Live Jewel 17th Feb 2020, A last minute change of plan.

[kernow]

Nine days ago we thought we'd be boarding Quantum in Singapore today. The Coronavirus outbreak changed all that! On Friday 7th with the situation worsening in Singapore we decided to call our TA to see if we could cancel. After going backwards and forwards for a bit they agreed that we could get a full refund for the whole package (cruise, flights and 3 night hotel stay) so we booked this instead. Just checked our credit card and the money has been refunded today. RCL eventually cancelled this cruise on Tuesday 11th when we would have been on a flight to Singapore so something worked out for us!

 

As you can imagine we had a hectic few days sorting everything out but currently sitting in our hotel room in Dubai and a couple of days after arriving it finally feels like we are on holiday😀

 

I was always planning to do a live review from Quantum as there is so little info available so I decided why not still do one from a different ship. Please feel free to comment, ask questions or just follow along for the ride.

 

So we are Julie and Mark, mid 50s from the UK, love RCL but also cruise other lines. We've cruised in this area a couple of times before (Costa and MSC) and done a Suez Canal cruise ending in Abu Dhabi on Celebrity. That was in my top 3 all time cruises partly because it was timed to fit in with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and we're big F1 fans. We were last on Jewel 18 months ago for the TA from Rome to San Juan.

 

Our itinerary 

1      Dubai	5:00 PM
2	Sir Bani Yas, United Arab Emirates	8:00 AM	6:00 PM
3	Doha, Qatar	8:00 AM	6:00 PM
4	At Sea	-	-
5	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	8:00 AM	-
6	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	-	8:00 PM
7	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	8:00 AM	-
8	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	-

 

I believe the original itinerary also included Bahrain but that was changed a few weeks ago. 

 

 

 

I'm no great photographer, just tend to take snaps on my phone when I remember so I apologise in advance, this will be nothing like a Twangster review (I love those).

 

We've still got a couple of days left in Dubai to enjoy before we board, we've booked a Dhow dinner cruise for tonight so off to get ready for that now.

[dani negreanu]

Following, thanks for the review, Jewel was our 1st. cruise ever.... love this class.

Enjoy your “new” cruise 🌹

[sgmn]

Enjoy, glad it worked out in the end. Would of been a nightmare if you had stayed on original flight and not received notification of cancelled cruise before you left. Enjoy your middle east cruise. Love Jewel, and the weather will be so much  better than here in UK 

[kernow]

11 minutes ago, sgmn said:

Enjoy, glad it worked out in the end. Would of been a nightmare if you had stayed on original flight and not received notification of cancelled cruise before you left. Enjoy your middle east cruise. Love Jewel, and the weather will be so much  better than here in UK 

Yes, the weather is fab here at the moment, 24 deg today and forecast getting hotter in the next few days.

Many people going on Quantum were already enroute or actually in Singapore so we were lucky in one way.

[Meltdown]

See you on the ship!

[TravelMadBrits]

Really looking to hear about your trip - we are on the 16th March sailing, so any hints and tips are really appreciated. Have a great time 😎

[gi_pam]

We’re on Jewel on March 9. Looking forward to your review! Have a great time. 

[little britain]

Have a great trip!  Can you update Elsewhere with any useful gems and info and pics please too!?

Edited February 15, 2020 by little britain

[Cruzinbabe06]

Hello.  

 

We'll boarding on February 24 sailing.

 

I'm following.

 

Can you give details on food, shows, Movies on  Big Screen, Buffet.

 

Basically everything.

 

I'm following.

 

Thanks in advance

[kernow]

Thanks everyone for following, will try to find out everything😀.

 

For anyone spending time in Dubai we've just had a fabulous time on the canal dinner cruise that leaves from Dubai Festival Mall. We sailed through the new Dubai water canal to downtown Dubai and saw all the city lit up at night. They serve a buffet dinner and have a Tanora show. A really good night.

[Tree_skier]

I'm following... I love live reviews and I'm sure this will be a great one..

Edited February 15, 2020 by Tree_skier

[little britain]

2 hours ago, Cruzinbabe06 said:

Hello.  

 

We'll boarding on February 24 sailing.

 

I'm following.

 

Can you give details on food, shows, Movies on  Big Screen, Buffet.

 

Basically everything.

 

I'm following.

 

Thanks in advance

Lots of that info is on the All you need to know Jewel Dubai page 

[little britain]

@kernow your last pic of the hotel with the green lights is where we stayed! Lol! 

[kernow]

That whole area is beautiful at night with all the lights, it even makes somewhere like Vegas seem poor in comparison.

 

We first visited Dubai 15 years ago and none of that existed then, just empty dessert. Makes you wonder what it will be like in another few years.

 

 

[debgreg]

Following, considering this as a last minute cruise to use my left over holiday entitlement. Our neighbours got to Gatwick before they were informed their Quantum cruise was cancelled, awful how late Royal left it 😕

[Suzieanna]

How exciting!   Have a great time guys!  Following. 

[little britain]

The first time we visited was in 2000 and we have been almost every year since! One year it was ...” when did they put that Canal there...!?”

Edited February 16, 2020 by little britain

[kernow]

The 2005 pic brings back memories of when we first came here. Just the one road with a few skyscrapers down to Jumeriah where we stayed.😁

[kernow]

Just having a lazy day by the pool and deciding where to eat tonight.

LB have you (or anyone else) ever tried the Peppermill chain here? Thought we might try it.

[jazzmanfive]

On 2/15/2020 at 11:52 AM, kernow said:

Nine days ago we thought we'd be boarding Quantum in Singapore today. The Coronavirus outbreak changed all that! On Friday 7th with the situation worsening in Singapore we decided to call our TA to see if we could cancel. After going backwards and forwards for a bit they agreed that we could get a full refund for the whole package (cruise, flights and 3 night hotel stay) so we booked this instead. Just checked our credit card and the money has been refunded today. RCL eventually cancelled this cruise on Tuesday 11th when we would have been on a flight to Singapore so something worked out for us!

 

As you can imagine we had a hectic few days sorting everything out but currently sitting in our hotel room in Dubai and a couple of days after arriving it finally feels like we are on holiday😀

 

I was always planning to do a live review from Quantum as there is so little info available so I decided why not still do one from a different ship. Please feel free to comment, ask questions or just follow along for the ride.

 

So we are Julie and Mark, mid 50s from the UK, love RCL but also cruise other lines. We've cruised in this area a couple of times before (Costa and MSC) and done a Suez Canal cruise ending in Abu Dhabi on Celebrity. That was in my top 3 all time cruises partly because it was timed to fit in with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and we're big F1 fans. We were last on Jewel 18 months ago for the TA from Rome to San Juan.

 

Our itinerary 

1      Dubai	5:00 PM
2	Sir Bani Yas, United Arab Emirates	8:00 AM	6:00 PM
3	Doha, Qatar	8:00 AM	6:00 PM
4	At Sea	-	-
5	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	8:00 AM	-
6	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	-	8:00 PM
7	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	8:00 AM	-
8	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	-

 

I believe the original itinerary also included Bahrain but that was changed a few weeks ago. 

 

 

 

I'm no great photographer, just tend to take snaps on my phone when I remember so I apologise in advance, this will be nothing like a Twangster review (I love those).

 

We've still got a couple of days left in Dubai to enjoy before we board, we've booked a Dhow dinner cruise for tonight so off to get ready for that now.

Hi

Looks like you are having a great time and the weather is looking good.

Will be following your review as as on the jewel on the 9th and 16th cruises.

We too were on the Grand Prix cruise with celebrity and agree with you that it was a great cruise with marvelous weather and interesting destinations.

Have fun!

Jazz

[kernow]

The day has finally arrived,  in a couple of hours time we're being picked up and taken to the ship. I don't think I've actually said but we've been staying at the Movenpick in Bur Dubai which is not far from the port.  As it was so last minute we just said we wanted to stay in town and the TA suggested this one. Normally I research hotels for hours so it seemed strange but it's been a good choice.

The hotel is fairly small by Dubai standards (Around 300 rooms) and has a nice rooftop pool area which has been well used by us. Not much within walking distance but a 10 minute (20_30 dirham) taxi ride to lots of places. We're both agreed that it could win the award for the most comfy bed ever. RCL must use this hotel as we met a family at the pool yesterday that are also on the cruise and booked everything directly.

It doesn't seem to be allowing me to add pics at the moment.

 

Off to pack everything up and head to the ship.

[kernow]

It's  11.40 and we're sitting in the Solarium with our first slice of pizza.

 

 

Check in was very quick, about 10 minutes from car to ship. Very little difference to normal, a couple of extra questions on the health form and the check in agent asked if we'd been to China or Hong Kong and looked at our passports. No sign of a temperature check that I saw (in Dubai airport It was just a walk by but didn't see that here).

 

Rooms will be open at 1pm

[grapau27]

26 minutes ago, kernow said:

It's  11.40 and we're sitting in the Solarium with our first slice of pizza.

 

 

Check in was very quick, about 10 minutes from car to ship. Very little difference to normal, a couple of extra questions on the health form and the check in agent asked if we'd been to China or Hong Kong and looked at our passports. No sign of a temperature check that I saw (in Dubai airport It was just a walk by but didn't see that here).

 

Rooms will be open at 1pm

Following.

Hope you have a fantastic cruise.

We have done the Emirates cruise 3 times so looking forward to seeing everything again and things we missed for future reference.

Graham.

[kernow]

Cabins are open and our bags have just arrived! We booked a balcony guarantee and it was allocated a couple of days ago, 8644, a standard balcony. It does feel a bit small though as the last time we were on this ship we had the corner aft GS.

 

Some paperwork from the cabin.

[kernow]

We went down to check our dinner table so I got tonight's menu. We have late sitting at a table for 8 as requested.