tidygirl Posted November 18, 2014 #26 Share Posted November 18, 2014 We did a ship sponsored excursion in Dominica and I loved the Island. It is just beautiful with natural beauty, it is probably the poorest island on that call of ports, but I loved it. Maybe part of the reason we like it is it's beautiful but still feels authentic! You see the way things truly are! When we first started cruising in 2006 we stopped at Labadee and Cozumel for a couple examples and now they are so built up and commercialized it seems like you are at shopping plaza in a touristy town in the USA We personally like to see how others really live! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie51 Posted November 18, 2014 #27 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Welcome back. Glad you had a great cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlmbar Posted November 18, 2014 Author #28 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Welcome back. Glad you had a great cruise. Thanks! Wish I was back! 20+ degrees tomorrow. LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCWalton1 Posted November 18, 2014 #29 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Thanks for the positive review of Jewel. We have three west coast cruises on Jewel next year and look forward to being back on a Radiance class ship. Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BillOh Posted November 18, 2014 #30 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Thanks for the positive review of Jewel. We have three west coast cruises on Jewel next year and look forward to being back on a Radiance class ship. Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk Watch out for Arizona cruisers on those cruises! I think some of my former cruisemates may be with you. I'll watch for the reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpadul Posted November 18, 2014 #31 Share Posted November 18, 2014 We were told by the MDR manager that next May 2015 the Jewel is leaving San Juan and the Caribbean itineraries and going to start doing Alaska cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashland Posted November 19, 2014 #32 Share Posted November 19, 2014 We were told by the MDR manager that next May 2015 the Jewel is leaving San Juan and the Caribbean itineraries and going to start doing Alaska cruises. Correct the Jewel is taking over the 2015 itinerary for Radiance in Alaska...We'll be on JOS for her Sept 2015 Pacific Northwest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toberman Posted November 24, 2014 #33 Share Posted November 24, 2014 We were told by the MDR manager that next May 2015 the Jewel is leaving San Juan and the Caribbean itineraries and going to start doing Alaska cruises. But according to the RCI booking site she will be back in SJU Oct 25, 2015 for the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseapril Posted November 24, 2014 #34 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Interesting to read. We also took a ship sponsored tour in Dominica and are glad we did as the roads are narrow and winding. We had a good tour of the Layou Valley and part of the Rain Forest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie51 Posted November 24, 2014 #35 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I have only seen Jewel once. She looked big to me, because I was on NCL Spirit. I was on Vision of the Seas for the first time in 2000. She seemed big, until in 2008 I was on Diamond Princess and we were docked next to each other. Hope I'll get to see Quantum next to Diamond sometime. I can't imagine the difference! While in port in St. Thomas, Grand Princess and Freedom of the Seas were docked next to each other. Freedom was the largest ship at the time. Now Oasis class and Quantum are bigger than that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
girlzillla Posted November 28, 2014 #36 Share Posted November 28, 2014 We sailed on Nov 15th. Very nice ship. Previous cruises were on Mariner and Navigator. We weren't sure how we would like the smaller ship, but we liked it. We got to see and meet more people. Couple negatives: Starbucks... I'm not a fan of their coffee. We missed the free coffee in the coffee shop like on Mariner and Navigator. They did have free coffee in Windjammer, when they refilled it. The rice crispy treats, peanut butter treats and fruity crispy treats were to die for! The other negative was the sewer gas smell in each of the bathrooms. Both in the room and around the ship. Such a pleasant smell, NOT. Positives: the staff, ship, pools, ok- everything else. The food was excellent. Try the soups! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finz2u Posted November 28, 2014 #37 Share Posted November 28, 2014 We finished our cruise on the Jewel on Nov 22. Personally, I did not see any "wear and tear" and our cabin had a flat screen (which we never watched). She is a beautiful ship, loved all the teak and brass, especially the corridor of bars leading to the Safari Lounge (spelling?), so I hope they don't make too many changes in her dry dock. Mike Hutterup is just filling in for the Christmas season, then he takes his vacation, so your CD for 2015 will likely be different. The food was wonderful. I think even the pickiest eater should find something both in the WJ and MDR. I usually avoid meat on cruises, but the rack of lamb was perfect. We had the best time and I hope all of you cruising on the Jewel will love her just as much as my husband and I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Posted November 28, 2014 #38 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Thanks for the reviews! Still waiting for a suite to open up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gasdoc Posted November 29, 2014 #39 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Sailed Jewel in August. Southern Caribbean. Great cruise. No untoward smells. Had beverage package. There were no short pours. Bartenders were great. I tipped extra as I made excellent use of the package. Ship was in great shape. Yes there were a few rust spots, shocking in a ship that is at sea every day. Bed was comfortable, shower pressure was great. No flat screen. Didn't matter the seaview was better than the TV. I have numerous flat screens at home but not that sea view. Enjoyed the entire week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCWalton1 Posted November 29, 2014 #40 Share Posted November 29, 2014 But according to the RCI booking site she will be back in SJU Oct 25, 2015 for the winter. Yup, Jewel heads back through the canal to the Caribbean next October after spending the summer out west. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksadonnab Posted December 19, 2014 #41 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Thanks for all the positive posts about the Jewel! I'm really excited to be cruising a new ship (for me) and 4 new ports. Life is good...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare printingchick Posted December 19, 2014 #42 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I love Jewel as well, but I have to disagree with you about Dominica. It's one of my all-time FAVORITE ports of call. I could go there again and again. I've visited three times and can't wait for an opportunity to return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critterchick Posted December 19, 2014 #43 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Jewel has always been my favorite RCI ship, but I am very much looking forward to her upgrades; wish they would accelerate her schedule. My understanding is that broken tube TVs are replaced with flat screens, but there's no telling which you'll have in your cabin unless you have a full suite - all of them have flat screens. We have three cruises on her next year, and will only have to fly round trip for one of them. Yay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BillOh Posted December 20, 2014 #44 Share Posted December 20, 2014 It's so nice to read great reports about the "smaller" RCI ships. We have no desire to cruise on the mega-ships just because we've had such good luck on the smaller ships and don't think we'd enjoy being on a ship with so many passengers. So many of us can enjoy the best of both. Specifically to Allure there is enough going on that doesn't interest me that draws people away from things I was interested in. Since that class never tenders, we never felt crowded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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