Back from the Jewel

[mikefast]

We got back Thursday late afternoon from a cruise on the Jewel of the Seas. It was a very good cruise, about the smoothest sail we have ever had. We only had a bit of motion on one morning. Getting to the ship however, was another matter. We left Houston on Monday morning about 07:30. The pilot said we would be in Miami about 30 minutes early, which would make it about 10:30 A.M.

Plenty of time to get our luggage and then head to the windjammer for a lunch. I should add, we had not purchased insurance. The time came when we should have landed, and the pilot got on the intercom and said, "looks like we'll have about a 50 minute delay because the Miami airport is closed due to weather. So, we'll circle here about 100 miles south of Miami until we get clearance to land. Well, 50 minutes is no problem. About 45 minutes later he said "we have fuel for about another 30 minutes, and if we can't land by then, we'll have to go to Ft. Meyers to refuel. By the way, the weather moved to the south, and we are now circling about 100 miles WEST of Miami. Now we are starting to get worried. A few minutes later he said "we'll have to land at Ft. Meyers to refuel and HOPEFULLY we can land at Miami pretty soon after that. We landed, and he opened the cabin door, and let everybody off that wanted to get off. Now we are really starting to worry. We didn't see a fuel truck come to the plane, and we were making plans of flying back to Houston without even seeing the Jewel. It wasn't too long though, about 40 minutes, he said "will everybody please board the plane". It didn't take too long, and they closed the cabin door, we took off, and got to Miami about 2:30 PM. We got our luggage pretty quickly, got a cab, and got to the the pier about 3:00. No problems anymore. Walked right through security, right up to the counter, got our pass key, and on the ship. I guess I should learn my lesson, and buy travel insurance. Once before a cruise line declared bankruptcy, and if it hadn't been for a good travel agent who gave us a voucher for a different cruise, we would have been out quite a bit of money. The Jewel? It's a beautiful ship. And don't forget to give Chops a try.

[bionicman97]

Your story mad me nervous while I read it. Glad you made it and had a nice cruise. If I book my own airfare, I always arrive a day early also.

[wolfcathorse]

Mikefast - was your sailing the last one before she left for her transatlantic? Was Capt Stig still on board?

[DHADEN]

What's 10 times more important than having insurance is Getting There The Day Before!! ;)

 

We actually had our connecting flight to one of our cruises canceled. Talk about a nightmare - it was 11:30 that night before we finally got to our hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. Of course, if it hadn't been the day before.......

no cruise.

As it was, we made the ship just fine without stress on embarkation day.

 

Hope This Helps.

[mikefast]

Mikefast - was your sailing the last one before she left for her transatlantic? Was Capt Stig still on board?

 

Yes, it was the last one before she left for her transatlantic. I'm sorry, I don't remember who the Capt. was.

[NorbertsNiece]

Glad you made it. Loved the Jewel too.

[TangoCruz]

Mikefast - You provide another example of why it's a good idea to arrive the day before your cruise. We learned the lesson 20 years ago when a snow storm in New York delayed our flight into & out of Raleigh/Durham to Miami. We were already in Miami on April 26 (at the Hyatt) while you guys were circling above. I knew that there would be delayed landings because the storm was packing hurricane force winds in downtown Miami. It moved in around 10:30 AM and lasted almost 2 hours. I watched two palm trees topple into the street across from the Hyatt's entrance. We stayed in the hotel lobby until the rain finally slowed and left for the ship at 12:00 PM. We were in our cabin at 1:10 and enjoying lunch in the Windjammer at 1:20. The Jewel is a beautiful ship and we experienced perfect weather and calm seas. Yes, Capt. Stig (Stig Nilsen) is still the ship's Master. :rolleyes: