Just back from the Jewel - 11/15-11/22.

[wvfrogg]

This cruise was unbelievably good! Truly not much of anything to complain about.

 

EMBARKATION: Very easy. Got to the port a little before 11 a.m. and was onboard by 11:30. Dropped off a couple of things in my room and my cabin steward, Victor Hugo (yep - Victor Hugo) introduced himself and asked if I had any special requests. Victor was wonderful all week -- efficient and friendly. Always had a big smile on his face. Any requests were handled immediately. A true find, that Victor is!

 

CABIN: 9608. Good, quiet cabin. Plenty of space, storage, hangers, etc. Bed was fine, the pillows were wonderful (would have really like to bring home a couple with me). Really no complaints concerning the room. Balcony was fine, two chairs and a small table. I liked the location of this room -- only a few steps to the mid-ship elevators, and an easy walk up 3 flights to the pool and buffet or 2/3 flights down to dining rooms.

 

FOOD. The new menu was very, very good; a much more sophisticated and appealing menu. I ate in the MDR 4 times, Azure once and LaCucina once. Each of my meals in the MDR took approximately 45 minutes; service was timely and professional. I did not have dessert, so the timing probably would have been around 60 minutes if I had added that to my meal. A couple of the salads were truly remarkable: 1) red grapefruit, fresh pineapple and a light basil-agave vinaigrette and 2) a spinach, roasted beet, shaved pear again with a light vinaigrette. Both were outstanding. Other main courses in the MDR that I enjoyed were: grilled shrimp w/ aioli sauce, chateaubriand, and wonderful salmon (twice). The food always arrived at the correct temperature. I had Osso Bucco and Carpaccio at La Cucina and they were excellent. My only "iffy" meal was at Azure -- but I kind of knew when ordering the prime rib that it might not be the right choice. Flavorful and the right degree of rareness, but the slice was very thin. The service was also a little spottier. But not a bad meal by any measure. The Garden Buffet is set up very well. I personally had no trouble finding seating or waiting in any lines. Sometimes I took my plate to the Great Outdoors, and sometimes I ate in the Garden Cafe. LaCucina was also available for seatings at lunch and breakfast. Although the breakfast and lunch offerings remained basically the same each day, there was so much variety that there had to be something for everyone. Again, most of the time food was at the proper temperature, although once the poached egg was a little cool. No big deal, I just chose not to eat it.

 

MISC. There were some "chair hogs" on the sea days, but not to a great degree. Most of the time people were not even using the chairs on the upper deck, and there always seemed to be enough chairs. One reason, perhaps, is because there was not an over-abundance of children on this cruise. Smoking: no problem noted by me. I didn't even notice much smoking in the smoking area of the pool. In the casino there was more smoking, but not nearly to the extent that I noticed it on other ships, esp. The Epic. It only bothered me a couple of times, and the smokers were very conscious about keeping the cigarette away from the non-smokers. So I thought that worked out well.

 

CREW. As always, they were great. I noticed almost no grumps among them.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Again -- very good. The Neil Diamond singer was wonderful!

 

DISEMBARKING: Smooth. There did not seem to be long lines for the "walk-offs". I had a yellow tag, which is the first off after the walk-offs. It was easy the whole way -- and would have been even smoother if everyone had filled out their forms before getting to the Immigration official!

 

The Pearl has always been my favorite ship, but the Jewel may have just edged the Pearl into a slight second favorite. Wonderful cruise!:)

[DMH15]

Thanks for your review. Sounds like the Jewel still lives up to her name. I will be back on in April.

 

 

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[albertamom]

Thank you for your review! A little under 3 months to wait for us, and it can't come soon enough! I'm so glad to hear that you had timely service in the MDR. I can't wait to try out the new menu! :D

[FF Woman]

Thank you for all the info on board the ship. We've enjoyed the Jewel too.

 

We'll be back on her in January and just wondered if you stopped at the new Banana Coast port on this cruise and took any tours. We've done this itinerary before except we stopped at Roatan in Belize. Next time we'll be stopping at the port in Trujillo.

 

It sounds like you had a great cruise. :)

[wvfrogg]

Thank you for all the info on board the ship. We've enjoyed the Jewel too.

 

We'll be back on her in January and just wondered if you stopped at the new Banana Coast port on this cruise and took any tours. We've done this itinerary before except we stopped at Roatan in Belize. Next time we'll be stopping at the port in Trujillo.

 

It sounds like you had a great cruise. :)

 

I woke up with a cold on Wednesday, it was raining, so I decided to do a spa day instead of the Banana Coast tour. I heard comments that ranged all over the place -- some were able to enjoy the beauty of the area even with enduring mudslides, rain, and choppy tenders. Others were not as "graceful" with their comments!

 

FYI - if you need cold medicine while in port, and the ships' store isn't open, you can get some DayQuil from the reception desk!

[Spanky My]

Enjoyed the review. A couple of questions. Did you fly into Houston Hobby and if so what did it cost to get to the pier and who did you use? Also What did you do at the ports ? Finally how warm was the weather leaving Houston and your first day at sea?

[wvfrogg]

Enjoyed the review. A couple of questions. Did you fly into Houston Hobby and if so what did it cost to get to the pier and who did you use? Also What did you do at the ports ? Finally how warm was the weather leaving Houston and your first day at sea?

 

Yes, I flew into Houston Hobby on Friday. Stayed at Springhill Suites ($100), and they had a free shuttle from the airport. Met people at the hotel who had arranged for a limo to the port ($70), so I tagged along with them and gave the driver the tip ($35 - which is what a taxi would have cost me, I think).

 

In Belize I just wandered around the port and bought a couple of t-shirts for the kids (old kids). I have been to Belize many time so really didn't do much. I took a cooking class in Cozumel, which I enjoyed. Stayed on the boat while at the Banana Coast due to weather and having a cold.

 

The weather leaving Houston was colder than normal (for Houston, but warmer than usual for Chicago!), so that put a little damper on the sail-away party (although there were some good times to be had in the hot tubs). First day at sea was wonderful -- upper 70's, sunny, and a little bit wavy.

 

Just a note: I have a tendency to have euphoric recall, thus rendering all of my cruises perfect!;)

[Susie51]

First day at sea was wonderful -- upper 70's, sunny, and a little bit wavy.

Thanks for your review and sunny attitude.

Just a note: I have a tendency to have euphoric recall, thus rendering all of my cruises perfect!;)

 

Thank you for your review and sunny attitude.

[Spanky My]

Just curious what your overall impression of the condition of the Jewel in the public area's and the daily activities onboard ? Also did you get much rain on your trip or just an occasional shower? What were the average adult beverage prices for well drinks if you recall? Thanks in advance for your response.

[wvfrogg]

Just curious what your overall impression of the condition of the Jewel in the public area's and the daily activities onboard ? Also did you get much rain on your trip or just an occasional shower? What were the average adult beverage prices for well drinks if you recall? Thanks in advance for your response.

 

The public rooms on the Jewel may not be as "glitzy" and formal as some ships, but for me they are very comfortable and welcoming. We really only had rain on Wednesday, when I chose to spend part of the day at the spa instead of doing the historic tour of the Trujillo area. Am not sure about the cost of alcoholic drinks -- do know that "virgin" salty dogs and "virgin" Marys were 2.25! Also, I didn't partake in many daily activities -- I like just vegging out and totally relaxing. Spent a lot of time on my balcony reading and contemplating the sea. Man, I could do that forever. :cool:

[Floridanamaw]

So funny! We also stayed in cabin 9608 and had Victor on our Alaskan cruise in September. He was the best and always had this great smile and wonderful personality. I believe he told us his contract was up around the first of the year and would finally get to see his family again. I also agree with all your comments. We had good food and bad food at the buffet. But we never went hungry and always found something to eat.

 

 

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