Jewel of the Seas 1/10/13 - Suite Sailing, a Belated Review with Photos

[WhiteSoxFan]

I had planned on getting this done much earlier but have been so busy I haven’t been able to get to it. As it is I can hopefully get this all up in short order.

 

Background:

 

We are a family of three, myself , wife and daughter, a junior at the University of Iowa. We have 6 cruises under our belt, all on RC.

 

The impetus for this cruise started in September when it was suggested that we take a short trip somewhere over my daughter’s winter break. I asked what type of trip and got no clear direction. I looked at different trips, Las Vegas, Disney (we are DVC members also) and a three day cruise on the Majesty or Monarch. The three day cruises appealed to me because I wanted to go over a weekend to minimize the number of days off work. I really thought that my daughter would nix the cruise idea because in the past she had said that anything less than 7 days wasn’t long enough. Oh how wrong I was. She ran with it and soon had found the four day sailing on the Jewel of the Seas.

 

I thought this was a great option as it was over a weekend and it went to Cozumel instead of the Bahamas. So off I went pricing cruises. I found the pricing reasonable but figured if I waited until after the final payment was due that the prices would drop. This was the trend for the November and early December sailings as several went on the Tuesday sale sheet. I also saw that over a third of the cabins were available so I decided to wait.

 

In early November the price on airfare dropped to a reasonable $232 each. I had my choice of United or Southwest at the same price. I prefer United, first because I live a lot closer to O’Hare than Midway, second because I am not a fan of the Southwest cattle call (although it has improved). I get one bag free on United so baggage wasn’t an issue but I booked on Southwest because if, for some reason, we didn’t book the cruise I could cancel and take the credit without a penalty. So now I sat with airfare to Tampa and nothing else.

 

I continued to monitor the available cabins in every category (what a geek, huh?) as well as the pricing and Tuesday specials. Finally the week after Thanksgiving the prices dropped. Balconies dropped about $200pp. Seeing that cabin 1056, a D1 with a huge balcony, was open I jumped on it as soon as my TA opened. We love big balconies as we have had the deck 7 corner aft on the Freedom as well as the Deck 10 corner aft on the Mariner. I finalized everything the following day and we were all set to go.

 

One Monday, a few weeks later, someone on our Roll Call thread posted that the price on Grand Suites had dropped to $599pp. I was not really looking to spend the extra money nor was I looking for the extra space since we generally do not spend that much time in the cabin. The next morning I went through the website and indeed the GS was $599. Oddly, the GS was actually cheaper for all three of us than a JS. The JS was on Tuesday sale for $599 but the third person was $369. The GS, not on Tuesday sale, was $599 with a third person price of $309. I called my TA and asked about upgrading, she said we would check into it. She called back and said the price was $1099pp! I knew I was not going to pay that but questioned the price since when I checked it came up as $599pp. She asked where I had found the price and I stated RC’s website. She navigated through the standard RC site that the rest of us have to use (while saying about how much more difficult it was) and indeed found the $599 price. She said she would investigate and call me back. A little while later she called and said she got the price and was on hold with RC. She called about 45 minutes later and said everything was good to go and sent me a new confirmation with my new cabin, Grand Suite #1036.

 

I posted my success on our roll call. The person who originally posted the great price on the GS said she had tried to upgrade directly with RC but was told that it was for new bookings only. People always wonder why someone would use a TA, well this time it saved me sitting on the phone and somehow it got me the upgrade!

 

So now my conundrum is how to present this to the family. I wanted to keep it a secret till we sailed but knew that when we got the pier I would be presenting a Sea Pass with the word Suite highlighted at the top, I would be sent to the line for Suite guest and I would be getting gold Sea Pass cards. All this kind of ruins the surprise of just opening the door to a huge cabin.

I instead decided to present it at Christmas. I found a jpeg of a gold Sea Pass card online, downloaded it and changed the ship name, sail date, names, etc. I printed them on labels and stuck them to a couple of old plastic loyalty cards I had laying around. I put them in envelopes and had them open them together. Needless to say it was a big hit, especially when I told them about some of the amenities we would receive.

[WhiteSoxFan]

Pre-Cruise

 

As is typical, I scheduled our flights down for the night prior to the cruise. I like to do it for a little cushion in case a flight is delayed or some of your luggage doesn’t take the same flight you do, something that did happen to us once. We left work early, came home and packed the last few items. Our flight was scheduled to leave Midway for Tampa at 7:20PM and was shown on time. We left the house about 4:30 for the hour long drive to the airport. The traffic was not bad and the trip uneventful, we checked our bags and headed thru security. Our plane arrived on time and the plane was loaded and ready to go when they announced that they were going to wait for some connecting passenger and once they, and their luggage, were onboard we would be departing. I had no problem with this as there was no rush for us to get there. The plane was only about ½ full and my wife and daughter sat in the row behind me while I had the entire row to myself.

 

Soon the connecting passengers were onboard but we still waited about 20 minutes for them to get the bags on board. Finally, about 45 minutes after our scheduled departure, we were off. We landed about a half hour late.

I had booked a pre-paid room at the Holiday Inn Express at Rocky Point. The room was inexpensive, we got free breakfast and there was a free shuttle to the airport. Once we had landed and collected our bags I called the HI to find out where to meet the shuttle. They told us where to go and that the shuttle was already on its way. We went to the designated location and soon the shuttle was there. There were four others also heading to the HI so we piled in and headed to the other side of the terminal to pick up one more guest. They were not there and after some waiting and some back and forth between the hotel and the driver we left without finding the other passenger. Check in was quick and we were soon in the room.

 

Knowing the hotel offers cruise packages that include a shuttle to the cruise terminal I asked the clerk if we could book it or if it was available as part of the cruise package the hotel offers. He said we just need to tell the front desk in the morning and they would contact the shuttle company, the cost is $10pp. Since there were three of us the cost was comparable to that of a taxi. He stated that the shuttles would start leaving at 11:00AM but that if we didn’t want to leave that early they also leave at noon. Wanting to be at the pier before this I decided we would just take a taxi.

 

Overall the hotel was fine. We had a decent rate, an acceptable breakfast was included and it was close to the airport with a free airport shuttle. The one bad point was the room’s PTAC unit. Every time the AC started the unit would vibrate and rumble finally settling into the familiar hum. As such I woke up more than a few times in the night.

[WhiteSoxFan]

Embarkation:

 

After a night of somewhat restless sleep, we got up, grabbed some breakfast and got our bags and documents together. I called for a taxi and at about 10:15 we were off to the pier. As expected the taxi was $33.00 with the tip. We handed our bags to the porter who told us we can head up the escalator to the second floor where we would check-in. Before doing this, however, we headed in the opposite direction so I could take a few photos. At the south end of the building there are stairs that take you up to the exterior portion of the second floor were you can get up close to the ship. We snapped a few photos then headed back down the stairs to the escalator. Once at the top they checked our passports and Set Sail pass. We then went inside to the security checkpoint where there was no line. We completed our health forms and were directed to the suite check-in area. There was no line and we went right up to an agent and gave him our documentation. In a few minutes we were checked in and directed to the suite waiting area. I noted the time as we sat down and it was 10:55am.

 

 

 

 

We were told that they were waiting for a confirmed zero count and we would be boarding once they got it. Not long after, they started the boarding process. The welcome aboard photos were taken just prior to exiting the terminal and then we were off to the gangway and quickly onboard. As we walked down deck five to enter the ship I glanced at the clock, 11:04!

 

We spent some time walking around and familiarizing ourselves with the ship. We then went up to the Windjammer for some lunch. One of my favorite things about this ship is the outdoor seating at the back of deck 11. Every time we used the Windjammer we sat back in this area. It was great sitting outdoors in the nice warm weather looking out toward downtown Tampa.

 

After lunch we walked around deck twelve working our way down to deck 10. It was just before 1:00PM and the doors to the cabin corridors were not yet open. We decided to hop into the Concierge Lounge to have a quick look inside. My daughter used the self-service machine to get a cup of espresso. Soon it was 1:00 and the corridors were open. We proceeded the short distance from the CL to our cabin, 1036. We opened the door to find that our cabin steward had already placed our bags inside the cabin. We went ahead and looked around the cabin and unpacked. The Grand Suites are great cabins, they occupy the same space as two standard cabins. It was great having all the extra space, especially with three in the cabin. The cabin has a curtain that can divide the bead/vanity area from the rest of the room which was nice for providing a little privacy for everyone.

 

One feature of the GS that I didn’t care for was the tub. Since we all took showers anyway I would have preferred a Voyager/Freedom/Oasis class shower vs. the tub. First the bottom of the tub is much higher than the floor. As such if I stood completely upright my head was against the ceiling of the tub. Second the shower head obviously isn’t very high and as such in order to shower you have to stand at the very front of the shower. The tub area is also very dark when the shower curtain is closed. Other than this the room is fabulous.

 

One thing about our cabin is the fact that the window washing equipment is parked right at the aft portion of our cabin. This equipment does not extend above the railing and generally is not a big issue. That is not to say it doesn’t somewhat obstruct your view when sitting and looking through the balcony glass. It would not deter me from booking the cabin but if given a choice I would probably pick a different cabin.

[WhiteSoxFan]

Some of the photos I took while exploring the ship:

 

The Centrum

 

Entrance to the Schooner Bar

 

Schooner Bar

 

The Pit Stop Bar

 

The Coral Theater

[KansCocoa]

Awesome start - I love how you surprised the family at Christmas...that took some creativity!

 

And your photos are great - can't wait for more!

[WhiteSoxFan]

Solarium Pool

 

Looking down the starboard elevators.

[BDL]

Great review and pics! DH and I will be in a GS in May and can't wait!

[UNV-IT!!!]

Can't wait to sail her.

[WhiteSoxFan]

After getting settled in and unpacking we went up to the pool. We generally do not spend much time in the pool nor do we spend much time lounging around the pool. We do, however, enjoy sitting on the pools edge with our feet in the water while having a drink or two and just talking and watching. So we found a spot near the pool bar end of the pool and sat down with our feet in the water.

 

It is always interesting to see everyone on the first day of a cruise. You'd think some people had been denied alcohol for the last year and were trying to make up for it in one day. :) Soon one of the bar staff came by and took our order. We sat there watching, talking and drinking when one of the pool staff came over and told us we could not have our drinks there. I could not figure that one out. We have done this on most ships we've been on and the drinks were not in glass containers. I had a Bud Light in an aluminum bottle, no chance of breaking that. As we were right at the end of the pool I was able to place my drink on the bar rail next to the pool with no problem. My wife and daughter were able to place there drinks behind them with out any more issues. This is the one thing I did not like on the Jewel. They really enforced it. In the Solarium they wouldn't let you have a drink anywhere near the edge of the pool.

 

Soon it was time for the muster drill so we headed down to our muster station so we changed and headed down to our muster station. After the muster drill we went back up to the pool deck, grabbed a few drinks and watched us sail out.

 

I decided to book My Time Dining for this cruise as we had never done it before. I made an 8:45 reservation for the first night since I wanted to watch us sail under the Sunshine Skyway bridge. This would give us time to watch us sail under the bridge and see the sailaway show.

 

After the sailaway we went to the seaview cafe for a quick snack waiting for out passage under the bridge.

 

A few sailaway photos.

 

Tampa

 

From the Seaview Cafe

 

 

Sunset

 

Here comes the bridge!

[WhiteSoxFan]

Below is a link to a video of the bridge passing:

 

 

After we passed the bridge:

 

After the bridge passing we went to the sailaway show then to dinner, I think we set a personal record for cruise ship dining. The MTD area was not busy and we were in and out in less than an hour.

[BecciBoo]

Love love love it the video and the way you write, gave me goose bumps talking about walking onto the ship! On Radiance in 6 months..woohoo...can't wait, our first Radiance class cruise. Great photos too...keep them coming!:D

[BecciBoo]

BTW, what you said about your drinks and the pool area.....I've had my cocktails IN the pool with no problem several cruises, never been told not to nor read any rules not to...strange!

[irishgal432]

Thanks for the review. I can re-live my great experience. The review is making me want to cruise again.

[WhiteSoxFan]

BTW, what you said about your drinks and the pool area.....I've had my cocktails IN the pool with no problem several cruises, never been told not to nor read any rules not to...strange!

 

I found it very odd. The only thing we could think was that they didn't want drinks spilling into the pool. They were very persistent on telling people to move there drinks.

 

Thanks for the review. I can re-live my great experience. The review is making me want to cruise again.

 

Thanks, Grand Suite neighbor. Luckily I have the Allure to look forward to in a few months.:)

[cruise wizard]

About how long after the ship departed were you at the bridge? I don't want to miss sailing under the bridge..........it looked super!!!!!

[WhiteSoxFan]

We sailed pretty much on time at 4:30, we went under the bridge about 6:40-6:45. It was pretty cool, I would like to see it in a little more light.

[Tropical Traveler]

Fabulous photos, thanks for sharing.

 

The sunset and bridge pictures are outstanding. Really looking forward to seeing it in person in May. :cool:

[cruise wizard]

We sailed pretty much on time at 4:30, we went under the bridge about 6:40-6:45. It was pretty cool, I would like to see it in a little more light.

 

We are cruising on 3/2 - so it should still be light enough to get some good pictures of the bridge. It sure does look close from your video!!!!!

 

Looking forward to comments and pictures on the ports visited. We are looking at an AI in Cozumel - Mr. Sancho's or just eating at La Mission downtown and in Key West having lunch at the Blue Haven and dessert at La Creperie. Any suggestions?

[niksmom630]

Thanks for the review! We're leaving two weeks from today to board the Jewel. Missed sailing under the bridge on our last Jewel cruise due to a boarding and sailing delay (wound up passing under it some time in the wee hours of the night) but I'm bound and determined to see it this time!!!!

[SJSoccerCruiser]

Great review.

One question from my DW; we will be sailing on the Serenade this summer and she would like to know if there was magnifying makeup mirror in the GS on the Radiance class ships?

 

Thanks

[Clarea]

Great review.

One question from my DW; we will be sailing on the Serenade this summer and she would like to know if there was magnifying makeup mirror in the GS on the Radiance class ships?

 

Thanks

We had one on Radiance, so it's probably safe to assume that Serenade will have one.

[WhiteSoxFan]

We are cruising on 3/2 - so it should still be light enough to get some good pictures of the bridge. It sure does look close from your video!!!!!

 

Looking forward to comments and pictures on the ports visited. We are looking at an AI in Cozumel - Mr. Sancho's or just eating at La Mission downtown and in Key West having lunch at the Blue Haven and dessert at La Creperie. Any suggestions?

 

We just went to Paradise Beach and back to the ship so no real help from me on the places you mentioned.

 

Great review.

One question from my DW; we will be sailing on the Serenade this summer and she would like to know if there was magnifying makeup mirror in the GS on the Radiance class ships?

 

Thanks

The Jewel had one.

[BillOh]

One of my favorite things about this ship is the outdoor seating at the back of deck 11. Every time we used the Windjammer we sat back in this area. It was great sitting outdoors in the nice warm weather looking out toward downtown Tampa.

 

I loved that as well. Great story so far, I'm enjoying it and looking forward to reading how your Jewel experience compared with ours. That was my first time cruising that ship and first out of Tampa. It also went well for us.

[PCWalton1]

Loving the start of your review. We will be on Jewel starting March 2 so it is great to see a review from recent travelers.

thanks :)

 

Bill

[gowensricks]

Thank you so much for the review with pictures! We will be on the Jewel in four months and I have been trying to search for updated photos of the ship!