Just back from Jewel 4 night cruise from Tampa

[tofusmom]

I have seen about six other reviews for this cruise posted and it seems that everyone had just as great a time as we did. Wonderful pictures have been posted as well. It has been fun reading about everyone's experiences aboard.

 

Ann

[tofusmom]

This was our third cruise. We have only cruised with RC.

 

1- Grandeur (2009) Tampa, Key West, Cozumel (our favorite because it was the one that got us hooked)

 

2- Freedom (2011) Port Canaveral, St. Thomas, St. Martin, Coco Cay (our favorite because of service and variety of things to do onboard)

 

3- Jewel (2012) Tampa, Cozumel (our favorite because it is a beautiful ship and was a great quick get away)

 

We live in Tallahassee and it takes four hours and fifteen minutes from our house to the port of Tampa.

 

Ann

[tofusmom]

Boarding the ship was very easy. We dropped our bags with the porter at 10:30 am. There is valet parking available, but the sign we saw said it was $80.00 (yikes). The parking garage is just across the street; you pay when entering and receive a token for when you leave. Walked across the street to terminal,there were probably 15 people ahead of us in security line, it went very quickly.

 

Got our sea passes and waited to board, we were in group three after the people who had priority goading. Note to new cruisers, you do not have to stop and have a welcome aboard photo taken if you don't want to. We bypassed the wait for that and went right up the ramp onto the ship. The line to get your facial recognition photo and "beep" your way onto thee ship was very short. We were on the ship at 11:00.

 

We decided to explore a bit and went to the top deck - 13 and took some pictures of the Tampa skyline. We worked our way down to the Windjammer and had lunch at 11:30. There were plenty of tables available and I thought the food was very good. I did not find any honey stung chicken; in fact I have not found it on any of my cruises. I am not sure if I am overlooking it or not. I know it is available from room service but I have never used room service on a cruise.

 

 

After lunch we explored a bit more. The Jewel is really a very pretty ship; I thought the Solarium, Schooner bar and Safari lounge were very nicely decorated. We hung out by the pool area for a bit until our cabin opened at 1:00.

 

Next up - cabin and rest of the day.

 

Ann

[tofusmom]

We were in cabin 4550. Our bags were waiting when we got to the cabin at 1:15. We decided to do ocean view for short trips and balconies for longer trips. The headboard of the bed was against the porthole so you had to climb on the bed to see out of the porthole. I have seen the bed in a different configuration in other people's post. I think I would like to be able to stand and look out. Maybe we will try one of those the next short cruise. I enjoy being awakened by the natural light, though.

 

Our cabin was very convenient to the Centrium Lounge and the MDR. In the evenings after I got ready for dinner, I would go out to the lounge and get a drink and listen to music while my husband got ready. I enjoyed watching the other couples having fun out of the dance floor. Even on 70's night when it was crazy out there; we did not hear anything in our cabin.

 

Storage was good and we love RC beds. The television was not a flatscreen but it was fine. Used it to keep tabs on our spending. We had OBC from TA and from RC visa card, they both showed up the second day.

 

Room steward was very good, 1 towel animal for 4 night cruise. I don't care much about these and prefer they just concentrate on being sure the families with young children get them instead.

 

 

Unpacked and spent the rest of the time until muster drill resting in the cabin.

 

Muster drill was on deck 5 for us; when we were on Freedom last year they scanned our sea passes. On the Jewel we just stood in our area and watched the guy demonstrate the life jacket. I did not see them do a count or anything.

One couple actually boarded the ship while we doing the drill. Talk about cutting it close. It was congested when we finished; so we just walked around deck 5 for a while, my husband liked watched the big freighter's and tug boats at work.

 

Next up dinnertime.

 

Ann

[tofusmom]

That was the theme of our cruise.:o

 

We had the early seating dinner 6:00. We were seated at a table for 10; while everyone was very nice and we had some great conversations, I prefer the round tables for six or eight. The MDR was very loud and there was no way the couples on opposite ends of the table could talk without having to shout. When I was in the middle of the table; it was kind of like a tennis match because there were two conversations happening at once.

 

The service was very good but not up to par with the service we had on the Freedom last year. I am not sure what was going on but the waiter and assistant waiter did not seem in sync with each other.

 

My husband and I both has the prime rib, I thought it was great. I asked for the mushroom pasta instead of the potato for the side dish (no problem). For dessert I had the chocolate mousse. Note: if you like Splenda for your coffee or tea, put a few packets in your pocket. While you may get it eventually if you ask, I think they lock it away somewhere because it takes a while. This was a minor thing but can't the waiter just keep some in his pocket, especially after the first night. My husband had to wait on it every night.

 

After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard Show. I didn't much care for the comic. His name was David Orion and IMO his act was a bit stale.

 

After the show, we went to the casino a bit before retiring for the evening. It was a wonderful, exhausting day and we were asleep by midnight.

 

Ann