Just Back From B2B On Jewel 1/11 and 1/18/14

[erniesband]

Just back from a wonderful 2 weeks on board the Jewel Of The Seas. We cruised the weeks of 1/11/14, going to Tortola, St Maarten, St Kitts, Dominica, and Barbados and 1/18/14, going to St Thomas, St Croix, Antigua, Martinique, and St Lucia.

I’m just going to give an overview of the cruises without going into a lot of detail or posting of pictures seeing as there have been quite a few recent reviews.

Overall the ship is in really good shape, yes, you can see the carpet is worn in some areas and there is some furniture that needs to be replaced but overall she still looks good and will be going for a refurb in 2016. Our cabin, aft balcony 1604 was in good shape but we did ask for an egg crate and our cabin steward gave us 2 saying that the mattress needed some extra help.

Dennis Charles was the cruise director with Elvis as his assistant; both were very personable and did a great job. We did see a lot of the ship’s officers all over the ship and they would take the time to talk with you and answer questions or just some friendly chit- chat. They really gave the impression that they wanted everyone to be happy with their cruise experience.

The itineraries where fabulous, we choose to cruise for the itinerary not the ship and there was nothing we didn’t like about these two. Even Martinique was OK. Most people say stay on the ship, I wouldn’t. We found a taxi driver who called himself “Bob” and did a 4-hour island tour with him for 40euros per person with 7 of us in his van. He spent some time in the states and spoke English so it was an enjoyable day there. It was worth seeing at least once.

Activities were all the usual suspects; Quest, Love and Marriage, 60’s and 70’s dance parties, a “white” party on deck along with the midnight buffet. This having been our 19th and 20th cruises we didn’t participate in much other than music trivia and hanging out at the Solarium bar at night because it was quiet.

Since we do all private excursions and don't book on the ship I'll be posting some reviews on the ports of call boards. We did have a problem on St Kitt's and do not recommend you use Beulah's Welcome Tours for excursions to Nevis.

Ok - so there has to be some not so good to go with the really good. I know that food is subjective and as I say in my signature to quote Dennis Miller “ this is my opinion, I could be wrong” here goes. The food in main dinning room had much to be desired, while the service was as good as they could do and you can’t blame the wait staff for what comes out of the kitchen at least it could come to the table HOT, and this we figured was due to the cutbacks in staff. They just have too many tables to handle. We would arrive at our table on time at 6:00 and not be served our appetizers until 6:45 or later; we would see some tables leaving the dinning room as we were getting our entrees. As to the quality of the food, everything was way too salty and items that were supposed to be spicy were just bland. Most of the meat would be too well done and dry. The Windjammer was OK as a buffet and we knew what we were getting when we went there for breakfast or lunch. I’m sorry to say that the best food on the ship was at the Seaview Café and it’s going away when the ship is refurbished. Always cooked to order and delivered hot to your table.

They do have the new Coke Freestyle machines. Only 2 of them and in the Windjammer so they are only accessible when it’s open.

One of our traveling companions did have the ultimate drink package and said it was worth it.

No, I’m not going to post compasses or menus, there are some things you need to discover when you get there.

Ask me questions and I will try to answer them.

Edited January 26, 2014 by erniesband

[suep]

Hi there! Thanks for your post! We will be on the Jewel Feb. 1, which will be St. Thomas/Antigua/St. Croix/Martinique/St. Lucia itinerary. I had posted a while back about snorkeling on these islands and you had commented back (thanks). Did you snorkel at all on this tour? And if so, where and how was it?

We also are thinking about trying the premium beverage package - how does that work? do you get a special cup for the bartenders to use for drinks, similar to the soda cup? And what time did the Windjammer close up at night? Our kids will be getting the soda package and will be interested to learn how late they can get to the freestyle machines.

Interesting to hear about the MDR. Our last cruise was on Carnival and the food was not good so we are hoping for better on this cruise....we'll see!

[welshrich]

Hi

 

Thanks for the review, we are sailing b2b on her in March, how was the entertainment, I know the production shows would be repeated both weeks but were the guest entertainers good? also, did you go to the Diamond lounge/event? if you did what was the dress code, just wondering whether very smart knee length shorts are acceptable as it's hotter weather?

[erniesband]

Hi there! Thanks for your post! We will be on the Jewel Feb. 1, which will be St. Thomas/Antigua/St. Croix/Martinique/St. Lucia itinerary. I had posted a while back about snorkeling on these islands and you had commented back (thanks). Did you snorkel at all on this tour? And if so, where and how was it?

We also are thinking about trying the premium beverage package - how does that work? do you get a special cup for the bartenders to use for drinks, similar to the soda cup? And what time did the Windjammer close up at night? Our kids will be getting the soda package and will be interested to learn how late they can get to the freestyle machines.

Interesting to hear about the MDR. Our last cruise was on Carnival and the food was not good so we are hoping for better on this cruise....we'll see!

 

We snorkeled in St Thomas when we went on a daysail with High Pockets, very good. Also in St Lucia. We went to Anse Choson with Island Divers and had a day package at Ti Kaye. Again this was some of the best snorkeling we've done. Had real nice weather both days so the water was very clear.

WindJammer closed at 9PM.

You get a sticker on your sea pass for the drink package and it includes a soda cup.

[erniesband]

Hi

 

Thanks for the review, we are sailing b2b on her in March, how was the entertainment, I know the production shows would be repeated both weeks but were the guest entertainers good? also, did you go to the Diamond lounge/event? if you did what was the dress code, just wondering whether very smart knee length shorts are acceptable as it's hotter weather?

 

Not sure who you'll get as headliners but we only saw a few of the shows. John Joseph and Johnny B were very funny, most of the others were so-so. I thought the production shows were pretty good for what they were.

We didn't go into the diamond lounge much and when we did it was right before dinner. I really don't think nice shorts would be frowned upon.

[cruisenfever]

We didn't go into the diamond lounge much and when we did it was right before dinner. I really don't think nice shorts would be frowned upon.

Jewel doesn't have a Diamond Lounge as of yet and won't get one until her enhancements phase. I am sure that you meant Diamond Event which would be the substitute for Diamond Members, with only complimentary wine, champagne and soft drinks available.

 

From our experience, appropriate dress is recommended in both the Diamond Event and Concierge Lounge in the evenings between 5-8:30. However, with that being said, that could all depend on the Concierge or the person in charge of the Event.

[keishashadow]

Thanks for the review! had hoped you might be on the st thomas/st kitts/aruba/curacao itinerary which we booked for May.

 

We enjoy direct aft balconies but couldn't pass up a great discounted rate for E2. Posted in another thread trying to figure out if port or starboard would be best for sailaway views...any thoughts?

 

couple of other questions:

 

any issue finding a lounge chair in the solarium on sea days?

 

did you try chops or order their steak/lobster in MDR?

 

we have used Beulah in the past in st kittts (not to nevis though) was going to book again thru her. Could you elaborate or post link to other review you reference please?

[ValerieJo]

Thanks for the review.

 

We are doing the Tortola route in March. I would also like more information regarding Nevis. Would you recommend doing the ships tour to Nevis? Was Nevis worth going to?

[erniesband]

Jewel doesn't have a Diamond Lounge as of yet and won't get one until her enhancements phase. I am sure that you meant Diamond Event which would be the substitute for Diamond Members, with only complimentary wine, champagne and soft drinks available.

 

From our experience, appropriate dress is recommended in both the Diamond Event and Concierge Lounge in the evenings between 5-8:30. However, with that being said, that could all depend on the Concierge or the person in charge of the Event.

 

Ok so it's not a dedicated lounge, it was held in the Hollywood Odyssey from 5-8 pm. Happy now Patti? There Pluses and Pinnacles were in the CL.

The only ones in there were a few Diamonds and a bartender. I really don't think anyone cared what others were wearing.

[erniesband]

Thanks for the review! had hoped you might be on the st thomas/st kitts/aruba/curacao itinerary which we booked for May.

 

We enjoy direct aft balconies but couldn't pass up a great discounted rate for E2. Posted in another thread trying to figure out if port or starboard would be best for sailaway views...any thoughts? Doesn't make much difference, once you pull out of port the view is about the same from either side.

 

couple of other questions:

 

any issue finding a lounge chair in the solarium on sea days? Very, very crowded as was the pool deck and deck 12 around the pool.

 

did you try chops or order their steak/lobster in MDR? No

 

we have used Beulah in the past in st kittts (not to nevis though) was going to book again thru her. Could you elaborate or post link to other review you reference please?

 

I'll answer you're question about Beulah in a separate post.

[keishashadow]

thanks

[erniesband]

Here's the story on Beulah in St Kitt's.

We had arranged a rainforest hike and lunch on Nevis that she has on her website way back in February or March. She gives us a call in late December and says that the place we were supposed to go for the hike and lunch had their kitchen vandalized over Christmas and would not be able to host us but not to worry she found another place however the price would go up to $85 because we now had only three going instead of four ( one of our travel companions had suddenly passed away ) to cover her costs. We had no problem with that.

So we get to St Kitts and meet Beulah at the time and place she set up with us. When we first arrive and tell her who we are my wife hears her say uh-oh and she walks away. She then tells us she will be right back and walks another group of 4 to meet up with their excursion. She comes back and walks us over to the ferry to Nevis, purchased our ferry tickets, and gave some money to us, instructing us to give the money to Teach, on Nevis, and that she would meet us on the other side of the island when we returned to St. Kitt.

She also told us, after my wife asked, that the ferry tickets she gave us were one-way, and that the return tickets would have to be purchased on Nevis. Presumably, Teach knew the schedule and plans once we got to Nevis. It would have been helpful if she had shared that information with us. Teach was not at the ferry dock, nor was anyone holding a sign indicating they were waiting for us. It was only by accident, when we were trying to figure out where to meet Teach, that a man overheard us and intercepted us. He explained that Teach couldn't make it, had sent him and that he was taking us to another driver. Neither one of those gentlemen knew anything about where we were supposed to go, or when we were supposed to be back at the ferry. That's when we found out there were 2 different ferries. We remembered Lindburgh Landing and gave that information to the second driver, who took us there. That was when we found out that she had not confirmed our visit until we were on the ferry. Spencer and his wife were very embarrassed that they hadn't been given enough notice to prepare the lunch we were supposed to get. He worked with the driver to work out a schedule to pick us up and get us back to the ferry in time to get us back to our ship. Not knowing when she anticipated our return, it was decided to use the same ferry we went to Nevis on for the return. Thanks to Spencer, we were able to salvage our hike and return to St. Kitt safely. However, we did not get the lunch that was promised, had to work out all payment and scheduling details on our own, and still spent every dime (and more, since we tipped Spencer for his services) that she quoted, without receiving the promised services. And as far as Beulah knows we are still somewhere on Nevis! There was no attempt to contact us at all.

So thats the story. We used Beulah because of all the positive things posted here on CC but things can and will go wrong. If we hadn't been seasoned cruisers that use private operators the could have been trouble. We think that beulah really dropped the ball on this one.

Putting this out there so others can make informed decisions. We however will not use Beulah again.

 

PS - we will go back to Nevis and hike again with Spencer but do it on our own.

[erniesband]

Thanks for the review.

 

We are doing the Tortola route in March. I would also like more information regarding Nevis. Would you recommend doing the ships tour to Nevis? Was Nevis worth going to?

 

I do think Nevis is worth the visit if you've already seen St Kitts. Do to our experience yes do the ship's tour or if you are adventurous take the ferry on your own, have a guide book and get a taxi.

[cruisenfever]

Ok so it's not a dedicated lounge, it was held in the Hollywood Odyssey from 5-8 pm. Happy now Patti? There Pluses and Pinnacles were in the CL.

The only ones in there were a few Diamonds and a bartender. I really don't think anyone cared what others were wearing.

I quoted and replied to the wrong post Ernie. :o My apologies.

[erniesband]

I quoted and replied to the wrong post Ernie. :o My apologies.

 

accepted

[keishashadow]

OP condolences for the passing of your friend. As for Beulah, things happen but even considering island time vibe your experience is totally unacceptable. If you hadn't been proactive, your day's activities could've easily been ruined; possibly missing the ship's departure from port.:eek:

 

Doesn't sound as though you've made contact with Beulah to express your dissatisfaction, not sure what she could begin to do make it right with you at this point anyway. I'd venture the guides are in close contact, she's likely heard of this situation by now. imo she should've reached out to you. Thanks for posting this. We'll certainly look for alternative transport to batik and beach.

Edited January 27, 2014 by keishashadow

[NKLCRUISES]

Welcome back to this nice weather in Cleveland. I too booked our cruise based on the ports. We are going on the Tortola route. If you don't mind sharing what you did at each port, besides the St. Kitts, as you already stated your displeasure with the unfortunate events that took place. I have planned to to the following:

 

Tortola: Kuralu charter to Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke

St Maarten: Captain Bob Cass

St Kitts: Royston Tour

Dominca: Nature Isle Explorers Jewel Tour

Barbados: Calabaza charter

 

I am intersted in hearing what you did as we are excited more about the ports than the ship.

[erniesband]

OP condolences for the passing of your friend. As for Beulah, things happen but even considering island time vibe your experience is totally unacceptable. If you hadn't been proactive, your day's activities could've easily been ruined; possibly missing the ship's departure from port.:eek:

 

Doesn't sound as though you've made contact with Beulah to express your dissatisfaction, not sure what she could begin to do make it right with you at this point anyway. I'd venture the guides are in close contact, she's likely heard of this situation by now. imo she should've reached out to you. Thanks for posting this. We'll certainly look for alternative transport to batik and beach.

 

My wife did send an e-mail to Beulah when we returned home and she called us last night. Her side of the story is that when she changed diaries and I'm assuming that her diary would be a calendar or appointment book, she left us out so our arrival was a surprise to her. Then she tried to blame the rest of the problem on the driver on Nevis , Teach. She did have our e-mail and phone numbers and could have made an effort to contact us but didn't. Anyway, had she been honest and told us what had happened when we first met and then gave us time to decide to go or not to go things would have been very different. And she never did apologize.

We chalk this one up as lesson learned.

 

Thanks for the condolences.

Edited January 27, 2014 by erniesband

[erniesband]

Welcome back to this nice weather in Cleveland. I too booked our cruise based on the ports. We are going on the Tortola route. If you don't mind sharing what you did at each port, besides the St. Kitts, as you already stated your displeasure with the unfortunate events that took place. I have planned to to the following:

 

Tortola: Kuralu charter to Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke

St Maarten: Captain Bob Cass

St Kitts: Royston Tour

Dominca: Nature Isle Explorers Jewel Tour

Barbados: Calabaza charter

 

I am intersted in hearing what you did as we are excited more about the ports than the ship.

 

Getting off the plane saturday to 14° and a snow storm was a whole lot of fun :eek:

What you've got planned looks like fun, I've heard good things about Kuralu and Royston although we've only gone with Thenford Gray a couple of times. Brimstone Fortress is one of my favorites for photography on St Kitts. Javin's My Island Tours is another favorite. Since we've been to these islands many times we didn't do much that was exciting this time, other that our St Kitts adventure.

Tortola - we went to Cane Garden Beach to hang out.

St Marteen - just walked over to downtown and shopped on Front St.

Dominica - we took the Interior's Best Mini Hike with Levi Barron / Bumpiing Tours. This was the 4th hike we've done with Levi and since we had some travel companions that needed an easy hike we did this one, but Levi still found some additions to the regular to tour challenge those of us that wanted a little more adventurous hiking.

Barbados - we did Calabaza for the 2nd time. You'll love it. We've already reserved our spot with Gina when we go back to Barbados on next years cruise.

 

Have fun and GO TRIBE !

[NKLCRUISES]

Thank you for your response. Go Tribe, countdown to pitchers and catchers is 14 days.