mandm97

We had the same problem! Called our TA and they had to call Celebrity to fix the glitch.

Is the drink of the day covered under classic?

:D

Review

 

We have just returned from a glorious two weeks around the Southern Caribbean on Jewel (B2B) and want to share our thoughts and comments. Hope this will help with any future planning….

 

Who we are: We are a family of four from Scotland. We are Mum, Dad, Matthew (13) and Louise (9). We generally do a B2B when travelling to the US due to the costs of flights. We are Platinum members and have travelled on Freedom and Oasis class ships. We also travelled with Granny, Granddad and Auntie Doris

 

The ship…Jewel of the Seas: We didn’t know what to expect having not sailed on a ‘smaller ship’ before. We were pleasantly surprised and after our two weeks, have fallen in love with the Radiance class. Having sailed on Oasis two years ago, hubby and I were wondering what the kids would think of a smaller ship. No concerns there! The kids and the adults love the size of the ship. There was an amazing ‘family’ feeling during both our sailings and the staff on board were phenomenal! All of our group agreed there was an incredible atmosphere and everything was so accessible. In particular we all agreed that the Centrum area of the ship was brilliant for the live music and entertainment.

 

The stateroom: We stayed in 9856 which is a hump cabin. The location was fantastic and a quick walk up to the Windjammer or pool deck and only a couple of flights down to the Champagne Bar, Schooner Bar, Safari club or main dining room.

 

The crew: As stated above, we found the staff to be some of the best we have ever had on any of our cruises. In particular, we were all impressed by the visible presence of senior staff members who took the time to ask how things were going. We met the staff at a few Crown and Anchor events and at one point made a minor point about our daughter having to wait in the queue (line) for a brownie when everyone was ordering special coffees. Next thing you know, the Manager of food and beverage (Gunter) suggests to his staff to make sure all kids are served goodies in line if they are waiting. Gunter met us a couple of times during the following week to see if Louise was having to wait (She didn’t mind ‘testing’ this out!) Both weeks our wait staff were fantastic as was our stateroom attendant. No complaints at all.

 

The food: We are ‘foodies’ and enjoy good food. We have eaten at some fantastic restaurants around the world and aren’t shy at saying when we don’t like something. All of us enjoyed our food on the cruise. We ate each night at in the main dining room and enjoyed fabulous service. On a B2B the menus are the same but we saw this as a good thing. During the second week, hubby and I went ‘off piste’ and enjoyed some of the varied dishes on the menu and of course returned to the ‘old faithful’ ones like escargot and prime rib. Our first cruise was in 2009 and we personally don’t think that the food quality has declined. I think we are realistic and recognise that the kitchen serves more than 2000 people during each dinner service each night let alone all the extra requests etc. so of course, don’t expect 2 star Michelin quality. But each night the food arrived hot, cooked to perfection (especially the beef) and there was a huge variety. If we want 2 star, we go to a 2 star restaurant and pay those prices… The Windjammer food was also fine. We liked the salad bar and egg stations in the morning. We also liked the Sea View Cafe for afternoon snacks.

 

The drinks package: We debated about this long and hard before we went and decided to try the Premium package for the first leg of the B2B and see if it was worth it. For us it was! We are moderate to heavy drinkers on holiday and generally would enjoy a cocktail or two before dinner, 3 glasses of wine at dinner then some after dinner drinks. We found the additional soft drinks package of coke a bonus and the ability to grab water on the way out for an excursion was great. We had heard that service was different for those on the package but never found this to be the case. All wait staff were fantastic and provided excellent service. As with all our cruises, certain staff got to know our names and our favourite tipples. We generally signed for receipts for alcoholic drinks but found that we could sign for each other with no difficulties. More often than not, we didn’t need to sign for soft drinks. As we were travelling with three others that weren’t on the package we weren’t sure how this would work but it wasn’t a problem. We would order 2 on the pack and 3 not on the package. At dinner, we ordered wine by the glass that came as soon as we asked.

 

The itinerary (ies): We absolutely fell in love with the Southern Caribbean and would rebook these cruises again. Beautiful islands and fabulous beaches. Here is what we did…

1 San Juan, Puerto Rico Boarded ship

2 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas RC Trip to St. John’s

3 Basseterre, St Kitts Self-arranged island trip at pier

4 cruising

6 Willemstad, Curaçao Self-arranged island trip at pier

5 Oranjestad, Aruba Self-arranged island trip at pier and then visited beach

7 Cruising

Day 1 San Juan, Puerto Rico Taxi to Old San Juan and then visit to shopping mall

2 St. Croix, US Virgin Islands Island tour including visit to rum factory and beer swilling pigs then beach

3 Philipsburg, St. Maarten Visit to Maho Beach to see planes landing and then beach

4 St. John's, Antigua Island tour and Valley Church beach

5 Castries, St Lucia Island tour then beach

6 Bridgetown, Barbados Island tour then beach (Carlisle Bay – Harbour Lights)

7 Cruising

8 Return to UK

 

We generally arranged a tour from the taxi rank at the pier and average cost was between $20 - $30 per person. Because there were 7 of us we usually got a private van but occasionally we had to pay extra for this. We found that the tour arrangements at St. Croix were more chaotic with very rude staff but this was the exception to the rule.

We only did one RC based tour, to St. John from St. Thomas. This was the second time we have done this and it is well worth it. We researched getting to St. John via private taxi, ferry etc. and it wasn’t much more to go by the tour. The tour picked us up right at the pier and delivered us over to St. John on a fabby catamaran boat. Free soft drinks and water were available on the way there. Some of us headed straight to the beach (Trunk Bay….my favourite beach in the world!) while some of our party stayed on for a bit longer island tour. We arranged for the return pick up time with the rest of the passengers and had a great day on the island. The return trip was lots of fun with music played and lots and lots and lots of rum punch served. We were delivered right back to the pier and headed right back on board. Well worth it!!!

 

The entertainment: We have mixed reviews about this. However, we cannot fault the cruise director, Denis James….he and Elvis (activities director) were absolutely BRILLIANT. Denis seemed to appear at every event and was very personable and extremely funny. The range of events that were available in the Centrum, the Pool Deck and in the Safari Club were very enjoyable. Our only disappointment was the entertainment in the main theatre. Some acts were very good but others were a disappointment (comedy act, Broadway to West End dancing night). However, I think that our expectations were very high having been on Oasis last. Nevertheless, due to the high quality of events elsewhere, we weren’t too bothered missing out the main shows. We did mention to Denis about the content on one show (anti-family jokes) and he expressed his disappointment in this and said he would look into it. It was this personal touch that we really were impressed by.

 

Meet and Mingle: We were lucky to have a Meet and Mingle during our first leg. We met some fantastic folk and it was nice to catch up with them during the rest of the week. Due to the size of the ship, this was something we did regularly. Thanks everyone!

 

Adventure Ocean: during the first week, neither of our kids decided to go to the clubs initially so by mid-week it was too late and our youngest didn’t enjoy it (said it was too shouty which is ironic!) The second week they both went on the opening night and from then on, we lost our 13 year old as he met a bunch of lovely young folk to hang out with. He had a curfew which sometimes was after we were in our jammies (11:00pm) and really enjoyed meeting new friends. Our daughter was self-sign out and our only concern was that at 10:00 pm she was never reminded that her official session was over. When we went to pick her up (when she hadn’t shown up at our arranged place) at 10:10 she was about to be charged and said she didn’t feel she could leave because people would ‘boo’ her. Our gain as we had a fantastic time learning how to play backgammon, Chinese checkers and getting the grandparents to play cards!

 

Disembarkation: Definitely would recommend getting a porter. For the price, you can get into a quicker line and have your bags carried out. It probably was the least smooth process we have been through.

 

Overall impression – FANTASTIC. We really enjoyed our cruise (s) and would sail on RC and indeed Jewel of the Seas in a flash. Indeed, we are starting to look into next summer and possible Alaska. Who knows?

Please feel free to ask any questions…..

Great review...we were on the first leg of your tour! We too had a fantastic time!

First off, if you're expecting a typical review of our 7/12 Southern Caribbean cruise on the Jewel, you may want to look elsewhere. I'm going to keep this brief and basically address things I read on this board prior to the cruise.

 

1) It was painless to get a taxi at the airport in San Juan. Walk right out and tell the dispatcher where you want to go and how many bags you have. He'll fill out a ticket and select a taxi for you.

 

2) We stayed at the Embassy Suites near the airport in Isla Verde. Nice place with free breakfast and happy hour reception. From what I read, I was expecting it to take 20 - 30 minutes to get to the ship from there on Saturday. 15 minutes and we were at the port. Same thing returning to the airport after the cruise. It did take us a hour to disembark though - very long lines to clear customs.

 

3) The Jewel is an awesome ship. I kept looking for the signs of aging that so many people have mentioned here. Never saw one. Entertainment was hit or miss like most cruises. Ron Lucas was great. We loved all the lounges and bars where you could curl up with a good book and watch the water. So many ships seem like floating hotels where you'd never know you were even on a ship in many spots.

 

4) Food was outstanding. We ate in the main dining room every night. BTW, the menu which is posted on these threads is not 100% accurate. The Basil (I think that's its name) menu has been replaced by Arugula, so no surf 'n turf. We had MTD dining with a standing reservation, so we had the same wait staff and table every night.

 

5) Formal nights were actually formal. I'd estimate 90% of the passengers dressed for the first one on day 2 and close to 75% for the second on day 5.

 

6) In St. Thomas, if you want to walk to town, the route is clearly marked. Just stay left along the water as you exit the ship.

 

7) In St. Kitts, it is very easy to get your own taxi and private tour once you arrive. Look for the taxi dispatcher inside the terminal, and he'll set you up for whatever you're interested in. A half day tour (as they call it) was $60 for the three of us, and we were out for a little over 3 hours. We were mainly interested in Brimstone Fortress and Romney Manor, but I gathered that you just tell him what you want, and he'll quote you the going rate. This seemed cheaper than what I was seeing from others who pre-booked private tours, but I don't think we were shorted on the experience. Our driver knew the island backwards and forwards and kept up a running commentary as we passed different sites.

 

8) After reading all the raves about the Seaview Café, I had to try it. I was not as impressed as others, but maybe it was what I ordered. The weird hours it's open make it a challenge to plan a meal there.

 

 

Hope this helps somebody. I'm happy to try and answer any questions.

Agree with everything you've said! We were on the same cruise. Had a fantastic time!

Sounds like you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Keith

Keith,

We enjoyed it very much!

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Where are you planning to have dinner in Aruba?

 

 

 

Carol

Carol...they informed us several months in advance. They never told us why.

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Can you say which charter you used in St. Thomas? We are on the same itinerary next year, and plan to charter so we can snorkel. Also excited to see ATV option for Curacao. We did ATVs on St. Croix in 2011 and love it!

Our original plans changed....but ended up using Captain Pogan who works for See and Ski rentals out of Red Hook. The original plans were arranged for us by the captain who we hired (he was recommended by my boss), who made the arrangements for us...so we never contacted see and ski ourselves.

The captain we were going with backed out on us but he arranged Captain Pogan for us. If you go with See and Ski ask for Captain Pogan...he really did a great job! Total cost was 545.00 (again agreed upon with the 1st Captain) for boat, captain and gas. There was 5 in our party and I met up with another couple on our roll call which made us a party of 7. He took us to 3 snorkeling spots and then to Water Island for lunch and drinks. A stressful beginning but had a wonderful day in the end! We were supposed to be picked up but when the original Captain backed out we had to take a taxi to Red Hook! Very easy process and cost 10.00 pp. Just walk off the ship and taxis are right there. You can rent snorkeling gear right on the dock. Captain Pogan was able to drop us off in the cruise port so we did not have to take a Taxi back to the ship.

Have fun...

Michele

would love to hear about curacao..please

Anzore, Curacao was beautiful esp. around the port. Def. need to walk on the floating bridge. The ATV tour we took was very good...he is a smaller tour operator and works out his home. He takes you to places that most tours will not take you. Defiantly off the beaten path. Unfortunately you got to see some of the not so glamorous areas of the island. Once you get out of the tourist areas there is ALOT of garbage that people just dump.

Enjoy!

Michele

Glad that you had a terrific cruise, I will be sailing that same itinerary in August & can't wait. I understand first formal night is day 2 (St. Thomas). Can you tell me if the 2nd formal night was day 5 (Aruba) or day 6 (Curacao)?

Pattycake...the second formal night was on day 5. That was Curacao for us (they switched Aruba and /curacao on our trip).

Enjoy...you will have a fantastic time!

Just a quick note...we had a great time on the Jewel (7/12). Food was excellent, the was ship clean and the service/crew was great all around. We did private tours on the islands with a ship Sunset cruise in Aruba.

St Thomas: Private boat charter -very good

St. Kitts: Thenford Gray tours- very good

Curacao: ATV tour with ATV & Buggy tours-excellent

Aruba: Sonny Binns Tours- excellent

Sunset Cruise via the ship tours-good

Any questions don't hesitate to ask!

We just walked outside after customs and several tour guides available right outside. We just got off July 19th. Paid 25.00 pp for a tour of new and old san Juan. We just had to wait a bit for the small bus to fill up. Guide let us roam OSJ for a couple hours and picked us back and brought us to the airport. Had a really nice lunch at the Puerto Rico Café.

Im not sure which dock you'll be at but we were there in May on a Carnival ship and the taxi from Havensight to Red Hook was $10pp.

Thanks for the info...we will be docked in Charlotte Amalie...

Can anyone tell me the cost of approx cab fare from the cruise port in St Thomas to Red Hook? Thanks for your help.

Michele

We have a 7pm flight home the of day disembarkation...any suggestions on what to do for the day?

Thanks in advance...

Michele :D

And what time does your flight have to depart to qualify for luggage valet?

I'm not really sure....I tried looking on RCL website but could not find anything regarding what time your flight needs to depart. There is other info on the luggage valet program on the website.

We have used this service on other cruise lines and if I remember correctly your flight had to be after 11:00am.

Thanks to you both! Great suggestions.... I called RCL and they said yes....they do the have the Luggage Valet program for San Juan. But I will have a backup plan just in case! :)

We will not be getting a flight home until 7:00PM on the day of disembarkation in San Juan. What would be your suggestions for the day? We should not have to worry about our luggage as we are hoping to take advantage of RCL's luggage valet program.

Thanks!

Have you done anytime before? I had assigned on my prior cruises, but figured a flexible time would be nice.

Splendor was 1st Carnival cruise that we did anytime dining...we prob. won't be doing Anytime again on Carnival. It seems confusing and we usually had a wait time of 20-30mins. They gave you a beeper...you can sit in the Atrium and listen to live music. We've done something similar on NCL and just seemed a bit more organized.