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

[surfnsun]

Really, really enjoyed your review. A lot of valuable info gleaned which will indeed be used on our next cruise to the Southern Caribbean. Thanks!!

 

Thank you for your post and comments. I am really happy ur finding the information useful.

[surfnsun]

Thoroughly enjoying your review. I love doing these as well.....getting ready to start on three of them as we just got home from two weeks on Indy and one on Freedom. I know how tedious this is.....so thanks for taking the time! As a matter of fact.....I think your picture of the Indy in San Juan was the day we were there!

 

We have Jewel booked for two weeks in Nov./Dec. We've done this many times. Did you have Captain Gustavo on your sailing? We became buddies with him when he was Staff Captain on Freedom. Hoping that he will be on in December.

 

Well.....keep up the good work. This is very enjoyable!

 

Wow! I can not imagine doing a review of three weeks! I've not read any of your reviews but I certainly will now. They must be awesome because you described the job to a tee....fun and rewarding yet tedious. Your kind comments mean a lot especially coming from someone like you!:)

 

We didn't take the time to meet the Captain but I believe it was Gustavo.

Edited May 15, 2014 by surfnsun

[docsdrillers]

My padded cell/cabin was the highlight of our roll calls cabin crawl..boy were the beds and walls comfy:)

 

 

If u don't behave I'm going to tell everyone the cruiselines give u a padded stateroom.:D

[surfnsun]

Loving your review! Thanks for taking the time to do it.

 

We will be on the Jewel in August with a similar itinerary except we don't go to St. Kitt's but go to St. Croix instead.

 

We had Spencer's booked in St. Lucia but I had read so many mixed reviews on CC and many negative reviews on Tripadvisor, so we cancelled with him and booked a private excursion with a company called More Than A Cab. They had good reviews on TA.

Hope we made the right decision!

 

Thanks! So glad u like it!

 

I totally understand ur concern. Frankly, I think all companies have good days and bad with some more than others. We too crossed our fingers that all would be well. Don't worry and just roll with the punches if necessary. After all...in the end its really just a matter of...well....destiny. ;):)

Edited May 15, 2014 by surfnsun

[docsdrillers]

If you can find another company that use a water taxi then that's fine.However before you rule out spencer Ambrose tours,may I suggest you check to see how many ships will be in port with you that day..If it's only your ship and one other then I feel quite confident that you'll be absolutely fine with Spencer.

 

Don't be shy about sharing your concerns with him..you should get prompt replies and friendly correspondence.

 

Ask Peggy but we gave up on Cosol because their email communications were lacking and so was the information provided..it never jived with the questions we asked them.

Amit

 

 

Loving your review! Thanks for taking the time to do it.

 

We will be on the Jewel in August with a similar itinerary except we don't go to St. Kitt's but go to St. Croix instead.

 

We had Spencer's booked in St. Lucia but I had read so many mixed reviews on CC and many negative reviews on Tripadvisor, so we cancelled with him and booked a private excursion with a company called More Than A Cab. They had good reviews on TA.

Hope we made the right decision!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

That's good to hear. I know Bernard's has a great reputation online and is very responsive to email messages. I wouldn't speak bad of them, the changes they made might have made other's happy.

 

In 2013 when the AZ cruisers were doing their private tour we took a taxi directly to Orient for about 3 hours then to Maho.

 

I should put on Barbados on my review tonight. I'm glad you had more ship pics, I didn't bother with too many since I had a lot in my 2012 review. Your review is so much more positive than mine, but I swear I had a great time! I guess I'm getting to be that cranky old bastard everyone has in their neighborhood.

 

Bernards worked a special tour for us AZ cruisers last year in St Maarten omitting the stuff we didn't want to see and allowing us more time at Maho. They will work with you.

 

Bill: I don't think you are cranky. I think you know what to expect in a cruise and your vacation and when it doesn't live up to your standard, then you have a right to be cranky about it. That's kind of how I felt about our dining experience on the Jewel. Maybe to a new cruiser, it would be fabulous but I've had too many awesome cruises with superior service (Including on most of my Carnival cruises) that when it falls short like the Jewel, I recognize it and can't help but comment negatively on it. But in all honesty, if we had been at a different table, it likely would have been a different review of dining. I can't say all dining on the Jewel was bad. I think we just didn't get placed at the right table for best service which is sad when one of our members is diamond plus.

[surfnsun]

If you can find another company that use a water taxi then that's fine.However before you rule out spencer Ambrose tours,may I suggest you check to see how many ships will be in port with you that day..If it's only your ship and one other then I feel quite confident that you'll be absolutely fine with Spencer.

 

Don't be shy about sharing your concerns with him..you should get prompt replies and friendly correspondence.

 

Ask Peggy but we gave up on Cosol because their email communications were lacking and so was the information provided..it never jived with the questions we asked them.

Amit

 

Excellent point about the number of cruise ships in port and how that will increase the chances of any tour company having a "bad" day just because of the sheer volumn. Will also impact the number of folks at any of the beaches. So that is something to consider in planning a cruise.

[surfnsun]

Actually did get home early today, so starting the review again in just a few minutes and hope to finish it tonight.

[surfnsun]

DH and I have been to Barbados once before and took a taxi to a beach and pretty much just hung out at the beach (the names escapes me). Well into the early planning for this cruise, I booked a catamaran excursion with Calabazza and then once again cancelled not long before the cruise because of the issues in my neck and the potential for further damage with a water/boat excursion. Calabazza understood completely and refunded our deposit promptly. As of the cruise, I'd not booked a replacement excursion, which would have been some sort of island tour and I just couldn't decide. The fact that I was sad from having to cancel Calabazza (since they are the number one rated company for catamaran tours in Barbados) might have played a factor in my indecision. It appeared to me from my research that the most popular thing to do on Barbados is a water excursion and swimming with the turtles.

 

The nice thing about some catamaran or boat tour companies is they limit the number of folks to a comfortable group for the size of the boat. Not all of them do this and it's an important factor in planning your excursion, in my opinion. Also, if you go with a larger boat, you will likely be overpowered by all the people swimming on top of each other in a small area trying to find and swim with the turtles. And you want to go with a company that is familiar with the best timing of arriving at the turtle site so as not to be there with a lot of other boats.

 

So....when I very surprisingly woke up the next morning following our St. Lucia excursion with my head still firmly attached to my body and little to no pain in my neck (pun intended), I decided to take Doc up on his offer to join them on the excursion they booked with Elegance. (the number two rated tour company for catamaran excursions).

 

With fingers crossed, we talked to Doc right away that morning who felt we had a good chance of getting two seats on Elegance since we were the only ship in port and that increased our chances of them not being sold out.

[surfnsun]

Let me just pause a minute and talk about breakfast room service and eating on the balcony...

 

I'd brought a travel alarm with us on the trip but probably didn't really need it since we had breakfast on the balcony every morning except disembarkation day (when morning room service is not available). Because you specify on the room service form what time you would like breakfast each morning, that acted as our alarm clock because even at home I can't even get out of bed unless I know a cup of coffee is waiting for me in easy reach. The first morning and for one or two mornings as well, room service would call a couple of minutes before they delivered to let us know they were coming. Albeit, the call was not consistent every morning and sometimes it was just a knock on the cabin door.

 

The first several mornings, we had quite an appetite and usually went with the scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, and toast. This particular morning, we ordered the fruit plate and cereal, since DH couldn't button a pair of trousers he brought on the cruise when he packed it only about a week before and I was desperately wondering if my bathing suit still fit. :eek::eek::D

 

Pic of our room service breakfast by day six:

 

Edited May 15, 2014 by surfnsun

[surfnsun]

Forgot to mention the price of the tour was $100.00 per person and included all transportation, including the taxi ride to/from the port, unlimited drinks (alcoholic or otherwise), lunch and snorkel gear.

 

We left the ship and headed out to the specified taxi location to meet our taxi transport. Here is where the taxi called Elegance and they gladly accepted us for a total of 9 people, as very comfortable number and under the catamaran maximum occupant limitation.

 

The taxi left the port area and we took a ride over to the Hilton to pick up another couple (which was not too inconvenient because we got to see some of the island and Carlyle bay (which is where Bob's family went for the day and liked it). (Feel free to comment on that, dancer19) BTW, that was our Plan B if Elegance couldn't accommodate us.

[surfnsun]

We thought Elegance a beautiful vessel! She was lovely inside and out:

 

 

 

While I've seen larger catamarans and perhaps some more "fancy" and "upscale, we loved her and we also especially loved the crew! They were fun without being overpowering and gave superb service that was truly "Elegant".

[surfnsun]

While we waited for Elegance to launch, we were offered a beverage of choice in nice glassware and we all made introductions. We had a great group of folks that seemed to all have one thing in common...a desire for a relaxing day with good company while enjoying our time out on the beautiful waters surrounding Barbados.

 

The seas were little rough pulling out of the docked area and out onto the sea but calmed down as we got out on the sea and turned south to cruise along the coastline. Don't let that scare you folks. Again, Bonine works and don't be afraid to take it if you can because this trip was totally worth being comfortable.

 

Here is a quick video of Ashley (one of the two crew members) working the sails:

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcMe4bwxcVlB0Ih4l5k2TGxc#.U3UsbWdOXmI

[surfnsun]

In this photo you get a sense of the inside of the cabin. Comfortable and well stocked as you can see, although we were always served. The fact the service was so good and professional could be credited to the fact Ashley spent years working for a cruiseline. We had lunch out on the table in the back of the catamaran but I'm afraid I did not get a photo:

 

 

And this is the second crew member, Calley, husband of a husband and wife owned the business:

 

 

And here is Ashley talking about different sights along the coast:

 

[surfnsun]

Our first stop was to a shipwreck area where we swam among many fish. Before we got there, Ashley passed around a page of photos of the fish with their names so we could identify them. Here are a couple snorkeling videos:

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcNSGmnf33%2F8cIh4l5k2TGxc#.U3Ux02dOXmI

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcNd96M%2FIIQnSIh4l5k2TGxc#.U3UyTmdOXmI

[surfnsun]

In this photo, you can see the shipwreck in the background:

 

 

And here is a photo taken while I was in the water (without a rum punch, mind you :D) of the surrounding area and other catamarans. Elegance is the one in the middle of the photo wayyyy in the background so I was getting yet more exercise on this vacation. :eek::eek::

 

[surfnsun]

You can probably guess our next stop...yep!....snorkeling with the turtles. We were going to do that first but there were many people there and the Elegance crew smartly decided to come back after the shipwreck stop. I have many underwater photos of the turtles but a couple of videos will likely give you a better idea. You'll want to be a little patient while the turtle comes into view. Me chasing a turtle around underwater is not an easy task, although according to Doc, I displayed skills my son usually uses in MMA to get everyone out of the way to get to the turtle. :eek::D

 

Here is one of many of us around the turtle:

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcO0yWhX%2BJwQkIh4l5k2TGxc#.U3U18WdOXmI

 

Here is another of DH demonstrating his diving skills and waving to the turtle:

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcOqI%2BKfdFJ6Moh4l5k2TGxc#.U3U2jGdOVjo

Edited May 15, 2014 by surfnsun

[surfnsun]

After snorkeling with turtles, it was time for lunch. We pulled up to this beautiful beach where we ate, swam around the boat, and one from our group swam up to the beach and got closer to this property (which I can't remember what it is so you might have to help me here, doc) All Barbados beaches are public:

 

[surfnsun]

And DH had so much fun, he asked for a crew tshirt and they sold one to him. I bet no one has worn a towel from the cruise ship like that. :D:

 

 

And after a full day we returned to the ship and if you look really closely at mid-deck 9 you will see the North Dakota...oops...I mean Arizona Cruisers flag hanging from the balcony:

 

Edited May 15, 2014 by surfnsun

[surfnsun]

We soon, unexpectedly ran into Bob and family and they invited us to join them for dinner in the Tides dining room. We had a great time and the service was great and the waitstaff a lot of fun. Here is a photo of something they made for "Ba Ba Bob". Picture doesn't do it justice but they did a great job making a sheep in a field of grass all made out of food:

 

[surfnsun]

Sea day started out sunny and nice and got cloudier as the day progressed. This is the day I woke up at the crack of dawn and went about the ship taking many of the photos you've already seen while many folks were still sleeping. In fact, I was the first one to Lattitudes that morning.

 

According to my picture album order and contrary to what I said before, we did not eat on the balcony and went to Windjammers instead. I stuck with a somewhat healthy breakfast of veggie omelet (yum), marinated mushrooms and fruit...until I walked past the pastry display and grabbed one. Hey, it was a little one, see? LOL:

 

[surfnsun]

Besides the fact the weather was clouding up, we'd had plenty of water and sun over the last several days and we took this time to just walk around the ship and enjoy it. Here is a photo of the tshirt sale outside near the pool deck. Two tshirts for $20.00 and they went pretty fast. Lots of people bought these tshirts. One from each island we'd visited with a picture on it related to each island:

 

[surfnsun]

As we walked around, it dawned on me I'd purchased no souvenirs for family and friends. I was especially concerned I'd not bought anything for our three granddaughters, as the grandchildren are the most important, don't you know. :)

 

As this is a smaller ship, there is not a whole lot of shopping and I was not very optimistic I would find anything. I was pleased to find about twelve inch long, stuffed and colorful mermaid dolls that I knew they would just love. That along with the Caribbeo candy I purchased at the San Juan airport made for a perfect match.

Edited May 15, 2014 by surfnsun

[surfnsun]

There was a slot tournament at about 1230 that day and I decided to try my luck. So off to the casino we went and although it was fun, my luck failed miserably. Not satisfied, I headed over to a slot machine I thought sure to hit. :rolleyes: I stayed a little bit and then walked across the casino in search of another one sure to hit. So, I played that one for a few minutes and as I went to get up from the seat I reached over to grab my camera bag off my shoulder and it wasn't there!!! :eek::eek::eek::eek:

 

Let me tell you, folks, the look of panic on my face would have won as Oscar. My heart started racing, my stomach dropped to my knees, my legs got wobbly and somehow I found the strength to literally race over back across to the other side of the casino where I found my camera/purse case resting next to the slot machine I'd last played. (are you feeling my pain here, familygoboston?)

 

It was at that moment that I realized I'd hit my limit. I was done...more fried than an egg on a hot griddle....exhausted....worn-out...finished...spent...."just stick a fork in me" flat out tired.

Edited May 15, 2014 by surfnsun

[surfnsun]

I went back to the cabin and slept for a while. Dinner that evening consisted of three appetizers only. Escargot (of course! :)) shrimp cocktail and a small ceasar salad. I found the energy to pack and leave the bags out which are required to be out of your cabin between 7pm-11pm (unless you select self assist early the next morning). Not this worn-out woman! :)

 

So....I'm afraid I can't tell you much about sea day.

 

More to follow in a minute...