LIVE from Jewel May 15, 2024 - 27 nights

[twangster]

8 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

I’m up front 😃

Thank goodness @Hoopster95 is here.  Now he can take over posting. I’ll be in a bar.  Where it’s warm.   

[twangster]

Young love…

 

[Jimbo]

19 minutes ago, twangster said:

Thank goodness @Hoopster95 is here.  Now he can take over posting. I’ll be in a bar.  Where it’s warm.   

Mid 60's isn't cold? Great sail-a-way weather.

[Oceansaway17]

6 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

Hey @twangster! I’m in the waiting room waiting to board as you’re posting. It’s packed down here. Looks like Key, Pn’s etc just starting to move now.

 

Thx for all your updates. I caught up on this thread last night and this morning. Are you ok with me joining this thread to add photos etc like we did on the Ovation-Alaska thread a few years back? I not interested in posting my own reviews anymore as you know. I understand if you wish to keep this thread yours alone. 

oh goodie the two   STER's are on board.  I too was on the famous Ovation Aug 2019 cruise.

 

Enjoy this cruise.  I am doing an August 12 day Artic on Jewel, but some of my ports are different

 

 

 

[Oceansaway17]

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

Young love…

 

nice I will have to look for this from the ship and photo myself in August.

have a nice trip to Norway.  My favorite region to cruise in.

[twangster]

12 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Mid 60's isn't cold? Great sail-a-way weather.

I’m in Florida now.  Sixties is when we call in sick and stay in bed.  🤣

[Hoopster95]

9 hours ago, twangster said:

Thank goodness @Hoopster95 is here.  Now he can take over posting. I’ll be in a bar.  Where it’s warm.   

My turn’s comin’ 🤪🍸

[island lady]

12 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

How’s the bed on Jewel? Tell me they ares softer than usual. 
 

We spent 46 nights on Brilliance earlier this year and had to go find a mattress topper on a port day. The beds were so hard.  Just off Navigator and again the bed was hard as a rock.  I put up with it because it was only 4 nights but I don’t rest well.  I don’t want to drag a topper across the ocean but IKEA would be a long trip in Amsterdam for a cheap topper. 

 

I packed a highly compressed 1.5 inch foam topper into my checked duffle bag for 1st quarter WC Serenade.  Soooo glad I did!!  Left it behind, and now have another ready to go for rejoining Serenade for last quarter out of Barcelona.  Also took a pair of scissors in my checked bag as it needed to be trimmed since those king beds (two twins together) are smaller than an actual king.  

[island lady]

12 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Invest in a blow up Klymit or similar topper - they take up very little space. You can never count on any soft mattresses on RCI and no, Jewel didn’t get any better after her dry dock. 

 

Don't they keep sliding apart on a king bed?  

[island lady]

2 hours ago, RFerrington said:

I believe that this is a brand new "perk".  Not sure that I concur but nobody asked me !

 

I feel the same way...how does that help with overcrowding??

[twangster]

Lock is just around the corner now.  
 

 

[twangster]

Ever see a cruise ship sail over cars?

 

 

[RFerrington]

28 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I feel the same way...how does that help with overcrowding??

Yeah, I don’t think it does…

[twangster]

Apparently with a new status match I’m top of this line’s loyalty program. 
 

 

Pro or con?

 

Hmmm.  
 

 

Edited May 30 by twangster

[twangster]

Lock in sight.  Time 6:20pm   
 

[twangster]

Looks like we’re sharing today.  

 

[twangster]

 

[Biker19]

56 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Don't they keep sliding apart on a king bed?  

Probably depends on how it is “installed” - this cabin has two layers of padding already and the Klymit between them - it doesn’t move much. 

[twangster]

it’s a pretty big lock.  
 

[twangster]

Time 6:59pm

 

[twangster]

Oops.  The RORO in front of us lost some paint on the concrete walls of the lock.  
 

 

[twangster]

We made it!

 

 

 

[cruiselvr04]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

Don't they keep sliding apart on a king bed?  

I’ve looked at those on line. There are pretty narrow and would a gap between the two sides I think which would drive me nuts. I’m going to try to smash a topper in a suitcase.

[Hoopster95]

Great lock photos twangster.

Quite funny… after I posted the forward video I headed back to the Colony Club to check out the “event”. I came across a couple I had sailed with a couple of times before so hung out for a bit. After a quick dinner and the “Yes or No” game show I headed up top deck and then to the helipad to record the locks… looks like I missed you at both ends of the ship lol.

 

 

 

Edited May 30 by Hoopster95

[CastleCritic]

I joined the cruise as well today.  It's certainly been interesting so far.

 

That boarding process..umm..told to show up at 11, then to sit in an empty waiting room, then through security to a NOT empty waiting room and the onto the ship.

 

The key lunch was good, again like most say, probably nothing to hang your hat on.

 

Luggage took quite awhile to show up (to the point it was departure time before it came) considering it had been there for 5 hours, guess it wasnt loaded in the order it was received.

 

Waiter and assistant waiter didnt seem to be talking to each other, both would inevitably ask every guest for their drink order. but otherwise dinner went well, and was done in an hour, just in time to come back up on deck and see the lock.