Another Jewel Southern route review, more like a trip report with pictures!

[maggieq]

Bill great review. We got on the day you got off. We changed our departure tags to later as we didn't have a flight until 12:45pm. Still we had a long wait as we got to the airport around 9. No long lines. Wondering how long did you stay in your cabin the last day. If we do this again, I would like a later departure.

 

Thanks

[BillOh]

I forgot, I wanted to post this picture of Jewel's solarium roof partially opened.

 

[BillOh]

Jeans in the MDR on the final night is acceptable. The planner stated "Casual" vs the usual "smart casual" which means to me as long as you aren't coming in flip flops & tank tops, you are ok that final night due to everyone having to pack in advance. The same usually goes for the first night too since not everyone gets their luggage & unpacked in time for dinner. At least early seating.

 

Many people would say jeans are never acceptable in the MDR. I have never worn them before. I usually dress in smart casual mode on embarkation day because Gina still liked the boarding picture.

[BillOh]

Bill great review. We got on the day you got off. We changed our departure tags to later as we didn't have a flight until 12:45pm. Still we had a long wait as we got to the airport around 9. No long lines. Wondering how long did you stay in your cabin the last day. If we do this again, I would like a later departure.

 

Thanks

 

I think we stayed in our cabin till nearly 8:30 as that was in the compass as the out time.

[EmpressofPurple]

Hey BillOH, nice review! Sorry about your outing in Antigua... I generally like to see "the real" island, but that doesn't sound like much fun...

 

I've been to Antigua once and went with Lawrence of Antigua for the highlights (Nelsons Dockyard, Shirley Heights), it was a fine tour...

 

I might enjoy a "down-home" tour, but not one where the highlight is the porta-potty!!!!:eek::mad:

 

I'll be back in Antigua this November on the Explorer repo... wonder what I'll do this time? Guess I'll skip this RCI tour for sure!

 

I recently got to visit your home state for the first time, driving out to a wedding at a yacht club on Lake Erie (cool!)

[Ashland]

Enjoying your review...we're getting ready to go on Sept JOS southern but the itinerary that icludes Aruba...Just a quick question on your cabin number wasn't it cabin #9092 rather than #9290 :confused:

[BillOh]

Enjoying your review...we're getting ready to go on Sept JOS southern but the itinerary that icludes Aruba...Just a quick question on your cabin number wasn't it cabin #9092 rather than #9290 :confused:

 

Yes, it was 9092

 

[BillOh]

Hey BillOH, nice review! Sorry about your outing in Antigua... I generally like to see "the real" island, but that doesn't sound like much fun...

 

I've been to Antigua once and went with Lawrence of Antigua for the highlights

 

Others from our roll call went with Lawrence and I've read many good reviews. I did so little planning for the excursions on this cruise because of my January surgery that I have to take some blame for taking the stinker that I did in this location. I saw some nice beaches and water excursions, assuming I will be healthier next time I'll find something worthwhile.

[kruise runner]

Hi Bill

Just read your review ,great job. We totally enjoyed it . We have been reading up on cruises on the Jewel. We will be cruising on her in Nov . Thanks Excellent review We can't wait. Happy cruising. :D

PS We are looking into the Freedom of the Seas for 2016. Or which ever ship is leaving out of Port Canaveral at that time. Waiting on your review ,when you get back.

kruise runner:cool:

[janeyzee]

When I left off we had finished the Botanical gardents. This was enjoyable, but now it was off to the Soufries Caldera, which is a volcano that collapsed into itself.

 

I'm looking at a similar excursion but it's called BREATHTAKING SOUFRIERE & WARM MINERAL BATHS - did you get a chance to actually get into the mineral bath? I'm wondering if this is the same tour. It does say the Botanical Gardens and a fishing village and the volcano but it also mentions soaking in the water. The other one is called LA SOUFRIERE VOLCANO - and I'm guessing that one was yours. It looked like a great tour.

Edited June 10, 2014 by janeyzee

[BillOh]

I'm looking at a similar excursion but it's called BREATHTAKING SOUFRIERE & WARM MINERAL BATHS - did you get a chance to actually get into the mineral bath? I'm wondering if this is the same tour. It does say the Botanical Gardens and a fishing village and the volcano but it also mentions soaking in the water. The other one is called LA SOUFRIERE VOLCANO - and I'm guessing that one was yours. It looked like a great tour.

 

We did see the baths, but our tour didn't include using them. There was nobody using them the day we were there.

[BillOh]

I just wanted to follow up. While this was a wonderful cruise, my clear low point was the "Taste of Antigua" excursion. After I got back, I read one bad review and added mine, but now I noticed Royal removed it from their offerings.

[BillOh]

Ok, I’ve mentioned I wasn’t happy with the excursion “A Taste of Antigua” This is an official Royal Caribbean excursion. Here is how it looks on their website

 

 

..........

I'm off to click on the WRITE A REVIEW on RC's page for this excursion. I look forward to coming back to Antigua and seeing something else.

 

I'm pleased to say that Royal has pulled this excursion off their offerings for Antigua.

[Eeyores#1Fan]

Great review!!!! Thanks so much for sharing. We will be doing this cruise in Dec and it's our first time on RC so I'm doing a lot of reading up 😊

[BillOh]

Great review!!!! Thanks so much for sharing. We will be doing this cruise in Dec and it's our first time on RC so I'm doing a lot of reading up 😊

 

I hope you enjoy, we will definitely do this one again when I am more able, possibly pick up a new port or two.

[dreaming paradise]

What is the benefit of having a cabin on the hump of the deck?

 

My wife and I (54 and 53) have been holding off doing a Southern Caribbean Cruise out of San Juan till I had 3 weeks of vacation. She has been at her place of employment 34 years so vacation is no problem for her. If I had waited a few weeks I would be 55 and saved some money, but we like to cruise around our anniversary when we can. This is our 2nd time on Jewel so this review will be more about the itinerary than the ship.

 

To me this trip started when we boarded Allure back on April 28th of 2013. I had picked out the May 3rd 2014 Jewel sailing before boarding and planned on seeing the Loyalty Ambassador on the first sea day. I had already picked the aft cabin to be my first Aft cabin ever. Overall the Loyalty Ambassador did nothing to impress me. I had booked the Allure cruise with the Loyalty Ambassador on Jewel and that was a nicer experience. The sought after cabin was already unavailable, which didn’t surprise me. The LA did suggest a cabin on the hump deck 9 with a very deep balcony. More on that once we get on the ship. Having booked this one a year in advance I was making note to call once a month and check on that cabin. Going back to Allure my roll call there had been “invaded” by the Arizona cruisers. We had a great time and made a dozen or so new friends. One among them decided to take the same cruise as us, so already we knew two people. On the day of the Grandeur fire, it was the day I put on my calendar to call crown and anchor and check on that corner aft. The phone was busy and I knew the operators were busy so I put it off till the next day. Wouldn’t you know it, another of the AZ cruisers decided to join us, and that cabin was now available and they got it that very day! I wish I had known you could be on a waiting list for a particular cabin. Something new I learned. We also have a couple here in Ohio we are friends with and after going on Enchantment they decided to join us as well. This cruise will be the most people on a cruise that I have known before hand.

There ended up being quite a few more from the Arizona cruisers going and they picked out the Tre-Palmas hotel for their pre-cruise stay. I just decided to tag along with them and also take the private shuttle to the port that they reserved. That made my pre-planning a bit easier, something that would help this time. Two events that would change my life happened between the time I booked this cruise and the day of sailing. I became a Grandfather for the first time in August and I have back surgery Jan 10th of this year. Both of these events took time away from my normal obsessive cruise planning. The sailing would be 4 months after my spinal fusion surgery so I didn’t know what I would be able to do or not do. As a result, while many of my cruise friends were researching private tours I was doing nothing. I wouldn’t book any excursions till April. This made me nervous as I’ve long gone over to mainly private excursions because Royal has a 30% cancelation rate on excursions for me. More on that once we reach St Kitts!

We flew to San Juan from Columbus, Ohio via Southwest Airlines on Friday May 2nd. Again this was the cruise I felt the least prepared for because of our life events. We got up to fly out on a Friday morning, one of the busiest travel days of the week. I didn’t allow enough time to get to the airport and through security. We finished packing midnight the night before and went to bed getting up at 4:15am. As we should have been heading out the door, my wife weighed the suitcases and one was 54 pounds. Last minute adjustments put us out the door 10 minutes late. The line at Southwest check in was long, but we got through it. I had paid for early bird check in so we should be among the first on the plane. However, that was in danger as the security line was very long. I knew we would get through it before the plane left, but there was a danger we wouldn’t get on the plane early enough to sit together and that would have made for a disastrous 33rd wedding anniversary. Fortunately for us, the TSA’s were checking the paperwork of people in the long line. They noted I was pre-approved and could by pass the line. This meant no shoe and belt removal and speeding through, but it meant leaving my wife behind. I decided to do so to guarantee our sitting together for the long flight. The TSA took pitty on my my wife and sent her along with me. Ok, how many reviews have praised the TSA? We got to San Juan around 2pm, paid $19 for a cab to Tre-Palmas which is an ocean front bed and breakfast that SunnyAZgirl (cc name) found on trip advisor. Her group stayed here and arrived a day ahead. We just planned on the one day and joining them on their shuttle to the pier.

 

We arrived at Tre Palmas while the Arizona group was out sight seeing. We had reserved unit #9 but we were told the AC was under repair and were given “an upgrade” to Ocean view” unit 1. Turns out this wasn’t exactly an upgrade. Here is why they call it Tre-Pamas.

 

 

 

Below is a pic of room one. It was clean and affordable, but a bit tiny. At least the AC worked. Overall the place was good enough. If I was going myself, I would stay at a more major hotel chain or other place in a downtown or old town area.

 

 

The upgrade to the oceanview room turned out to be a slight mistake. The room was along the main road next to the ocean and all night we heard idiots with loud stereos driving back and forth! We made it through though. We had a continental breakfast in the common area below before heading to the ship. This place was a nice place for a group as we dominated the place, but alone I would stay elsewhere.

 

 

PS, yea, I'm with that! (or more politely, my wife of 33 years)

[dreaming paradise]

Yes, it was 9092

 

How was your cabin9092? What are the benefits of being on the hump? Was it quiet? Would like to know because it's available on my cruise so should I take it? The other one you wanted is also available. What's the difference?

[Clarea]

What is the benefit of having a cabin on the hump of the deck?

More dramatic view from the balcony. Convenient to elevators/stairs. Some hump staterooms have a larger balcony than their non-hump counterparts.

[BillOh]

How was your cabin9092? What are the benefits of being on the hump? Was it quiet? Would like to know because it's available on my cruise so should I take it? The other one you wanted is also available. What's the difference?

 

The one I wanted had a wider balcony and a pretty great view. On this ship the walk back to the aft isn't that long. As for being quiet, one night my wife said she hear the music in the centrum till about 2am, but I have about 60% hearing loss so I slept through it. The balcony was deeper rather than wide, lots of room for multiple chairs and tables. I did read out there quite a bit.

Edited January 7, 2015 by BillOh