LIVE forn the JEWEL of the SEAS, Lots of Pictures, Island reviews and more!

[MDSue]

Hello from San Juan!

 

My name is Susan and this will be my third live review and first on Royal Caribbean., but first we are spending a few days in San Juan. We are staying in downtown Old San Juan at the Playa De Armas Hotel, which is located on Calle San Jose right by Playa De Armas Square.

 

Yesterday we took a tour of El Yunque (El- Jun-kay) Rainforest and Luquillo Beach. Today, we are going to

 

 

This is 8th annual "sister's" cruise. We depart on April 12th and will be visiting :

 

St. Thomas- taking a ferry to St. John

 

St. Croix- winging it and looking for ideas, first visit

 

Antigua- winging it- our 4th visit, a bit of shopping, possibly back to Valley Church beach. Ideas welcome

 

Martinique- First visit, we'd love suggestions,

 

St. Lucia- Third visit, previously did island tour, and Spencer Ambrose West Coast Delight tour including Jalousie Beach and the Pitons. Thinking anout trying Marigot Bay.

 

I take a million pictures and will share the best ones.

 

We are more island people than ship people but will include a ton of ship pictures also. We generally like book private tours local guides, but this trip, we are mostly winging it on our own.

 

If you have any questions about the ship or the islands, ask away and I'll do my best to find out.

 

Coming soon- lots of pictures. I'll try to upload them later today.

 

Any questions, ask away

 

See you soon!

 

Susan

[Debitoo]

Great! Looking forward to your LIVE report!

[loeytalldog]

Yea! Love LIVE reports! I'm subscribed!

[jp30338]

Nice on Jewel in 2 weeks! :p

[bouhunter]

We just did the same cruise on Jewel. On St. Lucia we booked the TreeTops zipline direct (not throught the ship). It was GREAT! they picked us up at the port, nice 40 minute drive over the island in an open air jeep. The guys who worked the lines were fun. Afterward we hiked to a waterfall that was beautiful. It was so nice being just us and not in a big tour (RCCL), and it was a little cheaper too:)

 

We always look for the positive, but Martinique didn't show us much. Since there isn't much english or dollars there we booked an RCCL tour ("South Panoramic"). Positive: saw a fair amount of the island. Negative: Beach was average at best, and it was on a greyhound style motorcoach with LOTS of people. The traffic was bad. We've been to lots of Caribbean islands and this was the first time I've seen a true EXPRESSWAY (as in Interstate Highway in the US with exit ramps). The capital city is very urbanized. Overall we liked seeing some of the island and the beach was OK, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to see Martinique again.

 

St Croix: we took the van from Cane Bay Dive Shop to Cane Bay (25.00/pp). The snorkeling was fair at best. They made it sound much better than it was. Rather than wait for the return van, we hooked up with an island tour that had stopped at the beach and was headed to Christenstead. The town didn't show us much but we were glad we saw it and didn't make a point of spending our day getting there. We saw a lot of the island, did some snorkeling, all in all a nice day but nothing spectacular.

 

Antigua: we took a taxi to Valley Church Beach - nice as always! :)

 

St. Thomas: been there many times. Shopped, dined, drank........ :) Just a nice day hanging out in town and relaxing. St. Johns is beautiful!

 

Enjoy Old San Juan!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited April 11, 2014 by bouhunter

[Havin'fun]

Have a wonderful cruise. Looking forward to your review as we will be going to most of these islands in the fall.

[MDSue]

We had a great day at El Morro today and just returned to the hotel to upload pictures and start my review- and then CRISIS hits! I guess a broken laptop doesn't make for a crisis unless you just started a live review! !! But I don't want to let anyone down so we are soon off on an emergency laptop search. I'm on my phone now. So forgive me for not responding personally for a bit. After we recover from a long day of walking we will set out in search of a new laptop.

[Familygoboston]

We had a great day at El Morro today and just returned to the hotel to upload pictures and start my review- and then CRISIS hits! I guess a broken laptop doesn't make for a crisis unless you just started a live review! !! But I don't want to let anyone down so we are soon off on an emergency laptop search. I'm on my phone now. So forgive me for not responding personally for a bit. After we recover from a long day of walking we will set out in search of a new laptop.

 

Hi Sue, looking forward to your review...but...good heavens you'd actually buy a new computer just to do a live review:eek: very dedicated! We are cruising some of these same islands on AOS next April, so curious to see what tours you choose!

Edited April 11, 2014 by Familygoboston

[collegemom912]

Hi Sue,

Have a great time. We will be on Jewel July 5. Our itinerary is a little different but we are also staying in San Juan a few days prior to departure.

 

We've been to St. Croix twice and took the Gecko island adventure ATV tour. It was lots of fun and a nice way to see the island. We had never done an ATV tour before.

 

This year in St. Lucia we have booked Joe Knows Tours for a speedboat tour. We will see Marigot Bay, Soufriere, mudbaths, waterfall, lunch pitons swim and snorkel. They got all great reviews on trip advisor.

 

Hope this helps you and I'm looking forward to following your live report.

 

Laurie

[evelyn51]

Yea! Love LIVE reports! I'm subscribed!

 

Same from Canada! ;)

[MIcruiser99]

We will be on Jewel in January (I know, a long way away!) and Martinique was the only island that we are not sure what to do.

 

I did read that you can walk to where the ferry leaves and get a taxi there. We were interested in seeing St. Pierre (town was destroyed by the volanco) but other than that, we are at a loss on what to do. We will be looking forward to seeing what you do while you are there!

 

I know how devastating it is to have your laptop fail you on a trip. Our last cruise, our laptop died three days into the cruise, and we had to rely on our tablet to get us by. It is crazy how much we rely on our internet access!

 

Have a great cruise!

[Riff Sniff]

Last year in St Croix we took a taxi to the Cruzan Rum factory and took the tour, then had some samples at the bar afterwards. We then had the taxi drop us off at Sandcastle on the Beach Resort and spent a relaxing day on the beach. We paid $25 for two beach chairs, an umbrella and two glasses of rum punch. We could see the ship from the beach and walked back, probably 20-30 minutes. It was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable days of our cruise.

 

Here's a link to the resort, if you're interested:

 

http://www.sandcastleonthebeach.com/CruisePassengerBeachDayPass.cfm

 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[DiamondDiva23]

I agree with Riff Sniff. Sandcastle Beach was very nice & relaxing. Good food & drinks & close to the pier. We took a cab there & back.

[sdcantrn]

We will be on the Jewel next weekend with a different itinerary. Would love any tips for the ship!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[MDSue]

Hi all, Thanks for all the great ideas. I wish I could reply to everyone but the computer is still on the fritz. I got it working temporarily, but now it's down again. I need a new one anyway, but I didn't think I would be buying one here.

A few years ago we stayed at the same hotel by Plaza De Armes on Good Friday and found ourselves in the middle of a large procession where hundreds of people walking behind a large Madonna. It was such a treat and low and behold there was another procession tonight that went right by our hotel. We sat on our balcony and watched. It is truly a sight to see. I can't wait to share pictures. Hopefully, I will be able to start sharing soon.

[PaulS]

While on the Jewel in February, we too wondered what to do in Martinique. We decided to try one of the ship tours that went to the botanical gardens. Although our expectation were low, we were quite surprised. The botanical gardens are very well done and are quite beautiful. There is a suspension bridge in the trees over parts of the gardens that is fun too.

[MDSue]

While on the Jewel in February, we too wondered what to do in Martinique. We decided to try one of the ship tours that went to the botanical gardens. Although our expectation were low, we were quite surprised. The botanical gardens are very well done and are quite beautiful. There is a suspension bridge in the trees over parts of the gardens that is fun too.

Thanks, Paul. I did think about the botanical gardens and we may give it a try. I think we would really like to go to the rum factory because I think they have local artists there or maybe St. Pierre. I'll probably ask at the tour desk for suggestions also.

[MDSue]

Good morning all, It's another glorious day in San Juan. A film crew is setting up in the Plaza to make a commercial. We are just hanging out and enjoying our last day in town before heading to the ship. Our plan is to drop off our belongings as early as possible and then head to the local Best Buy to shop for a new laptop. I write for a living, so I can't be without one, but I sure didn't plan to buy one here.

Since Internet costs a fortune on the ship, I will just post a few pictures each day and save the bulk for when I get home.

If there is anything on the ship you want me to check out let me know.

Hopefully, by this evening I'll be up and running and can post some pictures of sailing by El Morro at night.

See you soon!

[MDSue]

All aboard by 11:40! We left our hotel after 10:30 and were in line by 11. The line was fairly short and we were on board by 11:40. Unfortunately, the rooms won't be ready until 1 pm. We headed to the Windjammer for lunch. My sister is going to hang out on the ship and I'm off shopping.

Hopefully, my next post will be from a new laptop and pictures will follow soon.

Susan

[MDSue]

Good morning from St. Thomas! I got a new laptop yesterday and it has the new Windows 8 and touchscreen controls. Now, I just have to learn to use it:eek: So please be patient for pictures- I promise they are coming soon.

 

I didn't realize there is no wireless in the cabin and by time I remembered, I was cozy in my pajamas and decided to stay put in our room.

 

But.... When the pictures do come- here's what I've got so far:

 

Three nights in downtown San Juan- a walking tour with tons of pics (of course)

 

The Plaza De Armas Hotel located in the Plaza De Armas square

 

The out of this world on-site bakery for fresh coffee and fresh baked goods

 

A day at El-Yunque and then Luquillo Beach

 

A day at El Morrro National Park

 

 

We got on the ship early yesterday and so far, all is good. The ship is beautiful and clean. We did anytime dining which went flawlessly. We had a reservation for 6:30 and got a table for two. We had requested a large table because we like to socialize, but were fine with having our own table.

 

And already - a little excitement!!!!

 

While I was getting Internet instructions for the Purser's Desk- a BRAVO, BRAVO, BRAVO announcement was made. Business went on as usual and I promptly forgot about it. A little while later, the captain came on and sadi they had a "small" fire in (can't remember where- kitchen or engine room), but it was quickly contained and no worries.

 

 

Secondly, when we were all lined up for the muster drill and patinetly waiting for it to begin (and waiting, and waiting), the captain came on again and said that a couple decided not to partake in the drill and was being escorted off the ship- So fair warning- don't try to skip the drill!!!!

 

 

Of course, that peaked all our curiosity and we all wanted to look over the rail to watch the shamed passengers debark (and take pics of course). All the passengers clapped when the captain made the announcement as I think we all get a bit annoyed when we are standing and standing while waiting for the last straggler to arrive.

 

We couldn't see over the rail until the drill was dismissed, and then a whole bunch of passengrs all leaned over for a view. We never saw anyone leave, so I'm not sure if the couple was given a second chance or we just didn't wait long enough to see them escorted off.

 

Today, we are taking the ferry over to St. John's for my first visit. This is my 5th time in St. Thomas, so I'm looking forward to finally making it over to St. Johns. We are doing the ship excursion over since we can get directly on a ferry and the cost is actually less than if we did it ourselves.

 

Tonight is the first formal night.

 

I apologize for a lack of promised pictures, but next week when I get home- I'm going to start from the beginning and include everything I missed this week.

 

I'll still check in every day and fill you in on the day's activities.

 

See you soon!

 

Susan

[MDSue]

Last year in St Croix we took a taxi to the Cruzan Rum factory and took the tour, then had some samples at the bar afterwards. We then had the taxi drop us off at Sandcastle on the Beach Resort and spent a relaxing day on the beach. We paid $25 for two beach chairs, an umbrella and two glasses of rum punch. We could see the ship from the beach and walked back, probably 20-30 minutes. It was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable days of our cruise.

 

Here's a link to the resort, if you're interested:

 

http://www.sandcastleonthebeach.com/CruisePassengerBeachDayPass.cfm

 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Hi Mike and Sherri, Thanks for the idea. My sister loves to tour rum factories, so this sounds like a great option. We may give it a try. Sandcastle Beach sounds like a great option as well.

 

Should we bring snorkel gear or is it a mostly swimming beach?

 

Susan

[MDSue]

We just did the same cruise on Jewel. On St. Lucia we booked the TreeTops zipline direct (not throught the ship). It was GREAT! they picked us up at the port, nice 40 minute drive over the island in an open air jeep. The guys who worked the lines were fun. Afterward we hiked to a waterfall that was beautiful. It was so nice being just us and not in a big tour (RCCL), and it was a little cheaper too:)

 

We always look for the positive, but Martinique didn't show us much. Since there isn't much english or dollars there we booked an RCCL tour ("South Panoramic"). Positive: saw a fair amount of the island. Negative: Beach was average at best, and it was on a greyhound style motorcoach with LOTS of people. The traffic was bad. We've been to lots of Caribbean islands and this was the first time I've seen a true EXPRESSWAY (as in Interstate Highway in the US with exit ramps). The capital city is very urbanized. Overall we liked seeing some of the island and the beach was OK, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to see Martinique again.

 

St Croix: we took the van from Cane Bay Dive Shop to Cane Bay (25.00/pp). The snorkeling was fair at best. They made it sound much better than it was. Rather than wait for the return van, we hooked up with an island tour that had stopped at the beach and was headed to Christenstead. The town didn't show us much but we were glad we saw it and didn't make a point of spending our day getting there. We saw a lot of the island, did some snorkeling, all in all a nice day but nothing spectacular.

 

Antigua: we took a taxi to Valley Church Beach - nice as always! :)

 

St. Thomas: been there many times. Shopped, dined, drank........ :) Just a nice day hanging out in town and relaxing. St. Johns is beautiful!

 

Enjoy Old San Juan!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Hello Bouhunter! Thanks for all the sugestions. I'm a bit afraid to try zipling as I had back surgery a few months back. I'd probably be fine, but not sure about a rough landing!

 

I'm really hoping we'll find something exciting in Martinique- but I know what you mean about ship tours. A day on a crowded bus doesn't appeal to me, so we will most likely wing it and hope for the best.

 

And Valley Church Beacxh is probably one of my all time favorites and is high on our list. I like to try new things and we were recently there, but it may be wrth going again.

 

Take care,

Susan

[kccrzr]

Looking forward to your review. Sounds like a great itinerary. We will be especially interested in your review of Martinique - we will be there in December and have not yet decided what to do there.

[luv2zdworld]

Hi Susan:

 

Yes! A live review from the Jewel of the Seas. I will be on the Jewel in July, taking a vacation with my sister and her family. We will be visiting 3 of your ports, Antigua, St. Lucia and St. Croix. Looking forward to your visit to those islands.

 

I'm glad you had a wonderful time in Old San Juan. It is a beautiful old city. I work right in Old San Juan and like to take a walk up El Morro every day at lunch. It is just a beautiful, relaxing view.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Jan_In_Maine]

Looking forward to your review - thinking about 2015 going to some of the same places. Jan