Jewel of the Sea

[Travel-Diva]

We are thinking about going on the Jewel of the sea, leaving from San Juan Puerto Rico. The southern itinerary is what is motivating this ship.  We have always cruised on the oasis class.  My 12 y/o daughter enjoys having a smoothie every morning and it looks like they don’t have a vitality cafe on board.  Is there something similar. Would you recommend this cruise for someone who always goes on the bigger ships.  
Thank you 

[GTO-Girl]

2 minutes ago, Travel-Diva said:

We are thinking about going on the Jewel of the sea, leaving from San Juan Puerto Rico. The southern itinerary is what is motivating this ship.  We have always cruised on the oasis class.  My 12 y/o daughter enjoys having a smoothie every morning and it looks like they don’t have a vitality cafe on board.  Is there something similar. Would you recommend this cruise for someone who always goes on the bigger ships.  
Thank you 

We just got off the Jewel and will sail on her again March 17th.  We too usually sail the Oasis class but we loved this ship…..

 

HOWEVER….we are in our 70’s and like the feel of cruising as it was years ago with beautiful views, floor to ceiling windows, lots of places to sit and read and just watching the ocean go by.  We do not have any children with us so if your child is used to all the bells and whistles of the big ships they may not be happy.  It is much smaller and does not have a promenade so it is very different…

 

Just look at some You Tube videos and be sure it has all that your are looking for….

[gumshoe958]

I suspect a 12yo used to O-class will find Jewel very dull. And if you like O-class for its choice of dining and entertainment, so might you.

 

Jewel’s main advantage is she can reach ports that O-class ships can’t, so you’ll get more interesting destinations. She tends to attract an older crowd who appreciate her more traditional style and less frenetic atmosphere (although you’ll still find plenty of families).

 

So if you’re sailing for the itinerary, go for it. If you’re sailing for the ship, I’d rethink.

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by gumshoe958

[goldfish65]

IMO your daughter will be bored. 

 

Windjammer always had pre-made mini-smoothies at breakfast.

 

Others cruising out of San Juan mention lively passengers who stay up late. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by goldfish65

[Tatka]

We sailed on Grandeur several times, but during holiday. This ship is smaller that Jewel and has even less amenities. Our friends sailed with teens and they seemed to be enjoying themselves even though they sailed on Oasis class. There were many kids, but again it was during holidays.

[SG65CB]

The itineraries from Puerto Rico go to islands you just can't get to from the mainland on a 7 night cruise. The itineraries are port-intensive, the Jewel in winter 2024 has only one sea day, so the ship might be less important for daytime activities for kids since you'll be on excursions most days. This year Voyager of the Seas is sailing from Puerto Rico with six ports and no sea days at all. 

 

If you want to see Barbados, St Lucia, Dominica, St Kitts, Virgin Islands, St Maarten, etc. then sail from Puerto Rico. The ABC islands are also accessible on a 7-night cruise. The trip is more about the ports and less about the ship.

[smokeybandit]

My 10 yr old son had a blast on serenade and he'll be on jewel this year at age 11. I expect the same

[mandyleighflies]

We have sailed on Jewel OTS on that same itinerary and we loved it! The ship is stunning and yes smaller than Oasis class ships with fewer amenities. However, I think my teenagers (14-16) would still have a blast on that ship or any TBH, they are on VACATION. They are visiting new places, seeing new things, meeting new people. So what if this ship doesn't have all the bells and whistles the larger ships have, it's the type of ship my generation grew up sailing on and it's what got all of us hooked. That itinerary is also so port intensive and really only one full day on the ship, it's not like a trans-Atlantic crossing with days and days at sea. I say book it!! Enjoy the experience and allow the kid to have some experiences outside of catered entertainment and constant activity, she can learn to relax, enjoy the simpler things, who knows, maybe she will enjoy it that much more! 

[flamingos]

We were on Jewel earlier this month, right after the holiday break, and there were so few kids that we could practically count them. We never saw anyone in the arcade.  But the previous week we were told there were 800+ kids.  If it's an itinerary you like, take it.  

[Starry Eyes]

The way I see it some cruises are mostly about the ports and some cruises are mostly about the ship.

 

I adore Oasis class ships, but their size means they can go to a limited number of ports.  For regular cruises, O class itineraries tend to look bland even though the ship may still attract the cruiser.

 

Thus smaller ships with fewer bells and whistles tend to be the ones sailing more interesting itineraries.  With a Southern Caribbean cruise, you may be busy exploring different islands daily, with less wakeful ship time.  For many people that is a worthwhile trade off for some or all of their cruises.  A twelve year old can certainly understand such trade offs.  Perhaps have a family discussion and see how the youngster feels about the trade off.  Hopefully she will agree with you that more time on more new islands is worth giving up some ship features.

[Arzeena]

On 1/27/2023 at 3:02 PM, GTO-Girl said:

We just got off the Jewel and will sail on her again March 17th.  We too usually sail the Oasis class but we loved this ship…..

 

HOWEVER….we are in our 70’s and like the feel of cruising as it was years ago with beautiful views, floor to ceiling windows, lots of places to sit and read and just watching the ocean go by.  We do not have any children with us so if your child is used to all the bells and whistles of the big ships they may not be happy.  It is much smaller and does not have a promenade so it is very different…

 

Just look at some You Tube videos and be sure it has all that your are looking for….

We are on that sailing too. Looking forward to it.