Jewel of the Seas 8 night review Feb.12th very long..

[Shanafan]

My Husband and I were on the 8 night sailing of Jewel of the Seas February 12 thru February 20. This was our 8th cruise and our 4th with RCCL. We flew down the day before and were to meet some friends on the ship that drove down.

 

Pre-night stay was at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport Inn. I was able to get the room on priceline for under $90 total. It was a very clean beautiful hotel, with a friendly staff. We used their complimentary shuttle service from the airport by picking up one of the courtesy phones near the baggage claim.

 

Departure day: I wanted to be to the dock by 10:30 am as we had planned to meet the couples that drove down around that time. When I requested a cab be called for us, the man at the front desk kept insisting we could not go to the dock until 12:30 and that they hire a shuttle to drive all the guests there (for a fee, of course.) After going back and forth with him he finally called us a cab. He said it would cost $40-$50 (for the 5 mile cab ride) but at that time I felt he was trying to sell his shuttle service, so I told him we didn’t care what the cost would be. (turned out to be under $10 total.)

 

We were at the dock dropping our bags by 11:00am, went directly to check-in, no one else was in line, got our picture taken and were in our cabin at 11:10! The door to the cabin was open and the room was ready, so we dropped our carry on bags and grabbed the video camera to check out the ship. (We are bringing our kids along over Thanksgiving so I wanted some footage to bring home for them to see.) We later came back to the room and the hallways were blocked off until 1pm. We had an outside cabin 2 doors in from the Centrum. Perfect area, close to elevators and easy to get to whereever we had to go. We never heard any outside noise. Our luggage was in front of our cabin around 1:30pm.

 

Went to the Windjammer for lunch. I was happy to see the 2 hand sanitizers at the entrance along with a staff member making sure everyone used it. The food was good--we never went hungry. In the morning you can get omelets and eggs made to order and every other breakfast thing you can think of----even the baked beans I remember someone asking about a while back!

 

We went to the Sky Bar on Deck 12 to get our first cocktail and found the bartender was not personable at all! Never went back to him. We found the bartenders at the pool bar to be very friendly, and always poured a nice drink.

 

The mustering drill was at 4:30pm. We had main seating for dinner. We had a table for 10 next to a window. The couple we were traveling with had extended friends and family on board, so we had 3 tables for 10 together. We had a great dining room staff.

 

Dinner the first night was casual. Dinner was quite good the first night. I had a Ribeye steak, but it looked like prime rib to me. It was very good. I was disappointed with the menu selections several nights out of the 8 nights we dined in the dining room. More on that later.

 

The cruise director was Jill Tasker. I could care less who the cruise director is, so I can’t say whether she did or good job or not. The captain was James MacDonald and we saw him several times walking around the ship. The entertainment tonight was comedian Louis Ramey. We did not go, but saw him a few nights later at the adult comedy show---very, very funny!

 

 

 

After dinner the first night we went to the Schooner bar and enjoyed Steve Heist. He takes requests and has a great sense of humor. We saw him 6 of the 8 nights , some nights for an hour or so, other nights we stayed until he was done. The Schooner bar is beautiful. There is a bartender there whose name is Rad. He told us he is a fan of Darko Milicic of the Detroit Pistons, so we called him Darko after that. Walk thru the Schooner and you are in the Safari Club. Very nice! This is where you find the self leveling pool tables, have the Captains Champagne welcome reception and where the karaoke is. It is a rather large place with 2 or 3 bars in it. Chops and Portifinos is located in the Shooner bar area.

 

Day 2 At Sea

 

Beautiful day at sea, but very windy. The chair hogs were out in full force, but we made the best of it. The couple we were with found 4 chairs together and had been there for 1 and 1/2 hours and no one sat in the two with towels and suntan lotion next to them. I asked a pool attendant to remove their towels so we could use the chairs. 2 hours later the woman came looking for her seats----3 1/2 hours after our friends sat down and we told her the pool attendant had her things. There are signs everywhere stating you can not reserve chairs.

 

Another thing I noticed was the pool staff was pretty good about keeping an eye out for those who did things that they most likely didn’t know they couldn’t, and would politely inform them of the rules. Such as, no food near the pool---or in the first couple rows of pool chairs, no drinks near the pool or hot tub and no smoking on the pool chairs. Smokers have to go to designated areas along the side to smoke. I thought this was great because there is nothing worse than having someones ashes landing on your lotioned up body. I saw several people light up and the pool staff was quick to point them in the direction they could smoke in.

 

Don’t forget to check out the little cafe in the Solarium. Good pizza, a couple different sandwiches and a hummas plate (very good little snack) along with all different kinds of crepes.

 

The Solarium was beautiful---the entire ship is. I was rather disappointed that they did not open the retractable glass in the solarium on Sea days as the main pool is rather small and with so many people wanting to be in the sun the extra area would have been nice due to the lack of pool chairs in the sun.

 

Here was our one little problem we encountered----and it was nothing more than a short inconvenience. After being in the sun all day we went to the cabin to get ready for the Captains reception from 5-6 on our first formal night. While walking the short walk down the hallway to our cabin I told my husband it smelt like sewer. Once we got in the cabin we found we could not flush our toilet. I called maintenance and they said they would have someone there shortly. 30 minutes later we were still waiting and I couldn’t shower in case they came to fix the toilet, so I called again. They told us they were having a problem affecting many people and they were working on it. They got it fixed and called our room to tell us to try to flush. We hurried and got ready, and made it on time. Was not a big deal---things happen.

 

Formal night was nice with the usual picture taking everywhere! The only drinks they served at the Captains party was Champagne and fruit punch. I think they had trays of appetizers but they never made it as far as our group. Dinner was good this night and I think I had filet.

 

According to my compass, this is 70’s disco night. There was a Broadway show in the Coral Theater. We enjoyed donating our money to the Casino (one couple in our group won a few hundred in dollar slots most every day) but the rest of us were not as lucky. There are designated non-smoking areas and I did see staff pointing out the signs to people who smoked in those areas. I also saw a guy light up a cigar (not permitted in the casino) and again the staff was right there.

 

There was a cinema outside the casino which shows a couple different movies each day.

 

Day 3 Puerto Rico

 

We were here from 2-8 so we just walked into town and hit a couple outside bars and then made a stop at Senor Frogs on the way back to the ship.

 

My cell phone (Cingular) worked, and it did not look like it was in roaming. Will find out when the next bill comes. Tonight is the Adult Late Night Comedy. Very funny. The Headliner show is "The Magic of Drew Thomas." We did not go, but heard others talking that it is good.

 

We e-mailed home a few times. The connection is very, very slow, and I had trouble with AOL mail. Twice I could not get on but was charged $3.50 for trying.

 

This night was smart casual. A good portion of the men had sport coats on.

 

Day 4 St Maarten

 

Took a water taxi into town and went to Rams to buy liquor. They box it up and bring it to the ship for you.The prices are good, however you can only bring 1 liter per adult back duty free. The man at Rams told us 4 per adult. Then off to Joe’s Jewelry. We went to the store located across the street close to Rams. We were taken care of by Paul and Sam. If you go in, let them know ‘Lisa’ sent you. They gave us all great service and super deals.

 

From there we went to Orient Beach. The beach is beautiful and it was a nice scenic drive. We asked our cab driver to pick us up where he dropped us off at a certain time, and he was there. It cost $8 per person one way. We rented chairs, table and umbrella with a glass of rum punch for $6 per person. Our taxi driver got us all set up.

 

This was Casual night in the dining room and the Safari Club held a 50’s and 60’s sock hop at 11pm. The Quest was held in the same place at 10:30pm. Headliner was John Christie.

 

Day 5 Antigua

 

We stayed on board this day. Some friends got off to shop but returned quickly. This is Casual/Caribbean night, the night we made reservations for Chops.

 

Chops is excellent. We all had the filet. Would do this again in a heartbeat---maybe every night! The crab cakes and cocktail shrimp both were awesome!

 

We went to the Comedy show featuring Ralph Achilles this night. It started off good but dragged toward the end. He picked up his guitar and started singing. I thought it would be a comical song, but it wasn’t. It was an odd way to finish his comedy act.

 

We were at the 9 pm show. We had a group next to us with 8 adults and one small child that I would say was 12-14 months old. The baby did what babies do---dadadada and chattered the entire show. You would think one of the adults would have the common sense to take the baby out, but they didn’t. Can’t blame the baby---

 

On the baby subject--we saw many full size strollers. They take up the elevator and block the aisle. Umbrella strollers are nice---and thanks to the people that use them!

 

Day 6 St Thomas

 

We had to get up early to go thru immigration at 7:15 am. It is mandatory for everyone whether you get off the ship or not.

 

Tonight is Country and Western night in the Safari Club, and dining attire is Casual.

 

The Headliner is The RCCL Singers and Dancers in "City of Dreams"

 

My Husband and I booked our excursion on line for a day on the "Winifred." The taxi ride to the pier was around 35 minutes, and was a flat rate of $8 per person.

 

The Winifred cost $125 per person. I really looked forward to this as I had read so many great reviews on line. We had another couple with 2 -15 year old girls that were also on board. While we had a good time it was not something I will book when we go back with our kids. Before we booked we inquired about what to expect when we came on board. Sharon e-mailed me that we would have a champagne toast and beer and tropical drinks along with a lunch with a special dessert. It wasn’t quite that way.

 

We got underway after a good 10 minute instruction about wearing sunscreen and taking our cameras and towels out of our bag. We were instructed as to how to move about the boat, ect. We were told to ask our first mate, Tommy if we needed something to drink, or if we had any questions. Once we got underway, I asked if we could have a beer. I think he thought I was joking. Once we were out with our sails up and moving right along, I asked again. Hubby and I each had a beer, and when finished asked for another. We were told-----you can have one more, but we have to snorkle. Okay!

 

We end up snorkling and it was beautiful. We saw a sea turtle, a stingray, eels, puffer fish, conch and lots of beautiful coral. After 30 minutes or so, I saw enough and headed back to the boat. I was showered off with a warm shower rinse and sat on the front of the boat looking at the beautiful scenery. We were told we could snorkle to the beach---but I did not want to take my gear with me,would have no towel and I was under the impression we would be going to a beach to relax. According to the website, it said "Beach trips by dinghy" so I expected we would make another stop.

 

When the others came on board we sat down to lunch which was Chicken over rice, salad and bread. We were never offered the dessert that the website says you will have. I didn’t care, but I think if you advertise something, you should follow thru.

 

From there we turned around and went back to the marina. According to the website which we booked from there are a few things that didn’t happen:

 

We did not go to the beach by dinghy. Very disappointing.

 

We did not have an "open bar" as stated. We had Red Stripe beer and rum punch, which tasted like grapefruit juice with grenadine.

 

We did not have our ‘special little dessert’

 

Minor things---maybe---but for $125 per person (plus a suggested tip for the first mate--15% of the total cost) I would have thought they would done more than one snorkle stop.

 

Summary---I would not recommend this. Sharon was wonderful, but it was a disappointing excursion for the money. We have done the Captain Nautica in St Thomas, and went to St Johns to two beaches, snorkled and had an open bar along with snacks including shrimp cocktail that was $68 per person. This is what I will book for our family in November.

 

Day 7 At Sea

 

Formal night tonight with a Lobster and Shrimp combo entree. Also NY Strip and Prime Rib. Very good dinner.

 

The show was a Tribute to Motown and R & B. We did not see it, but wished we had after hearing people talk about it.

 

Beautiful sea day, but the chair hogs were out in full force. By 9 am every chair, even those in the shade, had towels on them. We sat by the pool hoping we might get lucky and get a chair. I spotted 4 chairs on the upper deck while I was down below and noticed no one sat there. I watched for over an hour, then went up and asked if anyone was sitting there. There was one RCCL towel and a beach towel on the two chairs along with suntan lotion. The woman said she had been there over an hour and no one had been there. I went to get a pool attendant, but was told they would have to watch the chair for 35-40 minutes before they would remove the towels. I went up and moved them myself putting them under the chair. Once we got there one of the guys sitting there said he had been there since 7:30 am and no one came back to the chairs. We noted the time--2 hours after we sat down---the guy came back and asked if we were in his chairs. I pointed to the sign and said we had been there for over 2 hours. He gathered his stuff and was on his way. The other two chairs that I saw were a couple down from ours, and they went all day without anyone sitting in them. One of the guys in our group moved one of the towels to the other chair and a woman get all bent that those were her kids chairs. He told her that he has been standing against the railing for over an hour and no one has used it so he was going to. The girls came back once to check in, but never sat down. We had a beautiful day at sea.

 

Day 8 Nassau

 

Tonight is casual night and the Headliner is "The Zany Antics of Gizmo Guys." Did not see the show. The weather was overcast and very windy in Nassau so we thought we would just walk around a bit and go to Senor Frogs. People are on you from the time you step of the ship until the time you get on wanting to take you on a tour, or sell you something. This was my first time to Nassau, and unless we go to Paradise Island---it was also my last.

 

Bags had to be out by 11 pm. Always a bummer night. We made the most of it, but it is always sad that last night.

 

Departure: We were called among the first group to get off. We had a 12:45 flight and made it to the airport early. We waited in line quite a while to get our bags, but once we did we moved quickly. They did quite a few random searches but we were not one of them. All things considered----it was pretty painless.

 

The airport was a total mess. They had several ships disembarking and it was unorganized and a pain in the butt! We couldn’t even go thru security until 1 1/2 hours before our flight. So we were in this long line, finally get to the front, only to be told we couldn’t go thru for over an hour. Wouldn’t have been a big deal had there been a place to eat or sit down.

 

We did not bring our kids with us, but we did check out the activities for the kids. People we spoke with said their kids enjoyed the Adventure Ocean program---so much so that they did not want to leave when their parents picked them up. There is a nice putt-putt golf course, rock climbing wall, basketball court ( with soccer nets inside) a beautiful kid pool with water slide and fun things for the little ones, an arcade with air hockey, and video games (for a fee) The golf simulator is $25 per hour for 4 people ( I think.)

 

The Vortex lounge on the deck 13 is a place for the younger crowd---or those who like to dance to todays music. We went one night and had fun. Be sure to go to the Crown and Anchor club (deck 13) to look thru the glass floor down to the 4th floor of the Centrum. Very cool.

 

All in all we enjoyed our cruise very much. I was disappointed with the selections in the dining room on 3 nights and I am not a fussy eater by any means. The variety was not there. They might have 2 or 3 fish dishes, and no beef. It was weird. The food tasted good and we never went hungry. Although----apparently one passenger did. Day 1 he was pretty drunk and rowdy so day 2 the Captain revoked his sea pass privileges. He had the others he was traveling with buy his cocktails for him and was apparently pretty smashed when he went looking for something to eat. Not finding what he wanted, he decided to break into the kitchen. Needless to say, he was escorted off the ship the next day in San Juan.

 

Another couple missed the ship in St Thomas. We saw them in Nassua, and she was wearing a sign around her neck that read: If found please return to the Jewel of the Seas. Their friends also pasted the couples pictures on a milk carton and the lady carried it around with her. Rumor has it they left behind couple were to stand up for the other couple at their wedding the next day at Sea. We saw the bride several times---wearing a wedding veil.

 

This is a beautiful ship, considerably smaller than the Voyager class but very comfortable just the same. We will do the same 8 night cruise November 19th with our kids who at that time will be 21,15 and 14.

 

Any questions....ask away!

 

[dc-snoopy]

Lisa,

 

Nice review. Sounds like you had a pretty good time. I was surprised by a couple of things. First, we were on the W Caribbean route the week before. We only got off the ship about 10AM the day you boarded and there were three color groups behind us. The turn-around was pretty good for you to be in the cabin by 11:10AM !

 

Glad you enjoyed Steve Heist. We enjoyed listening to him play as he is a talented pianist. However, he had a limited vocal range and as long as he stayed within the middle part of his range he was fine. At the top he had a great tendancy to go flat and with several trained singers and musical theatre performers in our group, that didn't sit well, so we didn't listen too often (Memory was particularly memorable, but not the way one would want it to be). But his piano playing was nice to listen to.

 

What did you think of John Christie? We loved his show and this was from three theatre performers. He was more than just a singer/songwriter, he was an entertainer and did a good job at it.

 

Thanks for the St Thomas review. From your review, I think I'll pass on the Winifred as I have one thing in common with you. I really hate when something is advertised and then not provided. I tend to avoid vendors that do this and it sounds like there were several instances of this. This was very helpful. Thanks again.

 

What a wonderful review. Thanks for sharing.

[Shanafan]

Lisa,

 

 

 

Glad you enjoyed Steve Heist. We enjoyed listening to him play as he is a talented pianist. However, he had a limited vocal range and as long as he stayed within the middle part of his range he was fine. At the top he had a great tendancy to go flat and with several trained singers and musical theatre performers in our group, that didn't sit well, so we didn't listen too often (Memory was particularly memorable, but not the way one would want it to be). But his piano playing was nice to listen to.

 

What did you think of John Christie? We loved his show and this was from three theatre performers. He was more than just a singer/songwriter, he was an entertainer and did a good job at it.

 

QUOTE]

Snoopy,

 

I did not see John Christie. We really didn't make it to the shows. I agree with your comments about Steve. He was the type of performer that you sing along to, rather than listen to him. :D But he did a nice job, and was always entertaining. We could sit and laugh in the Schooner while he was playing and not feel we should just sit and let him entertain us, if you know what I mean.

We could not believe we walked right on board! When we got to the pier, the taxis were all gone and we drove right up to the porter. We were amazed! I wonder if it is always this efficient. We thought we would go through and be put in a holding room but then we saw the gangway and walked right on!

[dc-snoopy]

Snoopy,

 

I did not see John Christie. We really didn't make it to the shows. I agree with your comments about Steve. He was the type of performer that you sing along to, rather than listen to him. :D But he did a nice job, and was always entertaining. We could sit and laugh in the Schooner while he was playing and not feel we should just sit and let him entertain us, if you know what I mean.

We could not believe we walked right on board! When we got to the pier, the taxis were all gone and we drove right up to the porter. We were amazed! I wonder if it is always this efficient. We thought we would go through and be put in a holding room but then we saw the gangway and walked right on!

 

Lisa,

 

Regarding Steve Heist, quite a few people the week before you must have had the same feeling. He always had quite a crowd and I heard others singing along with him on several occasions. And there was frequently a background buzz of conversation. So he was pleasant background or foreground if you wanted to participate in a more casual setting than the Karaoke in the Safari Club! :)

 

As for the boarding, we experience much the same thing. We arrived at 11:45 at the curb and were drinking the punch in the deck 5 foyer at 12:10. Quite a breeze. And part of it was stopping for me with my pockets full of metal to get everything into my carryon and our travel docs out to checkin. That was probably 5-10 of those minutes! Definitely an easy embarkation. I wonder if all FLL boardings are that way or just the Jewel?

[jmarch]

Thank You Lisa,

Very Nice review, we will be board the Jewel this coming Sat. and can't wait.

[BobJanice]

In St Thomas we did the sail with High Pockets and did receive everything that was promised. When you go to St Thomas I recommend High Pockets..

[emmy]

Thanks for the review Lisa..we will be doing Jewel 8 day April 23. Liked that you were on the ship so quickly...we plan on being there by 10:30.

 

Are you going to post any pics?

 

Emmy

[critterchick]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time overall, chair hogs notwithstanding. One note about the toilets (why would I focus on that?? What's wrong with me:confused: ): When we were on Radiance, we attended a talk by the captain. He told us that when somebody flushes something they shouldn't, entire sections of the ship are shut down until they can get it out of the pipes. It's an environmental issue, but I can't remember exactly what. It happened several times outside the theater during our week on board. Jewel is Radiance's twin, so she probably has the same issues. Sorry that happened in your cabin!

[dc-snoopy]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time overall, chair hogs notwithstanding. One note about the toilets (why would I focus on that?? What's wrong with me:confused: ): When we were on Radiance, we attended a talk by the captain. He told us that when somebody flushes something they shouldn't, entire sections of the ship are shut down until they can get it out of the pipes. It's an environmental issue, but I can't remember exactly what. It happened several times outside the theater during our week on board. Jewel is Radiance's twin, so she probably has the same issues. Sorry that happened in your cabin!

 

The most common problem is feminine products. The sanitation pipes on most ships are narrower than many land-based facilities. And the absorbant materials used in feminine products absorbs the water in the pipes and swell up and get caught, etc. That's why there are the notes on the walls of the cabin heads to dispose of feminine products in the paper bags and put the bags in the metal bins under the sink. But frequently pax don't want to do this and cause these problems. It's fairly common and causes problems for entire sections of a ship when it happens. It's not the only thing that causes these plumbing problems, just the most common.

[setsail]

Thanks, we are doing this 8 day in Dec.. What were the alternative entrees on the nights you talked about the fish?

[dshebert]

Hi Shanafan.

 

Thanks for such an indepth review :)

 

We are a group of 5-7 families that are taking our sons on a cruise next year in May for their 8th grade graduation. We have been looking at a Voyager class ship but I really liked your review of the Jewel. Would you say that our 14 year old boys would have more to do on the Jewel or should I stick with our original plans and go on Adventure? Thanks for your input.

[Tex_Jen]

Lisa,

Thanks for a good review! My sis and I are doing an 8 day March 26th. We aim to have fun even with the chair hogs.

Jen

[LJR213]

Shanafan, I loved your review. I got to take a tour of the Jewel last October when it was docked here in Boston. She is beautiful. I sail on her Sept 22nd. I can't wait. Sounds like you enjoyed your trip with a few minor details. When on the Explorer last May we had the same problem with the plumbing as you described. Thank god we were in port and could use the facilities because there weren't too many on the ship working at the time.

[gambler]

Thanks for a nice, detailed review. I agree, next time in St. Thomas, do Highpockets, you get everything promised and more. Are you still going to do the Jewel again in November or switch? Your kids might also enjoy the Navigator.

Edited to add, the food was very good on the last Navigator cruise, but all ships seem to be limiting their main selections to just a few.

[Shanafan]

Hi Shanafan.

 

Thanks for such an indepth review :)

 

We are a group of 5-7 families that are taking our sons on a cruise next year in May for their 8th grade graduation. We have been looking at a Voyager class ship but I really liked your review of the Jewel. Would you say that our 14 year old boys would have more to do on the Jewel or should I stick with our original plans and go on Adventure? Thanks for your input.

 

That is a tough one. Both ships, as I am sure you know, have basketball courts, putt putt golf, golf simulator, rock climbing wall, pools, ect. The negative thing in regards to the pool on the Jewel was there was one pool for kids ( with the slide, ect ) the solarium ( which they keep the roof closed on ) and the main pool. It seems like the Explorer had 2 main pools, along with the other two. I could be wrong. I guess that would matter more to 14 year old girls. The boys will most likely like the air hockey in the arcade, and the self leveling pool tables. I have an 8th grader and he never went in the pool---but I could always find him playing basketball. Although my son has played ice hockey for 8 years, he never skated on the rink on the Explorer. The Jewel has a movie theater and I can't remember if the Explorer does.

 

The Adventure will be quite a bit larger than the Jewel. I would think if they are a group that knows each other they will make their own fun and not depend on meeting a bunch to hang with all week.

 

Because our kids did not go with us this time, I didn't check out the areas the young teens hang out in. Big mistake seeing as we booked this for November. I honestly don't think you can go wrong either way. I would look more at the itinerary because with that many kids they will always have someone to 'hang' with and both class ships have basically the same things to do. Sorry I can't be much help.

[sherry7]

Thanks for the great review. My family and I are doing an 8 day on the Jewel this January.

 

One question for you please. I was looking at the deck plans on rccl.com and on deck # 12, it shows an area marked as Teens Pool, and a drawing that looks like a water slide. Is this area actually for the teenagers, or is this possibly a mistake on the online deck plans? (I know that some of the Voyager class ships have kiddie pools/kiddie slides, but nothing 'special' for the teens.)

[dc-snoopy]

Thanks for the great review. My family and I are doing an 8 day on the Jewel this January.

 

One question for you please. I was looking at the deck plans on rccl.com and on deck # 12, it shows an area marked as Teens Pool, and a drawing that looks like a water slide. Is this area actually for the teenagers, or is this possibly a mistake on the online deck plans? (I know that some of the Voyager class ships have kiddie pools/kiddie slides, but nothing 'special' for the teens.)

 

Having just gotten off the Jewel 10 days ago, I am not so senile that I've forgotten this. :) There is a kids pool up on deck 12 that has a slide. When I asked an attendant that was at the top of the slide she said that they usually don't like adults to ride on it side there isn't enough water current for adults to really slide. However, I saw two mothers go down with their kids and it did look more than slick enough with the water. I think it's just their story and their sticking to it. I rarely saw anyone over about 12-13 years old on it regularly except for the 2 moms. And that was in a week of passing by the pool.

 

The teens under 16 tended to hang out at the adult outside pool and the teens over 16 tended to mix at the outdoor and Solarium pools when they were doing the pool thing. Otherwise, they did hang out several places on deck. We were lucky that there were relatively few kids and teens on the ship and so they were less noticable and hence fewer complaints about them from adults. They seemed to find their places and keep to themselves. We had more rowdiness from the twenty-somethings than the teens.

[LisaB19]

Hey Lisa, my fellow Detroit fan!

Just had to say that we sailed on the Winifred last year and had a WONDERFUL time, and we will be sailing on her again on March 12th. It was one of the most beautiful days I've had!

Lisa

 

My Husband and I booked our excursion on line for a day on the "Winifred." The taxi ride to the pier was around 35 minutes, and was a flat rate of $8 per person.

 

 

 

From there we turned around and went back to the marina. According to the website which we booked from there are a few things that didn’t happen:

 

We did not go to the beach by dinghy. Very disappointing.

 

We did not have an "open bar" as stated. We had Red Stripe beer and rum punch, which tasted like grapefruit juice with grenadine.

 

We did not have our ‘special little dessert’

 

Minor things---maybe---but for $125 per person (plus a suggested tip for the first mate--15% of the total cost) I would have thought they would done more than one snorkle stop.

 

Summary---I would not recommend this. Sharon was wonderful, but it was a disappointing excursion for the money. We have done the Captain Nautica in St Thomas, and went to St Johns to two beaches, snorkled and had an open bar along with snacks including shrimp cocktail that was $68 per person. This is what I will book for our family in November.

 

 

[Shanafan]

Hey Lisa, my fellow Detroit fan!

Just had to say that we sailed on the Winifred last year and had a WONDERFUL time, and we will be sailing on her again on March 12th. It was one of the most beautiful days I've had!

 

Lisa

Hi Lisa!

There is no doubt the scenery was beautiful, I am just very disappointed that what was supposed to happen, didn't. We snorkled, and that was it. No beach, no snorkling at any other place than the one we did. Seeing as this was our first time, we had no idea where we were sailing to and we ended up going back to the pier. It was weird. We felt like---uh----where is the rest of these snorkling and beach stops we were supposed to have???

[maxs mom]

Hi! Great review. What area of Orient Beach did you go? Could you elaborate a little more on that and would you recommend it?

[dshebert]

Hi Lisa.

 

Thanks for the feedback :) I noticed you had sailed on both and knew you would be a great resource. We have sailed on Rhapsody a couple of times and Monarch and Sovereign so we have yet to sail on a real big ship. We were leaning towards the Adventure out of San Juan for the itinerary but the airfare portion of the trip is so darn high that some of the families were starting to have second thoughts. I'm trying to keep the whole group together since the boys are so close. I'm sure I'll come up with something ;)

 

Have a great day.

[Shanafan]

In St Thomas we did the sail with High Pockets and did receive everything that was promised. When you go to St Thomas I recommend High Pockets..

I have not heard of High Pockets. Can you tell me what this was like? How many people do they take at one time? Do you have a link to a website? Thanks!

[gr8tfulscott]

thanks for your review i am going sat 26th on the jewel with my family.

 

loved reading all the boards while waiting to go.

lots of strress in packing for a family with 2 kids.

6 checked bags and 3 carry ons.

it should be a blast. thanks:)

[Shanafan]

Thanks, we are doing this 8 day in Dec.. What were the alternative entrees on the nights you talked about the fish?

 

I can't remember exactly, some nights they served Duck, lamb chops, pork chops, .............let's put it this way. One night--my Hubby who will eat just about anything.....ended up with Cheese Ravioli. How's that for an entree? This is the guy who likes meat with his spaghetti. I ended up having the cheese platter as my entree, which I normally would have in place of dessert. ( weird I know---not a big dessert person )

[setsail]

Thanks, found out from another poster who posted the menues that the alternative entrees every night were chicken,steak,or a fish. All of these are in addition to the regular entrees.Thanks again for the review.