Jewel of the Seas ~ B2B ~ Sept. 6th and 13th ~ My Diary

[Canadian Tyler]

Hi Jane! Glad to see another great review from you. I've been checking since your return in eager anticipation! :)

Great ports on these cruises, looking forward to the rest.

[smeck]

Just found your review, I must be sleeping behind the wheel. Just starting to read, a perfect companion with my morning coffee.

[Oakman]

Jane-

Once again, thanks again for the great review and photos. I always look forward to your reviews and am very happy you retired so that we can now get them even more frequently.

I know how happy you are now that there is direct service to San Juan from your home. We had the same problem in Tampa. In order to fly to San Juan, we had to connect in either Charlotte, Atlanta. or Miami. Plus, the airfare was higher than flying NYC to San Juan. Recently, JetBlue( my favorite carrier), has started non-stop Tampa/ San Juan service, with times perfect for same day in and out service. Booked Adventure recently to celebrate.

As much as you enjoy the Radiance Class, have you ever considered a back to back on the Brilliance out of Tampa?

Looking forward to the second leg of your trip. Hoping we can one day meet on a Royal Caribbean vacation

 

Trip

Edited September 29, 2014 by Oakman

[CRUISEMAMI]

Yeah Jane; do the Brilliance B2B apr 2 and apr 6, so you can celebrate Bill special Birthday, with us!!!!

Love your review!!!

 

 

Sent with my iPhone

[Blasian]

Thanks for the great review! Are taxi stands available near Palm Beach?

 

RE:All too soon, it was time to get back to the ship. There were a few other ship folks at the beach today, so we hitched a ride back with them as their driver came back for them. We told their driver that ours wouldn't come back for us and he told us that was against the law. Anyway.....we got back without any trouble at all....and the folks from the ship happened to be from North Carolina as well!!

[maxs mom]

Tyler......always glad to see you following along!!

 

smeck......always good to have you following along, too. I hope the coffee was good!

 

Oakman.......love sailing from Tampa. As a matter of fact.....the last time we cruised on Jewel, it was a B2B out of Tampa for a Christmas and New Year's. Loved it. Hope to do that again before too long.

 

Hay Franca......we are keeping that on the radar!!

 

Blasian.....No there are no taxi stands at Palm Beach. They are not readily available there. Most of the taxi drivers will come back for you at a specified time. If not.....the restaurant there will call a cab for you......you may have to wait about 10 minutes......but in any case.....we have never had any problems getting back to the ship!

[maxs mom]

Wednesday ~ Sept. 10, 2014 ~ St. Lucia

 

Slept in just a little today. We decided to take a "day off" today and stay on board and relax. It was wonderful. I am in no way advocating staying on board in St. Lucia, though. It is a beautiful island with lots of fun things to do. We're just old and needed some down time!!

 

Here is my CL sail in view for today:

 

 

And from my balcony:

 

 

We had a leisurely breakfast.

 

Since John didn't bring any real formal wear with him this time, we needed to rent a tux for him for tonight's dinner. When Diego found out that we were eating with the Captain....he said he would take care of it.....no problem. Wow! Was that nice! So a tailor met us at our cabin after breakfast and took some measurements.....and the tux was there before lunch!

 

We went to see Inga, the Loyalty Ambassador. We only wanted to ask her a question about paying a final payment while on board and somehow or another we came out of there....booking the third sailing of the Anthem sailing out of Southampton on May 6th!!!!! What!!? That wasn't on our radar at all.....but she had some kind of a special deal on a certain category. She said the pillows would still be soft! Actually....for 16 nights....it really did work out to be a good deal. We'll see if we actually go on it.....there is a lot to consider. We need someone to go with us, for one thing!

 

We were also going to be due a crystal block on the next week's sailing, so we wanted to make sure she was aware of that. We have NEVER gotten one when we were supposed to get one. Anyway....she said no problem.....as a matter of fact....she handed us the block right then!! Inga was leaving the ship at the end of the week after being on the Jewel for like 7 years. She was going to the Serenade.

 

 

The CL was our next stop.....such a great place during the day to read, drink more coffee and relax. We set up our internet accounts while we were in there. OK.......the Jewel has not been refurbed, so they DO NOT have the great Wi-Fi that the other ships have. You must still find a hot spot on the ship to access the internet. Just be aware of that, so you won't be disappointed. It's a bit of a pain, especially if you've been use to the all over the ship wi-fi that most of the ships have now. Anyway....right outside the CL on Deck 10 is a pretty good place to connect, so that's exactly what we did for a few minutes.

 

 

Soon it was time for lunch in the WJ. It was not crowded at all.....really quite pleasant. I got something light because our dinner with the Captain was at 6.....meeting for drinks at 5:40......that's quite early for us!! So I got a great salad ......did I say the salad bar in the WJ is AWESOME?!! I paired that with just a little roasted chicken from the carving station.....delicious!!

 

On the way back to our cabin after lunch we noticed our neighbor's door had not changed a bit during the whole cruise. There was a "Just Married" sign on the door and a "Do Not Disturb" sign in the slot. That has been like that since day 1! Stayed like that for the whole cruise. On the last day, a crew came in and replaced the carpet in that cabin!! Never saw anyone coming or going!

 

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent as wonderful down time in the cabin. There was a beautiful sunset just as we were heading out to our dinner with the Captain.

 

[deadpool]

Thanks for the review. I'll be going on the Jewel in October. They told us we couldn't bring on our own water, but we could bring two 750ml bottles of wine. After reading your review, I guess we'll try to bring some water too, all they can do is say no!

[Lady Hudson]

Looking forward to hearing about your dinner with the captain. The Anthem sounds great -- we are doing 10 days on Quantum starting January 3. I seem to remember you were having some trouble with your next cruise certificates. Did you ever get that worked out? Katherine

[maxs mom]

We were to meet at 5:40 in the Champagne Bar for drinks before dinner with the Captain and the Hotel Director. It was very nice......also attending were Ken (from Norway) and his wife Pam. Craig (Pinnacle member that we met in the CL), Carmen.....another Pinnacle member from Miami, And Jan and Charlie from Connecticut (we have cruised with them before) so most of us knew each other already......that's always nice.

 

Here we are all dressed up and ready to go.

 

 

 

We stopped by a photo spot before going to the Champagne Bar:

 

 

The Captain is Dustin Catelsky from Canada. I think he is all of 12 years old! No.....seriously....he is 33 and such a nice guy! We thoroughly enjoyed talking with him and dinner was wonderful. First we made a dramatic entrance down the stairs from Deck 5 to deck 4 in the dining room. Then we sat down for a picture before ordering.

 

 

Everyone serving the table called us by name and were so attentive. The wine was flowing and they even brought John a beer. I had the shrimp cocktail, a Caesar salad, and a salmon entrée. Everything was wonderful. Dessert was just my very favorite.....mixed berries with ice cream in an almond basket. This was the only thing I dared take a picture of this evening!

 

 

After dinner we said our good-byes as the second seating guests started arriving for dinner.

 

Our next stop was the casino where I actually won $17.

 

Back to the cabin after that.

 

Edited September 29, 2014 by max'smom

[mikechass]

This has been such a wonderful find.

I always enjoy your reviews, and since we are going on Adventure in the New Year I am taking notes on your different outings...

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!

Its been fun to follow along.

Can't wait for the next instalment!!!

 

Chass

[Rockies Man]

Hi there,

 

Enjoying your review. We're on The Jewel in early November, in a suite. Wondering what hour the CL is open?

 

thanx

[CRUISEMAMI]

Oh my goodness; I remember Inga from back when!!! Very nice lady!

I got a bottle of Baileys , and some flowers from her, due to a problem with the concierge person, at that time!

Glad to see that she is with RC, still.

Maybe I'll see her when we go on Serenade!!!!

 

 

 

Sent with my iPhone

Edited September 29, 2014 by CRUISEMAMI

[maxs mom]

Thanks for the review. I'll be going on the Jewel in October. They told us we couldn't bring on our own water, but we could bring two 750ml bottles of wine. After reading your review, I guess we'll try to bring some water too, all they can do is say no!

 

Like I said.....we've never had any trouble with the water......we've been very lucky. It's worth a try. Good luck!

[maxs mom]

Looking forward to hearing about your dinner with the captain. The Anthem sounds great -- we are doing 10 days on Quantum starting January 3. I seem to remember you were having some trouble with your next cruise certificates. Did you ever get that worked out? Katherine

 

Well.......we stopped getting the NCC's after they lowered the OBC to $25. Pablo.....the LA on the Vision, told us to book two bogus cruises and then change it to other cruises later. Soooooo....that's what we did for these two cruises.....we moved the reservation numbers of the "bogus" cruises to these. The LA told us to! Well we did get the $100 OBC, but they didn't want to do it on the second leg.....had to go to the resolutions department. I understand they are not letting this happen much any more.....if you move an existing reservation to book another one....the OBC will drop to $25. Makes you not want to book on board any more!!

[maxs mom]

This has been such a wonderful find.

I always enjoy your reviews, and since we are going on Adventure in the New Year I am taking notes on your different outings...

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!

Its been fun to follow along.

Can't wait for the next instalment!!!

 

Chass

 

Glad you found it!! You will enjoy the Adventure! It's a great ship.

[maxs mom]

Hi there,

 

Enjoying your review. We're on The Jewel in early November, in a suite. Wondering what hour the CL is open?

 

thanx

 

Thanks! The CL hours are 5:30-8:30....HOWEVER.....the last drinks are served at 8:00...then the bar is closed. Don't worry.....you are topped off and can take that last drink to dinner. On the first night the CL closes at 7:30 because of the Muster Drill.

[maxs mom]

Oh my goodness; I remember Inga from back when!!! Very nice lady!

I got a bottle of Baileys , and some flowers from her, due to a problem with the concierge person, at that time!

Glad to see that she is with RC, still.

Maybe I'll see her when we go on Serenade!!!!

 

 

 

Sent with my iPhone

 

That's right! We'll probably see her on the Serenade! I didn't think about that. She was very nice.

[jo24]

Oh I do hope you do Anthem from Southampton, not just for another fantastic review but because you will be sailing from my closest cruise port! I live an hour from Southampton so would be great to see your take on things :)

Edited September 29, 2014 by jo24

[erin_cruisers]

Hi Jane. :)

I've been enjoying your review.

We also did a B2B but our first week co-incided with your second.

I think we met briefly at sailaway and the M & M.

 

We too enjoyed our time on the Jewel. Our activities were also limited - to 3 all-day Catamaran trips, including our favorite of all - the Champagne & Lobster trip in Antigua.

 

Otherwise, like you, we took it easy in all the other ports - browsing the shops, or hitting a beach.

I think we will try out your resort idea for St. Kitts. It sounds like a deal.

 

We got a kick out of Captain Dustin's daily reports (when we could hear them that is).

He sounds even younger than his age on the air, and is very soft-spoken.

 

Like you, we've opted not to do the NCC any more. We have to book open sailings, since we don't know when our vacation will be, and now the very low OBC just doesn't make it worth it.

Edited September 29, 2014 by erin_cruisers

[heatherb1958]

Hi Jane ,

another great pictorial review, thank you.

I cannot believe this again though, once again you post a picture of someone we know yet we have never met!!!! First it was Tamer , then Bryce and now Ken. By the way, Ken and Tamer are cruising friends, Ken was introduced to me by him.

If you take up Franca's suggestion of the B2B on Brilliance we will meet for sure then:D

[RoyalPrincess0622]

Girl!!!! That is amazing! Why didn't you come and say hello!!? We were in the airport a long time that day!

 

We had Kasa almost every night and he was fabulous!

 

One day about mid cruise' date=' this couple was sitting in the CL in the morning and Diego walked in and went right over to them and said, "Good morning Mr. & Mrs. (whatever). I haven't seen you yet."...and blah, blah, blah.....Apparently that was their first time in there. Amazing. Yes.....he does find your pictures and he knows who's supposed to be in his lounge! One of the best Concierges in the fleet for sure!![/size']

 

I know, I should have stopped to say hello! We had just arrived and I saw you walking, and I literally said out loud "Oh my goodness, I know her" LOL. My family thought I was crazy. :) It was also a little hectic because I kept getting text messages and phone calls from our friends that we were sailing with. They had landed 20 minutes before us and we were going to meet them to ride to the ship together, and they kept texting/calling trying to figure out where we were.

 

Thanks for letting me know about Diego and the pictures. I wish we would have spent more time in the CL but our friends couldn't come in and we wanted to hang out with them. I hope I can meet up with Diego again on a future sailing.

[maxs mom]

Hi Jane. :)

I've been enjoying your review.

We also did a B2B but our first week co-incided with your second.

I think we met briefly at sailaway and the M & M.

 

We too enjoyed our time on the Jewel. Our activities were also limited - to 3 all-day Catamaran trips, including our favorite of all - the Champagne & Lobster trip in Antigua.

 

Otherwise, like you, we took it easy in all the other ports - browsing the shops, or hitting a beach.

I think we will try out your resort idea for St. Kitts. It sounds like a deal.

 

We got a kick out of Captain Dustin's daily reports (when we could hear them that is).

He sounds even younger than his age on the air, and is very soft-spoken.

 

Like you, we've opted not to do the NCC any more. We have to book open sailings, since we don't know when our vacation will be, and now the very low OBC just doesn't make it worth it.

 

Hi Glenn! Very nice meeting you guys as well! Glad you had a great time, too. You can't go wrong with Catamaran trips. We've done quite a few of those. Captain Dustin's daily reports were a hoot, weren't they!!

[SherriZ366]

We were to meet at 5:40 in the Champagne Bar for drinks before dinner with the Captain and the Hotel Director. It was very nice......also attending were Ken (from Norway) and his wife Pam. Craig (Pinnacle member that we met in the CL)' date=' Carmen.....another Pinnacle member from Miami, And Jan and Charlie from Connecticut (we have cruised with them before) so most of us knew each other already......that's always nice.

 

Here we are all dressed up and ready to go.

 

 

 

We stopped by a photo spot before going to the Champagne Bar:

 

 

The Captain is Dustin Catelsky from Canada. I think he is all of 12 years old! No.....seriously....he is 33 and such a nice guy! We thoroughly enjoyed talking with him and dinner was wonderful. First we made a dramatic entrance down the stairs from Deck 5 to deck 4 in the dining room. Then we sat down for a picture before ordering.

 

 

Everyone serving the table called us by name and were so attentive. The wine was flowing and they even brought John a beer. I had the shrimp cocktail, a Caesar salad, and a salmon entrée. Everything was wonderful. Dessert was just my very favorite.....mixed berries with ice cream in an almond basket. This was the only thing I dared take a picture of this evening!

 

 

After dinner we said our good-byes as the second seating guests started arriving for dinner.

 

Our next stop was the casino where I actually won $17.

 

Back to the cabin after that.

 

You and John look very spiffy. Neat how Diego took care of getting John a Tux. Looks like you had a great Captain's table.

[maxs mom]

Oh I do hope you do Anthem from Southampton, not just for another fantastic review but because you will be sailing from my closest cruise port! I live an hour from Southampton so would be great to see your take on things :)

 

I hope we can make it, too. It depends on airfare, health, traveling companions, etc. We'll just have to see. We have been to some of most of these ports, but some would be brand new for us.