Jewel of the Sea

[arkking]

Loved the pics. I feel I know the Jewel now. It is exciing that so many people love this ship. 28 days and I will see for myself!!!!

[NorbertsNiece]

Jewel really is a wonderful ship and we are so looking forward to sailing on her sister ship later this year.

Aruba is awesome!! We had one hell of a jeep tour..... just fantastic! And I agree about Cartagena..... I just can't justify stopping at a port and not going ashore :)

[NSBFloridaRetiree]

Does anyone have a recommendation for shore excursions through the canal?

 

We booked through

 

http://www.myfriendmario.com

 

He has a number of tours. We chose CL001.

[bigtoeswim'n]

Hey Smileyperry, Thanks sooo much for your lovely pic of the Jewel. I hope to learn how to post pics too. DH and I did Serenade in Alaska last sep and I have pics to post, but I have been caught up in the holidays and shy from the learning curve of tech.

 

You two make a lovely couple. I love the pic of you at the Panama Canal and the one of your Dh with Jewel in Costa Rica. I showed DH the Jewel, and he agrees, she's a beauty. I am planning to put us on the Jewel for Oct 2010 for a New England cruise.

 

I connected to your pics because I have two sons and I hope, one day, they will make a happy couple like you two and do a cruise for their honeymoon. What a combo. Thanks for sharing your pics.

[RvrCrzr]

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. :)

[Desert Cruizers]

The Radiance Class is a beautiful ship whether it is the Brilliance, Serenade, Radiance or Jewel. The view and openess they offer are the best in my opinion.

[mtchg]

THEE most beautiful ship we have sailed by far is the incredible Jewel of the Seas..we were lucky enough to get a very nice price for a 12 nite repositioning cruise

(Boston to Ft. Lauderdale).

 

Since then, on other ships we have spotted her in the same ports with reminiscent sighs.

 

 

Could not pay the European cruise rate, but considering what a fine vessel she is (the massive ocean views from inside are so beautiful; like a glass cathedral on the sea)..not to mention the exciting itinerary, I can see why those with means do.

 

 

Mitch (so....definately book this ship)

[Sunkissed Mommy]

Hey Smileyperry' date=' Thanks sooo much for your lovely pic of the Jewel. I hope to learn how to post pics too. DH and I did Serenade in Alaska last sep and I have pics to post, but I have been caught up in the holidays and shy from the learning curve of tech.

 

You two make a lovely couple. I love the pic of you at the Panama Canal and the one of your Dh with Jewel in Costa Rica. I showed DH the Jewel, and he agrees, she's a beauty. I am planning to put us on the Jewel for Oct 2010 for a New England cruise.

 

I connected to your pics because I have two sons and I hope, one day, they will make a happy couple like you two and do a cruise for their honeymoon. What a combo. Thanks for sharing your pics.[/quote']

 

 

Thank you for all the compliments. I would recommend this ship to anyone! We had a blast. At first I was afraid to be at sea on 6 days... but in the end we wanted more sea days because we enjoyed all that she had to offer.

 

Now that I have joined CC I plan on taking many more ship photos to share with others on this site.

[fvernet]

What did you think of the excursions available from Jewel, especially in Panama, Columbia or Costa Rica?

[Tim,n,Sue]

What did you think of the excursions available from Jewel, especially in Panama, Columbia or Costa Rica?

 

We have only done 2 of them

 

Panama. Two ocean railroad. Loved it. Spring for the extar $$ and take the Panoramic car. Marty, the host, does a great job in giving you the deatils and insights to Panama. He loves Panama and works hard for you to be on the same page.

 

Limon. We took the Tortuguero Canal trip. We saw alligators, bats, monkeys, sloths etc etc. It was great.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

What did you think of the excursions available from Jewel, especially in Panama, Columbia or Costa Rica?

 

 

It depends on what you're looking for. In Panama, I wanted to experience the canal. We took the Panama Canal Cruise (the excursion through RC), it was pricey, but well worth it to me. We boarded a ferry and went through the Pedro Miguel & Miraflores locks. We also enjoyed a buffet lunch on board.

 

I did not enjoy Columbia (perhaps because of the weather and a bad choice of tour.)

 

Costa Rica has many options. We chose white water rafting, which was fabulous. It was easy enough for most people, nothing rough enough that would throw anyone out of the raft.

[fvernet]

I did not enjoy Columbia (perhaps because of the weather and a bad choice of tour.)

 

Thanks for the info. Which tour did you take in Columbia, and what did you dislike about it?

[bigtoeswim'n]

Gosh. Wish my head would stop hurting. I went ahead and book Oct 2010 sailing on Jewel out of Boston for New England. Now, to wait and wait and plan and plan and dream and dream. A cabin on deck 2 came open today, the cheap seats. Good 'nuff for me/us. Just glad to be aboard. Now to hyper watch RCI site for a price drop or a GTY at a higher category to open. Didn't think we'd do this in 2010 with the economy doing as it is. Someone pinch me!!!

[Sunkissed Mommy]

Thanks for the info. Which tour did you take in Columbia, and what did you dislike about it?

 

The Best of Cartagena. What we didn't like was the extreme heat (hey I am from south Florida and I am used to heat, but this was way worse!) and the mosquitos. Additionally, we felt that the tour skimped on the good stops and spent hours at the ones that could have been shorter.

 

Prime example: We stopped at the big fort first, we were given less than 5 minutes to take pictures and tour it. My husband and I wanted to simply climb to the top and take a picture of us on top. We thought we could make it. By the time we got from the street to the base of the fort, our guide was already calling people back onto the bus. Needless to say we were disappointed at that.

 

Secondly: we stopped at the dungeons, I personally enjoy handicraft shopping because I bring back little trinkets for my students and I always like something close to authentic. Well we were given 10 minutes there.

 

Thirdly: The Palace of the Inquisition. Beautiful place. Could have been toured in 30 minutes tops. We spent 2 hours there. The people of Cartagena are very proud of this palace. so perhaps this is why we spent so much time there.

 

At the end we were dumped at a "shopping mall" that was full of jewelry stores. I understand that many people like to buy jewels while on vacation to get a good deal, but nothing seemed to be a good deal. We were there for an hour. After 15 minutes of being there 80% of our group was already back on the bus taking a nap before returning to the ship.

[broberts]

In Cartagena we arranged our own taxi (minibus) tour. We did our research first and decided where we wanted to go. Walk through the cruise terminal, outside you will find the usual group of taxi people. Make sure you establish where you want to go and roughly how long you want to stay in each place.

 

All of the taxis & tour buses get some type of kickback for taking people to various shopping venues. Ours, for example, got gas coupons from an emerald jewelry "factory". We didn't mind since we wanted to do some emerald shopping and had asked to be taken to a place that had good quality and selection. It's what we got.

 

Make sure you ask for a walking tour through the old city. Our taxi dropped us off with the guide and we had a wonderful walk through very picturesque narrow streets. Stopping in various places as it suited us. We met up with the taxi outside part of the fortifications near the cathedral - given the large number of buses and taxis, I think all the tours started or stopped there. By the way the price of t-shirts and other trinkets goes down steadily the further along you are in the walking tour. At least it did for us.

 

I doubt if we saved any money. That wasn't our intent in making our own arrangements. We got to do mostly what we wanted at our own pace.

 

Some pics of my 11 night cruise can be found at http://www.reasgroup.com/Cruise2009/Jewel2009-01-19.htm

[mehitabel]

Question about the Colombia port day--what time did the MDR open for breakfast that day, since the docking time is so early? (Assuming it was 7 am for you, as it is on subsequent cruises.)

Thanks!

[CVU]

[quote name='mikefast']I enjoyed all of the pictures and you convinced me. My second son, his wife, my wife and I are booked on the Jewel for the 26th of April of this year. We didn't have anything booked until November and we just couldn't wait that long. :)[/quote]

You will love this ship! We spent 24 nights on her in Aug./Sept. The staff was wonderful and so happy.:)

[Mia_One]

Have sailed on the Radiance and the Jewel and loved them both.
Thinking of the 10 day March 2011 - anyone know what the E1 balcony's are like - aft Deck 7? On the deck plan the balcony's look bigger - is it just an illusion?

Thanks for any help with this :)

[negc]

[quote name='cb at sea']It's a very nice ship. The only thing I didn't like was the enclosed Solarium....I like being able to lie by the pool and tan in an "adult only" atmosphere...and with the covered roof, you really can't tan....big negative, for me.
Aside from that, the rest of the ship is a beauty![/quote]
If the retractable roof over the climate-controlled solarium effectively blocks the UV rays, and I have never seen credible evidence that it does, there is certainly some relatively quiet space on the deck overlooking the outside pool where you can risk getting skin cancer from exposure to the sun's rays. There are occasions when the roof is retracted but in many instances the resulting increase in the humidity level seriously diminishes the pleasant atmosphere of the solarium. For my money the enclosed solarium allows us to enjoy its pool and hot tubs regardless of the weather conditions. I know we will make great use of it when we sail Alaska on the Radiance. I imagine that those who cruise from NJ to the Caribbean on Explorer in the winter would appreciate being able to use its solarium during the first and last days of their cruise when the outside temperatures are not conducive to swimming or enjoying the outside views from her solarium.:)

[negc]

[quote=bigtoeswim'n;22552472]Gosh. Wish my head would stop hurting. I went ahead and book Oct 2010 sailing on Jewel out of Boston for New England. Now, to wait and wait and plan and plan and dream and dream. A cabin on deck 2 came open today, the cheap seats. Good 'nuff for me/us. Just glad to be aboard. Now to hyper watch RCI site for a price drop or a GTY at a higher category to open. Didn't think we'd do this in 2010 with the economy doing as it is. Someone pinch me!!![/quote]
If you haven't already done so, join the very active roll call for this great cruise. You will find lots of wonderful people, some of whom do this cruise every year and love to share inside information about the ship and the ports she will visit. You will also learn of all the things that have been planned during the thirteen days onboard the ship. It is a great itinerary that visits some less frequented ports (ex: Dominica).:) Welcome aboard. You won't regret your decision to book.

[rollnoles2]

Is the pool heated?

[rednancy1]

The Jewel is a beautiful ship. Very elegant with walls and elevators of glass. I can't say one bad thing about it. :)

[cheche01]

[B][I][SIZE=3][COLOR=#008080]I have been on 6 RCI ships and the Jewel is my favorite, I loved everything about it, to me it is just the perfect size. Can't wait to sail her again.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/I][/B]

[negc]

[quote name='rollnoles2']Is the pool heated?[/quote]
We have been in the solarium pool on the Jewel when it was heated and in it when it was not. It depends on the temperatures and weather conditions in whatever region she is sailing.:)

[canuckcruiselover]

[quote name='mikefast']We are thinking about taking a 10 cruise out of Miami in April on the Jewel of the Sea. I haven't been following in here as close as I used to because we didn't have a cruise booked until November of this year. Can anybody tell me just a bit about the Jewell? I understand it's a Radiance class. Our favorite ship of all the cruises we have taken is the Rhapsody of the Sea. Would appreciate just somebody's impression of the Jewell of the Sea.[/quote]

[COLOR=purple]I just returned from the Jewel and have sailed on the Navigator and Liberty. While I think the Jewel is a 'prettier' ship, I really missed the spaciousness of the larger ships and the promenade. The centrum is tiny and very crowded. The food, nightly entertainment and service was outstanding but I wouldn't choose that class of ship again -- too claustrophobic for me. It was also impossible to find a lounge chair anywhere near the pool on sea days. I also felt the motion much more than on the larger ships but that probably had more to do with the state of the ocean than the size of the ship though I suspect the newer ships have better stabilizers.[/COLOR]