Family needs advice re Jewel of Seas comparing to Adventure

[swedish girl]

Our family decided against Disney due to high cost. We heard that Royal Caribbean is family friendly. Our grandsons will be about 4 & 7 yrs old and we want to embark at San Juan for southern Caribbean on either the Adventure of the Seas or the Jewel of the Seas. I would appreciate any advice regarding these ships, young children traveling on them, good beaches for them and excursions they may enjoy. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Clarea]

You cannot go wrong with either ship. Jewel is due to be refurbished by late April 2016. Adventure's refurbishment comes mid-November 2016.

 

Jewel had a kiddie pool slide area aft, Adventure has no kiddle slides. Jewel has a covered Solarium, Adventure's is open.

 

Adventure is a larger ship, with the inside Royal Promenade that is unique to Royal Caribbean. Jewel has a single multi-deck centrum.

[4dachsies]

We cruised on the Jewel to Canada/New England and on the Adventure to the Southern Caribbean (see dates in signature line). I loved the Solarium on the Jewel...it was quiet, great for reading, etc. However, we missed things like the larger Promenade, ice show, etc that Adventure has.

 

Look at the floor plans and what there is to do on each ship - that should help you decide. If I had kids, I would opt for the Adventure. We do not have kids and always figure those with kids probably love the bigger ships b/c there is more to do.

[son3cruisers]

We were choosing between these two ships as well for Southren Caribeean 2017. We too have moved on from Disney due to price. We have taken many Disney cruises and loved them all!

 

We chose the Jewel for 2017.

 

We sailed on Independence of the Sea, which is the same class as Adventure. Beautiful ship. Big. Great pools. Felt, at times, that we were in a " shopping mall" rather then on a ship. I love to see windows/ water / decks. Just our preference.

We also chose Jewel because of the ports on this this sailing. The Jewel, on our sailing had additional ports and that that is why we cruise!

 

Both ships have good reviews and are very kid friendly! Enjoy your planning.

Edited October 18, 2015 by son3cruisers

[Ocean Boy]

We were choosing between these two ships as well for Southren Caribeean 2017. We too have moved on from Disney due to price. We have taken many Disney cruises and loved them all!

 

We chose the Jewel for 2017.

 

We sailed on Independence of the Sea, which is the same class as Adventure. Beautiful ship. Big. Great pools. Felt, at times, that we were in a " shopping mall" rather then on a ship. I love to see windows/ water / decks. Just our preference.

We also chose Jewel because of the ports on this this sailing. The Jewel, on our sailing had additional ports and that that is why we cruise!

 

Both ships have good reviews and are very kid friendly! Enjoy your planning.

 

Not exactly. Adventure is a Voyager class ship and Independence is a Freedom class ship. Though the ships are similar, Freedom class ships are longer with a few extra venues.

[son3cruisers]

Not exactly. Adventure is a Voyager class ship and Independence is a Freedom class ship. Though the ships are similar, Freedom class ships are longer with a few extra venues.

 

oops!;)

[Koohiichan]

You cannot go wrong with either ship. Jewel is due to be refurbished by late April 2016. Adventure's refurbishment comes mid-November 2016.

 

Jewel had a kiddie pool slide area aft, Adventure has no kiddle slides. Jewel has a covered Solarium, Adventure's is open.

 

Adventure is a larger ship, with the inside Royal Promenade that is unique to Royal Caribbean. Jewel has a single multi-deck centrum.

 

When we sailed Adventure in 2012 & 2013 it had a kiddie slide near the kids club. It was most definitely small and geared toward the younger age group (not good for older kids like 9 - 12.) Did they take that out?

 

That said, I wouldn't choose based on this. The slide is small and only open at certain times. Not a deal breaker. I haven't sailed Jewel, but I'd choose the ship that is more likely to have kids on it and from what I've heard, that is Adventure.

 

Koohiichan

[Clarea]

When we sailed Adventure in 2012 & 2013 it had a kiddie slide near the kids club. It was most definitely small and geared toward the younger age group (not good for older kids like 9 - 12.) Did they take that out?

 

That said, I wouldn't choose based on this. The slide is small and only open at certain times. Not a deal breaker. I haven't sailed Jewel, but I'd choose the ship that is more likely to have kids on it and from what I've heard, that is Adventure.

 

Koohiichan

I believe the slide in that area is either gone, or not useable.

[racerxspeedy]

The Adventure still has the kiddie pool/slide now, but it may lose this area during the next renovation. This is what happened on the Navigator and Explorer when they added the Flowrider.

 

We love both ships. The Adventure has the big ship feel with more going on and a more diverse crowd. The Jewel has large yacht feel which appears to attract slightly older cruisers. Jewel in late March had very few kids - which was surprising.

[SheehanDJ]

You cannot go wrong with either ship. Jewel is due to be refurbished by late April 2016. Adventure's refurbishment comes mid-November 2016.

 

Crap, crap, crap. I thought it was the other way around.

 

Booked Adventure in October 2016 because it was just coming out of dry dock, oh well, price was too good to pass up.