All things Jewel of the Seas!

[HMSDingy]

This is a MUST READ!!! If you have not read the review from the SSQQ Dance Studio for their Canada/New England cruise here is the link...

 

http://www.ssqq.com/travel/newengland200608.htm

 

It is by far the wildest review I have ever read. While I sympathize with the writer on some of his points, I have to admit I almost wet my pants because I was laughing so hard while reading. His writing is brilliantly hysterical!

 

Sorry if you all have seen this before... I just stumbled across it.

 

I checked the RCI website and all Alaska cruises listed onboard the Radiance, there is tendering. According to the poster's account he sailed Alaska on the Radiance and yet this person says that the Jewel cruise was his first time tendering...hmmmm?:rolleyes:

 

 

"That's when I learned about Tender Boats." (actual quote from his review)

[JaneStarr]

The review also baffles me, since it is exactly the opposite of my 3 experiences sailing JOTS. That's not to say that they didn't have one of those "Murphy's law" cruises where anything that can go wrong does.

 

The comment that I question is the Ship's ratings. From what I remember, JOTS has often had top survey ratings.

 

I actually did have one of those "Murphy's Law" cruises on board Brilliance OTS to the Panama Canal. It started off poorly and ended with us missing our post-cruise excursion and losing our luggage for 3 months. I was able to speak to Katherine, the wonderful concierge, after the first couple of days and she fixed many of our problems.

 

I guess you never can tell when that Murphy is going to be messing with you. All we can do is try to maintain a sense of humor and try to address issues as they arise.

Jane

[hcat]

We have had two outstanding cruises on Jewel of the seas & are booked for a third-- None of the issues mentioned affected our trips at all----that was a 2006 review & may have been an off week for the ship &/or the writer...

[negc]

The review also baffles me, since it is exactly the opposite of my 3 experiences sailing JOTS. That's not to say that they didn't have one of those "Murphy's law" cruises where anything that can go wrong does.

 

The comment that I question is the Ship's ratings. From what I remember, JOTS has often had top survey ratings.

 

I actually did have one of those "Murphy's Law" cruises on board Brilliance OTS to the Panama Canal. It started off poorly and ended with us missing our post-cruise excursion and losing our luggage for 3 months. I was able to speak to Katherine, the wonderful concierge, after the first couple of days and she fixed many of our problems.

 

I guess you never can tell when that Murphy is going to be messing with you. All we can do is try to maintain a sense of humor and try to address issues as they arise.

Jane

 

After reading that review my thought was that the author is definitely a "confrontation just waiting to happen". It seemed that he had problems with everyone he encountered and while he prided himself on his supposed restraint, I never noticed any willingness to give in on any issue, whether it be the tie up a table with his jigsaw puzzle or follow instructions from the ship's crew regarding lining up for debarkation. Some of his comments did not mesh with his claim that he has sailed previously with Royal Caribbean. If he had, he should have been familiar with thingls lik the guest surveys that are distributed at the end of every cruise. We have sailed on Jewel of the Seas many times and have several more booked for the future and never found the ship or the staff to be deficient in any way. I have never heard any previous reports that the ship gets consistently low levels of satisfaction and believe it to be quite the opposite.

[velvetred]

Has anyone else had significant delays with the tendering process on the Jewel? 4 tenders carrying less than 1/4 the passengers could easily create some tension among passengers. I am debating the Jewel of the Seas and the Miracle for a cruise that gets to visit the canal area in November so I would love to know if others have had any problems with the tender process. Thanks.

[JaneStarr]

Has anyone else had significant delays with the tendering process on the Jewel? 4 tenders carrying less than 1/4 the passengers could easily create some tension among passengers. I am debating the Jewel of the Seas and the Miracle for a cruise that gets to visit the canal area in November so I would love to know if others have had any problems with the tender process. Thanks.

I have sailed JOTS in 2004, 2006, & 2008 and I can honestly not remember having any issues with the tenders. Either we did shore excursions through the ship and got off with our tours or we made our way at leisure onto the tenders.

 

Sorry I can't be more specific. I just really can't recall any memorable issues.

Jane

[DHADEN]

Do they still have the My Time Dining on the Jewel? Does anyone know anything else about it?

 

The notice we received said it would be a trial period through December '08. You have to sign up for it and "pre-cruise tipping" (or whatever they called it) ahead of time, then you are stuck for the whole cruise.

 

.........Also, does anyone know what type of fried foods are served at the Seaview Cafe and are there any desserts available?

Thanks.

 

I have tried to copy and paste the pictures of the menues, but it won't work; and I can't remember where I got them. I think there was a thread about it where someone posted the pictures.

Can Anyone Help???

[knitpurl]

We were on this "Jewel" of a ship in February 2008 and plan to be on her again in March of 2010. This is by far our favorite ship and the best cabin we have ever had, including a mini suite on the Sun Princess. Cabin 9576 is a balcony hump cabin. The locatin by the library is awesome and the balcony is exta large with a big covering. It is the quietest cabin we have ever had and can't wait to be in it again.

 

The staff on the Jewel was outstanding!

 

so glad to see how much you liked cabin 9576..we have 9076 for an upcoming Panama Canal cruise so am assuming this will also be a great cabin..Thanks for sharing...

[velvetred]

Can anyone comment on the types and quality of desserts on the Jewel? I read a couple of recent posts on this board commenting negatively on RCI's desserts so I wondered if anyone could comment specifically about the JOS's desserts. Thanks.

[jmraggs]

Someone had said on another thread that the Solarium Cafe is open during the day at different times, but I am more interested in the evening times. That person thought it was open from 9 pm until 1 am, so has anyone else noticed this? Maybe they were thinking of the Seaview Cafe (now Seafood Shack so I have heard) Do they also have softserve ice cream out by the pool like other ships?

 

Also, we are doing the Caribbean/Panama Canal cruise and I hope I don't get disappointed in just doing the partial Canal since we are not going the entire length to the Pacific. Has anyone done that cruise?

 

Thanks again!

[llund]

We took a partial Panama Canal cruise with Princess. We went to Gatun Lake and booked a tour with them that took us to a smaller boat. We went through the canal to Panama and took a bus back to the ship. Check and see if RCCL has some excursion like this. I am sure they do. It was really great to see the canal from a large ship and then from a smaller boat. We also were able to see the countryside on our bus trip back.

[jmraggs]

We took a partial Panama Canal cruise with Princess. We went to Gatun Lake and booked a tour with them that took us to a smaller boat. We went through the canal to Panama and took a bus back to the ship. Check and see if RCCL has some excursion like this. I am sure they do. It was really great to see the canal from a large ship and then from a smaller boat. We also were able to see the countryside on our bus trip back.

 

Good idea, much thanks!

[CARIBPRINCESS]

Can anyone confirm whether there are only 2 formal nights on the 11-night Panama Canal cruise on JOS?

Thanks

[waf125]

CaribPrincess- In my last set of cruise documents, it was listed as 2 formal nights for an 11 night cruise. Hope that helps!

 

Please join our thread.... we would love to have you post and get to know you!! :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=598499&page=24

 

Hope to hear from you!!;)

[Cruise_Couple]

Can anyone confirm whether there are only 2 formal nights on the 11-night Panama Canal cruise on JOS?

Thanks

 

According to the RCCL web site all 11 night cruises have 2 formal nights.

[velvetred]

Does anyone know if the Windjammer Cafe features any Asian food at the stations in the buffet? It doesn't look like the Jade is available on the JOS. Thanks.

[Patsfan3]

Sorry if this is a repeat but I was wondering if anyone knows if Bj's/Vacation Outlet does last minute discounts on the 10/23 Bermuda sailing from Boston?

[doracruiser]

our 11 night British Isles- Norwegian Fjords cruise also brought the information that we were to have 3 smart casual and 2 formal nights.... wrong... the truth was that we had 1 smart casual night and 3 formal nights... just one of the many misinformations handed out by Royal Caribbean

[torpeedo]

We are also interested to know about formal nights on the11 nite Panama cruise. We are booked for 2/9/09.

[torpeedo]

Somehow my above post posted without finishing!!

What we wanted to add was that we also love the Jewel. Feb will be our 4th cruise on the Jewel. Thanks for the tip about Andrea's love of Chocolate Mimi! Will be sure to bring her a nice present! We also love Teodore, the bartending in the Hollywood Odyssey. He is a terrific co host with Andrea when they have the cocktail hours.

Does anyone know if Andrea will be onboard in FEB 09??? Sure hope so. She is a sweet girl and a wonderful hostess.

[negc]

Sorry if this is a repeat but I was wondering if anyone knows if Bj's/Vacation Outlet does last minute discounts on the 10/23 Bermuda sailing from Boston?

 

If the cruise isn't selling well, you can pretty much rest assured that they will. You may also notice that they use "free" or discounted cruises to barter to obtain advertising space on local radio stations, which use the cruises as promotional contest prizes. Keep your eyes and ears open for such contests.:)

[negc]

Somehow my above post posted without finishing!!

What we wanted to add was that we also love the Jewel. Feb will be our 4th cruise on the Jewel. Thanks for the tip about Andrea's love of Chocolate Mimi! Will be sure to bring her a nice present! We also love Teodore, the bartending in the Hollywood Odyssey. He is a terrific co host with Andrea when they have the cocktail hours.

Does anyone know if Andrea will be onboard in FEB 09??? Sure hope so. She is a sweet girl and a wonderful hostess.

 

Andrea left the ship and RCI some months back and was last heard from seeking employment in the hospitality industry in her native South Africa. The current concierge is Nedere Reid who, by all accounts, has been an excellent replacement. We will meet her for the first time in a little over a month when we board Jewel for the TA to Boston.:)

[velvetred]

Does anyone know whether or not there are any Asian food stations in the Windjammer on the Jewel?

[jab47]

Nedere Reid is the current Concierge on the Jewel. I was on the July 10 - 22 cruise. In my opinion she is excellent as a Concierge and Even better if you get to talk with her and get to know her. I have only had one other cruise where I had CL privileges and the difference was like day and night. I am sure there are other goods ones out there but again in my opinion she is the best.

Theodore, Teddy, should have finished his last cruise today and is going back home. Too bad as Neddy and Teddy were a great team.

[JaneStarr]

Andrea left the ship and RCI some months back and was last heard from seeking employment in the hospitality industry in her native South Africa. The current concierge is Nedere Reid who, by all accounts, has been an excellent replacement. We will meet her for the first time in a little over a month when we board Jewel for the TA to Boston.:)

 

Andrea is about to start a new position at the Westin Grande in Cape Town. Sounds like it's entry level, but I'm sure she'll advance quickly. She'd been managing a restaurant where she use to work. It sounds as if Andrea is settling in and getting to finally spend some time with her family.

 

Jane