Just back from Jewel

[Debde]

Returned on Saturday from Jewel.

 

Once again, another great vacation. I'm better at answering questions than an actual review.

Basics:

Stayed in the two bedroom suite 9656.

Food was good and yes, even in the windjammer.!!

Entertainment shows did not seem appealing so only went to one which was OK.

For some reason, I found a lack of poker machines in the casino. Plenty of slots but not many poker.

No sickness issues on board.

Easy to remove auto tips to tip in cash.

Did the Martinique itinerary and enjoyed it very much. St. Croix is on my top of the list now!!

Easy on-easy off.

They lost my sons luggage but was found within 24 hours so the mailed it to my house!

smoking:

FYI-had a aft cabin and watched folks puffing away on balconies on the Summit!!!:eek:

 

Great cruise, great ship-staff was wonderful and this is a ship that has not had the Royal advantage yet so that really says something!:)

[springaussie]

Returned on Saturday from Jewel.

Easy to remove auto tips to tip in cash.

 

Did you get cash for cancelling pre paid tips?

[Debde]

Did you get cash for cancelling pre paid tips?

 

No-just stopped the daily adding of them so I could tip in cash.

[bup1224]

Can you tell me what day of the week you were in St. Croix and what you did there? We are on there on a Sunday on our next cruise and not sure what to do there (also porting at St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados if you have suggestions on those). We were on the Jewel and can't wait to return to her! Thanks!

[Debde]

Can you tell me what day of the week you were in St. Croix and what you did there? We are on there on a Sunday on our next cruise and not sure what to do there (also porting at St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados if you have suggestions on those). We were on the Jewel and can't wait to return to her! Thanks!

 

We were in St. Croix on a Monday and we did the ship sponsored catamaran tour on the Jolly Mon. It was fantastic. Walked off the ship, right to the end of the dock and boarded right from there. Crew was great and we all had a really good time.

[bup1224]

thank you!:)

[lss111]

Debde,

What did you do in Martinique? I will be on Jewel in a few wks.:)

[Marylandteachergirl]

We will be on this same itinerary in less than a year. Sounds so far away!

 

What did you do in Martinique? There are only 11 ship excursions available, and none look that exciting. I also do not speak French. There is very little on the Martinique port of call board either - so any suggestions/information would be very much appreciated.

 

Glad you had a great trip!

[MomtoCCC]

I'm also on this same itinerary in about a year. Would love to know what you did at each port.

[Debde]

In Martinique we did a ship sponsored tour to see the sea turtles which we also enjoyed very much. I highly recommend this tour because if you do not speak French, it's not easy to navigate this port. We are very glad we did a ships tour and got see the island.

 

When you first pull up to this port it looks like a huge city and nothing like the Caribbean at all. Get away from the port and it is quite charming.

On the sea turtle tour, we went on a boat, did some coastal touring and arrived at a small beach where half the tour stayed on the beach for a while and the other half went to see the turtles for about 45 minutes, then we switched. The beach was very nice but everyone spoke French and only took euro's except for the first bar where the server spoke a little English and took US dollars. Everything is very expensive on the island so don't go there hungry!!

 

In my opinion, it is a place you want to see!! I'd choose any ship sponsored tour that appeals to you and see Martinique!!

[kiester]

Was the main dining room open for breakfast and lunch during the five port days?

[CotonSocks]

I an looking forward to Martinique. I am learning basic French for this trip. I cannot want to try it out.

[riclop]

Returned on Saturday from Jewel.

 

Once again, another great vacation. I'm better at answering questions than an actual review.

Basics:

Stayed in the two bedroom suite 9656.

Food was good and yes, even in the windjammer.!!

Entertainment shows did not seem appealing so only went to one which was OK.

For some reason, I found a lack of poker machines in the casino. Plenty of slots but not many poker.

No sickness issues on board.

Easy to remove auto tips to tip in cash.

Did the Martinique itinerary and enjoyed it very much. St. Croix is on my top of the list now!!

Easy on-easy off.

They lost my sons luggage but was found within 24 hours so the mailed it to my house!

smoking:

FYI-had a aft cabin and watched folks puffing away on balconies on the Summit!!!:eek:

 

Great cruise, great ship-staff was wonderful and this is a ship that has not had the Royal advantage yet so that really says something!:)

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Debde]

Was the main dining room open for breakfast and lunch during the five port days?

 

Only tried the MDR once for breakfast so can not answer but I do believe the day we tried it was a port day. I do not think lunch. I only remember an announcement that they called it a brunch on the sea day. 10-1:00.

 

It still was a bit slow for me as was the suite breakfast in Portofino. I'm a true WJ fan.:)

[erniesband]

smoking:

FYI-had a aft cabin and watched folks puffing away on balconies on the Summit!!!:eek:

 

We saw that too! I guess rank and money has it's privileges, they were in a Penthouse Suite and we even saw the butler bring them an ashtray. I even got a picture of them. If that were you or me we would have been booted off the ship :eek:

Don't know if you did but there were a couple of nights when I smelled a little smoke coming from somewhere, we also had an aft balcony on the same sailing as you.

[erniesband]

We will be on this same itinerary in less than a year. Sounds so far away!

 

What did you do in Martinique? There are only 11 ship excursions available, and none look that exciting. I also do not speak French. There is very little on the Martinique port of call board either - so any suggestions/information would be very much appreciated.

 

Glad you had a great trip!

 

Here's what my better half, Miss Vickie, posted about our experience in Martinique. We were on the same sailing as the OP.

 

We were on Martinique last week. The dock Is a long, clean, dedicated cruise ship facility. The industrial port is located elsewhere. There are English-speaking tourist ambassadors and guides dressed in brightly colored uniforms in the port area, and vendors have set up tents immediately adjacent to the pier. A tourist ambassador making announcements on a PA system said all prices were in USD. Walking through, we saw prices in USD and euros, but didn't buy anything, so don't know if all the vendors took dollars. I expect they all spoke at least some English, it feels as if, at least in the port area, they are making a concerted effort to appeal to cruise ship passengers.

 

If you walk past the tents, there is a parking area with taxis for taxi tours. We were approached by an English-speaking driver named Bob. He had a 7 passenger vehicle, already had 2 passengers, and was looking to fill his van. He offered the 5 of us a tour for 40 euros each. When we explained we had only 170 euros, he agreed to take the balance in dollars. We drove through Fort de France, ended up on a modern freeway, went to a beautiful church, Sacre Couer, made a scenic stop in the rainforest, went to a rum distillery, St. Pierre, and some other scenic spots. It was a an enjoyable tour of about 4 hours, and we were back on board about 1:30. It appeared that many people were back on board by then, or may have even just stayed on board. I wouldn't recommend that; it's a pretty island, the people we met were friendly.

[Debde]

We saw that too! I guess rank and money has it's privileges, they were in a Penthouse Suite and we even saw the butler bring them an ashtray. I even got a picture of them. If that were you or me we would have been booted off the ship :eek:

Don't know if you did but there were a couple of nights when I smelled a little smoke coming from somewhere, we also had an aft balcony on the same sailing as you.

 

I am so glad someone else saw that too!!! All I kept thinking was the CC smoking police will start screaming at them any second now!! LOL

 

I also thought I might have smelled some once or twice but does not bother me so I shrug it off! I smoked for many years and still crave it so the smell makes me not crave it anymore!!;)

[bajansun]

I'm going on the Jewel in March. Woo Hoo!! Cruised on the Allure last year and had a great time, but was unable to take advantage of the sauna and steam rooms because I couldn't fit it into my budget. Do you know it you have to pay on the Jewel. I know you don't pay on the Liberty.