Jewel of the Seas TA- should we cancel

[greatestvalue]

We have a 17 day TA booked, next year, on the Jewel.

 

We just got off the Voyager and found the entertainment didn't cut it for us. 

So we are concerned with the Jewel even smaller, we will be bored with the entertainment. 

 

Our comparison is somewhat unfair bcuz we are comparing it to the excellently executed Broadway type shows on NCL Bliss. 

 

The other thing is we found, the Voyager to be in need of help. It was rusting, peeling paint, filthy windows in the solarium. The lack of places or 1 wow place to hang out, also didn't work so well for us.

 

Other areas were clean, neat and we'll taken care of. Perfectly clean windows in Chops. Food was good in all places. Had good views.

 

The itinerary includes Iceland, Greenland & Canada which will all be great. And I can't imagine we will get another TA at this price. This is one of the ones that we were allowed to switch too, bcuz Royal swapped out the ship from, the Voyager. If it was still on the Voyager, we probably would cancel. 

 

But wonder if we should cancel the TA with it being so long, and most likely lacking the type of entertainment we prefer?

 

 

[Janet524]

You're the only one who can make that decision.

[Ourusualbeach]

Cancel, otherwise you will be second guessing yourself from now until the sail date.  If you want shows then forget about a great itinerary and cruise on the new ships with the crappier itineraries.

[Moltar]

Cancel. If you're cruising for what's happening in the main theatre, cancel.

[BND]

The shows are literally 45 minutes out of your day.  BTW, I guarantee you the Bliss has some rust too lol.  All ships do.  Windows on a ship do not stay clean for long.  It's called sea spray.  But, you obviously have already talked yourself out of it, so none of our opinions should matter to you.

[DirtyDawg]

Don't Cancel - just yet anyways. Try to find a similar itinerary. If you find one, ask of that cruise line forum about the entertainment. You might find one with entertainment that is to your liking. If you do, but the cruise is more expensive, only you can answer the question as to whether the entertainment is worth the extra money. Good Luck. 

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[Sunshine3601]

I would love that itinerary and if you got the great prices that were available when I looked at this sailing then I would be very happy.   

The main shows on the theater will not be Broadway type shows on this class ship.   Only you can weigh the decision of itinerary and price vs entertainment on a TA crossing.

Edited September 7, 2022 by Sunshine3601

[RobInMN]

We recently did a 24 night total B2B on Jewel. Granted, it was Arctic Circle followed by Iceland & Ireland, so a little different than a TA.

Prior, we also had concerns about whether or not we would become "bored" of the ship. We love the Oasis class, and in the last 10 years or so had only really done Voyager and Oasis class ships. Last fall we did our first Freedom class and last Feb just did Odyssey. 20 or so years ago we did a 3 night on Majesty and would not want to spend even a week on that class. A couple years later we did a 7 night Disney Magic with a bunch of families, and as fun as it was, I was pretty bored with that ship after a week.

Anyway, after 24 nights on Jewel, we were not bored in the slightest. We could have keep going. There were no big production shows, but they swapped the headliner nearly every port, and there was a nice variety. I think we had a repeat headliner once, but it was a completely different show. But then again, I can take or leave a big production show like you get on the Oasis class. My wife likes them, but they don't make or break it for her and we certainly don't schedule cruises specifically for them (or against them in the case of Cats - we just won't go to that show).

The ship did not really seem dated or lacking in maintenance. There were little things showing wear, but really, in my opinion, still great shape.

Over-all, we thought she was still a very beautiful ship, and we would happily go on her again, especially for an itinerary like you have scheduled.

 

Sometimes it's more about the itinerary than the ship.

If you're looking for big production shows, you're basically looking at an Oasis class ship, and other than 1 ship in the Western Mediterranean each summer and the TA both ways, they are all in the Caribbean.

 

[Seville2Cabo]

Cancel. With all that rust, the ship will probably break up and sink

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, greatestvalue said:

We just got off the Voyager and found the entertainment didn't cut it for us. 

Then Jewel will not be any better. 

[njkruzer]

We sailed the Jewel TA in April 14 nts to Amsterdam after a 6 nt Caribbean cruise.  Good trips. It was our 2nd and 3rd trip this year on the Jewel.  Loved it.

[akb5k]

We just did 12 nights on Jewel. The headliner shows were great. The production shows were awful. We definitely had a lot more "down time" to fill than usual since the entertainment schedule was timed to traditional dining and included a lot of trivia and alcohol related events, neither of which really interested us. But they had a fun escape room type event one day and some other one-off events that were ok. Probably wouldn't do Jewel again (and we have enjoyed other Radiance class trips), but for us the trip was about the itinerary more than the ship- so I would make your choice based on that.

[Husky1987]

Sounds like it's going to be a miserable cruise for you.  You should definitely cancel, wait for the NCL Bliss to announce the same itinerary, and then jump on it.  I'm sure you won't be waiting long.

[LeeW]

Iceland and Greenland are incredible.   As Ken said, if you want shows don't sail this itinerary. 

 

Radiance is having windows replaced this week by contractors when it isn't raining and ship is in port.  Windows were ordered six months ago according to the Captain. 

[Ashland]

We just also did the Arctic Circle on Jewel....We certainly didn't do this itinerary for onboard entertainment and we didn't go to one show and we loved the Jewel.

[Merion_Mom]

7 hours ago, greatestvalue said:

We have a 17 day TA booked next year on the Jewel.

 

We just got off the Voyager and found the entertainment didn't cut it for us. 

So we are concerned with the Jewel even smaller, we will be bored with the entertainment. 

 

Our comparison is somewhat unfair because we are comparing it to the excellently executed Broadway type shows on NCL Bliss. 

 

The other thing is that we found the Voyager to be in need of help. It was rusting, peeling paint, filthy windows in the solarium. The lack of places or 1 wow place to hang out, also didn't work so well for us.

 

Other areas were clean, neat and well taken care of. Perfectly clean windows in Chops. Food was good in all places. Had good views.

 

The itinerary includes Iceland, Greenland & Canada which will all be great. And I can't imagine we will get another TA at this price. This is one of the ones that we were allowed to switch to, because Royal swapped out the ship from the Voyager. If it was still on the Voyager, we probably would cancel. 

 

But wonder if we should cancel the TA with it being so long, and most likely lacking the type of entertainment we prefer?

 

 

 

If you are sailing for the entertainment (as someone else wrote, the evening show is 45 minutes out of your day), cancel.  If you are sailing for the itinerary, you should be very satisfied.  

 

Personally, I love the Radiance class.  Unlike Voyager, there are huge glass windows all around.  Wonderful views from most public spaces.  Smaller ship with lower  number of passengers.  These are all good things, in my opinion.

 

 

[the wandering two]

Merion_Mom is spot on, Jewel will have a far more intimate feel onboard. Our 2nd last Royal sailing was on J, a transatlantic also, great lounge and centrum entertainment, & rarely went to the theatre shows.

Our last a cheapie five nighter on Mariner, we found fit and finish sadly lacking, thought that  ships on the domestic Florida runs are forgotten about, but maybe not given your experience. 

Will be getting on Jewel this Friday, so will be interesting to compare. 

[ggo85]

If you want Broadway entertainment, book a trip to NYC and take in a range of shows.  I’m being perfectly serious.  Good seats for hot shows are about $100 pp.   You could easily do 3 shows for the price of your cruise.  
 

The point is that, while cruise lines provide entertainment - and sometimes great entertainment - that  isn’t their primary reason for existing.  If that is YOUR priority, you should do a vacation focusing on entertainment of your choosing.  
 

If it’s the most important part of your cruise, the. You want to stick to the larger ships that offer more variety.  However, as others have pointed out, their itineraries aren’t as “interesting.”  First world problems. 😀

[goldfish65]

I'm inclined to tell you to cancel, that's a long time at sea to feel like you're not getting the entertainment you are after. 

[wyldkarma]

We did the Jewel from Amsterdam to Iceland, Ireland 14 days two weeks ago.  Jewel is of course smaller and had a juggler, a comedian, and 3 guys playing piano, the Royal Dancers could not perform as they said the sea was too choppy.  We only saw 1 show the whole cruise, it was pretty boring.  So, if entertainment is a top priority, this is NOT the ship.

[bridedoll1026]

We were on Jewel in March. Didn't like it at all. We had a transatlantic booked on Jewel for October. We canceled the TA & booked another one on a different ship...

[CFLRetired]

I di not read all responses, but in my opinion you need to weigh the good you believe you'll get out of the entire cruise against the bad, in this case the bad might be shows not as good as you'd like taking also into consideration the price of the cruise and ports.  I think you would be the only ones who can decide if it's worth it to you.  I wish you the best in your decision.  Whatever that is be happy with it, move on, and enjoy life.

[Jasukkie]

You've answered your own question that entertainment is a top priority. It's the lowest priority for me so I would have a different answer. I try to see the ice shows on ships that have them and maybe some Latin music in Boleros. Maybe a movie on deck at night. That's it for me. Most everything else feels cheesy to me, or highly repetitive if you're a regular cruiser. You do you though.

[kccrzr]

We spent 24 nights on Jewel this summer.  The itinerary was fabulous and that is why we chose those sailings.  Ship maintenance was fine.  However, the entertainment left something to be desired in our opinion.  There were a very few good performers but for the most part we were not impressed with those we saw.  Lots of the same type/era of music.  Because the entertainment is less important to us than the itinerary, we are sailing on Jewel again next summer.  But if entertainment was paramount to us, this is not the ship I would choose to book.