sgmn

... you would think common sense would kick in and there would be some flexiability as you are trying to go for a more expensive longer cruise. I would suggest if they are refusing to move on this point that you add on another cruise with another cruise line after your RC cruise, if there is a suitable one available - that way you won't lose your deposit.

Drink card was offered on day five (of nine) last week on Jewel - $80 (plus service charge) for ten drinks - so only worth it for more expensive glasses of wine or expensive cocktails.

Just FYI - they had different 'drink of the day' in each bar for $8.95 and because it was so port intensive I was glad I didn't purchase the drink package as only managed average of three drinks a day !

...according to some Celebrity guests who were in port of Santorini on same day as us (Jewel) last week. We got chatting to them in the next port (Naples). They said several passengers came running up to the dock just after the last tender had left. Again this tender was about half an hour after the latest on board time. Apparently the queue to come down in the cable car was two hours long - we decided to take the steps which as I am not very fit took around 40 minutes. This is why I always take our passports off ship with us!

They told me in Vintages it's supposed to be 5oz or around 150ml.

Ah thanks for the info - I often wondered. The standard pour for wine in UK is 175ml, with a large glass 250ml. Better for the waist line but makes a glass of wine seem even more expensive if just 150ml.

Does anyone know if the wine pours are a standard measure. There is a big difference in 175ml and 250ml if you multiple it over a few drinks on a nine day cruise!! Also battling hard to lose weight - very slowly have managed to get 20lbs off over last few weeks and don't want to undo all the good work and have a big gain whilst on holiday, but want to enjoy myself with a few drinks ! :D

When we sailed on Explorer last year they offered Chops at half price on the first night, has anyone recently sailed on Jewel noticed if they offer this on the first night?

Thanks

would also be interested if there was any half prices deals on Jewel in the restaurants - we are celebrating our 30th anniversary the day before we set sail so would want to dine in speciality restaurant for first night

So £630 in total = $900 , so guess $450 per person sounds about right

Is there a limit to how much OBC you can pre purchase? I called the UK number and asked to buy $600 with my debit card and I was told I could only put a maximum of $450 so I got around it by putting $300 on mine and $300 on my husbands.

Not sure what limit is but I have purchased three lots of £200 - £300 against my name and £300 against st hubby's . Hope that will cover drinks for 9 days plus one or two specialized restaurants :)

Drink of the Day yesterday was:

Sunshine - white rum, peach schnapps, pineapple and cranberry juice for $8:95

Yum sounds lovely - thanks Tracey for your replies . Just realised you are probably just at beginning of cruise, hope you enjoy the rest of it.

Hi Tracey - we're on Jewel in September so any info would be good.

Are the shows interesting? Presume no big production shows on Jewel?

Any lectures/enrichment? When we were on Jewel in Alaska last year there was some interesting lectures by an ex Canadian Mountie - wonder if there is anything like this?

Do you know if the dinning package includes 'Chefs table' - the planner indicates it does but I would think not

Any deals on drinks? How much are 'drinks of the day', any two for one offers?, has a drink card been offered (i.e. 10 drinks for set price) ?

Have you been to Santorini yet? heard that there are long delays in tendering and as we are not there long we wanted to get as much time as possible on shore.

Thanks for your help - hope you find something to do !! :D

Regards Sue

Just bought some more OBC as have decided to do 'pay as we go' for drinks instead of package. Still offering rate of 1.42 dollars to pound. Would rather have it all prepaid up front instead of a big bill at end of cruise, especially at this rate !

Notice that the 20% off premium package has gone up twice in planner to GBP30 per day (plus tips) over last few weeks, and with all the ports in our Jewel Med cruise don't think we will drink enough to make break even.

Money left over from purchased OBC is paid to you in cash .

prices on Jewel for September in my planner are the same as Merlins Mum quoted for Brilliance. So £28.86 per day for Premium package, up a couple of pounds since Brexit. Total in my cart with the tips added is £306.49 for nine days. A lot to spend just on booze especially as there are a lot of long port days. Think I will just 'pay as I go' and hope there may be a drinks card to bring down the price by a few dollars.

Hi , how do you buy onboard credit , think I would like to do this if I can . Booked direct with Royal carribean , thanks

Just phone their reservation number - check their ROE first though. BTW drink package has now gone up by around £20 for nine day cruise and excursions hAve also increased in my cruise planner :mad:

Thanks for the review, we're on Jewel in September and there's not that much on these boards about her. Was the entertainment ok? - no big Broadway style shows I guess. And was there any drink cards offered - we are probably one of the few without a package!

I'm on Jewel in September and am pretty sure that the prepaid meal prices/package has gone up but doesn't look like the drink package or excursions have yet.

I have just purchased on board credit at rate of 1.42 - the same as my last cruise in Feb. But I know this can change so would also suggest buying sooner rather than later.

We are on the Jewel of the Seas right now and are very disappointed by the lack of effort put in by the pool attendants. They make no effort to collect towels from beds that have been empty for over 2 hours never mind 30 mins. One of them stated that there are simply not enough beds for everyone and they do not carry any in storage. So tough! I have never seen people lying on the deck on their towels before as on this ship. They are also turning a blind eye to the many children in the adults only pool and hot tub. Tried reporting it but was just shrugged off. It's not a big problem for us, we just sit on the balcony but for guests in inside or outside cabins, it's not good.

Is it worth speaking to guest services about the pool attendants not collecting towels or ask for something to be put in the daily cruise compass?

Think it's actually advertised in UK as 'all inclusive', not free. So defiantly an upsell even on the uk website

Hello - can you advise how quick and earliest you can disembark - we have an early flight out of FCO airport and need to get off quickly - would it be quickest to carry off our own bags?

Thanks

Looking forward to hearing more , we are on the same cruise in September

Hit that like button. :)

 

LMaxwell your my favorite poster on CC.

I agree - always a voice of sanity :)

The process described by GMoney is correct, as long as you have a through ticket you should be checked to final destination and will just go through security and transfer air side. If on seperate tickets your airline may just check you and your bags to London which means landing yourself and going through customs and rechecking on next flight.

Even if they don't through check you, you can still stay air side and go to the transfer desk air side as long as your bags are through checked

The minimum connection time between terminal 3 and terminal 5 is 1 and half hours but this only works if you are through checked and your inbound flight is on time !

In February it was around 1.44 down from 1.60 last year

Doesn't 18% automatically get added, so with a $1 a drink that brings the tip to almost 30% . Coming from a country where the norm is 15-% this seems pretty high and surely you shouldn't have to tip extra to get good service

Good tip... what currency is the cash payout? Us$?

The cash out on last day of any unused OBC is in USD. Great way to reduce the pain of high prices of drinks!!

And guess its a win win for RCI and us as OBC may encourage people to spend more - on my last cruise I spent money in the spa which I would normally not do

Sue