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

[MDSue]

Fantastic review Susan and very helpful. Loved your excellent photos and narrative.

 

We are taking the Pacific Coast cruise on Jewel next fall and also looking at a 2016cruise to some of the islands you visited. much as I have enjoyed Celebrity, RCCL has better itineraries and pricing!! (How many times can you do the eastern Caribbean route after all. ).

 

Thanks Sandi! I'm hoping to convince my sister to try a Pacific Coast tour and next year might be our best opportunity since she lives near the West Coast.

I don't think there is any such thing as too many cruises to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. They have my favorite islands. We've visited all but a few at least once and always find something fun to do.

 

I hope you'll post a review of your cruise next fall. I'd love to hear about it!

 

Susan

Edited May 7, 2014 by MDSue

[mychild]

Hi Susan

 

I am new to CC and your review is the very first one I have read!!! I felt like I was there with you. I started cruising 3 years ago with my daughter and we love it. I enjoyed your review so much. We will be on this cruise in March 2015. I now feel happy I choose it. I do Jane one question. Just how big does the ship feel? Our first two cruises where on the oasis in 2012 and the Allure just this past March. I'm hoping we don't feel "cramped". Thanks again for the fantastic review.

Shannon.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

[purplethorn]

HmmI didn't see the pythons(?) mountains on the pics ... does the ship not dock anywhere near the

in St Lucia?

 

 

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[Familygoboston]

Thanks Sue! That Windjammer seating area in the aft is one of my favorite things about Jewel!! Your report was very helpful to me, for many of the islands I haven't visited in 20 years.

 

Enjoy your next adventure...I hear you about the school vacations...we've just been "unshackled" from them too with our last one leaving home next year! When you have to follow the school vacation weeks one has to book "vacation weeks" a dozen or months in advance and book airfares the day the come out or pay handsomely (or be completely out of luck:eek:) I love the freedom that you can have mulling over good deals and deciding last minute:D

[kruise runner]

Susan

Thank you for your great review and pictures. It was an excellent way for us to see What our cruise will be like. Your pictures were just great. You kept us pinned through all your pages . Great job. Congratulations on the up coming wedding. Looking forward to your next review, We will be on the Jewel in Nov . First time for us for RCI and Southern Caribbean. Keep cruising the best so far.:D

Jewel of Seas Nov

kruise kat:)kruise runner:cool:

[mefinephotoman]

Great job on the review. I am doing the southern route on JOTS in September and hope to do a photo review as well. I have learn a lot from your review. Thanks

 

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[MDSue]

Hi Susan

 

I am new to CC and your review is the very first one I have read!!! I felt like I was there with you. I started cruising 3 years ago with my daughter and we love it. I enjoyed your review so much. We will be on this cruise in March 2015. I now feel happy I choose it. I do Jane one question. Just how big does the ship feel? Our first two cruises where on the oasis in 2012 and the Allure just this past March. I'm hoping we don't feel "cramped". Thanks again for the fantastic review.

Shannon.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

 

Hi Shannon, I'm glad you enjoyed my review. I love the size of the Serenade and never felt crowded, but I have never sailed on one of the mega ships like the Oasis. I think that since the ship carries fewer passengers, and they have plenty of different areas and venues to hang out in, that there is plenty of space for everyone.

 

I always thought that I would feel lost on the really big ships. I'm sure the Central Park areas would be really nice, but I'm happy just looking at the ocean or relaxing in the atrium.

 

The biggest benefit to me is the itinerary. I love having 5 island stops and the one sea day to relax on the way home. You'll be spending so much time onshore, that you won't need all the bells and whistles of a larger ship (and they really aren't small).

 

The Radiance Class ships like the Jewel are really beautifully done on the inside and have lots of glass for outdoor views. It is my favorite class of ships.

 

Enjoy!

 

Susan

[MDSue]

Great job on the review. I am doing the southern route on JOTS in September and hope to do a photo review as well. I have learn a lot from your review. Thanks

 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

Thank-you. I'm looking forward to reading your review in the future. It is always nice to see what others do on their cruises. It's a great way to get future ideas!

 

Susan

[MDSue]

Susan

Thank you for your great review and pictures. It was an excellent way for us to see What our cruise will be like. Your pictures were just great. You kept us pinned through all your pages . Great job. Congratulations on the up coming wedding. Looking forward to your next review, We will be on the Jewel in Nov . First time for us for RCI and Southern Caribbean. Keep cruising the best so far.:D

Jewel of Seas Nov

kruise kat:)kruise runner:cool:

 

Thank-you. I really do enjoy sharing all my pictures and this is the first cruise I was brave enough to take my good camera with me to all my shore excursions. I'm glad you enjoyed them. You'll love the Southern itinerary- it is my favorite!

 

(I'm really looking forward to my daughter's wedding next year, but I will probably be having cruise withdrawal by next spring. My sister can only afford to fly east once a year, so we can't do a cruise and the wedding- but we are going to try and go somewhere right after the wedding)

 

Susan

[MDSue]

Thanks Sue! That Windjammer seating area in the aft is one of my favorite things about Jewel!! Your report was very helpful to me, for many of the islands I haven't visited in 20 years.

 

Enjoy your next adventure...I hear you about the school vacations...we've just been "unshackled" from them too with our last one leaving home next year! When you have to follow the school vacation weeks one has to book "vacation weeks" a dozen or months in advance and book airfares the day the come out or pay handsomely (or be completely out of luck:eek:) I love the freedom that you can have mulling over good deals and deciding last minute:D

 

Thanks for all your comments and compliments along the way. I really appreciate them! I am still getting used to "retirement" after 24 years with the school system. I'll probably be rejoining the working world eventually (I do write for a local paper part-time), but I'm enjoying my time off for now. I'm really looking forward to traveling outside the school holidays and not having to pay the premium prices to do so; especially since my kids are grown now!

 

Susan

[MDSue]

HmmI didn't see the pythons(?) mountains on the pics ... does the ship not dock anywhere near the

in St Lucia?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

The ship does not dock near the Pitons. They are a bit of a drive or boat ride away. We sailed by them in the evening on two of our trips, but this year we headed in another direction. They are every bit worth the effort to visit while you are there.

 

One year, or captain did a really close sail-by in the evening and had a cocktail party on the deck. We were so close, that you could almost reach out and touch them (at least it seemed that way). He did a 360 turn around right between the two peaks at sunset and it was probably one of our most amazing ship experiences ever.

 

I doubt they could get away with that any more.

 

This was the picture where I could see the two peaks of the Pitons in the distance from our ship:

 

 

This is one of the Pitons (Gros) from our excursion to Jalousie (now Sugar) Beach:

 

 

The pictures of our sail by are on another computer. If you cruise to St. Lucia, it would be worthwhile to find out if you will be sailing by them, or scheduling either a boat or land excursion that goes to them or the nearby beach.

 

Susan

Edited May 7, 2014 by MDSue

[tiggerkaj]

I'm really looking forward to traveling outside the school holidays and not having to pay the premium prices to do so; especially since my kids are grown now!

 

Susan

 

My husband and I talk about this all the time. We have one in college and one in middle school and it is close to impossible trying to find a time that fits with everyone's schedule and not be outrageous in price! We can't wait for our youngest to finish high school so we can take advantage of more last minute cruises at great prices. Living in Florida helps!!!

[MDSue]

My husband and I talk about this all the time. We have one in college and one in middle school and it is close to impossible trying to find a time that fits with everyone's schedule and not be outrageous in price! We can't wait for our youngest to finish high school so we can take advantage of more last minute cruises at great prices. Living in Florida helps!!!

 

My youngest one graduates from college this month- no more tuition payments:):) I'm so happy to be able to spend some of those funds on travel now and to be able to travel during off season. It's bittersweet that the kids are all grown up, though, because they can't always travel with us anymore.