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A wonderful week on the Jewel

leepep
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leepep

leepep

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We just returned from our June 28th cruise on the Jewel. I really like this class of ship...my favorite so far. We have sailed on the Oasis, Freedom, Granduer, Enchantment, and Monarch...as well as Celebrity and a few Carnival ships.

In San Juan, we stayed at the Hilton Caribe- I highly recommend- could see the Jewel in port from our morning walk near hotel- $26 cab fare from airport for the four of us- I traveled with husband and two children ages 18 and 20. Our cruising friends traveled with us- their children are same age as ours. Everyone enjoyed this cruise.

We chose this cruise specifically for the itinerary- having only been to St. Maarten of the five islands we visited.

 

Embarkation- the quickest ever!!!! We left hotel around 11:15- less than 10 minutes to pier- walked right into check in with absolutely no lines- got sea pass cards and picture and was on the ship in what had to be 15 minutes.

St. Croix- we went to Sandcastles on the Beach- I had read many positive reviews on this site...however, please know that it IS NOT a mere half mile from pier- we did attempt to walk- it is at least a mile and half- not a problem for our crew but would advise not to do this with small children and older adults- it is $6 round trip for cab fare- not bad- once there we paid $30 for 4 chairs and one umbrella- not a bad deal. It was disappointing that they were very under staffed- bar service was slow-drink machine was broken- the woman that checked us in at front desk also made our drinks- attempted to eat at restaurant and eventually gave up...maybe just a bad day for Sandcastles...beach was nice- but no amenities or extras- a nice beach and beautiful view of the Jewel in the short distance.

St. Maarten- we visited here last year on the Oasis- so wanted to go back to the Westin Dawn Beach resort- you can book through ResortForADay- just visit website- beautiful beach and hotel and a short 10 minute cab ride from pier- I believe fee was around $169 for the 4 of us- that got us a nice hotel room for the day and a $20 resort credit- they provide towels so no need to bring from ship- nice beach bar and restaurant- and more expensive options indoors- also a nice gift shop and bar area- casino as well- closed during the day

Antigua- booked the Catamaran and Lobster Lunch through Royal Caribbean excursions- WONDERFUL DAY-there were about 75 people on this trip but it never felt crowded- a great tour to a beach- lots of good info on sites and wonderful way to see a good bit of the island- we spent one hour on that beach before boarding and going to another beach- we did not like it as well but the views on the way were amazing- there they fed us a lunch of lobster, rice, salad, and bread. There was an open bar for the duration of the trip once we landed at the first beach. This excursion was $109 for two people but lasted 6 hours- we really felt it was worth every penny.

St. Lucia- we booked Tree Top Zipline on our own- loved this- perfect for all ages- I believe cost was about $60 per person but included transport to and from- on the way back to the ship we were taken to several points for taking pictures with breathtaking views- excellent driver and guide. The zipline run included 11 different runs- this trip lasted probably 4-5 hours- zipline run was about an hour- took awhile I thought to get everyone harnessed and ready to go

Barbados- we booked another resort through ResortForADay- Hilton Barbados- loved, loved and loved this resort!!!! Beautiful hotel- several pools, long stretch of beach and lunch was included- no hotel room for this option-cost was $60 per person

 

On board- we had a D2 balcony room- 9616- our room did have a flat screen- our friends next door did not- typical balcony room- enjoyed the piano entertainment in Schooner Bar- Kelly- piano and singing with several different themes for each evening- we did go see the comedian- enjoyed him very much- did not see the other production shows- did not choose this cruise for entertainment- our young adult children enjoyed Quest and The Love and Marriage show- They did a wonderful job having multiple venues to watch the World Cup matches- above and beyond what we expected as soccer fans.

Food- I will say- by far the best dining experience we have had in the main dining room- food was very good and so was our service. We did my time dining and had no issues with reservations. We also dined at Chops and Portofinos- both were excellent

Drink Package-was purchased by 3 out of the 4 adults with us- I am sure that none of them broke even- you really need to purchase 7 drinks a day to break even and with such a port intensive cruise- we were not on the ship as much as past cruises- now remind you that we are all in our early fifties- so many the younger folk would do better- will not do on our next cruise for sure- but great if you enjoy drinking more than us! We did the $55 per day package and it did include bottled water and the soda package

Debarkation-the longest I have experienced in 9 cruises- not sure what was up- we had over an hour delay as we awaited our scheduled departure- assuming customs was moving slowly or delayed by some event- we were not told-So- as always advised on this board- DO NOT SCHEDULE AN EARLY FLIGHT- we had a 12:40 flight and barely had time to grab some food at airport as security lines were extremely long

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lv2bcruzin

lv2bcruzin

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We have been on all Radiance class ships and Jewel is amazing. Great staff and itinerary. Your's had different stops then ours, but still the same result. A great cruise! Have you used ResortForADay before? Haven't heard of them, but that is definitely something we are going to look in to.

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slyster

slyster

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Thanks for the report! We are sailing her in a few months. We will be visiting St. Croix, St. Lucia, and Antigua among two other stops as well.

 

We have a non stop 12:55 flight and I was a little nervous about it especially knowing how busy San Juan can be. We will need to decide of self disembarkation is something we need to do. Thanks again!

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Lazz

Lazz

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when we got off the ship june 14th, we were curbside with in 10 minutes of walking down to the luggage..took a porter for 5 bucks who walked us thru a customs agent with one person ahead of us. those not using the porter standing in a longer line...we were schedule to get off at 845 but were told to leave as soon as we entered the bar..sorry that happened...

 

ps.too bad people cant leave politics off a cruise site

 

Same with us! Always spend the money on a porter. They know the routine and they know the customs agents. Best 10 bucks we every spent, but my wife said I should have given him a twenty!

 

This was our second leg of a B2B. Loved both cruises. The noon 4th of July balloon drop was great.

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xeriod

xeriod

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Sounds like a great vacation!

 

But...isn't it strange that it takes US Citizens so long to get back into the country, when illegals are bused in "en masse"....gotta make you think!

 

That was funny, nice to see humor on a cruise site

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LEtue

LEtue

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Sounds like a great vacation!

 

But...isn't it strange that it takes US Citizens so long to get back into the country, when illegals are bused in "en masse"....gotta make you think!

 

Yup, you got to love that!

 

Thankfully, I have never had a bad experience in San Juan but I always elect self disembark.....

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BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

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To the OP, nice observations. To the disembarkation, I can only relate to having cruised one time out of this port. Our disembarkation took a little more than an hour of waiting in line. Part of that is we had a 3pm flight and purposely were one of the last off the ship so the lines were long. People have reported if you hire a porter they can speed you through. This is probably true, it appeared true to me, but again we weren't in a hurry so we avoided their calls, but after a few minutes that line got just as long as the others. The problem I did see was the custom lines extended down the middle of the building. Bags were put in areas identified with your group number. We were group 10 and I found our bags quickly and the line just happened to be about that far back so we jumped in. Later as the lines got longer, people would come off the ship and get bags from up front and just merge in without getting in the back of the line. I wasn't in a hurry so I let it slide, but when complaints were made I heard a lot of "No-comprendo" sounds.

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leepep

leepep

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We did use the porter- absolutely right- went straight to front of line!!!

The zip line I do believe is good for all ages and size- several older and larger size women were there the same time as us- do be aware that there were several areas that required climbing stairs- however the pace is slow

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Dragonkeper

Dragonkeper

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bup, i have them upstairs.. i can scan them in.. if you want to see an email address

 

I am sailing the same itinerary August 9. 33 days to go. I would also love the Compasses. gdb381 at Verizon dot net.

 

I am excited to be sailing out of San Juan. :D

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happydaz

happydaz

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I will be on the Jewel Agust 30th. Could I also get a copy of the Compasses. Thank You!!! Just joined and new to all of this. Do you need my email address????

 

MommaNeedsACruise -- I'm also sailing on the Jewel on August 30th.

There is a Roll Call for this cruise here on Cruisecritic that you can join. There is also a Meet and Mingle registration you can sign up for. If we have 25 people register for the Meet and Mingle, RCCL will have a get together for us on our cruise. The Roll Call has been pretty quiet but hopefully it will pick up as we get closer to sailing.

 

Happy Cruising!:)

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