REVEW: Jewel of the Seas, 1/10 - 1/17

[printingchick]

We recently returned from a cruise on Jewel of the seas, visiting Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Croix. Here is my review.

 

ABOUT US:

We were cruising in honor of my son’s upcoming college graduation. We were traveling as a family of four, with son (aged 22) and daughter (aged 28).

 

GETTING THERE:

I booked this cruise soon after the itinerary released - nearly two years in advance. Finding affordable air fare from Boston, Massachusetts was a challenge. We needed to fly on embarkation day, due to my son’s religious restrictions. I was unable to find affordable non-stop flights, so we booked flights with connections through Miami (no potential winter-weather delays there, right?), and hoped for the best.

 

Departing Boston at 6:30AM made for a long and exhausting day, but all went smoothly and we touched down in San Juan ahead of schedule. There was a LONG line for a taxi outside of baggage claim. We took a chance and followed a porter to the upper level of the airport there was another taxi kiosk with NO LINE. While we did have to tip the porter, we avoided a line that would have delayed our arrival at the ship, so we decided it was worth a few extra bucks.

 

TIP: I think this is something you could do yourself. Just go up the ramp outside of baggage claim and locate the other taxi kiosk there.

 

It took about 30 in heavy traffic to get to the ship. The embarkation process was quick and easy and we were on the ship within 30 minutes of arriving at the terminal.

 

TIP: If you’re concerned about carrying wine in your checked baggage, there is a small wine and spirits store right inside the terminal. Selection is VERY limited, but prices are fairly reasonable.

 

We opted for MyTime Dining, but made a standing reservation. We were assigned a table by the window. I know some people feel that making reservations defeats the purpose of MyTime, but for me, it combines the best aspects of the two dining styles. It allows us to choose our own dinner time and table mates, while allowing us the consistency of the same table and waitstaff throughout the cruise.

Edited January 20, 2016 by printingchick

[printingchick]

THE SHIP:

 

• It’s true, the drinks on the ship are now outrageously priced. A frozen tropical cocktail will cost you over $12 plus gratuity.
  
  • TIP: Stick to the drink of the day ($7.95 + 18% gratuity) or visit the stand by the stage near the main pool where they have two frozen drink selections each day that sell at 2/$10. We drastically reduced our consumption of tropical cocktails on this cruise due to the cost.
    

  [*]Towels were available at the check-out stand near the main pool, just outside the solarium pool. We did not need to present our Sea Pass cards to get a towel. However, if you wanted to take towels OFF the ship, you did need to sign them out by having your card scanned. They were available on Deck 2, just before the gangway.

 

A FEW NEGATIVES:

 

• While we had no issue with our cabin, there was a constant sulfur odor in the kids’ bathroom. Luckily they’d brought air freshener, but it really only masked the unpleasant smell. In addition, the water in their sink and toilet water was very yellow. (We both had ocean-view cabins on Deck 3, just forward of mid-ship.)
  
• Announcements could not be heard without opening the cabin door. Last time we cruised on Jewel, we were told the volume control (located just outside the bathroom door) was broken in our cabin. On this cruise we realized the problem was not limited to our room.
  
• We were not treated to ANY towel animals – not even ONE. In 2013, we got one every night except on Embarkation Day. It was a disappointment about which we will be constantly reminded when we watch our “Cruise in Review” DVD, which includes short segments illustrating the building of about a half dozen different towel animals.
  
• The water from the ice/water dispensers outside the Windjammer was disturbingly yellow. After a few days, they shut the machines down.
  

 

SOME SHIP POSITIVES:

 

• The ship was beautiful and in incredibly good shape. Given her age, she didn’t seem worn at all.
  
• I love all the glass on the Radiance Class ships, as well as the outdoor dining at the Windjammer.
  
• Our waitstaff – Carlos and Socorro, and head waiter, Alicia – were fantastic!
  

[printingchick]

 

 

With our dining room staff.

[printingchick]

ABOVE AND BEYOND:

My son converted to Judaism several years ago and is very strict about his religion. He ordered the kosher meals on the ship, which we expected to be pre-packaged, TV-Dinner type meals. We were unsure what he’d do about breakfast and lunch, but assumed he’d have to rely heavily on fruit, cereal, yogurt, etc. for those meals. The first night in the main dining room, the executive chef was brought to our table to discuss my son’s restrictions. To some, kosher simply means avoiding certain foods or failing to mix meat and dairy products. To others, it means cooking on separate cookware and serving on disposable dishware/utensils. My son falls into the latter group. After the first night, Alicia, our head waiter, met with my son every evening to get his lunch and dinner preferences for the following day. Kosher lunches were delivered to his cabin daily. His special meals were served at the same time as ours each night. Everything was freshly prepared and delicious. Loaves of Challah Bread were provided nightly, along with pita bread and humus appetizer. They served him kosher deserts, although I do think most of those were prepackaged. I cannot emphasize enough how well my son was treated and accommodated. Royal Caribbean went well beyond our expectations.

 

ON BOARD ENTERTAINMENT:

This was a very port-intensive cruise and we all missed the vast majority of the entertainment. We really intended to see more shows, but sleep kept calling to us.

 

We did participate in our favorite events, the Quest and the 70s party, and both were GREAT! On our 2013 cruise, they scheduled these two events on the same night, which was awful.

[printingchick]

At the 70s party!

 

 

Edited January 20, 2016 by printingchick

[printingchick]

Next up, ports of call!

 

[ValerieJo]

Hi Mandy!

 

Great to see you. So happy to see your review. We are doing this cruise in March. Hope they get the water issue resolved.

 

Can't wait to read the rest of your review and see what you did in each port.

[printingchick]

Hi Valerie! So jealous of your back-to-back. Would love to go back to Dominica!! This itinerary fit my son's January school break the best.

 

So here are our ports of call. First up...

 

BARBADOS – Calabaza Catamaran / Stiletto Catamaran

On the advice of friends, Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor, the adults opted for Calabaza in Barbados. It was a lovely day, very relaxing. We toured the coastline, being offered a constant stream of food starting with banana bread, then humus and fresh fruit, and finally a freshly made hot lunch. The rum punch, topped with nutmeg, was unique and delicious. The two snorkel stops, both off Carlisle Beach, included swimming with the turtles, then snorkeling at three ship wrecks. The staff constantly snapped photos, which they ten post to a website for customers to view upon their return home. A nice idea.

 

 

The kids opted for the less costly Stiletto Catamaran, which did not include lunch but visited the same stops. They were also very pleased with their experience. Our catamarans passed each other at one point and we were able to wave hello!

[printingchick]

 

 

[printingchick]

Next stop...

 

ST. LUCIA

None of us had previously visited St. Lucia. The four of us decided to tour with Herod’s Land and Sea tour. We had high hopes for this excursion and were not disappointed. The city of Castries struck us as far more developed than expected (isn’t this a rain forest island?) and fairly dirty and littered. It didn’t make a great first impression, but it quickly got better. We first toured the island by land, stopping at many scenic points for photo opportunities. Once outside the city, the views were beautiful. Lunch at Herod’s mom’s (she seems to run a local patio-style restaurant) was delicious and you could see the Pitons from the patio. A brief stop to swim at the falls, and then off to the volcano. We opted to skip the mud bath and just walk up the street to view the volcano. A speed boat took us on a wild ride along the coast to the beach, where we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of snorkeling. St. Lucia is a gorgeous island.

[printingchick]

ST. LUCIA

 

 

 

 

[printingchick]

ANTIGUA – Paddles / RCL Catamaran & Reef Snorkel

The adults opted for a private excursion through Paddles. I’d done this same excursion about 10 years ago on a previous cruise and loved it. The day included a land tour by bus, followed by a speed boat ride to a floating dock near the mangroves for kayaking. After kayaking, we got back on the boats and traveled to Great Bird Island, which is quite possibly the loveliest place I’ve ever been. It’s a small, protected, uninhabited island with views that will take your breath away. There was an option to go snorkeling just off the island, but we chose not to. The conditions were reportedly very poor, due to a swell in the area churning up the seas. We remained on Bird Island instead. When the snorkelers returned, we reboarded the speed boats and returned to home base. The excursion is run by a British couple, who relocated to Antigua about 35 years ago. Their home and gardens are lovely and they treated us to banana bread and rum punch upon our return. (Also free wi-fi, for those who wanted it.)

 

The kids had chosen a catamaran and reef snorkel excursion, which was sponsored by Royal Caribbean. Based on their feedback, I would recommend against that option. They said the vessel was extremely crowded. There was apparently no limit to the number of guests they would take. The guide provided virtually no information about the island. They were very disappointed in their choice, especially when they heard how great our day was, doing an excursion costing only about $5 more than they’d paid.

 

 

Antigua is less lush than St. Lucia, but a remarkably clean island and very lovely in it's own right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[printingchick]

ANTIGUA:

 

 

 

 

I'm not a fan of snakes, but this member of the racer family exists ONLY on Great Bird Island. We were told it's rare to see them, so we were pretty excited to be treated to this sighting.

 

[Solarad]

Thanks for posting. We will be boarding her on Sunday!

How was the disembarking process? We have an early flight back to Ohio - 10:20am - and will try carrying off our own luggage for the first time.

[printingchick]

Disembarking went smoothly. Easy and quick.

[poma]

We are sailing on 1/31/16, doing the Southern Caribbean itinerary. Did you know anyone who did the beverage package? Was it worth the cost? Did you purchase the internet package?

Any other suggestions you have would be great!

 

Thank You,

Lorrie

[nolimits]

We where on same sailing.Our friends and children won Quest,they all had drink packages LOL.I found if your not a drinker on this itinerary the packages might not be worth it your not on ship on enough.The internet was everywhere but still not fast.I do agree the ship did look good and the staff very attentive,our last cruise was on Liberty and they seemed to think they where doing you a favor by doing there job.

[flamingo6363]

Does anyone have copies of the cruise compass for Jewel of the Seas Barbados route? We leave on 2-7-16

[printingchick]

None of us had the drink package. It's such a port-intensive cruise, we felt it wasn't worth the cost. We'd never have time to drink enough on the ship to even break even! And, as my 22-year-old son point out, on every island they're constantly handing you local beers or rum punch - FREE with your excursion. We purchased a few tropical cocktails, but mostly stuck to wine. The kids did a couple buckets of beer.

 

Our return flight left at 11:30 and we did NOT carry off our own luggage. Assuming no custom delays, I think a 10:30 flight would be perfectly feasible. The San Juan airport seems to be improving each year and is much less chaotic than it once was.

 

We were gold medal winners at Quest as well, but posting photos of that could prove hazardous to my health!! ;)

[CanadaRob]

We where on same sailing.Our friends and children won Quest,they all had drink packages LOL.I found if your not a drinker on this itinerary the packages might not be worth it your not on ship on enough.The internet was everywhere but still not fast.I do agree the ship did look good and the staff very attentive,our last cruise was on Liberty and they seemed to think they where doing you a favor by doing there job.

 

Internet is due for upgrade with drydock-when you note Internet was everywhere-you could get signal but just really slow?

I'm pretty sure the Voom upgrade in drydock will make a package worth getting but probably not now.

[printingchick]

ST. MAARTEN – Bernard’s Tour

Last time we were in St. Maarten, we rented a small boat from a company called Boathouse Rentals, and toured the island by boat. We considered doing the same thing this time, but that option became unavailable when we learned the company was in the process of relocating.

 

Based on reviews on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor, we opted for the non-beach tour with Bernards. Most of our excursions had been on the water, so we decided a DRY day might be nice.

 

Our tour guide was “DJ Dave” and he was GREAT! There were six of us on the tour. The other two (Miles and John, who were also on our Antigua excursion) were scheduled to do the tour version which included time at Orient Beach. Initially, the plan was to drop them at Orient while our family spent extra time in Marigot. However, Miles and John decided they’d prefer more time in Marigot, so we only made a brief stop to SEE the beach, then proceeded to Marigot. We ate lunch at Rosemary’s, recommended by our guide. As the group spoke over lunch, we realized that none of us was really interested in seeing the planes at Moho, so we asked DJ Dave if we could skip that stop. He was happy to oblige and we got to spend a little more time in Marigot. Essentially, we got a nearly private tour for $40! Dave said that, as long as everyone on the tour agrees with the stops and timing, the guides are happy to please.

 

Other highlights of our tour were Carl, the sea urchin man, who was a delight showing us various sea creatures. It was both entertaining and educational. We also visited the iguana guy, where we were able to hand feed a large herd (is that the right term?) of iguana.

 

I’d visited St. Maarten several times before, but had never seen the parts of the island I saw on this tour. I have an entirely new appreciation for St. Maarten. It was my son’s favorite port. I highly recommend Bernard’s and now understand why the company gets so many rave reviews.

Edited January 21, 2016 by printingchick

[printingchick]

ST. MAARTEN PHOTOS:

 

 

 

 

[nolimits]

I'm not sure what Voom is but the Inernet is usually not everywhere and In and out.This was best we ever had.

[printingchick]

ST. CROIX – Big Beard Buck Island Adventure

My son’s activities are restricted on the Sabbath, so the kids stuck close to port on St. Croix, visiting a near-by beach and walking around the town.

 

The adults opted for the full-day excursion with Big Beard, traveling with our team, Mike and Mike. We sailed over to the island, where a brief snorkeling tutorial was provided. We had a little while to explore Buck Island before proceeding to the reef. On route, we spotted a family of dolphins off the side of the boat – something our crew told us very rarely happens. (Once every couple of years as they described.) We were all thrilled to watch as the dolphins swam alongside the ship, close enough to get amazing photos. Then the captain said, “If you want to jump in with them, feel free.” It was difficult to get close to them in the water, and you could actually view them better from on the ship, but it was still exciting to be swimming in close proximity.

 

After our impromptu dolphin swim, we proceeded to the reef for some of the best snorkeling I’ve ever experienced. It was on par with the barrier reef in Grand Cayman.

 

After snorkeling, we boarded the catamaran to sail to another private beach where we would have a BBQ lunch and rum punch. It was clearly raining on the mainland, so we floated out in the water for a while, playing games and drinking rum punch, waiting for the rain to pass over. When we arrived on the beach, there were only a few rain drops left and our crew whipped us up a great lunch of burgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers and grilled Mahi Mahi. We ate lunch and watched the mongoose scurry around in the woods.

 

Initially, I was thinking we’d made a mistake booking the full-day, rather than the half-day excursion; because it didn’t leave us time to explore other parts of the island. But we thoroughly enjoyed the day and were ultimately really pleased that we’d opted for the full-day tour.

[printingchick]

ST. CROIX PHOTOS: