Jewel of the Seas Random Thoughts and Photos 1/18/14

[Cruzin-K]

I thought this was going to be a short review, but after I started typing I realized it might be just a smidge longer than I thought. My comments really have no particular order, just stream of consciousness for the most part. So, here goes...

 

I flew to San Juan the night before. Thankfully, my flights were all on time and I arrived at the hotel somewhere around midnight. Just a comment that if you stay at the Hampton Inn near the airport, there are two towers in the hotel so don’t go hunting for room 434 in the tower that only has the room numbers up to 425. :o

 

 

We took a cab from the hotel to the port, checked in quickly and were on the ship in no time. We wandered around for a little while taking some pictures, and then it was lunch time.

 

When we went to our cabin just before 1 p.m., we hadn't been in the room five minutes when there was a knock at the door. We answered to find a maintenance guy asking to look under the bed. Um, OK. We let him in and he proceeded to pull a carry-on suitcase out from under the bed telling us that the previous passengers had left it there. I can understand leaving an item or two behind (you'll see what I mean later) but a whole suitcase? LOL.

 

Our Cruise Critic roll call had an informal meet & greet up by the sky bar the first afternoon, so we got to meet some terrific members of our roll call who we would see again and again later during the cruise.

 

I thought the Jewel was in good shape. The only thing that might have been an issue was that one of the lounge chairs on our balcony had a large tear in it. I seldom spent any time out there, so one decent lounger was enough.

 

 

Cabin 9078 is the one right off the Centrum with the extra-large balcony. We had two loungers, two chairs and a table. The cabin was super convenient and I would book it again in a heartbeat. That being said, I know some people have asked about noise in this cabin and I can tell you that yes, it can be VERY noisy when there is a party going on in the Centrum. Don’t think you can go to bed while 70’s night is going on and fall asleep without earplugs, unless you are the type who can sleep through anything. The closed door does nothing to keep out band/music noise from the cabin. I need quiet to sleep, but since we didn’t get to bed much before midnight any night of the cruise it wasn’t an issue for us because the Centrum activities usually stopped by 12 or 12:30.

 

[Cruzin-K]

There was a large group on board, from the Sigler corporation. Sigler distributes HVAC equipment, and the group on board were their clients. They had 500 people on board, all in balcony cabins, which finally explained why the balconies on this cruise were sold out so far in advance. The group was a non-issue for us and we barely noticed that there was a large group on board. I found that the number of C&A members seemed smaller than I’m used to, and maybe this was the reason. The crowds at the shows were also a lot smaller on this cruise for some reason.

 

The top tier party was held at sailaway on the helipad on Antigua day. This was a change made after the cruise began, because the notices in our cabin on arrival said it would be held in the Safari Club. I loved the venue, and there was a large presence of senior officers there, although the Captain and Staff Captain couldn’t make it because they were on the bridge getting us out of the port. We all waved to them from the helipad. I heard a couple people grumbling about the location, although I can’t really imagine why. We’d already had the Captain’s reception as well as the regular welcome back party in the Safari Club (not to mention our Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle). Variety is the spice of life.

 

 

The Walk for Wishes was held on the sea day and had the best turnout of any walk I’ve done on a cruise (and I think I’ve done this on almost every cruise I’ve been on with RCI). The Captain, Staff Captain, Chief Engineer, Hotel Director, and HR Director all sat at a table on the pool deck and signed t-shirts for almost two hours. They never stopped smiling and seemed to enjoy the opportunity to chat with the passengers. I heard they raised about $3,000 for the Make a Wish foundation on that cruise. Awesome! None of them got to do the actual walk because they were still signing t-shirts, but the Cruise Director, Dennis, and Assistant Cruise Director, Elvis both walked with us.

 

 

Dennis Charles, and Elvis “the pelvis” were a terrific team. They were both incredibly visible and full of energy. Elvis was leaving for a two month vacation after this cruise, and Cecilia would be taking over while he’s gone.

 

The theater shows were a bit of a disappointment on this cruise. The Royal Caribbean singers and dancers were in a transition, and only performed once during the cruise. The rest of the time we had comedians, and a singer, none of whom really wowed me. Apparently the best comedy show was the late night one by the same guy who performed at the welcome aboard show, but I didn't make it to the late night version. Oh well.

 

Service in the dining room was mediocre to say the least. Dinner orders were messed up at least two or three times for one of the gentlemen at the table, and the waiters skipped over people when serving coffee. Our assistant waiter apparently thought all of us could stand to lose a few pounds because we had to repeatedly ask for bread and seldom were offered a second serving of it. It got to the point that one of the gentlemen at the table spoke to our head waiter about the problems. Her solution was to give our table two bottles of wine. It was a nice gesture, but the service still didn’t improve. I left the auto tips in place, but didn’t tip any extra – a first for me on a cruise.

 

I’m not going to say too much about the food because it’s such a subjective subject. However, I can say that the new menu choices are not for me. I didn’t gain any weight on this cruise, that’s for sure.

[Cruzin-K]

The ports were fabulous as usual for the Southern Caribbean. We stopped at St. Thomas, St. Croix, Antigua, Martinique, and St. Lucia.

 

St. Thomas – I took the ship’s excursion to St. John (the Coastal Cruise). If I had to do it over I’d have skipped the coastal cruise part of it and just done the St. John on your own excursion. The coastal cruise was nice, but didn’t last very long and there really wasn’t that much to see. After we got dropped off on St. John, two other passengers and I took a tour of the island. Everyone else on the ferry chose to go to a beach. St. John is absolutely beautiful.

 

 

 

 

[Cruzin-K]

St. Croix – We took the panoramic drive tour booked through the ship. We had an hour in Christiansted as part of the tour. We just explored the fort, took some photos, and found a place for a drink & snack. Overall, it was an OK tour but next time I’m in St. Croix I’ll do the Buck Island snorkeling, which got rave reviews from some fellow passengers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruzin-K]

Antigua - we went to the Coconut Beach Club for a mellow beach day. It was great, all inclusive (drinks and lunch at no extra charge). I'd definitely recommend this place if you just want a beautiful beach to relax.

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruzin-K]

Martinique - I did the ship's beach & snorkeling excursion which was just so-so. We stopped at two places for snorkeling, the first location was much better than the second. At the second, there was an option to swim to the beach but what was the point - you wouldn't have been able to take a towel or anything because you had to SWIM to the beach. The excursion did mention a beach stop, so a few people mistakenly thought they'd be able to get to the beach without having to swim. The first stop was near something called The Bat Cave, with good reason. There were creepy bats flying all over the place inside it. It was interesting though. Creepy, but interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruzin-K]

Some more photos from Martinique

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruzin-K]

St. Lucia - We got a day pass to the TiKaye resort. They picked us up by boat right near where the Jewel was docked. It was another terrific beach day. The beach has a few rocky parts to it, so I'd bring water shoes if you go there. The snorkeling off the beach was really good though. The day pass included lunch and two drinks (rum punch or something else I can't remember). If you wanted other drinks, like a yummy BBC, you had to pay for them but they were worth it :D

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruzin-K]

Disembarkation was a bit of a cluster, and I only added to the mess by forgetting something on my balcony and had to wait in the darn CBP line TWICE. I had already been in line about 15 minutes when I decided to check my phone and discovered that my friend who was staying on board for a B2B had found some swimwear I'd forgotten on the balcony. Argh! Luckily, I spotted Rosa, the Guest Services Manager, in the terminal. Rosa called over to the ship and they sent someone to the cabin to retrieve my belongings. If Rosa hadn't been there I'm not too sure what would have happened, because my friend said the people at the Guest Services desk on the ship were no help at all. I guess with Rosa off the ship and in the terminal, the rest of the staff was clueless as to what to do. Sheesh! I gave Rosa a special mention in my survey at the end of the cruise. She was terrific.

 

Overall, the cruise was fabulous. I don't cruise for food so that wasn't an issue for me. I met nice people, saw beautiful scenery, and got to relax. It was important to relax this week, because the following week would be the Allure :eek:

 

Here are a few more photos for your enjoyment

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruzin-K]

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruzin-K]

 

 

 

 

[bup1224]

St. Croix – We took the panoramic drive tour booked through the ship. We had an hour in Christiansted as part of the tour. We just explored the fort, took some photos, and found a place for a drink & snack. Overall, it was an OK tour but next time I’m in St. Croix I’ll do the Buck Island snorkeling, which got rave reviews from some fellow passengers.

 

 

Cruzin-K - We have never been to St. Croix - would the panoramic drive tour give us a good overview of St. Croix? We will be there on a Sunday.

[Miss Vickie]

Enjoyed meeting both you and Brena, Karen. Hope you enjoyed week #2 on Allure!

 

Great review, and the pictures are terrific! We actually enjoyed the comedians (we didn't see the guy who did the welcome aboard or late night shows, but did enjoy the others), and saw both production shows the week before, with the departing cast. I wasn't wild about the production shows. We agree wholeheartedly about the MDR. We really enjoyed our dinner in Portofino, though.

 

We actually stopped going to the top tier party a number of cruises ago, but when they moved it to the Helipad for this cruise, we decided to go. We thought it was a great venue for it!

 

The senior officers were more visible than we had ever seen them before, both weeks we were on board. They were even at the bottom of the gangway several afternoons greeting people as they returned to the ship. And we had the opportunity to chat with the hotel director several times. Very nice guy.

 

We're booked back on Jewel for another 2 weeks next January. The way this winter is going, that can't come soon enough!

 

Jodi

Edited February 11, 2014 by Miss Vickie

[Cruzin-K]

Cruzin-K - We have never been to St. Croix - would the panoramic drive tour give us a good overview of St. Croix? We will be there on a Sunday.

 

Well, it wasn't a bad tour and I'm glad we did it once, but I probably wouldn't choose to do it again. We had a good tour guide on our little bus - she sure liked to talk. We got a LOT Of history on this tour. Did you know Alexander Hamilton grew up there?

 

We stopped first at a large tree called a Baobab tree where our guide attempted to break open one of the fruits, and failed. It was kind of funny to watch her try though. Then we stopped at a scenic overlook of a golf course :rolleyes: Then we went up to the top of a hill where we had a really fantastic view. Finally, we ended up in Christiansted where we had an hour (not enough time) to look around. We took the highway back to the ship. We were there on a Monday, so I don't know whether shops in Christiansted are open on Sundays or not.

[bup1224]

Thanks for the quick response! For what I can find, alot of shops are not open on Sunday even when a ship is in port. Maybe St. Croix will be a shop at port, beach day and spend time on the ship kind of day for us.

I love your review - we were on the Jewel in September for my 1st cruise - and have rebooked for this September - I can't wait!

[Cruzin-K]

Enjoyed meeting both you and Brena, Karen. Hope you enjoyed week #2 on Allure!

 

Great review, and the pictures are terrific! We actually enjoyed the comedians (we didn't see the guy who did the welcome aboard or late night shows, but did enjoy the others), and saw both production shows the week before, with the departing cast. I wasn't wild about the production shows. We agree wholeheartedly about the MDR. We really enjoyed our dinner in Portofino, though.

 

We actually stopped going to the top tier party a number of cruises ago, but when they moved it to the Helipad for this cruise, we decided to go. We thought it was a great venue for it!

 

The senior officers were more visible than we had ever seen them before, both weeks we were on board. They were even at the bottom of the gangway several afternoons greeting people as they returned to the ship. And we had the opportunity to chat with the hotel director several times. Very nice guy.

 

We're booked back on Jewel for another 2 weeks next January. The way this winter is going, that can't come soon enough!

 

Jodi

 

It was great meeting you too. I did enjoy the Allure a lot. It will be a few more weeks before that review is ready though. I have 2,037 photos to sort through before I can think about writing it. I only had 1,354 from the Jewel cruise, and there were two more ports :D

 

I met some people on the Allure roll call who know your little group from a previous Southern Caribbean cruise :D :eek: Explorergrl and Rickvette were tons of fun to hang around with.

 

The comedian on the last night was pretty funny but I guess by then I was in packing/leaving mode.

 

The comedy duo earlier in the week was, um, interesting. It was kind of funny to have so many random strangers coming up to me the next few days asking me if I was "Karen with a K". (For those wondering, I got dragged up on stage during one of the shows - totally embarrassing but fun, I guess)

[Miss Vickie]

It was great meeting you too. I did enjoy the Allure a lot. It will be a few more weeks before that review is ready though. I have 2,037 photos to sort through before I can think about writing it. I only had 1,354 from the Jewel cruise, and there were two more ports :D

 

I met some people on the Allure roll call who know your little group from a previous Southern Caribbean cruise :D :eek: Explorergrl and Rickvette were tons of fun to hang around with.

 

The comedian on the last night was pretty funny but I guess by then I was in packing/leaving mode.

 

The comedy duo earlier in the week was, um, interesting. It was kind of funny to have so many random strangers coming up to me the next few days asking me if I was "Karen with a K". (For those wondering, I got dragged up on stage during one of the shows - totally embarrassing but fun, I guess)

 

Can't wait to see the Allure pics. It's going to take me a while to get through my pictures .

 

That's funny that you met Trisha and Jay! We've cruised with them a couple of times, and got 9256 one year because they had it booked and then cancelled.

 

We weren't in the show where you got dragged up on stage, we were in the other show that evening. Sorry I missed that :D

 

Jodi

[bumbletigger]

Can you tell me a little but more about your day at the Coconut Beach Club?

How did you get there?how much?

How did you reserve it? How much?

What was the lunch like? More specifically, was the food plain, basic? My husband is very picky. He hates food with sauce. If they have a hamburger, chicken sand, or hot dog he is happy.

Thanks!! Go Pack Go!!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Cruzin-K]

Can you tell me a little but more about your day at the Coconut Beach Club?

How did you get there?how much?

How did you reserve it? How much?

What was the lunch like? More specifically, was the food plain, basic? My husband is very picky. He hates food with sauce. If they have a hamburger, chicken sand, or hot dog he is happy.

Thanks!! Go Pack Go!!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

My friend is the one who reserved it, but I think she e-mailed them to set it up. It was $45 each for the day but apparently they just raised their prices (to $50??) because when we got there, we were told it was more. Because we'd reserved it under the old price, they honored it.

 

We took a taxi, and I think it was less than $20 each way including a tip to the driver. $16 maybe. The driver was confused at first about where we were going, so I'm not sure we were charged the proper amount. At any rate, it wasn't that much, and we got there OK.

 

You can see a photo of the food in the post above. No hot dogs or hamburgers, I'm afraid. It was rice, chicken, and a few other things I forgot. I should start taking more photos of food. The only reason I took the above photo is because the birds there are fearless and will come and eat off your plate if you don't shoo them away.

[MIcruiser99]

Do they have the aerialists in the centrum on the Jewel?

[erniesband]

Do they have the aerialists in the centrum on the Jewel?

 

No, that won't happen till after the referb in '16.

[Cruzin-K]

No, that won't happen till after the referb in '16.

 

I think I'll need to book a cruise on a Radiance class ship after they've all been updated (can't do one before 2016 anyway). It'll be interesting to see the differences. I'll miss the Seaview cafe though :(

[Debde]

Overall, the cruise was fabulous. I don't cruise for food so that wasn't an issue for me. I met nice people, saw beautiful scenery, and got to relax. It was important to relax this week,

 

I guess with the board down my post got lost so a re post!!

 

I could not agree more with the above statement. I too was on this sailing and probably saw you, just never officially met! I was the Mom with the two sons with long hair some woman would want!!:o LOL

 

As I mentioned on my brief post/review on this sailing, For a ship that has not had the royal advantage-she was still in great shape...........and still had the Seaview café!!!!:D

[kruise runner]

Thank you for your great review . We both certainly enjoyed it. Since this is our first on RCCI and to San Juan . This was perfect. The jewel sounds great along with the ports.. We have booked the Holiday Inn Express for the day before. Just waiting for flights on Nov 15 to book. This was a very entertaining review. Thanks, and keep on cruising.

 

kruise.kat., kruise runner

[Debde]

We have booked the Holiday Inn Express for the day before.

kruise.kat., kruise runner

 

Stay there every time we sail from PR. good choice!!:)