Princess cruiser considering RCI...terrible reviews scaring me...are they true?

Hello all! We have cruised Princess nearly exclusively for the last 15 years. However we would like to do a Caribbean cruise leaving from San Juan next Feb. (Princess departs from Ft Lauderdale next year.) We really like the itinerary of the Jewel of the Seas. However, the recent reviews are horrible. I usually take reviews with a grain of salt, but there are so many bad ones. We have realistic expectations. Princess has declined over the years but we still enjoy cruising. It sounds like the food on this particular ship is really bad.

Has anyone been on the Jewel recently that can tell me if the reviews are accurate? Thank you in advance. :)

Hello all! We have cruised Princess nearly exclusively for the last 15 years. However we would like to do a Caribbean cruise leaving from San Juan next Feb. (Princess departs from Ft Lauderdale next year.) We really like the itinerary of the Jewel of the Seas. However, the recent reviews are horrible. I usually take reviews with a grain of salt, but there are so many bad ones. We have realistic expectations. Princess has declined over the years but we still enjoy cruising. It sounds like the food on this particular ship is really bad.

 

Has anyone been on the Jewel recently that can tell me if the reviews are accurate? Thank you in advance. :)

I would say if you've been cruising for 15 years, then you should know that reviews can be critical for some and great for others. As far as the food being "really bad", that's just as subjective. There's not much about RC that I don't like. Nothing major, like the food. Maybe a few "little things." Nothing that would stop me from cruising with them. :)

Horrible???? Not hardly, maybe some were disappointed with things, but "horrible"...

Remember, its all in the eye of the beholder. I think you'll find Jewel pretty typical if you compare with comparable size/age Princess ships. I certainly wouldn't deny myself the pleasure of sailing her because of some negatives voiced here. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

The only real way to find out is to book it!;)

Not anymore so than I would suspect some of Princess reviews are.

We like both Princess and Royal!

We cruise on the Jewel at least once a year. She is our favorite ship. We have done 3 Princess cruises but chose to stay with Royal. Royal & Princess are more alike than different. You should do just fine on Royal.

We have sailed Royal and Princess a number of times. We found all of our cruises to be a great experience. Of course, opinions are just that. I enjoyed my food experiences both in the main dining rooms and in the specialty restaurants. Hope you enjoy your cruise whichever line you choose to sail on.

I have over 20+ cruises with RCI and tried PCL once just after Sapphire Princess was refurbished to the Mexican Riviera a favorite itinerary of our's and since RCI doesn't do this itinerary anymore I thought what a perfect time to try PCL...wonderful cabin E731 but something just seemed "off".

I've cruised Jewel a few times but my favorite for the southern caribbean is Adventure...perhaps you might consider her instead.

We have sailed mostly on Princess. Since the Southern Caribbean is our favorite itinerary and Princess stopped departing from San Juan, we had to find a different cruise line. Leaving in three weeks for our second Royal cruise. This time on the Jewel. We also believe that Princess and Royal are more similar than different. Have no problem picking either line. It's all about the itinerary for us. A cruise is what you put into it. No one else's opinion should influence your vacation! Enjoy!

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We have done several Princess cruises before switching back to RCCL, similar lines in general, I felt crowded on many of the Princess cruises, seems to me RCCL has more space per passenger. I prefer the bigger ships that have the Ice show

We have done several Princess cruises before switching back to RCCL, similar lines in general, I felt crowded on many of the Princess cruises, seems to me RCCL has more space per passenger. I prefer the bigger ships that have the Ice show

Yes...and that's why I suggested the Adventure rather than Jewel for the southern caribbean...We've done both and looking forward to another B2B on AOS when the booking opens for May 2018.

Sailed on Jewel from San Juan in November. So bad that we are back on her again in June !!! 🤣

Lovely ship with nice ambiance. Captain Liz was charming.

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The included food on Princess is significantly better than on RCL. RCL included food is like that which you find at the very cheapest buffets / restaurants on land. So long as you're willing to pay for the up-sell food options then you'll be fine; if not you'll be left thinking you should have sailed on Princess.

Just like you said, we also take negative reviews with a grain of salt and take a cruise with an open mind.

I too am very worried about my cruise next year!

Hello all! We have cruised Princess nearly exclusively for the last 15 years. However we would like to do a Caribbean cruise leaving from San Juan next Feb. (Princess departs from Ft Lauderdale next year.) We really like the itinerary of the Jewel of the Seas. However, the recent reviews are horrible. I usually take reviews with a grain of salt, but there are so many bad ones. We have realistic expectations. Princess has declined over the years but we still enjoy cruising. It sounds like the food on this particular ship is really bad.

 

Has anyone been on the Jewel recently that can tell me if the reviews are accurate? Thank you in advance. :)

I too am sick with worry about my cruise next year!

Thank you for all the replies. Ashland, why do you prefer AOS best?

...Has anyone been on the Jewel recently that can tell me if the reviews are accurate? Thank you in advance. :)

Check out piggiepuffs January 2017 Jewel Cruise. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2448496&highlight=jewel

I've done two Princess cruises and just did a RC short cruise on the Empress - the tiniest ship ever... but LOVED it! I think the RC cruise has a bit younger vibe, but otherwise was pretty equal. The food was great - maybe an 8.5/10 where I'd rate Princess 9/10, but we ate very well. I wasn't sure if that was due to the fact it was a short cruise on a tiny ship or the difference between the two companies. I suggest you look for reviews of cruises that you were on and compare it with your personal experience. That will help you realize that some people can be more negative than you. We found a lot of negative reviews for the Empress - but we did our homework and knew it was a small ship without a lot of amenities - and that suited us just fine.

We are just off Jewel this past Sunday. We had a wonderful time and would do it again in a heartbeat. Was all perfect, of course not, but what cruise ever is. You won't have the bells and whistles of the bigger ships, but with the port intensive itineraries on this ship you don't need them all. The majority of the food we had was great, and if there was something we didn't care for we got something else. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Jewel, but you do to understand it is a smaller ship without all the extras some ships have.

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We really like cruising out of San Juan and we last did it on AOS because Princess wasn't sailing out of there. Elite on Princess but these cruises are very similar to sailing on Golden or Caribbean Princess. Shows a bit better, food about the same. We would sail Jewel in a heartbeat if timing was right