Southern Caribbean Jewel or Adventure?

[SchoolNurseMom]

We are planning a possible cruise February 2018 to celebrate a "big" anniversary and a "big" birthday for me! :o

What would be your recommendation for Adventure of the Seas vs Jewel of the Seas and why? Also, when is the best time for booking "reasonable" flights and what do you consider "reasonable"? We live in North Georgia so we'll be flying out of ATL. We have always driven to Florida ports and do not usually fly anywhere, so we're kinda "green" to this idea? any help or information will be appreciated!

[davekathy]

We are planning a possible cruise February 2018 to celebrate a "big" anniversary and a "big" birthday for me! :o

What would be your recommendation for Adventure of the Seas vs Jewel of the Seas and why? Also, when is the best time for booking "reasonable" flights and what do you consider "reasonable"? We live in North Georgia so we'll be flying out of ATL. We have always driven to Florida ports and do not usually fly anywhere, so we're kinda "green" to this idea? any help or information will be appreciated!

 

We've done both ships and their itineraries multiple times. Can't go wrong with either ship. Two different class ships so two different experiences. We prefer the Jewel but that's only our personal preference. Pick the itinerary that you like the best and cruise on the ship that goes there. Then your next cruise do the other. Two ships and four slightly different itineraries. It's a win win. When we sail out of San Juan we always do B2Bers. Same cabin, two different itineraries. We always do a pre-cruise hotel stay and sometime a post cruise hotel stay. More bang for our airline cost as we are flying from landlocked Utah.

Edited August 31, 2017 by davekathy

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

Both are amazing, can't make a wrong decision. You need to get airfare very soon for Feb 2018. Pick the sail date with the best airfare.

[rukkian]

We paid $400 round trip this year from Des Moines for the 2/11 Jewel southern itinerary. It was incredible. It is on the small side of ships (for todays standards), and has less activities than the newer ships, but we absolutely loved it, so much so that we booked another RCI cruise for spring break next year. Taking the kids, so we are doing a bigger ship, but would have no problem doing Jewel again. My coworker heard about it, and booked the same thing for this coming year. The Jewel is a beautiful ship and had maybe 20 total kids on it when we went, which was nice for our 20th anniversary cruise.

[bouhunter]

We've done both ships and their itineraries multiple times. Can't go wrong with either ship. Two different class ships so two different experiences. We prefer the Jewel but that's only our personal preference. Pick the itinerary that you like the best and cruise on the ship that goes there. Then your next cruise do the other. Two ships and four slightly different itineraries. It's a win win. When we sail out of San Juan we always do B2Bers. Same cabin, two different itineraries. We always do a pre-cruise hotel stay and sometime a post cruise hotel stay. More bang for our airline cost as we are flying from landlocked Utah.

 

Wow, I was about to pretty much write that word for word:p

 

OP if you want a Royal Promenade pick Adventure. We were B2B on Jewel last winter, supposed to be Adventure next but we got booted for the drydock, so it's back to Jewel in January.

 

I agree with the reply about making some decisions soon so you can get airfare locked up. Some people say prices are good a couple months out, but we've never seen it for SJU.

[Tatka]

What are itineraries?

I'd base my decision on that.

And check Celebrity Summit's itin too.

[bouhunter]

What are itineraries?

I'd base my decision on that.

And check Celebrity Summit's itin too.

 

The itin's are all the same: 4-5 great Southern Caribbean islands!:p

 

Just kidding, of course there are minor differences. And if OP wants the ABC itin that is different than most of the others.

[Tatka]

To me the best islands which are only available on Southern route are St Lucia, Barbados, ABC and maybe Antigua. Then it is Grenada and Dominica.

 

If most of them are included then I look for St Thomas, St Maarten, Tortola although they exist on Eastern itins.

[CruiseCheapsk8]

We had this same choice a year and a half ago and decided on Adventure (we sailed back in February). We had a blast! We picked it because the itinerary was awesome (Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia) and there is a lot to do on the ship.

 

Honestly, to us, the itineraries were pretty close, but we gave the edge to this one as we had heard St. Lucia and St. Maarten are awesome, and they definitely were!

 

The ship itself had a ton to do on our sea day, with water slides, flow rider, etc. We enjoyed that day, and the other days in the afternoon/evening, after returning to the ship.

 

Now, with all of this being said, these are all port intensive cruises, with not tons of time on the ships, other than a sea day thrown in at the beginning or end, and time in the evenings, so I would look at cost as a factor as well. If everything looks equal, I would pick (and did pick) the adventure, as there is just more to do on board and we are more used to the bigger ships (Voyager class and up).

 

As many have said, you can't go wrong with either one though. I hope you are able to find some great deals, including airfare, and can go!

[JTBCruiser]

DW and I have sailed on both, really enjoyed them. We prefer smaller ships so Jewel is our favorite. We aren't in to doing all the activities on a ship and prefer more of an R&R cruise. We do shore excursions then chill out on our balcony. We love the Jewel for all the glass, so may views of the ocean while on ship. Great outside seating in the WJ. I'd pick the ship with the lower cost of airfare. You won't be disappointed in either ship.

[Clarea]

You cannot go wrong with either ship. Note that after Feb 2018, Adventure will have just completed a dry dock that will have added some improvements.

[Ashland]

We've done the southern caribbean on both Jewel (7 nights) and Adventure (B2B) enjoyed them both but am also now looking forward to another B2B on Freedom Sept 2018. Love these southern itineraries.

[birdie16]

We have also done them both and we also prefer the Jewel. The Adventure is a nice ship with lots to do but the Jewel is more "elegant" and not too big. One difference between the two classes of ships, the Adventure seems to be more focused on the "inside" views of the ship and the Jewel class is more focused on the "outside" views. I agree with the above poster about the port intensive cruise not giving you enough time on the ship. Our last Adventure cruise had the Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia itinerary and it was a great cruise but we didn't feel we had enough time on the ship...we love sea days.

 

Be sure to allow at least a couple of nights on either end for a San Juan land vacation, I love San Juan!

 

Happy Anniversary!

[cruzgryphon]

Given the choice I'd take the Jewel. I like having all the windows on the ship allowing the light to come in. If you get tired of the heat you can come in and sit some place like the Schooner Bar and enjoy the sunshine minus the heat. Also if you get a balcony, I find the shape of the balcony sides on Adventure are oval (if you look at a picture of her you'll see what I mean) and block out some of the light compared to Jewel and most other RCI ships.

[davekathy]

We like the Schooner Bar layout a lot better on the Jewel than on the Adventure. Big windows to look out. A lot bigger seating area. Most importantly it's away from the casino so you don't get the smell of cigarette smoke drifting in like you do on the Adventure. We also like to sit in the back by the Congo Bar, enjoy a drink or two while looking out the huge windows. But we do like Studio B on the Adventure. Again can't go wrong with either ship.

[JD2001]

we have done them both and agree both are awsome ships but i really liked the duck and dog pub on adventure so that was my favorite

[davekathy]

we have done them both and agree both are awsome ships but i really liked the duck and dog pub on adventure so that was my favorite

 

And it's so much nicer now that smoking is not allowed.

[SchoolNurseMom]

Thank you for all the recommendations. Unfortunately, I am an elementary school nurse and we'll be going on our "winter Break", so we are restricted to one week. We will tack on one day, or maybe two if we can work it our, on one side or the other of this cruise. Dh and I will sit down and read over these responses and make a decision soon!

We're cruising on Oasis in a couple of weeks, so I'm excited for that. We've never been on one of the Oasis class, biggest we've done is Freedom. We've done Monarch and Rhapsody and had a good time on all of them. I really think I enjoy it no matter what ship we're on!

[birdie16]

"We're cruising on Oasis in a couple of weeks, so I'm excited for that. We've never been on one of the Oasis class, biggest we've done is Freedom. We've done Monarch and Rhapsody and had a good time on all of them. I really think I enjoy it no matter what ship we're on!"

 

You will have a better idea after your Oasis cruise for sure! We prefer a smaller ship, love the Monarch and Rhapsody. The Jewel will be between the Rhapsody and the Adventure which is why we think it is perfect, not too big and not too small.

[printingchick]

Like others, have cruised on both ships. (Although never back to back. A B2B is one of my bucket-list items.) My next cruise will be February 2018 on Adventure. The following year, I'll be back on Jewel.

 

The one thing I will say is that I accidentally booked the week of President's Day - probably the same week you're considering - and the air fare was outrageous. I didn't realize until AFTER booking that it was all because of the holiday! I don't get that day off so I never made the connection. I'm a fairly experienced cruiser, so there is no excuse for my rookie mistake! We're flying out of Boston, so not the same as you're doing, but what should have cost $400 per person RT was more like $600 because of the holiday. Keep that in mind. That week is liable to cost a lot more than other folks may report paying.

 

I prefer the Radiance Class (Jewel) over other classes for a few reasons. Outside dining at the Windjammer, events tend to be less crowded and more intimate on the smaller ship, and it just has such an upscale feel.

 

That said, Adventure was my first RCL ship and still near and dear to me. It benefits from the Royal Promenade (I also love the Duck and Dog Pub) and the ice rink (Don't miss the ice show!). Adventure recently added some great water slides - one of the few RCL ships to have them - and I'm VERY excited to try those. Loved them back when I used to cruise Carnival.

 

You'll be thrilled with either choice. ENJOY!

[BillOh]

We are planning a possible cruise February 2018 to celebrate a "big" anniversary and a "big" birthday for me! :o

What would be your recommendation for Adventure of the Seas vs Jewel of the Seas and why? Also, when is the best time for booking "reasonable" flights and what do you consider "reasonable"? We live in North Georgia so we'll be flying out of ATL. We have always driven to Florida ports and do not usually fly anywhere, so we're kinda "green" to this idea? any help or information will be appreciated!

 

 

I've done both once, going on Jewel again, and would happily book adventure, but would book Adventure again, but even better Freedom is replacing Adventure next year and I love that ship. . Flights just opened up for my April 2018 flights to San Juan and Southwest Airlines, a couple of months early.

 

Off to read your replies.

[BillOh]

You cannot go wrong with either ship. Note that after Feb 2018, Adventure will have just completed a dry dock that will have added some improvements.

 

 

I would argue the improvements are all done, only more cabins! But maybe they will actually put voom on the ship this time!

[Clarea]

I would argue the improvements are all done, only more cabins! But maybe they will actually put voom on the ship this time!

I agree, probably subjective, but some might like Izumi.

[jacketwatch]

We are planning a possible cruise February 2018 to celebrate a "big" anniversary and a "big" birthday for me! :o

What would be your recommendation for Adventure of the Seas vs Jewel of the Seas and why? Also, when is the best time for booking "reasonable" flights and what do you consider "reasonable"? We live in North Georgia so we'll be flying out of ATL. We have always driven to Florida ports and do not usually fly anywhere, so we're kinda "green" to this idea? any help or information will be appreciated!

 

We did this one the Adventure and loved the bells and whistles so to speak. If you don't like this style then go with the Jewel.:cool:

[mixplix]

we've done both as well - AOS in 2015 and Jewel this past spring, and returning to AOS spring 2018, after drydock (three new ports, the ABC's and St. Martin, hopefully after IRMA). I like Adventure a little bit more, but you can't go wrong with either. Pick the price and stops that work best for you.

mixplix