help! We had several on our roll call that will probably do their own full review, so you will have a lot to read! Yay! :):D

[surfnsun]

and return tomorrow after some much needed rest with these two photos because I think they are TOTALLY AWESOME. They are awesome either because I actually might have figured out my new camera (thanks to a crazy dentist from Canada named docsdrillers) or I really don't know what the heck I'm doing and they are just "different' type of photos. Anyway, these are two of many pictures I took while on a stroll just down the hill from El Convento along the fort walkway around the area of the Governor's mansion. Will post more from the walkway later as it was one of my most favorite places for a stroll at night.

 

Ok...maybe just three:

 

 

Check out the shadows on the wall and the moon:

 

 

And this lovely creature looks as relaxed as I felt:

 

[Platypus_72]

Subscribing! :) We will be sailing on the Jewel in January. Looking forward to reading about your experiences

[donovan52]

Great start! Can't wait to hear more. We will be on the Jewel for the first time in December.

 

I love the picture of San Juan from the airplane!

[surfnsun]

Subscribing! :) We will be sailing on the Jewel in January. Looking forward to reading about your experiences

 

Great start! Can't wait to hear more. We will be on the Jewel for the first time in December.

 

I love the picture of San Juan from the airplane!

 

Thanks to you both for your comments and welcome to our journey! :)

[surfnsun]

We had one large suitcase, a carry-on that we ended up checking in for our convenience and a hang-up bag. I thought that pretty good for a 10 day vacation (three days pre-cruise) and 7 day cruise. It didn't take long to realize while DH packed very well, I had again packed too much. But that was ok because I like having a few options.

 

We also carried a medium sized backpack, I sometimes carried a small black purse and I always carried my camera case that could also serve to carry some cash and a few other small items as it has an outside zip pocket.

 

Taxi ride fare from airport to Old San Juan area was $19.00 oneway and they automatically add $1.00 per bag and ours had another $2.00 added although I don't recall now why and it made sense when I could remember. :rolleyes: So our fare was $24.00 before I added a tip. I have the full list of taxi fare charges to the various areas if someone would like me to post a photo, please let me know.

 

P.S. I also have all the cruise compass and will scan and post those as I go through the review.

 

DH had fun reading the fight magazine on the flight to San Juan and enjoyed the article on how to fold a bill to look like a fish. He practiced a few times and would leave tips like this throughout our vacation. A fun little touch. See the pic below? Sorry it is so blurry:

 

[mefinephotoman]

Also subscribing! We are staying at El Convento for 3 nights then doing the deep southern route in September. I am looking forward to seeing your review.:D

[surfnsun]

After our very smooth check-in with the friendly staff at El Convento, we took very little time to unpack a few items and headed out of the hotel with my camera that never left me (even while in the water) and went straight up the hill toward El Morro. After a quick stop at an outdoor open concept bar for a margarita, we walked around El Morro area (lots of photos on that soon) for a quick look before heading to St. Germain restaurant for linner (that is brunches big brother lol). St. Germain has fantastic food that was just right for a lighter, fresh choice after a long travel day. And they make a great mango mojito. Our choice of food was a skirt steak sandwich with fresh avocado on ciabatta bread with a green salad with flavorful, light dressing.

 

Highly, highly recommend St. Germain and our friendly French waiter named Aurelien did not pay me to say that. :D

 

I will comment here that while the weather was stunning with bright sunshine our entire 3 pre-cruise days in San Juan, it was also very warm and humid. It was good there was a constant, stiff breeze in many areas.

 

Photo of the inside of St. Germain restaurant. Cute, quaint, comfortable place, right?:

 

[surfnsun]

Also subscribing! We are staying at El Convento for 3 nights then doing the deep southern route in September. I am looking forward to seeing your review.:D

 

Oh my gosh!!!! You are in for a treat! We thought 3 nights pre-cruise was just right and the deep southern route is by far our favorite! Enjoy the review! Much more to come! :):)

 

Oh...and me not fine photo woman. lol My pics are not all that great but you should get the idea with some of my photos.

Edited May 11, 2014 by surfnsun

[mefinephotoman]

So far your images have been great! Thanks for the review!

 

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[surfnsun]

So far your images have been great! Thanks for the review!

 

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Awwww...thanks for the pep talk! :):):)

[emeraldcity]

Thank you for the review ... I'll be following along. I did the Southern route on the Serenade some years ago and we are considering it for 2016 (waiting for summer itineraries to post).

 

Isn't San Juan awesome! We went a bit more budget on our stay and were at the Plaza D'Armas a couple blocks from your hotel. It's an amazing experience to stay right in the heart of OSJ.