Very reduced fees on Jewel out of San Juan!

[cruiseguy1016]

If we ever cruise together I owe you and your companion a drink. I have an upcoming Jewel reservation that I made 500 days ago and thought I got a great deal on the coveted corner aft. I kept the same room and the price dropped $700. I now only owe $100

 

WooHoo! Great job.

[BillOh]

Are you calling the local number of the hotels? I've read reports where people have reservations with the corporate website, but the local hotel has cancelled them.

 

 

I've heard this too, but I've also found good information coming from the local hotel on their webpage. Both hotels I've used in the past have been doing updates to their Facebook page. Those were Tre-Palmas and Hilton Condado Plaza. I would have been thinking about making a reservation now, but I'm letting my friend handle it, they are going in a day before us and doing the Marriot in OSJ. We are coming in the day before the cruise, one day after them. He has the reservation, I'll make him double check it next Feb.

[Clarea]

... He has the reservation, I'll make him double check it next Feb.

I'm guessing you will be fine by Feb.

[Borrillje]

I agree. I think most of locals have a lot more to worry about right now than taking a cruise. So sad for those that were affected by this horrible storm. :(

 

My January 7th cruise is far from full. We are well past final payment, and cannot take advantage of the lowered pricing of course. The only thing I can do now is to keep watch and perhaps score an inexpensive upgrade. Luckily we booked very early for our flight on Jet Blue, which was a good price at that time. :)

 

We're on the December 10th Jewel sailing. I called a couple weeks ago - WELL past our final payment - and was able to upgrade from an inside room on Deck 2 to balcony on Deck 8 - for the exact same price. Its worth the call if you're sailing soon. Try it!

We made hotel reservations through Booking.com. We've had three cancel. We have three left. I've called all three directly this week and confirmed that we're good to go. Now we just have to decide which one we're gonna use...

Happy sailing everyone!

[lauraodonnell86]

We are sailing on January 14th and 21st and the 14th junior suite guarantees just were listed for $999 yesterday! That is less than I paid for our balcony so I jumped on it and got a "complimentary" upgrade! First time in a suite and we will be Diamond after this B2B now! YEAH!

[island lady]

Currently on Oasis, and could not call RCI GS from here, but Next Cruise told me I could call from GS desk. Which I did.

 

Score! Went from JS on our 1/7/18 cruise to a GS for no additional charge. Who needs the illusive upgrade fairy when you can help yourself! :D:cool:

[davekathy]

Currently on Oasis, and could not call RCI GS from here, but Next Cruise told me I could call from GS desk. Which I did.

 

Score! Went from JS on our 1/7/18 cruise to a GS for no additional charge. Who needs the illusive upgrade fairy when you can help yourself! :D:cool:

 

Excellent.(y)Now go back to enjoying your cruise. :wine-glass:

[NJ&Ozzie]

I think the big issue is the misconception that hotels are not open. Many are. Many are also open to the public and are not housing FEMA/relief workers as they were not included. I’ll report back when I’m head there next week, but don’t be hesitant to go. They rely on tourism dollars.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Hi,

We just got back from a week in San Juan - stayed in our condo/hotel in Isla Verde. All hotels in our area were closed to public - only FEMA/relief workers there. Some hotels, like Embassy Suites, had lobby closed off to public but we could access casino & Outback. Ritz & El San Juan are completely closed for renovation.

 

Don't know about Condado & Old San Juan areas - might be some open there. Best bet would be smaller boutique hotels that aren't large enough to to host FEMA. Our condo/hotel told us that FEMA workers will be leaving at end of December so things may be opening up then.

 

Traffic lights are still out. Streets on but did go out once during the week. Only two casino open in Isla Verde so not much going on. Beach was fine.

NJ

[PtownGirlz-NH]

We had a longstanding reservation on the April 1st Jewel cruise. The price has drastically dropped on the past weeks and we have constantly been calling in to get the price adjustment. Final payment isn’t until Jan. 1st.

We yesterday took advantage of a Balcony Guarantee for about $1200 Canadian Dollars (taxesin) plus $100us OBC. Don’t know what that is in US$ but must be pretty cheap!

We did this exact cruise last year, great ship. San Juan cruises are running, actually we will be spending an extra week in a condo there.

 

Thanks for posting this! We have a D1 category corner aft on April 22nd sailing. D1 on this sailing has been sold out for months. But I called TA anyway and they released a bunch of rooms in this category this week at same rate we had booked it last April while on Oasis, about $1950 incl. taxes. No price reduction because we didn't want to lose our coveted room and go with just a guarantee, but added $150 extra OBC: $100 from RCI BOGO sale and an added $50 cyber week triple a deal with bottle of sparkling wine in room on embarkation :D

[OntarioTraveller]

If we ever cruise together I owe you and your companion a drink. I have an upcoming Jewel reservation that I made 500 days ago and thought I got a great deal on the coveted corner aft. I kept the same room and the price dropped $700. I now only owe $100

That is a great price drop!

I remember the first cruise after finding CC and someone suggested checking for lower prices. I had no idea that money could be saved after booking. I was so greatful to that contributer so I’m glad to pay it forward!!

[LizzyDragon]

Thanks for posting this! We have a D1 category corner aft on April 22nd sailing. D1 on this sailing has been sold out for months. But I called TA anyway and they released a bunch of rooms in this category this week at same rate we had booked it last April while on Oasis, about $1950 incl. taxes. No price reduction because we didn't want to lose our coveted room and go with just a guarantee, but added $150 extra OBC: $100 from RCI BOGO sale and an added $50 cyber week triple a deal with bottle of sparkling wine in room on embarkation :D

 

I'm on the same cruise! I was in an E2 hump, but saw today that the pricing on D1 hump rooms dropped below what I had paid for the E2. A phone call later and I'm paying $50 less for an upgraded room plus $100 OBC. Woot! I'm happy!

[BillOh]

Hi,

 

Don't know about Condado & Old San Juan areas - might be some open there.

NJ

 

The Condado Plaza Hilton is not taking reservations through the end of March according to their Facebook page. They have shown photos of the rebuilding and some damage.

[BillOh]

When I went online to re-price I found this website oddity. As mentioned earlier, I saved a little more than $600.

 

[PtownGirlz-NH]

I'm on the same cruise! I was in an E2 hump, but saw today that the pricing on D1 hump rooms dropped below what I had paid for the E2. A phone call later and I'm paying $50 less for an upgraded room plus $100 OBC. Woot! I'm happy!

 

 

Nice! :D

[island lady]

Excellent.(y)Now go back to enjoying your cruise. :wine-glass:

 

Thanks, I am!! :D Sea day today and also is our "meal with an officer" day.

Tomorrow is Cozumel and Nachi Cocum. :hearteyes:

[BillOh]

When I went online to re-price I found this website oddity. As mentioned earlier, I saved a little more than $600.

 

 

I got over a $600 price reduction, but I should be happy, but when I got my invoice there was no OBC. I called back today and they told me that only the Non-refundable deposit got the OBC, I said, that was fine, I know I am going on this cruise, I already have air, I don't mind a that deposit, she told me the rate was $200 more for the non-refundable deposit. That makes no sense, but I think I'll just shut up and go away and enjoy my lower fare.

[bulldogsrule]

Thank you so much for posting about the reduction in price. We are on the 3/11 sailing and saved $900 per balcony cabin and was able to keep our $100 OBC which we used toward the drink package.

 

 

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[OntarioTraveller]

Glad some of you were able to take advantage of these great rates. I just checked now and the prices are back up by a few hundred dollars!

[DaughterInGrenada]

Just got off the Jewel yesterday. There were a little over 2200 passengers total, and a little over 1100 were locals. Stayed at the Hotel Casablanca on Calle Forteleza the night before the cruise. Nice enough place. Still running on generator power, some amenities still not back like the elevator and A/C to all the rooms. But, can't beat the location and they even gave us a nice discount on the room rate since we booked for an A/C room and we ended up not having A/C.

[Denise Ann]

Just got off the Jewel yesterday. There were a little over 2200 passengers total, and a little over 1100 were locals. Stayed at the Hotel Casablanca on Calle Forteleza the night before the cruise. Nice enough place. Still running on generator power, some amenities still not back like the elevator and A/C to all the rooms. But, can't beat the location and they even gave us a nice discount on the room rate since we booked for an A/C room and we ended up not having A/C.

How was cabin 9000?

[DaughterInGrenada]

It was just perfect for us. Smaller in person than what pictures/videos I've seen of identical cabins on the Jewel, but workable. Very quiet location, not even any door noise from the crew quarters door outside the room. Yes, it is some distance to the back of the ship, but walking isn't an issue with us, plus a lot of the activities we partook of; fitness center Solarium, Coral Theater, Cinema, etc. are all in the front of the ship. Liked the round shower with solid doors; roomy. The angled mirror on the left side of the sink hinges open & there is 3 shelves for toiletries. Perfect for travel size items, which I strongly recommend taking. Why? Because we bought a regular sized bottle of suntan lotion in San Juan (forget to bring it from home) & had to throw it away at the TSA check upon arrival. Save yourself the hassle & get as much trial sizes as possible. I had the metal retaining bar come loose and fall to the floor when I reached for something on that shelf. Aerted the room steward & she had it fixed. The top shelf bar is loose, but it didn't come out. Check it if you are in that cabin & have them fix it if need be. It could strike a bare foot and cause an injury. Bed not so comfortable, but they may have a mattress topper if you ask. We didn't. Room air temperature control gave us plenty of range to heat up or cool down the room. The controller is located to the left of the bathroom door. I've read in other threads of the foul toilet smell, but we didn't experience any of that. Maybe because we are at the beginning of the waste line run, so no upstream issues to contend with. On a related note, I noticed the return air plenum was right behind where the passageway door opens up. Forced air comes into the room on the exterior bathroom wall over the couch. That helps keep foul odors circulating away from the rest of the room. There was so much storage space in the room, we didn't utilize all of it. As others have stated, plenty of room under the bead to store luggage. There is a volume controller for announcements on the wall to the right of the bathroom door. We heard announcements in our room prior to sailing but once under way, we could no longer hear them fro our room speaker. This phenomenon occured in the rooms of other passengers we talked to, so ther must be some master control for that. Really liked the room decor, several notches above that of other lines that I would describe as 'Wal Mart' blandness. There was just a rich ambiance quality to the room decor that struck a right chord with me. The 2 wall lamps on either side of the bed contain a movable reading lamp. The switches on the left side of the fixture turn the wall lamp on/off, and the right side switches operate the reading lamp. That was a nice feature. It wasn't noticable at first as the sign is mounted up higher on the wall above the toilet, behind where wash towels are hung, but the sign says what towels you want changed out, leave them on the floor. I remember reading a complaint in another earlier thread that there towels weren't being changed out. If they weren't leaving them on the floor, that's probably why. The couch in cabin 9000 has a wear spot on the top front corner of its left arm. All in all, loved the room and its location. Would recommed it to anybody.

[OntarioTraveller]

I'm on the same cruise! I was in an E2 hump, but saw today that the pricing on D1 hump rooms dropped below what I had paid for the E2. A phone call later and I'm paying $50 less for an upgraded room plus $100 OBC. Woot! I'm happy!

 

We have been looking at available balcony cabins on the Jewel. Currently booked in 8578 a little forward from the hump.

We were concerned about the noise from the central area if we were in a “hump”, any experience with those cabins?

[Clarea]

We have been looking at available balcony cabins on the Jewel. Currently booked in 8578 a little forward from the hump.

We were concerned about the noise from the central area if we were in a “hump”, any experience with those cabins?

I like to be at least 8 staterooms away from the Centrum because of the noise at times. Also, depending on the conditions, the Centrum can act as a casino cigarette smoke distribution system.

[OntarioTraveller]

Thanks, that is what I thought! However, hump cabins seem highly sought after so I felt like I might be missing something. I like the idea of being near the central elevator but maybe not that close as we are “early to bed” types. This is our first balcony due to recent price drops!

[salmonoftheseas]

We have been looking at available balcony cabins on the Jewel. Currently booked in 8578 a little forward from the hump.

We were concerned about the noise from the central area if we were in a “hump”, any experience with those cabins?

We just returned from Jewel. Had an owner suite deck 10 directly at centrum. We did not hear any noise from centrum activities, although the hallway doors at the hump were not closed.