Jewel of the Seas May 13, 2016 Western Med review

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[gagirl7143]

Any idea who the Hotel Director is on Jewel?

 

 

Tony Curtis is Hotel Director.

[jlajr]

Last full day of the cruise, at sea

 

Click here to see all of the photos from day 12 of my trip.

 

After I woke up on Sunday morning, May 22, the 12th day of my vacation and day 10 of the cruise, I went up to the Windjammer Cafe aft outdoor seating area, which had become part of my daily routine. I believe I met my parents in the main dining room for breakfast at around 08:30.

 

Another gorgeous day.

 

I think my agenda for the day at sea consisted of one task: buying a pair of flip-flop sandals. One of the pair I brought with me broke the previous day. Or, to put it another way, the ship broke it. I didn't want to walk around the ship in the other shoes I had, leather hiking boots or leather loafers. I know, it was silly, and it was bad timing. On almost any other day of my vacation, I presumably could have bought suitable flip-flops on land for a lot less money. Oh well.

 

I had seen the night before that the on board shops were having their end-of-cruise raffle and sales today. The stores opened later than usual, at 11:00. So, I stood there like an idiot with dozens of other passengers waiting for the raffle and the shops to open. I didn't care about the raffle. All I wanted was a damn pair of flip-flops. Anyway, they finally opened for business a little after 11:00. I decided to get a slightly more-expensive pair because they were contoured. My feet usually don't fit comfortably into flat flip-flops.

 

I'll mention here my on-board SeaPass account. I don't remember receiving a statement for my SeaPass account in my cabin. Maybe I missed it. In any case, I know the amount and I know what it was for:

 

• About USD 20 for day 1 drinks
  
• USD 125 for dinner at Chops Grille for the three of us celebrating my parents' 50th anniversary, including a tip
  
• About USD 30 for laundry
  
• About USD 26 for the flip-flops
  

Total: About USD 200. That's pretty good for a 10-night cruise, if I do say so myself.

 

Allow me to expand on that laundry expense and note that Royal Caribbean's laundry services are exploitative:

 

• The line does not offer self-service laundry facilities on any of its ships.
  
• When they offered the USD 30 wash-and-fold special - on day 3, I believe, which is ridiculous for a 10-night cruise - I asked my mom to call Guest Services and ask them whether they would offer the special again later in the cruise. They told her no, and we filled up a wash-and-fold bag together. (The bag is not the same bag as the laundry bag in the closet, by the way.) However, Guest Services lied to my mom. They offered the wash-and-fold special again on day 9, I think, which is when I would have used it had they told her the truth. Because I was staying in Italy for five nights after the cruise, and because it did not make sense for me to spend USD 30 on a half-full wash-and-fold bag and then pay the per-item charges for non-wash-and-fold items I wanted them to launder, I instead paid a total of about USD 30 for per-item laundering of clothes I planned to need until the end of my vacation. (My mom paid for the wash-and-fold special earlier in the cruise as part of paying me back for the hotel room in Rome for the night before we boarded the ship.)
  
• The per-item laundry charges are a little ridiculous.
  

It would almost be cheaper to buy new clothes - on land not on the ship, although the prices for some items on board weren't too bad the last day or two - and recycle or donate them.

 

At 18:30.

 

I do not specifically remember anything else I did on day 10 of the cruise, except walk around the ship in the evening and watch the sun set, as evidenced by photos.

 

After sunset.

 

Therefore, I'll take this opportunity to provide my overall impressions of the cruise. Toward the end of the cruise, my father asked my mother and myself to rate it. I told him I don't compare one cruise or vacation to another and that I rate every cruise I've been on since 2012 a 10 out of 10. (I have been incredibly lucky with the weather on all of them. Also, I usually do not compare one event or activity in my life with another.) While mainstream cruising has some commonalities - that is, the reasons I choose to cruise in the first place - each cruise I take is nonetheless unique and I take each one under unique circumstances.

 

My parents had a Royal Caribbean gift certificate, so that determined the line. They also booked the cruise before informing me, and thus they determined the ship and itinerary. I waited a few weeks to book the cruise after the final payment date when I thought prices were relatively low. I initially paid over USD 2100 including taxes and tips for a two-bedroom, two-bath Family Ocean View cabin. While others might think otherwise, for me, that's a lot of money for a mainstream cruise experience, mostly because the single supplement was 200% for this cruise when I booked it, and I don't think that changed. I believe 200% is the single supplement for most Royal Caribbean cruises.

 

After Royal Caribbean refunded me USD 1000, I ended up paying over USD 1100, or over USD 110 per night, for a larger-than-standard ocean view cabin. A good price, for sure, but not out-of-this-world great.

 

My experience on Royal Caribbean was not significantly different or better than my experiences on NCL or Carnival. For what it is possible to pay, I think NCL provides me - again, me, not necessarily others - a better product and overall better value. (Or, at least, they did as of the last time I took an NCL cruise in late 2013.) But I'm a particular type of traveler:

 

• I travel solo. Even when I cruise with others, I stay in my own cabin and pay the single supplement if applicable.
  
• I prefer to take advantage of post-final-payment price drops.
  
• I'm willing to stay in almost any type of cabin anywhere on the ship - although I don't think I've ever stayed in a cabin below deck eight.
  
• I drink almost no alcohol on board.
  
• I almost never attend main theater performances.
  
• I usually prefer to watch the sun set and the ship sail out of port from an open deck as opposed to dining at a certain time in the main dining room.
  
• And so on.
  

Please do not interpret this as if I did not enjoy this cruise. I had an amazing time. The cruise was fantastic from start to finish, as was my entire vacation.

 

In case you're thinking - Wait, you wrote that you do not compare one cruise with another, but you compared Royal Caribbean to NCL and Carnival - I assure you that how I feel regarding relative value-for-money does not impact how I much enjoy a cruise. It could impact future cruise decisions, though.

 

Up next: Disembarkation, Pompeii, and Naples.

[jlajr]

Very nice photos!

 

Thank you, clarea.

 

Great Review... How much are drinks without the package?

 

Thank you, ChrisMak.

 

I'm not the best source for information regarding alcoholic drinks (or, for that matter, information regarding most added-charge items on board). Nonetheless, I think beers and alcoholic apple cider were about USD 6 each and up. Glasses of wine were USD 8 and up I think.

 

Great review

 

Thank you, mj.

 

Thanks for the review.

 

My pleasure, riclop. Thank you for reading.

[TRUEBLUE66]

What a great review to read!

We are going on the Jewel in January so thanks for the photos and detail.

 

David

[jlajr]

What a great review to read!

We are going on the Jewel in January so thanks for the photos and detail.

 

David

 

Thank you, David.

 

I think I'm going to take a break from writing today (Saturday), and I have some plans tomorrow, so it might be a couple of days before the next installment appears.

 

Have a great weekend!

[jlajr]

Hello again.

 

I know, I know. I wrote that I was taking a break from writing today (Saturday). However, I just re-read my last installment, and my overall impressions were heavy in the value-for-money department. Therefore, I'd like to provide more impressions about the ship, including some information I wrote in earlier installments and new information. Information that is aimed more to this audience than my wider blog-reading audience.

 

SHIP - Jewel of the Seas

 

A 91,000-gross-ton Radiance-class ship that was built in 2004 and refurbished most recently in April 2016. We were on her third post-refurbishment itinerary. As such, she was in excellent condition, aesthetically and I believe mechanically as well. The ships sails smoothly. We had rough seas one night, and the ship appeared to handle it incredibly well.

 

ITINERARY - Western Mediterranean

 

Rome

A day at sea

Marseilles

Barcelona (two days)

Palma De Mallorca

A day at sea

Valletta, Malta

Messina, Sicily

A day at sea

Rome

 

I was excited about this itinerary when I first saw it, and it did not disappoint me, with the number and spacing of the sea days perfect in my opinion. I think this itinerary can serve as a wonderful introduction to the region. Even though I had already been to Barcelona twice before and this itinerary wasn't my first introduction to the city, there's so much to do and see there, I had no problem filling the two days with sights and places unseen. Quick tip, though: At least some of the museums are closed on Mondays.

 

CABIN - 8500 Family Ocean View (FO)

 

I originally booked 1054, a new two-bedroom, two-bathroom Family Ocean View cabin that was scheduled to be installed during the April 2016 refurbishment, in the space formerly occupied by the Concierge Club. Yes, I booked for myself a cabin that can sleep up to eight. All 589 square feet of it. I also got a pretty good price (a little over USD 2150, including taxes and tips), even though I paid a 200% single supplement.

 

After I had booked and paid for the cabin, I asked my parents if they wanted to see if Royal Caribbean would combine our reservations and refund half of what I had paid - that is, refund the extra amount I paid for being the solo occupant of a cabin. My parents said they didn't want to be in the same cabin as me, which I completely understood, of course. Even though I had specifically mentioned that 1054 has two bathrooms, they were under the mistaken impression that the cabin has only one bathroom.

 

In any case, about a week before the departure date, a cruise line representative called my father to ask us if we wanted to combine our reservations and upgrade to a two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite, at no extra cost. The difference between this cabin and the one I had booked is an aft-facing balcony and all of the benefits of being in a suite. (It was at this point that we realized that my parents had been under the mistaken impression that cabin 1054 has only one bathroom.) Anyway, I told my father that I would be happy to share the suite with them, but because I was no longer a solo occupant of a cabin, I wanted Royal Caribbean to refund me the single supplement I had paid. That is, about USD 1000, or half of the cruise fare I paid.

 

Royal Caribbean refused, but then the representative told my father that cabin 1054, the one I had booked, was not yet finished. Therefore, they moved me to 8500, another, smaller Family Ocean View cabin. This room, at 319 square feet, is still almost twice as big as standard Ocean View cabins (170 square feet). For my inconvenience, my father asked that the cruise line refund me USD 1200. The representative agreed to refund me USD 1000.

 

When he told me, and I saw the adjusted invoice in my email, I thought, Holy crap! I was going to stay in this big-ass cabin, at the front of the ship, for about half of what I had originally paid. Awesome.

 

And, it was, indeed, awesome.

 

For future reference, the cabin can accommodate up to six guests, including a second, small bedroom that can sleep two in upper and lower bunk beds.

 

Ahmad, the cabin attendant, was wonderful and helpful - although I don't think I ever received my SeaPass account statement at the end of the cruise.

 

DINING

 

I preferred the Windjammer Cafe's aft outdoor seating area over any other dining venue on the ship, including Chops Grille and Giovanni's Table. We experienced good weather almost the entire trip, so I enjoyed spending time there.

 

The Izumi specialty restaurant has a similar outdoor seating area immediately above the Windjammer Cafe''s, but Izumi would have cost extra and we never ate there.

 

Breakfast

 

I ate in the main dining room on some days, the Windjammer Cafe all others, I believe.

 

Both venues offer a perfectly fine breakfast selection and quality, with some highlights and some low lights. In particular, the biscuits and gravy - available only in the Windjammer Cafe, I think - were so-so. Biscuits and gravy are not available where I live, so when I saw them available, I was looking forward to them. I was a little disappointed.

 

Lunch

 

Most days, I ate lunch on land. I think I ate lunch in the Windjammer Cafe on all other days. Again, the selection and quality for lunch was perfectly fine, with some highlights and some low lights. In particular, I was disappointed with a couple of the desserts.

 

Dinner

 

My parents specified the late dinner seating when they booked the cruise, and I did as well, linking our reservations in the process. Then, after we got on board, we changed it to the early dinner seating.

 

I told my mom that I did not know how many times I would eat dinner in the main dining room because it is more important for me to allow the movement of the sun and the ship to determine my schedule. That is, I prefer to be on an open deck watching the sun set and rise, and watching the ship arrive at and leave from a port. I don't remember eating at our assigned time or table more than two or three nights.

 

I know I sound like a broken record, but the selection and quality for dinner in the main dining room was perfectly fine, with some highlights and some low lights.

 

We ate in Chops Grille one night, and it was fantastic. The service, the food, everything. However, if I hadn't invited my parents to eat there to celebrate their upcoming 50th wedding anniversary, I would not have eaten there (assuming I would have had to pay extra for it).

 

It is possible to order a few of the Chops Grille dishes in the main dining room, for significantly less money than they cost in Chops Grille. I still would not have paid extra for those dishes.

 

In case I have not made this clear by now, I see no reason to pay extra for food - or, for that matter, alcohol - on a cruise ship. It's just not that important to me. Or, to put it another way, I would almost never spend the equivalent of USD 125 including tip for a meal for three on land, and I only did so on board to celebrate a special occasion.

 

We also ate in Giovanni's Table one night. The food and service was also quite good there.

 

Except for grabbing something sweet once or twice at Cafe Latte-tudes, I don't remember eating at or from any other venue. I did not order room service.

 

EMBARKATION

 

Smooth. Arrived via private transfer to the terminal at around 11:00, and I think we were on board by 11:30.

 

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

 

I did not participate in any.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

I did not attend any of the main theater shows.

 

Elsewhere, I enjoyed very little of the on-board entertainment, but then again - similar to how I feel about the food on a cruise - I don't view the entertainment as a key component of a cruise.

 

Specifically, I did not enjoy the music in the Centrum, the piano player in the Schooner Bar, nor the canned music/DJ in the Viking Crown Lounge/Vortex Nightclub.

 

I thought the band that played Latin dance music was quite talented, but I'm not a fan of the genre.

 

There was one afternoon, on the last sea day I think, I was lounging on deck 11 or 12, and the music playing was really good. If I recall correctly, it consisted of EDM (electronic dance music) and chillout music. Nice.

 

I think the Viking Crown Lounge is a special place and, of course, unique to Royal Caribbean ships (and those of sister company Pullmantur, which inherited Sovereign of the Seas, for example). But, it appears to be somewhat neglected both by other passengers and the ship staff. Whether the ship staff neglect the space because the other passengers do, or vice versa, I do not know.

 

In any case, the refurbishment moved the Concierge Club to deck 13 near the Viking Crown Lounge. I think that forced the Diamond Club into space formerly occupied by the Viking Crown Lounge. The scars from the surgery are not pretty, in my humble opinion. Also, the Exclusive Nightly Diamond Event occupies another chunk of the Viking Crown Lounge for a couple of hours each evening.

 

Finally, even though more staff members were usually in the area, I think I only saw one bartender working at any particular time, and therefore there was no table service as far as I could tell.

 

FITNESS AND RECREATION

 

I enjoyed playing miniature golf, the dry sauna once or twice, and the steam room once I think.

 

It looked like the fitness center is well-equipped, but I never set foot in it, preferring to walk around outside instead. The fitness center does face the bow of the ship on deck 12, so I imagine the views are nice.

 

I walked through the spa to get to the dry sauna and the steam room, and I sat in the comfortable relaxation room for a few minutes. While I can see a certain logic in getting spa services on a cruise, I've never done it.

 

The ship also has a small outdoor basketball/soccer court, which appears, not surprisingly, to be in great condition. Oh, and a rock-climbing wall. Not my thing.

 

PUBLIC ROOMS

 

All appeared to be in great condition, not surprisingly.

 

SERVICE

 

Except as noted, service was excellent. That is, in some cases, I believe the staff tried their best to overcome policy restrictions. For example, the glass of wine my mom ordered for me in the Chops Grille on her beverage package.

 

SHORE EXCURSIONS

 

I did not go on any organized shore excursions.

 

It is so easy to explore the areas where the ship docked, thanks to my Asus Fonepad, my international roaming data plan, Google Maps, and other online and offline resources. I had so much fun hopping on and off public transportation and getting to see places and things I had never seen before.

 

VALUE FOR MONEY

 

I'll reiterate here what I wrote in the earlier post.

 

My parents had a Royal Caribbean gift certificate, so that determined the line. They also booked the cruise before informing me, and thus they determined the ship and itinerary. I waited a few weeks to book the cruise after the final payment date when I thought prices were relatively low. I initially paid over USD 2100 including taxes and tips for a two-bedroom, two-bath Family Ocean View cabin. While others might think otherwise, for me, that's a lot of money for a mainstream cruise experience, mostly because the single supplement was 200% for this cruise when I booked it, and I don't think that changed. I believe 200% is the single supplement for most Royal Caribbean cruises.

 

After Royal Caribbean refunded me USD 1000, I ended up paying over USD 1100, or over USD 110 per night, for a larger-than-standard ocean view cabin. A good price, for sure, but not out-of-this-world great.

 

My experience on Royal Caribbean was not significantly different or better than my experiences on NCL or Carnival. For what it is possible to pay, I think NCL provides me - again, me, not necessarily others - a better product and overall better value. (Or, at least, they did as of the last time I took an NCL cruise in late 2013.) But I'm a particular type of traveler:

 

• I travel solo. Even when I cruise with others, I stay in my own cabin and pay the single supplement if applicable.
  
• I prefer to take advantage of post-final-payment price drops.
  
• I'm willing to stay in almost any type of cabin anywhere on the ship - although I don't think I've ever stayed in a cabin below deck eight.
  
• I drink almost no alcohol on board.
  
• I almost never attend main theater performances.
  
• I usually prefer to watch the sun set and the ship sail out of port from an open deck as opposed to dining at a certain time in the main dining room.
  
• And so on.
  

Please do not interpret this as if I did not enjoy this cruise. I had an amazing time. The cruise was fantastic from start to finish. I assure you that how I feel regarding relative value-for-money does not impact how much I enjoy a cruise. It could impact future cruise decisions, though.

[jlajr]

Disembarkation, Pompeii, and Naples

 

Click here to see all of the photos from day 13 of my trip.

 

Oops. I guess I forgot to mention that I said goodbye to my parents Sunday night, May 22. I had ordered a private cruise-terminal-to-FCO-airport transfer to pick them up at 08:00 outside the ship. I didn't need to get to the FCO airport, so I didn't know if I would meet them Monday morning, May 23, the 13th day of my vacation and what the ship called day 11 of the cruise.

 

My plans for the rest of my vacation consisted of two nights in Naples and three nights in Rome before flying back to Israel. My plan for this day was:

 

• Train to Rome
  
• Already-purchased ticket for 10:40 high-speed train to Naples
  
• Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii
  
• Walk around Pompeii for a few hours
  
• Train to Naples
  
• Metro to a block away from the B&B I booked
  

I can't remember for sure, but I think the ship was already docked when I woke up. I think I ate some breakfast, went back to the cabin, and packed (that is, everything except my receipts and the paperwork up until that point of my vacation I had wanted to keep). It doesn't take me a long time to pack or unpack.

 

I was off the ship by 07:30, and when I got to where the private transfers were picking up passengers, I looked around for my parents and they were there. The transfer arrived a few minutes later, and it drove me to the Civitavecchia train station. I again said goodbye to my parents, and then I took a regional train to Roma Termini. I think it departed at around 07:45 and arrived at around 08:45. That meant I had about two hours to kill at Roma Termini. I walked around outside a little, checked my email and Facebook, and also did some people-watching. A pleasure.

 

I'm a big fan of trains, indeed most public transportation. And I particularly like Italy's system, so I enjoyed spending time at the Roma Termini station and then watching my train arrive.

 

The train I took is on the right.

 

The train left on time. I had never been on a high-speed train before. Taking photos of the scenery outside the train proved tricky. I think only one photo came out OK, and I eventually gave up.

 

By 12:00, I had arrived at the Napoli Centrale train station. I stored my one piece of luggage for later pickup, and ate lunch. I can't remember for sure, but I think I had an individual-sized pizza. For dessert, I had a chocolate cannoli. Oh yeah.

 

It was easy to find the Napoli Garibaldi Circumvesuviana station adjacent to Napoli Centrale. I think I went into a supermarket I passed along the way, bought a big bottle of water, bought my train ticket, and by 12:45 I was headed to Pompeii.

 

A little after 13:30, I entered Scavi Di Pompeii at Porta Marina, and spent the next three hours or so walking around.

 

Scavi Di Pompeii

 

I live in and regularly travel around Israel, so I'm sort of used to seeing archaeological ruins. Nonetheless, Pompeii is quite impressive. I think I found one or two off-the-beaten-path places.

 

Anfiteatro di Pompei, not off the beaten path.

 

At around 16:30, I tried leaving the excavation area the same place where I had entered, but the signs were a little confusing. It's possible that you cannot exit onto Via Villa dei Misteri. Instead, it turns out I exited at Piazza Porta Marina Inferiore. I looked around, hoping to find a fruit cup, and soon found one. Woohoo! I sat down for a few minutes to eat and rest my feet.

 

Armed with Google Maps, I was able to quickly figure out how to get back to the Pompei Scavi - Villa Dei Misteri Circumvesuviana train station. By around 17:15, I was on the train headed back to Naples. I easily found the Garibaldi Metro station, which is also adjacent to - or under - Napoli Centrale. I took the L1 Metro to the Medaglie D'Oro station, and found my way to B&B la Bibliotechina.

 

Here is the review of B&B la Bibliotechina I wrote for booking.com:

 

“Great host, lovely private room with a private bathroom and a small balcony, really good location”

Your score

9.2

 

I liked pretty much everything about B&B Bibliotechnica. Marco is just wonderful. He provided so much information, which would have been incredibly helpful if I had wanted to spend most of my time sightseeing in Naples itself. He mentioned the Metro stops operating at 22:30 on weekdays. One night, I missed a connection in Salerno, and did not get back to Naples before the Metro stopped running. No biggie. Just a head's up: The B&B is an apartment in a residential apartment building. I don't even think there is a sign from the street, but the guard, stationed at the gate during the day, is aware of us tourists looking for it. :)

 

While the immediate, residential neighborhood is perfectly fine, even wonderful because the stores might not be overpriced for tourists, the overall location in the city is fine but not great. Maybe that's because the purpose of my stay in Naples was to visit Pompeii, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast. I needed the Metro ride - or, as it turned out, an expensive post-22:30 taxi ride - to get to/from either the Napoli Centrale train station or the ferry terminals.

 

I realize now that up until this point I misspelled and mispronounced the name of the B&B. Oops.

 

After I checked in and spent some time with the B&B owner, Marco, as he showed me places to go and see in Naples, I walked around the neighborhood looking for something to eat for dinner. I believe I bought some bread and cheese from a Carrefour Market a couple of blocks away from the B&B.

 

I went back to the B&B, ate, took a shower, lied down to relax, and was soon asleep. It had been a long day, and I had a lot planned for the next day.

 

If you would like to read about the remainder of my vacation, I'll be posting to my blog at https://jlajr.wordpress.com/.

[QuattroRomeo]

Thanks for the review Jay! We'll be on the Jewel next year visiting all of those ports, so it's fun getting a teaser like this.. Enjoyed your comments and photos about the trains too, post-cruise. Haven't had occasion to use Roma Termini yet, but it certainly looks very nice!

[jlajr]

Thanks for the review Jay! We'll be on the Jewel next year visiting all of those ports, so it's fun getting a teaser like this.. Enjoyed your comments and photos about the trains too, post-cruise. Haven't had occasion to use Roma Termini yet, but it certainly looks very nice!

My pleasure, QuattroRomeo, and thank you for reading.

 

I hope you have a great time on the Jewel!

[GMCL]

Thanks for the great review. Great photos. Will be on the Jewel in July. Really looking forward to it now.

[jlajr]

Thanks for the great review. Great photos. Will be on the Jewel in July. Really looking forward to it now.

 

My pleasure, GMCL, and thank you for reading and looking at the photos.

 

I hope you have a great time in July!

[jean87510]

thank you for a great review. I really like your review about the train to naples and pompeii as we are doing a similar journey to this next year when we do the transatlantic from san juan to italy and are staying in italy/rome for 2 1/2 days. One of those days we plan to take train to naples then to pompeii and after reading your review, it gave me encouragement to do it.

[jlajr]

thank you for a great review. I really like your review about the train to naples and pompeii as we are doing a similar journey to this next year when we do the transatlantic from san juan to italy and are staying in italy/rome for 2 1/2 days. One of those days we plan to take train to naples then to pompeii and after reading your review, it gave me encouragement to do it.

 

Thank you, jean87510, for reading it.

 

For the schedule of the Circumvesuviana trains between Naples and Pompeii, see http://www.eavsrl.it/web/it/content/orario-ferrovia. The trains, stations, and overall service are significantly below Trenitalia standards. For example, I think you can only buy Circumvesuviana train tickets from an office, not online or from a machine. Also, in late May, the stations and the trains were crowded. Even though you won't be there at the same time of year I was, I still recommend leaving plenty of time to buy tickets, in case you miss a particular departure, and so on.

 

As you have seen, I found it incredibly easy to get around in Italy. I think that's partly because I'm comfortable with public transportation and I allow for a lot of flexibility in my schedule. Also, online and offline resources, including signage, were incredibly helpful.

 

If you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

 

I hope you have a great trip!