Kcjarvis Posted May 29, 2014 #1 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Hi - It’s Ken and Paulette; we are Diamond Plus cruisers from Queens, NY. In December, we sailed on Adventure of the Seas, and loved the itinerary so much we booked it again, this time on the Jewel for Paulette’s Bday birthday cruise. We got a really good deal on an Owner’s Suite. About 3 weeks before our trip we noticed the Royal Suite was still available, but we didn’t want to spend an extra $2000 dollars to upgrade. We decided to keep an eye on the RS. Everyday the price dropped. At T-minus 2 weeks, the price had dropped $1700. At that point, we decided to jump on it. We quickly called the RCCL 800 number. While talking to the agent, I asked him to verify if we had received the C&A Diamond Plus balcony discount. The agent then asked, “Which credit card will you be putting the additional $75 dollars on?” I could barely compose myself to read him my credit card number, while doing the upgrade happy dance!!!!!! Two weeks later it was departure day. We got a great deal thru Choice Air for business class on the New American Airlines. We were on the 8:35am flight out of JFK direct to San Juan. We arrived at JFK at 7:15am. There were no lines at the preferred check in or the TSA Pre line. We were in the Admirals Club at 7:30am. We had tea and stale danish. From there, we boarded the 757 and enjoyed our welcome aboard drinks – Champagne was mine Goodbye JFK We had the tastiest breakfast we have ever had on a plane. Egg Strata and more champagne After a smooth 3:30 hour flight, on final approach to runway 10, we saw our home for the next 7 days – Hello Jewel of the Seas!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish6 Posted May 29, 2014 #2 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Yeah.....another Jewel review. Great start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted May 29, 2014 Author #3 Share Posted May 29, 2014 After a carrier landing, our bags quickly arrived. We jumped into a $19 dollar plus $1 dollar per bag taxi to the Port. 15 mins later we arrived. There is a special C&A bag drop to the left. As we were checking in on the D+ line the agent asked us to go to the last booth for our seapass cards. When we got to the last booth the agent asked us to stand to the side, the concierge Diego was on his way to escort us to our cabin. After about 8 mins, the agent said we didn’t have to wait any longer and we headed to the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted May 29, 2014 Author #4 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted May 29, 2014 Author #5 Share Posted May 29, 2014 PLEASE NOTE - THE DOUBLE DOORS ARE OPEN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted May 29, 2014 Author #6 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Since the muster drill was at 8pm and it was only 2:30pm, we decided to head to our favorite restaurant Metropol for some local food and drinks. I had the pork cubes with black beans and rice and Paulette had the Cuban sampler. They make the best margaritas!!!!!!! We also picked up a case of water from the Walgreens across the street and headed back to the ship. When we arrived back at the ship our bedroom doors were closed and could not be opened. We called Guest Services and they quickly sent a maintenance guy to our cabin. After about 45 mins he called his supervisor Sam to assist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeySailor Posted May 29, 2014 #7 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Looking fwd to this review:D Nice to see the room we have booked for Alaska June 2015 Does the restroom have a separate door entry, other than the one through the master bedroom. Thanks Enjoy your cruise Happy Days Can you also ask Diego if he will still be on the ship for June 2015' thanks! Look forward to more pics:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted May 29, 2014 Author #8 Share Posted May 29, 2014 THE SMOKING GUN!!!!!!!! Someone lowered the door kick stand and closed the door. All in all it took over 2 hours to finally get back into the bedroom. We unpacked and headed to the Concierge lounge to say hello to Diego. Diego was very upset about the bedroom door. We weren’t upset, things happen… After the muster drill we headed to our HUGE balcony to enjoy sail away. And we are underway..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiselife4me Posted May 29, 2014 #9 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Fantastic so far! What a coup!! Royal Suite would be AMAZING!! Sent from my QMV7A using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mychild Posted May 30, 2014 #10 Share Posted May 30, 2014 What an awesome room!!! Can't wait to read more!! Sent from my iPhone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonkeper Posted May 30, 2014 #11 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Sounds great so far! Looking forward to more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted May 31, 2014 Author #12 Share Posted May 31, 2014 We woke up at 7:30 am as we were pulling into St Croix. We had a slow leak dripping from the right corner of the bedroom ceiling. We saw our stateroom attendant Jo in the hallway who said she would take care of it. We went to Chops for breakfast, which is the special breakfast area for suite guests. The eggs benedict was very good. We then got off the ship, and took a $6 pp roundtrip van to Rainbow beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted May 31, 2014 Author #13 Share Posted May 31, 2014 The water was much clearer than in Dec, which only meant you could now clearly see the rocks. It is extremely rocky. Bring swim shoes. We had wings, onion rings and old bay shrimp (only port with no food porn) After an ok beach day we headed back to the ship. When we arrived in our room, we noticed the ceiling tile had been removed and the leak had stopped. We guessed they would be back to complete repairs. We took a quick nap and then got ready for dinner. We would be going to Chops for formal night. The service was good but the food was hit or miss. My veal chop was perfect but Paulette’s petit filet was ice cold. We quickly sent it back. When it came back it was now a warm dry hockey puck!!!!!! BOOOO!!!!!! Worst Chops experience in all of our years of cruising. Oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjpsoccer14 Posted May 31, 2014 #14 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Enjoying your review. I'll be sailing on the Jewel in March. Can't wait to read the rest. Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted May 31, 2014 Author #15 Share Posted May 31, 2014 We woke up sailing past Saba and then St Barts. We went to the main dining room for breakfast, then headed off the ship to the taxi stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggieq Posted May 31, 2014 #16 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Great review...we got off the jewel the day you got on. How wonderful for your upgrade. We originally booked a balcony and upgraded last minute to a junior suite for a great price. No royal suite but still so much more room. We walked by your cabin many a time..... I didn't realize you could get such great deals on choice air for business class. I thought their deals were only best for one way trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
setsail Posted May 31, 2014 #17 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Hey Ken and a bid BD greeting to Paulette. Wonderful cabin, looks like you guys are having a ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14Terry Posted June 1, 2014 #18 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Great review with great photos! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted June 1, 2014 Author #19 Share Posted June 1, 2014 We made our way thru the port To the taxi stand where we took an $18 taxi to Mullet Bay Good news - The new bridge is open which really helps with the traffic. It took us about 20mins to get to Mullet Bay where we got chairs and umbrellas at Daleo's snack shop for $15. They also have the best ribs and rum punch!!!!!!!! (Where is the food porn????) They have very good Wi-Fi near the bar for $6 for an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted June 1, 2014 Author #20 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Remember Mullet is one beach over from Maho, so you can see planes landing at SXM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted June 1, 2014 Author #21 Share Posted June 1, 2014 After a great beach day and 4 orders of ribs, our taxi driver returned to take us back to the ship at 4pm. Since we were the only ship in port there was no traffic. We watched sail away and the sunset from our balcony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted June 2, 2014 Author #22 Share Posted June 2, 2014 We woke up docking in St John. After breakfast we got off the ship and headed to the taxi stand to make our way to Valley Church Beach. The men in the orange shirts are taxi drivers. The trip was $20 and 20 mins. On the way to the beach we passed Freedom Square, which has a statue of Vere C. Bird Sr. former Prime Minister of Antigua. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted June 2, 2014 Author #23 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Valley Church Beach has amazing milky water. Chairs and umbrella $10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kcjarvis Posted June 2, 2014 Author #24 Share Posted June 2, 2014 The Nest is steps away from the water and has good food and drinks. The free wifi was fair. Finally Food porn - I had curry chicken. Paulette had curry shrimp and an order of their famous Coconut Shrimp... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckiStac13*Majesty* Posted June 2, 2014 #25 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I don't think I'd have ever left that room! How beautiful! Great pictures, enjoying following along with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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