LIVE from Jewel May 15, 2024 - 27 nights

[Biker19]

Some cabins are getting new mattresses. 

[twangster]

Despite the light rain that appeared to be ending I walked to Amsterdam Centraal.   
 

Time 7:08 am

 

 

The light rain picked up a bit.  Fortunately I had packed my rain coat in my carry on for easy access.  

I had 6 EUR in coins I wanted to get rid of and the ticket machine takes credit card or coin (no bills).   That covered the 5,90 EUR one way ticket to AMS airport.   
 

I could have made an earlier train but chose the 7:41am train.  
 

Time 7:33am.  
 

Sprinter train with level entrance.  

 

 

Airport has a grocery store including a bakery that smelled awesome!

 

Time 8:03am

 

 

My flight is at 12:55pm but I was able to check in, get through security and passport control then to a lounge.  
 

This KLM lounge has a number of Delft Blue Houses on display.  They are taken very seriously!

 

Time 8:40am
 

[Jomykje]

Thank you @twangster, @Hoopster95 and the others who contributed to this thread! It brought back lovely memories from our British Isles cruise on the Jewel last year and it made me even more excited for our upcoming Arctic Circle cruise in August.

[Hoopster95]

17 hours ago, twangster said:

an experience that will be difficult to ever surpass on a mass market cruise line, no disrespect to Royal intended.

+1 …

 

and we still love Royal for what it is.

They’ve done their job keeping us around with the C&A program, haven’t they? 😉

[Hoopster95]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

Time 7:08 am

Time 8:03am

Nicely done… that’s about right, a stress free 50-60min.

 

I was offered to share a UberXL by hesitant friends who weren’t sure of the train, so I accepted so that we can hang out to the airport. After standing in the rain for 15min for the Uber to arrive, we arrived at the airport, like you, in about an hour.
 

45euro vs. 9euro for tram+ train

[Biker19]

Left the ship around 8:30 (they were calling tags through 18), took a 9:01 train, got to the airport at 9:19 but luggage drop off, security and immigration took almost an hour. 

[Jomykje]

Safe flight home @twangster@Hoopster95and @Biker19I hope the weather is better there then here. 

Edited June 11 by Jomykje

[bobmacliberty]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

This KLM lounge has a number of Delft Blue Houses on display.  They are taken very seriously!

 

One of my favorite reasons to fly KLM!  Brilliant marketing.  Give people a couple dollar trinket, and a challenge to complete a collection, and they'll be loyal to you.

 

Thanks so much to you and @Hoopster95 for the absolutely fantastic photos and videos over the last few weeks.  You can't take such great photos without such beautiful settings, but they also require a lot of skill (including post processing...I know how much effort that can take) and willingness to lug around a lot of gear.  I really appreciate your efforts!

[Sinders99]

@twangster @Hoopster95 thank you so very very much for your amazing posts. You've really helped put this nervous first time Europe traveler and first time B2B cruisers mind at ease with so many aspects of our upcoming Jewel cruises. I know many of us appreciate all your efforts and time taken out of your holidays to share advice and tips with us. Safe travels home and thank you again!

[twangster]

Not my best work.  If you thought bus window photography can be kind of crappy, try airplane window photography.

 

I didn't have a lot of time to frame the shot by the time I realized what I was seeing below us after takeoff from AMS.

 

Right side just above the halfway mark you can see Jewel at the cruise terminal and the river we sailed down to reach the ocean.

 

[CruiszBug]

On 6/10/2024 at 1:01 PM, Hoopster95 said:

 

You’re very welcome! its awesome To hear value coming  posts like my old days of reviewing… Thx to twangster for allowing me to join this thread.

 

Next for me is the Amazon and back to Peru, then Cambodia (Angkor Wat) + Vietnam… no cruises even on my radar until December.

 

As far as my own personal top 5 cruises… the Royal ones aren’t being repeated and I don’t think ever will, but if you can match ports on two Or three itineraries the. It would be great!

 

1. Oceania - French Polynesian & Marquesas

2. Oceania - 12 night Rio to Buenos Airies, 9 ports + land trip at both ends + the absolute MUST MUST MUST see Iquazu Falls.

3. RCL - Serenade 2014 from Rome visiting all the very best ports in one cruise incl. Malta, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Venice overnight, Santorini, Salerno

4. RCl - Ovations very first Alaskan sailing ever in 2019, 11nights included Hubbard and Tracey Arm. 
5. Rhapsody - just last year b2b2b included ABCs, Grenada, St Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, St Licia, Dominica

 

honourable mentions:

Jewel + Brilliance - British Isles circumnavigation

Jewel - b2b western then eastern Med

Celebrity Constellation - Istanbul home

Port overnight to Ephesus, Bodrum, Marmaris + 5 Greece ports.

 

Take note that no one … ever… says their favorite most memorable cruise destinations is on Oasis Class. Unless you’re favorited place to go in the entire world is Nassau or CocoCay.

I must agree with #4! I was on that cruise and it was also our first time to Alaska or Canada, for that matter! We brought our special needs daughter with us, and she had a ball, as well! Sigh... never saw that itinerary repeated.

 

Thank you for all of the cool information from you and Twangster! I will be joining the Serenade in July for a few mini-segments. Can't wait!

[island lady]

21 minutes ago, CruiszBug said:

 I will be joining the Serenade in July for a few mini-segments. Can't wait!

 

"Sea" you on board next month.  🙂  We are back for the last quarter, and continue to the end at  Miami where we started the first quarter.  

[andreasfcb]

Thank you all for this amazing journey. I will post some additional pictures in the roll call once I have edited them.

 

Meanwhile I was wondering... Every morning on this cruise I had a weird ache around my sholder or my torso. Did the mattresses get harder (maybe during dry dock) or am I getting old? I used to sleep like a baby in Royal's beds.

[DelMom18a]

Thank you @Hoopster95 for sharing those incredible photos of the hike that as a klutz I'd never even attempt and thank you, @twangster @Biker19 and anyone else who contributed to the wonderful photos and tales on this cruise.  I loved reading it.

[Biker19]

40 minutes ago, andreasfcb said:

Did the mattresses get harder (maybe during dry dock) or am I getting old?

Mattress replacements seem to be ongoing - several cabins had them replaced during turn around day today. 

[Gardener5b]

Such a huge thank you to @twangster and @Hoopster95 for sharing all of your adventures.  The photography and descriptions of your travels were just amazing.    Thanks for time you took to share this beautiful trip with us.

 

[cmsjab]

I’ll echo sentiments as your photos and detail were so appreciated. @twangster and @Hoopster95, I have enjoyed your adventures and thank you for the time. 
Safe travels.

[barbeyg]

Thanks @twangster and @Hoopster95, for the great running commentary.  Thanks @Biker19 for adding info on my questions about the electric cars. 🙂

 

You have me so excited for our 14 nights on the Celebrity Apex next year. Hope your journeys ahead are great ones! 🙂

[loug1601]

@twangster and @Hoopster95 

 

Thank you both for the wonderful photos and commentary. You two make a great journalistic pair!

 

Patty

[HBE4]

34 minutes ago, loug1601 said:

@twangster and @Hoopster95 

 

Thank you both for the wonderful photos and commentary. You two make a great journalistic pair!

 

Patty

 

Adding my thank you to @twangster & @Hoopster95 as well.  A most enjoyable review with spectacular scenery .

 

I agree that the two make a great journalistic pair. Now that you've spoiled us, you'll need to do more collaborations.

 

Add in @Biker19 and I feel like I've missed out on the cruise of the decade. 🙂😁😇

 

[twangster]

Cruise Summary

 

Now that I am home and I've have had a chance to reflect on these two bucket list cruises here are some thoughts.

 

Twenty seven days flew by.  Changing cabins had zero impact on the overall experience.

 

Jewel is a fine ship given her age.  She is small by Royal Caribbean standards but with some research and setting expectations properly she still provides a great cruise experience.  She has some of the best Voom available in the fleet.  

 

Iceland is beautiful.  I'm glad I was able to cover so much of the country in the four days spent there.  I have plans to return, probably on a fly-in basis.  Having accomplished as much as I did especially from Akureyri I can now focus my next visit without FOMO that I need to see it all which I think would be harder when flying in.

 

Ireland is also a great destination.  I didn't mean to turn the day in Belfast into a Titanic day but at the same time it was so incredibly interesting seeing the shipyard that built some of the best ocean liners of their day and hearing the story of Titanic from a different perspective.   

 

Scotland never disappoints.  The visit to Shetland was especially enjoyable.  

 

Having Belgium added for an unexpected change of itinerary was a pleasant surprise.  I may add this port as part of a B3B next year.

 

Norway was spectacular.  Every port was fantastic.  I'm so glad I was able to cruise the heritage fjords before they are shut down.  Every port was different and special in it's own way.  From the Twizy to hikes to city tours and self-explorations, a bird safari and more.  What an experience!

 

I am in the process of making plans to return to Norway in the winter riding the train system to get around in pursuit of the Northern Lights.  Having been to Norway now I can focus that trip on destinations that make sense for a series of train rides.

 

I'm grateful @Hoopster95 and @Biker19 joined for the second cruise which provided some relief from the weight of keeping everything live by myself.

 

 Tips for anyone booking this or similar itineraries - pack warm layers and really good rain gear.  🤣 

 

This may be the last from me, at least for a while.  It's a lot of work and the pay sucks.  Plus I don't have anything worthy of the effort on the books.  I do have some epic train journeys coming up but there is no place to post those live so I'll just be keeping them to myself.  

 

I hope you have found this informative and I thank you for viewing. 

[loug1601]

@twangster,

 

The float away lounge on this site would just LOVE a good train saga! Please consider it. I know the reports you do must be incredibly time consuming, but on a selfish note, I just love them!

 

Patty

[Cherful59]

I am on the July 5th Arctic Circle cruise @twangster and @Hoopster95.  Thank you for all of the commentary, tips and pics.  
 

The British Isles is also on my bucket list, so again, thank you Twangster for all of the information.

[CruiszBug]

On 6/11/2024 at 5:30 PM, island lady said:

 

"Sea" you on board next month.  🙂  We are back for the last quarter, and continue to the end at  Miami where we started the first quarter.  

Absolutely! Look forward to it!

[maggieq]

@twangster   It was an honor to meet you in person.  Thanks again for doing the btb live.  
 

cruise was amazing with the itinerary accounting for 90% of that.  While we didn’t have the best weather, we enjoyed Norway very much.  
 

United actually worked in our favor yesterday AMS-IAD-EWR.   Long day though and not a fan of the Ams airport. 

Band in the centrum - I think it’s been noted already that they were not good, well to me the musicians not so bad, singer sounded worse than a bad wedding band or alley cats.   
 

would have liked to see a comedian or two on the evening entertainment schedule. 
 

cruise director was pretty good