Back from the Jewel - mixed review

[stbmom]

We got back yesterday from the Jewel, Western Car.

There were good and not so good parts to this trip. Let me start with the positive. The Jewel is still a great ship. Our room was WONDERFUL, even with a pack n play (supplied by RCCL) in the room we had a ton of space! We were in a D1 balcony room and would definitely go for this type of room again. Our cabin stewart was great and really worked with our schedule since we had a 13 month old with us. The Seaview cafe staff was great as well.

I did the "Ladies Night Out" spa treatment and this was GREAT! It was $99 and the treatment was almost 2 hours. There were 7 of us ladies, divided into 2 groups. My group started with a body brush (and they gave us the brushes to keep), then did a sea salt treatment, then showered. We then went into the steam room, dry sauna, and aroma therapy suite. We then had chocolate covered strawberries, canapes, and champaign. After that we laid on the heated seats and had a facial and foot massage. This was such a great treat for just $100 (plus tip).

There were a lot of little kids on this trip, but I think it was great (probably be we had one of those little ones). I didn't see a lot of school age or teenagers. The people on the cruise we very good.

 

The not so good part was the food. Since we had a little one we didn't want to do dinner in the dining room - so we were going to rely on room service and the Windjammer. Let me say room service was terrible. The menu was not very good and Windjammer didn't open until 6:30. My son is on EST and the ship switched to CST for 3 days. Since my son goes to sleep at 7:00 EST, Windjammer was out. We ended up having to feed my son at Seaview Cafe every night. Now, we are a pretty much organic family at home, so feeding my son chicken fingers and french fries every day made me want to cry. There were no truely healthy choices at Seaview and the room service menu was very limited and they didn't even want to serve what they had.

We had just as bad a problem at breakfast with nothing being available until 6:00 CST (my son was up at 4:30 CST) and at 6:00 all they had was donughts, milk, and bananas. Windjammer didn't open for another hour and room service would not deliver anything hot before 7:00. One day I called and placed an order at 5:15 in the morning. At 7:15 we were still waiting for room service to come and ended up going to the dining room for breakfast. My dh forgot ds sippy cup and went back to the room. He passed room service coming to our room at 7:25 - more than 2 hours after I called!!

I filled a complaint with Guest Services and the room service manager called and apologized and said to ask to speak with her for our orders. The next night was lobster night in the dining room - I called room service to order a lobster diner and was told "no, you can only get it in the dining room". I asked to speak with the manager and she said there would be no problem getting the meal delivered.

I guess my issue was I shouldn't have to go to the dining room to get a quality meal. There were rarely steaks available in Windjammer for dinner, so we really ended up eating "so so" food every day. The dining room was only open 1 day for lunch and even then when I asked for steamed veggies for my son - they were hard to come by. He has never eaten so poorly and I won't let it happen again. Luckily I had brought so babyfood fruit with us and we ended up eating it all.

We have decided the it may be time to move up a line (like to Cunard) because RCCL just doesn't seem to meet our needs any more. I know its "just food", but that really is something that I look forward to when I cruise. I cook higher quality meals on a weeknight than we got on the Jewel and that just shouldn't be. My ds had to pay regular price and couldn't get anything more than chicken fingers - the just doesn't make since. Not all parents want their kids eating pizza and hot dogs and RCCL should recognize that. I heard other people trying to get veggies in the dining room for their kids as well.

Traveling with a young child was great for us because we did plan ahead. We shipped down toys and other things and my son had a blast! We went to the Fisher price class every day and that was okay.

Overall, RCCL is still a good cruise company, but we are longing for the "good old days" when cruising was a more upscale experience. We are now willing to pay a higher price and cruise less to get the experience that we want.

I would still recommend RCCL to folks, it just doesn't fit our desires anymore.

[dogsambam]

We are going on the Jewel in a few weeks with our 1 year old. We actually considered the Queen Mary, and were told it isn't the best for children, especially infants. Did you use a baby sitter at all? Where did they put the pack and Play in the cabin? Did you do the infant program, I think called aqua babies, with your baby? I am a little concerned about this cruise with the food, after reading your post.

[wraithe]

Interesting review, it's always amazing how different people are. I was lucky with my kids, since I was in the military and my ex is a nurse, it was good that my kids weren't so regimented with sleep and wake up times, or they (and because of them, us) would have been miserable most of the time. There pretty much isn't any such thing as a schedule in the Navy, so we ate meals and had bedtimes at all hours. My kids are 17 and 20 now, so it's not an issue for me, but it is interesting to note the differences. Good luck with your future cruises.

[stbmom]

We are going on the Jewel in a few weeks with our 1 year old. We actually considered the Queen Mary, and were told it isn't the best for children, especially infants. Did you use a baby sitter at all? Where did they put the pack and Play in the cabin? Did you do the infant program, I think called aqua babies, with your baby? I am a little concerned about this cruise with the food, after reading your post.

 

I have heard the opposite about Queen Mary - they have programs for kids starting at one year old, RCCL's does start until 3.

We didn't use the baby sitting service - we had both sets of grandparents:)

We did the Aqua Babies (that is the Fisher Price class) every day. It is at 9 am for 45 minutes. They have different toys each day for the kids to play with. There were some kids that came most days - average was about 3 kids. The ages were 6 - 18 months.

My son didn't want to stay the whole time a couple of days. But mostly because we had a lot of toys in our cabin that were new for him and he had some of the Fisher Price toys at home.

 

Food will be a definite issue for your little one on RCCL. Windjammer did not have truly "healthy" food for lunch most days. For instance, you couldn't find things like steamed veggies - it was always dripping with butter or some other sauce. They did have a lot of fruit, my son ate a ton of bananas. But, he has been eating up a storm since we got home!!

[PH8]

room service would not deliver anything hot before 7:00. One day I called and placed an order at 5:15 in the morning. At 7:15 we were still waiting for room service to come and ended up going to the dining room for breakfast. My dh forgot ds sippy cup and went back to the room. He passed room service coming to our room at 7:25 - more than 2 hours after I called!!

.

 

Ok, this is sorta confusing to me....:confused: You only waited 15 mins before you left your cabin......then complained because it came at 7:25??? It really didnt matter that it came 2 hours after because you knew they didnt deliver till 7...

 

Anyway,you're right,not everyone likes RCCL and that is why there are so many choices............good luck with your next trip.......

[stbmom]

There were other things that were frustrating for us as well. For instance, the coffee bar. I asked for a "Frappuccino type drink" and the lady had no idea what I was talking about. I know it was Seattle's Best coffee, but certainly they should know Starbucks type drinks. I then explained how it was made and she said she couldn't do blender coffee drinks - only a mango and another fruit drink. I didn't understand why she couldn't just make an iced mocha and blend it, but she wouldn't.

However, even the iced mocha she made was terrible. I got it from her twice and both times is wasn't drinkable. She even had trouble using the expresso machine. There was another person making coffee later in the day and she did great. But, I wasted $10 with the first lady because she really didn't know anything about coffee.

 

The picture people were really good though. We had several great photos to choose from.

 

Also, I don't want to say we had a bad time - we had a great time. Having a child on a schedule is very healthy and we don't have any problem with it. We are parents first and we really aren't night owls ourselves.

[stbmom]

Ok, this is sorta confusing to me....:confused: You only waited 15 mins before you left your cabin......then complained because it came at 7:25??? It really didnt matter that it came 2 hours after because you knew they didnt deliver till 7...

 

Anyway,you're right,not everyone likes RCCL and that is why there are so many choices............good luck with your next trip.......

 

No, since they wouldn't deliever anything HOT we didn't order anything HOT. We ordered basically bread, milk, and a couple of other things. That is why we didn't understand why OUR order would take over 2 hours to deliver.

[stbmom]

Oh yea, I also couldn't figure out RCCL's schedule. They only had the rock climbing wall opened 4 hours a day (2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon) - we really didn't see why it couldn't be open longer.

 

They did have "cry baby theatre" also which was a good idea. It was basically one movie showing where babies and little kids were allowed to come.

 

 

OH YEA!!!!!

In the compass it clearly read: People with children under 16 WERE ALLOWED to dine in Portifinos and Chops at the first seating time of 6:00.

 

So, there ends the debate on if it is okay or not. We didn't do it. We wanted to eat at Chops and were going to have the grandparents babysit, but all the reservations were booked up before we called. We called at 4:00 on embarktion day and there were NO MORE spots available for the entire week!!!

[wraithe]

The picture people were really good though. We had several great photos to choose from.

 

Also, I don't want to say we had a bad time - we had a great time. Having a child on a schedule is very healthy and we don't have any problem with it. We are parents first and we really aren't night owls ourselves.

 

Two excellent points,

 

1) especially the free style photos, Vanja on Grandeur was totally awesome when we were there, she was so willing to work with you to get whatever kind of photo that you wanted, we are into ballroom dance and wanted some dance style photos, I've posted them on photobucket, you can see them if you click on the link in my sig, look in the Grandeur links, shameless plug, since I loved the photos so much,

 

2) I don't argue that schedules work great for some parents, but it didn't for us, I worked rotating shifts when on shore duty, and of course, on the ship, had widely varying schedules, my ex worked all shifts as well, so fixed schedules just didn't work for us. I still work rotating shifts now, and it's hard on the body, it's probably good for the child if he can stay on a schedule, but (again, shameless plug for me and the ex) my kids don't seem any worse for the wear. They were home schooled as well, my daughter is doing well in college, and my son is soon to graduate high school, both work, and neither has ever caused me any legal grief :D and I'm very happy about that.

[gkrebs]

Sbtmom,

 

Sorry it didn't work out for you. I to had some problems with room service on this cruise and had to cancel it because they were to late in coming. I am also sorry I missed you in Key West.

 

Other then that, I thought the cruise was pretty good. Seaview Cafe, was ok also for late nite, but thats about it. Portofino was outstanding as usual, but getting reservations for the night in Cozumel was dang near impossible by 1:00 on embarkation day. Earliest time was 9:00 already which meant we missed the Pool party because we ate until 11:30 and were ready to pass out by then :-). There were only 200 kids on board and that includes the teenagers so there wasn't alot. However, the college kids from the university of West Georgia acted more like typical 12 year olds at times. (Smoking in the hot tubs, breaking glasses in them, throwing their buddies bathing suits across the deck, oh now I'm getting started.) One of the Princesses told an attendent that it was his job to get her an ashtray and a plastic glass for her while she was int he hot tub. He got her the plastic glass but refused to bring an ashtray. Good for him. She saw me on deck 12 smoking a ciggarette and asked if I could give her a light. I told her I would be happy to for 10 bucks and that shut her up quick.

 

Key West was great as we did a Pub Crawl and some Geo Caching. Did an ATV excursion in Playa de Carmen that was the best excursion we have ever done. Since it had rained that day we were going through mud and creeks the whole time which was great to do. Free Mud bath. Walking back in town, the locals were even shouting at my wife, "Damn Lady, you are dirty." at which point she would take a bow.

 

We enjoyed our time at Tequilla Beach in Costa Maya which was the first sunny day of the whole trip ( it rained or was cloudy 4 of the 6 days).

 

Just barely made my dive time in GC though due the captain not going back to Eastern time like he had done on the previous sailing. I know this was my biggest complaint, but I was more worried about it for our future Cruise Critic friends who were sailing behind us so they could get excursion times right.

 

We also had a D1 balcony on deck 9 which was great and the Cabin stewart was invisible. Great Job Alan. Waiter and Asst Waiter were great and pulling jokes all the time. One of our tablemates order the fish the first night, and when he brought it out to her, there was a blue plastic fish on her plate. You should have seen the look on her face, Priceless. Her husband was afraid that was the meal until they realized it was plastic. The Headwaiter made sure we had the Escargot every night as requested, so he earned his tip. The Eggs Benedict in the Dining Room was done perfectly this time. The waiter waited till I cut into it to make sure, otherwise he told me he was taking it back. He said the cooks must have been in a good mood that day.

 

Other notes;

 

We arrived at the ship at noon and were onboard in 15 minutes

We waited 20 minutes after our color was called to depart and the only luggage left in our color was ours. (No searching necessary)

Customs was going to ding us for the 6 bottles of booze, but then she decided to say Merry Christmas and good bye after just looking at what was in the box.

Liquor box made back to Atlanta ok (Schocked me, was sure it would turn up missing).

Ship as pretty as everyone says, but I find Voyager Class ships easier to navigate.

Passage through the Florida Straites was smooth as glass for a change.

Could only find 3 of the 4 colors of the Floozie glasses. SIL going on the Mariner next month so its up to her to find the Yellow ones. They are the toughest.

Oh, Cozumel Ligor store aggrivated me when I asked if they had Liguor boxes, then they didn't. The shop on the ship gave me what I needed for no charge (outstanding)

Grand Caymen best place for Liquor Purchases. (Single Malt Scotches hard to find though)

Comedian, Knudson Brothers, and Cabbeloros all great shows.

Didnt do musicals as the City Dreams put me to sleep last time. Heard they dropped one of the performers though during the show. No one hurt.

 

Sorry to have tacked my review on to yours. Hope you dont mind

[gkrebs]

Ok, this is sorta confusing to me....:confused: You only waited 15 mins before you left your cabin......then complained because it came at 7:25??? It really didnt matter that it came 2 hours after because you knew they didnt deliver till 7...

 

Anyway,you're right,not everyone likes RCCL and that is why there are so many choices............good luck with your next trip.......

 

Parrothead,

 

They were really running very late on some days. I had one delivery scheduled for 7:30 to 8:00 and at 8:15 with no phone call or nothing, I had to cancel as DW needs her coffee and Danish in the morning on a cruise. :) Room Service is 24 hour delivery though. Not sure if OP asked for something hot at that time. But now that I think about it, Room Service alsways questioned me on what was ordered. We ordered 2 cheese plates and they asked how many people we had, which was strange and they always questioned how much coffee we wanted delivered even though I requested 4 servings to get the large pot. It wasn't a big deal to me, just different then previous sailings.

[stbmom]

Don't mind at all!!

I wanted to make the Key West meet up - but I ended up loosing track of the time!

 

I hated the bad weather in Cozumel, but with the number of ships we probably weren't going to get a good spot on Paradise Beach anyway :)

 

The time changes were the worst thing about the trip I think. We probably wouldn't have had such food issues if we didn't stay on CST time so long. I would have really loved more healthy choices though!! Am I really the only person who actually likes the taste of a couple of healthy dishes? It kind of defeats the purpose of turkey sausage if you cook it in grease.

 

I never saw the college kids (a good part of being in the room by 7:00!). We got full use of the bars though - in the early morning when ds woke up! they became his play room as we would take his toys there at 5:00 in the morning and play with him until breakfast.

 

Weather in GC was GREAT as was Costa Maya.

 

Several people mentioned the Captain being a no show so much. Even at the Captains cocktail party! I mean, I understand no hand shaking, but at least speak to the guests!!

[gkrebs]

He was at the Cocktail party, thats when I first mentioned the time changes to him and asked him why. He was there at about 5:40 or so. I had about a 5 minute discussion with him about it after the introductions were over. This is also when Bobby told me that they changed the times again beacuse the Captain said he thought the pax looked to tired after Costa Maya on the last cruise. We shook elbows. Bobby also mentioned that the Captain would be gone in a few weeks and new captain would change things around again, but then the captain said he just got off vacation. So who knows what they will do about the times. TG the weather was good in the 2 ports, at least I got some color to prove we were on vacation :-)

[Voyager]

Interesting review, it's always amazing how different people are. I was lucky with my kids, since I was in the military and my ex is a nurse, it was good that my kids weren't so regimented with sleep and wake up times, or they (and because of them, us) would have been miserable most of the time. There pretty much isn't any such thing as a schedule in the Navy, so we ate meals and had bedtimes at all hours. My kids are 17 and 20 now, so it's not an issue for me, but it is interesting to note the differences. Good luck with your future cruises.

Ditto. Although I am not in service with the military or otherwise, I am a mom. Children adapt. I think mom was more worried about the "time" than the child. As far as the kid fiendly food, organic or not, the OP SHOULD HAVE gone to the dinning room to make arragements for the food she wanted for her child. I realize her family did not want to eat there in evenings, but the staff WOULD HAVE accomodated her requests. She could have spoken to her head waiter and said, " We dont want to dine in in your beautiful resturant, we would like to either eat in the WJ or order room service. Is it possible for us to have ___________ fill in the blank. RCCL in my experience, will always try to accomadate.

 

In retro, maybe the OP should go to the dinning room on future cruises, the staff love to see the babies and will bend over backwards to please the little ones. YMMV

[Voyager]

Interesting review, it's always amazing how different people are. I was lucky with my kids, since I was in the military and my ex is a nurse, it was good that my kids weren't so regimented with sleep and wake up times, or they (and because of them, us) would have been miserable most of the time. There pretty much isn't any such thing as a schedule in the Navy, so we ate meals and had bedtimes at all hours. My kids are 17 and 20 now, so it's not an issue for me, but it is interesting to note the differences. Good luck with your future cruises.

Ditto. Although I am not in service with the military or otherwise, I am a mom. Children adapt. I think mom was more worried about the "time" than the child. As far as the kid fiendly food, organic or not, the OP SHOULD HAVE gone to the dinning room to make arragements for the food she wanted for her child. I realize her family did not want to eat there in evenings, but the staff WOULD HAVE accomodated her requests. She could have spoken to her head waiter and said, " We dont want to dine in in your beautiful resturant, we would like to either eat in the WJ or order room service. Is it possible for us to have ___________ fill in the blank. RCCL in my experience, will always try to accomadate.

 

In retro, maybe the OP should go to the dinning room on future cruises, the staff love to see the babies and will bend over backwards to please the little ones. YMMV

[gkrebs]

He was at the Cocktail party, thats when I first mentioned the time changes to him and asked him why. He was there at about 5:40 or so. I had about a 5 minute discussion with him about it after the introductions were over. This is also when Bobby told me that they changed the times again beacuse the Captain said he thought the pax looked to tired after Costa Maya on the last cruise. We shook elbows. Bobby also mentioned that the Captain would be gone in a few weeks and new captain would change things around again, but then the captain said he just got off vacation. So who knows what they will do about the times. TG the weather was good in the 2 ports, at least I got some color to prove we were on vacation :-)

[Cruising89143]

Ditto. Although I am not in service with the military or otherwise, I am a mom. Children adapt. I think mom was more worried about the "time" than the child. As far as the kid fiendly food, organic or not, the OP SHOULD HAVE gone to the dinning room to make arragements for the food she wanted for her child. I realize her family did not want to eat there in evenings, but the staff WOULD HAVE accomodated her requests. She could have spoken to her head waiter and said, " We dont want to dine in in your beautiful resturant, we would like to either eat in the WJ or order room service. Is it possible for us to have ___________ fill in the blank. RCCL in my experience, will always try to accommodate.

 

In retro, maybe the OP should go to the dinning room on future cruises, the staff love to see the babies and will bend over backwards to please the little ones. YMMV

 

I have to agree. I was on the Jewel the week prior to the OP. While the food was not as good as I have had on other RCI ships I had no problem with room service. They always told me how long it was going to be for the delivery. No they do not have a full service menu but yes they do have hot items and some items off of the dining room menu are available and lobster is not one. That is what the dining room is for and no they are not going to change their hours to accommodate a young child. The guest is the one that has to bend a little. They are running a ship for over 2000 guests and they cannot please everyone. Personally I think that the OP is going to run into this on any cruise line.

[kevin123]

lesson learned dont take infants on cruises

[Voyager]

I have to agree. I was on the Jewel the week prior to the OP. While the food was not as good as I have had on other RCI ships I had no problem with room service. They always told me how long it was going to be for the delivery. No they do not have a full service menu but yes they do have hot items and some items off of the dining room menu are available and lobster is not one. That is what the dining room is for and no they are not going to change their hours to accommodate a young child. The guest is the one that has to bend a little. They are running a ship for over 2000 guests and they cannot please everyone. Personally I think that the OP is going to run into this on any cruise line.

 

Yup, what cruisinggator2 said. Its called being flexible and informed before you go. Personaly, if I were to travel with a baby, you better know I will be damned prepared.

[MrPete]

One of your problems was not getting your child adjusted to the new time zone immediately.

 

We took our now 8 year old daughter to Europe starting at the ripe age of 7 months, and once a year after that. She didn't skip a beat either way, even though there was a 5 hour time difference.

 

Turns out kids adjust better than us adults, and i learned a lesson or two from her.

[pcur]

My son manages a coffee store in CA, and worked for Starbucks for years, also. As he puts it:

 

"Starbucks sells coffee drinks, and some coffee beans. Other coffee companies sell coffee beans and some coffee drinks. The emphasis is reversed." Unless the specialty drinks are on the Seattle's Best menu, they won't know how to fix it. Coffee drinks are formulaes: so much of this, a jigger of that, etc.

 

By the way, Seattle's Best lattes on the Monarch were GREAT!!! Decaf, too, and the peppermint mocha was wonderful.

[PH8]

There were other things that were frustrating for us as well. For instance, the coffee bar. I asked for a "Frappuccino type drink" and the lady had no idea what I was talking about. I know it was Seattle's Best coffee, but certainly they should know Starbucks type drinks. I then explained how it was made and she said she couldn't do blender coffee drinks - only a mango and another fruit drink. I didn't understand why she .

 

Why should they know how to make Starbucks products when they are Seattles best???:confused:

 

BTW--------I was trained to work at a Starbucks(as part of my job with Barnes and Noble)........Frappuchinos are premixed liquids(coffee based,milk based or light).........you just add ice and maybe some toppings(i.e.chips, fruit,etc)and blend away, so therefore RCCL ships cant just make you one without the special Frap mix..........

[stbmom]

Yup, what cruisinggator2 said. Its called being flexible and informed before you go. Personaly, if I were to travel with a baby, you better know I will be damned prepared.

 

Why is it that someone is personally attacked when they don't find RCCL perfect? I was very prepared to cruise with my child. Good night people. My issue was not being able to get an healthy food for ME or MY CHILD. Why does that involve questioning my parenting skills?

I choose to keep my child on his schedule, for him, me, and the other passengers. Yes, children "adapt". But, most children would take several days to "adapt" to a time change and be very cranky and fussy in the meantime. They would then be forced to "adapt" again a few days later for the return. Why would I want a cranky child with me, even for 2 or 3 days.

 

I don't think it is too much to ask to have a healthy choice for room service. I don't think it is too much to ask to be able to get food within 2 hours of call room service. I don't think it is too much to ask to have the person working the coffee bar know a little something about coffee.

 

But really, to question me as a parent because I complain that I couldn't get a healthy option for my child is just low class. And sorry, but having been one of the few parents that had toys for my child, utensils, high chair covers, etc. - I was very prepared. And no, I am not going to keep my child up an extra 2, 3, or 4 hours just to eat in the dining. You make that suggestion, then would be the same person to complain if my child screamed half the night from being over tired.

 

I had a GREAT time with my family. I LOVED being with my dh, ds, mother, and in laws. I just was frustrated by the lack of healthy, hot food.

 

Good gried people

[Cruising89143]

First of all no one is attacking you so quit taking this so personally. Second I could care less if you like RCI or not. I have nothing to gain financially if you do or don't. You have been on Cruise Critic for two years and did you ever bother to ask anyone what was available on the room service menu or in the Windjammer? If you had many of us would have told you what was available. How many threads have there been within the last year asking about the menu in the Seaview Cafe?

 

Again it is not the job of the cruise line to bend to your child's time frame. It is the other way around and if you or your child cannot or will not adjust then you need to rethink the idea of cruising. Also the folks that work on the ships are from other countries and probably have never even seen a Starbucks to know what you're talking about.

 

If you post a review then expect there to be comments both for and against your views. If you can't handle that then I would suggest that you not post another review. You gave us your opinion and now we are giving your ours. Also don't go there with the "low class" comment.

[pcur]

I didn't read all the replies above, because I thought they might have been pretty harsh. You see, it's not your parenting skills I'm having a problem with: you seem to be absolutely dedicated to your family and child. It's the fact that there WERE options available that you didn't take advantage of.

 

For future reference:

 

The dining room opens early, too, and the food is cooked to order. Even a double trip there to keep him on his eating schedule, and a later breakfast in the 'Jammer, could have solved a lot of your problem. The dining is also a good choice for a little lunch for him with steamed veggies, etc.

 

It would have been more work on your part, but if the goal was to keep him satisfied and on schedule, then there were options.

 

Fresh fruit in the cabin to hold him over until everyone else was ready to eat. Boxed cereal, a bowl of raisins (right next to the hot cereal) could have worked, too.

 

Rather than complain that RCCL wasn't fitting into your idea of what they should do, I think you would have been less frustrated by working with what is available.

 

The coffee comment of mine is just that I have been trained by my DS to know that all coffee stores are not created equal.

 

I hope you cruise again, with your child, but now you know the challenges.