**Jewel of the Seas 9.21.2013 Review**

[Virtopia]

Finally – it’s cruise day!! Check out for the hotel was 12pm and since I knew rooms wouldn’t be ready until 1pm, I stayed at the hotel right until 12, but of course, I woke up at 9am! I was too excited that I was finally going on my third solo cruise. My last solo cruise was in January 2012, so I was more than overdue for this exciting adventure.

 

The taxi ride in total was $22 before tip and including my two pieces of luggage. I dropped off my bags with the porters and when I mean I breezed through check in, I breezed through check in. The longest part of the process was picking out my two bottles of wine at the duty free shop that is right beside the security gates. There was no line for any part of the process, which was amazing. Overall, from the time I got out of the taxi to taking a seat in the Windjammer café, it definitely took less than 30 minutes.

 

First view from the taxi!

IMG_2682 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

Finally I was on the ship! This was my first time on a Radiance class ship and it did feel a little like a luxury liner. The Jewel really is a beautiful ship and the reason I was most excited to go on this ship was because of the outdoor Windjammer area. I ended up having quite a few lunches and dinner out there and it was great as it was always quite empty.

 

Lunch time!

DSCN0934 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

I was able to make arrangements with a Roll Call member who doesn’t drink to get two additional bottles of wine and for this reason, my overall bill was extremely light, so thanks again! So, once my lunch was over, I stopped by their cabin to pick up the bottles and then headed to my cabin. I was in cabin 2001 and I really enjoyed this cabin for a variety of reasons. One, it wasn’t attached to any other rooms, so I didn’t have to worry about any noises. Well, the room was surrounded by the staff hallways, so every once in awhile I heard something, but nothing too bad. Everytime I ordered room service, I heard when they were coming, so that was a nice perk so I knew when to get decent! :p Second, for 4 of the 5 ports, the disembarkation was just down the hall, so I didn’t have to worry about waiting for an elevator when coming back on the ship, I’d just walk down the hall to my room. I’d book this room again in a heartbeat.

 

DSCN0940 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN0937 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN0938 by Virtopia, on Flickr

[Virtopia]

I was ALL THE WAY at the end of this hall, but I didn't mind at all.

DSCN0941 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

Once I had done the happy dance in my cabin, I dropped off all my baggage, took my camera and went to explore the ship. I ran into my stateroom attendant, who ended up getting my WOW card. He was simply the best and as I wrote in the comment section, as a solo female traveler, he treated me like a daughter so I felt right at home. I will have a picture of him coming up later. Since I had the wine, I had asked him for ice each day and he did a great job of refilling it throughout the week.

 

These are some random ship pictures while I was exploring.

 

DSCN0945 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN0947 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN0952 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN0959 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

Okay, I'm going to take a break for the rest of the night, but hopefully I will be back tomorrow with the rest of the first day, St Croix and St Maarten! Hope you're enjoying it so far.

 

I know someone asked about the gym times. I will look up my cruise compasses and post them tomorrow as well.

[HazyDavey]

Finally – it’s cruise day!! Check out for the hotel was 12pm and since I knew rooms wouldn’t be ready until 1pm, I stayed at the hotel right until 12, but of course, I woke up at 9am! I was too excited that I was finally going on my third solo cruise. My last solo cruise was in January 2012, so I was more than overdue for this exciting adventure.

 

The taxi ride in total was $22 before tip and including my two pieces of luggage. I dropped off my bags with the porters and when I mean I breezed through check in, I breezed through check in.

The longest part of the process was picking out my two bottles of wine at the duty free shop that is right beside the security gates.

There was no line for any part of the process, which was amazing. Overall, from the time I got out of the taxi to taking a seat in the Windjammer café, it definitely took less than 30 minutes.

 

 

I was able to make arrangements with a Roll Call member who doesn’t drink to get two additional bottles of wine and for this reason, my overall bill was extremely light, so thanks again! So, once my lunch was over, I stopped by their cabin to pick up the bottles and then headed to my cabin.

I was in cabin 2001 and I really enjoyed this cabin for a variety of reasons. One, it wasn’t attached to any other rooms, so I didn’t have to worry about any noises. Well, the room was surrounded by the staff hallways, so every once in awhile I heard something, but nothing too bad. Everytime I ordered room service, I heard when they were coming, so that was a nice perk so I knew when to get decent! :p Second, for 4 of the 5 ports, the disembarkation was just down the hall, so I didn’t have to worry about waiting for an elevator when coming back on the ship, I’d just walk down the hall to my room. I’d book this room again in a heartbeat.

 

 

Can you tell me more about this "two bottles of wine" reference? Is this something specific to cruising out of San Juan? Thanks.

Edited October 5, 2013 by HazyDavey

[Bette And Bill]

Finally – it’s cruise day!! Check out for the hotel was 12pm and since I knew rooms wouldn’t be ready until 1pm, I stayed at the hotel right until 12, but of course, I woke up at 9am! I was too excited that I was finally going on my third solo cruise. My last solo cruise was in January 2012, so I was more than overdue for this exciting adventure.

 

The taxi ride in total was $22 before tip and including my two pieces of luggage. I dropped off my bags with the porters and when I mean I breezed through check in, I breezed through check in. The longest part of the process was picking out my two bottles of wine at the duty free shop that is right beside the security gates. There was no line for any part of the process, which was amazing. Overall, from the time I got out of the taxi to taking a seat in the Windjammer café, it definitely took less than 30 minutes.

 

 

I was able to make arrangements with a Roll Call member who doesn’t drink to get two additional bottles of wine and for this reason, my overall bill was extremely light, so thanks again! So, once my lunch was over, I stopped by their cabin to pick up the bottles and then headed to my cabin. I was in cabin 2001 and I really enjoyed this cabin for a variety of reasons. One, it wasn’t attached to any other rooms, so I didn’t have to worry about any noises. Well, the room was surrounded by the staff hallways, so every once in awhile I heard something, but nothing too bad. Everytime I ordered room service, I heard when they were coming, so that was a nice perk so I knew when to get decent! :p Second, for 4 of the 5 ports, the disembarkation was just down the hall, so I didn’t have to worry about waiting for an elevator when coming back on the ship, I’d just walk down the hall to my room. I’d book this room again in a heartbeat.

 

 

Can you tell me more about this "two bottles of wine" reference? Is this something specific to cruising out of San Juan? Thanks.

 

Royal now allows 2 bottles of wine per cabin.

[khm1]

Can you tell me more about this "two bottles of wine" reference? Is this something specific to cruising out of San Juan? Thanks.

RCL changed their policy on passengers bringing wine a while back. You can now take two bottles per cabin when you board. It applies to all sailings, not just San Juan.

[PCWalton1]

Wow. terrific start. Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review. Looking forward to seeing more. :)

 

Bill

[Kik35]

Great review so far!!:D Love the Jewel(sailed on our first cruise) and love sailing from San Juan. Can't wait for the rest of your review!!~Claudia

[donna10]

Subscribed! Looking forward to more ....

[drarill]

I set my alarm clock for 9am on Friday. I didn’t want to let the day get away from me. I was out of the hotel by 10:30am and headed to my first stop – Pinkys! Now, this popular breakfast spot is located on Ashford Ave, so it only took me a matter of minutes to get there. Sorry, I have no pictures as I was busy eating! The breakfast sandwich I ordered was great and affordable.

 

Pinkys is a great place to have breakfast, if someone else is planning to stay at the Doubletree I will also recommend going to "Under the Tree" for breakfast or lunch; or "Silk" for dinner if you like asian food. Both are located next door to the hotel. Another thing I like about this hotel is that is across the street from a 24 hrs. grocery store. They have a great selection of wines there, no need to go to the duty free shop on the terminal. ;)

[Max Density]

You're off to a great start! Thanks for posting this review.

[Virtopia]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone! I have family visiting from out of town so I will be continuing this much later on this evening, but to hold you over, here's a picture of my favourite drink from the cruise - the raspberry lemon drop!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using the Cruise Critic App

[nik1009]

What is the Wow card?

[Virtopia]

I'll do some iPhone picture posts throughout the day until I continue my review!

 

This is my first bottle of wine chilling in the room!

 

First drink on the ship - a Miami Vice!!

 

Oh and let me clear to point out - I'm not an alcoholic! :D the only time I really drink is when I'm on vacation.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using the Cruise Critic App

[Virtopia]

What is the Wow card?

 

If you're a C&A member, they give you a WOW card during check in to recognize a member of the staff who went above and beyond. I've gotten more than one before, but only received one time time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using the Cruise Critic App

[rednancy1]

Subscribed! Great review so far. :)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I seldom drink, but when I do it's on a ship and it's either my White Zinfadel (pink) or something else fruity & pink. An umbrella is often involved......What is in the Raspberry Lemon Drop? It looks like something I'd like!:)

Edited October 5, 2013 by Sunny AZ Girl

[Virtopia]

I seldom drink, but when I do it's on a ship and it's either my White Zinfadel (pink) or something else fruity & pink. An umbrella is often involved......What is in the Raspberry Lemon Drop? It looks like something I'd like!:)

 

I had a bottle of White Zinfadel in my room! I love it! The Raspberry Lemon Drop is a variation of a martini so they told me. It was amazing and ordered a pomegranate one later on in the week.

 

I'm gathering my pictures - will be resuming the review in a few minutes!! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using the Cruise Critic App

[My4Grandsons]

Ok, a few minutes are up!:D I went on the August 24th cruise. Spent my birthday in Aruba.

[HazyDavey]

RCL changed their policy on passengers bringing wine a while back. You can now take two bottles per cabin when you board. It applies to all sailings, not just San Juan.

 

Good news! Thank you for the explanation.

[gxchan]

Virtopia - You are doing a great job! Love the photos. Thanks for putting this together.

[Virtopia]

Okay, I'm back!

 

Sorry for that delay; seems like my computer doesn't want to cooperate with me, but I have everything ready to go now, so let's continue, shall we?

 

So yes, I went exploring around the ship after I checked out my digs for the week. There was some mention in previous threads that there was more than 1 muster drill on previous sailings, but our sailing only had 1 muster drill at 8pm. We had planned a unofficial M&M at the Sky Bar for 3pm, but only myself and Gladys (Mommy4lyfe) and her DH showed up, which I believe was due to the rain that was starting to fall.

 

Let me digress for a moment as I really want to thank Gladys and her DH for keeping me company many times during the sailing. I shared two excurions with them and also whether it was a theatre show, lunch in the Windjammer or dinner in the MDR, they never made me feel like I was traveling alone and I thank you for that tremendously.

 

Okay, so after the Sky Bar fiasco (well, not really, but you know what I mean ...), I went back to my room and ta-da - my luggage was there! I spent about an hour or so unpacking all my things and making it more like home. Once, I was done that, I made my way back around the ship until it was time for the muster drill. It was quick and painless, just the way I like it and then I made my way to the Windjammer to have dinner, which was relatively good.

 

There was a Welcome Aboard show at 10:45pm which was entertaining. The comedian was funny. Once the show was done, I headed back to my cabin as our stop in St Croix was the next day.

 

DSCN0957 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN0962 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN0964 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN0980 by Virtopia, on Flickr

[Virtopia]

The next morning, I woke up relatively late as I had no set plans for St Croix. This is one of the 4 islands on this cruise I hadn't been to yet (I visited St Maarten in January 2012), so I was excited to explore it, but I couldn't find any excurions for this island, so I just decided to make it an easy day. Plus, I had a dinner reservation for Portofino in the evening, so I was fine with that.

 

I woke up around 9am and went to the Windjammer for breakfast around 10am so I could get my omelet. Once I was done there, I departed the ship and was probably off the ship for 30 minutes. I couldn't find a thing to do. Once you past the security gates, there are some stores and there is a free beach within walking distance, but I didn't want to pay for any of the tours they were offering. I momentarily thought about taking the $6 RT shuttle to Rainbow Beach, but didn't go and was glad I didn't when I heard that although beautiful, it was very rocky.

 

I did walk around for a bit and took a few pictures.

 

Breakfast while docked in St Croix

DSCN0991 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN0997 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN0999 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN1001 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN1002 by Virtopia, on Flickr

[Virtopia]

After I was done with my short visit in St Croix, I went back on the ship and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

 

DSCN1007 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

The ship was nice and empty, just the way I like it on port day. Once people started to file back onto the ship, I made my way up to the Viking Crown Lounge, which is always empty during the day, so I had an uninterrupted nap there.

 

This was the first formal night on the ship and since I was traveling alone

and like to spoil myself, I had a reservation for Portofinos at 6pm. I received the official reservation in my stateroom and made got myself ready for a new experience, which is dining alone in a specialty restaurant.

 

Portofino's was amazing! I got a nice seat by the window and each one of my courses were great; I was going to try and remember what each dish was called, but I'm too busy trying to relive the experience and the wonderful tastes! The servers I had were also great - they were surprised I was cruising by myself and allowed me to take pictures of all my food before explaining it to me.

 

DSCN1010 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN1012 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN1013 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN1015 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

DSCN1014 by Virtopia, on Flickr

[Virtopia]

Sorry, once I post 6 pictures and try to type after it, it stays I have 7 pictures ... not sure why, but that's okay!

 

So, after dinner, I went walking around the ship and on the deck, as that's my favourite part of cruising and waited until the production show started.

 

Let me digress once again here - I don't like being negative about any part of my cruise, but the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers were not up to par with what I'm use to. I don't know what it was, but it was just wasn't my cup of tea at all and I'm usually at the shows 30 minutes before they start, but I was ready to walk out early to every show.

 

So, I went to the show and did sneak out a few minutes early because there was no point in staying until the end. I did some more walking around the deck and then headed off to bed as I had an early excursion booked for St Maarten.

 

I'll have St Maarten for you tomorrow! :D

[donna10]

DSCN1013 by Virtopia, on Flickr

 

I have to laugh at the people in your pic checking out your seafood. I think they've a case of food envy. Hehehe. Talking about food, what's the difference between Giovanni's and Portifino's? We are sailing on Mariner of the Seas in January and see that their Italian restaurant used to be called Portifino's but now it called Giovanni's. But I think I've seen some ships have both, not sure about this though.

 

Loving your review BTW, loving the photos.